Becoming a mother again

 

People tell you it’s so much easier the second time around, just wait and see they say.  You’ll see how much easier it is. 

 

It’s hard to believe until you have your second baby and things are easier and you don’t worry about this or that, you know how to change a newborns diapers and clothes, you know how to hold them and some of their cues.  You realize how simple babies are in so many ways.  They aren’t complicated – it’s the learning curve than new Moms and Dads are on that is challenging, not the baby itself. 

 

It’s just like riding a bike – once you know how to ride a bike, but have to put it away for a while – you can just get back on and start riding again. 

 

It was just like that for me. 

 

When we brought Sara home from the hospital it was so much easier.  Just back into the swing of things, almost like 3 years hadn’t gone by, or it had all been a dream, and I was back nursing Alex again and changing his diapers.  Wait a second – it had been 3 years and I had a 3 year old little boy at home who was talking to me and going pee in the potty!  Sara and Alex looked fairly similar when they were newborns that it was almost like a time warp, except that it was easier.  So many things were easier – the pregnancy, the delivery, the recovery, the breastfeeding, the diapers, the worries, the unknown, the sleep, the tiredness, the baby stuff.  I was so much more confident this time around.  I knew what I was doing and didn’t waste one second on that in my mind.  I also had learned so much about parenting and how one choice doesn’t make you a “bad” Mom or a “good” Mom.  I was so much easier on myself this time around.  It was OK to set her down for a bit and take a little time for myself.  She won’t think I’m a “bad” Mom if I need to eat lunch or just have a moment to myself.  Just because I didn’t hold her ALL.THE.TIME didn’t mean I was a bad Mom.  I know all too well that as babies grow to toddlers and then to little kiddos, it gets easier in some ways and much harder in others.  I was fully willing to take advantage of this and do what I wanted to do this maternity leave – so, I take Sara to all sorts of places.  We’ve gone shopping at the outlets, out to meet friends, to Molbaks and McLendons for a little plant shopping!

 

 

 

What has been harder this time around has been my time with Alex (Lance has too much time with Alex right now), time for myself or time with Lance alone.  The dogs have gone down the priority list again as well as chores around the house.   Although it’s easier to have a baby the second time around and how simple they are, there still is a new baby in our house and she has needs like naps and feedings that only I can provide.  I still have plenty of guilty feelings about everything from Alex being in preschool and me not spending as much time with him to going back to work and being away from Sara.  I know going back to work is going to be tough, I will be T.I.R.E.D.  I will miss Sara so much and wonder if this is the right thing to do.  I will cry on the way to work and wonder if we should just make different choices.  And slowly, but surely, we will find a routine that works for our new family of four. 

 

Our new family of four – wow!  That’s pretty amazing to say.  We had just Lance and myself for so long, then Alex came along and we learned our family of three for 3 years.  We can’t even imagine life without him.   Now a family of four and Sara is here – what did we ever do before she came along?  I feel complete.  I didn’t know if I wanted to have a second baby – wasn’t sure about the pregnancy thing and getting sick with pre-eclampsia again and the tough first year again.  But now I can’t imagine how I ever thought that.  Of course we have a second beautiful baby – Sara. 

 

I am complete.  I have everything I’ve ever wanted that matters in life.  I am happy.

Cheeks

Sara has grown some luscious cheeks, elbow chub, neck rolls, baby thighs, and bracelets around her wrists.  She is just a luscious baby all around.  I love the warmer weather so I can see her body instead of being hidden in long sleeves and long pants.  Summer should start 5th of July, so here come the shorts and dresses and all that!

 

 

 

Alex gets a haircut

Look how handsome I am with my new haircut!

OK, Mommy says no smiling (great photography trick, by the way).

Oh – it’s so hard to not smile!

OK – I give up – smiling it is!

Even a super smile!

See there – my new haircut – it’s right up there

OK, no smiling again just cause I’m so cute!

OK Mommy – no more pictures – this one shows my underwear!OK, maybe just one more smile!

