Life with two kids is no walk on the beach. As I write this, it's 10:30 am, I'm in my pajamas and typing with one finger as I cradle my newborn in my arms. While I remember spending many days in this position with my first, I can honestly say that this is the first time since her birth I've stayed in my pajamas this late.
It's hard with two. I've been trying to wake before my son in order to get his lunch packed, breakfast ready and get showered and dressed before he gets up. A few days ago, I added pumping milk to that routine which added the extra challenge of waiting for baby to have her last nighttime feed before I got up. The first few days were great timing as she'd just finished eating when dad was leaving for the day (5am) so I was promoted at that time to get up & get moving. The last two days however, she didn't wake until 7 for that feeding---of course I stayed in bed until then!
Waking up late presents challenges getting everyone ready & out the door in time for school. Yesterday, my car broke down so I didn't have to get myself ready for the trip to school. That's the only reason I'm trying to take advantage of this late morning snuggle/nap time.
During the day, once my son gets home from school it's a whole new battle for mom's attention. My son had some behavior problems for a little while before baby arrived, but having me home seems to have curbed that. But, he still gets very needy at the least opportune moments. Usually while I'm nursing and therefore cannot fetch his stuffed animals from the out-of-his-reach net, or get him a glass of juice. He's actually grasping the concept rather well and melt downs have been few and far between, but I still feel spread very thin. It would be a lot easier to just veg out on the couch in between feedings than to have to do a new art project every free minute. At least the experience seems to be making him a little more independent, although he definitely needs more work on that.
Night time presents a whole different set of challenges. My husband gets home after 5 most days and is usually pretty tired. He's the primary cook in the House, and although I've helped a little since being home, I still leave it up to him for the most part. Once he's home, he usually does some yard work outside which means my son will finally go outside (it seems no matter what I offer to do outside, he never wants to do anything outdoors with me). It's usually late by dinner time. My son usually gets pretty amped up when daddy is home which means he sometimes forgets the rules and gets in trouble. It can be a battle for baths, eating, teeth brushing, turning off the tv, and pretty much anything else at that time of day.
Hey, I get grouchy too at nighttime so what can I expect? And guess who else is a grouchy butt at bed time? Baby! Yep, perfect angel all day but when it comes to the last nursing session of the day, she fusses, fights, and squirms. Of course, this led me to google every nursing issue on the block--ultimately coming to the conclusion that she's just fussier at night.
Around the time of the fussy feed, it's my son's bedtime. He was always a great sleeper until I got pregnant. Then he insisted on sleeping with me. I'm currently sleeping in the nursery so that just won't cut it. I try to give baby to daddy and lay down with him, but sometimes the timing just isn't right. It can be a whole other battle!
We're working out the kinks and I think I'm doing a pretty good job, but man! This is no walk on the beach!
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