Postpartum living is hard. There’s that lovely little fog you live in for the first few weeks, too tired and too stupid to care. You just live. You sniff the baby head and you glow and you fall asleep mid sentence.
And then there’s the next three weeks (i.e. RIGHT WHERE I AM) where you try to rejoin Life As You Knew It and discover you know nothing any more. Where the baby finds a routine and then changes it the next day. Where one day you start a load of laundry and then three days later you find it mildewed in the washing machine.
And then sometimes, everybody gets the plague while your husband is out of town and you just gotta shut ‘er down and survive.
You step over the giant basket of laundry in the middle of the hall, you wade through the piles of unfolded clothes in the laundry room to put another batch of puke-ridden blankets in the machine. You let the TV do the baby-sitting so you can nurse ad infinitum and try to find food in the half hour you’re unattached. You do crazy things like buy a pump even though you swore you’d never use one again, you drink ridiculous herbs to try and save a waning milk supply, and you sleep whenever you can under a pile of laundry on your bed that is no longer identifiable as clean or dirty.
I’m always prepared for the postpartum craze. It’s the random curveball that inevitably comes in the midst of the craze that gets me.
Is it always this crazy in this house? Somebody save me...
Which is why I’m so grateful for Our Village. I talk about them all the time, but it never hurts to say thank you again. Gran and Pops, who have heated up the highway to spend countless days here, doing house projects, handling laundry (Gran even hangs up tank tops, something I never bother with), and giving out hugs and kisses like gum. Usually in addition to gum.
Aunt Abbi, who has risked contamination from our plague to hold my hand this week, shoving food in my face and fighting me for baby cuddles. She got a taste of our Vortex of Adventure and now has a healthy respect for it and our ability to spread germs.
The food that shows up at the door, Mrs. Jean who helps me with Mira’s hair, the random chocolate deliveries by friends who speak my love language, and even my own children getting mama a drink of water… they sustain me.
Raising kids, having babies, whether you have 1 or 7, it doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It doesn’t happen alone. I can’t do it all. I can’t even brush my teeth these days. But I am awash with gratefulness for the folks that tolerate my shower-less eau de postpartum and love me anyway. They love us right on through these crazy days.
And they carry us into the new frontier ahead.
He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. Psalm 91:11-12
Keep plugging on, Mrs. Fanning, and you and your Village can do it to the glory of God! I love you!
um, I’m right there with you, right now.
My family all live a several days drive away. If I could, I would do anything to get my momma out here and take care of me and my babies while I try to get over this nasty bug. I am trying to count my blessings a la Ann Voskamp to drive away the yucky feelings of this-is-so-unfair-that-I’m-sick-and-have-a-new-baby!
hugs and love! hope you feel much better!
Goodness gracious. I’m sorry you’ve all been sick. Keep hanging in there! And also? That picture of Finn? Hi. Larious. I just love it.
You’re a rock star, LL. Glad the plague is on its way out.
That photo of the babe plus the caption is PERFECT. and bless you for sharing a photo of the madness that is laundry and sick children and puke bowls. I’m thinking this is an excellent post to share on my weekly Life:Unmasked linky.
Hang in there. The postpartum phase does end… eventually (thank God, or we’d never survive as a species!).
Ain’t that the truth – that first few weeks when you’re finding new normal is so hard, whether its’ Baby #1 or #7, eh? Blessings on you all, LL.
I can’t leave chocolate on your door step, but I’m sending prayers.
This is so beautiful. Both of my babies were NICU preemies, and the first one spent 7 weeks in there. I had people give me rides to the hospital, my sister-in-law cleaned my house (because my first arrived VERY unexpectedly 10 weeks early just a couple of days after I left my teaching career), and all of my family (I even had cousins) from several hours away drove down to lend support.
Now days with a 2 year old and a 1 year old hasn’t gotten that much easier. We have no family in town, but we have a new community of help these days. They help in ways they do not know. It is our young adult friends. One gal comes by at just the right time with Dr. Pepper and to help me put the kids to bed (my husband has a weird work schedule), another comes by bring cinnamon rolls and coffee. An older lady stops by with coffee and conversation. Obviously they know my need for adult interaction and caffeine.
I’m so sorry Lora. That sounds crazy awful. I”m thankful for your village too. Hang in there. Praying for a new healthy normal soon for y’all.
Julie
What would we DO without community? Large or small, sometimes just one person to fill in that space that needs filling in. Oh, thank you LORD. Postpartum life is HARD. I don’t care who you are or how many kiddos you have. It’s just stinking hard.
But that picture of Finn is PERFECTION.
Sorry you all got sick
Hoping you feel better super soon! I once had a neighbor come over in my madness of post-partum and offer to fold the clothes covering the couch (Yeah, she is a sweetheart!) I also threatned her with harm if she ever even thinks of moving away!
The picture of Finn is so funny, I laughed. Welcome home Finn, this is your family!
Again, hoping you get back to the new normal soon!!
Stephanie
I’m so sorry for the sick. Ugh.
Our house sometimes looks like that first picture even when we are all well.
I’m so glad you have so much help and support. I always tell people that the only reason our life works the way it does is because we have had help at every stage. I hope I never have to move, because I love this community too much.
The first time I saw that picture of Finn I thought, “Uh oh. LL’s been hitting the coffee again…” =)
Thanks for sharing!
I’m so glad you have family and friends close by to help when you call them.