8 weeks

I’ve been meaning to write this post since Sarah was 6 weeks old. I guess I don’t get many chances to write, and as it is right now, it is almost midnight and Sarah is resting on my shoulder after a breastfeed. She is refluxy, and can’t lie down straight after her feeds. She cries and is in too much pain. We cuddle a lot. A lot!

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I’ve usually got her face close to mine, whether I’m cuddling her over my shoulder or carrying her in the wrap. I’m absolutely obsessed with feeling her velvety soft cheek on mine, or kissing that cheek. She is a very cuddly baby. I know babies are usually cuddly, but Sarah is something else. She holds onto me and nestles into me. She really wants to be held all the time and I like to oblige.

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Let’s talk about sleep. I’m not getting much. Our other three babies were sleeping through the night by 7-8 weeks old. Sarah isn’t. Her feeds are like clockwork though. She drinks a lot in the evening and has a 4-5 hour sleep in the middle of the night. I’m very Grateful that after her 5am feed, Monte takes Sarah for cuddles and to look after her and play with her so I can get a few more hours sleep.

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I got to a point a while ago where I was getting very miserable and stressed. With all the reflux and all the feeds, I was beginning to feel trapped. All I was doing was feeding, settling and the odd bit of boring housework. I got cranky with the family and just didn’t feel happy. Monte gently reminded me that I had my wrap, so I started ‘wearing’ Sarah at home. All day, most days, she’s in this wrap. It means she’s getting what she wants, and so am I. It’s not easy hanging washing (the wrap gets displaced and uncomfortable), or doing bending down jobs, like toilet cleaning (I’m too worried she’ll slide out!), but I can do practically anything whilst having her close to me. I always take her in the wrap when we go out too. When she’s a bit bigger I might use the carrier more. It’s faster and easier to clip on, but this wrap is comfortable and Sarah is my most precious accessory!

The other children are pretty much in awe of her. Matthew always wants to hold her. He is always asking to cuddle her, or look at her. He displays a gentleness that is Incredibly beautiful. Georgia loves ‘babysitting’ her so I can do jobs or just so she can spend time with her sister. She is a great help, changing nappies even! Elora is still adjusting. She can be rough with Sarah if she’s not getting enough attention, so it’s a balancing act for me. She’s extra helpful with choosing outfits, fetching things for me, and passing me nappies and wipes.

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And Sarah is growing beautifully. She’s 5.58kg now (12lbs). That’s on the 75th percentile. A fortnight ago she was on the 50th, so she’s doing well, considering she spews so much after her feeds! Her hair is quite strawberry at the back, but blonde on the top, so it’ll be interesting to see what hair colour she turns out to have! Her eyes are currently very blue, and there’s a 50% chance they’ll stay blue. It’s always interesting watching their eye colour change. Elora and Matthew had very blue eyes when they were one, but they now have brown and green eyes.

Smiles. Lots of them. Big gummy smiles, that are often accompanied by a happy goo or gaa. She first smiled at me in Christmas Day. I always knew age would. It was very precious (I nearly cried).

I’m so happy. I’m pretty grumpy and feel like I’m going mad sometimes, but overall I feel so content. I have four children, like I’ve always wanted. That’s such a blessing. Monte and I keep telling each other how wonderful it is to have all these kids. We also look at eachother sometimes and just laugh incredulously at the craziness that us our house right now. We feel really lucky and very happy. And tired. And reaching for the sanity juice a bit more than we should (but we’ve cut out chocolate, which is very painful!).

Thanks for reading my post about our beautiful Sarah. I wish you could hear her snoring on my shoulder right now!

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