Life with three

So life with three is interesting to say the least.  If I only had the kids to worry about, life would be great! Juggling three kids isn't the hard part....it's all of the other "things" that need to be tackled that are difficult.  Laundry, cleaning, laundry, cooking, laundry...did I mention laundry?  Oh my, I'm amazed at the amount of laundry that a third child has added!  I feel like I'm doing laundry every other day...oh wait, I am!  We are making it and everyday brings a new adventure.  It's hard to believe that Andrew is five weeks old.  In some ways, it feels like he has been with us forever, and then I have to remind myself that he's only been in  here for five weeks!!  He definitely doesn't have a problem eating! From day one, he has known how to eat!

We went for his one month appointment last week and he was at 11 lbs 2 oz and he was 23.5 inches long.  Definitely growing!!  I will say, he has not been the easiest baby.  He cries most of the day and a lot right before bedtime.  When we went for our one month, our pediatrician decided that he probably had a couple of things going on.  First, he has acid reflux.  He spits up all the time and wanted to nurse all the time.  The pediatrician told us that he wants to nurse because the milk soothes his throat from the reflux.  Although he doesn't realize it, he is actually being counter-productive because the more he eats, the more he has reflux, so it is a continuous cycle.  We did get some medicine and we have seen improvements in his eating.  He is not wanting to eat all the time, so at least I can rest assured that I know that he is satisfied.  The crying has not stopped which led us to our other conclusion...collic.  Lovely.  There isn't a lot you can do for collic, but for the most part, I feel like I am handling it pretty well.  I'm not sure if it is the fact that it's a boy or the fact that I know this is our last, I'm trying to remember that this is only for a while and it's the last time I'm going to have a sweet newborn (cranky or not).  The hardest part has been handling the girls.  It's rare that I get to lay him down, so I feel guilty that the girls are not getting my attention.  I know they're not going to be scarred for life, but I feel so bad when Caroline wants to hold him after I have just gotten him to sleep or she wants me to do something, but I can't because he is screaming.  My parents took the girls for a few days this week, to which I am so thankful because I know they will get some much needed attention.  I'm going to try and create a plan of attack for when they return to try and allow myself more time with them.  (Any ideas welcome :-)

One more note about our doctors appointment.  Our pediatrician did detect a hear murmur and referred us to a cardiologist.  We went the next day to have him checked out.  She said that he looked great and that the murmur is considered an "innocent" or "normal" murmur, which basically means he will more than likely grow out of it.  If he doesn't, it won't restrict him in anyway.

Wow..this post ended up being longer than I thought...maybe I do have more to say than I originally thought, or maybe that's just me rambling...either way, thanks for reading :-)