Seven Quick Takes-Extra Awesome Postpartum Edition

So happy this Quick Take edition is happening with Jen's sweet baby Joseph finally home! Bringing home babies is wonderful, I can't imagine how exciting after such a difficult hospital stay.

And make sure to head on over to Grace's, who makes us all cooler by letting us link there, to see much better thoughts than mine!

{one}

I'm alive. All the kids are alive. That equals a good week right?

At least by my standards of postpartum life it does!

Max and Nora hanging out-or Max being held back from full on baby attack-either way!

{two}

Nora's still cuddly and tiny and squishy and everything that's wonderful in a newborn.

She's also still a great sleeper during the day and I've been able to work around her feedings and everyone else's feedings for the most part.

She's not the most perfect nighttime sleeper, but I feel bad even complaining because I know what crappy sleepers can be and how absolutely horrible it feels to spend the whole night AWAKE with a SCREAMING baby! *cough*Gemma and Dominic*cough*cough* Nora will sleep for a good 4-5 hour chunk and then wake up ravenous around 2 am, nurse like a fiend, then awakes promptly at 4 am with what seems like bad gas pains and spends the next several hours sleeping off and on between bouts of gas pain. She doesn't have it during the day and always promptly at 4 am. I'm starting to think it might be from my nursing her lying down, but I've been too exhausted to change anything. By the end of the week I'm really exhausted from the lack of sleep and can't really nap during the day. I'm thinking of trying to tweak things this weekend...but who knows!

I haven't had time to edit photos and this one makes her look yellowish, but she's beautifully pink and has a properly functioning liver-trust me!

{three}

I love how our babies all look like each other. Does that sound like a ridiculously moronic statement? Yes. But I just love how you can see Gemma's nose, or Lukey's eyes, or Dom's brow furrow, or Max's smiles in Nora from time to time. Its a fun and sweet perk about having a lot of babies. Write that down people!

You can't deny this cuteness.

{four}

But don't let me confuse you with all this "cuteness" talk. Yesterday things took a nosedive and I completely lost my shit on everyone. Everyone being my poor toddlers all aged 5 and under. Classy. And for what you ask? Just being toddlers...really nothing out of the ordinary that usually occurs around here on any given morning. I was asking someone to pick something up, someone got in a screaming match with someone else, someone screamed in the corner, tantrumed in their room, someone pulled someone over-and bam! I go and totally lose it, and scream at everyone. Everyone cries, I have to call Paul at work, he has to walk me off the edge, thankfully my mom showed up and took a couple of the older ones to her house for an hour or so while I cooled off. 

The poor, cried-to husband asked me what could be done to make it better, and I could only respond with, how bout I get some sleep, stop being depended upon by someone at ALL times, and for SOMEONE TO BE OVER THE AGE OF FIVE!!!

All things that can't be changed by anyone at this time. 

Of course, it was a bad day. A horrible, rotten, no good kinda day. Which are more than likely bound to happen at 3 weeks postpartum right? I mean, its pretty much a rule that should be "What to Expect When You're No-Longer Expecting but Naively Expecting Things to be Normal".

{five} 

I later told my husband to not come home at all unless he brought chocolate and wine home.

(sidenote: I think Brookside Chocolate should just start sponsoring my life.)

{six}

I bet no one's ever told you this but 16 months old is such a fun age especially if you have a newborn as well. No, no one has ever said that. I'm having a tough time with Max, simply because he's decided that the only things in life that make him happy are constantly climbing on the kitchen table, and trying to get into anything and everything possible that could be a mess. 

It doesn't help that the weather outside is still frightful and way too cold for him to go out and burn some energy. 

Please, Lord, have mercy and let springtime come sometime before July!

{seven}

I'm sure all this cheerfulness about postpartum life is just willing your ovaries right now into spontaneous ovulation! Paul tries to remind me that 5 kids under the age of 5 would practically kill anyone, but it still doesn't fill me with too much self confidence. I know things will get better slowly week by week, but it feels like a reaaalllly long time to me right about now. 

(Btw, I'm going to completely wear out the whole "5 under 5" saying from now until Gemma's birthday in a month, because "5 under 6" just doesn't have the same pithy ring to it!)

Wishing you all a restful and springlike weekend, I'm off to drink wine-a blissful perk to post pregnancy!

And dare I say I'm going to be in the top 100 of 7QT for the first time ever?! Thank you Grace!