In the heart of Harlem

FLASHBACK:  The first weekend in March I flew to New York to spend  four days with my five college roommates and closest friends.

 I was 30 weeks pregnant with my 4th child, Jessie was 33 weeks pregnant with her 3rd child, Bonnie had 6 kids at home (one still nursing, so she got to pump in all the fancy bathrooms in New York!), and Elisabeth had 6 kids at home too.  (Emily and Amy have countless unborn children, no doubt they'll each have a dozen in time)  For THIS weekend however we didn't have to be moms, or even grown-ups, and it was as though we were transported right back to college.  

Amy lives in the "heart of Harlem". We stayed in her beautiful apartment, and she guided us through the busy streets of New York.  It must have felt like herding cats sometimes, trying to get us all onto the subway before the doors closed, or making sure we all got off at the right stops....just so you know, once those subway doors start closing, they don't open back up, not even if your arm is sticking out, so you have to be quick about getting on or off at the various stops.

 Waiting for a subway.   

The first day was spent arriving, finding everyone (Jessie and Emily had various adventures arriving in New York, and had to find their own separate ways to Amy's apartment).  Once all together we ate a scrumptious dinner and caught up.

 Outside of 30 Rock

The next day we went downtown, got tickets to the Late Night Show with Seth Meyers, poked around in some shops, went to Serendipity for some pre-lunch ice cream, then went to the 21 Club for lunch (it was amazing!!!) and then back to the NBC building to watch the Seth Meyers show. That evening Amy cooked for us again, and we watched a movie in our pj's and stayed up much too late talking about anything and everything that popped into our heads.

 Getting chocolates at Godiva

 Ice Cream at Serendipity

 It was freezing in New York.  About 30 degrees cooler than Seattle.

Lunch at the 21 Club

The next morning we had an amazing brunch at The Kitchenette (Creme Brulee French Toast Bread Pudding, with a Spinach and Brie Omelet).  Then we took a subway to China Town to shop.  And then we went another place to shop (Chelsea Market) where we ate some delightful and authentic tacos, plus various desserts.   Next we strolled around Times Square, had dinner at the Shake Shack and then hit up a Broadway play called A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder.  It was clever and funny.

Times Square

On Sunday we went to Amy's ward, the Harlem 1st ward, then off to catch our various flights.   I was running very very behind for my flight, and my suitcase (carry-on) was much too big, AND I had the misfortune of getting into the security check line right after an entire party of people flying to the middle east (the security checks did not seem very random!!).  Anyway, a nice airport worker took pity on my very pregnant looking self and helped me get through all of  that quickly so that I could make my flight.  In general the people in New York were very nice to, and appreciative of, pregnant ladies.  It was fun receiving special treatment at various places, as well as having people shout after me: "DANG Girl!!  You gonna have that baby today!!!"  and "Congratulations Momma!!"

While I was gone we hired someone to babysit the children all day (7am-7pm) on Thursday and Friday, and then Russell was home with them on Saturday and Sunday.  It was such a wonderful trip, I haven't been away from my children for 24 hours.....ever.  I've gone to the hospital to have babies, but once the baby is born, then it no longer counts as time away from the children.  So 8 years of pretty constant parenting.  This vacation was just what I needed, and I loved, loved, LOVED seeing my best girls again!  We communicate constantly via email, but we don't get to see each other in person that often. Despite the fact that it's been 10 years since I graduated from BYU, and I've lived lots of places and met lots of people, these 5 girls are still my bestest and closest friends, and I'm so glad I have them in my life!!

Babies are fun.

I'm having a hard time with my new baby.
All of my babies have been a little (okay, a lot) high maintenance, so I guess I should have expected it. 

Basically, we don't sleep. And we eat all the time. 

(Most of the pictures I have of him are when he is sleeping, but don't let that fool you. Those are just the only moments peaceful enough to snap a photo!)

Sometimes when we've been nursing and crying for 4 hours straight, without sleeping, I pump and give him a bottle, and that often helps. At least then I know that he's had a full meal and doesn't need to eat for an hour or two. In general it takes about 4 or 5 hours to get him to go to sleep, and then he'll sleep for 90 minutes, and occasionally 2 hours at night. He stays awake the entire time that Hyrum is at school each day. Which is a shame, because if he would sleep, then I could sleep during Clara's nap. It's not that he doesn't sleep.  He dozes a lot, for a few minutes here and there throughout the day. But if he isn't being held, rocked, swung, or moving in some way, then his eyes immediately open.

He's starting to do one 3 hour stretch at night, though he compensates for that by then only sleeping 90 minute stretches for the rest of the night. And we'll be up for almost two hours between those 90 minute night stretches. Thank heavens for Netflix and my seasons of Modern Family and Gilmore Girls!

Most days I never make it out of my pajamas, because I have so few moments where I'm not holding Sam. I'll put him in the swing and let him fuss while I feed the other kids, or get them to school, or help Clara go to the bathroom, and then I'm right back to holding and nursing Sam. There hasn't been much time for showering, cleaning, or cooking. I'm hoping we outgrow this stage at some point, because it's hard to handle for so many weeks, day after day. 

During our 4 hours of nursing, I'll nurse for 20 minutes then burp and change him for 30 minutes, nurse for 20 minutes, then burp and change and rock for 30 minutes, and so on....

Another hard thing is that Sam hates the car. Even if he's just been fed, burped, changed and is feeling sleepy, he won't sleep long in the car (less than an hour, and that's on the freeway, if we have stops he won't sleep at all). So I'm not looking forward to our drive to Utah next week. It's going to take forever!

Fortunately I've never been spoiled with an easy baby, or else this would be a much harder adjustment. : )

 And despite the lack of sleep, and constant nursing, I still love this little guy so very much. He's just perfectly adorable!!