Saturday, June 30, 2012

Mommy of two

After Adriana was born, Ronnie stayed home for two weeks, which was great, and then my mom was with us for week. It was fantastic, but that time quickly came to an end and I was on my own with two for 5 weeks until Ronnie was out for the summer. Those were the fastest yet slowest weeks of my life. Looking back they are all a blur! I only had one or two break downs :) And those were on days when I was sleep deprived. Connor was the best behaved boy during those five weeks. It is almost like he could sense that I was just minutes away from a break down from exhaustion everyday so he took it easy on mama :) He listened great, he wasn't cranky, and more or less was picture perfect. He didn't throw one single fit those entire five weeks!

Now, it's a different story, I think he can sense that I am back to normal and dada is home so he is more of his "spirited" self, we have had a few more tantrums and he is now starting to talk back. Oh to be almost three (THREE!?!)...

It is so different with two. I am constantly tired and hungry, trying to get something to eat anytime I can. And I feel the need to just get out of the house on almost a daily basis, even if it is just to the store or to get coffee. With Connor, we hardly left the house until he was four months old (Partially because that was during the whole swine flu madness). That just isn't possible with a two and a half year old, nor desirable. We all get a little crazy if we are in the house too long!

 Honestly the hardest part of being a mom of two is trying to give them enough attention and keeping the gosh darn house somewhat clean. Yikes! Tornado Connor can make a mess in no time and I feel like I am constantly cleaning the kitchen and making food for someone. Thank goodness Adriana breastfeeds so I don't have to deal with bottles for her! I just love them so much and my heart melts seeing them together. Our family feels very complete.






Friday, June 29, 2012

Two Months

My baby girl is two months already. This is just going by way too fast! So here is an update on my baby girl.

Adriana seems to have mellowed out in the drama department quite a bit, but she can still give some good screams. She has now developed her pitiful cry for when she isn't really upset, just bored or sleepy or hungry. She is starting to coo quite a bit and gives big toothless grins, especially in the morning. She is super smiley in the morning and I love it.

She has no schedule really during the day yet, she sleeps when she wants and some days she will nap for only 30-45 minutes at a time, some days she will sleep 3 hrs at a time. Nighttime is a little more predictable, she usually goes down between 9-10 and will usually give me a 4-5 hour chunk and then after that it is two, two hour chunks. Not too bad for a two month old. Although usually twice a week I only get a three hour chunk and the a few two hour chunks. She sleeps soooo much better than Connor did at this age. The biggest difference between the two of them in terms of their sleeping habits is Connor HAD to be swaddled in order to sleep, and he could only be swaddled after he fell asleep. He was so difficult to put down to sleep, lots of rocking, making sure he was completely passed out before trying to lay him down or else you had to start all over. Adriana HATES to be swaddled, which was really weird for us to get used to! She is so so easy to put down to sleep in the middle of the night, she nurses and then I can pretty much just lay her down in her bassinet and she is fine. She self soothes herself pretty well if she kind of wakes up.

She is giving the biggest smiles now, and when she smiles she open her mouth wide open. So cute! It is hard for me to get the smile on camera because it distracts her! And I think she is starting to try and laugh or giggle, it comes out as a sort of squeal/cough, it cracks me up! 

We do have one problem, this little girl is already so addicted to her binky. She just loves it. She doesn't sleep with it at night, just uses it to help fall asleep for naps and when she is fussy in the evenings. Oh, another big difference between the two of them: Adriana does not like to nurse to sleep, it is super rare for her to nurse to sleep. It is the strangest thing! I HAD to nurse Connor sleep, otherwise I would be rocking him forever. If she is sleepy and I try to nurse her to help her fall asleep, she screams! It is so odd, and again, something I am still getting used to.

Two months baby girl. Can't believe how fast it is going.







Monday, June 18, 2012

Big Brother Connor

I thought it would be good to give an update on Connor since he has a new title: Big Brother :)

Truth be told, I was TERRIFIED of how Connor would react to Adriana. Connor is a routine kind of kid and when his routine it changed, it really throws him off. Example, in the winter I had to take a class on campus at WOU every Tuesday, so I would drive straight from work to Monmouth and get home at around 9pm and most nights he would be in bed. Very sad for both of us. And the next day he would always be in a sour mood with everyone, and be extra clingy to me.

When we would try to talk to Connor about being a big brother and having a little sister, he would most of the time ignore us and start talking about trains or run off. I honestly was not sure if he knew that he was going to be a big brother at all. I just knew in my heart that this was going to be a very difficult transition for him and it made me sad and worried about him.

When I had Adriana, Connor had a bad cold and so we didn't think he should come visit while we were there. That was so hard on me, I have never been away from Connor overnight and it was really hard. It was hard on him too. Ronnie was home with Connor and my mom went over to help out and when she knocked on the door he ran to the door yelling "Mama! Mama!, it made my mom cry and made me cry when she told me. It's getting me teary eyed now! Darn hormones!

So when Adriana and I were ready to come home, I was very nervous, I had a little anxiety. I was so excited to see Connor, but I was worried how he would react because there would be this baby who needed me so much and my little boy who would also need me so much. When I knocked on our door, I heard him yelling "Mama, mama!" and when he opened the door he had the biggest smile. I couldn't help myself, I picked him up, even though I wasn't supposed to be carrying anything! We hugged and hugged and he wouldn't let me go.

We were snuggling on the couch when Ronnie took Adriana out of her carseat and without missing a beat Connor said "Oh there's Adriana!", like we had been looking for her the whole time! It was so so sweet and I will never forget it. And he was a proud big brother, wanted to touch her and hold her, look at her.

And that is pretty much how he has been since. I really expected the novelty of the baby to wear off, but Connor really really loves his sister. He always wants to make sure if we are going anywhere that she is going too. He is constantly talking about her, "Ana hungry? Ana need a baba? Ana is excited! Ana is awake! Don't cry Ana, Connor's here. Ana so pretty. Oh she looking at me!" It is so very sweet and I love it! Whenever she is nursing, he likes to sit next to us and snuggle and pat her head and give her kisses.

                                                               Their first meeting <3
                                                 
                                                                    Daily kisses!

I am loving this phase while it lasts! I know in a blink of an eye, they will be arguing over toys and someone staring at the other... :)

Monday, June 4, 2012

100 Day Challenge

So I am starting a 100 Day Challenge that I read about on Carlia's blog. The challenge can be whatever you want it to be, with the goal being that you do it every day for 100 days. My goal is to get some exercise everyday for 100 days. After having two babies in 2.5 years, my body is unrecognizable to me! I need to get my butt moving because apparently reading blogs and watching the Food Network does not get me in better shape!

I plan on starting the Challenge on June 16th, Ronnie's last day of work is on the 15th. The goal is to get at least 15 minutes of exercise a day, but having most days be more like 30-60 minutes. I hope this will help hold me accountable for the summer and make a conscience effort to move my body! I will be posting my results on this page Wish me luck!