Um So Carey What The HECK Happened To You?

I realize it has been since February since I blogged. I am sure people have wondered what in the world happened to me. Well it is quite simple. A few days after my last entry I got one of these:

Needless to say shortly after that occured, I wasn't quite myself. Okay, I was uber sick all the time for close to 4 months. THEN I became possessed by this need to purge all the crap out of my house. THEN I had to organize what was left. THEN I started having false labor contractions. And by the time it all settled down I had about a month to go and was trying to get ready. In the end we ended up with a precious baby girl on October 20, 2011. She was 7 pounds and 9 oz and 20 and 1/2 inches long. We named her Mara. So yes, the pattern was preserved. We now have boy, girl, boy girl. Everyone is healthy and happy. With the exception of having 3 older and overexcited children who love a little to roughly on baby we are doing great.


Of course the birth brought with it some questions and so I'll just answer them right here.


Yes we may sometimes be crazy, but it isn't because we had a fourth child. Yes she was planned, in fact they all were. We don't know whether we will have more. Maybe we will, and maybe we won't, but if you ask me once I am in menopause I can tell you for sure. We weren't specifically trying for a girl. We don't really think God works that way, but clearly He agreed with our other daughter's 2 year long campaign for a sister and provided. Yes we do think the Duggars are awesome, but no we aren't striving to catch up with them. Yes my hands are often full but they aren't overburdened.


Of course the biggest question is, "How do you handle four?"


I want to dispell a little myth. Parenting doesn't become exponentially harder with every child you have. It may seem that way because the second child, in my experience, is the hardest transition and the work does double. However, it doesn't triple with three or quadruple with four. The work load remains pretty constant with the third and beyond, but the noise level peaks with number three. With the fourth it was just adding another head to count in the great zone defense that goes on in our home. Maybe it is because she is an easygoing baby, but four has been our easiest transition so far. Now of course other things logistically change, but the work isn't all that much more. Maybe that is just me, but it isn't nearly as insane as I expected.


Keep in mind we added our children one at a time and the gaps between births have gotten larger each time. There are twenty-one months between my first two, two years and nine months between my second and third, and this last gap is just shy of four years. There is an enormous difference in juggling the needs of a toddler and a newborn versus a preschooler and a newborn, especially with the preschooler is already toilet trained and can get him or herself dressed.


The biggest obstacle we have is really that there is uber amounts of "love" coming from the older children to the point that it is near dangerous for Mara. We have to be super vigilent because despite loving correction we still have children patting her head too hard, trying to pick her up, and attempting to climb into the crib with her. The whole inside voice thing is not there as much as we would like either. It will work out.


Glad to be back in the saddle and hope to be blogging more consistently.