It’s been three weeks with Primrose in our lives. It’s a little unfair to me that the last few weeks of pregnancy can feel like an eternity. But then the next weeks/months just fly by. I’ve been looking back at the hospital pictures quite a bit and inevitably, each time I see those pictures, I’m brought to tears to think about how those first moments with her are over…never to be relived. It has been a great reminder to me to always enjoy the present and not to wish the time away.
Multiple times a day, as I’m spending time with the kids, I stop and tell myself to take a “mental photograph” so I can always remember that moment and the way I felt. And while I will surely forget a lot of those moments, I think it helps me to appreciate these years while the kids are young. There are definitely so many hard or stressful moments. But the good memories are what always stand out in my mind.
I already shared Primrose’s birth story a couple of weeks ago. But I wanted to follow up with some pictures from our first couple of days with her in the hospital. The more kids I’ve had, the more I appreciate the time I’m able to spend in the hospital when we have a newborn (especially after being stuck at home with 6 kids over the past few months haha) It’s not only nice to have someone to cook and clean for me, but it’s also so special to have that (much quieter) time to bond with our new baby before introducing the chaos.
Before I get to the pictures of her siblings meeting her for the first time, I have to share this side by side picture of Clementine (on the left) and Primrose (on the right.) They seriously look like twins–although Primrose was a whole pound chubbier. Many times during my stay (and for at least a week after) I felt kind of creeped out by how much she looked like Clementine. I really felt like I gave birth to the same child twice. I had a hard time identifying her as her own separate person (I know, that sounds weird. I just can’t explain it!) But now, 3 weeks later, I feel like it’s getting easier to see her as Primrose and not as Clementine.
If you already watched the birth vlog, then you would have already seen the kids’ reactions to their new baby sister. As they shuffled in the room, they all instantly started oohing and ahhing over her. One of my biggest fears was Clementine’s reaction to seeing me holding a new baby. I was confident that there would be jealousy issues because she fights with Desmond over me all the time!
But once she saw Primrose, she started excitedly pointing and repeating the word “baby!” which she still repeats no less than 100 times a day haha. She has never shown a single bit of jealousy about the new baby (except the times that she’s jealous that someone else is holding her baby and she has to wait her turn.)
She was the first to hold her and kept hugging her over and over. It was the sweetest thing in the world! Even after coming home, she has shown the same excitement over her new sister. Every morning she comes running into our room, looking for her “baby!” I look forward to watching their relationship grow over the years.
(excuse all the weird lighting and blurry/grainy photos that are coming!)
Desmond was next in line to hold her. I thought he would show minimal interest but he absolutely adores her! He really didn’t care too much about Clementine when she was born so it’s been fun to see his love for Primrose. Multiple times a day he says “I want to hold it/that!” He holds her for quite a while and will just stare down at her and kiss her. I probably have 100 videos/pictures of them together because I’m obsessed with watching him with her.
With the older kids, I had no doubt that they would adore their new sister. They each fell in love with her as soon as they met her. And they’ve all been such great helpers since we’ve been home. Whether it’s holding her, grabbing diapers/wipes for me, or helping out with Desmond or Clementine while I’m busy, their help has been so wonderful and appreciated! And I love watching each of them with her and the way they all have their own special relationship with her.
And our first family photo–which was kind of a fail because the settings were not set right to have us all in focus. But I’m still including it because I can’t believe this is my life and that I get to be the mom to all these sweet children.
When we were in the labor and delivery room, I told the nurse about my best friend having her baby earlier in the day and asked if there was a way for my room to be close to hers. The nurses were trying everything they could to make it happen. Unfortunately there were too many women birthing babies the same day as us and there weren’t any more available rooms on that floor. So we were moved to a different floor. And because of the safety features set in place at our hospital, we were not able to take our babies on the elevator to meet each other (I’ll get back to that in a minute.)
If that wasn’t disappointing enough, I had been saying for quite a while that I hoped that I wouldn’t end up in a room with one window. When Clementine was born, we only had one tiny window in our room that only let in a fraction of natural light. And I did NOT want that to happen again. Well guess what was the first thing I noticed as we rolled up to our room? Yep, one tiny little window. The nurses probably thought I was being a bit dramatic when they heard my reaction haha. We were there during a couple of very gloomy days so our room was so dark so that explains all the awful lighting in these pictures.
Anyway, Maggi and I were very determined for our babies to meet in the hospital and the nurses were trying everything they could. Even my wonderful doctor (who is also Maggi’s doctor) was trying to work it out so I could transfer rooms. Unfortunately they weren’t able to work it out (although I was offered to transfer rooms to a something with more windows haha. But at that point I didn’t want to create a bunch of extra work for the staff.) But thankfully Maggi was discharged and able to come visit us. So we were able to get the matching baby pictures that we were wanting! I know I’m like a broken record saying this but it really was so special for them to share a birthday and have their first “play date” in the hospital! I hope they are always best friends!
We spent 2 nights in the hospital–which normally is complete torture to me (because of my cancer history and spending so much time there as a teenager.) But this time I really just enjoyed soaking up this quiet time with our new baby girl. I truly wish I could relive those days.
Coming home to 6 kids who were SO hyped up and excited to see their new sister was quite overwhelming and it made me nervous about taking on life with 7 kids. But honestly, after the first couple of days, everyone calmed down and now it feels like she’s just always been in our family. I don’t really feel like she has made things any more difficult (except taking a bit longer to get out of the house in the mornings.) But I think it really is true what they say–once you reach a certain amount of kids…adding another child to the chaos is so much easier!
But I will say that I’m still completely overwhelmed at the thought of taking all the kids anywhere by myself yet! So for now, we’re having to say “no” to a lot of events that happen during Don’s work hours until I feel more comfortable.
While we were waiting to be discharged, we took a few pictures to document our time in the hospital. Funny story–as I was packing my hospital bag, I noticed that the robe I got matched the outfit that I packed for Primrose. I guess you can say that I’m consistent with my love of florals? haha
Once I noticed how much they looked alike, I knew I needed to take some “twinning” pictures! I have had multiple people ask where I got the matching set. They actually are from two different shops!
The robe is this delivery robe from Pinkblush. I love their robes because they are so soft and make me feel so much more put together in the hospital room!
The darling little baby gown is from Little Miss Dessa. This is seriously one of my absolute favorite baby outfits right now. It’s so convenient to be able to quickly untie the gown to change a diaper (without having to worry about a zipper or snaps!) You can use the code RAISINGROBERTS to get 15% off your purchase. Make sure you look through her whole shop because she has so many adorable outfits and prints for girls and boys!
Sorry! Picture overload! I couldn’t help myself! Anyway, I know I’ve already said it but we SO appreciate all the sweet comments, messages, emails, etc. from everyone! I try to reply as much as I can..but sometimes I miss something or forget to get back to people. Never hesitate to reach out again (unless you’re trying to offer any weight loss programs or supplements haha!) Trust me, I want to get back in shape too. But I don’t want to be reminded by strangers on the internet that I need to 😉
We love sharing the joys and difficulties of life with a large family! I’m so happy to have you all along for the journey!!
And I’m happy to say that Primrose’s siblings are just as obsessed with her now as they were when they first met her. Everyone wants to hold her at least once every day. But Clementine and Desmond are usually asking multiple times every day. It’s a little exhausting because they usually wake her up, but I don’t want to discourage their eagerness so I usually try to say yes more than I say no.
