Mothering two.
I'm quite ashamed to admit it because practically everyone I know has more than two children and they sing and smile and are out and about and make it all look so easy while in this house the transition has not been easy. Many days I've felt quite certain I'm not cut out to be a mother...kind of late for this revelation, I know.
But seriously. Holy. Cow.
My delightful little two year old hit the Terrible Twos right on schedule...about a week before Marlowe joined us (screaming). I'm sure much of it has had to do with the four sharp molars slicing through her gums but still, most days my patience ran out long before the day was over.
My 4 month old has been mostly a mystery to me. She has this obsessive need to suck but refuses anything 'mainstream.' She blazes her own trail, this one. No soothers will do but mom's hairy trucker arm, that is something TASTY! I am currently sporting 3 hickeys from my baby.
Did you just say "gross?" I'm not gonna argue with you.
She won't fall asleep in the swing but she'll doze in the bumbo. She hates swaddling but likes getting her diaper changed. She gets frustrated with toys but likes playing with blankets. Her favorite thing is a good conversation. Especially with her big sister who has no respect for personal space and gets so close while talking that they both end up cross eyed.
Sleep has been a bigger issue in the past few months than ever before. Evanie has always been a good sleeper except when she's teething and then it's madness. So little sleeping, so much crying!
Marlowe's sleeping has improved dramatically but it has been tough going up to now. For the first 5 weeks of her life I rarely got more than maybe 2 to 4 hours a night. When her tummy issues resolved she immediately got better at night and about 80% of nights she now will sleep somewhere around 9-12 hours which is totally awesome. Naps have been another issue entirely. Up until a week ago, I spent many hours putting her to sleep over and over again. We tried just having her cry it out but this kid can go indefinitely so it was way outside of my comfort zone and I ended up just holding and bouncing and bouncing and bouncing until I literally put my back out.
Anyway, the summation of all this moaning is that now, 4 months into having two girls I finally feel like I've come up for a breath of air and we're all going to make it. We have half a molar left with Evanie so she is napping and waking only once or twice at night. And Marlowe has had at least 7 (not consecutive) days of decent naps which means we've had a few dinners on time and I've cleaned my house once. We pretty much don't leave the house but I'm willing to make that sacrifice for now to create some good sleeping habits.
I've taken up crafting in my many days at home. Maybe someday I'll post a few pictures of stuff I've been working on.
Oh...and I have no pictures...
2 comments:
oh girl, i hear you. Your line from facebook comes to my mind a lot: "Two year old are the best...and the worst." Perfectly stated. They are so hilarious...yet AWFUL. We've had some rough days recently too, I've wanted to give Ivie away. But glad to hear you are getting the hang of things, and thankful for your honesty. All those other people who make it look easy are lying. I'm going to bed now.
It sounds like you are a normal mom! I had one of those everlasting cry it out children....and the people who looked at you and said you were doing it wrong, soon changed their tune when they took care of him for awhile. So, feel free when you see one of the moms who have it all together, smiling cheerily, offer them to try with your child and they will let you know fast....that they don't know how you do it!!
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