9/6/12

Helping Hands


Grammy is coming today, yippee!

I have officially hit the postpartum wall of sleep deprivation.
Grammy can't really do anything about that, but when she is here she gets lots done and keeps Patrick busy and makes dinner and runs some errands and that is a huge help.


I love how Janey is praying in this picture.  

She is such a delicate sweet baby.  She has some trouble with getting her burps up-I found her favorite place though-underneath the noisy bathroom heater ceiling fan, in my arms while I sit on a big exercise ball and bounce gently.  You can find me there at 3 a.m. most nights.

43 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is Heather Finley, pirating my husband's gmail account...

    Oh, new baby exhaustion is so hard! Hormones and sleep deprivation and a family who needs mom, too... I remember with our last one, walking up and down our front walk at 4am with the baby in the Moby wrap, pacing while he slept: thankful for the miracle of his sweet presence, glad he could rest and I that I was the one who could help him, but bone tired. God's peace to you during this sweet and challenging time!

    ReplyDelete
  3. She is just so beautiful! Congratulations on your sweet baby girl, and thank goodness for Grandmas and their helping hands during those very tough/sleep deprived days.

    ReplyDelete
  4. She is beautiful, but I have to admit... Bouncing on an exersize ball at 3 AM while holding a baby sounds doubly exhausting!

    ReplyDelete
  5. She's beautiful Sarah!. May God give you strength at 3am, and help you through these first few months. You know good and well how fast it goes. Try to remember through all the exhaustion.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Such a sweet baby! Beautiful pictures. Hang in there Sarah! Just remember: last time you will ever have to do this. Not always a happy thought, but definitely a happy thought at 3 am on the bouncy ball! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Our kids must be 2 peas in a pod. We learned very quickly that the bathroom fan has to be on pretty much at all times, and my yoga ball has become a permanent fixture. =)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Sarah, I don't think I have ever commented before but I read your blog all of the time and love it. You are inspiring. Good luck with those long nights. I am so happy for you! Trina

    ReplyDelete
  9. So happy extra hands are on the way.
    And I love Janey's hands. She's beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  10. She is an angel, Sarah. Enjoy your time with Grammy. I remember my mother staying with us after the birth of my children and it was one of the most special times of my life!

    ReplyDelete
  11. She is so beautiful and has gorgeous hands! Enjoy your time with Grammy.

    ReplyDelete
  12. she is just beautiful. and sometimes don't you feel like you are the only person awake on the planet when it's dark at 3 am?!?:)
    have a happy day sarah

    ReplyDelete
  13. She is so sweet Sarah! And as I type this at 3:57 am (my 8yo with autism has a lot of trouble sleeping and is almost always awake at 3 am!) I am thinking of you! Hope you get some sleep and I am gad to hear the reinforcements are coming. :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. She is beautiful and she does look so dainty. Love that yawn! Glad you will be getting some help around the house soon. I know you are enjoying her. If she continues to have trouble you might try having her quickly adjusted by a chiropractor. Their little spines get kinked up in delivery a lot of times and it affects their necks (i.e. eating and burping). We had our son adjusted the night he was born by our dear friend and he never spit up once.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Precious perfection! I hope that I'm lucky enough to be blessed with a 4th!! Glad all of you are doing well, enjoy your time.

    Hugs from Kansas,
    Amber

    ReplyDelete
  16. Funny story- I have a few blankets like the one you have pictured there (the stretchy ones good for swaddling). I took my newest for an md visit when she was brand new and she needed to be undressed. We all know newborns like to be tightly wrapped so to prevent screaming I just wrapped the blanket snuggly around her arms, leaving her bottom half exposed for the doc. He came in and was clearly brand new because he was very young. He asked why I wrapped her like that and I explained the newborn-swaddle thing. He said that was genius (seriously?!?) and asked where I got such a great blanket as he had a new baby on the way himself. Kmart was my high class answer. He then went and got his new doctor friend and asked me to show them what I had done. They took out their phones and made a note about my "technique". I never went to med school, just practiced and my own 5 kids... Clearly there are just some things that Moms know, huge paycheck or not :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. aww i can just smell the sweetness!
    strengthening your core while burping the baby... awesome, i wish i'd thought of that!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Yay Grammy! I don't know what I would have done without my mom and mother-in-law when I had my daughter. I have never felt so loved and spoiled!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Ah ... The 3 am. Last night Charlotte and I were up but only one of us could get back to keep leaving the other of us writing piles and piles of thank you notes :) thank you, Charlotte.

