Life With Emma

Life with four girls, wow!  We are all home now and adjusting to our our life as a family of six, and I must say  - so far, so good.  Emma is my easiest baby yet; it just keeps getting better and better.  She is a champion nurser (no problems at all from the very beginning), she sleeps well without the aid of the swing (hope I didn't buy that in vain), is super alert during her hour-awake time between naps, sleeps for long stretches at a time (Friday night she slept for almost 5 1/2 hours straight, but normal is 3-3 1/2 hrs), does not have her days and nights mixed up, and (best of all) is already establishing a solid schedule. 

Emma's coming home outfit

The other three girls are madly in love with her, especially Piper.  Whenever I bring Emma out of the bedroom and Piper is around, she immediately puts out her arms and says "I hold my baby."  She loves to give Emma hugs, cuddles, and kisses - whether Emma (or mommy) wants her to or not.  Emma was sleeping in her swing the other day and Piper draped herself over the swing and simply laid on top of Emma, giving her "forehead kisses."  Lily too is very fond of holding Emma and sits there quietly, soaking up the love that Emma exudes.  We are a little surprised at Lily's adoration, as most of the time she is happy to be by herself and doesn't really interact with her younger cousins.  But it simply melts my heart to see how sweet she is with Emma.  Ava (as expected) is my little mommy.  She's not overly cuddly with Emma, but the most helpful.  She will bring things to me and keep an eye on things.  She has expressed how excited she is that soon she will be able to give her a bottle and feed her (when the time comes).

After having three other little girls, Elliott is a champ.  I feel his support and thoughtfulness more than ever before.  He is becoming so great at learning to balance everyone's neediness (including mine) and seeing what needs to be done, then stepping in to do it.  Last Saturday night, after he spent the afternoon watching the BYU game on the computer I was a little frustrated with him, but then he promptly got up and whisked the three older girls off to the park for an hour and let me have some quiet time with Emma.  Bliss!

After Emma's first bath

As for me, I am trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to not overdo it.  I probably feel the best out of any recovery, both due to my quick delivery (that story is coming), lack of pain medicine dependance, and fairly healthy amount of sleep.  I feel blessed and am just enjoying one day at a time.