March 4

Today is Eli's due date. 

Actually, his initial due date was February 27, but after the 20-week ultrasound, they moved it back to today. 

With my three previous pregnancies, my due dates always found me repeating that classic line about deadlines: I love deadlines. I especially like the sound they make as they go flying by. I also adopted the habit of answering every phone call with "no baby yet" and starting every blog post with "still no baby", just so that well-meaning friends and family wouldn't pester me. 

Exhibit A: the day after Daisy's due date

Exhibit B: the day after Lily's due date (yes, I was bold enough to plan Caleb's birthday celebration for the day after her due date. I was confident she wouldn't arrive on time. Much like I was confident that Eli wouldn't arrive on time. Although we are at the point now where I could probably host a birthday celebration tomorrow if I needed to - it would just be with my five week old.)

This time around, I definitely didn't believe my due date was right; I really thought my baby would come sometime between March 11 and March 17. I was hoping for March 11. Meanwhile, both God and my baby had other plans, and Eli is now closing in on 5 weeks old. 

Funny how that goes, isn't it?

Today - Eli's due date - was a late-start day at school for Caleb, so Chris took the morning off work and we all went out to breakfast. Caleb chose the restaurant (Steak n Shake), and it was a disaster. But he got a paper race car and chocolate chip pancakes, so he was happy.

Chris got Caleb on the bus and headed to work, and the rest of the day was a disaster for me. It took Lily 2 hours to go down for her nap, and then she only slept for an hour. 

Eli wanted to nurse every 2 hours, and his nursing sessions take an hour (attempt to nurse on the right, nurse on the left, pump the right, feed him the bottle of pumped milk), so I only got an hour between feedings. But he only wanted to be held during that hour, so I actually didn't get any downtime.

Caleb got home from school and immediately began pestering me about screen time, which didn't happen.

Caleb and Daisy got wind of what was on the dinner menu (tacos) and immediately began complaining.

Chris got home from work late.

Eli only wanted to eat and be held.

And so on. I insisted that Chris put the kids to bed early, but he is still working to get Lily down. Eli is still on me, in the ring sling, because he has decided that now, when Mommy really needs a break, is a good time to have his alert period today.

But you came here for pictures, not complaints, didn't you?

Well. Before her nap today, Daisy helped feed Eli a bottle.

She needed very little help, and she was so proud of herself!

There. That picture more accurately reflects how happy she was.

Sweet big sister! I think now, with Baby #4, the most fun part is watching how the bigger kids relish their new role as a responsible, helper sibling. It is so sweet. 

Dinnertime: I made dinner with Eli wrapped on my chest, and he was content long enough for me to prepare the meal. Just as I sat down to eat a bite of my dinner, he woke up and wanted to eat.

No hot dinner for mama.

Luckily, Chris handled the big kids and their complaints, and I escaped to my room to feed Eli. When I returned, I found all of my children wearing their paper Steak n Shake hats from this morning.

 

And now Eli is still awake, and Mama still needs a break.

Someday I will look back on this with fondness and nostalgia, and tell random young moms how quickly it goes by. Or maybe I won't. Maybe I'll remember how long some days can be, and offer the young mom a sympathetic glance and a piece of chocolate.