This week I thought that I would just give an update on our family status. We have recently added a member to our family. He was born on Feb 3, 2014. All went well and even though I thought that I had EVERYTHING ready and planned…. I did not.
Freezer meals were ready, I had a birth plan in place, people arranged to come to my home to stay with my other kids, how it would work out when I came home from the hospital, and all of the new baby items arranged neatly ready for use.
None of that happened. Exactly. In that order. I did have freezer meals planned, but people were kind enough to make us enough meals to last for the entire week. It was very nice to have only paper plates to throw away and heat up a hot meal. The freezer meals will just last us longer because we did not have to use them yet.
My birth plan was to arrive at the hospital in time with my husband tying up the loose ends at home. I was going to try and have my baby natural, but then the pain started and I backed out. It is my fourth child, but it was still VERY painful even with the epidural. But, the epidural was painful so there was no way to escape the inevitable.
At the time we left for the hospital my helper at my home came down with the flu so they were unable to help at all. I mean with a new baby coming home and several other children there we did not want to have to deal with a sickness on top of other stress. I had to have a friend drive me to the hospital as my husband prepared for help at home. By the time he arrived at the hospital it was “GO” time with the baby.
Not to mention the next day we were expected to get the biggest snowfall of all….6-8 inches on top of what we have now.
My husband was able to go back and forth safely and did a great job managing our other children and household responsibilities.
When I arrived home with the baby, I had envisioned a well organized home and children. The kids were supposed to cooperate, they were going to be excited and very helpful. Our schedule would resume in a similar way as it did prior to the baby. Instead, it was chaos. One of my children decided it would be a good idea to skip his schoolwork while I was away, one of my children adored the baby and can’t keep his hands off of him (which was good to a point), and the third child who was the baby decided to regress from potty training and throw continuous meltdowns.
All of the clothes had been washed for the baby, but they were from 0-12 months. As I was trying to get him dressed I am having to throw clothes over the bed because he is crying and I needed something fast.
At one point I thought I was drowning in emotions that I could not explain. Then I went to bed, got very little rest and started the next day.
Circumstances seem better the next day, and then the next and so on and so forth.
So, here is the moral of the story…have a backup plan, and if doesn’t work just realize that if we take our days one by one we will get through them no matter how rough.
Murphy’s law will always come true when least expected.
Aw, that sounds like a rough go. I only have one little guy (so far), but nothing about his birth or first few months of life went according to plan, either. Hang in there!
Good luck! Hope your next days are a bit more relaxing!
I hope your days get better! I’m sure they will! Enjoy your new little one!
Every birth has its own story, and that’s part of what makes them great. Thanks for sharing, and enjoy your family!
Wow! I’m a single woman with no kids and I am definitely a planner. My mother constantly tells me that things hardly ever go according to plan when you’re a parent so I know she will be laughing at me when that day comes and I’m doing all of my planning. This is a great post. Sometimes we just have to roll with the punches. It sounds like you handle it all gracefully, so my hat’s off to you!
So, so true. I had a birth plan ready to go when I went into the hospital to have my daughter last year. Exactly NOTHING went according to plan, and I was emotional about that for months after her birth. I hope that everything is evening out around your house–and congrats on the new little one!
I hope things are calming down. When I came home with my firstborn the electricity went out. I was really emotional & whacked out with pain medicine from my c-section. My husband got a fire going and put a mattress in front of the fireplace so we could stay warm. Just when he got it all set up, the electricity went back on! So I hear you. Sometimes it’s just no use planning…
Wishing you the best and hoping that things fall back into place soon! I can greatly relate, though. It seems like whenever I make plans for anything, it doesn’t happen that way.
First off – congratulations on your new addition! Love this post – so honest and so true. You can plan all you want but that doesn’t mean life is going to go the away you planned. Wishing you all the best!!
Congratulations on your new baby. I’m glad everyone is home safe and sound. Everything will get better over time.No matter how well you have things planned it doesn’t take but one little thing to make it all go out the window. But everything will come together just fine. Just you wait and see.
Congratulations on the new addition and that being said… I could such a chuckle as I remembered my own catastrophes at child birth and they all happened with kids #2 and #3 (the epidural didn’t kick in until after the baby was born). Since my first one was induced and I had a private room, everything was planned out; I had no clue what to expect the next time around.
Wish I had you there as the “backup” plan 🙂
This artlice keeps it real, no doubt.
Thank you!
Congratulations on your new addition! I always love a good ‘baby story’. You are so right about Murphys Law! You will enjoy telling this story to your children when they are older.
