Our newest family member has finally arrived and we are over the moon for him. Welcome to the world, baby #4!
He was born weighing 9 lbs 4 oz! This is a record for our family. His three older brothers weighed 7 lbs 14 oz, 6 lbs 6 oz, and 6 lbs 5 oz. However, they all look like duplicates of each other. I put together this collage of all four of our boys as newborns. I'm obviously over the moon for these boys!
Even better, today our boys met their new brother for the first time. My husband and I were very unsure how it would go, not just meeting the new baby, but also bringing 2 3-year olds and a curious 5-year old to a hospital. We were also worried how our toddlers would feel seeing Momma in the hospital and saying good-bye to me here when their visit was over. Our fears were unfounded! One of our toddlers cried saying good-bye to me, but my hubby was quick to pick him up and give him hugs and the sorrow of leaving Momma was quickly replaced with an Altoid mint. :)
I really thought my heart would burst seeing them love on their new brother. Our oldest barely put him down the entire visit. Surprisingly, the toddler most excited about a baby didn't want to hold L, but our toddler who has been against another sibling from day one did!
We let the boys take charge of the visit. We didn't want to push the baby on them or make them feel like they had to do anything they didn't want to do. In fact, our toddlers spent much of the visit looking out the window. Apparently trucks are cooler than baby brothers....
Our oldest wouldn't be distracted by anything. He was 100% focused on giving his littlest brother love. I really think he loves babies as much as I do. His spirit is so sweet and so compassionate... I love being a momma to boys...
One of my favorite parts of their visit was getting love from our toddlers. One of our boys (the one who was against another sibling) is a self-proclaimed momma's boy. As soon as he burst into my room, he crawled up in my lap to tell me he loved me. Later on, our other toddler joined him. It just filled me with such joy having my family with me here, loving on me and our new baby. I look horrible in this next picture because I couldn't help but tear up at our boys' outpouring of love.
I say it all the time, but I love being a mom. I love this job and the adventure my husband and I have been on, parenting together. Each stage has brought us new challenges, new heart ache, new frustration, new joys, and new ways to love on our kids. I wake up each day and look forward to seeing our boys' faces. I feel so incredibly blessed to have this new little one to love on. Getting all our boys together today and seeing them at these different stages-- a kindergartner, toddlers, and a newborn-- I was reminded of all the different things I love about their ages.
I love that our 5-year old wanted to be a big man, holding the baby on his own and being trusted to do so. It was so important to him to hold that baby right, without any one's help. He wanted to pick the baby up on his own, wrap the blanket around the baby, talk to the baby on his own... It was beyond precious. He brought a board book with him to read to his new brother. I am so proud of him and love watching the boy (and man) he is becoming.
I love that one of our 3-year olds, C, was uncertain of the whole situation. From the moment he entered the hospital room, he didn't know what to think. He had fallen asleep in the car and was tired. He didn't know why Momma has to stay at the hospital, who this baby was, why everyone was so excited... It was overwhelming to him so he clung close to his safe place-- his daddy. My husband was so calming to him, so understanding, and C slowly warmed up to the whole scene. He loved listening in on the book D brought and loved all the snacks and snuggles I offered him.
And then O. As I said our other 3-year old climbed right into my lap as soon as he came in my room. He was thrilled to see momma and happy to claim my lap as his place. He started talking about how the baby wasn't in my tummy anymore right away (though all the boys agreed that my tummy is "still big"). He crossed his little legs at the ankles as he made himself at home in my lap. "Guess what, Momma?" "What, baby?" "I love you." I love how with everything going on, he tuned it all out and focused on loving on his momma. He told me all about how our neighbors made pancakes with them this morning and all the fun he was having with them. It was fun listening to him fill me in on his day.
Ah, and then our newborn... One of my favorite things about newborns is how easy it can be to solve their problems. When he's crying he is tired or hungry, but most of all, he wants to feel safe, be near me. I can put my hand on his face and say, "I'm here; it's okay," and he calms. I can visibly see him calm just by being near him. His little hand squeezing my side as he nurses... I love it. I love that I am enough. I am all he is asking for, just being there. My other boys want that too, that sense of security, that Mommy and Daddy are right there by their sides, but their problems aren't always as easy to solve now as scooping them up and hugging them. There is a beautiful simplicity in infancy.
My heart is full right now. I am experiencing one of those times where all I can think of are the blessings in my life. Aren't those the best times? I can't stop thanking God for this outpouring of love. Besides the obvious blessings, I have to give credit to this amazing Bible study a friend of mine plugged me into called Good Morning Girls. The theme for this study is "You are Loved." I love the support that my study has given me over the past couple weeks as I struggled with the late third trimester in the summer heat of the South and a house bursting with active children. This study helped shift my attitude from complaining to praise. I have the verses we've been discussing flying around in my head as I look at our newest bundle of joy. It floors me how much God loves us. Looking at this baby's face, I struggle to justify my complaints over the past couple weeks. It was a frustrating and uncomfortable time for me, understandably, but, oh, it was worth it. I would do it again in a heart beat!
