It has been almost 2 weeks since we brought our little Hannah home, and I love it that we all are settling into our "new normal" routine! As nice as the NICU staff was, it feels SO wonderful to have everyone at home.
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| Our first family photo of all of us together! |
Needless to say, life is very. very. very busy. And a little redundant day to day, but honestly, (for the most part) I am loving it! It's not easy by any means, but I have no doubt God designed me to be a wife & mother to 5 (albeit 4/5 are quadruplets). I still marvel that my journey included years and years of having a crazy maternal instinct paired with frustrating infertility. I was so confused and at times downright frustrated, wondering if I ever would be a mommy, but now I know He had this plan all along! God has provided Abundantly. Not that this is at all everyone's story, but for me, it has been and I just marvel at His providence. We are so blessed!
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| Tyler, Lauren, Hannah & Tanner |
This is what life is like in the Niemeyer Household these days. The babies are, overall, very well "trained" from their stay in the NICU! They still sleep most of their day away, and we feed them every 3 hours. Sometimes they rouse around a feeding time, but often we have to wake them up. Times are 9am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm, 9pm, 12am, 3am, & 6am. Yes, we are tired often.
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| Me the other morning- very tired abut with 4 babies needing snuggling (while Andy got the other child off to Preschool!) |
Because there are 4 babies and they take anywhere from 20-30 minutes to eat their bottle, feeds last anywhere from 1-2 hours depending on multiple factors including baby alertness & pace, amount of people helping feed, etc. So if you do the math, that means I usually get about an hour or so stretch between feeds. We are working on elongating the night feeds, but still figuring it out. We also have help at night and early morning often, which is AWESOME for right now. But lots and lots and lots of bottles. Here is what the kitchen counter often looks like!
We have been blessed with friends and family offering to come and help, which is great. We do get help frequently... I have no idea how we could manage otherwise! There is always lots of laundry to do, life to live, and general house cleaning (ahem... like bottles washed over, & over, & over...)!
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| Snug as bugs in a rug! They love sleeping near each other! |
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| Hannah, Tanner, Tyler & Lauren |
We are trying to keep our date nights and church attendance to twice a
month (without babies, of course!), which feeds our marriage,
emotional, and spiritual life so much. Then there are doctor
appointments, errands needing to be done, friends and family visiting...
life is really busy! And feedings. Lots and lots of feedings-- have I
mentioned that yet?!?
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| Our entry way fixtures, for when we need to go out for doctor appointments. It almost seems normal to see this every day. |
We try to give Jenna lots of
attention and love, while still teaching her boundaries with the babies
and keeping consistent discipline. I strive to balance having Jenna
at home with us but also with friends and family, which is a catch-22. It is so helpful
when she can get away and have others' attention, but then I really want
her at home having family time, too.
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| Some of our nieces visiting and holding babies! |
I find
that Jenna can try to push the limits more when she is away or with
others more, so thus the balance. With one new baby I know siblings
can have their world turned upside down, so all the more four babies
have really impacted Jenna's life! Despite this, she has been SUCH a
big help and is so understanding for a 4-year old. Jenna is also doing
really well with Preschool and loving that, so life goes on for our
vivacious little girl.
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With a neighbor friend at a parade the other day
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So, our new normal life is busy, but good!
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| Daddy kissing chubby cheeked Lauren |
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| Look at the boys smiling!! |
Last night, Andy was feeding the girls and I was feeding the boys. I said to him, "This feels normal now, does it to you?" Giving a little chuckle, he agreed. Our new normal. And life is good!
Hugs!
Becky
Becky this is so awesome. I remembered my new normal when the twins came home from the NICU. We had a schedule. We were not as lucky as you are to have help, but it really did feel right when everything settled down and it was just us and them. Thanks for sharing your life with us I enjoy all the pics and your blogs are always awesome. Oh by the way do you have a lot of bottles and feedings? LOL ;)
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