All By Ourselves

All By Ourselves

If someone were narrating my life, I’m sure the moment Ellen was placed in my arms the words, “She suddenly realized life would never be the same again” would have been uttered. I feel like having a new baby in the house makes me rethink everything. Big things like my parenting skills and my spirituality, as well as little, unimportant things like my fashion.  Life never will be the same again, but that’s part of the excitement of living, right?

We took my mom to the airport yesterday after she’d kindly spent 11 days keeping our house clean and playing nonstop with Cooper. Today marks the first day I’m on my own with the kids and while I’m excited to try and redefine a “normal” for our lives, I find the whole thing perhaps at least  a tad bit scary. I mean, how am I supposed to go to the grocery store with two kids? What do I do when they’re both crying? Will I ever feel like making my bed again?

I suppose I should finally release Cooper from the confines of his high chair and head out to find the answers. Wish me luck.

Cooper is already loving being a big brother.
Me and the kids

7 thoughts on “All By Ourselves

  1. I feel the same way. How in the world am I going to do anything with two kids? I wish you luck as I try to figure out the same thing!

  2. This made me smile. In my mind two kids is normal. I panic whenever I think about doing anything with three kids. (BTW if they are both crying, just pick one and take care of that one. Then help the other one. You’ll go crazy trying to make them both happy at the same time.)

  3. I used a baby wrap or soft carrier much more often with two kids (I guess they’re called “hands free” carriers for a reason–so you can fix the other kid snack while still holding one 🙂 And Caleb was also encouraged to watch DVDs at that stage, so that he could be safely (somewhat) occupied while I was nursing/putting Isaac down for a nap, etc. Fortunately Isaac took a morning nap until he was 17 months, and that was when I showered every day. Now I just take a really fast shower and hope no one is injured during that time. It’s intimidating, but somehow it works out. I do remember our first outing with two kids, and I told my mom “If we have a third baby, I’ll never leave the house again!” because it seemed like so much work!

  4. A synonym for “baby harness” is “life saver.” Picture yourself with Cooper wanting to run around a parking lot while you’re lugging Ellen’s carseat around. Not good. Until Aria could sit unsupported in a shopping cart, I always put her directly in my harness and never used an infant carseat to carry her around. The harness has the added benefit of giving the baby some extra snuggle time. It’s also helpful to keep an umbrella stroller in the trunk of the car for wiggly toddlers when you have appointments. When they’re both crying, comfort Cooper first because life will be much harder if he gets jealous. My pediatrician said that if I needed to let my newborn cry for up to ten minutes while I took care of Michael, that was fine. My doctor also suggested calling Aria “Michael’s baby” during that initial adjustment period. Also, keep in mind that newborns sleep a lot, which makes the adjustment to two kids a lot easier. I had an easier time with a toddler and a newborn than I did being pregnant while taking care of a toddler. Oh, and I don’t know if you have a harness already, but here’s a link to the one I use. To say I love it would be an understatement. http://www.amazon.com/Infantino-Flip-Front-Carrier-Black/dp/B003I867WQ

    Anyhow, sorry I wrote such a lengthy epistle, but I hope it helps!

  5. One last thought; there are always tons of appointments when you have a new baby, and it’s virtually impossible to schedule them for times that don’t interfere with either kid’s naptime. If you have to pick whose nap to throw off schedule, I’d recommend doing things during Ellen’s nap, even when she’s no longer a newborn. Tired toddlers are not as forgiving as babies.

  6. I had decided to not bother about making the bed for awhile, but then it started to bother me. Now I do a nice but sloppy job of mostly making the bed and fold the covers a couple feet away from the pillows… since you wanted to know 🙂 Have I ever told you that I ALWAYS LOVE your hair!

  7. Loved this post, I have those same thoughts and my second kiddo won’t be here for 7 more weeks 🙂 But like you say, it’s part of the excitement of living!

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