My mom flew in on Sunday the 17th, which worked out perfectly with coming home from the hospital and everything. She stayed until the 28th and woke up in the middle of the night every night to give Ruth a bottle. I generally fed Ruth before bed and then first thing in the morning. Ruth generally slept for about four hours from the beginning, so there weren't two middle of the night feedings, which was wonderful. I feel like supplementing her with formula in the middle of the night has worked extremely well because she eats much faster from a bottle so everyone can get back to sleep more quickly. Plus,the formula tends to tide her over longer.
It was great to have my mom here for 11 days instead of her usual 7 because I really felt like I was able to recover from my sleep deprivation and everything else so it hasn't been as difficult for me to get up in the middle of the night with Ruth since she left. Of course, it was also great to have someone else to drop off and pick up the kids and help make lunch and talk to. I'm so grateful for my mom! Brian was also on paternity while she was here, so there was plenty of help to get us all adjusted.
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| Sydney had to finish her dinner bites to earn a Little Debbie treat. She likes to just stuff all the required bites into her mouth to be done and then takes forever to chew and swallow. In this picture, she's working on the chewing part with a full mouth and eying the treats. |
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| Wes and Sydney put the stuffed animals they got for Ruth (bunny from Sydney, dog from Wes) in the bouncer by her while she was sleeping. |
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| This boy sure loves his baby sister! He's always asking me where she is or how she's doing and loves giving her kisses and talking to her when she's awake. |
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| Wes wanted to brush Ruth's hair. And, when did his legs get so long?!? (I'm pretty sure he grew 3 inches on February 15th.) |
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| Grandma Swensen and her 11th grandchild. |
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| One of the rare awake moments in the first week. |
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| Baby Ruth with Baby Ruths! |
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| Grandma and a sleepy sister. |
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| Cute little girly outfit...that she's already growing out of! |
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| Ruth has a ton of dark hair...unlike my other kids. I had no idea I liked newborn hair until I had a baby with a bunch of it. |
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| I love letting newborns sleep on me. The first time I remember having it happen was with my nephew, Danny, who is now 12! Crazy! |
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| Great Grandma Ruth and Grandpa James Wesley Smith came over to meet baby Ruth. Yep, we like to name our kids after family. |
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| Brian's Uncle Jim and Aunt Gaylene also got to meet Ruth. |
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| Open eyes and ready for bed! |
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| I got Ruth ready for church, but we didn't end up making it that Sunday. |
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| She still looked cute! |
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| My niece, Ruby, has been so cute about Ruth. She really loves her and wants to help give her bottles and things.One night when we were with my sister's family for Family Home Evening, Wes said the prayer and prayed that Ruth and Ruby would grow up to be friends. Super cute...and I'm sure they will be. |
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| Ruby also liked giving Ruth hugs and patting her back (since that's what we all did after feeding her). What cuties. |
