Coming home as a family of 5

Technically we were and still are a family of 8, since we still have our 3 foster children.  And all 5 of the other kids were extremely excited to have Noah home.  The three girls were assuming their roles as little mommies and all fought over who held Noah next.

This is one of my favorite pictures, because it is so indicative of how much they were RIGHT THERE under me at all times.


And of course we had to get some pictures of him in his Auburn attire



Adjusting back to life with a newborn (plus 5 kids) was challenging, but I still think it was so much easier than life with twin premies.  I was amazed in the hospital that no one cared how much he ate, since I had been used to that being a huge issue with the girls.  It was very relaxing.  Also being able to exclusively nurse so far has been wonderful and a lot less stressful for me.

I only had one postpartum breakdown at about a week in - which I think is expected with the constant state of business and decibel level our house stays in.

I did get to enjoy 2 weeks of the girls still being in Mothers Day Out 2 days a week.  So I had 4 glorious days before schools got out for the summer that I got to spend with just me and my little man.  I NEVER have only one child in the house, so this was actually a rare moment for me.

He was a little jaundiced when he left the hospital, but by the time he went for his check up 2 days later his levels were normal.  I was worried because he had not had a BM since he was 2 days old, and at a week we had to give him a little suppository.  We have these issues still with Hannah so I was a little worried, but it has all worked itself out.

Within the first 2 weeks he was sleeping 5-7 hour stretches at night.  I was amazed and also felt a bit guilty at letting him go so long, but his 2 week checkup looked great and he had been gaining weight well.  After that however he started fighting his swaddle and altogether hated being on his back.  (he still hates that at 3 months old).  Still, being able to nurse I actually really enjoyed the quiet moments in the middle of the night and got some good snuggle time with him.

Hannah and Leah proved to be great big sisters with no jealousy issues at all.  I think it is a real blessing to have had him with the girls at this age.  The gap is perfect for me.




I wish I could post some pictures of Noah with the other kids because I have some cute ones, but alas it is not allowed.  They all fell in love.