but I’m entirely too busy holding this.
life is what you make it
Category: Life
2 kids, 2 dogs, 2 cats, and 1 husband – life isn’t perfect, but it is what we make it
I need more time.
Those are about the only words I can manage to sputter out of my mouth these days. I need more time for this. I need more time for that. I think time is the one thing you can really never have enough of.
Evie is five weeks old today, which means I am on my very last week of maternity leave. Want to know how fast time can really fly by? Take six weeks off from your job and do the one thing that you spend your days and nights dreaming about and see just how fast it goes. For me, that one thing is being a stay-at-home mom and these last 5 weeks have been so wonderful. I may complain that I spend 90% of my day breastfeeding my daughter, but I swear if I could spend my days at home teaching, loving, and playing with my children I would be a very happy girl.
I still have a list of things I want to accomplish this week while I’m at home. There are so many things I wanted to get done that my normal life just doesn’t leave time for. Unfortunately, taking care of a newborn doesn’t leave much time for them either I’ve found out. One of the very important things I have yet to do is to pay bills and take another good look at the family budget and see where else we can make cuts. I’ve gotten a good start, but we still have a long ways to go to make things work.
Once I have the budgeting done, I have a ton of photos to frame and hang (I’m about a year behind on this), laundry to fold, cleaning and organizing to do, closets and dresser drawers to clean out, and several sewing/craft projects that I really wanted to finish. Unfortunately, all of these things are rather difficult to do while holding a baby so they probably won’t get done. Oh, and I also need to write Evie’s one month update which I’m already several days late on. Second child syndrome already?
Evie is sleeping peacefully (in her crib!) right now, which is why I’m furiously multi-tasking. At the moment I’m eating lunch, blogging, trying to upload the gazillion photos I took this weekend (and am getting angry with my Flickr uploader), and contemplating whether to dig into the five baskets of laundry that need folded or the stack of bills that is threatening to fall over if I don’t sort them soon.
And now, instead of doing all those things I need to be doing, I’m off to battle an infestation of flying ants that refuse to die because they are suddenly swarming right behind the couch I am sitting on. But first, here’s a pictures of my beautiful girl who is actually sleeping in her crib.
I almost forgot to mention, I finally updated my recipe site and will have new recipes popping up all week so be sure to check them out!
2 CommentsWell, I managed to get one thing knocked off of my to-do list today. I found a day care provider that I think I’ll be happy with. She’s not in the ideal location but it isn’t too far away and the cost is about what I was expecting to pay for a newborn. If all goes well there, we will most likely move Zach there too. I know he likes his school, but moving him will save us $200 a month in day care costs, plus save me from having to do 2 drop-offs and pick-ups every day. I’m not completely decided on that yet, but it does seem like the best option.
And now, because I’m so tired of thinking about day care, and the fact that I only have one more week at home with my gorgeous baby girl, here are some pictures that make me smile.
Evie’s not real fond of the plastic baby bathtub that we’ve been using, so when I spotted this mesh tub seat at the store the other day I figured we would give it a try. Tonight she used it for the first time and got to take a bath with her big brother. I think they both enjoyed it!
Evie was having fun for a while, then she got a little bored.
Zach posed for a quick shot, while Evie looked on.
And then I’m not sure what happened, but their faces in this shot just crack me up!
Evie seems to approve of her new bath seat. She didn’t cry even once during her bath and she usually screams through the whole thing. I’m sure this was the first of many shared baths to come (at least until Zach decides he’s too old for such things).
Comments closedOther than checking my e-mail, searching classified ads for child care, and a bit of twittering, I’ve been away from the internet this week. Part of that is because Hubby’s parents were in town and part of it is because nearly every time I look at a computer screen I start falling asleep. I suppose the sleep deprivation that comes along with a newborn is finally catching up with me.
The good news is that Evie does sleep pretty good most of the time. She generally sleeps for four hours at a time through the night and a couple of times has made it even longer. Plus, I have perfected the breastfeeding laying down technique so when she does wake up it really doesn’t disturb me that much unless she needs a diaper change. That is the one major advantage of the co-sleeping/breastfeeding combination. As long as I keep a stack of diapers and some wipes beside the bed, the farthest I have to go at night is into a sitting position.
In all honesty, I think the bigger cause of sleep deprivation is the two-year-old rather than the newborn. When he wakes up at night-which happens nearly every night-he wants to climb into bed with us. That wouldn’t be a problem except that now we have a baby in the bed, plus two rather large adults, and a two-year-old. And we have a queen sized bed. Four people in a queen sized bed (even if one is tiny) is a bit much. If I had the money I would go out today and buy a King because I’m guessing we have several more years of this and the kids are only going to get bigger.
Speaking of the two-year-old, things have been getting a little more stressful with him. He still appears to adore his little sister most days, but his behaviors say otherwise. I expected the backlash to come at some point, but it is getting quite frustrating. He doesn’t listen to a word that his Dad or I say. He’s hitting, pushing, and biting (yes, I now have that kid). On top of that, my fully potty-trained kid has been having accidents left and right (but only at home of course). It all came out tonight though as he was throwing his latest tantrum. He was mad because Mommy came to get him out of the bathtub instead of Daddy. When Daddy asked him, “Why don’t you want Daddy to hold Baby Sister?” Zach said, “Cause I DON’T LIKE HER!” Enough said.
