Home 6 weeks...Successes and Challenges

Matthew and Michael have been home for 6 weeks yesterday....6 weeks! On one hand it has gone by fast, yet on the other hand it really seems like 6 weeks!

Both boys are doing well. They have both gained over 3 lbs each. They have moved up TWO sizes in diapers! I am amazed at their growth!! They will both look at us in the eye now...Matthew more often than Michael, but they do both do this now. They are coming to life....literally!

Matthew is sitting up better every day. We are working on his posture while sitting so he will get his shoulders in line with his hips and not slouch and topple over. He is not crawling yet but he rolls like nobody's business to get where he wants to go. Michael does an awesome army crawl and can pull himself up and has started cruising around the furniture this week. At this rate, he'll be walking before long!

As good as it has been going, there have been challenges.

Trimming nails: I've also noticed that their hair and nails grow at warp speed, literally, now that they have plenty of good nutrition. I can hardly keep up with trimming them before it is time to do it again. At first, Michael was terrified of the nail clippers. He CRIED and CRIED at the sight of them. I slowely started to show them to him, let him touch them and hold them. We did this for quite awhile but his nails were getting longer and he started to scratch himself so eventually, I did what had to be done.... I firmly held on to his hands and clipped with the speed of a ninja. It's getting MUCH better now. He still does not like me trimming his nails, but he does sit still for me with no tears. Progress!

Cutting hair: I've had to cut both boys hair already. Neither liked it one bit! Nope! I would go as far as to say they hated it with every fiber in their bodies! Yep...it was that bad! I showed them the trimmer, turned it on/off/on/off, let them touch it and hold it both off and then on and they did pretty well...until...I tried to trim their hair. You would have thought I poked them with a hot poker. I backed off and just let them touch and hold the trimmer off/on/off/on and we ended that first session on a good note.

Second session we repeated the above process with a little more success. This time I was able to run the trimmer through their hair somewhat so feeling this was progress, we again ended on a good note. Third session was way better. I actually got to trim around their ears and a little on their necks. We still have a ways to go to having a full hair cut, but we are getting there.

Bath time: Both are starting to like their baths finally. Just tonight, Matthew let me sit him up and he started splashing and batting at toys. Before now, he would only tolerate being laid down with no splashing or playing. He gave me the biggest smile tonight when he discovered how much fun bath time could be! Michael has been splashing for a couple of weeks but this week he is also enjoying putting toys in and out of his row boat while in the bath. It's really cute!

Brushing teeth: Well...it's getting better. They both had NEVER had their teeth brushed before and they were terrified when we tried. We learned to take it slow by touching their hands, then their lips, then their tongues with the back of the toothbrush. Once they accepted this, we did the same thing with the bristles. We still have to hold them firmly, but they pretty much let us brush their teeth without any tears now.

Some people have asked how *Jeff and I* are doing. We are doing good. We face this challenge like we face all our challenges...together. We tag-team a lot. We enlist the help of our older kids from time to time. We pray A LOT! Having 6 kids before bringing Michael and Matthew helped ease the transition I think. After all, we were already used to having a lot of kids and the work that goes into having a large family. We are no strangers to work.

There is one thing that has surprised me though.....the laundry! It has kinda taken on a life of it's own. I promise it has more than tripled. OH-MY-GOODNESS, having 9 people in the house does create a lot of laundry anyway but having three little boys creates A WHOLE LOT of laundry! I do many loads a day.

Other challenges: I have never has three in diapers at the same time or three not walking, or three who cannot feed themselves. It is a challenge trying to figure out how to physically do it. We're getting there. I think it just takes time and practice to learn what we can and cannot do. Oh, and patience...LOTS of patience. God knew what He was doing when He brought Matthew and Michael to us at this time in our lives! He knew we could handle this. It's not always easy, or pretty, or fun but it is always rewarding, special and right. I absolutely LOVE being the mother to our 8 kids no matter how challenging it can be!

So yeah, it's been 6 weeks since Michael and Matthew got home and it has been the best, most tiring, most challenging, incredible, loads-and-loads-of-laundry-every-day 6 weeks of my life and I would not change one thing!