7 weeks in and the baby fog is starting to lift......slowly. I acted as treasurer in a board meeting recently. I am familiarizing myself with Jeffery's new school curriculum that we'll be starting the beginning of October. I drove all 3 boys and myself to a beautiful monastery about 45 minutes away for Mass on the Feast of the Assumption. I've scheduled swim lessons for Jakob and received Jeffery's soccer team assignment for the fall. I am actively planning a surprise event, looking forward to my dad's return in a week and a half, co-planning a baby shower for a friend to be hosted at my house in November, and looking forward to my mom's return later in the fall.
Life is returning back to normal. Well....a new normal. :) A normal that now includes 3 boys. If 7 years ago....in 2010....you had told me that I would be the mom to 3 boys, I would have laughed until my sides hurt. Me? The mom of boys? You jest! And then, God decided that that is just what I needed.
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| Jeffery and Jakob insisted on watching the Tour of France with their brother! |
John has made the transition relatively easy. Seriously. You would think that he understands that he just has to fit himself in from the get go. For the most part, he is a very chill baby. Don't ask me if he is sleeping through the night but he does sometimes give me 4 hour stretches.....which is a beautiful thing when it happens. He started to smile (real smiles) about 2 weeks ago and it fills my heart with such love and joy.
He loves his brothers and they ADORE him!!!! Jakob has, surprisingly, become such a little caretaker of his little brother. He is VERY proud of being a big brother and takes the role seriously. He is the first to alert me if John is crying. Jeffery loves to pat him and try to comfort and console him.....which is just like Jeffery. And John....he watches Jeffery like a hawk. It's really cute to see. Both Jeffery and Jakob have been very helpful manning his swing and making sure it doesn't stop, fetching diapers and burp clothes for me, singing to John, and explaining trains and NASCAR to him. :) They're already the Three Amigos.
Sadly, at this time, John only has eyes for me.....mommy. I can use 3 fingers to count the number of times he has been happy while Dave has been holding him. Hahahaha. Dave just keeps saying "That's okay. In 2 years, you'll be chanting my name".....which is probably true as that is exactly what the older two currently do. Hahahahaha. And while I am typically not big on "baby wearing", being right next to me has proven to be the only place he'll quiet down sometimes, especially during his witching hours every night (around 8pm until he goes to bed)......so....... Listen, you have to do what works and when you still have to put together lunches for the boys and yourself and other chores, you need both hands.... so enter the moby wrap and the sling.
John was baptized when he was 3 weeks old on July 30th. When my parents came for John's birth, they brought with them my grandfather's 108 year old baptismal gown. All three boys have now been baptized in it and I am so thankful that we have been able to use such a beautiful family heirloom.
We asked our very dear friends, Alessandro and Isabela, to be John's godparents. As fate would have it, we are the godparents to their 5 month old baby, Daniel. The baptism occurred after Mass that Sunday and it was a beautiful ceremony.
Afterwards, we had a small reception with cake in our church's social hall. Later that night, we had Alessandro and Isabela and their family, and our pastor, Father N. over to our house for another small celebration. It was a wonderful and beautiful day and we thank God that we have been able to add yet another child into His fold.
And now.....like I said earlier....we are getting back to normal. We were so blessed to receive countless meals from friends....all of which were insanely delicious and extremely helpful. But even the frozen left overs of those have been consumed by now. And as we approach his 2 month birthday, I am realizing that we no longer have a newborn in this house but rather an infant. Time is flying far too swiftly.
We, of course, celebrated his 1 month birthday with the traditional cupcakes from Pearl's. And my dad will be here for his 2nd month birthday celebration (which we will be combining with Jakob's birthday celebration AND Dave's 40th birthday!!!).
Dave and I, pretty regularly, will look at each other and marvel at our life. There were 2 years there (starting in 2008) where we seriously questioned if our home would ever be filled with the laughter of our own children. We had even started to research adoption options.....only to find them totally cost prohibitive. Two losses and a year and a half of "unexplainable infertility" left us emotionally raw. My body, as we have since learned, is not programmed to carry children to term. We're talking about a 3% chance of a successful pregnancy. I started working with an amazing chiropractor/endocrinologist in Ohio the summer of 2015....Dr Marrow.....and even though we suffered yet a third loss in April of 2016.....it was because of God answering our prayers and my diligent work with Dr. Marrow that John joined our family.
A 3% chance of carrying a child to term -- and yet we've been blessed a third time. We marvel at the gifts we've been given; the souls and lives we've been entrusted with. And coming off of the loss in '16, we have been reminded of what little miracles these children are and we are filled with love and wonder for our little John.
"For this child I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition that I asked of him."
~ 1 Samuel 1:27
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