A Family of Six

Well we've survived the first 4 weeks!  And really they were no where near as bad as I thought they would be.  So how have we all adjusted?

 Christopher is doing so much better than we could have asked for!  I was afraid he would intentionally hurt the babies in retaliation of not getting enough attention, but there is none of that.  He loves these babies.  Whenever he sees them he says, "the babies!"  He will come over to them and point to their nose, eyes, finger, and toes.  He'll give them kisses and help me burp them, then be off on his way.  He loves them, but is not obsessed over them.  I can leave him in the same room with them without being worried he's going to do something to them like I thought would happen.

 Steven is a great big brother, just like I knew he would be.  He wants to help them, but once again is good to leave them alone if I ask him too.  There have been some accounts where he has tried to lift or move one, but I hope that has stopped and will stop once they get bigger.  I think Steven is still getting used to having more of my attention split, but I think that will come more with time.  I have loved him randomly coming to give me a hug, and asking me to carry him places.  It's nice to know he still wants his mom.

 Jacob has been a champ.  He has really stepped up and helped me with all the night feedings.  Lucky for us William and Ryan are pretty good sleepers, they get up once or twice a night.  We have a system down; Jacob changes them while I make bottles, then we feed them while watching a show and 30-45 minutes later we're back in bed.  We average about 6 or 7 cumulative hours of sleep, which is not bad at all.  Unfortunately Jacob's not used to getting up in the middle of the night with out kids, but I tell ya he's a champ and doesn't complain.  He's more tired, but for the most part I think he's doing well.  He's helped me clean and play with the older boys, I couldn't ask for more!

 I'm doing better than I expected as well.  I thought these first few weeks would be filled with me crying a lot and telling Jacob over and over again that I would not be able to handle any more children (this is what happened after Christopher was born.)  Thanks to our family, that have helped out a ton, I'm not that way at all!  It's actually doable.  I had my mom and sister for the first few days after I came home, then Jacob's mom stayed with me during the day for the next 2 weeks and the last week and a half I've been going solo.  With Susan (Jacob's mom) coming twice a week for a couple hours, so I can have a date with one of the older boys going grocery shopping, going to the park and library.  I'm able to clean up the house some, do laundry, and make something for dinner (though I'm still just using the freezer meals I cooked before, so when those run out we'll see how I do).  All of these things were impossible I thought.  I'm also feeling really good physically, it's been a while since I took pain medication and I actually don't feel as tired.  I still need a nap don't get me wrong, but everything is going a lot better than I could have expected!  I honestly don't know how it's happened that way.

 William is doing great.  This picture was taken a week ago where he weighed 7 lbs 4 oz, a whole pound heavier than he was at birth.  He and Ryan are honestly the best babies!  They eat and sleep and when they are awake they are content to just sit and look around.  They are also doing great to go to sleep by themselves in their crib with only a little help from me.

 Ryan weighed 7 lbs 13 oz here, but now looks even bigger!  Yesterday they had their first tummy time and both were lifting their heads from side to side, I couldn't believe how strong they are!  They are seriously the best babies I could have asked for, and honestly I don't think they can get any cuter.

And if you're wondering how we get around with all of them, yes we do go on family walks with this and attract some attention.  It's a lot easier to push than it looks, I'm actually glad we bought it.  (Jacob had to convince me)