Thankful Thursday
Well we have been at this family of six thing for over six weeks. I must say…it hasn’t been as hard as I expected. I feel incredibly blessed to have four good sleepers, a husband who does more housework than could ever be expected, and a mother’s helper every Thursday.
Liberty and Nehemiah turned 6 weeks on Tuesday. They are falling into a sleep routine very naturally. As was the case with Elaine & Nolan, they are only waking once to eat at night. They also self-sooth very easily (at least for now) and I can lay them in the crib and let them go to sleep for naps. It hasn’t been a lot of work, and they don’t have colic.
When I weighed the twins last week, Liberty was at 7.4 pounds and Nehemiah at 9 pounds! We are still exclusively breast feeding, but the babies drink well from a bottle so that Ben can help out with some feedings.
I have enjoyed smiles from both of the twins over the last couple of days. And its just hard to beat falling asleep with a baby on your chest. Best.thing.ever.
That being said, thing are not without their challenges. Tuesday was a particularly rough day, especially with Nolan. Whether it is his age, or maybe he is feeling a little left out…he has been a major handful. I’m learning that child rearing is not for the weak of heart!
And they all fall down!
Elaine is a great helper. She often sits between the babies on the couch and helps settle them down while I fix a meal or deal with Nolan. One day I came out to find her with a thumb in each baby’s mouth…but everyone was happy & quiet! Elaine loves to hug and kiss the babies, and she is turning into my little “gopher” when I need something.
Though I often feel torn between which set of kids to attend to first - the bigs or the littles – life is falling back into a bit of a routine. I cooked supper the other night rather than just pulling a freezer meal. We’ve been shopping, and I even took all four kids to the laundry mat (though it was not a pleasant experience).
God has been so good to our family! My four kids ages three and under are a constant reminder to me of my inadequacy and inability to do it all. My house isn’t as clean as I like it, but it’s not a wreck either. On Monday I mopped my bathroom for the first time in over two months!
But I am learning {still} to trust the Lord moment by moment, and often catastrophe by catastrophe, for my strength. Having kids is humbling. You realize all of your shortcomings and sometimes have to apologize to a three year old (especially when she is the one who reminded you of that failure). But kids are so forgiving, and they make me smile with their impressions of life! {If you ask Nolan what a baby says, he will put his finger over his lips and say “shhhhhhh!”…guess he’s tired of being told to be quiet because of the babies!}
In this new season of life God is teaching me to be flexible. I’m realizing that I can’t go for an outing everyday. There will be next year to spend the summer in the water sprinklers. We decided not to cloth diaper the kids – at least for now. I was sad, but it’s a little relieving. I even paid to have my groceries delivered this month – and it was worth every penny.
I’m reminded of Ecclesiastes 3:1 – to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven. I’m thankful for the season I’m in right now, and for the Lord who guides me through each day.
Love the pictures and love what you wrote. Nolan is acting up because he wants attention. He has been de-throned, not by one, but by two! It will take some adjustment on his part. He'll make it, but you might have some more rough days. Hang in there! :o) Sounds to me like you're doing fine. Do what you can, and get naps when you can. That's exactly what you need to do. Good girl! I'm proud of you!
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