One Month

We are officially one month into this whole "parenting two kids" experiment. Finn is now 31 months old, and Lucy is one month old. I don't suppose we can declare negative findings, and scrap the whole venture in favor of a new line of questioning, eh? Just kidding, of course! We are slowly getting used to our new life, and finding ways to enjoy it in spite of the pandemonium (which there is, in spades). And M. and I both agree that time seems to be flying. Lucy is one month old, already? It seems like in no time at all she's going to be sitting up on her own, eating table foods, talking...

A lot has happened in the last month. Finn has started talking in a strange accent, and we have no idea where he is getting it. "Uncle Andrew" has become "oncle ondrew." Doctor is now "dawktor," and car is "cawr." It's almost like he's picking up a hybrid New York/Bostonian accent - so strange! It's driving M. nuts, and I'm fairly certain that if my great grandmother Nana D. was still around, she'd be mortified. Also, in a step that has not hit the blog yet because honestly, I'm a bit to tired to contemplate it's ramifications, Finn has started to wear big boy underwear at school. Yes, just what I wanted during M.'s first week back to work - a two and a half year old who comes home from school in underwear, doesn't want to put on a diaper, but also doesn't want to sit on the potty when I ask him. Aargh. One more thing to worry about during the mad dinner prep/pre-bed rush. We've had some successes, and some, ahem, not-so-successful evenings.

"Oncle Ondrew" and Lucy

Finn is giving us a lot of grief, but at the same time he is such a joy to be around. He is developing such a sense of humor, and when he's not mad at us, he really seems to like to be around us (oh, if only that could last through the teenage years!). And every day I look at his round little face and beautiful blue eyes (those eye lashes seem to get thicker and longer each day!), and I'm amazed by how cute and adorable he is. He is wonderful with his sister, giving her kisses and hugs whenever he can, and trying to comfort her with a "Lucy, it's OK" when she cries. He even tries, on occasion, to use his "inside voice" when she is sleeping (only on occasion, though!).


Goofball

Finn as an Alligator

In the last month, Lucy has gotten bigger, cuddlier, and more aware. She is definitely starting to smile - I've been bestowed a few, but she seems to like to save them for her older brother. She's already fascinated by Finn, apparently, a feeling that I'm sure will grow and grow over the next several months. She is a pretty good sleeper, going about 4 hours between feedings each night, and is a far better napper than her brother was as a baby. She sleeps best all swaddled up in a blanket in her crib - she's not much of a car seat or swing fan. I fear M. and I don't give rise to flexible, "sleep anywhere" babies, so we will be a bit chained to our house for nap times over the next couple of years, but that's OK.

I'm both looking forward to all the developing and growing that Lucy will be doing over the next few months, and dreading it. I can't wait to interact with her even more, but at the same time I want her, my last baby, to take it slow and stay my baby for a long time. With maybe just that whole "sleeping through the night" developmental stage reached as soon as possible :-).


Cute outfit, about an hour before it was pooped on

All dressed up for her first BBQ party






ps - re: the big boy underwear - how is one supposed to deal with accidents of the #2 variety? Finn has had two such incidents at school over the past week, and while it's tempting to throw each offending pair of underwear away, we could go broke very quickly shelling out money for new Mater and Lightning McQueen underpants. Can the poop-filled pants that are sent home in a little plastic baggy be thrown in with the wash? Do you hose them off first? What are your tips? Yuck!

Photos

Today is M.'s first day back at work. While he was home during the last three weeks, I handled much of the Lucy care myself while M. knocked off a list of chores around the house. He was always willing to help out with a feeding or a nap time if I needed him to during the day, though, and he provided much needed company and conversation, and a pair of arms to wrangle one of the children during the early evening, pre-bed hours. He help make things as smooth as possible for me. Now we shift to a more hectic schedule, I fear, one where I try to find some kind of routine for Lucy and me during the day so I keep my sanity, then pick up Finn at around 5 and try to juggle 2 kids and dinner prep until M. makes it home at around 6:30. Then it will be a scramble to eat dinner, clean up, keep Lucy fed and happy, and corral Finn into bed by 8 pm.

Thus, I am taking the easy way out to conserve some energy and will just post some photos from the last week or so, rather than writing anything substantive. Enjoy!

Finn goofing around with his new dump truck, a flea market find


We had one of our first really hot days of the summer, allowing me to dress Lucy in an adorable sundress from Grammy


Close up of the hair "wings" Lucy tends to develop from sleeping/eating on the Boppy. To M. and I, it's a bit reminiscent of this:


A hint of a smile


Finn with his new toy, bought on a whim just because if you have a dump truck, you should have a sandbox, too, right??


Dozing on Daddy


Big brother shows Lucy how to get through tummy time

Playground Woes

Finn had a rough day at school on Wednesday, the kind of experience that makes my heart hurt for him. He was digging in a turtle sandbox out on the playground, one that is filled with mulch. Apparently, at the same time, some older boys were also using the sandbox to create a home for some baby worms they had found. I don't know the details (Did Finn get in their way? Did he try to dig up the worm home? Or was it unsolicited?), but the older boys yelled at Finn, told him to go away and find somewhere else to play. Finn CRIED his eyes out - his teacher told me she had never seen him so upset. By the time I got there to pick him up, he wasn't crying anymore, but he was still being wracked by the occasional body shudder - you know, the whimpering/lip quivering kind that is a sign of a really hard cry. He was still a little weepy when we got home and told M. all about it.

