Adjusting

One of the AWESOME parts of having a baby is the yummy meals people bring you - truly such a blessing. My friend Bethany (who, BTW is about to be my neighbor - can't.believe.it!) organized meals for a month for us. Pure awesomeness. :)

Last night a girl from my Bible study and her husband brought us dinner and Jason discussed something along the lines of : "You know, when we had Noah, he was so easy and I almost felt bad when people brought us meals cause I thought 'We can cook and go to the store and all...'. But now, between trying to love and entertain toddlers while holding a needy newborn, and working long hours the month of June...I'm pretty sure we could manage to trow a hot dog or sandwich on the table for the boys, but I'm not sure we (meaning Jason and I) would even eat!"
I laughed cause he was right. Just the night before it was 10:00pm and we realized we had not eaten anything and we bantered back and forth on who wold drive to the closest fast food place by our house...or if that was even worth it. :)

So we have always appreciated these awesome meals in the past, but we are incredibly blessed and grateful this time around in a whole new way so thank you.
In the midst of the joys of a sweet new baby in the house, Jason and I took time the other day to discuss the trials so we can better enjoy the blessings. I think the struggles crept up on us because we had the "been there/done that" mentality.

As Jason said to me the other day "We've been winging it, but I think it's time for a gameplan here...". Ha. So we did. We discussed ways to get more effective sleep, help Lincoln and Noah be more entertained, and increase our patience with the kids.
I know the latter only comes from the Holy Spirit so instead of nighttime, my seeking of the Lord now comes first thing in the morning while I'm nursing Adelynn. :)

And as far as entertaining the kids (mainly Lincoln) more, I think I'm going to try going out more this week and meeting up with friends - part in moral support for me and part in letting him change up his environment and be around his buddies. So we have some outings in place and sweet friends to do them with.
So as a disclaimer (Cause sometimes I can sound different than I really feel on here), we're not losing it or anything! :) This is just challenging and I think more so than we thought or were prepared for, and like any new major transitions - we're in the process of working out the kinks.

So here's to the new adjustment and a big thanks to those that are walking with us along the way! :)
And did I mention Bethany is moving down the street in a few days????? Oh.my.goodness. That mean 2 of my closest friends will have moved down the street in the past handful of months. Amazing. Keep 'em coming.

(And just because he makes me smile and laugh so much lately):

Effortlessly

The common question lately..."So how's it going??"
Some have made additional comments of how I seem to be dealing with the new transition "effortlessly"...let me assure you, not-so-much (my husband would attest). :)
Now I'm emotionally ok (most of the time) and am not having nervous breakdowns or walking around in a comatose state, but this definitely takes effort.

For instance, we got a new sectional recently and I needed to get some decorative things to match the new living room. Pre- 3 kids, I would load up the car with no question and hit the shops. And I did that yesterday, only once we rolled into the Gordman's parking lot, I realized: "Oh - this is my first time to take all three kids out shopping."

And then I hesitated wondering if I was really up for hitting 3 stores looking for home decor with all 3 kids.

Then I remembered a blog post I had recently read of a girl who took all her youngins' out in public and got compliment after compliment of "wow your kids are all so well-behaved!" And I thought, hey - I could be that girl, too, writing that blogpost..."

***We can all LAUGH at me now***

Store number one was fine. A breeze. Except I had to carry everything I bought because the cart was full of kids. But we made it.

Store #2? I should have quit while I was ahead because Lincoln (of all kids) had a holy terror meltdown when I didn't let him get his way on something. And when I say meltdown, I mean this escalated into something I have NEVER seen from him (I actually started crying at one point on the home it was that bad). He was so bad (yes, we left the store), that Adelynn started crying and wailing because I think the noise scared her.

So when we checked out, did I get the "Wow! You're kids are so well behaved!"

No. I got "Oh my gosh honey, you have SO much patience."

Yup. So there you have it. Effortlessly. Right? :)

But honestly that was one day - that never really got better, but hey. We have those. The rest have actually been pretty good.

So how's she doing?

* Has gained all her weight back
* Little belly button stub fell off
* Still nursing every 2-3 hours and gets about 2 bottles of formula during the day
* Some nights will sleep for 4-5 hour stretches, others (last night) wakes up every 2-3
* Grunts and makes loud noises while she sleeps at night. We finally moved her cradle swing to the far end of the room so we can't hear it as much :)
* Not a huge fan of the car but not near as bad as Noah was.
* Has been taking little cat naps in the morning and a really long one in the afternoon while boys sleep which has been FANTASTIC

How am I doing?

* I get exhausted come 7:00pm. :) If I wasn't nursing, I might go to bed at that time.
* I lost all but 10lbs after the first week, but am still 10lbs out here at week two.
* I'm a little nervous about the upcoming month. Jason has to work a ton and will be gone out of town one week as well. Thinking about it makes me wanna go into that comatose state I referred to earlier.
* I am feeling super blessed, in the midst of the craziness to be mommy to these 3 crazy kids. :)

Ven Sterling

My sweet baby nephew Ven was born 18 days before Adelynn. Last night we went over to my parents house for dinner and we snapped a few shots of the cutie. He is a doll! And he is so laid back...I think I've heard him whimper once. :)
His hair is awesome. We joke that he has more hair than both of his parents - ha.
So once again, since I can't post these for my sis on FB right now, here they are (there are still some left, but these will do for now).

