Life with two kids

Both my kids are sleeping! At the same time! There are hundreds of things I should be doing, but I want to take a few minutes to write about how things are going around here so that I can look back and remember these days when I am old and lonely and have nothing but time for myself, something which is hard to come by these days.
I think we are all doing an okay job of adjusting to having Max around. Mike is working harder than ever at his job and feels pulled in lots of directions, which has been difficult for him, but he's doing a great job of trying to balance. We love when he is home, but understand that work is demanding these days.

I think I am doing okay. I had kind of forgotten that when you bring a new baby home there is no such thing as a schedule. You can never plan from one day to the next what time they will be eating and sleeping so it is really hard to make plans. This has been a little challenging for me to adjust to because I like to have a plan. I also like to plan outings for Molly. We spent pretty much the whole summer and fall going places and doing things and so it has been a bit of an adjustment (more for me than her) to be homebound. Thankfully Gammy taught her the concept of having a "pajama day" when she was here and she thinks that's the greatest thing ever so she would be fine never leaving the house. I remember feeling the same way with Molly and I think it just takes some time to get into a routine, which hopefully we will get to. I have learned that when you have your second child not only do you bring the baby home, but also a large amount of Mommy guilt. I always feel like I should be doing more for someone else. If I am feeding or holding Max I feel like I should be giving Molly attention. If I am sitting on the floor playing with Molly I feel like I should be washing dishes or doing laundry. If I am sitting on the couch at the end of the day watching TV with Mike I feel like I should be doing ANYTHING more 'productive.' It's funny because in almost all of the jobs I have ever had there have been some standards of productivity that have to be met and when you stay home with your kids there are no defined standards, only the pressure you put on yourself. I recently read an article by a Mom of several young children and she stated that she defines a successful day as having kids with full tummies, clean bottoms and having heard kind, gentle words throughout the day. This flies in the face of my lengthy to-do lists, but I am hoping my kids will remember having a happy, fun Mommy more than they will the dust bunnies.

Molly is adjusting really well to having Max home. She is starting to show more interest in him as time goes on, this morning she asked if she could rock him in Daddy's chair, which is only the 2nd time she has ever asked to hold him. I set him on her lap and I bet they stayed that way for 10 minutes. She likes to rub his head and hold his hands. We haven't seen any acting out directed at him. The hardest time is when I am feeding Max because I am kind of stuck and she always seems to need something during that time. :-) That is when I have seen some overtly naughty behavior or heard more whining and crying. I have found that asking her for help and giving her a job works well. I have to admit that her TV watching and iPad playing has increased quite a bit since Max has come home, especially when he is eating. As time goes on I'm figuring out ways to be engaged with her while nursing Max (reading books, telling stories, making up songs). I am trying to make it a priority to do at least one educational, fun or special project with her each day while Max is sleeping. This morning we did painting and learned about mixing colors. She absolutely loves those times when she is the center of my attention and it is always worth it, even when it seems like a lot of work.

Mr. Max is doing pretty well. We have determined that he has the same acid reflux that Molly did when she was born. I have thought that might be the case for a few weeks, but really didn't want to have to do the medication so I have been really trying to limit my diet, but it has progressively gotten worse and by this past Tuesday he was just miserable after every feeding, regardless of what I was eating. So after a quick call to the pediatrician we had a prescription for Zantac. They say it takes 10-14 days to see the effect so hopefully the little guy feels some relief soon. Other than that he is a pretty easy baby. Until these past few days with the reflux the only time we heard him cry was during diaper changes and getting out of the bath. Dude HATES to be naked. It is funny how different he is from Molly in certain things. She loved being naked and having a dirty diaper never bothered her, but the second Max poops he starts squirming and lets you know. Then as soon as he's all clean he's happy as can be. He also uses the pacifier much more than she ever did. And, he is still being swaddled at both nap and bed times, which Molly was done with in the first few days of being home. He seems to be growing like crazy, although I have no idea what he weighs. He's still wearing newborn diapers and clothes, but he seems to be filling out in his arms and legs.

Despite the sleepless nights, messy house and occasional feelings of inadequacy, we are all doing well. We hare happy and healthy and feeling pretty blessed.

(Sorry this turned into a novel, your payoff for reading is below with the cute pictures.)