    ReplyDelete
  20. You are such a great mom! So cool that you figured out something that works for sweet baby! :)

    I mean I am so impressed with your creative problem solving skills at 3 am! :)

    Way to go! And enjoy the extra hands and help while Grammie is there! Such a gift of love to have another Mom come in and help and serve! What a wonderful gift of love to your entire family!

    ~ Ali

    ReplyDelete
  21. How does your hubby get aby sleep with the fan on at that time?!! How good is your mom about not spoiling yout kids while she is there? In my house my mom and I get in bickering momenta because I have rules and she tends to let the kids ignore my rules while she is on my home.

    ReplyDelete
  22. She is changing physically already! She is so so beautiful, and has the perfect little lips. A real life babydoll for your family...

    ReplyDelete
  23. She is just precious.

    CANNOT wait to see a pic with her eyes open. What a sleepy baby!

    ReplyDelete
  24. So very glad to hear you're getting a little help! Sleep deprivation is the.worst.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Baby Janey is beautiful. Your pictures make me miss the newborn stage. But then your comment about the 3am bouncy ball brought me back to reality! ;) It goes by so fast though, really. One of my favorite things about the newborn stage is the little sounds they make.... kind of a grunt, not exactly a whimper. So sweet... and so fleeting.

    Also, I just transferred over to a public blog [use to be private] and wanted to let you know that I linked your blog on my sidebar. I hope that's alright. But I love your blog and check it daily. You can find me here: http://hugseverlasting.wordpress.com/
    :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Janey is beautiful. Congratulations. May I offer a suggestion regarding the burps and such? We just had our 8th in November, and I believe he was our first truly colicky baby....which led my severely sleep-deprived brain to do some research. I found that it has much to do with improper/underdevleoped digestion. The most practically helpful advice I found was to stop the baby during nursing to burp him every 3 minutes! At first I thought it wouldn't work and we 'd have a frustrated child....but it worked! I guess the gas bubbles don't pile up that way!?!?! Hope this helps! The sleep deprivation is such a big ordeal. I fully relate to how you feel. So glad Grandma is coming to help you out!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Janey is beautiful. Congratulations. May I offer a suggestion regarding the burps and such? We just had our 8th in November, and I believe he was our first truly colicky baby....which led my severely sleep-deprived brain to do some research. I found that it has much to do with improper/underdevleoped digestion. The most practically helpful advice I found was to stop the baby during nursing to burp him every 3 minutes! At first I thought it wouldn't work and we 'd have a frustrated child....but it worked! I guess the gas bubbles don't pile up that way!?!?! Hope this helps! The sleep deprivation is such a big ordeal. I fully relate to how you feel. So glad Grandma is coming to help you out!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Congratulations!! I had a 9lb baby boy the same day you did, and I was expecting for the 20th just like you. I love your blog, and I love your honesty. I count steps at 3 in the morning, we walk and I count steps, while he looks at me with big wide eyes. I can't tell you how much I admire you have 6 kids, this is my 3rd and the first week I kept thinking what have I done. Obviously there is nothing more incredible then a child, and time makes everything better, although sleep I am not sure when that comes. Just wanted to congratulate you on a nother miracle. Enjoy!! I read your blog for inspiration!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Oh how I adore those sweet praying hands ;) and wow! Is she going to be a blondie like you and Patrick?? Or is it going to be dark?? Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Oh my gosh, she just gets cuter in every post! What a blessing! Thank you for sharing her with us :)

    ReplyDelete
  31. I love, love that you are cherishing every moment. Even the 3am moments that so many people don't cherish. Thank you for showing the world that every moment should be cherished.

    She is a beautiful gift from God! Beautiful....

    ReplyDelete
  32. I think Janey is thanking God for such a wonderful mommy. And maybe she's praying for her stomach to grow so she can sleep a little longer between feedings.

    ReplyDelete
  33. I just feel so happy every time I see a picture of your baby! I have four beautiful children of my own and if I was healthy would have another (can't believe I am saying that!) Right now I have late-stage Lyme Disease (yuck) so it looks like no more babies for me. Love looking at your beautiful girl and so happy for you!

    ReplyDelete
  34. So sweet, glad you have your mommy to help you out. I had to laugh about Janey's love of the bathroom fan. My daughter was soothed by the sound of our kitchen exhuast fan...I remember spending a lot of wee morning hours holding her in our office chair in the kitchen with the fan on high..it was music to her ears! :)

    ReplyDelete