2 Months with 2 Kids

Well I've been a mom of 2 now for just over 2 months. (Gavin: 2-1/2 years old, Jax: 2 months old)

Here's what I've learned:

It's possible to wear sweatpants more in 2 months, than you have in the last 5 years combined.

The 2 year old will throw a tantrum, shove a raisin up his nose, climb onto the kitchen counter top, sit on the dog, and do whatever else he knows he's not supposed to do, while you nurse the baby. (which makes time-outs that much more of a pain to follow through with)

As soon as you think they are both going to nap at the same time for you- one will wake up.

Your toddler will suddenly take an interest in breast pumps- and want to help you with it... awkward.

Your scalp will eventually start to feel raw after wearing your hair in the same ponytail for days weeks on end. (don't worry, it was washed within that timespan)

Showers are some days your ONLY privacy... and even then, sometimes the toddler still manages to find his way in there when you forget to lock the door. (ugh)

All babies are different. Some (our first born) are amazing, content, easy babies. Some (our second) are horrible still amazing, but not nearly as content or easy babies.

Your heart will double in size the SECOND you lay eyes on your new baby.

You'll miss spending time with just your older "baby".

You'll forget what life was like with just one child (but you will soon remember once you get the chance to just have one for a couple hours.... oh, how amazingly easy one child is!!!)

You constantly think about what great little buddies your two small kiddos will be in the future.

You daydream about the two of them giggling together, having sleepovers together, getting into trouble together.

You feel guilty a lot of nights... stressing yourself out about whether or not you spent enough time with your older child that day, if you should have handled a tantrum differently, if you're older child misses their one-on-one time like you do. (don't do this to yourself... go ahead and think it, but KNOW that you are so much more than enough to BOTH of your sweet children)

Sometimes YOU just have to cry. (like when your baby has been inconsolably screaming for an hour, you're in the middle of trying to make dinner, your toddler is throwing tantrums, and your hormones are still batshit crazy all over the place... JUST CRY. Don't worry that your husband will be home any minute from work to find you crying, unable to "contain the chaos". F*** that,  JUST CRY. It will help you ...somehow) (...and your husband will be that much sweeter and helpful too!)

Still do your best to soak up every minute. Man, do these little stinkers grow up fast. You know that with your first, but when the second comes along, it makes time go even that much faster! (time flies not just when you're having fun, but when your daily life is a total cluster "F"). 

Repeat to yourself (in your head and out loud if need be) that "this will not last forever, this will not last forever, this will not last forever" or "this too shall pass!!!".... and KNOW, that it will not last forever. The day that brings you to tears in your kitchen at 6pm when your husband gets home... know that THAT phase, those days, will not last forever. Soon life will be easier, more manageable... so for now, just repeat "this will not last forever".

Truly remember that you will eventually develop (get used to) your "new normal". Life will get back to "normal". You will be able to get out of the house again with JUST your husband for date nights. You'll develop a good system for getting both kids, the dog, AND YOURSELF out the door and in the car (but you're still bound to forget SOMETHING).

AND LAST...

You honestly realize at some point in time, your life is beyond crazy. Your days are beyond exhausting. . . but you would NOT trade it for the world. You honestly wouldn't want life any other way. You know that you've been blessed by God to experience true, unconditional love, because you FEEL it every time you tuck in your sleeping toddler, or while you're rocking your peacefully sleeping newborn. It's in these quiet moments that you're able to remind yourself how blessed you are, and how amazing your life really is.

So on that note, embrace the crazy. Go ahead and cry in those extremely shitty trying times, and don't feel silly when you cry tears of pure mama bliss as you think about how blessed you are to have those two babies.

Jaxon Cole - 2 Months!

a little late... but better than never!

Stats: 24-1/4 inches, 12 pounds (and some odd ounces...I forgot exactly from his appointment!)  3 month clothes & jammies

Sleep: We've had a couple nights that he has slept 8-1/2 hours!!! That's not the norm (yet, hopefully soon!!), he usually goes about 5-6 hours his first stretch, then has about a 3 hour stretch after that, and after that we're approaching the start of our day! So he usually wakes up once, maybe twice a night at this point. During the day he takes decent naps, most of them are around an hour long, sometimes he will take a longer afternoon nap. I try to keep him on a good routine of wake up, eat, awake time, nap time! He usually stays awake about 1-1/2 hours at a time. His awake times and nap times vary still... eventually I'm hoping to get it down to a more consistent pattern.

Eating: He still likes to eat every 2-3 hours during the day. I breastfeed him, and occasionally he gets a bottle if I'm gone for a feeding (which isn't too often).  Breastfeeding this time around was a million times easier than with Gavin, but at the same time it came with it's challenges as well. Jax has never had feedings that lasted longer than 1/2 hour... usually his feedings are no longer than 15 minutes, and that's the way it's been since day 1! When I asked his pediatrician about that, she said "Lucky you! You're one of the lucky ones- he's gaining weight and growing like crazy, he's just a fast eater!" Although, I'm not sure how "lucky" I was... I think it made him more gassy (which sucked) and I still would worry "is he still hungry?" "did he eat enough?" "does my supply just suck this time?". BUT, unlike the first time around with Gavin, I didn't let these things get to me or drive me crazy! He was going a couple hours between feeds, sleeping good stretches at night, and growing (he even grew 2 inches in just the first 3 weeks!)... So I knew all was fine and dandy :) 

Milestones: This month he really started cooing A LOT and doing those sweet little baby noises- he started cooing quite a bit at about 6 weeks! He also smiles SO much now... I can't wait for his first sweet laugh! He also loves to chew on his hands!

Likes: Tummy time, "chatting", eating, being held... he loves being held out so he can see what's going on around him :)

Overall: The first couple months with him have been such a blessing, but such an exhausting whirlwind! We had some really, really tough weeks, in which almost every evening consisted of some amount of inconsolable screaming (sometimes hours). Ugh, so tough, so exhausting, so NOT FUN! Thankfully, those evenings seem to be behind us (woo hoo!)! I would say right around the 8 week mark he started becoming more and more content. Now he's happy to sit in his little chair as long as he can see us or his big brother :) ...before he insisted on being held if he was awake! So we are definitely making some good strides with him!

We love our little Jax man so much!!