It’s official, I”m crazy

I love being a mom and oddly enough, I love being pregnant. I also have short term memory loss. While in the midst of potty training Jackson, we had a really rough night. Colton was up every couple of hours screaming and in between those times, Jackson was crying because he had an accident in his bed. I think I may have had two hours of sleep. As I drug myself into Starbucks the next morning, I saw this beautiful pregnant lady and I found myself contemplating...hmm..am I ready for another? What has come over me??!
(And no, I am not trying for another. It was a temporary lapse in judgment. Well, I’m not trying yet anyway.)

Sleep? Remind me again what that is?

It’s true that sleep will never be the same once you have kids but nothing is quite like those first few weeks. I remember when Jackson was born. He was a month early and so he had a little trouble nursing. The doctors and nurses insisted that I wake him every two hours to eat. Fun. The poor little guy was so tired that it took a half an hour just to get him to wake up. Then I would nurse him another half hour, pump a little to keep my milk up, clean up my equipment then go back to bed for well, about another half hour until it was time to start over. I literally began to loose my mind. I remember waking up wondering where I was, if the baby was in bed with me, when was the last time I fed him?? My eyes burned, my legs ached. I never knew I could survive on such little sleep. I swore I would punch the next person who told me their baby slept through the night at 2 weeks. I secretly smiled when I heard someone else’s baby was up all night. It’s true misery loves company. The crazy thing is when they finally do sleep through the night, I sometimes miss rocking with them in the dark room and listening to them breathe as they sleep on my chest.

Can you not hear that?!

Ok, I’ll admit it’s partially my fault for sleeping with the video monitor 6 inches from my face but I wake up if my child as much as moves his left toe. So how is it my husband is still snoring after 15 minutes of wailing?? I keep hearing that some babies just have to learn to cry it out. With my first child, he never had to do much more than whimper and I had him scooped up in my arms. After 6 months with my second waking every couple hours I thought I better let him cry at least a few minutes. Every mom knows the horrific feeling of hearing your baby cry. Even five minutes feels like an eternity. After 10 minutes I have knots in my stomach and by 15 I am on the verge on vomiting and decide the “cry it out” method just plain sucks, I’m getting my baby. Sure that my husband must be feeling the same way, I look over to check with him to find he is sound asleep. I often end up in the rocker next to my bed listening to, my baby sleeping on my chest, my 2 year old sleeping soundly through the monitor, my husband snoring away and oh yes, the dog curled up next to him snoring even louder.

Wait...these aren’t my hips. And these definitely are not my boobs

One of the sacrifices we make as a mom is definitely our body. I have to admit I was quite lucky with my first. Although I gained the normal 30-35 lbs, I think I was so overwhelmed with being a new mom that the weight came off without even noticing and thanks to my mom and genetics, I didn’t get any stretch marks. I was even enjoying having boobs for the first time since I breast-fed for the first 8 months. When I was just starting to get use to them I stopped nursing and well, they deflated. Any of you moms out there probably can relate. It’s literally like a balloon had popped. Bummer. Then baby number 2 came. Hooray the boobs are back! However this time I was not so lucky. I gained the same amount of weight but I think my body may be a little tired of this whole stretching out to accommodate a baby thing. Although the weight is gone, this belly is not quite how I remember it. Baby #1 took a toll on my upper body and baby #2 my mid-section. At least my feet still look the same.....wait a second...

How often do I really need to change these sheets...I mean really.

I thought putting sheets on my king size bed was a chore. That was until the crib came along. I guess it would be fine if the crib were in the middle of the room with no mobile, aquariums, or bumpers. Maybe I have just over-accessorized my crib? But seriously, I have to talk myself into taking on changing that crib sheet. I have to untie 85 bows on the bumper, remove. Lift the mattress over the aquarium toy. Break three ribs reaching the back corners. Try not to pull off the mattress pad, at least this time around. Slide mattress back down, then wash. Done. Oh no, now I have to put the sheet back on. Please Lord, help me not to curse. So you can imagine my excitement when Jackson got his big boy bed. Funny. I break my remaining ribs reaching over the headboard and footboard. The wonderful rail on the side has a great drop down feature to help with “easy bed making”. However, the rail drops down on the side of the bed so that I have to step on it to reach the mattress. And this time it’s not just a sheet. We have two sheets, pillows, blankets and quilt. At last I am done. I wipe the sweat off my forehead and vow never to do both beds on the same day again.