Congratulations! A little reminder that sometimes… all the planning in the world does not matter. I am expecting #5 in June…a reminder to start preparing the freezer…. and, hope things at least somewhat according to plan!
Congrats! Isn’t it the truth that things never go as planned? Sounds like you have a good attitude now, so keep that up!
Thanks for sharing – there really is no preparing fully for a baby – there’s always surprises and things you can’t anticipate – so it is a good reminder to have a couple plans (b, c, d…) but at some point to just realize that being flexible is the most important skill you can have in your mommy toolbox!
Sarah’s Fare recently posted → <a href=”http://sarahsfare.com/eggs-in-a-nest/”>Eggs in a Nest</a>
Ahh, the best laid plans. At our house we have Browning’s law which states “Murphy was an optimist!”.
Sounds like you have a pretty good support system. Congrats on your boy
Sometimes I think it’s like we need a chain of back-ups for big things (like one main plan, with two alternative back-ups).
I can only imagine what it’s like adjusting to life with a newborn while you have 3 other children. I come from a family of 5 children, but my husband and I only have one son. Eventually we’ll add one more little one to the family, and that will be it for us! My birth story was almost the opposite of yours! Things were easy and effortless, I only wish I had thought to pack soap and shampoo in the hospital bag, since they didn’t have any at the hospital!
Congrats. Having 2 of my own, I understand how things never go as planned… my parents were driving into town as I was driving into the hospital. Glad all turned out!
I am sorry things didn’t go as planned. Challenges like this make us stronger. Glad you got through this.
Congratulations! My son was born 3 weeks early, so I can totally understand. Even that early, I thought I had everything planned out but didn’t. Thankful I had some great friends to help out. I hope everything is going much smoother for you! Enjoy the time with the baby 🙂
Stacey
GluedToMyCraftsBlog.com
Good advice. And congrats on your new little guy. Enjoy.
I’m a big believer in having a plan, but being flexible. It’s tough when you already have kids to be organized in so many ways and then to add a new baby to the mix only makes everything busier. I’m glad to hear that you’re now getting through a little better. Those first few days and weeks with a new baby are the hardest (as you know!) and I hope things start to settle down for you soon.
Congratulations on your fourth baby! And I totally understand having a back up plan. With my second child, he was super stubborn and would not come out. I went in the morning for my doctor’s examine with my toddler in tow. Only to find out that there was something wrong and they needed to induce me right away. I was so unprepared. My bag was packed but it was at home. I only had one diaper with me for my toddler and it was out in my car. It was also now lunch time and I had no snacks with me for my toddler. It was insane but I survived. Life does have a way of going on. Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
Congrats on your new baby! 😀 It’s always good to have a plan. Sadly they don’t always work out though. So great when things fall somewhat into place even when plans fail. And rest – everything always looks brighter and clearer when we’re rested. Very glad your days are getting easier! 😀
First of all, congrats! Second, yes! I am a planner, but have learned with two little ones to have the expectation of off-road driving. 🙂 Have fun with your family!
Congratulations on your newest baby. While it sounded like the perfect storm of events, I appreciate the fact that you had things planned.
All of parenthood is one long backup plan. But thats what makes the ride so frustrating and wonderful at the same time. Congrats on your newest little one.
Jennifer @ The Jenny Evolution and Generation iKid
I am a big believer in taking one day at a time. I’m glad things are going better. Congrats on your new little one!
Yes, we need to have a backup plan :)Although, we also need to see the good in everything that comes our way 🙂
Yes, I’m a planner as well and find it difficult when things don’t go as I planned. But it’s important to just take a breath, relax, and let it go. Hope things continue to smooth out as you go.
I’m a planner, too. Having a plan helps but there always is some curveball. Imagine if you hadn’t planned at all! I’m sure that things worked out better because you did have a plan!
Congratulations. The best plan is often to have no plan at all! Sounds like your doing great with and without the chaos, when a day seems too long go hour by hour or minute by minute, you will always get through!
Congrats on the new baby. A plan is always good, but flexibility is even better. I need to remember this when I over-react about changes in plans. Enjoy your boys. I have 3 of them myself. Full of energy and love.
Congratulations on the new arrival!
Congrats on the arrivall of your new baby.
I agree about flexiblity, and it sounds like you’re well on the way to being back on track.
Ooh goodness! Congratulations on your new baby and may your older baby help mama out a little.
Dang!! I’m sorry you had to go through this. I haven’t had any kids yet so I am glad to read something like this before experiencing it. Thank you for all the advice…