I always heard going from having one child to two is a huge and difficult adjustment. I always believed it too. Having our first baby didn’t cramp our style too much, but it was a big change. We were getting to a point of being over the late night dinners and drinks out. Compared to our “peers“, we are an old married couple. After 10 years together, Mr.JAC and I are a rarity in our circles. Really, staying out all night had lost its allure and having a baby was a relief just for the excuse to get out of social engagements. Our son loves his stroller and we love walking everywhere, so we easily incorporated Lucky into our lives. During summer, we altered our plans to include restaurants with outdoor seating to accommodate the jogging stroller. We packed an extra bag for diapers and bottles. We made certain to start carrying snacks. Getting out the door took about 15 minutes.
Then came baby two. Having Wyn is a whole other ball game. There are not too many places that can accommodate a double stroller in the city. That diaper bag is now really stuffed. She doesn’t adore sleeping the way Lucky did(does), so long walks to far away destinations include quite a bit of fussing. Not too mention parental exhaustion. Getting out the door now takes an hour. There is no down time. There is no such thing as “sleep when baby sleeps” when you have a toddler as well. Someone needs to be awake and interact with him lest he figure out how to open the front door or turn on the stove. I’m still crossing my fingers in hopes he doesn’t learn to scale the side of his crib for a good while, since I am not comfortable with him being able to get himself up in the morning. Yes, I like the cage aspect of his crib and make no apologies for it.
Lucky was so easy. He was a sleepy, easygoing baby. I remember one day I was in my bank opening another account and the account manager looked at four month old Lucky and asked his age.When I replied, she sucked in through her teeth, “Oooohhhh girl, you’re just coming out of the fog then.”
I had no idea what she meant. Fog? I began to think perhaps I was supermom! I had no problems! Everything motherhood was practically a dream! (OK, I just had an incredibly easy baby.) But, then Wyn was born and I completely understand what that women was implying. It took 11 weeks to walk out of the fog so to speak. I’m not saying we have it all together and have a smooth running household, but inside all of the chaos, we manage to achieve the absolutely necessary. And not much beyond that. We have gone from just barely hanging on, to just barely good enough. I have managed to develop a rhythm during the day when it is just me and the kids at home. I can do this. Not perfectly. Not smoothly. Not without some crying, often from all three of us. But just good enough. And for now just good enough will have to do. Keep on keeping on and all that.
You’re doing good, Mama! I just loved reading this post because I’m so much in the same boat… although we’re a bit opposites, my first daughter was my WILD one and the new baby is so easy going. It doesn’t make it any easier to get out of the house on time though!
No, but the chaos keeps us young! 😉