I had never heard of a "Babymoon" when I was pregnant with Logan, Felicity, and Kian. But after hearing about taking time to just stay home and soak up your newborn, I wanted to fully embrace the idea this time around. Easy meals, accepting help from others, laying low, no rushing back into the normal routine that will become daily once again all too soon, etc. I was looking forward to it! One problem......I didn't anticipate the fact that 7 and 5 year olds don't really think "laying low" is much fun. They didn't want to miss church, or their mid week club meeting, or time with friends, or the football game. And so, we had a babymoon of sorts.......one where the kids DID get to do all those things they love, but also one where we stayed home a good amount, and when we did, this mama rested LOTS with her baby boy.
Monday, Zac goes back to work. I have not cooked a meal since I was 31 weeks pregnant and went on bed rest. I have not schooled the kids at all the whole month of October. And as I mentioned above, I rested....a lot! My amazing husband has set a standard I'm sure I won't be able to match. But come Monday, I'm going to try. Its back to school for us, and back to cooking and cleaning and laundry and errands and daily life for this Mama....for the first time in a LONG time. This will be the first week in a year and a half where Zac goes back to work LOCALLY and comes home to a capable wife every evening. I'm looking forward to it, and am anxious about it too. I'm sure it will take us some time to get into a new routine.
But back to our "babymoon". Here's a few glimpses of what the last almost 3 weeks held for us.
We've taken turns holding Arrow....constantly.
We've watched him sleep...
on the couch,
in his bouncy chair,
in the swing,
in the garden,
on each other,
everywhere.....as that's all he does (other than nursing).
Such a good, easy baby!
We took him to the pumpkin patch and picked out a tiny pumpkin for our "tiny" boy.
We visited at Papa's a few times, where Zac and the kids harvested walnuts, Zac fixed some lights for Papa......and Arrow slept, of course, giving Papa ample snuggles.
We all gathered for Arrow's firsts.
You would have thought his cord falling off was a huge event the way the kids acted. And that meant his first bath! It was the highlight of the day! And the first day he smiled (yesterday), oh, we were all thrilled! We all took turns bragging to each other when WE got our first Arrow grin.
So often, I can get overwhelmed by the kids wanting to be "right there" for everything. But when I just take a minute to include them and see the moment through their joy, it is so wonderful. I'm working on having patience. We had to create some boundaries to make sure we all get our fill of Arrow (without having others grabbing at him), and that's good, but I'm also working on doing a lot with 3 "baby vultures" in tow. I love how much they love their baby and I SO want to encourage their constant interest and thrill in him.
(oh, and no worries....he's not that dirty...the water is grey because we gave him an oatmeal bath)
And I've pathetically crammed this poor child into his Mama made outfits, even if just for a picture. Yes, the outfit above was only worn long enough to get this shot. I had to shake him into his pants. But at least I have the picture! I'm happy with that. This big boy needs more Mama mades. We'll see if there's time in the new schedule.
Wish me luck for Monday!
We will all miss Zac and I know for sure I'm going to miss my morning snuggles with Arrow while sipping on hot coffee that was delivered to me in bed by my sweet man.
Zac has made this babymoon amazing.
