We survived our first few weeks as a family of six! Truthfully, this has gone so much easier than I thought it would. Granted I still haven’t done a full morning getting the boys ready and taking them to school by myself, which will be tough, but everything else has gone beautifully. Owen is an amazingly easy baby who can sleep through absolutely anything. I swear he got used to the sound of chaos while still in the womb because very little phases him other than being hungry or peeing his onsie!

The older boys have reacted very sweetly to him, with Colin in particular. He is so gentle with him and truly seems to love being a big brother. He’ll help throw away dirty diapers in the trash and loves to snuggle him. I was bracing myself for jealous fits but they never happened and it’s been very touching to see. And since I’ve been home from the hospital, the boys have generally been very well behaved. Mind you I didn’t say “calm” or “quiet” but as well behaved as a 6, 4, and 2-year-old rambunctious boy can be and far better than they were during the end of my pregnancy!

I have also felt 100x better now that the pregnancy is over. I am back on top of my game again and looking forward to losing the weight and feeling my best. From the moment I left the hospital and through those first 3 days, I have to admit I was a bit of an emotional mess. I was very weepy over everything and devastated over the thought that I likely just had my last baby. I couldn’t bear the thought of not having another at first and it was making me cry all the time. But now that the dust has settled, I am feeling much better. I suspect that things will continue to improve even more as I move through this postpartum period.

As with each pregnancy and new baby, I learn a lot about myself. I come through the other side feeling stronger and more settled in myself each time. It’s almost as though pregnancy breaks me down and birth rebuilds me. I am really going to love being a mom to 4 boys. I can feel it. Owen is like a missing puzzle piece that has finally been placed – and the finished picture is quite beautiful.