It’s my first day totally on my own, guys. I had a luxurious start to the two-kid life, but now it’s getting real. Ben’s back at work, and I’ve got a toddler and an infant allll to myself today.
Stay at home moms: HOW DO YOU DO IT?! It’s only 3:38pm, but I feel like I deserve some serious kudos for making it this far with everyone intact. Some small (or HUGE?) accomplishments:
- Guys, I thought ahead of time to sign her up for a gymnastics class. Am I on top of it or what? 😉
- We made it to gymnastics class ON TIME. Early, actually, because of accomplishment#3 (see below)…
- I nursed in the car. She read books. EVERYTHING GOING ACCORDING TO PLAN SO FAR. Except for the nonstop crying and totally interrupted baby nap. Sorry, second child.
- I put him in the baby carrier and snapped the Ergo buckle on the back BY MYSELF. *Applause!* (This is really hard for me for some reason- anyone else feel my struggle?? Or am I just really not flexible?)
- When we got to the gymnastics facilities, I took her to the potty (one of those small stalls where you can barely squeeze in when the door is swung open) and held her up on the seat WHILE carrying the baby. Yep. All three of us in the eensy teensy stall together. Good times. I think this one is worth ten points right here. Ten Awesome Mommy Points. Thank you.
- We got home. We got food into her belly. Even something green. Okay fine it was a tiny shred of green onion, but still… hooray!
- I nursed him and fed myself and fed her ALL AT THE SAME TIME. I have a friend with two littles that does this all the time, but I honestly doubted my own abilities to mother at that level until today.
- I vacuumed (okay fine, Roomba vacuumed. But still, I pushed a button twice… HIGH FIVE??), did the laundry, made dinner (which you can do 3 hrs ahead of time when you’ve got a nifty new electric pressure cooker that keeps food warm til dinner time!), and washed the dishes (okay I pushed two buttons on the dishwasher… but I have every intention of putting them away before Ben comes home. That counts for something.)
- I wrote a blog post. :D.
Last night, my friend Michael asked me how I managed to keep up a blog with two kids. Here’s how it had been happening up until this point: I planned ahead and had friends write guest posts, and I wrote a few posts ahead of time myself and scheduled them in for the last two months. It made me look super on top of things, right? But the truth is, this blog was almost on autopilot. However, like I shared recently, I’m no longer ahead of the game. Maybe this was poor planning on my part, because now that Ben’s back at work, I am busier than ever!
I think that means you will be getting live updates from me (like this one) here and there for the next couple of weeks until I get back on top of things. Some of you had requested more glimpses into real life with two kids, so… here it is!
Anyway. Toddler has made it clear that nap time is definitely over.
~T-2 hrs until he’s home.
(Husbands, we really do watch that clock).
12 responses to “Here We Go”
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\o/ <– that is me cheering for you, in case that wasn't clear 😉
Thank you for the clarification. I would have just thought it was an open mouth, like… =O. MORE CHEERS PLEASE. MORE PRAYERS PLEASE. THANKYOU.
It really does get easier AFTER the 4th child. By that time, the oldest can help care for several younger ones. I know because I was that oldest. I changed diapers, prepared baby food, read and entertained siblings, etc. So, only 2 more to go and you’re on easy street (Ha! Ha!).
So THAT’S what I miscalculated… just need two more! Haha =) Children math is funny. Everyone says 1 + 1 does not equal 2. Which is feeling pretty true right about now. But now I’m hearing you say something like 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 < 1 + 1. Is that right? =)
Yay! You’re so good at remembering everything that goes on. Great descriptions that give us all more appreciation about all the work that goes on at home. And congrats on finding time to still write a blog post on it. I assume this means there are days that are even crazier when you don’t have time to write about it…
Thanks, Daniel :). I appreciate your appreciation!!! Mothers everywhere do :D.
Yay Jo Ellen! Good job! By the way, yes, those Ergo buckles are near impossible. I was struggling and struggling with little granddaughter in front of Trader Joe’s and a nice lady came by and offered to snap it for me! Forever grateful!! 🙂
Seriously! I have almost always had to ask someone to help me with those, but today I followed the advice of Anna (the next commenter) and it worked! Clearly I did not have much experience with the carrier much before, but now I kind of have to!
For an easier time buckling the ergo, loosen the side straps before putting it on. Once it’s on (with baby) buckle the chest (shoulder) strap, then pull the side straps to get the snugness you need.
I have a friend with arms that just really couldn’t do this and while she eventually opted for wraps, the other suggestion someone gave her was to buckle the chest strap before putting it on (leaving te shoulder straps super long) and immediately tightening the shoulder straps, pulling the pre-buckled chest strap behind your head as you tighten.
But kuddos to getting everyone out of the house! It’s impressive every time 🙂
Thanks, Anna! Loosening the straps totally helped today!! Maybe I’ll have to try one of those wraps. It still feels like such an ado getting the Ergo on and everything, especially with the infant insert.