It has been nearly three weeks since Ryan joined our family and that means it has been three weeks of non-stop snuggles at our house. Ryan is the cuddliest baby and is happiest when he is curled up on someone's chest. Since there is no shortage of people in our house who are willing to hold him, he gets snuggles pretty much any time he wants. It's debatable who enjoys it more, him or us. I have always loved newborn snuggles (honestly who in the world doesn't?!) but this time around they are extra amazing. I appreciate just how wonderful it is to be able to simply pick up my baby to hold him without having to disconnect him from anything first. I enjoy walking around the house with him in my arms without being connected to any tubes or wires. I love having him peacefully sleep on my chest without constantly monitoring each breath to make sure that air is moving in and out of his lungs. When he sleeps - which he is a great sleeper - I can actually sleep myself instead of just lightly dozing while listening for nearly silent cues that my baby needs something. He is still a newborn and is waking up frequently at night, but all I have to do is feed him, swaddle him, and lay him in his crib and we both go right back to sleep. He's never even had his days and nights mixed up. He does think that if he is awake he needs to be eating but you won't hear me complain about getting to spend more time nursing my sweet baby. He can be very vocal when he is unhappy (meaning he has a very loud cry- or maybe it just feels loud because we were so used to Ellie's silent cry) but he consoles so easily it never is much of a problem. What I am trying to say is after everything we went through with Ellie having a typical newborn is pretty simple and enjoyable. One thing is sure he has us all completely wrapped around his little finger.
Looking at all these pictures makes me miss my big kids. It's been over a week since they took off to Utah with Grandma and Grandpa. The house has been a little too quiet without them. Good thing we'll be back with them tomorrow before Ryan starts getting used to life as an only child. The break has been nice, but I can't wait to have my kids back together under the same roof again.
