1 month update - Is this colic?
If I thought the months flew by with Grace, they go by even faster with two! It really doesn't feel like it's been a whole month since Edith joined our family. She is growing so fast (which makes complete sense given how often she eats in a day) - she gained 19oz in her first 19 days!
So far:
- she survived her first hurricane
- transitioned to cloth diapers (check this post to see how we diaper both kiddos for $300!)
- went to her first bar (where mommy didn't even drink)
- slept 5 hours! TWICE!
- and had her newborn photos taken
I've gone out a few times now just me and the girls and man it is no. joke. (It would help if it weren't so damn hot outside!) I haven't gone grocery shopping with both of them yet...that seems like a beast I'm not ready to tackle.
Things I've learned so far:
- When travelling from Point A to Point B with 2 kids, immobilize your faster child first
- Put on clothes as if you're leaving the house, wash your face, and brush your teeth every morning. Go crazy...take a shower. Even if someone is crying. It's the cleanest you'll be all day. I didn't with Grace, and you'd be surprised how much sub-par hygiene and wearing pj's all day can affect your mental health
- Eat breakfast even if it's just a buttered bagel or bowl of overly soggy cereal
- Heed the warning, "Get it while it's hot," and chug your coffee. If you don't, you are forever doomed to drinking cold coffee every morning. (Admittedly, I'm still working on this one)
I wish I'd been a little more candid in my 1 month update post with Grace because to be quite honest, I don't remember it. And all I said about it was the baby items we liked using. I don't remember how often she ate, how many times I had to wake up in the middle of the night to feed her, if she went right back to sleep or if I had to stay up an extra 2 hours with her. I don't remember if she cried alot. This baby? Cries..alot. But I don't remember if this is normal, if Grace was the same way, or if this is colic.
Mathias remembers month 1 with Grace very differently. He actually does remember her crying if awake and not being held. But I remember literally nothing about our first month as parents. I can only assume it was chaotic and so traumatizing that my mind allowed me to forget so that I'd be able to have more children hahaha!
So now I'll be perfectly candid. This post took me a few days to write because I didn't want to show bias and make it sound all bad or all great. Month one with Edith has been hellacious. (I wrote this on one of our "bad days.") There aren't enough hours in a day where both kids are sleeping or satisfied to a point where I can get things done around the house. Not to mention leaving the house to run errands. Today is a good day though. I got so much done this morning and was able to satisfy some late onset nesting.
When people ask me how having 2 under 2 has been, my response is simply, "It's not as chaotic as I expected." This is largely due to having my mom here to help several days a week. I could not do this without her. And we wouldn't have had kids so close together if we didn't have such a strong support system in place. I have a newfound respect for parents with no family support around them. I don't know how my grandma did it....in a new country, with grandpa gone alot in the Navy, a language barrier, and 4 girls in a new city every few years with no family or support around her. This is probably why my mom is such a great caregiver. She's been doing it since she was in the 5th grade.
But I write this as both kids are taking an afternoon nap, I've finished my coffee, and I've eaten breakfast. I didn't shower...but 2 out of 3 ain't bad. And today is a good day.
