1 Month Already!

One month!! Fast fast fast! It's been busy and great and I'm just saokin it in. Here's a series of photos from the last month with Brooks. Upon arriving home from the hospital, Carter and Leah got to meet him, which went so well. Elliot was napping so he met him later that afternoon. They weren't able to come to the hospital b/c kids couldn't visit at that time. I'm pretty sure they have lifted the policy since, which should be nice for all you prego moms.

I had been gone since Saturday night since I went into labor in the middle of the night. Jeremy picked me up mid-day Tuesday. When we arrived, they asked a million questions!!!! It was non-stop for a good half hour. The things they thought of were incredible. Of course none are coming to mind at the moment, but we do have some video and I'll try to load it on youtube soon.

One thing I keep noticing....most of our pictures include a laundry basket in the background, just part of the decor lately. Getting it washed is not so bad. It's finding time to put it all away. Jeremy kept up while I was in the hospital. Then, for the past two and half weeks, we've been passing the stomach bug around our house, which obviously means tons of laundry. Leah got it first, then a week later, Carter came down with it. Then a week later, Jeremy, Elliot and I all had it at the same time. It was brutal!!! Thankfully, Brooks hasn't gotten it. I hope no one reading this had it but I heard it's been pretty widespread. My brother and his family all had it in SC the same time as Carter. I think it was 5 of the kids and Kelly that had it at once. That's a lot of cleanup!!!

I had help with the driving the first week home. My mom and Jeremy's mom took them to school and back. I think I was in the house for a week straight, which was pretty tedious. However, it was nice not having to load Brooks in and out of the car with the frigid temps and snow. This is our first winter baby. Cabin fever is definitely setting in. I just want to get out for a walk. The most fresh air he's had is back and forth to the car through the parking lot. I thought by now things would thaw out, but it just continues to dump snow outside. At least the older kids can sledride, but for Brooks and I, it's just watching from the window. Hopefully, within the next few weeks, the weather will break.

After the first week home, we started getting back into a routine. I mostly just head to pre-school and back every day but Fridays. It can get a bit rushed due to all the loading and unloading. Carter and Leah can buckle themselves which is awesome and the mini-van with the auto doors is also a time saver. Speaking of which, those Sienna commercials are cracking me up. I keep seeing them while watching the olympics. I do love the minivan, although if you don't have one the commercial is probably pretty annoying and cheesy! Anybody else seen those?

Fridays are our day at home. Usually, the kids just want to stay in or play in the snow. I did do the grocery store last Friday with all four kids. Thank goodness for the playroom, which Leah and Carter are old enough to hang out in. They even do crafts...woo hoo! So, it's only toteing two through the store. Elliot remembers that they give out cookies at the bakery so we head there first. Keeps him occupied through at least part of the store. And, since it's a small town, we usually run into two or three people we know. With a new baby, add in the some peekers and it could be quite a trip. I can't believe I just wrote an entire paragraph about the grocery. From the outside looking in, our lives probably seem pretty monotonous and uneventful for now, but I promise, there's rarely a dull moment. Oh, we did do the post office that day too...had to get the stamps for his announcements.

When there is a dull moment, I try to keep it in mind. Mostly, I hold Brooks, because I know now that these early months when he will sleep peacefully on my chest through a nap will be gone so fast. I just love snuggling with him. I love the smells, even the spit-up. How crazy is that! I remember with Carter, I worried so much about holding him too much, thinking he'd never sleep on his own. Now, the only reason I put Brooks down is because I need to help one of the other kids and need both hands. We are trying to do better with the night sleep though. I'd like to get him into his crib through the night but so far he'll only do that first stretch of sleep on his own. It's anywhere between one and five hours, but average is probably 3. At least he nurses and goes right back to sleep. When we first got home, he would consistently wake up for an hour and a half around 3 or 4am. That's getting better already.

Leah wanted to make sure he was warm and was covering him up here. She often brings me blankets and likes to cover him in the swing or bouncy.

Carter, holding him for the first time.

Big sister, Leah

Madeleine, my niece came with her mom, Barb the first night. My brother, Joe was out of town.

Cousin, Kate with Brooks

Aunt Barbara and Brooks. She's also his Godmother. We're planning the baptism for the 21st.

Jeremy's grandma came over a few days later. Yes, that's a laundry basket behind her...a different load though.

This is his one week picture while relaxing in his swing. It's also the announcement pic.

First bath. His umbilical cord fell off at around Day 10

Elliot loves the bouncy, probably even more than Brooks.

Week 2

Week 3

Sweet dreams

Sleeping with Dad

Our nephew Hayden, meeting Brooks

Trying out the bottle. He's been doing ok with it, but doesn't take a lot. He'll drink maybe a half ounce and gets bored. Jeremy and I have somewhere to go on the 9th so he has to take the bottle by then!

We are so blessed to have some really wonderful friends through school and church. Several people have delivered meals to us, which is huge!! Dinner time can be so hard. The kids are restless and hungry and crabby. Not having to worry about dinner prep is such a load off. I can pay better attention to them during that time or sit and feed Brooks. He usually cluster feeds in the evening, which makes it hard to put him down. Between delivered meals and leftovers, we've been really spoiled. This does mean slower weight loss due to the fact that most meals include brownies or cookies! Jeremy keeps joking, "Why are people bringing us meals? They're so nice to us and I'm not that nice of a guy!"

This is Francie from church. She delivered a meal and held Brooks for a bit. He fell asleep on her right away.

One Month - Feb 24th