And now we are five...

Driving home from the hospital is when it hit me... when it really hit me... we are now a family of FIVE.  It sounds so grown up, so huge, so very... complete.  In all of the fog & upheaval of the past several weeks, this has been the one constant... the clear & overwhelming sense of completeness that number holds.  Last little one is here now... the one we had been waiting for to make our tribe whole.

Soren Martin arrived via c-section on Sunday December 11th at 6:29am,  9 lbs 2 oz & 21 inches

 As with most things having to do with parenting, his delivery went nothing like how I had envisioned...this being my last baby I held on to the idea of trying a more natural approach.  Well, as natural as one can be at a hospital, that is!  As it often does, life had other plans.  During labor I developed a fever of 102 & it quickly became clear that little one would be much better off making a speedy exit.  We made the decision to go ahead with a c-section... I wish it had gone differently, but having him here healthy & happy was the ultimate goal.  My recovery has been much slower than I would like, but each day is a little better. 

Quinn got to come visit during our 5 day hospital stay.

Hello Gima!

There are some things I remember so well about having a newborn...
... the magic warmth of having him sleep on my chest
... the unique & wonderful smell of freshly washed baby-head
... how easy it is to sit & just watch him... marveling at all that is possible for a new little soul

And other things I had forgotten...
... the zombie state that sets in after weeks on end of only 2 hour stretches of sleep
... cracked nipples
... the way they sometimes breathe in little bits & spurts, with long pauses that make a Mama's heart stop for a moment

Going home finally!

We are slowly settling into a routine... the big brothers are taking their job very seriously.  They are so excited to teach him everything... how to ride a scooter, how to color, how to make Mom's head pop off... they are a bit disappointed that all he does now is eat, sleep & poop.  But I swear Soren flashes a big smile when he hears the voice of his big brother Remy. 

Little one is waking up... more pix coming soon!