Two Week Update

Two weeks after having a fourth baby at 40, I'm starting to see a glimmer of hope, that it is conceivable that I will survive.  I wasn't seeing any hope a week ago :-P

Her first week was full of the normal stuff: hormonal overload, physical exhaustion and breakdowns.  Thankfully, Chris was around for most of it and my friends the rest of it.  I was engorged at day three, brought a cooler upstairs that night and spent the night alternating cabbage and ice packs between feedings. Amber got a clogged tear duct, luckily due to previous experience with Titus, I was able to take care of quickly.

See playing dress up is not just a girl thing.

Amber has been ruling the house with her appetite.  Titus has been running the house by going over, under, and through it at mach 2.  He's been incredibly excited and sweet with Amber, but he's also been screaming whenever he gets frustrated instead of using his words. Lance tries to be a benevolent dictator and has also been an incredible help.  Jared prefers to do his own thing.  He has a tough time with change, but he came around to really like Titus and I'm sure he will with Amber too....in time. There is nothing like a drastic change to reveal the "holes" in parenting. The shoulda-woulda-coulda's are piling up and new challenges come and go.  Chris and I, above all, need to set the example to our children. It's sometimes extremely difficult, but slowly, surely, a new normal will emerge.

This week, now that I'm more mobile, we've been taking walks after lunch each day.  On Monday, the boys went on a hunt for rocks to hold down their "ant habitat" on the sidewalk. Yesterday, we actually made it to the park for a little bit.  Being outside in this cool weather has been great for everyone.

Chris commented the other night that "Amber really completes our family."  I have to agree, despite my little fit at the original shock, I'm so glad we are finishing out our family with a little girl.  I just wish everyone would stop assuming that we were "trying for a girl", I find it so insulting to our boys.  It's like they are saying we never wanted boys and they were mistakes we got stuck with till we had a girl.  I love my boys and I'm so glad they all came as they did.  God always knows best.  Someday I'll learn to just trust him from the beginning.