Peter at Home

And we left the hospital.
This is a particularly happy moment for me.  It's not that I don't like the hospital-- in fact, I do-- people at my beck and call, bringing me food and drink and constantly asking if they can get me anything.  I like that part, but leaving the hospital with a healthy baby is not something I take for granted.
That being said, I knew full well what awaited me at home and what those first couple of weeks would be like.  The heavenly feeling of holding a newborn babe for hours on end.  The hormonal roller coaster and aching body of recovery.  Changing tiny baby diapers and staring into their perfect faces.  The sleepless nights and messy house.  The best of times, the worst of times.   I think there is far more good than bad about those first few weeks and they are so worth it, but it is challenging nonetheless.

The rest of them are adorable too.  Some of them are actually really quite helpful.  Some of them, namely George, try so very hard to be helpful.  And we try so very hard to have him feel that he is helpful, lest he turn against the baby and us.  Most of his helpfulness involves touching Peter A LOT!  It is an exercise in patience for me.

But like I said, some of them are exceedingly helpful.  Bethany got home from girls' camp the day after we got home from the hospital.  She was anxious to snuggle her newest little brother.

Having a baby with older children has it's challenges (I'll discuss that later), but WOW! it has its advantages as well.  For example, when I need to shower, I just turn him over to Bethany or Elinor and shower in peace.  That might not seem like much unless you have experience the terror of showering while a newborn lays in a bouncy chair at the mercy of an older toddler sibling who is supposed to be watching PBS kids.  That is real fear.

I have lots of sweetheart sleeping pictures of Peter. 

He sleeps a bit.  He is awake for a bit.  And he nurses (half asleep, half awake) A LOT! 

But when he is awake he has the brightest, big eyes.  They make me happy.  They remind me a bit of Clark's big eyes when he was a baby.

To be honest, I've had a hard time taking a picture of him when he is awake where he doesn't look a little crazy. 

But to me he is the most perfect, beautiful creature ever.  I am his mother, after all.

I am so grateful he is here.  There are lots of adjustments to make postpartum, but for me, it beats the last trimester of pregnancy in the summer hands-down.  Peter is a  VERY snuggly baby.  He reminds me a lot of Bethany as a baby--he sleeps best right next to me and he is instantly calmed by being held close.

Peter's first neighborhood walk-about.  I needed a bit of fresh air and we had to test out his new wheels.  He liked it, and the kids all took turns strolling him about.

I'll end this post with a picture of Peter and my biggest "helper".  George loves Peter.  He loves to be by him, hold him, touch him, lay his head on Peter's head, smell Peter, talk to him, sing to him.  I feared that with George being 4 he might be old enough to harbor some resentment.  Before we went to the hospital to have Peter, George told us, "Peter is a baby and I'm a baby.  There will be two babies!"  You can see why I had some concerns.
Shortly after Peter came home, George said to me, "I don't want you to call me a baby anymore.  You can call me Big Boy George."
Oh, good.  That whole two-baby-thing could have gotten ugly.  George is Peter's biggest fan.