Happy Saturday!
There have been so many changes happening all at once over here- and to be honest it’s all a little overwhelming. From Elijah’s birth, Theresa’s surgery, Gabriel starting KINDERGARTEN (this one has been a big change for me this week) and Rebecca 4 year old preschool, to a seasonal change to Fall, I feel like I haven’t been able to sit down and catch my breath.
Between everything going on, I haven’t been able to post as much as I’d like. I have so many ideas on what to write for once, but can’t find the time to actually do it. I’m hoping to get into a better routine once we are out of the transitional phase of the school year.
But today I found the time and am writing a little update on what’s been going on in our lives.
Bring on the pumpkin, but let Summer stay
Yes, you read that correctly! Now don’t get me wrong, I’m normally all about Fall and will not hesitate to bring out all the fall decorations and look at my sweaters longingly waiting for the first crisp morning to wear one while drinking my pumpkin flavored coffee.
However, this year I feel differently. Yes, I may have already gotten several pumpkin iced lattes and bought my kids’ Halloween costumes (found them all at a thrift store for $25 total- I consider that a win!). But I’m not ready to say goodbye to summer. I actually enjoy the heat.
As fall approaches my anxiety kicks in and reminds me that after fall comes winter. With winter comes the snow and bitter cold where all I want to do is hibernate or migrate to a warmer state. Sadly, neither of these options are feasible for me.
But I also really enjoyed the summer this year and felt like it went by too fast. June felt a little long while I waited for Elijah to make his debut. But the kids and I went outside almost every afternoon and played in the backyard, or we went for walks. The older three learned how to play soccer this year. My husband had his big military training in May so he was around for the rest of the summer. Between working from home and paternity leave we got to see him so much more over the summer months than in the past.
I did miss travelling to see my family this year- usually we visit my family for a month over the summer. But due to being in my third trimester that wasn’t possible this year. But not travelling also made it more of a slower paced summer, especially during the month of June, so we were able to take the opportunity to participate in sports and other events local to us. And that was a nice change too. We still did get to see family, they just travelled to us.
But once Elijah was born, I feel like everything sped up and summer just flew by! Now school has started and I’m somewhat left in shock as to where the time has gone. So in summary, yes, bring on all the pumpkin things, but maybe let the summer heat stick around a little bit longer!
Transitioning from 4 to 5 kids
I wrote a blog post all about Elijah’s story (you can find that here). But what I didn’t write about was the transition of going from having 4 kids to 5 kids. All ages 5 and under.
To be honest, it has felt like another difficult transition for me. It always takes time getting used to having an extra person to take care of. The first time I had to stay home alone with all 5 kids was scary. Getting all 5 kids into our car is difficult, and now with the morning school hustle just 1 week in I’m trying to figure out how to make things go smoother because I was so stressed the past few mornings. We’ve been in survival mode, which for us means too much screen time, too much (but really can you ever have too much) coffee, and rotating shifts for going out for a walk/run to maintain sanity.
Elijah is also pretty fussy (or maybe the correct word is particular) compared to how our other kids were as newborns. Maybe I’m not remembering it correctly, but I think that with our other kids, we would change them, feed them, and then they would be passed out, no problem. With the girls I could put them under their playmat and they would be so content there they would fall asleep!
Not Mr. Elijah. He can get pretty squirmy after a feeding and will stay unsettled until he has a messy diaper or passes gas (so many messy diapers with him! Haha!). He’s very alert and doesn’t like staying in one place for very long- he prefers to be held or have another person by him.
Now that he’s a little older, he has enjoyed a few sessions on his playmat or in his chair, and has on the rare occasion, fallen asleep at his mat and in his chair! He is also cooing and smiling which is adorable. He does give us a pretty solid middle of the day nap most days and has some nights where he’s slept for 5 to even 7 hours in a row! No complaints about that over here.
I think the thing that makes it difficult is the fact that our kids are all so close in age. Shiloh and Elijah have the biggest age gap between them- 20 months. But Shiloh is also at the stage where she gets into everything and needs to be constantly monitored or put in a baby proof area of the house. She is a very mischievous little girl. But she has done so well with the transition and is perfectly okay playing by herself for a little bit if I need to feed Elijah.
Gabriel and Rebecca are also very good helpers and will entertain Elijah for a bit, or run and grab wipes, diapers or whatever else I need. Theresa loves holding Elijah and giving him kisses and will be the first one to tell me when he’s crying (even if I’m right there next to her). She and Shiloh just need some extra monitoring around Elijah to make sure they aren’t being too rough.
We have had a lot of help this time around. Christian got paternity leave which was huge. And both our families came to visit and meet Elijah which also helped. We are also very fortunate to have such generous friends and family who have brought over meals, sent gift-cards, met us for playdates, or made a baby blanket for Elijah.
So even though it has been a more difficult transition, it has been made easier by all the support and prayers we have received.
