Real Life…2.5 weeks in

Did you guys think that I’d bailed on you completely and left the world of blogging behind? Not hardly.

I’ve just been sucked into the realm of diapers, feedings and juggling two kids while attempting to maintain some sense of order around our house and sanity within my own head.

Last week was my first week alone with both boys. I’d like to pretend that everything went peachy all week long and that there were no hiccups. To say that I handled everything like a pro, that I managed to tackle everything on my seemingly unending to do list and rock parenting like it was nobodies business.

But, that would be a lie.

Monday started out pretty great. Jonah slept in 3-4 hour intervals on Sunday night and we all slept in until about 10:30. I got up, fed him, and everyone got a shower/bath. We were all clean before lunch and I even managed to throw on some makeup before the husband came home for lunch. Monday afternoon I folded a load of laundry (and put it away thankyouverymuch). Monday went down as a success…but the rest of the week went downhill pretty quick.

Tuesday I felt fine when I woke up, but by the time 1:00 rolled around and lunch was over, I felt like garbage. Long story short, I ended up in the ER with a 101 degree fever and a prescription to treat Mastitis. Wednesday-Saturday were just a whirlwind of activity. Doctors appointments for the husband and for Jonah, me feeling like complete crap, birthday parties and a Christmas Party. To say that I was happy to see Sunday arrive is an understatement.

Other than the chaos that was last week, I’m finding myself entertained by my own attempts to maintain some sort of balance around the house right now. I’ve had one meltdown/freakout/crying spell (that one came on Wednesday right in the middle of one of Jonah’s crying spells…right before it was time for me to take my pain medicine for the Mastitis – which means that I was frustrated, exhausted and in pain at that moment), but for the most part I’m just sitting back and laughing at my feeble attempts at clinging to control.

I’m learning that right now Jonah is in control.

I’m at the mercy of his schedule and when he wants to eat, sleep and play. Most specifically when he wants to eat. (I’ve got a whole other post coming about our breastfeeding journey.) Noah is doing surprisingly well so far. I anticipated that the newness of his baby brother would have worn off by now, but it hasn’t. He’s still as much into helping around here and doing “big brother” things as he ever was. He tells everyone that Jonah is his baby and introduces him by name to anyone and everyone that we encounter.

It makes me heart swell just a little bit. You guys all know how much I worried about Noah and how he would handle the responsibilities of being a big brother and adjust to life with a sibling. It does my heart good to see that he’s still as excited (if not more so) now than he was before his brother arrived.

I’m trying my hardest to just sit back and enjoy these newborn days. It’s hard to not anticipate and look forward to the days where sleeping for 6-8 hours is a possibility again and having two hands to do things around the house is a reality. But if I learned nothing else from Noah, it’s that time goes by too quickly and that they aren’t little forever. And since we haven’t decided yet whether or not we are going to have a third baby, I want to make sure that if we don’t I don’t look back and regret it. That I don’t look back and think “I should have enjoyed the newborn phase more…”

So for now, I just snuggle my precious newborn and relax when it’s time for a feeding. I read stories to my biggest boy in our down times and play Lego’s in the floor. The laundry, dishes and vacuuming can wait.

I’m hoping that as we settle into more of a routine that I’ll get back to blogging more frequently. But, until I do you guys should pop over to Facebook and like my page. I’m doing lots of posts and updates there. Or if photos of cute, squishy newborns are more your speed, you can follow me on Instagram!