All the while – Mommy mourns the loss of the curls until it grows again…

Finding the joy, part II

I have have been having so much fun in my Finding the joy workshop.  I have learned quite a bit about the dreaded… photoshop – enough to be able to do more than just open a file.  I have a few “actions” that take ordinary photos to extraordinary and have been able to use this template that you see below with the rounded corners and the word joy.  I have been inspired by what I’ve seen other people in the workshop create and that gets my creative juices flowing.  I have taking many more pictures this month than normal (522 so far and this month isn’t even over!) – but, I love it!

I’m looking forward to this next week – I think the focus is on routines and capturing all the “normal” stuff in our lives.  I can’t wait to see where that takes me. 


 
 
 
 
 
 

My Lil Kicker

We had our first soccer session this last weekend and it definitely had some highs and lows.  First off, we think Alex really will like it a lot – it’s just his style, if you know what I mean!  It’s 50 minutes of active time to get some of that physical energy out.

 

We got to Arena Sports a bit early on Saturday and were checking things out.  Some of the parents and kids were warming up on the field and so Alex and I got a soccer ball and we did some kicking around.  The coach was WONDERFUL and came up and introduced himself and asked Alex if he wanted to kick the ball with him.  He said Yes and off they went.  I think the other kids in the class had been in previous sessions and the coach recognized that Alex was new to the program.  It was a great start!

 

They started with some warm up drills with touching their foot to the ball and then the other foot.  Some hopping here and hopping there.  Alex looked so cute in his new “soccer jersey and soccer shorts”, as he calls them I was just overwhelmed!  They did some drills of running back and forth from one side to the other, walking backwards, some red-light/green-light. 

 

  

During one of the jogging warm ups, another kiddo accidentally (and didn’t even know it) bumped Alex’s nose in just the right spot.  I was taking photos (of course!) and caught this one below before I even knew he was hurt.  The WONDERFUL coach recognized he was hurt and picked him up.  I had to run to the other field to get in and through that sideline to the field that Alex was on.  He had a bloody nose and his confidence was rocked a bit.  He didn’t know what had happened and didn’t know it was an accident and as with all boo-boo’s right now – they are judged based on blood.  If there is blood – then it hurts.  If there is not, then it doesn’t.  So his question was “is there blood?”.    I said there was a little bit and thankfully had some tissue in my pocket to wipe it up with. 

 

We spent a couple of minutes on the sideline recomposing him and making sure he was OK.  After a quick drink of water, he was back on the field.  Everyone was so nice a Arena Sports.  A lot of parents were asking me if he was OK and many parents introduced themselves and their children.  It was such a nice environment. 

They played little games – not soccer games, but shark games and monkey games and had all sorts of fun.

Then, since Alex had a runny nose from a cold, he could feel something coming out of his nose and sure enough – a little bit more bloody nose.  But, I was on the sidelines and quickly wiped it up.  He was back having fun. 

 

Running, kicking, laughing, playing…

 

 

Until there was more blood – then he was done.  It was break time and he had to go to the bathroom.  So, Lance took him, but it was all over.  No more playing.  He just had too much.  We just sat on the sidelines and watched the class in the last 15 minutes and he drank some water and ate a snack.  He was such a trooper. 

We are sure that next week will be better.  He’ll get to know the routine of the sessions and have more fun.  Hopefully no more bloody noses!  And more cute soccer jersey pictures to come!

Sara is growing like a weed!

She is 24.5 inches tall (98th%) and 12 lbs 13 oz (85th%) – dang girlie!

 

No wonder I’m having to pull out the 3-6 month clothing already!  She’s outgrowing the 0-3 month clothing rapidly and shows now signs of slowing down. 

 

She continues to be an easy mellow baby.  Some nights she sleeps 4-5 hour stretches, other nights just 2-3 hour stretches.  She is happy and is smiling all over the place lately.  She is looking at things and is interacting with us.   She likes to mimic what you are doing, sticking out your tongue, your expressions, etc.  She definitely has her moments of crankiness and crying, but not much. 

 

Sara Newborn (with a bit of orangey jaundice)

Sara 1 month

 

Sara 2 months

Low tide

 

 

This weekend was one of the low tides for the summer, I think a –3 or –4 feet.  The water goes lower than any other time of the year in the summer.  It exposes a lot of sand and a lot of fun to be had.  We were blessed with nice weather in the 70’s, not too hot, not too cold.  All for the wild chase for the geoduck.  Alex had his bucket and shovel and was learning from Grandpa T. how to dig this big beast. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alex and Grandma Connie sure had fun on the beach!  They made trails and found feathers and crabs, learned that seaweed wasn’t that scary and learned what a mosquito is and what it does (lands on you, eats a little tiny bit of blood, and puts some itchy stuff in you and makes a bump).    

