Time is flying by…

Guess who is ONE MONTH OLD???????

This guy!  And he is pretty shocked by that fact too!

Absolutely precious!

I literally have no time to blog these days.  I have been asked several times how it is having three kids…is it any different?

Yes, it is different and no, it’s not that different either.

It’s different because I now have ZERO “me” time.  I am constantly with SOMEONE.  In the past month I have been alone once, for about an hour span.

I went to the grocery store…it was awesome.

Or, if I’m taking a nap I am usually alone…and asleep.  Which means I am missing out on the joy of getting anything accomplished by myself.  But I am LOVING the extra sleep that a nap affords.

When my kids are napping I am either doing dishes or laundry or sweeping or picking up clutter (which is NEVER picked up) or staring into space.

Don’t get me wrong, I am really enjoying this new life and figuring it out but it is DIFFERENT not having any “alone” time.

How is it the same?  Well, it feels as if Rives has always been with us!  He has fit in perfectly with our crazy family and his sisters act as if they have had a baby brother forever.

He has made the transition super easy.  Matthew actually said to me last weekend, “You know, 3 kids isn’t so hard.  We HAVE this!  We could totally have four.”  Keep in mind, Rives was 3.5 weeks old and all he had done up to this point was sleep.  I quickly reminded Matthew that this was IT, the baby factory was closed.

He is so go with the flow and fits right in…a lot of the same.

I absolutely cannot believe that Rives is one month old!  Here is what he is up to:

• He is meeting his “milestones” for one month.  (Yes, I looked them up because I couldn’t remember what a one month old is supposed to do.) He can lift his head up when he is on his stomach, he stares at lights, responds to sounds, can turn his head from side to side, follows objects from side to side-genius stuff.
• He eats precisely every 3 hours…it’s like he has an alarm clock built in.  This kid is already telling time, in 3 hour increments.  It’s crazy.
• He also goes to sleep pretty much immediately after eating.  It’s awesome.  Seriously.  At nights when I am in zombie mode he will go to sleep after eating and I LOVE THAT!
• He spits up ALL THE TIME.  ALL.THE. TIME. I am constantly doing laundry.  We go through about 10 burp cloths a day and about 4-5 different outfits.  The spitting does not seem to bother him though.  He never appears in pain and seems to be gaining lots of weight.  It’s just a pesky problem that will go away with time, I’m sure.  His sisters were the exact same way.
• He is still sleeping in a bassinet in our room…because we still haven’t gotten his room put together.  We are horrible, horrible, horrible parents.  Sigh.  Hopefully soon.
• He is wearing 0-3 month clothing and size 1 diapers
• He has had 2 bottles of pumped milk.  I am teaching 2 classes for Harding in the fall and am teaching them on the same night.  I will be gone from home for about 6 hours on that night.  Rives might starve to death if he won’t take a bottle (and Matthew might lose his mind).  Nora and Elyn never took a bottle because it was never really necessary.  He takes a bottle like a champ…I am so thankful for that!
• He takes a pacifier, thank goodness!
• Has no real preference about sleeping spots.  He will sleep in his bassinet (swaddled), in his bouncy seat, in his swing, in his car seat, or, where he is right now-right beside me on the couch.
• Doesn’t seem to have lost any hair at all…I wonder if it will all fall out like Nora and Elyn’s hair did.
• He enjoys bath time…which are necessary quite often because of all the spitting.
• He doesn’t seem bothered AT ALL with all the sisterly attention his is constantly receiving.  THANK GOODNESS!
• He has proven to be a decent car traveler.  We have gone to McAlister twice, it is about a 3 hour drive.  He has traveled great both times.  We are doing some MAJOR traveling next month and I hope to write the same thing in his 2 month update.

He is such a blessing to our family and we are so thankful that God knew how perfect he would be for our family.  We are also so thankful for God’s perfect timing!

It’s still hard to believe we have THREE kids!