Whoa! Time is absolutely flying by! It's been almost two months since I've been on here, and it feels like just yesterday. Since I haven't been around much, I thought it would be fun to give y'all a little update on what life is like right now with two kids. :)
George is so small here and doesn't even look like himself!
First of all, let me say that life with two is fabulous! I just adore my sweet little family, and often find myself just looking around and taking everything in. I have always wanted a big family and know that we want more kids, but there are definitely moments when I look around and think, "I'm perfectly content." I just absolutely adore my kiddos and their sweet and spunky little personalities, and if I thought having one made me love my husband more, having two has just increased that ten fold.
Now, although I love having two kids and truly feel that the Lord has always called me to be a mama, things are definitely not perfect. We are still working on hitting our groove.
We have been super blessed to have very chill, easy-going babies. We really don't have to think twice behavior-wise on going places, but outings have definitely become more of a task. I find myself picking and choosing and staying home a lot more often. We used to ALWAYS be out and about, but now, there are so many more days where I say, "I just want to stay home." Getting two kids in and out of the car is not my favorite task. Dear Texas, could you please crank that AC up and give us some real Fall weather, because this mama is tired of sweating while buckling in two kids!
George's favorite spot is NOT the car! Now, he is totally content in his carseat if he has just woken up in the morning and been fed, but if there is any sign of hunger or sleepiness, it takes him a good 5 minutes to realize he needs to just settle in. He is totally fine once we get on a long stretch of road where the car doesn't stop, but he somehow knows the moment the car is coming to a stop and lets loose. I have gotten some pretty surprised and sympathetic looks in the drive-thru lines, because he doesn't just cry...he screams, and he screams loud. I cannot tell you how many people tell us what an awesome baby he is, because when we go places, he is just super content. He sat through a baby shower on Saturday like a champ, but when we start to see him stirring, Ben and I do everything in our power to keep him from making that first squawk, because it is LOUD!
We've also been very fortunate that both of our kids have always slept really well. From about two weeks, Henley was only waking up once during the night, and from day one, George was doing the same. Unfortunately, he hasn't always continued that. It seems like the moment I get him figured out, he changes something on me. The past week has been a pretty rough one in the sleeping department. We went from George sleeping from 8 PM straight through to 8 AM to him waking up two to three times a night. He also went from taking regular 45 minute to an hour naps and going down super easy to fighting me tooth and nail. He seems to be back to sleeping pretty well through the night the past couple of nights...I have no problem waking up with him either once a night or just early in the morning, but naps are another story. I cannot figure that kid out!
When I put him in one of his swaddles he wiggles and arches every single way, but when I don't swaddle him, he's awake every 5 minutes. He doesn't seem to want to be rocked AT ALL, but when I just lay him down he screams and screams and screams. The only way he seems to go down semi easy right now is if I feed him and then lay him down which some days works out, but most days I try to stick to the eat, play, sleep schedule and it is totally throwing me off. He has been drooling like a maniac and constantly chewing on his hand, so I'm wondering if he is starting to teeth which could be affecting his sleep. I've also heard about the four month sleep regression, but this is totally new to me. Henley never regressed sleep-wise and I never knew she was teething until a new tooth popped up. I am learning all new things!
Speaking of Henley, she is absolutely loving this big sister thing! The first thing she asks every morning is "Where is George?". She loves hugging and kissing on him, and she is the absolute best little helper! George likes to be able to see me pretty much at all times, so when I need to run out of the room to grab something or get myself ready, Henley will sit and talk to him and keep him perfectly happy. She loves to run in his room when he wakes up and talk to him too! You can pretty much hear her saying "George, (or Georgie) it's okay. You don't need to cry" anytime we are in the car. She is the first to run to him when she hears him start to get upset. I just adore their little relationship already. George absolutely adores her too! Any time she is around, he wants to be looking at her, and any time he catches a glance, he is smiling!
When it was just Henley, I didn't feel the need to get away really. There were very few times where I thought, "I need a night away," or "let's drop Henley off and go out." Well friends, times have changed...Henley is a little chatter box who literally NEVER STOPS TALKING! I absolutely love how much she talks, and at the same time, at the end of the day, I am so exhausted by it! Mom, I know how you felt now! Apparently, she is her mama's child! Between my little chatter box and George who just always needs me, I have found my desire to get some me time or Ben and me time increase greatly! Ben and I have been able to drop both kids off with grandparents a couple of times and go to dinner, and just last weekend, we went to San Antonio for a wedding. All of these times have been glorious! While I adore my kids and they are both pretty easy, getting away these days has been more of a necessity. I have needed some uninterrupted adult conversation and time to breathe!
Outings have also changed a lot. Not just in the sense that they are more complicated, but Henley used to have my full attention and I would be doing whatever it was that she was doing. I was always down on the ground playing with her. These days, while I still try to give her lots of good attention, she is learning to be a lot more independent. There are lots of times when she has to play while I feed George, or try and get some work done. I have taken my computer with me to a couple of play places with wifi to try and get some things done outside of the house while she is fully occupied and George either sleeps or looks around. There are just a lot more factors to take into consideration when we leave the house now. We had a pretty rare and super fun occurrence last week though when we went to an indoor play area and were the only ones there. I was able to lay George on one of the mats and really play with Henley. We had a blast climbing and building and going down the slide!
The below story seems to be more of the norm though these days!
We went to the mall on a Sunday afternoon when Ben was out of town, and I was pumped because we got there at 11, and Henley was in a great mood and George was passed out in the stroller. We walked in and all the stores were closed until noon (whomp whomp), so we headed to Barnes and Noble to kill some time. George kept on sleeping and Henley and I read books until he started to stir and I needed to feed him. Things were still good because I hoped that if he was fed, we could still get some good shopping in. Well, when I sat him up to burp, I realized his entire back was covered in poop. We all jumped up and headed to the bathroom. He was literally covered from head to toe. I gave him a wipes bath while Henley talked my ear off and kept asking me if she could touch his poop or see his poop, etc. I was a sweaty, hot mess! I ended up throwing his clothes and a blanket away and we had a naked baby until one of the stores opened and we found some new clothes!
Things like that are just more common for me now. I really can't get caught up in the things that go wrong. I just embrace them now, and roll with the punches!
So, while life has changed greatly with two kids, I love it! I love the crazy! Our house in never as clean as it once was, I am never caught up on laundry, I am still doing at-home workouts instead of going to the gym, and I still haven't quite figured out the balance of two kids and work, but I love this crazy life!