This is old, from the summer but too cute...

I think I would have been better off before the Internet

I have always been one to read up on something of interest and research everything to the fullest extent but I took it up a notch when it came time for babies. I think I may have read every book and website regarding conceiving, being pregnant and having children. Pick a topic, I can give you some facts. Sometimes this is to my advantage, sometimes, not so much. At some point along the way I went off the deep end. I could fill pages with the things I have researched. But let’s just touch on a few. When I was pregnant I kept hearing that I should have a flu shot. I never got them but decided I should. As soon as I got home, I looked up “flu shots in pregnancy” online and proceeded to read all about how my child may have mental disabilities thanks to my wild choice to have a flu shot. I cried in the shower for an hour that afternoon. Needless to say, my child was born healthy. I have googled just about everything; the effects of microwaving food, the harmfulness of fabric softener, effects of cell phone radiation, chemicals in lotion, the cons of drinking milk, dangers of tummy sleeping and the list goes on. Now if you’re a new mom, please do not panic and research any of these topics because there is something in our brains that only remembers the negative things we read and skims over the positive. Know that my kids sleep on their tummy, drink milk and eat Easy Mac. I still have a cell phone and use lotion. Just remember what we all grew up on and seemed to make it out ok.

Never wear sweats in public

Luckily, I learned this lesson in the comforts of my own home. As a mom, you learn to choose your attire based on totally different reasons than you did pre-mommyhood. You now base it on what to wear when nursing, whether or not your children will be consuming any food on this outing (think dark colors), can I wear heels while carrying a car seat and a two year old and of course wearing skirts and white are pretty much out of the question. But I never thought too much about wearing sweats as they are now a staple in my wardrobe until one evening. I was cooking dinner and holding Colton when Jackson, then 2, came up behind me. Before I had time to react, my sweats were at my knees. “Jackson what are you doing??” I yelled. “Checking your bottom, Mommy. Are you poopy?”

Kids say the darndest things.

Jackson is a crack up. I am amazed at some of the things he comes up with. One of my favorite times to listen to him is bed time. We put him to bed between 7:30 or 8 and he often is still awake after 10. He will sit in his bed and sing every song he knows, have conversations with all his favorite people, and recite the days events. One particular evening, Tony was trying to get him to lay down and go to sleep. Before potty training, we often let him have a sippy cup by his bed to eliminate getting up 28 times for a drink of water. To give Jackson an incentive to stay in bed, Tony told him that if he didn’t lay down he would take away his sippy cup. A few minutes after leaving the room, we hear Jackson calling for Daddy. Upon entering the room, Jackson held out his sippy cup and said, “Here’s my sippy cup, Daddy. I can’t lay down.”

Potty Training

Who knew. I never gave potty training much thought. Between the ages of 2 and 3 we’ll give it a try I thought. No biggie, everyone goes through it, right? Ha....Ha....Ha. My friend, Christy tells me about the “3-day potty training” approach that has worked so well for her kids. Sounds fantastic, let’s give it a try. If you decide to try this approach be prepared to dedicate EVERY MOMENT of your time during these three days. Three days, you say? That’s such a short time! Call me after your first three days of this approach and tell me how short three days seems. There are so many moments that you say, “who cares if I have to change diapers! I’ll teach them to change their own diapers!” To my utter amazement, the three day approach actually worked and the feeling of success is wonderful! You never thought you’d be so proud to see someone pooping on a toilet.

The smell.

What is it that is so intoxicating about the smell of a newborn baby? How can something come from inside you and come out smelling so wonderful. Jackson is 2 ½ and I still smell the top of his head. My 6 month old still has “baby’s breath” and I take note of it often as I know it will seem like mere moments before I have the wonderful smells of childhood and teenage years on my hands. But for these few fleeting moments I will never pass up an opportunity to take a deep breath and give them a kiss on the top of their sweet little heads.

In the beginning...

Ironically, some of the best days of my life have been spent in a hospital bed. I may be one of very few moms who loved their hospital stay when having my babies. I loved every minute of it. Even though it was far from a “natural” birthing experience, I still loved everything from the anticipating drive there, to the sound of the heartbeat on the monitor, of course the moment the baby was pulled from my womb and even the days following recovering from the surgery. No matter how many times you hear it, there really are no words to describe the feelings you have when you lay eyes on your child for the first time. It is so overwhelming and wonderful. It can only be described as God’s most perfect gift to us.