living with royalty: Some of the things you were hoping to know.

7 weeks later, I am finally disciplined to sit down and try to say some of the things I have felt since our littlest love arrived. There is one thing I have wanted to make sure I wrote down, a stone in the Jordan to remind me of the goodness of God:

I am fully convinced that heaven is filled with the scent of a newborn's head and the feel of it cuddled against your chest.

If it's not, I have done my share of petitioning the Lord on behalf of its goodness. I find myself inhaling deeply into the crown of my sweet girl's head, taking hits off of the intoxication it provides. There is no way to describe the natural scent of a newborn, except to say it is distinct and makes me think of perfection. Every time. Sometimes it catches me by surprise, striking my senses as I am hurried to accomplish something. It stops me in my tracks, and as I shake my head in wonder I tell my baby for the thousandth time how good she smells.

this photo, along with several others in this post were taken by our newborn photographer. The watermark is to (hopefully) protect both her and us from being used without permission on the web. If you would like a specific print, please contact me.

Though it has taken me 7 weeks to sit down and choose to write, I must admit the time has not been as chaotic or sleep deprived as one would anticipate. There is an unavoidable, underlying anxiety that a firstborn produces, and without it I have been able to truly enjoy every day as the mother of a newborn. I remember how fleeting the days were before, and I have tried to savor every quiet moment I can to just marvel at the tiny person in my lap. My sweet girl has slept well from the beginning, usually waking every 3-4 hours at night. That may not sound good on some other terms, but Josiah was up every two hours on the dot for at least the first month. There is a significant difference in how much rest one can get in a four hour interval versus a two hour one. Adele has been such a good baby that she has made this season as effortless as possible. She is always content to be worn snuggled into my chest as I embark on adventures with her big siblings. She only cries when she is hungry or with an occasional gas pain. If all babies were this good, I'm sure I would want a handful more. I keep reminding myself that they aren't all this good and every good baby still turns into a toddler and then a child that requires parenting much more complex than the tiny little thing they start as. All of that being said, I have approached this pregnancy, birth, and newborn season as if it is my last, and if that is so then I am definitely going out on a winning streak.

The big kids have done wonderfully with the new addition. Evangeline took about 2.5 weeks to adjust. She always loved both the baby and me, and I don't think she was able to identify the baby as the source of her uncontrollable tantrums and sudden neediness. However, after persistent care that proved her security within the family and her importance as a big(ger) instead of the little, she settled in happily with this new arrangement. Josiah had a similar adjustment when Evangeline came home, but this time he was just excited to show off his new baby sister to any and everyone. I attribute it to age and the fact that his position wasn't shifting from littlest (or only) as it did before. Both kids ask to hold the baby every day. They would probably unintentionally smother her if left to their own devices. When they kiss her head, you can see the temptation written all over their faces to break all the rules and just kiss her all over the face. I try to remind myself not to regulate them too much in their hopes to hold, touch, and kiss her. She won't be so delicate for long, and I still want them to be generous in their affections for her when she is able to tolerate their unknowing strength. I have a ton of pictures of them doting over her, because as their mother it just doesn't seem to get old. Here are a few:

Evangeline insists on holding the baby's hand every time we get in the car. No one ever suggested it to her; she just wants to. It is precious, and I'm curious to see if the baby complies as she grows. Josiah had us dying when he declared to Jonathan, "We should have a ton of babies!" When Jonathan asked him what prompted such a sentiment he said, "because babies are just so nice! Adele doesn't even hit me!"

Remember the nest I made for my newly hatched baby?

Here is the end product:

My other art project in the end of my pregnancy was a belly cast. My mom helped me create it at 36 weeks.

This is what it looked like on the inside once it dried. I spent a couple of afternoons sanding and smoothing the edges to make it look like this:

It only made sense to take a picture of Adele in her previous residence.

Almost as cozy as the first time around.

I was thrilled with the newborn photographer we chose and the way she helped us capture the sweet and short season of a teeny tiny Adele. In addition to the photos already shown, these were some of my favorites:

Already my teeny tiny is growing up. Adele was 6lb 8oz at her one week check up. She was back up to 7lb 2 oz by her two week checkup, and at 6 weeks she weighed in at 9lb 10oz! I was shocked that she had gained 2.5lbs in a month. She had also gained 2.25inches! She is starting to get too long for some of her newborn clothes. It goes too fast! Here is a week by week of her: