Lincoln's Newborn Photos

Lincoln is 8 days old today. He is SUCH a dream baby. He had his one week check-up today and weighed in at 9lbs! He is eating like a champ. And can I just say how much I LOVE nursing just one baby?! Honestly, everything seems so much easier this time around. 

Kolli was a pretty difficult newborn. I don't know if it was because I was a first-time mom or because she really was that hard, but she was super fussy almost all of the time. I remember countless nights being up literally the entire night walking around the house with her trying anything I could think of to calm her down. I was so sleep deprived that I think not getting enough sleep made me develop a little bit of postpartum. I cried a lot with her, and always felt a little unsure of how to help her.  

Next, I had the twins. When we found out I was pregnant with them I was beyond excited. Having twins had always been a childhood dream of mine and I couldn't believe that it was actually happening! I went nuts with YouTubing and googling anything and everything I could get my hands on before they came into our lives. Before they were born I knew that I wanted to keep them on the same schedule and I also knew exactly how I was going to nurse them; using a twin nursing pillow, holding them each in the football hold, and nursing them at the same time. When they were born, however, nursing was haaaarrd. A lot harder than I had imagined it would be, but I was determined and there was no way I was going to give up. Nog had to help me every single time for the first two weeks and even in some instances after that. But I kept at it and was able to nurse them for the whole first year of their lives. 

That said, I was really nervous for the transition to four kids. I was so incredibly excited about adding another baby to our family but I had momentary breakdowns, wondering how in the world I was going to manage raising four kids under the age of four. Then, I was sent Lincoln. I'm still in awe at what an incredibly content baby he is. The Lord knew I needed him. :) The transition has been better than I ever could have imagined and the older kids have all adjusted so well. Nog is still here helping me at home which is the best thing ever. I pretty much take care of Lincoln all day while he takes care of Kolli, Reesie, and Brykie. So, I will admit, I am just a little nervous for him to go back to work next week. ;)  

At one-day-old, after I had gotten Lincoln dressed he was wide awake and happy, so we couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a few pictures!

We then took these photos at two-days-old.

The photos with all the kids were taken today, at eight-days-old. I wanted to space out taking all of the pictures, so that we wouldn't get burned out. I have found that taking newborn photos on someone else's schedule stresses me out. I stress out for the photographer if my kids aren't in good moods and I feel bad for trying to make them pose forever when they just aren't in the mood. 

I have found that if I take my own photos when everyone is in a good mood and on our time table it takes hardly any time at all! Then, you're done and everyone stayed happy because they didn't have to sit and pose until the end of time. Nog and I (and the tripod on self-timer) took all these pictures in our bedroom. That's where we have the best lighting in the house and that's also where I film my hair tutorials. I keep a giant, thick white paper on my wall for the tutorials which also made for a perfect backdrop for these pictures. 

All the kids did soooo good for these photos. I was so amazed, and it only took us about ten minutes to take them all! Nog is getting so good at positioning the kids and then making them laugh while I take the photos. I could never take photos of all these munchkins without him, that's for sure!

All of these pictures make me SO so happy! I cannot wait to put them all over my house. :)