I'm not sure how old the boys were - from the looks of it, maybe about 4 or 5. Old enough to know how they SHOULD behave, but also young enough to be self-centered when it comes to playing. It's not really their fault - a teacher should have been supervising better. I'm a little PO'd that such a range of age groups plays on the playground at the same time, but then again, there are kids of all ages at our playground at home so it's something Finn needs to get used to.

For the rest of the night, all Finn could talk about was the older boys, and how sad they made him. M. and I tried to comfort him as much as we could, and let him know that the boys who yelled at him were naughty, that he could play in the sandbox if he wanted to... It was hard to know WHAT to say, really. It's obvious that he's a sensitive kid, at least right now. He's definitely inherited that from me, and so I just get all teary-eyed myself instead of giving Finn some useful advice. I just want to squeeze him and kiss him until he feels better - why doesn't that work!? Gah, I am SO in for it when Finn and Lucy get older - I just know I'm going to be suffering every time they experience a slight or a hurt feeling from a peer, probably more than they do!

There was no mention of the older boys last night, so hopefully after a nicer day on the playground yesterday the experience is quickly fading from Finn's memory. Why does it still stick in mine??

In Lucy news (which I don't want to broadcast far and wide for fear it was a total fluke), Lucy gave us uninterrupted sleep from 10:30 pm until 4:15 am last night. I don't expect it to repeat itself tonight, but I'm hoping we'll have a night like that every now and then so we can recharge.

Lucy has definitely been more awake and alert. She is starting to put up a fight for going down for naps, and she has been waking up every 2-3 hours (at least) to eat during the night. She's also still been having some gas/pooping issues, so I can't really brag anymore about how much free time we've had while on leave, or how easy she has been. She hasn't been hard, just not really easy, either.

We are still struggling a bit with feeding, too. Lucy is breastfeeding just fine - she latches very well. But I still don't have enough milk for her, so we are bottle-feeding and breastfeeding for each feeding, even the ones at night. It's a bit of a hassle, as each feeding takes about an hour, and there are all those bottles to prep and wash... Honestly I think every day about stopping the breastfeeding. But I feel that would be more for convenience than anything else, so I've been trucking along and trying to give her as much breast milk as I can, at least for now.

M. heads back to work on Monday, so we're all going to have to get back on to some sort of schedule (we meant to try today, but failed miserably - no one got out of bed until almost 7:30). Wish us luck!

Stinky in Pink

Lucy had her two-week check up today, which seems crazy to me. Wasn't I JUST in the hospital? Time is really flying, and it's hard to believe that M. has only one more week at home until he goes back to work. Now that Lucy's jaundice is gone and we've worked out a nice, sanity-saving feeding solution, the days have been pretty relaxing. M. and I have actually had time to do chores. I've showered just about every day. We've taken a walk every day that's had a pause in the rainfall. It's all so foreign to me, as when I was on maternity leave with Finn the only thing I did was sit in the same armchair all day long, either feeding him or holding him while he slept (he woke up any time I tried to put him down), leaving only for doctor's appointments. I like this way better :-).

Lucy's appointment went really well. She's already grown half an inch, and she's up over her birth weight at 8 pounds, 8 ounces. Of course, we think that number may be a bit artificially inflated, as Lucy hasn't pooped in three days, and all that poop has got to be contributing to at least a few ounces. That diaper is going to be toxic when she finally lets go - I hope M. is on duty for that one!**

The pooping is really our only concern, and she seems healthy in every other way. I think it's just related to the formula she is getting (that, and the fact that she's pretty new to this whole pooping thing and is still figuring out how to do it). We've switched her to a different brand of formula, and we are hoping it helps. If not, we'll have to experiment with a few more types. In the meantime, Lucy is a tooting champ. It's hard to believe such large, awful noises and smells can originate from such a cute little thing.

Below are some photos that clearly show off Lucy's cuteness, and a little of what we have been up to over the past week. Can you tell that I am loving dressing her in pink? All those green/yellow/white clothes that I prepped while waiting for her arrival are at the bottom of her drawers, and I have a feeling they are going to stay there ;-).


Rocking the look I loved with Finn, a simple long-sleeved onesie and pants


Sporting the faux layered look in a hand-me-down from cousin Penny


Jeans! On an 11-day-old! Who does that? But it's just so cute...


Dressed up in pink and brown for her first Skype session with Granny and Grandpa


Indignant during tub bath #2 (Mom, I swear the water was warm enough, she actually only cried right at the end)


Trapped inside during one of the many recent downpours, but happy to be watching Madagascar (obsession with Cars is waning, FINALLY!)


An outing with our SUV of strollers, the Baby Jogger City Mini Double. Do you think people will see us coming?


Self-portrait with Daddy

**Yeah, not so lucky on that one. The poop has arrived, and I was on duty. Let's just say it was roughly a 10-wipe job...