I’m not really sure what I’m going to do with him at this point. I realize that this is a major change and he’s probably having all kinds of feelings that I can’t even begin to understand, but Hubby and I are both at the end of our ropes and don’t have a clue what to do with him. On top of having the new baby at home, his favorite teacher at school just had a baby and is out on maternity leave. That means his class is stuck with a teacher that Zach doesn’t really care for and it is getting harder and harder to leave him there in the mornings. It has me considering another day care change for him, but at the same time I know if we just wait it out his teacher will be back and that situation will get better again. However, it would be nice to have both kids in the same place if I could find openings for them both.
Oh, and while we’re on the topic of day care, I have yet to find a place for Evie. I do have an appointment to meet with a lady on Thursday, but she’s opening a new day care and wasn’t planning to open until sometime in May. She is willing to work with me though and may be able to watch her a bit earlier. She’s not in my ideal location, but at least she’s not too far out of the way. I have a few more places to call tomorrow, but I really haven’t had much luck at all. If any of you local KC people know anyone who does home day care in the Grandview or OP areas (or anywhere between those areas) I would love some recommendations.
Other than those things that I’m stressing and obsessing about, things are going good. Evie is growing, growing, growing. She seems to have gotten huge in the last week and I’m really anxious for her one month check up later this week so I can see just how much weight she has gained. In the last few days she has pretty much outgrown all of her newborn sized clothes and we’re definitely on our last pack of newborn sized diapers. It makes me a little sad to see her growing so fast, but I suppose that’s just how it has to be.
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I’ve been trying all day to come up with something to write about besides the baby because I’m sure you all must be tired of that topic by now, right? The problem is, she’s about all I can think of right now. When you spend all day catering to the demands of a two week old baby, that’s pretty much all you can focus on.
I am slowly getting a few things done around the house. Evie sleeps for a good stretch in the mornings, so in between taking Zach to school and lunch time I generally have a few hours to work on whatever my project of the day is. Today I finally managed to get my bills paid. It actually took me three days to finish that project.
Once Evie wakes up from her morning nap, I don’t accomplish much. By the time I feed her, feed myself, take a much needed bathroom break, and maybe check my e-mail, it is time to feed her again. That feeding is the one where I usually fall asleep and then end up napping the rest of the afternoon. Apparently the sleep deprivation is catching up with me because I simply cannot stay awake in the afternoons. I’m not sure how I’m going to manage when I have to go back to work and actually think in the afternoon.
Before I fell asleep today, I decided to take advantage of the nice sunny day we are (finally!) having. No, we didn’t go outside at all. Instead, I raised all the blinds in my living room and took even more pictures of Evie. No one can ever say this child’s first few weeks weren’t documented well. The lighting was great and I finally had a chance to play around a bit with the settings on my camera. I ended up taking about 60 shots, but many of them were very similar. Sleeping babies just don’t move a whole lot. I did end up with several that I just love though.
This weekend is going to be a busy one for us. My in-laws are coming up Sunday to meet their granddaughter and spend a week or so with us so that means I’ve got massive cleaning to do. Plus, I have another baby shower to attend after church on Sunday and I still need to go shopping for a gift. And of course, on top of all that, I have to feed and change a baby about every two hours. It is amazing how much time that takes up.
Comments closedTwo weeks ago at this time I was laying in a hospital bed anxiously waiting for the arrival of my daughter. Today, I look at her in amazement. Evie is everything I expected her to be and more. I can’t believe how much personality she has already at only two weeks old.
Evie definitely has her likes and dislikes. For instance, she likes to either have a boob in her mouth or to be curled up on Mama’s chest. She doesn’t mind other people holding her, but it doesn’t take long before she realizes Mama is not there. She does not like to be put down, although she will sit in her bouncer or swing for short periods of time before crying for someone to come rescue her. She most definitely does not like to sleep by herself. She wakes up the instant you put her down, so she has ended up in bed with mom and dad (which is lots of fun when big brother wakes up and wants to join us as well). I don’t mind her sleeping with us at all though. It makes it much easier when she wakes up and wants to eat. I don’t have to get up at all since she’s already right there.
As far as looks, Evie is the spitting image of her big brother. She’s a little softer and curvier while Zach was a bit more lean and muscular, but when you look at their baby pictures side by side it is hard to tell the difference.
Breastfeeding is going much easier this time. Evie latched on right away and has barely let go since. The girl loves to eat. I think I spend over half of the day nursing her. The hardest part is that she never wants to stop. I think if I was willing, she would just stay attached all day and use my boob for a pacifier.
I wish I could remember Zach’s first few weeks a little more clearly. I know I felt so much of what I’m feeling now with him too. I honestly could spend my entire day doing nothing but staring at Evie and her perfect little face. It amazes me that something so perfect, so beautiful, was created with my body. It amazes me that I can feel such all-consuming love for not one, but two children. I love watching the two of them together and seeing how much alike they are already.
Zach is slowly becoming more and more interested in Evie. He’s a very proud big brother, but is still pretty timid around her. He’s also very protective. When I drop him off at school in the mornings, Zach’s classmates are very interested in the baby. They tend to hover around her and Zach doesn’t like it at all. He’ll tell them, “Don’t touch her! That’s my baby sister!” Then, when he’s alone with her I hear him quietly telling her, “I love you, Evie.” It is so sweet I can hardly stand it.
As for me, I’m feeling almost back to my normal self. Well, except for the lack of sleep of course. Everywhere I go people tell me I have a glow about me. I don’t see it, but I can only assume it is because I am so in love with my perfect little family.
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