Our New Normal

Well, I successfully have a "normal" week of being a SAHM of three under my belt. Cheers! (that's me with some real alcohol in a glass, oh yeah!) Last week Dave went back to work and I tried to not be intimidated by our "normal" days at home. It was a week that included a doctor appointment for Ayden, dance class for Kate, taking snacks to school for Kate, a Family Fun Day for her preschool and a visit from my best friends and their families! Might as well jump in head first, right? 

The doctor appointment went well. I had to take Collin along and he did fine. Our doc (Ryan) and his nurse are so wonderful. Ayden is doing great, looks like he could still have some lingering jaundice but nothing to worry about (I'm breastfeeding and apparently that can actually make it hang on a bit). He is gaining! He was 9 lbs. 5 oz at 2 weeks old:)  I was not surprised, I definitely had/have days where I feel like I am feeding him non-stop! 

On our way to the doctor - two weeks old!

Ayden is a great baby. He still prefers to be held but is spending more time in the swing and bassinet which is wonderful. He usually has a long nap in the morning and another in the afternoon, some shorter naps in between. Is awake and alert much more and likes the dim evening light, I think. Loves to look around after supper:) He will get tired for the evening around 9 p.m. and we put him down anywhere between 9-10 p.m. in the bassinet, swaddled, clean and fed and hope for a long stretch! Depending on when he initially goes down, he'll get up around midnight-1 a.m. and/or 3-4 a.m. So, depending on how smart I am...I can get a good amount of sleep there:) From 4 a.m on, it is a little trickier. I struggle getting him happy again in the bassinet. He usually nurses forever and then wants to snuggle, which we will often do until the big kids get up. Then of course, I have him asleep right when it gets crazy in the house and we have to go somewhere. 

Awake and hanging out in the evening

As most people have said, Ayden looks a bit like Kate. Quite a bit like Dave, but very much looks just like Ayden! He is his own self already and I just cannot wait to see his personality really come out. Well, I can wait. I'm not wishing away or rushing anything. We love little newborns and time seems to be marching along too fast as it is. I'll have to put up some pics of all our kiddos as newborns in a post sometime...that could be interesting. 

He will win the award for Most Spit-Up Ever for our Lenninger children. It is just ridiculous right now. I feel like he sometimes is gasping so much when he eats and gets terrible bubbles. He has a sharp cry that means "Burp me! Now!" So, if you visit...wear clothes you don't like, always grab a burp rag and send up a prayer. We have had a couple times where he really was unhappy for an hour or two because of it, which broke my heart, but it is not all the time.

We do many wardrobe changes these days due to spit up. 

He still doesn't love to have his clothes/diaper changed:)
But a little more often, he will be happy to hangout and chill on the changing table,
well, not in this picture:)

He still takes a paci and a bottle! The paci doesn't stay in forever, we usually use it in the car, or when we need to buy a little time before Dave or I are free. The kids love to "help" in this area and try and put it in his mouth. Or ear:) I know this could be something awful to break later, but right now, I'm relieved he takes it occasionally! Dave is thoroughly enjoying getting to feed this baby! He has always wanted to share in this task a bit and obviously, I love that I can get away a little more too! Right now, we are using the Avent Natural bottles that, I think, came free with some purchase from Motherhood Maternity:) I dislike pumping, but I will try to keep it up so that we can have this wonderful option in the future.  

These are only pacis we've tried so far...they are so big!

I'm trying to "wear" him in the various carriers they have. It is hard with such tiny infants as they can't support themselves at all and these things are not so easy to put on! So far, by myself, I haven't got him in there very well and then it ends up just hurting my back. So, I need to keep practicing. He doesn't mind it once we get him in, so I'm hopeful he'll like it going forward. I loved having Collin in the Ergo (he was older) and am excited to have Ayden in there too. 

The "big kids," as I have started calling them, are still doing great. They are helpful and honestly, don't seem to bothered by the time I have to dedicate to Ayden. Humpf.  Especially if Kate is home. What does Collin need me for?! I will say the shenanigans are definitely on the rise, they of course know when I am less mobile (while nursing) and take full advantage. That is probably the hardest thing. They are getting away with more and I seem to be in a slightly defeated mode in that area. I know it will change as my time gets more freed up but endlessly shouting while nursing Ayden doesn't help anyone. This phase will pass...

First day home without Daddy!

Collin always wants to "Hold! Hold baby!"

Monkey see, monkey do.
Oh. and Collin loves this bucket. On his head. All the time.

Kate had dance last week and I got to take her instead of Dave! Dave stayed home with the boys and gave Ayden a bottle (hurray!) and was able to drop her off and run to the grocery store. So far, we are managing this late evening activity pretty well. The only scenario I'm dreading is when Dave is on call and I have to take the boys with. There is a tiny room filled with people to wait in, it doesn't make sense to drop her and go back home and there is no place to play outside, even if the weather was nice. Our usual babysitters are her dance teacher and her daughters - so that doesn't work! Anyway, dance only goes through April, so not too much longer. 

