Parenthood Adventures: One (long) Month!

Hey Everyone,

Here we are. We have made it to one month. Millie is officially one month old and friends, let me tell you in all honesty. It has NOT been easy. Lets start at the beginning shall we?

When I was in the hospital after having Millie I kept having these headaches. They would not go away with ibuprofen or caffeine. I chalked it up to being sleep deprived from basically being up for the two days previous. I did think it was weird though that ibuprofen wasn't working since that almost always does the trick. Millie was born on Wednesday and by Thursday evening we were home. The next day whenever I would stand up my head just started pounding. I would lie down and it was like my headache was gone. It was so strange. It only got worse though. I would sit up to nurse Millie and all of a sudden my neck would be stiff and my head continued to pound. I would lie back down and the headache was completely gone. Hmm, this is so strange. I couldn't play with the bigger girls. Literally the only thing I did until Monday was sit up to nurse Millie. It's all I could do. I called my doctor on Monday and said this isn't right. Turns out I was having a spinal headache from my epidural. This happens in about 1 in every 100 women. I was that lucky 1%. My doctor said I could either take narcotics with high doses of caffeine OR come in for a blood patch procedure. I opted for the latter. It's basically where they do another epidural, but they insert blood that they take from your arm and inject that into the epidural space. It then creates a patch over the spot where the spinal fluid was leaking. Let me tell you, as soon as this was done my headache was GONE. It was a miracle!!

Thankfully we got through that obstacle. Millie started off nursing great and still does for that matter. However about one or two weeks in it seemed and still does that if she isn't eating or sleeping (mostly on me) she is crying and looking like she is in pain. I'm thinking it is gas, so I have given up dairy. I'm only on day 3, but it isn't so bad. The hardest part is when Millie is upset and my other two girls are fighting, which has been happening A LOT lately. Any tips are definitely welcome. I'm talking if they are in the same room, they are most likely fighting, hitting each other, or running to me to tell me that so and so hit them. It is exhausting friends. I've been praying like crazy that God would meet me in this really hard spot right now. I want to enjoy my kids, but sometimes it isn't that simple. Sometimes parenting isn't always fun, but I'm thankful for the good moments that God has shown me. There have been plenty of those too!

Millie:
So, Millie is one month. She is a pretty good sleeper. She wakes up 2-3 times a night and sometimes just depends on how gassy she is. She has started smiling socially and it is the sweetest thing. She has also started cooing and it's the most peaceful sound around. I can't get enough of it. She is great at eating and is growing like a weed. She reminds me SO much of Ruby as a baby. She makes the same sounds that Ruby would make while nursing. She has the same temperament as Ruby had. If you could, please pray with us though that giving up dairy (for me) and whatever else that she would start feeling better! Oh yeah, she also caught her first cold from Stella. Poor girl. Thankfully we have been on top of it with suctioning out her nose.

Stella:
Stella is my easy baby. Especially when it is just her. She will sit and play with toys quietly, read books, and just be content. She loves singing, dancing, and doing ANYTHING that Ruby is doing. She unfortunately has a hard time sharing with Ruby and will often fight over something that I don't even think she truly wants, it's just because Ruby has it. Ruby has been going to pre-school and I have so enjoyed my time with just Stella. She loves Millie and loves to sing to her and pet her head. :)

Ruby:
Ruby has had a lot of changes since Millie being born. About a week after Millie was born, Ruby started Pre-School. She goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-11:30. I'm not going to lie, it has been a Godsend. She LOVES pre-school and I love hearing all that they do. It is a Christian based pre-school and so far we have had a great experience! She also has started going to Awana at our church on Wednesday nights. She is memorizing scripture and it is just so fun. We are really struggling as parents right now though on how to parent Ruby. She is pretty high strung and has been pretty defiant lately. Please pray with us that we would be able to love her well and discipline her in love.

Ben:
Ben has been enjoying teaching this year. This quarter he is teaching Physical Education, Physics, and Auto. He is SUCH an incredible daddy. He often comes home to chaos and sometimes all of his ladies in tears. Yes, ALL of his ladies. He is so great about taking the older two and doing fun things with them while I walk with Millie or while I'm feeding her. Ben is a pretty quiet guy, but he is one of the biggest blessings in my life and in my girls life. I'm so thankful that he chooses to be present with us. He could be doing MANY other things, but he chooses us. Thank you, Ben!

Me:
I'm hanging in there. I don't want to sound so Debbie downer, because there has been so many blessings this past month, but I would be lying if I told you it was easy. Having three babies who are three and under is not easy. I would not change what I'm doing for a second. I love being a mom. I love staying at home with them and seeing them grow. I love getting to pray with them and for them on a daily basis. I can tell you though friends that without the Lord, I have NO clue what I would be doing right now. God always shows up in the good times and the hard times. He is my refuge and strength! I also just want to say how thankful I am for my mom as well. She has spent countless hours at my house helping out. Thanks, mom! We are all praying that the next month goes smoothly! Thanks for reading!