Life with 7

Well, given the fact that we chose to keep all of the children home with us this time around has made for a very active post partum period. I love it though and love knowing they're all here in their own home and we are not worrying about how they are fairing away from us. Mother kept them a bunch over the weekend during the days and brought them home at night and then will take them out for a few evenings this week. But, other than that, they're all here. It's really really hard laying low. I hate being confined to the bed anyway and with everybody here it makes it doubly hard since I feel so good and it's so easy to get up. Yesterday and today I only took Tylenol once and am pretty much feeling back to normal. My body starts to ache if I've been up all day so I just take note and go sit for awhile.

The only real hard part is the lack of sleep. Gavin slept through the night a few nights ago but for the last 2 nights has been waking about twice a night. It's still pretty impossible to nurse him laying down since he kind of drowns in the abundance of my milk supply so I have to sit up and nurse him. Then we burp and change a diaper if I need to and deal with any spit up that occurred. So, each time up takes about 45 minutes. Then come 7:30 or 8 everybody's up for the day. I've gotten in naps with the little ones while Brad has taken Grayson and Evye on errands with him. But, it still leaves me feeling kind of tired sometimes.

But Gavin is the most incredible thing. Brad made the comment that he's definitely one of our's. He looks just like the rest of them....with his own little twist. I can't get over sometimes how the love for each one of them just grows and grows. It's so amazing to me how overcome I am with complete awe and adoration for them. It never gets old. His tiny little hands and soft baby perfumed head with his little downy tufts of strawberry blond hair. The newborn stage is so fleeting.....so very fast. If you think of it in the big picture of life and how long you ever spent caring, holding and loving a newborn it is so very short. It only lasts so long before they turn into growing babbling babies and then into funny talking toddlers and then into their maturing childhood. It is all such an amazing experience to me. Brad and I were talking the other night over how incredible it all is. The conception, labor and birth itself, what triggers labor to begin with when no one really knows an exact time or date and then to have this perfectly beautiful baby in the end. We are so so blessed.



Wide awake


And back asleep


Grayson and Aubrey loving on Gavin


Taking in the chaos of everybody in 1 room


Big baby/little baby


Huge angel baby cheeks



A very proud Aubrey


Garrison's 1st baby kiss


His 2 little mothers


Almost the whole crew.....we seem to always be missing Garrett..he was already in bed for the night


2 of the proud bigger brothers