It's Only Temporary...

So we're still here. Spending a LOT of time at home. The kids have been great about that- I was kinda worried that they'd get cabin fever (like I usually do) but we're really all doing pretty well with it. It's hard to go many places because Deklan needs to eat at least every three hours, and I'm supposed to pump every three too (I'm not as good about that as I should be)...

Zach started his new job last Wednesday, and it's going well. He's pretty overwhelmed because this will be his first year as a teacher, and that's a lot to take in. New staff and new people he's working with, a whole new computer system to learn, new policies and procedures to learn, figuring out how to write lesson plans and learning objectives, and a huge one- getting his new classroom ready before the first day of school, August 10th. And all that with being completely sleep deprived, makes for an interesting time. :) But he's handling it all amazingly- and even trading off with me feeding the baby at night. (that's one nice thing that we have to feed him from a bottle, and I'm not nursing at the moment so that means Zach can feed him too!) But I know he's going to do awesome, just a lot of newness to take in. Everyone he works with is so great though, and he feels like he's fitting right in and knows it's going to be a wonderful place to work and for our kids to go to school. :)

Deklan is doing pretty good- he's just a tiny little guy still! I can't say that I'm totally comfortable with that either. Our pediatrician is really anxious for him to get back to his birth weight, and we've been several times to the dr for weight checks and to the lab a few times for bilirubin level checks (but he's good now on that). I guess the norm is for babies to be back there by 5-7days old, and he'll be two weeks on Tuesday and is 5lb 9oz (6lb when he was born). It's a little discouraging to be honest. We're working hard to feed him as often as he'll eat, it just takes him more energy to eat than normal. He has something called a cleft palate back in his soft palate. There's a small spot in the roof of his mouth that didn't fuse together when I was pregnant with him. The good news is that it's just the soft palate and not his bone or his lip that is separated. But that presents some challenges in feeding him- he has to eat from a bottle called a haberman feeder (it just has a longer nipple to bypass the opening in his mouth, so the milk won't go up in there), and he has to eat sitting up. It takes a longer time for him to eat, and he doesn't eat much at a time- 1 to 1.5 oz at a time, and it takes about 30-45minutes. The pediatrician has me pumping right now rather than trying to nurse him because he's taking the bottle pretty well, and we don't want to mess with that and risk him taking in less calories. And this way we know how much he's eating each time. She has me putting in some powdered formula with my breast milk also, so we can sneak some extra calories in there. He has another dr appointment on Tuesday for a weight check and circumcision, so hopefully he will have gained a few ounces. I hope!! Zach is so good about this- he's so positive, just reminding me he's just tiny but he's healthy, alert, and obviously maturing each day. I am just a natural worrier- so I have to keep that in check. And know that God has Him in the palm of His hand, he's keeping watch over him, and we're doing our best to care for him and love him. That's all we can do. He's as sweet as can be- we just can't get over how precious and adorable he is. I'll update you on his weight when we find out next. If anyone thinks of it, could you pray that he would be alert during feeding times and get lots of milk to drink, and that he'd just grow and grow? That's my prayer for this little guy. I'm sure he'll be fine, I think he's just a late bloomer. :)

Kindergarten starts for Teda August 10th, and preschool starts for Dane August 17th. Crazy! Teda will be in all day, from 8am-3pm. Dane will be there Tuesday and Thursdays for a few hours. So that will create a new routine for us, and I think it's going to be great. I will miss Teda terribly, having her gone all week during the days. My baby girl is going to be in kindergarten- I can't believe it!

I'm completely exhausted, and have got to just keep reminding myself that these sleepless nights are only temporary. Temporary. Temporary. Even though it feels like forever, especially in the middle of the night. And even more so when he doesn't go right back to sleep after he eats. Or right after we've fed him at his 5am feeding, and it's 6am- and we know that in one hour our other three are going to come bouncing into our rooms, ready to start a new day- and I think, how in the world am I going to get through this day? And then I do- by God's strength, for sure! It's only temporary... and you know, having our other three kiddos around during the days are tiring, but they're so great- because they are so sweet and funny. They make me smile and I love them so much and know them so well. They were all once newborns too, and I felt the same heaviness during the first several weeks of their lives. And we got through it, and so there you have it- we'll get through this one too!

So yes, we had a new baby and it seems like life should just stop for a bit until we get used to things. But life goes on, and we will too! :) Before we know it, Deklan will be 5 months old, and it will be Christmas.