Being a mom of 4...

By my lack of blog posts I think it is quite apparent that being a mom of four leaves little time to do the things that I want to do.  I am not going to lie and say that it is all roses and sunshine here... ok, maybe it is sunshine because Seattle is having some absurdly nice May weather, but there are definitely no roses.  It's tough.  This stuff is not for sissies.  I am not going to short change all of the help I have had either.  I am pretty sure I would be curled up in a ball on the floor in my room if it weren't for all my family and friends.  

On any given day it is pretty much a miracle if I get showered AND put make-up on.  My days are filled with feeding, pumping, breaking up fights, cleaning, and shushing a fussy baby in a never ending circle.  Graham, even if he can't see me, has an innate sense when I am feeding Evie and chooses to use this time wisely.  He gets into any and every bad thing he can, or heads straight to his brother and just starts whaling on him.  He's a brut, this kid.  Life as I know it is definitely no longer about me, at least not for the foreseeable future.  But, it's ok.  It's what I signed up for and it's being a mom...

Something I wouldn't, in a million years, give up!

Little Miss Evelyn is giving me a run for my money.  I don't want to say she has colic, but man she is a fussy one.  I have never had a fussy baby.  My mother-in-law will be the first to say I completely lucked out with easy babies, until now.  It really isn't the crying that I mind.  Lord knows I have put up with a fair amount of crying in my day.  But, the helpless feeling that it gives you is unbearable.  I am her mom.  I am supposed to make everything better.  But I can't, it seems.  Sure I can feed her, which provides her relief for that short time, but give her a few minutes and she is back to it.  There are times when the other kids need me and I just have to put her down and let her scream.  I hate it!

Night time is really the only reprieve from the crying.  Although she wakes up frequently to eat she tends to fall right back to sleep... so long as she is snuggled into me (much to Dan's chagrin).  We have never been and never wanted to be the co-bedding family but when it means that I get some sleep to deal with the day of crying ahead of me, then so be it.  I know that this is going to pass, and when it does we can work on the sleeping arrangements.

The boys, for the most part, have been great about all the crying.  However, Alex did tell me the other day "Mommy, we need to put Evie back in your tummy 'cause she cries too much."  Tyler will try his hardest to console her when there are things that I need to do, like tending to Graham.

And Graham, well he just pokes her in the eye proclaiming "eyes, eyes".

Nonetheless, Evie is a such a joy to have in the family.  At 1 month old she is having more alert times, usually crying unfortunately.  She loves to be snuggled and hates to be put down.  She eats about every 3 hours, but falls asleep quickly during it.  She seems to like to be on the go.  Good thing, seeing how she is number 4.  Like I mentioned above, she spends most of the night in bed with us, with some time spent in the co sleeper.  She is not a huge fan of the swing because that mens she is being put down.  I am trying my hardest to enjoy every single moment with her, even the fussy ones, because I know as well as anyone how fast this time goes.