Has anyone else noticed the abundance of books, blogs and other resources about having a baby, but the absolute desert of information when it comes to having two babies? I suppose that the second time around, things should be easier, but….no, not necessarily. Especially if your first is still straddling the fence between babyhood and toddlerhood.
I actually started this post about two weeks ago, after finally snapping my first picture of my two boys together. I was unable to get back to it until now, just because I’ve been trying to get past sleeplessness, taking care of Christopher, spending time with Michael and Trinity and doing what I can to take care of myself. Motherhood has really taken a toll on my blogging life.
Anyway, Christopher is doing well. In fact, I daresay he is growing at a faster clip than Mikey did — possibly because he started out with a heftier weight, possibly because he didn’t get hit by magnesium sulfate? Who knows, but I was looking at him today and was amazed at how big his head and his belly is already.
In terms of temperament, I swear that Christopher is….much more vocal than Michael was. Maybe I don’t remember Michael being so vocal because I was so tired and slammed by being a new mother? Who knows, but Christopher complains about getting his diaper changed, he grunts loudly when he’s having a bowel movement and don’t get caught keeping him waiting…..then you’ll hear what I call the Chris Alarm, or Chris Siren. That boy has a loud cry. He looks so much like his brother, but I see the differences — Mikey was all eyes at this age; Christopher’s eyes are not as large, but he does have a dimple when he grins (as you can see above).
When he first came home, he was like a dream baby — he slept all the time, giving me time to rest, shower, read, go online and blog, spend time with Mikey, sleep — it was great. The last couple of weeks have been not as idyllic, though — Chris, for some reason, likes to be awake between 3 and 7 a.m., for some strange reason. And trying to keep him awake during our waking hours has been an utter failure, so I’ve resorted to letting him sleep when he wants for now. I don’t worry too much about getting him to adjust as the weeks go on.
How is Michael doing with all the new changes? First off, let me just say I wish I had potty trained Michael way before Christopher’s arrival. On Sunday, we spent $50 (thank God for gift cards) on diapers alone — preemie size and Mikey’s size 3’s. The plan is to start potty training Mikey before Trinity goes back to work. Michael seems to have adjusted to all the changes by attaching himself to Trinity. Michael, in the past, always went to me, seemed to prefer me to anyone else, but since my hospital stay and having Christopher, he seeks out Trinity for comfort. It makes me a little sad, but I understand why he’s done it….I think its his way of coping with all the change, since Trinity is the immediate parent not undergoing any changes, like getting pregnant, having to stay in the hospital and all of a sudden carrying this new little person all the time. Thank God for Trinity…..I can’t imagine how we would work things out if this were a one parent household.
The good news is that Michael seems to be more aware that Christopher is this new person in our family that we take care of and love. Trinity managed to snap this picture last week with my phone as I held on to Christopher so that Mikey could hug him. Michael will kiss Chris on the head if we direct him, and likes to try to hold on to him so he can say hi, but we’re not quite at that point where we would let him hold on to his baby brother just yet. Car rides are still a little nerve wracking, though — Mikey’s car seat, which is now forward facing, is next to the passenger side window now, right next to Christopher’s car seat, which is in the middle of my backseat. Mikey has a way of trying to play with Chris’ car seat which worries us and has us constantly trying to keep him from accidentally hurting Chris.
And how am I doing? Well, my incision scar is healing well, but is still bothersome. In fact, it feels as though my recovery is taking much longer than it did when I had Michael — I don’t remember my incision being this itchy for this long, and I don’t remember my belly being so numb for so long. I’m still taking pain meds, but hopefully I will be done with those soon — I’m not a fan of how a 2-pill dose of hydrocodone makes me feel, so I tend to take just one of those maybe twice a day, if I need it. Of course, sleep is an issue, but that’ll be an issue for a while.
To be quite honest, I’d be quite happy with getting at least six hours of sleep at night — even if it is broken up by at least one feeding session.
But as it is, I won’t truly know how being a mom of two will really be until I get back to work. Thank God that won’t be for a couple of months!
D, you are the trailblazer in this field. I onlyhave one, another on the way, but for now just one. Ava did the 3-7 to us. First, sh would cry non-stop from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Then, she would be awake from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m. She would not adjust to a schedule. I read somewhere that babies could only begin to form a pattern/routine around 3 months. Around 3 months she did that but it took until 5 months until the sleep was not so much of a problem.