44 Down

.....6 pounds to go. As of 6 days post partum I was down 40 lbs.....and now standing at 17 days post partum and 44 lbs lost with only 6 more to go until I reach pre pregnancy weight once more. I have to admit that it came off significantly faster than I thought it would. Fifty pounds seemed a bit daunting but it's proving to shed itself well. Granted....my hips, butt, thighs and post partum stomach don't seem to be aware of the 44 pound drop as of yet but it does feel exceedingly good to at least feel about 50 lbs lighter. I may look and feel a little like Bessie the Borden cow right now but at least I no longer rival her weight.....which does wonders for the ability to function and carry out daily life. And if I'm honest and put all sarcasm aside, I really actually love my post babies body and don't exactly feel like Bessie but, in fact, feel quite weightless. Never in my life have I so appreciated being able to roll over in bed, fully empty my bladder, stay away from the bathroom for longer than 5 minutes at a time, squat down, bend over, jump, get close to the kitchen cabinet, push a clutch, race through the pasture with a ton of kids on a beautiful day, hug my husband...fully nestling into him, sit with a certain little 2 year old girl or 3 year old boy in my lap without unceremoniously dumping them off every time I move....and so forth. I love feeling babies move within and knowing that my body is so perfectly capable of growing full term healthy babies but I also love having my body back. It's all good. The request has been made that I document in pictures the journey down the scale as I did the journey upward. So, I'll see what I can do.

As for the blogging thing...I'm still trying to figure out how to juggle all of life. Feeding babies, other children, running the house, and sleeping...not all exactly in that order...seem to be taking up most hours of the day at this point. This is definitely not a task for the faint of heart. As I took pictures once everyone returned home and watched them all happily play together it occurred to me for the first time that we have 8 children seven and under...or 7 six and under....or 5 four and under...4 three and under...or we're back to 3 under two. Had the little twins come only a month earlier we would've had 7 children five and under. Interesting, confusing bit of info for you. I think realizing that half of our brood of children are four and under is when I had to sit and laugh. We have certainly been blessed immeasurably. We have been given so much and are so exceedingly blessed but to whom much is given much is also required. And so it is that I learn to conduct life integrating two more sweet lives into the chaos and fun of normal daily activity. Once we really settle in, sleep becomes more routine and not such an extravagant luxury and my role of dairy maiden becomes more spread out and not such an hourly affair I will definitely be back to blogging more. But, as of now, priorities have shifted more than a little as I stumble around ungracefully and comically trying to fill the shoes of superwoman....which doesn't exactly seem to come naturally most days.

In the meantime, I have successfully mastered the art of tandem nursing....something I never did mange to accomplish with Garrison and Grant. It's a huge time saver and my milk supply seems to be greatly benefiting from it. Babies also took their first road trip as we made a day trip to Fort Worth and I have managed to get out with all of them for errands. It feels pretty good to be back in the saddle again.