He Smiles!

Time seems to be flying so quickly. I can't believe my little monkey is already a month and two weeks old. And smiling! Soon he will be giggling, and drooling away as he crawls after the other two. I want to hold on to these precious moments when all he does is snuggle, nurse, gaze lovingly into my eyes, and sleep. He is my snuggle monkey and I want to keep him that way! Life with three is definitely an adjustment, more so I am finding then when baby number two was born. Basically, I am out numbered. And Ava is high energy, high need all the time. Elijah has been great as far as letting me tend to the others, as long as I hold him. LOL. He never wants to be out down. I am slowly trying to get him use to self soothing (that may scare some), but what I mean is that if he is really really really tired and he is changed and fed, but just won't close his eyes- I will lay him down and slowly walk out of the room. If he cried for longer than like 2 seconds, I go back in, rock him a bit, and try again. For the most part, he doesn't cry, he just closes his eyes and sleeps. It has been fabulous to know he can fall asleep on his own. And he even is starting to like his swing a little more. I still think we need to invest in a really good front pack of some sort, but that will have to wait a little longer. But getting back to the adjustment part of things. I usually love to be out and about. Am doing stuff all the time, like cleaning, baking, cooking, crafting, ect ect. I like to run errands and go about the town. But since having Elijah, I have turned into a hermit and only exit the house under extreme necessity and even then it is restricted to one or two children and no longer than two hours. Grocery shopping with three is impossible as I see it right now. And stopping at more than two stops in one outing is exhausting. So we stay home, Kynan plays outside, Ava and I do stuff inside. And basically hardly get dressed. It has been an adjustment, but one I am really enjoying. I actually think I have found the joy in mothering with baby number 3. Having Elijah has slowed me down, prioritize what is important and be more purposeful with my daily activities. I think more about how much attention the other two are getting, and so when we have time alone together we do more engaging activities. Because we don't have alot of time to do fun things or games, I turn those tedious chores into games and we end up getting nothing done! LOL. But still, the house seems to get cleaned, dishes get done, laundry gets put away, and life goes on. At my baby shower for Elijah a seasoned mom said to me: "Look at being a mom as your life ministry. What you are doing right now with your children is part of God's plan for you. This is His purpose for you right now. So, in the middle of the night when you are up for another feeding, or when you are folding the umpteenth billion piece of clothing remind yourself this is for His kingdom." I have to say, that it works and has put a whole different perspective on parenting for me. I have more patience, more energy, and more love for what I do. So no wonder we are all smiles.