I wish I was a grown up

My darling six-year-old daughter is so enthralled with her new baby brother that she wants to hold him every chance she gets. She can hardly wait for me to finish feeding him before she gets a chance to hold him again.

Being a big sister for the second time has really brought out the best in her sweet little personality. She is suddenly more helpful, more polite, and more considerate. The effects of this are spilling over into her behavior with her 3-year-old brother too. It's wonderful! (I feel like I need to knock on wood just typing out the words so I don't jinx it.)

I had to hold back a chuckle the other day when she said one of the cutest things. She was holding baby Ryan on her lap when she looked at me with her big brown eyes, a serious expression on her face.

"Mama, I wish I was a grown up so that he could be my baby," she said wistfully.

Ha! I know she really thinks that's true but if only she knew how much work and stress she'll have when she's a grown up and how much she'll wish for the carefree days of childhood again... Laundry, cooking, grocery shopping, cleaning, work, bills, etc. (Do I need to go on?) Then again, that's my grown up perspective and I don't really remember how it feels to be six-years-old.

I gently reminded her that if Ryan was her baby she would have to change his poopy diapers and wake up with him at night. She really thought about that for a while. Maybe being the big sister is enough for now after all.

Welcoming home new baby

Our family was blessed with the arrival of our third child, Ryan Thomas, on March 7th. Now that he's four days old I feel like he's been here forever. How did we ever live without this sweet little guy?

He was born at 4:40 pm, after only 4 fours of labor (and a few difficulties with false labor, see False Labor, Nausea, Incorrect Due Date). He is 7lbs. 7oz. and 20 3/4 inches of pure perfection!

We're all adjusting well to our new family member. Emily and Mason love their little brother so much already. They both cover him with kisses and gentle hugs. Emily's best quote came yesterday when she was holding him. She said wistfully, "I wish I was a grown-up so he could be my baby." 

Mason has been doing great with his big brother role too. Mason wants to hold him a lot just like Emily but his attention span is much shorter. After about 30 seconds he says, "Okay, that's enough. My arms are tired." 

I think that the age difference between the kids is nearly ideal with Mason being almost 4 and Emily being 6 1/2 years old. I hope that the lovey dovey stuff continues for a long time. It's hard to imagine any sibling rivalry but I won't worry about that yet. 

It's been interesting trying to remember all of the newborn care stuff. You'd think that I'd have it down pat by the third time. I'm keeping track of his feedings (at least every three hours), working on helping him get the hang of nursing, and changing lots of little tiny diapers. Thankfully "Grammy" has been here to take care of the big kids while I'm getting used to being a mom to a newborn. Their other grandparents are coming to help next week too. We're so lucky to have wonderful parents.

That would be my number one tip for new moms: find someone who can help you the first week or two. Sometimes moms have trouble letting go of control and asking for help, but it's so incredibly necessary at this time that it's not even funny.

Having a new baby is wonderful, overwhelming, and exciting all at once. It really makes you stop and take time to think about your life and your family. We're enjoying these first few days with Ryan and I'll keep you all posted on any new developments. 

Welcome Baby Ryan!

Oh Boy a Bunk Bed!

My two wonderful kiddos are enjoying a rite of passage for many siblings: sharing a bunk bed. We spent most of the day on Sunday shopping for the bed and Thursday afternoon when the big furniture truck pulled up in front of the house you would think that Santa Claus himself had just parked his sleigh outside. The kids were overjoyed with excitement. Eddy the furniture delivery guy was their hero.

We did some rearranging in Emily's room to make room for the bunk bed so that the big kids can share her room, freeing up Mason's room for their little brother. A few days ago Daddy put the crib up in Mason's (now the baby's) room. With the big kids tucked into their new shared room for the first time, I'm contemplating the fact that this is the first of many big changes to come in the near future.

Keep your fingers crossed that the first night of the new co-sleeping arrangements goes well for the kids!