Right now, my 2 month old is sleeping swaddled in his swing...I will transfer him to his crib soon where he will sleep until about 4 or 5 am...a good 7 hours! Hello awesomeness! Mommies out there can all attest to how amazing it is when your baby starts sleeping through the night...and that means like 6 hours at a time. This happened for our little man about 2 weeks ago. You start to have pep in your step again. You aren't falling asleep while making breakfast or waiting in line at the grocery store. You can remember your name and what day it is....well - most of the time anyway. ;) These first two months have been a happy delerium for me. I have felt "in the moment"...willing myself to remember all of these first moments with my second baby boy. I've laughed and enjoyed every cute moment that comes with being a mommy to two little boys now.
Whether it be:
my almost 2 year old (Holy Moly- how can that be possible!!?) playing with his little brother's feet and saying "Hi Bay" (Hi Baby)
or
watching our baby smile and giggle for the first time
or
Xavier and I hunting for lizards in the backyard (Mommy and Xavie time while Xander sleeps). Picture Xavier crouching low and holding tightly to my hand, saying, "Liiiiilllardss....Lillllllaaarrds." Ha ha!
or
bouncing and swaying and rocking Xander over and over until those little eyelids start to flutter and roll back into his sweet little head.
or
listening to cute little cooing sounds of a newborn, and then being blasted by the biggest poop imaginable...how can a little little person make such an explosive sound!? ;)
or
taking walks around the block as a family of four
or
watching Xavier hunt for Easter eggs in the backyard
or
hearing Xavie say I love you for the first time...."Luv Woo"
or
singing the Thomas the Train theme song every minute of the day...even when I'm not with Xavie.
or
squooshy, baby fat thigh rolls
...it's all been amazing. What's weird though...is that part of me feels like I wasn't there the whole time...like I was sort of floating above myself or something. I'll go to a party or event, and later wonder what I acted like...was I nice? Did I engage in genuine conversation? Can anyone relate to that feeling? Like you're 70% there...you feel like you are 100% there...but, later you wonder about the details. Exhaustion is crazy that way. Running after a 22 month old while taking care of an 8 week old is not easy.
IT IS TIRING!
There have been a gazillion dirty diapers...sometimes one right after the other. I will change a poop, and as I'm just snapping the last little snap -- Wammo...another poop. It's even happened three times within 2 minutes. Sheesh! OR - I'll change Xander and 2 minutes later, Xavier is grunting in the corner with his own fun present for Mommy. :)
Laundry has piled up. It's not the washing and drying. It's the folding AND the putting away. UGH - the putting away. ;) Right now, as I type there are piles of clean folded clothes in my bedroom...waiting to be put in drawers. Why is that so hard for me?
Dishes...dishes...and more dishes. ;) I do them at least 4 times a day. Seriously...I am single handedly depleting the earth of water.
Nights when both kids have woken up are always fun... :) You're exhausted, devoid of all energy and patience.
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| Xavier storing his loot from the Easter Bunny. Money eggs! |
Even when the kids are sleeping pretty well and I'm not waking up at all hours of the night...I stay up too late watching tv because that's my relax time, but then I realize that I will be up in just a few hours with the baby. Why is it when you can sleep and should sleep, you can't? During naps, I can get so much done...I should be sleeping though. At night, I should be in bed by 9, but that's my "me"
time, and that's Trav and my only time together. So really, any sleep deprivation I have is my own fault.
Pumping at 3 in the morning so that I can go tutor and Nani has milk to give the baby has become the norm. Gilmore Girls at 4 in the morning anyone? :)
Panic set in the other day when our baby swing...the swing that soothed 3 baby boys in our family over the years...DIED. It wasn't the batteries - although there have been about a million D batteries used over the last 7 years since I bought the swing for my sweet nephew. It just had lived out its life...7 years is pretty good for a baby swing I think. Now, don't get me wrong. We aren't "addicted" to the swing. Xander sleeps a couple naps a day in it (including his longest nap - 3 hours!!). He sleeps soundly in his crib at night. He doesn't need the swing, but it does help A LOT! Just ask my sister who we would have sent to swing rehab had there been such a thing. Weening her of the swing with my oldest nephew was quite the task. She beat the habit though...and so will I in a few months. ;) Crisis was averted by my wonderful Mama who had a travel swing that's been working wonders. We also found a great deal on a brand spankin new swing that plugs in...no more D battery runs to CVS. ;) It arrives in a few days. ;)
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| The swing that saved us...thanks Mom!! |
With Xavie's growing independence has come many bumps and bruises...anytime his head is bruise free....I hold my breath because there's another one coming soon. He's actually just recently gotten better about catching himself when he falls. BUT - now he carries trains (Thomas anyone?) everywhere he goes, so two days in a row now, instead of hitting his head or stopping himself with his hands, he has bit his lip when he has fallen. Top lip Wednesday, bottom lip Thursday. Big Fat Lip!
So, if you come knock on my door, you may find a mountain of clean laundry on the couch, trains everywhere you turn, a few dishes in the sink, and I may still be in my pajamas.
I'm not perfect...but I think our imperfection is kind of perfect.
Happy little boys singing, giggling, lizard hunting away...perfection.
Tired mama staying up too late at the end of a day...so she can relax with a glass of wine...perfection.
All four of us snuggling in the morning watching Thomas the Train...perfection.
Life these days is pretty awesome....at least when I am awake enough to remember it all. :)
