Written in 2016
I am so happy to be at this point in life! I have reached the "baby sleeps all night" phase. I generally love having a tiny baby, but sweet Lydia was a tough sleeper and her sidekick Elise really gave us a run for our money! It turns out Lydia wasn't really that rough of a sleeper, she was just hungry. When she was 7 months old I finally came to terms with the fact that she wasn't getting enough breastmilk. When I finally transitioned her to formula, she became such a calm happy child and all the screaming stopped.
The hardest thing about having 8 kids has been the lack of sleep! We have been juggling teenagers who don't go to bed early, babies who wake up in the night, and middle age kids who love to be up early every day. Going to bed at 11:00 and up at 5:30 along with taking care of kids in the night is fairly normal.
The good news is that with having a variety of ages we also have a variety of helpers and our kids are excellent at helping around the house and helping their brothers and sisters. I think growing up with many siblings is such a great preparation for life. Our kids are much less focused on themselves.
The thing I probably feel the most guilt over is that I don't have more time to serve. I see so many people in my ward and community serving and for now my place to serve is in my home.
The hardest thing about having 8 kids has been the lack of sleep! We have been juggling teenagers who don't go to bed early, babies who wake up in the night, and middle age kids who love to be up early every day. Going to bed at 11:00 and up at 5:30 along with taking care of kids in the night is fairly normal.
The good news is that with having a variety of ages we also have a variety of helpers and our kids are excellent at helping around the house and helping their brothers and sisters. I think growing up with many siblings is such a great preparation for life. Our kids are much less focused on themselves.
The thing I probably feel the most guilt over is that I don't have more time to serve. I see so many people in my ward and community serving and for now my place to serve is in my home.
