How to prevent a sleepless night hangover...

...on a day when you're by yourself with two toddlers and a newborn.
Preface. Adalyn is a good baby. She's pretty easy going, however, as most babies do, she has a fussy time. Hers happens to be from about 2-5am. It's a dark, ugly time of night for me. There have been a few nights I've felt miserable having no idea how I'll face the day, then after a couple hours of sleep between 4 and 6 a little part of me wakes up thinking "Ok, I can do this. I can get up and have a good attitude." Some mornings are easier than others. For those particularly difficult mornings here are a few sobering tips that helped me get over the hump and not be grumpy.

1. Make homemade blueberry pancakes for the very first time since your baby was born. (they're pretty regular at our house) Granted you will have to have enough patience for your 3 year old to help and probably have to wear the baby in your sling at some point. Once made, eat as many as you possibly can. Tell yourself it's ok and you need the calories because serving as an open-all-night-all-you-can-eat-milk-buffet is hard work.

2. Get outside. Walk the kids to the playground and get a high dosage of sun and laughter. Warning: the heat may seem a little overwhelming because of the added heat of the two warm milk jugs you're wearing under your shirt - don't let this keep you from having a good time. Maybe I can just sweat off some baby weight. The warm breezes seemed to be a natural sedative for Adalyn, so she was perfectly content in her stroller. I was really able to play and focus on Wilder and Gwyn, which has been difficult since Adalyn's been home. Wilder found this particularly refreshing I think. He said at one point, "we're having a nice day aren't we mommy" I think he was craving the interaction. Sidenote: What would you do if your 3 year old told you he had to poo-poo and couldn't hold it long enough to walk back to the house? Which is more disgusting, having him go in his pants or squat in the grass?

3. Smell and cuddle your baby. I don't think I'll ever get tired of feeling Adalyn's sweet face next to mine. And I mean really smell her. Put your nose right behind her ear and breath in deep that earthy, sweet, sour milk sort of smell. Ahhh

4. Bribe your kids with candy to stay in their beds for 30 minutes so you can get a power nap. The only way this one can be foolproof is if you tell your toddler that there is NO MORE CANDY. Otherwise, 10 minutes into your nap as you're dozing off you'll hear "mommy, I gotta ask you something" requesting more candy. Oh well, it was a good attempt!

5. Remember the simple fact that your new baby is a GIFT and you are blessed to be taking care of her. I would much rather be taking care of her in the middle of the night than NOT be taking care of her, right?

Favorites

Today Blake and I are celebrating our 7 year anniversary. Ok, so not much happening in the way of actual celebrating. Anybody want to babysit two toddlers and a 3 week old? :) However, we do have a lot to be proud of and thankful for. I couldn't be happier and am so lucky to be married to such a wonderful husband and father. I love you honey, we have accomplished so much in our short 7 years, it hasn't always been easy but we are blessed beyond measure!

There is so much I want to say about Adalyn's birth, summer break, and becoming a family of 5, eventually. For now, here are a few of my favorite recent snapshots.