First Weeks as a Family of Five

We just finished up our first week of being completely alone as a family of five. We had so much wonderful help from my parents and Cole's mom while they were here, and we can't thank them enough, but it was time for us to figure out how to do things on our own. We had a slightly chaotic, but good week. However, I am thankful that we made it to Christmas break and can relax for the next couple weeks before having a strict schedule again!

Cole has been an absolutely amazing father, husband and provider through all of this. He has been working, cleaning, grocery shopping, changing diapers, giving baths, running back and forth from the hospital while we were there to spend time with the boys, getting up to help me with the night feedings, playing with the boys, getting Cameron ready for school in the morning, making breakfast and lunches, helping with school duty, and taking care of me. He has been doing everything despite the fact that he's not getting much sleep and his busiest two work weeks of the year were the two weeks after Zoe was born. He has been pulling his weight and much more during this time of adjustment and I cannot imagine a better partner to have through all of this!

Thinking back to the day we came home from the hospital, it feels like ages ago. We wanted to come home from the hospital as soon as possible because, as I mentioned before, Cole was running back and forth a lot to see the boys. So as soon as Zoe and I were cleared to go, we started packing our things to come home. Unfortunately, as we were getting ready to leave, we received a call from Cameron's school to let us know he was sick and needed to come home. Rather than heading straight home, we made a pit stop at the school to get Cameron before heading home. It was very hard for Cameron because he so badly wanted to be around Zoe and hold her, but he had a fever and needed to steer clear. 

I'm pretty sure this is how Zoe curled up in my belly because she stayed in this pose for most of the first two weeks. 

My mom was here for the first ten days after Zoe was born and was absolutely amazing. She got groceries, helped get Cameron to school, cleaned, did all the cooking and laundry, and played with boys. She also helped with bed time and bath time and cleaned up after every meal. Cole and I both relied on her a lot and are not really sure how we would have managed the first week without her! I don't think I'll ever be able to thank her (and my dad) enough for dropping everything and coming when I went into labor. It was really special for me to have her here and we have some wonderful memories from her time here.

And of course she took every opportunity to snuggle with Zoe. 

I was a little overwhelmed trying to figure out how to be available to everyone when we first got home...I felt like someone constantly needed me and I was not doing a good job of handling it. Thankfully, the help made it a lot easier. Although the boys were very happy to see Zoe, they also struggled a little bit the first weeks. I could see that it was hard for them to understand why and how life was changing and how to handle it. They wanted to be involved with most everything that was going on, but it was hard for me to be patient and allow them to be hands on. 

My dad arrived a week after Zoe was born and was also a huge help. He took care of school duty every day, went grocery shopping, played with the boys, cleaned, and fixed things around the loft. He was a champ when it came to grocery shopping. I'm pretty sure almost every time he came home from the store, I had already come up with more things we needed. He would just smile, turn around,  and head right back to get what I had forgotten to add to the list the first time! 

Grandpa's little helper!

He, too, took every opportunity to hold Zoe as much as possible. 

After my dad left, we had two days alone before Cole's mom arrived to spend a week with us. She was also a huge help as she assisted with cooking, cleaning, laundry, playing with the boys, school duty, and Zoe duty.

Face timing with papa who wasn't able to visit

One of the things that was hard for me during this pregnancy and delivery was being away from so many of our wonderful friends and family. I so badly wanted to share these experiences with our loved ones and was sad that we weren't able to do that. However, we were shown much love and support from people here in Belgium during this time. We received so many cards, gifts, flowers, visitors, offers for help, baby items to use, meals, etc. that I found myself feeling completely overwhelmed by people's kindness and generosity. We have all felt so incredibly loved and cared for. There were many people who also thought of the boys and brought them gifts as well when they came to visit us. There are no words to describe how much we appreciate all that people have done for us here. Even Cameron's classmates made cards to send home for us to read!

 The following pictures are just a random sampling of the first few weeks at home with all of us (along with some more thoughts).

First trip to the doctor for a weight check

So new...

Milk coma!

One thing that I have quickly realized about this time around is that I am going to have to be more easy going about things. When I had Cameron, I quit my job to be home with him. As a result, there weren't many times when I had to be somewhere at a certain time and I could easily plan my day around feedings, naps, etc. Although I have never been super particular about where the boys ate or napped, I was particular about getting them on a schedule (eat, wake, sleep) with the ultimate goal of getting them to sleep through the night as soon as possible. Even after I had Harrison, I was still able to plan activities to a certain extent so that Harrison could get into a routine and have a consistent schedule. This is not the case with Zoe. Because Cameron is in school and because we are both very involved there, I have to be places most days at certain times. And each day seems to be a little different. Therefore, Zoe sleeps wherever she is, whenever she's tired. Likewise, she eats when I can feed her. I don't want to make it sound like I don't feed her often...for the most part, I feed her every three hours. But there are times when we have to do a feeding a little earlier or later than that. I was pretty stressed out about the lack of a consistent schedule at first, but thankfully, she is very go with the flow and handles it well. Now, I have to learn to be more easy going! :) There's also those pesky little things such as laundry, grocery shopping, and cleaning that just don't get done as regularly as before...and I'm going to have to be ok with that for the time being as well. 

First trip out for a quick dinner

He really did fall asleep with Zoe on his lap!

A few pictures of Zoe's room featuring the painting the boys made for her.

It has been really heartwarming to watch the boys with Zoe. They still struggle sometimes with the time she gets from us, but they are so sweet. When she starts to get upset, one of the boys usually runs over and will talk to her, sing, try to give her a bink, give her a blanket, or rub her. They also love holding her and snuggling with her and are getting much better at being gentle (a.k.a. not tossing her on the couch when they are done holding her). They are the best big brothers to Zoe...she is one lucky little girl!  

As I look through these pictures and think back over the past few weeks, my heart is very thankful and full. I can't believe these three healthy and beautiful children have been entrusted to us and that so many wonderful people have invested in our lives.

Life may be a little crazy at times, but we have so much to be thankful for...I am determined to see the things to be thankful for and try to laugh at the crazy rather than be frustrated and overwhelmed.