Getting Comfortable

Yesterday, I got out of the shower to find that Curtis had decided he wasn’t enjoying reclining in his bouncer seat. Apparently, he prefers to nap curled up. Good thing he was strapped in there!

Grant has been back at work much more this week. He’s been dropping Eleanor off at school and then going to work for the rest of the workday. (I know I’m much more spoiled than some wives, but I’m also much more wimpy.) Yesterday was rough, but other than that, the kids and I have made it through alright. It’s just hard on those days when I really need a nap and I’m at the mercy of Curtis and Phaedra to somehow miraculously nap at the same time. This is especially difficult when Phaedra plays in her bed some days instead of napping (such as today).

My recovery has gone pretty smoothly. I’m not dealing with any physical pain, and I’ve gotten most of my strength back (as long as I eat, drink, and sleep). My main challenge right now is keeping my emotions under control, which is greatly influenced by how much I’m allowed to sleep.

Phaedra has had good days and bad. She’s especially disobedient on days when she skips her nap, so this evening with no daddy around (he’s in class tonight) should be fun.

Curtis is still a great baby. His nights have gotten a bit more tricky now that he’s a little older. He was sleeping like a dream, going to bed around 9:30 and sleeping all night except for a few feedings after which he went right back to sleep. The last few nights, he has gone through a crying period that can keep us up pretty late. Once that’s over (around 11:30 or midnight), he goes to bed and has a typical good night where he wakes to eat and goes right back to sleep. Grant is wonderful and lets me go to bed while he deals with Curtis’ crying, but even then, I can have a hard time settling down while listening to my baby scream in the other room.

Curtis is having more alert time during the day. It’s fun to get to see his little eyes more often.

I’m trying to be patient and tell myself that it’s okay if we have days where all I do is meet our basic needs of survival. The rest will come. Life just has to slow down for a while.

I feel limited by not being able to run my own errands. We don’t want Curtis out in public too much because of how some people maul babies they see in public. Also, Phaedra has really been a terror even when we all go places as a family. I have no idea how I would handle her if I tried to take all the kids alone. That really worries me. I don’t know how I would chase her through a store with baby in my arms. If only Amazon did groceries!

If I complain too much on the blog, forgive me. It’s just a nice place to vent right now. I’m not trying to send out a “cry for help.” I’m just getting thoughts out so they can stop rolling around in my head. Let’s blame it on the hormones, shall we?

We’re Okay

Sorry if I worried anyone with my pity party and then no blogging for a while. It was just a long, busy week, and I’ve scarcely found a moment with two free hands. I’m okay. I just needed to vent. I felt better after I got it out, and it didn’t hurt to hear some sympathetic words from my friends. Thanks. My emotions can be a bit like a roller coaster postpartum, with definite highs and lows; that was just a low day.

That night, Grant and I watched a TV show that ended with this quote, and I had a good cry before going to bed.

“You think that true love is the only thing that can crush your heart, the thing that will take your life and light it up . . . or destroy it. Then, you become a mother.”  -from Grey’s Anatomy

We’re doing okay, just trying to adjust to all the changes. I’m trying to take things one day at a time so I don’t get overwhelmed.

In the meantime, we’ve been enjoying visiting with my sister who flew in from Utah with her baby boy (so I could see her baby and she could see mine).

Here she is with her baby and with Curtis (making his grumpy old man face). I’ll try to share some more pictures of our time together when I get a chance.

Pity Party of One

It’s been one of those days today.

I did too much and totally wore myself out until I was too tired and dizzy to sleep when the opportunity finally came around for me to nap. (I get light-headed when I overdo it postpartum.)

My three-year-old has been defiant in every way possible today. She doesn’t seem to care about half the punishments I try to give her. Right now, she’s bawling in her bed. I couldn’t stand her anymore, so instead of our usual snuggle time before bed, I plopped her in there and walked away. That sounds awful, but I’m a softy, and I gave her plenty of chances.

My head hurts.

My house is a mess. My sister is coming from out of town this week to visit. I’m excited to see her, but she’s going to think my house is always a mess.

I just heard Grant, who is checking on my grouchy, crying 3-year-old, scold her for spitting on the floor. Apparently she isn’t done testing us this evening.

I think I just need a good cry.

 

I didn’t get any pictures of my baby today. Here’s one Grant took the other night.

2 Weeks

Here are some pictures of our little Curtis at two weeks old. I’m having such a hard time grabbing a moment to photograph this cutie. Life is busy with three kids! I’ll keep working on it.

yawn

grouchy face (even his grouchy face is adorable if you ask me)

chatting with daddy

This sweet little baby is so easy to love. The girls adore him; they constantly tell me, “Oh, he’s so cute!” They want to hold him often. He can be pretty patient with letting them hold him (and sometimes not so patient). Phaedra only holds him for short periods of time before she’s done. Eleanor loves to sit and hold him. She’s proud of herself when she holds him even when he’s upset.

He’s been sleeping pretty well. He gives us a few good hours, wakes to get changed and eat, and then he usually goes back to sleep. If something throws off his groove, such as him pooping right after being fed so that he has to get changed when he’s ready to go back to sleep, he doesn’t want to go back to sleep on his own. He wants to eat again or be awake and cranky. Eventually we’ll have to teach him another way of going to sleep, but this works for now.

He doesn’t like getting changed much, but his patience with that is growing. He’s learning to tolerate burping; he doesn’t like it much and tries to keep them down sometimes. He has a really strong neck and can lift his head to look around for short periods of time. I just love when he’s having alert time and he gazes around the room with those sweet eyes. He’s soft, and I like to kiss him—a lot. I have to get it in as much as possible before he grows up and says, “Aww, mom!” as he wipes off my kisses.

Big Sister

This girl just loves her “baby bwother.” When he fusses, she tells me, “Oh, he wants me.”