Adventures in Babyland

There are a lot of posts that I've planned in my head while I sit and hold my baby, but I don't know that I'll ever get around to them. I do want to post some more pictures .

The girls love to take turns holding Spencer. I love that Sadie frequently says "I just love him" (except she pronounces love "lub"). Sadie also calls him "buddy". It is very sweet.

Kate is very good with Spencer. She is very careful and really likes to help. The 2nd week Spencer was home Kate got some bug bites that got infected with staph. Until the bites healed, she was super contagious. That was a rough week not only because we had to be so careful about germs, but because we had to drain the bites and massage them, etc. and it was very painful. Kate was such a trooper letting us take care of her bites and also taking some pretty nasty medicine without complaint. The hardest part for her was not being able to be around Spencer. She likes so much to be involved and it made her so sad to have to stay away. We're so glad everyone is healthy now.

Tummy time. Look at how well he lifts his head - I'm such a proud mama! He also likes to lift his legs up like that and even gets his hips off the ground sometimes - it's hilarious.

Squeaky clean.

Every baby needs three mamas.

This week Spencer weighed in at 10 1/2 lbs. He has been back on breastmilk for two weeks (I'm not restricting anything in my diet either) and he's doing great - no blood in his stool - hooray! But it sure is fun to keep inspecting for it :) I am trying to transition him to total breastfeeding and he finally seems to be making some improvement. We'll see how that goes. The whole breastfeed, bottle-feed, pump routine was getting old fast because it just takes so much time.

Spencer has a mellow personality. He loves to be held but is also doing pretty well sleeping on his own. He spits up LOTS and poops out his diapers lots and in general produces a huge amount of laundry. We're still in the trenches of having a new baby. You know, those days when your daily ambition is to shower and perhaps feed your other children. It is easy to forget how completely needy newborns are, how taking care of them requires almost every minute of every day. But it is such a privilege to have such a responsibility. It is such a wonderful feeling to be needed so completely by another human being, to be loved so unconditionally by this sweet baby. He just stares into my eyes with such love and makes me feel important and beautiful and needed. I feel humbled to be a mother. There are definitely many quiet moments that I feel the truth of this quote: "Motherhood is near to divinity. It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind. It places she who honors its holy calling and service next to the angels" (First Presidency Statement, 1935). I am grateful to be a mother. And when it is hard (which is most of the time), I try to remember that Heavenly Father wants me to succeed at being a mother, and so He will help me. And oh how I need that help. And I have received that help time and time again.