This is Brent as a four year old...
That would be my toes...I realized in the shower the other day that I can now see them again...
While I was at Costco this Tuesday night, Daddy reported upon my return that Josiah attempted to breastfeed Gracie's bear...and insisted that he did indeed have breasts..."they're right here!"...he was rather disappointed to find out that those were merely "nipples"..."Nipples?"...that's a new word for the vocabulary. Oh dear...
Nursing is quite the favorite pastime around here...the kids could be in the room farthest away from me, but when I sit down to nurse, it seems like they can sense it. They like to lean in, "help me", and sit on every other part of my body...my midwife says that the sounds of the other kids will "soothe" the baby...right now I think that's stretching it just a bit.
This was my first week alone with all three wee ones. The first week I had my mom and Brent, and last week Josiah and Grace were with the in-laws.
Last week seemed like a dream...I was oblivious to a clock, and got to stare at my baby's face for hours...I am so smitten...and since this is #3, I feel so much more relaxed and natural in caring for him...it seems so easy. (quite unlike when Josiah was born) I am so thankful for that precious time to bond with Elijah.
This week hasn't been too bad...perhaps because baby sleeps so much? I was anticipating a much harder road. Elijah has been sleeping for a good five hour stretch and another 3 hour stretch, so that's kind of like getting 8 hours, right?
Right now if you were to ask me if I want to have any more more children, my answer would be "yes, yes, yes!"...(please do not necessarily interpret that as "three" more children)...perhaps we should wait a bit to see if that sticks once #3 starts to disobey.
Right now I think I'm floating on new mommy cloud 9... "Sigh"...=)
Here he is...Elijah Daniel Townsend Rollins...born 3:13am on February 8th...7 lbs, 5 oz, 21 in. long.
I started having some consistent contractions (finally!!) around 11:30pm on Saturday night, went to the Birth Center around 12:30am, and was 4 cm upon arrival. Active labor kicked in pretty soon, and the next time the midwife went to check me (shortly after 3am), I said "I feel like I have to push, I feel like I have to push!"...I got in the tub and after about 5 min of pushing and screaming (I'm still hoarse), little Elijah popped out and was placed on my tummy. I was so relieved that the intensity was over...I always forget that THIS was what I was working towards...I just got to stare and stare still the cord stopped pulsing, then we got out of the tub....3 hours later we came home to some mystified and very excited children (thanks to our friend Amy who slept over!!) and the rest is....
Well, I'm exhausted, my heart is overflowing, and I'm still apprehensive as I wait to see how much milk I'm going to produce. Last night we both got some sleep, which at this point, "some" feels like a whole lot...
The kids are wanting to touch, poke, hold, see, grab, and practically sit on Elijah...which is taking patience on my part, to let them discover him as a real person and not just a doll or the anonymous "Baby Roll" in my tummy...while I try to protect this new little one from being accosted (and injured) by his "loving" siblings. I am so glad that I have help...my mom is still a trooper, dealing with crazy, excited, and "pushing the boundaries" children, helping with the cooking and cleaning, making me Korean Seaweed Soup, and spoiling me rotten...while my dear husband is rubbing my feet, changing tar poopy diapers, dishes and cooking, and protecting me from the middle of the night interruptions from the other kids.
So...thanks for all your prayers, and messages of love and support...we are soaking up these days....so special!!!
No baby yet...sorry to keep you all in such suspense!
My midwife is now officially out of town till the 22nd, so I'm going with a complete stranger to deliver this baby, but hey...things are out of my control! So...we're just hanging in there...getting bigger and enjoying the greatly pronounced baby movements in the belly. My mom is busy working on the final stages of a quilt for Josiah...and also being soooo helpful in keeping the house tidy and letting me get lots of rest.
