Life with a Newborn

A little snapshot into life around here...

The first two weeks with a newborn are always CRAZY. With Jozie, it was crazy trying to figure out how to breastfeed. I remember her screaming, hungry and me trying to figure out how in the world to help her "latch" (whatever that was!) onto these rock-hard overfilled breasts. It was so frustrating but eventually resolved itself. With Haven, the challenge I remember was emotionally adjusting to having two girls to adore and how to balance their needs. Now life here is crazy once again. I adore Claire and so do the girls, as well as Chad. But I think there's no way around the difficulty of the first few weeks with a little one.

Here's a sample of our day so far - of course there's the inevitable lack of sleep all night - sometimes I start the night off hopeful that it won't be too bad, that I'll actually spend some time with Chad somehow, but that's extremely hard to maneuver right now between the feedings every few hours, trying to get Claire to burp enough not to be fussy, and trying to help her dependably sleep at night. We went to Claire's two week checkup this morning in Sugarhouse. She looks great except that she was breathing at a rate of 100 times/minute and no one has any idea why (normal is 40-60). We finished everything (checkup, PKU test, pharmacy pickup) an hour and a half later - after 11:00 - and needed to have Jozie fed and at Kindergarten at 11:25. Stopped in at Little Caesar's (Hot and Ready!) and rushed over to West Jordan while we ate pizza in the car. Pulled up near the Kindergarten area while Jozie ate and I watched the Kindergarten door for signs of her teacher. Wiped sauce off her cheeks with my spit and sent her running out the door to catch up with her class.

Now we're home chilling a bit - the battle is always between sleep and actually getting something done around here. It feels nice just to write for a minute, but now I'm going upstairs to go through my clothes so I can stop wearing the maternity stuff that's currently on my shelves. I know by 8 tonight I'll wish I opted for the nap. :)

I'm finding moms of 8-9 kids beyond my understanding. They must be miraculous. Maybe that really is part of it - I find myself praying all the time that God will miraculously make my body ok with less sleep and help me to be patient, and I find it working. The crying, whining, needs, and wishes of my little family are ok - I can still smile and enjoy each of them as they are and do what I can. I love being with them and am so lucky to be in this role.