Well, we lost internet here for a few days (ok, it was less than 48 hours, but it felt longer!! LOL) thus the peaceful silence here on the blog. 😛 Life was still lively here at Lot #9, even if you couldn’t hear us. Yes, there were signs (and sounds) of life…
at 11pm last night – as we finally got to bed after putting Claire down.
at 1am when Jesse cried from his bed – a diaper malfunction resulted in a wet bed and pj’s.
from 2-3am Claire enjoyed her middle of the night feeding, burping, feeding, burping, and diaper change.
at 5am – Claire wanted her breakfast. Not yet, dear, go back to sleep…
at 6:30am when Claire got her first breakfast…
…and the day began just 30 min. later when the alarm went off. I feel like if I wasn’t so sleep deprived, I could pen a new version of Silent Night – “Sleepless night, wakeful night, all is dark, but not so quiet…” Hey, I told you I was sleep deprived.
My hat goes off today to all of you mothers out there with multiple blessings – Amy, Caryn, Serena, Traci – I am in awe of the smiles and cheerful spirits I see in you, despite the challenges of lots of little ones. I honestly don’t know how you do it!!! Just getting the three of us out the door in the morning is a challenge to daunt me even when I am in my most “I can do this!” mode! Maybe I just need more practice. Yes, that must be it. Here is what I have already learned from the two or three times I have attempted to go out with my blessings…
1) dress the two year old after the infant – the infant can’t undress herself while you are busy with the other child, while the reverse is definitely true!
2) I cannot crack an egg with one hand. Well, I can, but it may mean eggshells in my omelet before heading out the door.
3) car seats are great restraints. For best results, load the two year old into the car first, then the infant, than the bags and purses. When returning home, reverse the order – unpack the groceries, then the infant, then the patient two year old. It’s just safer that way.
Anyone have anymore tips for me? I’d take any advice I can get for transitioning into this season. But don’t be mistaken, I’m lovin’ the challenge – I’m just open to any advice!!! 🙂
P.S. thanks for all the comments while I was gone! I used the latest version of Picasa to make the collage at the top of the blog – try it, it was really fun and easy!
Oh wait! I do have one trick. Don’t know if it will be useful for you or not but what I finally tried was to load Vivi in the stroller and push her around the house with me while I did chores. It was actually convenient to load stuff in the bottom to put away in another room, transport laundry, etc.
I have no advice. I don’t have it together at all, I just get what is most important done and the rest… well I’ve simply embraced the chaos.Oh, and I do things in reverse order when it comes to getting out of the house. On my work days I load the baby in her seat, dress Aidan, load the baby in the car, and then come back in for Aidan. I have to do it this way because the carseat is no longer a solid restraint for Aidan and I can’t have him climbing all over the car while it’s warming up, lol.
Don’t think too highly of me–I have to tell you, I had THE easiest transition from one child to two, because my husband didn’t have work for a month after Anya was born (whoa, I almost just spelled that like your Anja!). So, I guess my advice would be to ask for help if you feel like you need it. Not even if you’re feeling frazzled, but just to make things a bit easier when things are going fairly smoothly. Your lesson #3 is great! That’s definitely what works for me, too! I second the above suggestion of a sling/wrap/mei tai. Anya is a super easy-going baby (hallelujah! and I mean that from the bottom of my heart), but when she IS fussy, I find it to be quite easy to wear her on my back in the mei tai and still get stuff done. And, of course, I don’t have it all together. I have the worst insomnia in the world, which renders me pretty much useless for the first half of the day, and I’m usually a bit late for everything, even when I’ve planned plenty of time to get ready…Anyway, this comment is wayyy too long, so I’ll stop now. It’s been lovely seeing you with your new daughter and just loving you are towards your husband and children. A wonderful example!
Are you using a sling? That will free up your 2nd hand to crack eggs while holding baby!