Memorial Weekend

While we stayed home with Adelynn last week, Jason's parents graciously and joyfully took the boys for an entire week! They treated it as a vacation for them and had fun things planned every single day. They were troopers and seemed to have more energy than Jason and I can even exert! They did the zoo, parks, swimming pools, Chuck E. Cheese, fishing, bikes, eating out, camping in tents in their backyard, and even built a "water park" for them in their backyard to enjoy during their stay.
Super fun.
I'm so grateful they have family in their lives that love them so much and thoroughly enjoy spending so much time with them!

When they brought them back, Jason's brother and his family came up and we all enjoyed Memorial weekend together.

I have tried posting these pictures to facebook but I have not been able to post pictures to the site for 3 days now??? Frustrating (and if anyone knows how to fix this, help would be appreciated).

Return of the Rascals

My little rascals came back this weekend. :) The laundry has since quadrupled again, the noise level has returned to a ridiculously high volume, and the hugs, kisses, and super funny phrases of toddlers have filled the house again.

I've thoroughly enjoyed quiet, "down" time with Jason and Adelynn this past week, but am anxious to see how this whole "3 under 3" business is going to work itself out - starting tomorrow when Jason goes back to work.

I'll keep ya posted. :)

One Week

Today marks one week for welcoming Ms. Adelynn into our lives. So how's it going? Pretty good this week, but the boys come back tomorrow so I might have a different response come next Friday. :)

But here's where my "this is your baby book, Adelynn" post comes in so feel free to just look at her cute little pictures and skip the specifics:

* I had decided I was not going to nurse once I left the hospital, and I didn't for 2 days. She had formula exclusively. Then my milk came in (which never really came in force - if at all, honestly, with Lincoln, and with Noah I took supplements like mad to get it there). I don't know if it's because I said "I'm not nursing this time" or because I wasn't stressed and anal about it like I was with Lincoln, or just the sheer humor and irony of it all, but I am for the first time with three pregnancies finally producing a lot. I got kind of excited because I've never experienced this with ease, so I nursed her one night and have been ever since. So my best laid plans got thwarted and I'm actually liking it.

* She eats every 2-3 hours, and now that I'm not in pain anymore, we started giving her bottles at night. I feed her around midnight, then she'll sleep for about 4 hours, get a bottle, then I will feed her in early morning.

* With the alarm clock boys being gone, we have been sleeping in until about 10:00 (one day it was closer to noon) and this has been awesome.

* She is not a huge fan of the passy but still take sit every now and then.

* So far she is a great napper, but I know she is still in her sleepy phase.

* She has plenty of awake time and is super alert to her surroundings when she is awake. When she was first born at 5:00pm, she was WIDE AWAKE and alert until about 11:00pm when she finally went to sleep. It was crazy!

* She has been on many outings with Jason and I this week so far. We've done tons of errands, gone to a movie even (she never woke up), and been to lunches and she's done great. She's 50/50 on car rides, but will typically fall asleep.

* She poops a lot. At least once after every feeding, but sometimes twice between feedings.

* She naps in her swing and our arms (her favorite), and sleeps on her boppy pillow in between us right now...mainly for convenience. We will move her probably around 2 months when we work at dropping night time feedings like we did Noah.

Right now we have somewhat of a routine but I have tried not to get anything in too much of one because I know life is about to CHANGE when the boys come back. I'll be honest I'm super excited to see them but a little nervous how all this "3 under 3" business is going to work!

She's Here!

Sooooo we had a baby about 40 hours ago! But those that read this blog probably already knew that. :) Everything went super smooth, it was all fast and problem-free, and everyone is doing great! Seriously THANK YOU to all of you who have left sweet comments, texts, calls, visits, and lifted us up in prayer through this journey. It's been a rocky pregnancy from start to finish and our family has been on one heck of an emotional/spiritual/physical roller coaster throughout it, but in the end, God remains faithful to provide and we experienced the indescribably JOY of welcoming our sweet baby Adelynn Faith into our earthly little family a few days ago.
I have a handful of things I could talk about that stood out over these past few days including some actual L/D specifics and the "Story" per say, Lincoln and Noah's response (especially Lincoln's - we were blown away with how smitten he is!), glimpses of little Adelynn and what we are learning about her, and of course some pictures. :)
But for now I'll leave you with a "How you know it's your third child" story.

So we were packed and ready to leave exactly 24 hours from her being born. We put her in the back, I jumped in front, and we jetted off to grab my prescriptions. Did we then start the 30 min trek home?
No.
We were hungry and so were my parents, so we met them for dinner at none other than the West Siloam Casino Buffet.
Yes. I just admitted that Adelynn's first stop home from the hospital was there.
The boys have gone to stay with Jason's parents for the week on their own little "vacation" and Jason and I spent about 20 minutes yesterday planning all the things were going to do this week while they are gone.
We have a matinee of Avengers planned (cause Adelynn will basically just sleep through it and if not, I'll feed her and she will), talked about cooking out steaks and having some friends over, meeting other friends for lunch we haven't connected with in a while, how now would be a good time to get some things on our Expedition fixed since the boys were away, some date nights, and lots of naps and cuddles in between. It's so funny because having an infant while the boys are away kind of feels like a little vacation to us too.
I'll let you know if we're ignorant in this. :)
Now I'm going to go steal my baby girl from her daddy. :) Yall have a good weekend!