Theresa’s surgery
Those that have been following my blog from the very beginning may remember me talking about Theresa’s medical condition that was diagnosed during my 20 week anatomy scan with her (and if you haven’t, no worries, I’m attaching that blog post here). It’s nothing major, but basically due to some anatomical abnormalities, she is more prone to getting UTI’s. She had surgery when she was 6 months old that we hoped would completely solve everything. Unfortunately, she still has some problems, and her doctor recommended one more surgery for her that *should* be the last one she needs. It was scheduled for the week after Easter, but since Christian switched jobs, that changed our insurance and we needed to postpone the surgery to August.
Fast forward to the beginning of August. It was time. I always dread the days leading up to surgery. Poor Theresa was unsuspecting and her usual happy go lucky self. I also had a 3 week old that I desperately did not want to leave behind. But as my husband told me, we needed to make sure that we could be there for Theresa. This was going to be a longer, more invasive surgery, and we weren’t sure what recovery would look like.
One of the hardest things I had to do was leave my 3 week old baby behind for 5 days (though at the time we didn’t know it would be that long). The hospital where she got the procedure is 2 hours away, and with an early check-in time, we decided to leave the night before and stay in a motel close by the hospital. Theresa was enjoying herself as an only child, and got spoiled with a “last supper” (no food after midnight was allowed due to the anesthesia) of parmesan bread bites and cinnamon twists from Dominos. She stayed up late and was trying to talk to us at bed time. And then little by little her chatter stopped and all was quiet-she was asleep!
The next morning we got up, gave her some water (only thing she was allowed to have) and Christian and I took turns going downstairs to the complimentary breakfast the motel offered so that Theresa would not have to watch us eat in front of her. Then we packed up the rest of our stuff and headed to the hospital- it was time.
We got to the hospital and checked in. The staff gave Theresa a mickey mouse mask (otherwise hers would have been lost in the surgical room), visitors sticker and even gave one to her stuffed animal frog. We went to the waiting room upstairs and Theresa got to see some fish before we were called up to the pre-op floor. The nurses there were wonderful and made Theresa as comfortable as possible. They showed her the bubblegum mask they would use to apply the anesthesia and let her decorate it with stickers. She got to go on some wagon rides with the nurses, got toys to play with and watched Encanto as the surgical team came in to talk to Christian and I about what to expect. When it was time for her to go back, they brought out tablets to play games with her and distract her (the anti-anxiety medicine they gave her to help with separation had also kicked in).
Then the hard part came-waiting. Christian and I went to go get some lunch and coffee. We played games, read books and walked around while getting hourly updates on how she was doing. It was scheduled to be about a 4.5 hour surgery. In reality, due to unforeseen anatomical abnormalities, it took about 6.5 hours. But all went well, and Theresa was doing great. When we were told that she was back in the recovery room, it was a relief! We thought we had some time to grab dinner before she woke up, but just as the nurse told us we could head to the cafeteria, she got a call that Theresa was awake!
I braced myself as I walked towards her room. The last time I saw Theresa after surgery (there were complications that time and it turned into an invasive procedure) I was shocked at seeing her attached to so many cords. This time as we entered her room, she was more alert and tried reaching for me (still very groggy and not in control of her movements). I was able to sit down in a wheelchair to hold her while she sipped on her water and watched Moana. We facetimed the kids, and we could tell it made her happy to see everyone, but it especially made her day to see our dog, Snowy. That was the first smile she had after her surgery. She had some x-rays done and then we headed up to her room where she would complete the remainder of her inpatient stay.
Because the surgery took longer than expected, her doctor told us that we would be staying in the hospital for 2 nights instead of 1 (this was not a complete surprise; we were told ahead of time she would need at least 1 night in the hospital with a 50% chance she would need to stay a 2nd night). I was a little disappointed we couldn’t go home sooner, but definitely happy we stayed longer after seeing how Theresa was the next day. She had no appetite (the anesthesia made her nauseous) and you could tell she just did not feel like herself. She actually requested to go to sleep for nap time! The afternoon was better, and she seemed happier. She got to have music therapy which she enjoyed!
The next day was even better. Theresa just seemed more like herself. We requested a wagon for her to use, and she took full advantage of it! She went on a ton of wagon rides and by the end of her stay she was the one pulling the wagon. She also ran into some women in the hallway who were passing out blankets to all the kids on the floor. She got to pick out which one she wanted and chose a Winnie the pooh and stitch blanket. She also discovered her bed had a “tent” feature (really it was there in case kids tried to stand up and crawl out of the crib) and thought it was cool. Her crib became her safe zone, where she requested both sides to be put all the way up and the tent up too. I’m sure it made her feel protected when she kept getting poked/checked by so many people during her stay.
What we weren’t planning on is staying one more night. But the doctors wanted to be extra careful and monitor her for 1 more day at the hospital. We checked with Christian’s parents to make sure they could stay one more night with the kids (they definitely had the tougher job taking care of the other 4 kids for 4 nights and 4 days!), and then settled down to stay for 1 more night. At this point we had watched most of the movies offered on the kids channel, and went on a ton of wagon rides. We were anxious to go back home.
