Thursday, February 23, 2012

Two things I know for sure

There are two comments people make immediately upon seeing me and the Ladybug when they meet her that I thought I would share with you all.

1) Oh my God!  Look at all that hair!!


(no further explanation needed) ;)

2) How does Little G like being a brother?


Little G is an awesome big brother.  He clearly loves the Ladybug so much.  He talks about her and what she is doing and he is so incredibly gentle with her.  We've been so surprised by how easily he transitioned.  He loves to bring her his toys and even shares one of his beloved train cars with her (interestingly enough, it is the milk car...) and he's always quick to replace her pacifier or make sure she is covered with a blanket.

Lately, however, Little G has been showing some classic signs of jealousy and that's probably because the Ladybug is requiring more maintenance.  She was a sleepy baby for a loooooong time, so she used to pretty much hang out with us all together in the living room, but if she wasn't eating, she was sleeping near us.  Now, she's much more active and is requiring much more attention.

A couple of weeks ago, we were on Facetime with their grandparents and they wanted to see the Ladybug and wanted her to be able to see them, so since she was on the floor, we lowered the iPhone down to her level.  Little G was pretty quiet and then started to pick up toys and throw them at Ladybug on the floor!  I took him away to another room and talked to him about how he was feeling. I asked him if he felt angry that Grammy and Grampy were talking to the Ladybug and not to him and he said yes.  I explained that feeling was called being jealous and it was a perfectly natural way to feel.  I suggested that if he felt jealous again he could say, "I'm jealous" or, "I'm angry" and we could know how he was feeling without him throwing something at his sister.  I also made sure he knew that throwing toys, regardless of who is in the way of him, was not a good choice and would result in the toy being taken away.

He seemed to get it, but let's be real...he's two and a half...so we have definitely seen more of the jealously issues as time has progressed.  But all in all, I am still very glad to see how much Little G clearly loves his sister and considers her to be an important part of our family.

What would your two comments be were we to meet?

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

The Easy One

The Ladybug is my easy baby.

There.  I said it.

I didn't want to jinx it by comparing, but it is hard not to.

And being my easy baby doesn't mean I love her any more or any less than the 'hard' one that came first.  In fact, I am finding it means I love them both that much more.

Sure, a lot of it has to do with not being a first time mom - there is less of the unknown; I am not learning to be a mother at the same time my baby is learning to be human; there's less anxiety over what comes next...

But a lot of it has to do with her temperament.  In fact, several times I have caught myself thinking about the friends I have who had babies around the same time I had Little G. We all had our ups and downs, but looking back, I felt like I had to lean way more heavily on others to get through the many, many down moments.  I felt like I must be doing it wrong or not appreciating it as much as everyone else because I seemed to be struggling so much more than anyone else.  Now that I have my 'easy' baby, I think to myself that if all those other mommies had babies like Ladybug while I was struggling with Little G, it is no wonder they didn't relate to me.  Seriously.  The difference really, truly is night and day.  Now, I'm not saying Ladybug is a breeze...but she is so laid back and so calm and so...what I thought babies were supposed to be.

I am well aware that there are still many years ahead of us and I hope to continue to be mindful that the assigning of one of my children as hard and the other as easy can wreak havoc on them should we start to expect them to remain in those molds.  So I am hoping to make a concerted effort to not focus on this major difference they have.

But still.

Many times before having Ladybug, I found myself sitting in a corner - defeated yet again by a situation surrounding my spirited, intense son.  Many times I was encouraged with words describing him as my 'hard' one - that were I to have another, parenting that second child would either be easier or the same - but definitely not harder.  I never let myself believe that.  Instead, I tried to convince myself that I must be doing it wrong.

I am glad to know I've been doing it right all along.

Ladybug is my easy baby.  Little G was my first.  So I must thank them both, for teaching me to love the other even more than I thought was possible.

Wednesday, February 01, 2012

Three Months with the Ladybug

Seriously - I now completely forgive my mother for my second-child syndrome because there's just waaaaay too much going on with two kids in the house to remember every last detail from the past month.  Here's what few things I can remember:


Ladybug had her first cold - as did we all.  Little G got his first cold at almost 5 months, so you can feel honored that we at least did that early for you...right?  right?


Tummy time has gone from being a total drag (As evidenced in this picture) to a total workout (picture not available)


You have definitely started spitting up more and a bib is now usually a part of your daily outfit(s).


You can sit up when propped for a bit before completely slumping over.  But you really like the view it affords.



Your hair is still the very first thing anyone comments on...even if they have already met you!!



Lately you have become more and more interested in the "STAR".  Your brother really loved the star when he was your age.  He apparently still does:


You were none too pleased to be dressed up like jail bait.  But I had to do it.  You see,  your cousin W wore this outfit 7 years ago...and Gram never liked it on him...so of course Aunt K had to hand it down to your brother who wore it in style just 2.5 years ago...and now it was your turn.  In my opinion...you looked the best in it ;)


Showering has definitely become your most relaxing activity.  Sadly, getting out of the shower is then met with great anger and screaming (not to be belied by the picture of bliss below).



Ladybug - you're talking more.  You're smiling a whole lot (though being coy about it for film purposes). And you've started to find your hands and suck on them as well as bat at anything hanging in your presence.



We're still working on your sleeping schedule.  Usually you fall asleep around 6:30ish while we're all eating dinner!  We carry you up to your room and change you into your jammies and read you a book and depending on your mood you either sleep until only 1:00/2:00 or sometimes as late as 5:00.  There really doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason to your sleep patterns so I just hope you'll sleep later on my watch :)

You are still so very laid back which is in complete contrast to your brother at this age.  I know a lot of it has to do with my being not-so-new at this, but the truth is you're going to have to learn to scream to get heard at some point...whether it be now or when you're teenagers.

Lastly, and I am so hesitant to put this down for fear of totally getting lynched by my other mommy friends - but I think it is important for future recollection.  You eat around 5-6 oz of formula every 3-4 hours and (please don't jinx this) you have been taking a two hour nap in the morning and an hour in the afternoon.  I know.  That. is. crazy.  Please keep it up forever.

Love, mommy.