Saturday, July 27, 2013

Life with Emery; week 1

Day 1: Jerad and I woke up Friday morning in our own bed, with this sweet little lady sleeping between us. She still didn't have a name. We went back and forth on a few, and finally settled on "Harper Lane Hutchinson."


About 5 minutes later Marshall woke up and came in our room. He was sooo excited to meet his baby sister. Since she was born while he and Miller were sleeping, he had no idea. He kept saying "thank you! thank you! thank you!" When Jerad told him her name, he automatically said "no, that's baby Emery!" And even though Jerad had turned down the same name multiple times, hearing it come out in Marshall's sweet little voice changed his mind and she became "Emery Harper Hutchinson."


Miller woke up a few minutes later and was a little more reserved about meeting "da bay-bee." Jerad asked if he wanted to hold her and he kept saying "no! bay-bee!"





I changed her clothes and snapped this picture that looks EXACTLY like baby Miller (minus the pink attire).
 

Marshall just wanted to hold and kiss her and snuggle in bed has been amazingly sweet to her ever since.





Jerad entertained the boys and did all the cooking and chores while I spent the day in bed sleeping, nursing, and changing the baby.

Day 2: Saturday I woke up to this cute little face looking at me:


Jerad had a small little project to finish up so he left for a few hours while I held down the fort alone. I made the kids an easy lunch, sent them to their rooms a little earlier than normal to nap, then climbed back in bed and enjoyed every minute of baby snuggles. Now that I know how fleeting this time is, I'm trying to relish it as much as possible.


Miller woke up from his nap early (of course), and Jerad wasn't home yet, so we went downstairs and he got brave enough to get semi close to "da bay-bee."




This picture cracks me up!


Ready for bed:


Day 3:


My sister and brother in law came to visit from Santa Barbara and we all ate dinner at my parent's house.


Day 4: The boys like to "share" their toys.


We also set up the birth pol in the back yard. The boys were a little stoked.


Jerad went back to work semi regularly this day, which was fine with me. I was getting a little stir crazy with so much "relaxing." It wasn't a big deal because both the boys nap at the same time, and newborns sleep a LOT so I was still able to rest.


This face really looks like baby Marshall:


Marshall at about the same age:


Day 5:


Day 6: In the morning Jerad's aunt Kanda and Uncle Mark came to meet Emery and brought some presents for the kids. Jerad and Mark took the boys up the street to see the cattle drive going by for the fair. Marshall is STILL talking about it! This was the first day Jerad worked late and I had to do the bedtime routine solo, it went great. Marshall doesn't drink a bottle anymore, but thought it was hilarious when he stole Miller's:



Day 7: This was a big day for us! The first day I took all three kids out by myself. I had everyone fed and showered and dressed and ready to go out the door by 9:30am. I loaded the boys in the car and right as I went to put Emery in she pooped. So I changed her... them she decided she was starving (despite having eaten 30 min prior). After nursing, she pooped again. Somehow I had blocked out this part of having an infant. Anyways, 30 minutes later we were once again ready to go. The boys really needed haircuts so I decided to take them to the Kid's Cuts place we usually go to. Its not busy, and there are toys to keep them occupied. They were closed. So we went to Supercuts, which had a 1 hour wait. I contemplated just going home because, clearly, the Universe was conspiring against me, but decided to try Great Clips. Luckily they got us right in, and Emery slept in the sling on my chest the whole time:



My mom met us there and once Marshall was done she took him to the movies. Miller and I took Emery for her first Target trip, then home for naps.


When Jerad got home that evening, we took the kids to story-time at the Library. Once a month they have a special pajama story time with puppets and it's really a blast. Since the fair is going on they have shuttle buses. The kids LOVE buses, so we took them to the library.


Emery once again, slept in the sling:




After story time was over, we walked around downtown for a little bit before taking the buses home.


Overall, the first week went incredibly well. Since its the third time around, I feel like I've got the newborn thing down and in reality, it's the toddler and the preschooler that are the hard part. For a few days she was nursing every 30 min to an hour ALL NIGHT, but has fallen into an every two hour routine which is much more manageable. Obviously I don't enjoy waking up so frequently, but since she's in bed with us I can just nurse her laying down without having to really wake up. Around day 3 the nursing started getting super painful and I was getting cracked/bleeding nipples which freaked me out since that was the beginning of all my problems with Marshall, but they cleared up and by day 7 there was no more pain.

Since Emery's still in the sleepy newborn phase and the boys are on the same nap/sleep schedule I can usually manage both a nap and going to bed early every day so I feel pretty well rested. Even though Jerad basically went right back to work, he's been a huge help and has been scheduling jobs a little later than normal so that he's here to help with the morning routine... and bring me coffee.

Being home with all three kids has been a breeze this time around. Somehow it seems easier than when it was just 2. Or even just 1. For the most part, as long as Emery is being held, she's happy. Luckily by this point I've mastered holding a baby while cooking/cleaning/helping toddlers. Marshall is in love with Emery, and Miller just ignores her for the most part. It doesn't seem like he doesn't like her, he's just not old enough to understand or care yet. Once she starts being able to grab his toys he'll probably pay more attention to her.

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