Mother's Day & More

The day after Orion was born, Adrian asked (probably rhetorically), 

"Why is it, every time we have another kid, we seem to reach a new level of chaos?"  

I answered, "Because we do!"

Every family has a unique story about what number of kids was the hardest to adjust to.  I've commonly heard that 3 or 4 is difficult but after that, not so much.  Now that we've welcomed five, I would have to agree that with baby #4 came the most sudden increase of dishes, laundry, and busy-ness.  But still, the hardest adjustment for me was our first baby.  She was not the typical newborn who ate and slept (which I expected).  She spent much of her first 24 hours crying.  Every feeding was at least 40 minutes long.  I was anemic, and not up to much activity.  I found myself not having time to get myself food, and if I showered, it was through a lot of stress with a screaming baby nearby.  She never wanted to be set down for naps.  She rarely stayed asleep outside of our arms.  She hated the car seat for any length of time.  Stress, stress, stress.  Luckily for her, I was a brand new mom with the aim to do everything right and had all sorts of patience and love for the new little miracle in our lives.  Luckily for me, we got the "hard" baby out of the way first! 


At 2 weeks, Little "O" is a very easy going baby.  He eats a lot quickly, sleeps a lot (through all sorts of noise), and is overwhelmingly cute and content when awake.  Like melt-your-heart, stop-what-you're-doing-to-adore-him cute.  Now when I find myself only eating toast all day, don't shower 'til noon, can't find time to clip fingernails, and let days go by without using the camera -- well, it's just not as much of a surprise as the first time around.  With each subsequent baby, I've learned *more* the value of taking it slow in the first few weeks.  To gaze at my baby and soak him in.  To cuddle, kiss and smell his head.  The tiny-ness only lasts a few moments.  

BrownCowCotton.com
diapers are for newborn skinny legs too!

photo by Elissa

I wish I had photos of Mother's Day.  For me, it was the perfect blend of utopia and reality.  The kids presented me with hand made cards and their Dollar Store picks.  We went to church where moms were honored and prayed for (we need that!).  I took a long nap with my baby.  We went to Washoe Park for our first family of 7 walk (utopia).  The kids scooted or ran blissfully in the summery sunshine.  The sunlight sparkled on Warm Springs Creek while the children were enchanted by wading in ankle deep water, rock throwing, ponds and beaver dams.  By bedtime (reality), we were all tired.  Daughter3 claimed she couldn't walk due to a scraped knee.  Son4 resisted bedtime with arguing, kicking and screaming.  Daughter2 added to the fray by crying about having too many stuffed animals upstairs.  Really?  Mommy's patience ran out long before Daddy's, and so he read them a bedtime story as they all drifted to sleep.  


Still can't believe I didn't take pictures that day.  Or yesterday.  Or line up all 5 of them for a photo, like I've been meaning to do for 2 weeks.  Every surface in our bedroom is piled 2-3 feet high (no exaggeration) with the clothes switching that's going on.  Six laundry loads to catch up from being away; switching from maternity to regular; from winter to summer; from size to size.  There are 6 of us sharing 1 closet and 2 dressers.  Baby's closet is a laundry basket for the 4 weeks we'll all be living in this little house.  We're content and comfortable.  It's home.    

Wonderful birth assistant Elissa adoring Orion, along with Bentley & Jaci!