Caring for a newborn — particularly of the extra demanding, sleep-despising variety, as our babies tend to come to us — is challenging, to say the least. ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

The warm fuzzies wore off after a few days home and gave way to numb exhaustion… our older kids are emotionally tapped out and constantly bickering, when they’re not being the sweetest angels and rushing to help us and make eyes at Gabriel. ⁣⁣⁣

So indulge me, for a moment if you will, for a bit of a photo dump ❤

⁣⁣⁣Andrew & I have about a 5% reservoir of patience left, and everyone is very, very tired. (did I mention Jonas picked this week to rebel against naps?) It’s a lot of ups and downs… 🤪 ⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣But I’ve been reminded recently of how blessed we are to have this sweet boy join our family, and having your third child at least comes with the benefit of some added perspective that this phase does, in fact, fly by at the speed of light. ⁣⁣⁣

⁣And my goodness, he may be draining me of all life force, but he is also the most beautiful baby in the world, and don’t you just want to eat those tiny toes up?! ⁣⁣⁣

Besides, I’ve found that newborns have a special way of peering straight into your soul as if to say, “I know this is hard, mama, but we’ll get through it. You’re the best.”

📸: @lydiaimages 😉⁣ (and yes, it may have been a terrible idea to not outsource photos to someone else — so much extra work for myself… — but I sure love practicing on my tiny model ♥️)⁣⁣