I thought I was prepared for the baby stage, I mean I have been taking care of one pound babies for the last ten years, how hard can it be? I can honestly say I think Lou and I did pretty good. The hardest thing for me was realizing how hard and time consuming nursing Mia was, however I would never have not done it. I loved knowing that Mia needed me and only me for something!
Life as a family of three was easy! Yes I said easy! Little did Lou and I know what we had in store! Life with a 2 year old and a baby is a whole new story....I was not prepared! When I was pregnant with Eli I was worried about would I love him as much as I loved Mia, how would I have enough time for both of them, how do you go to the grocery store with two small kids? I would express these concerns to Lou and he was so laid back and told me everything would be fine, stop worrying.
Eli arrived and I loved him just as much as I loved Mia, so concern number one I could check off the list. As for time for both of them, when Eli was little and slept all the time I would give Mia extra cuddles and attention and when Eli was up nursing at night we had our special bonding and quiet time, concern number two, check! I figure out that you put the baby in the Baby Bjorn and Mia in the cart at the store and you would still have room for your groceries, check off concern number three. I thought I had this Mommy of two thing figured out!! However that was the first couple of months.....then the terrible twos hit our house and they hit hard and fast!
Now our days consist of temper tantrums, a little girl who would rather be naked than wear clothes, a 2 year old who thinks the world is ending when her brother even looks at her toys, a little monkey who exclaims "Mommy I did it" while running out of the bathroom only to go in and find out that she did do it, but not necessarily in the potty! And a little girl who can talk and REPEAT what you say! In return that means there are days when I don't get a shower or honestly don't even make it out of my pajamas. There are days when I am covered in baby puke, play-doh, paint and crusty old gold-fish all at the same time and I don't notice any of it.
Life as a family of four has taken some major adjusting, but 10.5 months later I think we are starting to figure it out! Yes, Lou and I are both exhausted; yes, I still show up at work with baby puke on me or a goldfish in my hair that I didn't notice until another sweet mom will gently pull it out of my hair like it is no big deal, gives me the "look" like it gets better and we move on!
Lou and I decided very early on that we wanted to be the ones to raise our children, not the daycare or nanny. That decision was very important to both of us and because of that decision we have sacrificed spending time with each other, sleep and sometimes our sanity. On the flip side I feel as though it makes us cherish the downtime we do get together that much more, the very few and far between mornings when one of us does get to sleep in we appreciate the other spouse for allowing us a few more minutes or hours of rest. I can't count the amount of times I have told Lou thank you for allowing me to be able to stay home with my babies throughout the week. There is so much I feel as though I would have missed if I was working. I wake up at 6:30 every morning to the sounds of Eli chattering in his bed and yes sometimes I grumble in my head...really Eli, 6:30!!!! But then I walk into his room and he sees me and gives me the biggest smile and he starts to jump up and down because he is so excited to see me! That is the whole reason I get up every morning at 6:30, make myself a cup of coffee and think to myself, what does sleeping in feel like?? Plus it gives Eli and myself 45 minutes to an hour of alone time before Miss Mia wakes up.
All the worrying about will I love the second baby enough has gone right out the window because I can't imagine our family without our little nugget, Eli. There are definitely nights when I am lying in bed I think to myself did I give Eli enough attention today? Or did Mia get enough one on one attention today? I will probably always feel like that, but when we put Mia to bed every night we ask her if she had a good day today and she always replies, "Yes" so we must be doing something right! As for taking two kids to the grocery store, that one has definitely gotten a little bit more difficult! Eli no longer fits in the Baby Bjorn and Mia just doesn't want to ride in the cart because she is a big girl and big girls walk. So if one out of the three concerns is a little bit difficult, who cares!
A family of four guarantees that no one will ever be left out, there is one parent to restrain each kid, there is four times the amount of love, there is four times the amount of chaos...especially when we try and go out to eat, there is four times the amount of laughter in our home, there is four times the amount of dirty laundry and dishes to be washed and most importantly there is four times the amount of hugs and kisses. Sounds like to me that four is a pretty awesome number to have!
So to all the exhausted, pj-clad. gold-fish wearing mommy's on the brink of insanity, I raise my cup of cold coffee (because what mom actually gets to drink HOT coffee) to you and exclaim, "Just wait, in 5 years they will be in school and we can take a nap!!"
Life as a family of four has taken some major adjusting, but 10.5 months later I think we are starting to figure it out! Yes, Lou and I are both exhausted; yes, I still show up at work with baby puke on me or a goldfish in my hair that I didn't notice until another sweet mom will gently pull it out of my hair like it is no big deal, gives me the "look" like it gets better and we move on!
Lou and I decided very early on that we wanted to be the ones to raise our children, not the daycare or nanny. That decision was very important to both of us and because of that decision we have sacrificed spending time with each other, sleep and sometimes our sanity. On the flip side I feel as though it makes us cherish the downtime we do get together that much more, the very few and far between mornings when one of us does get to sleep in we appreciate the other spouse for allowing us a few more minutes or hours of rest. I can't count the amount of times I have told Lou thank you for allowing me to be able to stay home with my babies throughout the week. There is so much I feel as though I would have missed if I was working. I wake up at 6:30 every morning to the sounds of Eli chattering in his bed and yes sometimes I grumble in my head...really Eli, 6:30!!!! But then I walk into his room and he sees me and gives me the biggest smile and he starts to jump up and down because he is so excited to see me! That is the whole reason I get up every morning at 6:30, make myself a cup of coffee and think to myself, what does sleeping in feel like?? Plus it gives Eli and myself 45 minutes to an hour of alone time before Miss Mia wakes up.
All the worrying about will I love the second baby enough has gone right out the window because I can't imagine our family without our little nugget, Eli. There are definitely nights when I am lying in bed I think to myself did I give Eli enough attention today? Or did Mia get enough one on one attention today? I will probably always feel like that, but when we put Mia to bed every night we ask her if she had a good day today and she always replies, "Yes" so we must be doing something right! As for taking two kids to the grocery store, that one has definitely gotten a little bit more difficult! Eli no longer fits in the Baby Bjorn and Mia just doesn't want to ride in the cart because she is a big girl and big girls walk. So if one out of the three concerns is a little bit difficult, who cares!
A family of four guarantees that no one will ever be left out, there is one parent to restrain each kid, there is four times the amount of love, there is four times the amount of chaos...especially when we try and go out to eat, there is four times the amount of laughter in our home, there is four times the amount of dirty laundry and dishes to be washed and most importantly there is four times the amount of hugs and kisses. Sounds like to me that four is a pretty awesome number to have!
So to all the exhausted, pj-clad. gold-fish wearing mommy's on the brink of insanity, I raise my cup of cold coffee (because what mom actually gets to drink HOT coffee) to you and exclaim, "Just wait, in 5 years they will be in school and we can take a nap!!"
You and Lou do it so well....both of you put the kids first and always give them your love and attention. Good job to you both. Love to all, Mom/Grandma
ReplyDeleteI am very proud of u for the way u and Lou have raised your family. You have 2 beautiful children that love you so much. Congratulations! I wish I could understand how u feel. Love u all. Annie
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