One Month

Mark is one month old today! It has been a month of elation, a month of frustration, a month of change and adjustments for the entire family. It has been a month I thought I would spend posting updates and pictures to our blog, but instead I spent breastfeeding, changing diapers, trying to keep up with laundry and dishes, and doing my best to give the older children the love and attention they deserve. It has been a real challenge.

But mostly, it has been an incredible blessing! Mark was born safe and healthy, and came home in 24 hours, unlike the three weeks Zachy spent in the hospital when he arrived.
The shirt says it all!



Mark's big brothers have clamored over him, and express no jealousy or resentment towards the newest member of the pack (not even Zachy, who held "baby" privileges for over three years!)



The first couple weeks at home were a breeze.  I was feeling good, Steve had a week off of work, the boys constantly asked to hold Mark (while I got a thing or two done around the house,) and the baby did a lot of sleeping.  But then things took a turn for the worse....  my body started to remind me of all it had gone through, the boys decided there was life outside of baby brother-holding, Mark had more and more fussy times each day, and the stress of all the approaching events (Easter, baptism, First Communion, etc.) started to take its toll.  What's going on?  I wondered.  Why does it seem so much harder this time?  And then it dawned on me:  This is normal.  With Zachary, we had stress of a completely different nature.  The boys were split up, we spent the first month out of state, in the hospital.  "Normal" life was on hold so we could give a new tiny life a fighting chance.  Before Zachary, we simply had less going on, fewer children in school, not as much homework, not as much laundry, and not as many gray hairs.  But somehow, in some less-than-perfect way, we are making our way through these first few weeks of adjustment, and we are stronger for it.  Afterall, when we cuddle with Mark all curled up in our arms and gaze into his sweet eyes, the stress, the extra loads of laundry, the sleep deprivation, it just all melts away.  And we contemplate the blessings of another little miracle.

Speaking of those sweet eyes, can you believe that, at least for now, they are BLUE!!!!!  I know it is early, I know they can change, but this baby sports the bluest eyes of any of my boys (with red hair to boot!)  It's so striking that I'm starting to wonder if I'm the real mother :-)


Those sweet blue eyes were terribly bloodshot from the trauma of his birth for the first four weeks.
On Sunday, April 15 Mark was baptized into God's family. The church celebration was beautiful and afterwards, we had family to the house for a reception and brunch. Thank you especially to Mark's godparents, Pamela and Steven, who came all the way from Oklahoma to share in his special day!


We tried to look nice, but apparently I can't keep my children well clothed (note Sammy's shirttail and Alex's short tie)!

My mother hand-crafted Mark's beautiful baptismal gown (as she did  for each of our boys!)
A few more of my favorite moments from Mark's first month...







Finally, we have outgrown our website!  We plan to move, so next time you check back in, look for us at sixlittleblessings.com.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Did You Know?... Samuel

Image
Zachary isn't our only baby who has been intrigued with our corner cupboard.  Many of you commented about messes similar to this that your little ones have made with pantry contents: And FYI... that wasn't flour scattered all over the floor, but cornstarch!  Have you ever tried to clean spilled cornstarch?  It's not an easy job.  But back to our story... Every child of mine has gotten into this corner cupboard.  What about baby locks? you ask.  Well, it has one.  But it doesn't catch well and the boys have always been able to pry it open, anyway.  And I usually let them.  The unorganized contents of this cupboard provide for some fairly safe and lengthy entertainment, and it usually doesn't take me long to shove everything back in once the baby gets bored.  But there are some exceptions, and one day when Sammy was just shy of a year old...  Did you know... that he got into the cooking wine?! Once again I must thank my talented mothe...
Read more

Thankful for Trouble

Image
These days, Zachary is without a doubt full of trouble!  He served his first couple of time-outs this week for smacking his older brother.  He arches his back and screams until he is blue in the face when he doesn't get his way.  He still crawls up and stands on our kitchen table and countertops, and when he is sternly corrected, he reaches to hug me and says in his sweetest, buttering-up little voice, "Mama, Mama..."  He doesn't seem to learn, after flipping and falling backwards off chairs, that they're not to be danced on.  He begs to play outside with the big boys while they ride bikes up and down the sidewalk.  And he didn't care too much when one neighbor boy accidentally ran him over.  He hops in his little Cozy Coupe, pushes off, and heads straight down the driveway towards the street.  My own heart skips a beat as I scream and run after him, just as he reaches the curb.  He won't sit patiently in the shopping cart, but stands up a...
Read more

Home Sweet Home

Image
Zachary is home again, our family is reunited, and we are loving it!  Actually, I'm already getting fed up with Sammy's whining, with the bigger boys' fighting, with the mess... but it's WONDERFUL to be dealing with normal things again. Zachary is still in some pain on and off, usually as his pain meds are wearing off.  He is not quite himself; we don't see as many smiles yet and he is very clingy.  But he will get there!  Zachary is taking Tylenol and Motrin for pain, with an occasional dose of oxycodone.  He is back on diuretics (Lasix and Aldactone) to keep fluid from building around his lungs and throughout his body, easing the workload on his heart.  Over the course of the next year he will wean off his diuretics.  The only other med he is taking is aspirin, which thins the blood to prevent clotting.  He will take aspirin for the rest of his life. Zachy is very fearful and suspicious of strangers, especially young, pretty girls, who look like...
Read more