The Early Weeks

There's nothing quite like the first couple of weeks with a new baby in the house! Everything is just so new and the basic rhythms of the day are dictated by a very tiny and very sweet little person who cries and sleeps and eats in a tight cycle of want and need.

And then there's the recovery from the birth, the adjustments of older siblings, who all dearly love the baby, but just seem a little more, well... active and noisy than normal (especially when visitors come to see the baby!) and the getting back to a routine that includes familiar things like laundry and dishes, but also covers new terrain like soaking soiled baby garments and remembering to bathe the baby occasionally and spending a whole lot of time in the rocking chair!!!

Indeed, our family's little world has tilted on it's axis just a bit, and while it would be dishonest to deny the rough patches we've been weathering while trying to find our footing, there has also been a lot of sunshine as we plow through our days!

Among the good things that we've been experiencing, the generosity and love coming our way from others stands out as a particular blessing! There have been some wonderful meals, with things like chicken & squash enchiladas, grilled veggie kabobs, homemade rolls, fresh garden potatoes, lovely salads, lemon lush, brownies, and peanut butter pie on the menu! There have been "play dates" for the children, where they had gobs of fun away from home while mommy and the baby luxuriated in peace and quiet at home, and there has been help with domestic duties, such as the friend who took several loads of dirty laundry to her house and returned it all clean and sweet-smelling and neatly folded, and the sister who cheerfully cleaned our toilets, ran the vacuum and caught up on the ironing!

Above and beyond everything else, having our little guy here to cuddle and care for makes all the work and adjustments worthwhile! And the fact that Finley has been a really good baby has helped to make having a little one in the house again all the more delightful!

Babies are so innately irresistible, and I am pretty sure God designed it to be that way not only so the human race would continue in the first place, but so that we wouldn't mind the sleep deprivation and endless stream of dirty diapers quite so much!

And speaking of sleep deprivation...what exactly am I doing writing at one in the morning when my baby is sleeping? 

Apparently even these early weeks with a baby can't quite cure the night owl!