 

 

We even got to see about the cutest “plumber’s crack” you could ever see – only cute on a 3 year old!

 

Sara was just lounging around – letting all the big kids do all the work. She was comfortable in her car seat and under the big umbrella at the beach.  I was worried she would get too much sun at the beach but the umbrella worked perfectly.  Either that, or I wouldn’t have been at the beach and would’ve had to stay up at the house. 

 

Then we came back to Grandma Judy’s and had ice cream!

And some grandma holding time… of course!

 

 

 

 

And then, Lance drove back to the beach with this – A BOAT!  I’m not sure who is more excited – Lance or Alex!  Lance has wanted a boat for about forever and finally decided to get one (even though we talked about it and it was going to happen next summer – not this summer – but I’m not complaining – I promise!). 

 

We are looking forward to many fun times with this boat in the years to come. 

 

 

What is it that babies dream about?

 

they flutter their eyelashes

 

they smile

 

they sleep suck

 

they giggle

 

they scrunch up their chin

 

they move they eyes all around

 

they breathe slow

 

they breathe fast

 

they move their fingers

 

 

 

 

What ever it is – it must be good!

 

 

Sara sleeping – 8 weeks old

 

  Alex sleeping – 4 months old

Baby Chiropractic

 

Throughout my pregnancy with Sara, I saw a chiropractor and I had never seen one before in my entire life.  My pregnancy with Alex I had pain in my ribs as I got bigger and bigger.  It felt like my rib bones were rubbing together and it hurt.  A friend of mine recommended seeing a chiropractor, she said it did wonders for her.  So, when I was pregnant and the aching back started hurting so bad at only 2-3 months along (way earlier than with Alex) I decided to see a chiropractor.  She told me that it would help with the high blood pressure, the headaches, the back aches and the rib pain.  I loved it!  At first, I didn’t feel much difference.  I think my second treatment – I fainted (due to low blood pressure from the first trimester of pregnancy and the chiropractic treatment lowering my BP even further).  After that – I was a true believer.  It really did help.  I went 3x/week for a while, then 2x, then just 1x a week.  She also did the Webster's Technique on me.  Sara was often transverse – or sideways.  She would push on tight spots on the round ligaments of my uterus and would just push on them to release the tension.  Within ~2 hours – Sara would turn head down.  It was amazing. 

 

She told me that all we had to do is get this baby lined up and she would come out.  And that is what happened.  I remember picking her out of a handful of potential doctors because she said in her profile that she has 4 kids.  I thought to myself – there is many things I can learn from her and I definitely have.  She’s almost like a chiropractor/therapist to our whole family.

 

The amazing thing is that Sara gets chiropractic, too!  My chiropractor recommended her coming as soon as we could after she was born.  We took her in when she was 3 days old.  The picture below was taken in May, so maybe she was 6 weeks old.  Sara loves it!  She just relaxes and often poops while being adjusted.  Here she is getting her neck adjusted and she just stretches out her legs and arms and just has a look of Ahhhh on her face. 

 

Alex also goes and sees her when needed.  She is so wonderful with him and often asks – do you have popcorn in your back?  He giggles and loves it.  Turns out his neck is just like mine and is our problem area.  He especially needs to go when he’s sick to prevent ear infections. 

 

Lance also goes to see her!  Lance has had many years of chiropractic – he is experienced, let’s just say that.  His back always hurts him, sometimes more, sometimes less.  With the birth of Sara and with the way he holds her – he has returned to get adjusted and has started doing the exercises recommended by the rehab people.  He is strengthening his core by doing all sorts of exercises and is strengthening all the muscles that support the spine to decrease the adjustments needed.  He has seen some remarkable changes – like going from a lot of pain to being relatively pain free.  He continues to go and do the exercises which will help him maintain his pain free lifestyle in the long run. 

 

Overall – we  couldn’t be happier with it and I would totally recommend it to anyone.