Three

I cannot believe it has been nearly TWO WEEKS since Ivy was born, and I have been a mom of THREE absolutely beautiful children...and let me just say, like all things major/important/worthwhile in life, there has been an adjustment period {that I'm still in}. BUT I can say with certainty...it's been freaking amazing!



Our Christmas Baby is here!

I have been busy, and will probably continue to be busy with a newborn, 3 and 5 year old, holidays, and my family coming to visit in a few days {aka: blogging regularly may be tough} but I can already sense a routine in the making, and me finding my flow as a mom of 3 {aka: blogging will find it's place too...how can I not document this amazing time in our family's life??}

So how has the last two weeks been? How is Ivy doing? How are the older two liking their baby sister? How is mama doing? The answer to all that is...as expected...and good :)

As far as the last two weeks...My mother-in-law Laurie just left early yesterday morning...and I was dreading it :( She flew in on November 29th, about one week before I had Ivy, so she learned the routine of running the kids to and from school, making lunches, and balancing dinner, house cleaning, and everything else our family does. She jumped right in, and after I had Ivy, I didn't have to lift a finger to do any dishes, laundry, or get the kids ready for school...she was a godsend. And the kids loved spending all that time with their Grandma. The two weeks postpartum that I had Laurie here gave me the chance to relax, heal, and I believe it also kept my sanity. John was not able to take any time off of work. And there is no way I could have done it alone. I will forever remember the first weeks with Ivy as a beautiful time, and I have my mother-in-law to thank for that. I know it wasn't easy for her to be away from home for 3 weeks, especially after loosing her mother, Grandma Carol just the week before she left to be with us. It was an emotional month for her I know, but I hope she also knows that she made a world of difference in our lives during the time she spent here. Thank you.

Grandma helped with our annual cookie making adventure!

We celebrated an early Christmas with Grandma too!



I handmade this sign for Grandma and Grandpa to put on their 5 acre farm in California.

Also in the last two weeks, my amazing MOPS group has been bringing us dinner! This was hands down one of the most helpful things I could ever imagine!!! All the food has been delicious, and also, I have these girls to thank for making the transition of bringing Ivy home a smooth one. You ladies are some of the best friends I could ever ask for! Thank you!

As for Ivy, she is perfect. She's really is a good baby, and we are so blessed. She nurses like a champ! She has been waking only once or twice to eat between the hours of 8pm and 6am, so I think that's awesome! She takes some great naps in the morning and afternoon, but then has what we call her "witching hour" in the evening...usually between 4pm and 7pm. During that time she's a bit cranky, fights sleep, and wants to be held, suck on something, and just get attention. I think it's what poops her out so much by 8pm and keeps her {and me!} sleeping pretty good throughout the rest of the night...so I really can't complain! I know eventually we'll work out a regular nap schedule that keeps her well rested throughout the day, and this newborn cranky time will pass.
As for Jade and Cole...they LOVE Ivy. I have not sensed any jealousy or or had them compete for my attention. They love to hold her, hug her, and talk about how cute she is :) Jade draws her pictures, and lets me know if Ivy is "winding up" to cry or need mommy. Both kids will say, "Mommy, I think Ivy is thirsty!" and they love to snuggle with me on the couch while I nurse her. Cole loves to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to Ivy, and he's a great helper when it comes to diaper changes, believe it or not! He'll grab the diapers and wipes, and has even taken it upon himself to wipe Ivy's booty, heehee! If you were to ask Jade or Cole, I think they would agree that Ivy is a welcomed member of the family :)

As for me, I'm doing as expected :) I have been experiencing some "baby blues" that I can tell are completely hormonal...for instance, on the very day that my milk came in {about 3 days after Ivy was born} I was totally weepy, wanting to cry over everything, happy or sad. I walked around all day with a lump in my throat, trying to stop myself from crying. I blame that all on the major change in hormones...it's not a coincidence that I was an emotional wreck on the same day my milk came in. Since then, I have my moments of feeling overwhelmed or wanting to cry, but I know why I feel that way, and I say a prayer that this too shall pass, and I look at everything I have and remember how fast time flies...and I cherish the moment. One other thing that I am struggling with is missing John...he hasn't had any time off of work in over a year {other than a 4 day weekend at Thanksgiving} and I can tell it's wearing on him. Our time together is brief. And we are both exhausted...me because I'm caring for a newborn, kids and house all day, and him because he's up early every morning for work, putting in a tough 8 hours or more, then coming home and helping out with the older two and some housework. By 8pm when our kids are asleep, we are ready for bed too. I know this is just a season of our lives, and soon we will look back on this time with only fond memories, but it's tough. I am so proud of him, thankful for him, and crazy about him. I couldn't ask for a better team mate, life mate, and best friend. I fantasize about growing old with him, and looking back at the time we spent growing and raising babies, proud of ourselves for all our hard work and the fruit that came from it...that thought makes it all worth it.

So since Laurie left on Wednesday morning, I had my first solo day with the three kids...it was also the first {and last} day I had to drive all the kids to school and back with Ivy in tow...but thankfully yesterday was also the last day of school before Winter Break. I won't have to worry about being the taxi driver again until the New Year! But even so, Ivy did great going along for the rides yesterday. We even made it to Jade's school in the morning to watch them make gingerbread houses!

Jade was excited that I brought Ivy in for her friends to see, and it was fun telling my birth story to all the teachers who had heard from Jade that Ivy was born in the car...and learned that no, she wasn't making that up! I'm still pretty impressed by myself, getting all three kids fed, dressed, and out the door on time...oh yeah, I got myself fed and dressed too! Go me!

On Saturday, my mom flies in, and I am so EXCITED to have family here again! My dad flies in on Christmas day, and they will stay until January 2nd. I am going to take advantage of the extra hands, and this special time with family...this will be the first Christmas and New Years we've had with family {other than the 4 of us} since 2009!

Not sure if I'll be back to blog before the New Year, so MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you, and Happy New Year!!