Now Entering Parenthood...

And so the summer begins, two kids and tons of trouble…

Charlie @ Two Weeks: How Quickly We Forgot
Right now Charlie is a big ball of mystery. We aren’t sure who he looks like or who he will look like, seeing as though Simon didn’t look like “Simon” at two weeks old. We can’t even agree whether or not we have a red head or a blond, whether his eyes are blue or that weird newborn “shark eye” look.

The only thing that is certain is how easily you forget what taking care of a newborn is like. It’s easy and it’s tough all at the same time. They sleep, they eat, they cry. The problem is how frequently they cry, how long they cry, and how you somehow convince yourself that you have no idea why they are crying or that you know exactly why but then fail to end it. At first we thought Charlie was soooo different than Simon, but then I read back over my old blog posts and found some familiar words…

CRAZY EATING HABITS
“I’m declaring it a ‘growth spurt’, because he sure feels heavier and longer and I can’t think of any other reason why he would all the sudden need to eat nearly every hour.”

Charlie has been ‘cluster feeding’, meaning that he will go for hours eating, and then sleep for hours. I started thinking he might have silent reflux, but the past couple days he’s been getting more regular. So I guess an early growth spurt?

TROUBLE SOOTHING
“His needs are becoming more complex. It’s not always a wet diaper or hunger, now there is the desire to be swaddled, the desire to be unswaddled, craving the pacifier, the desire to be held or paid attention to, or sometimes too much stimulation and not enough rest. It’s hard to tell what calms him down.”

Charlie actually is pretty easy to soothe so long as you have boobs full of milk. But in the past couple days I’ve noticed other things soothe him as well. Actually, to the exact opposite of Simon, these don’t seem to be the pacifier or the swaddle, but he loves being put in a carrier on your chest and he loves being swung around.

In fact, the only thing that has proved to be incredibly different about Charlie has been his parents and their behavior. We are doing things differently. Within the first two weeks, we had only taken Simon outside the home once. Charlie has been out and about almost every day, which probably explains why we have had more issues soothing… we haven’t been as courteous about an early schedule, although we’ve been very willing to make feedings and soothing work “on the go”.

I also am becoming more of an attachment parent. Baby wearing, co-sleeping, loads of snuggling. Honestly it is more for convenience than any philosophical reason. Chasing after a toddler and doing housework is much easier wearing a baby. With his constant nursing needs, there is just no other way to do it besides co-sleeping, unless I wanted to be up all night in a chair.

It’s already going by so fast. While part of me wants to fast forward to the day where Charlie is a cute chubby baby who sits up and smiles and giggles. Or to the summer days where Simon is chasing him around the yard through sprinklers. But there is no rewind button on life, so I better appreciate my little tiny baby while I still have him. He’s already growing off the charts!!

Simon @ 18 Months: Laugh, Cry, Sing, Dance
My not so little man. I can’t look at him anymore without thinking about how HUGE he looks, especially his chunky thighs, which just look far to big to be protruding from diapers. He’s a little boy and he proves it more and more every day. He’s sweet, he’s smart, and he’s super duper stubborn when he wants.

Naptime has become a bit of a struggle. It doesn’t help that it is a moving target… as his 11:00 AM nap slips to a 12:30 or later afternoon nap. It’s hard to tell exactly when to put him down, and then he needs a good hour of supervision, getting put back in his bed over and over again until he falls asleep.

Yes, he has figured out that you can actually get OUT of the toddler bed. He has also figured out that he isn’t allowed to be out of his toddler bed. So instead of playing with his toys in the middle of his room, he will sneak out and bring toys and books (and book ends, blankets, whatever else is handy) into his bed with him. He’s a hoarder to the point where one night he put so much in his bed, there was no longer room for him to sleep.

He’s smart. Too smart sometimes. He has started figuring out how to “un-baby-proof” all our baby proofing in the house. He has learned where the keys to the moped are, and will point them going “brrrrrrr” in the hopes that someone will take him for a ride. He knows where the buttons are that turn on everything from the TV to the leaf blower to the stereo.

He also knows how to push MY buttons, especially when it comes to mealtime. It’s the time of day I feel the most frustration being a parent. He refuses food without tasting it, food I KNOW he would like. One day he likes something, the next day it might as well be liver. And there is also a good amount that ends up on the floor, despite all my attempts to train him to put it on a “discard” plate.

I am at a loss for how to discipline him consistently, effectively, and still manage to get good nutritious food in his belly. And for every 10 times that I am ready to scream, there is one time that goes so well that I feel like I’m making progress… where he gobbles up good healthy food, every bite, happy and sweetly.

That’s the thing. Simon is really sweet. He says “HI” to complete strangers, he gives me and the “baby” kisses just out of pure love. He recites a vocabulary list of family members to help him go to bed at night (“mama, dadda, baby, bapa” [grandpa]). And when he sat on my lap last weekend watching fireworks with wonder and awe… holding me close for safety and comfort… I couldn’t think of how I could love anyone more.

Big Bug, Little Bug
Simon has been doing really well with Charlie. He doesn’t try and hurt him, he just likes to pet his head. He likes to point at him and say “baby” all the time, and will often go looking for him in common spots (bassinet, bouncer, car seat). He likes to help me out by bringing me a pacifier or a blanket, and he doesn’t even flinch when Charlie is crying… it might as well be background noise.

Simon is dealing with the divided attention better than I am. Sometimes I feel on top of the world… SUPERMOM!! Ready to tackle anything my two boys throw at me. So confident at how good I am at entertaining and interacting with Simon even with Charlie nursing or sleeping on my chest. Other times I feel spread thin, like I’m not giving either proper attention, like I bit off more than I could handle. Why did I try and take them to the store by myself? Why did I think Charlie wouldn’t need to eat or Simon would stay entertained for more than 2 seconds?

But even on the hardest day, I’m finding more enjoyment at home in “mom” world than I think I did the last time around. So much so that I wouldn’t mind having at least one day a week like this for the long haul. But that is a little too much to think about right now. Just got to take it one hot, sunny, incredibly busy day at a time :)