Even better, today our boys met their new brother for the first time. My husband and I were very unsure how it would go, not just meeting the new baby, but also bringing 2 3-year olds and a curious 5-year old to a hospital. We were also worried how our toddlers would feel seeing Momma in the hospital and saying good-bye to me here when their visit was over. Our fears were unfounded! One of our toddlers cried saying good-bye to me, but my hubby was quick to pick him up and give him hugs and the sorrow of leaving Momma was quickly replaced with an Altoid mint. :)
I really thought my heart would burst seeing them love on their new brother. Our oldest barely put him down the entire visit. Surprisingly, the toddler most excited about a baby didn't want to hold L, but our toddler who has been against another sibling from day one did!
We let the boys take charge of the visit. We didn't want to push the baby on them or make them feel like they had to do anything they didn't want to do. In fact, our toddlers spent much of the visit looking out the window. Apparently trucks are cooler than baby brothers....
Our oldest wouldn't be distracted by anything. He was 100% focused on giving his littlest brother love. I really think he loves babies as much as I do. His spirit is so sweet and so compassionate... I love being a momma to boys...
One of my favorite parts of their visit was getting love from our toddlers. One of our boys (the one who was against another sibling) is a self-proclaimed momma's boy. As soon as he burst into my room, he crawled up in my lap to tell me he loved me. Later on, our other toddler joined him. It just filled me with such joy having my family with me here, loving on me and our new baby. I look horrible in this next picture because I couldn't help but tear up at our boys' outpouring of love.
I say it all the time, but I love being a mom. I love this job and the adventure my husband and I have been on, parenting together. Each stage has brought us new challenges, new heart ache, new frustration, new joys, and new ways to love on our kids. I wake up each day and look forward to seeing our boys' faces. I feel so incredibly blessed to have this new little one to love on. Getting all our boys together today and seeing them at these different stages-- a kindergartner, toddlers, and a newborn-- I was reminded of all the different things I love about their ages.
I love that our 5-year old wanted to be a big man, holding the baby on his own and being trusted to do so. It was so important to him to hold that baby right, without any one's help. He wanted to pick the baby up on his own, wrap the blanket around the baby, talk to the baby on his own... It was beyond precious. He brought a board book with him to read to his new brother. I am so proud of him and love watching the boy (and man) he is becoming.
I love that one of our 3-year olds, C, was uncertain of the whole situation. From the moment he entered the hospital room, he didn't know what to think. He had fallen asleep in the car and was tired. He didn't know why Momma has to stay at the hospital, who this baby was, why everyone was so excited... It was overwhelming to him so he clung close to his safe place-- his daddy. My husband was so calming to him, so understanding, and C slowly warmed up to the whole scene. He loved listening in on the book D brought and loved all the snacks and snuggles I offered him.
And then O. As I said our other 3-year old climbed right into my lap as soon as he came in my room. He was thrilled to see momma and happy to claim my lap as his place. He started talking about how the baby wasn't in my tummy anymore right away (though all the boys agreed that my tummy is "still big"). He crossed his little legs at the ankles as he made himself at home in my lap. "Guess what, Momma?" "What, baby?" "I love you." I love how with everything going on, he tuned it all out and focused on loving on his momma. He told me all about how our neighbors made pancakes with them this morning and all the fun he was having with them. It was fun listening to him fill me in on his day.
Ah, and then our newborn... One of my favorite things about newborns is how easy it can be to solve their problems. When he's crying he is tired or hungry, but most of all, he wants to feel safe, be near me. I can put my hand on his face and say, "I'm here; it's okay," and he calms. I can visibly see him calm just by being near him. His little hand squeezing my side as he nurses... I love it. I love that I am enough. I am all he is asking for, just being there. My other boys want that too, that sense of security, that Mommy and Daddy are right there by their sides, but their problems aren't always as easy to solve now as scooping them up and hugging them. There is a beautiful simplicity in infancy.
My heart is full right now. I am experiencing one of those times where all I can think of are the blessings in my life. Aren't those the best times? I can't stop thanking God for this outpouring of love. Besides the obvious blessings, I have to give credit to this amazing Bible study a friend of mine plugged me into called Good Morning Girls. The theme for this study is "You are Loved." I love the support that my study has given me over the past couple weeks as I struggled with the late third trimester in the summer heat of the South and a house bursting with active children. This study helped shift my attitude from complaining to praise. I have the verses we've been discussing flying around in my head as I look at our newest bundle of joy. It floors me how much God loves us. Looking at this baby's face, I struggle to justify my complaints over the past couple weeks. It was a frustrating and uncomfortable time for me, understandably, but, oh, it was worth it. I would do it again in a heart beat!
Lamentation 3:22-25
"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.'"
"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.'"
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