Kate was supposed to bring snack last Thursday and I of course made/brought too much and she couldn't handle it all by herself. Which means that we had to park and get all four of us into the school. In winter. I ended up snapping Ayden and his car seat into the stroller, putting the snack on the bottom of the stroller and carrying Collin. Yes, I'm sure everyone loved having us roll through the elementary hallways that morning. Sorry! Ayden wasn't too happy and I couldn't take him out or do much of anything, so we had a screaming infant and that brought all the teachers/people we know running. Oh, the baby! Oh, can we see him?! ...Oh my goodness, no! But of course, we tried to show him off a bit. I kept saying that I would bring him in later in the month for "Show and Tell" (and hopefully without Collin). Then Collin started throwing a fit because he always wants to stay in her classroom. So that was fun dragging them both out of there. 

They are too darn cute together. Most of the time!

I drove down to Tanger in the Dells (outlet) to use up some "free" money I had at Carters. I didn't want it to expire! The drive went fine. Getting us into the outlet went okay. It was, of course, incredibly cold and I shouldn't have done a non-essential trip with small children, but I was going to ONE store and then home. After putting Collin in a special car stroller and carrying Ayden in the car seat the whole length of the outlet. Carters was closed. I almost cried. Collin did. There were those stupid kiddy rides right there and he wanted on them. There was no way Ayden deserved to sit in the cold while Collin sat on a frozen snowmobile and made car sounds. The Lord then looked down and smiled upon me, the woman in Carters came out and let us in the store. It was 15-20 minutes before they were supposed to open. The boys did great in the store, surprisingly. I made a few quick purchases, used my coupons and Carter's cash and left feeling good! It was a long walk back to the car, but I thanked the boys, turned on a DVD for Collin and sat and nursed Ayden in the back of the van. Then a Starbucks coffee for the ride home. I  am amazing at life!! Well, at least I think that during very small and specific moments in the day. There are equal points when I think I am epically failing (is that a word?). So it totally balances out to ....I'm doing alright. I think.   :) 

Man, he loves to sleep on your chest like this. Love it:)

On certain Fridays, including last Friday, Kate's 4K does a "Family Fun Day" for a couple hours. It is completely optional, the families can come and do art, have a snack, see what they are doing in the classroom, etc. I've only made it to the first one, but it is really fun to see Kate show off her stuff and make connections with things she has been telling us:) and to chat with her teacher and meet the other parents/kids/families. I really did think we might go and Kate did want us to. But with company arriving and it being at 9 a.m., I wasn't sure. And sure enough, I talked about it with Kate just didn't even attempt it. It was the right call. Maybe next time. 

Other thoughts these days...I have some strange, strong desire to bake. I keep coming up with recipes, wanting to make things myself (ex: Kate's snack) when I could clearly purchase it and save the effort. I'm not sure why. I'm trying to channel it into something healthy because there is no good reason to keep sweets around the house when Dave and I are looking to shed some pounds. Ugh. I really need to channel it into some healthy cooking/baking. I have also been just ravenous lately. I don't remember nursing a newborn making me quite this hungry the previous times, but I'm just constantly starving. (ps - the next time you visit, we will have some yummy maple oat nut scones...mmmm. There are four of them on the counter right now, staring at me. This is not good:) 

I seem to be keeping up with laundry. Probably because we need so many clean burp rags and our clothes are taking a beating! A load or two most days is keeping the piles at bay. For now. Though it does get hard when you turn off a machine (like right now) to keep from waking your sons. Why are my machines louder than jet engines?! Between that and the delivery trucks causing Abby to bark, I'm going to go insane. 

Ayden!

I am still pretty emotional. Not sure how long these pregnancy/post-partum hormones hang around. But I get pretty overwhelmed with happiness when I look at my three kids or when Dave is playing with them/doting on them/doing the dishes (that makes all women get super happy. Write that down.:) I won't pretend I don't get cranky or unreasonable either... Dave is navigating my emotions pretty well and being a very good and helpful hubby/daddy. It is definitely better the third time around. We were much more high strung and irritable when we brought Kate home, that is for sure:) We are certainly not cocky, but we are rather laid back and confident enough with our little family of five right now!

Well? I guess that is a pretty good summary of our life last week. Ayden is now 3 weeks old! I'm not intimidated by managing the days with the kids. I am always eager for Dave to come home. I am completely over winter and want spring. I know I can do what I need to do, but it just takes a ton of planning and starting roughly 2 hours before I think I need to. 

Some boots in the nursery:)

Better go, the boys have been sleeping a long time, one or both will be up any minute! BTW, happiness is when both your boys sleep at the same time:)

(we had our beloved Swobodas and Petersons up for a visit last week too! That post coming next...)