This Week at Our House #4: Post Partum Week 1

The first week home has been hard-ish. The kids eat all day and make so many dishes. I think the strain on Kate and Johnny, and Rachel and Anya has been too much. Adam cut his hand  two days before I had the baby, so he has been out of a lot of chores. Still, he has helped with dry things and taking care of Sam.

Anya and Rachel and Kate and Johnny, though I feel like they have had to do too much, have stepped it up and done a lot to keep the home in order, the kitchen cleaned, the dishes done, and the laundry washed. Johnny cleaned both bathrooms and washed our wood floors. Those are chores, I often reserve for myself. Johnny did that in addition to everything else he has done plus all of his own work. Kate cooked all the meals, usually with Joseph as a help, and Anya and Rachel did a lot of the kitchen clean up and laundry. 

Kate made me a double batch of orange rolls the day I got home from the hospital. They were so good and lasted

like 4 days. Kate would heat them up in the oven for me and they were like silk to bite into. I loved them so much.

Sam has been grumpy and weepy. Obviously his world is turned upside down. But he certainly has made himself a handful always crying and whining and asking to watch tv. I don't think I could count the times he has laid on the floor to cry and kick around. Hopefully, it won't take him too much longer to adjust. He is affectionate enough with Gideon and does not seem to blame him for how he is feeling. 

The other kids have played way too much computer and watched way too much tv, so their behavior has been pretty awful. Joseph punched Johnny in the stomach for taking his book. Then he played computer when he was told not to and then lied about it. He also climbed and kicked around in the laundry room, dumped out a bunch of laundry soap and then had everyone else clean it up and that took almost an hour because the soap is so concentrated. Usually Joseph is very good. I was surprised that he had such a rough week.

Josh knocked Sam off a bench and into the fire place to take Sam's place at the computer.  Josh has also cried probably as much as Sam has and mostly because we tell him to pick something up. He also told a lie too, but I am not sure about what or why.

Arwen has had a whole host of snarky and rude things to say. In fact, it was Arwen's snark that lost them all computer time more than Joseph's and Joshua's behavior. Arwen just insults and complains no matter what you are trying to do with her unless that thing is playing minecraft. She may be off computer games for a year.

Susan hasn't been much worse than normal, on the whole, but she has taken to the computer now too. We are keeping it locked now to keep her off. She and Josh tend to have pulling wars over the mouse. They have already broken one. She also tells us that she needs to watch tv 10 times a day and that gets very old. 

Needless to say, we have ended all computer games unless they are playing with dad.

Hopefully, things will get better for next week. It's always hard when you bring a new baby into the family. I wish I could just give birth and be all better, but it is never like that. In fact, the Lord commanded the Israelites to give mothers 33 days of purification if they give birth to a boy and 66 if they give birth to a girl. So, I can conclude that even God doesn't expect mothers to have a baby and come home and do everything again. 

Gideon is doing very well. He has very good eye contact and just stares at us and seems to be thinking deeply. He smiles already. We got a great picture of him smiling at Rachel at just 3 days old. No one, not us or the doctors, are worried about his brain anymore. He is a perfect little baby and as healthy as can be. 

Ruth did not get a mission extension. It is rare that they do. So I think she will be home in about six weeks. We have a lot to do to prepare for her homecoming, but we will be so glad to have her back.

More Pictures

bright pink sunset

Rachel and Anya folding the laundry