Theresa’s follow-up procedure
To be honest it’s all become a blur. We were gone from Monday night through Friday and got home around dinner time. And wow was it good to be back home! She had a follow-up procedure this past Tuesday to remove some stents, and she did a lot better than I thought she would. Unfortunately because of her age, she had to go under again, so we had to make the trip out to the hospital. I was sure she would be upset when she realized where we were, but she did great! She only got nervous when she had to change into their pajamas for her to wear for surgery and when she had to go back for surgery, but the antianxiety medication kicked in and they were able to distract her with a toy.
She got more stickers and toys to play with and got pushed around in a little car wagon. The procedure itself was very short. The anesthesia made her really angry though. Luckily all it took was putting on Moana and giving her some crackers to eat (she was super hungry! This procedure wasn’t until later in the day and she wasn’t able to have anything to eat beforehand. She kept asking for food on the way there and each time my heart broke telling her no). We were on our way shortly after she calmed down and ate some more crackers, and after eating some goldfish in the car and taking a nap she was starting to act like herself again; she was just a little unsteady from the anesthesia.
Theresa’s eyes
Theresa has been wearing glasses since her eye appointment in January. We noticed at the end of last year that her eyes started crossing, so her pediatrician gave her a referral to a pediatric optometrist. That appointment she got prescribed eye glasses to help with her farsightedness (poor girl got the short end of the stick for her health). At her follow-up appointment , it was determined that her eyes were still crossing with the glasses, so she got another referral to a specialist to determine if she’ll need surgery to fix the problem. A few weeks ago she had that appointment. The doctor gave her a stronger prescription as her vision has changed from the beginning of the year, and told her to patch her right eye for 2 hours a day to allow her left eye to build up muscle (her left eye tends to cross in more).
I was worried about how she would take to patching her eye, but luckily she’s been a champ! It helped that on her first day Rebecca and Gabriel both decided to patch with her! She has very supportive older siblings (and they all like the designs on the patches too).
The Kindergarten transition
No one prepares you for the day that you send your oldest off to school for the first time. Now Gabriel went to preschool the past 2 years, but that was just for 2.5 hours a day. A lot of that time was actually spent driving back and forth from school.
This year he has a full day and takes the bus to school! I have to pack him a lunch! The weeks leading up to school I got nostalgic and kept having flashbacks to when it was just me and him together. He was my first baby, and we spent a lot of that first year together on the move due to Christian’s military training schedule. I blinked, and suddenly he’s getting on the bus to go to school! Time really does fly by.
He was so excited to go to school once he went to the Kindergarten round up and open house night. He was nervous about taking the bus (still isn’t sure about it yet) but he’s been enjoying school! It feels like a long time for him to be gone, but at the same time, I have been enjoying the freedom of only having 4 kids at home (briefly 3 kids when Rebecca is at school).
I’m enjoying meeting him when he gets off the bus and asking about his day. I’m also enjoying making his lunch for him, although I might have been overdoing it the first few days because yesterday morning he told me, “Mommy don’t pack me too much or I won’t have time to finish it!”.
He’s definitely very tired by the time he gets back home. It will take a few weeks for him to get into the swing of things, but I’m so happy he seems to like school so far.
Rebecca starting 4 year old preschool
Rebecca had her first day of preschool on Thursday and her first ballet class of the season on Monday. She is so excited to go to school again (this day she goes 4 days a week for 2.5 hours), but doesn’t understand why she can’t take the bus. The first day Gabriel took the bus she cried because she wanted to go on the bus too. The second day she came running outside with her backpack on, hoping to take the bus. She’s so independent! On meet the teacher day she cried when it was time to go back home because she wanted to stay at school. She just loves to be social! I have a feeling that when she’s older she’ll always be out and about with friends.
Update on Shiloh
I’ve talked about all the other kids except for Shiloh. She is such a happy go lucky girl and is such a great sport dealing with all the chaos over here! I mentioned before that she can be pretty mischievous. She loves to explore and get into things she’s not supposed to get into. She’s climbed into our cabinets, hidden in closets, and if we’re not super careful she’ll climb into Elijah’s rocker downstairs…while he’s in it! *We’ve always caught her right away and Elijah has been fine*
She really has turned from a baby to a toddler overnight. She loves to dance, give hugs, play outside, and loves putting on shoes! She is starting to say more words now (all pf the kids except for Rebecca started talking closer to age 2), including Mommy! She’ll come into the room and greet everyone with a, “hi hi hi hi hi!”. She’s taken on the role of big sister and gets a big smile when she sees Elijah and will give him kisses or try to pat his head.
Wrapping it up
That’s been what has been going on in our lives recently- it’s felt like a lot! I’m ready to get back into a good routine and just have it be the chaos of school and activities instead of medical interventions for awhile.
Life with 5 kids definitely keeps us busy!
