Six weeks as a family of six

I guess the most notable thing about being a family of six (at least notable to you, if you're reading this, and really probably no one is anymore...) is that I have NO time to blog.  I've been keeping hasty little notes on my phone in a vain attempt to not forget all the little unforgettable moments that come with a new baby, and telling myself that I will blog about all of them - eventually.

All that to say that it is quite likely this will be the last blog post my corner of the internet will see, at least for quite a long time.

But for now, let's catch up, shall we?



After days and days and days of being VERY PREGNANT,
I finally went into labor at 41 weeks and 4 days.  And for all that I knew the statistics and the normality of being so-called-"late", and even though I could tell myself what I always tell my clients ("your body and your baby know exactly when to go into labor") it sure felt like I would be pregnant forever.











 Anyway.  Some of the labor was pretty good,













and some not so great. Transition lasted way too long (it usually does, from the mama's perspective!) and Timothy's shoulders got stuck on the way out. Ouch.














 But at the end, there was a baby. :)

The kids were there for the birth, too, which was pretty special.  I'm glad we planned it that way.













I had the best midwife in the whole world.  Sue has helped me birth three of our four kids!


And we had wonderful helpers: Lani was my doula, and Sean and Carolyn were caregivers for the older boys during my labor.  We have good, good friends and I have been so grateful for all of them, not only during the birth but in the days leading up to them (Kristen, thank you for all the time in the pool!) and afterward (people bringing meals and coming over to clean and/or play with the kids).  Thank you to all of you: your gifts have blessed us!






































Jonathan, Thomas, and Josiah have been amazing big brothers.  They love having a new addition to the family! 

One of the early days after Timothy's birth, he started fussing and Josiah came barreling into our bedroom crying "Oh, he NEEDS me!!"















Timothy has been a remarkably laid back baby since birth.  He manages to sleep through the very loud chaos of three older brothers in a house with wood floors!  (Seriously, the kids sound like baby elephants tromping around.) At night he sleeps with Gabe and me, and I have been pleasantly surprised at how much sleep I actually get.












He had his first bath when he was about 2 weeks old.  Turns out he likes the water!  Jonathan thinks this makes sense, seeing as he's been "swimming" for the previous nine months.














At four weeks old he started giving us real smiles.  There is nothing as sweet as a baby smiling back at you.  Around the same time he finally figured out how to grip with his hands.  Most of the time babies come out with strong grasping reflexes, but Timothy really didn't.  He never held onto our fingers or grabbed my hair or anything like that.  So it was extra sweet when the first thing he did after learning to grasp was to put his arms around my neck and grab my shoulders while being burped.  It's a baby hug! :)

At five weeks he outgrew all the 0-3 baby clothes that we'd been given (the newborn size never fit at all!)  He also realized that it was nicer to be held than not, and I got to start using the sling much more frequently.  Smart little baby!

Which brings us to the present, in which he found his thumb and sucked it for the first time, and is starting to coo at me.  Sometimes when he's nursing he'll pull away for a minute, smile, coo, and then nuzzle back to nursing.  As Sarah would say, love love love.




I do love these handsome boys of mine.