Archives for posts with tag: boys

Six Years of Motherhood

February 3, 2017 //
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I have been a mom for just shy of six years now. By just shy, I mean six years ago today I started going into labor. Tomorrow will officially be six years. I have learned, grown, changed, and loved a lot in these last years. These are some of the things six years of motherhood has taught me.

That I want my children to grow up in a world that values love, kindness, equality, social justice, empathy, and generosity. It can feel like an uphill battle some days. When everything around you seems filled with ugliness and hate. That doesn’t mean that I will stop wanting them to live in that kind of world. I will always strive and fight to shape that kind of world for them. I will send them out into the world with those values, hoping they too will be agents of them. 

Perfectionism is a nuisance. You cannot control everything at every moment. Life and children are unpredictable and sometimes you have to let more shit go than you care to. I cleaned up the whole kitchen and living room on Wednesday. Spotless! By that evening they had scattered toys all over the kitchen floor. They are still there. I sighed as I walked by them to start writing this. At some point I will get to it, but I am sure when I turn back around, they will have recreated the same mess. You have to let it go. 

Humility. You are not above wiping a poop covered butt (and even back, cause that shit, haha, can and does get everywhere) You will find yourself in the middle of situations you never thought you would be in. Being urinated on. Catching vomit in your hands. Getting poop under your fingernail. Changing a diaper in the trunk of your SUV in the parking lot of a pumpkin farm. Wiping up a half spilled grande pike roast from the floor of Whole Foods that your two year old knocked over when he moved your cart as you were trying to pick up the box of his minecraft figurines he dropped everywhere. So now you have minecraft toys, a box, and a giant puddle of steaming hot coffee all over the grocery store floor. These things happen on the regular. Stay humble folks, there is no prize for being prideful. You will be wiping up floor coffee in public. Or your own version of that scenario. 

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Generosity. Be as generous as you humanly can. With your love and praise for your tiny humans. With your family. With your neighbors. With complete strangers. I have seen it pay off in these last 6 years. My almost 6 year old has started random acts of kindness. He has asked me why I buy coffee for the car behind me. Why I roll down my window and hand cash to the homeless man with the sign on the street. I explain why in detail. This week at school he brought his Pokecards. Some friends didn’t have any and wanted them. He was planning on trading with another kid. He did. Then he gave out cards to his friends that did not have any. Just because he wanted to, because they wanted some cards too. He received nothing in return. Save for my adoration and praise when he told me the story.

Selflessness. You have to give so much of yourself when you are a parent. At least you are supposed to. We all do things differently. I give a lot. It can be exhausting, but then I think about how if I did things differently. If I wasn’t around to give them 200% of myself and then another piece just to be nice. I would not feel right. I want to be around and be the face in their memories when they look back at their childhood. When it all clicks about the magical times, the birthdays, the random normal days, the dinners, the laundry, the hugs, the books, the kisses, the songs, the errands, the treats, the love. You learn to put other people ahead of yourself. Which can be a hard thing to learn to do.

On that note, you also need to take care of yourself. Self-care is crucial. A trip to D.C. to march for yourself and fellow humans. A epsom salt bath. And yes, lock the damn bathroom door. Pilates in the morning. Putting them to bed a half hour early because they are bat-shit crazy that night. Ordering dinner, even though you have things to cook, they wore you out and you just don’t feel like cooking that night. Order that pizza, and bask in the glory of little to no cleanup. Self-care can be huge things, like 4 day trips, or they can be tiny little minutes throughout the day, locking yourself in the bathroom for 5 minutes. It comes in all shapes and sizes.

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Love. True unconditional heart growing mind blowing all consuming love. It is a love like I have never experienced. Sometimes I watch their faces and I literally feel like my heart might explode with joy. Sometimes I still look at them and think “they are mine! How is that possible? How did I create these two super cool humans?” It still takes my breath away, that I get to have these two dudes in my life. I am not sure I will ever quite get over that. It is amazing.

The value of words. We talk through things a lot here. Taking time to use your words to explain things to your children will really strengthen their understanding of life. Even if you don’t feel it is sinking in in the moment. They absorb these life lessons and they take them out into the world. I tell my boys “everyone is different.” When they have questions about why someone does something differently than we do. I always explain it as best as I can, then sum it up with “that is ok because everyone is different.” When the oldest was four, some kids at school hassled him because he doesn’t like ketchup and wouldn’t eat it. He got frustrated and finally told me that he said “I don’t like it and that is ok, because everyone is different.” Words matter. Words sink in. Talking through things sinks in. They are very intelligent.

To say sorry. I am a firm believer in apologizing to them. Sometimes moms lose their shit. We do. If you say you don’t, you’re lying, sorry. It comes in different forms for each person, but we all get pushed too far sometimes. If I feel guilty that I snapped on them or was short, or yelled over something totally stupid, I will go and talk to them and say I am sorry. This is not every time they get in trouble. Sometimes they do naughty things and they have to be reprimanded. But I can feel it in my heart when I know it was more me than them. Then I do go say sorry. The oldest and I can have real conversations about human emotions at this point, and we do. We talk through it. The little one, a hug with kisses and saying “mommy loves you I am sorry” will suffice at this point.

It is ok to talk to children as if they are humans with thought processes and feelings. I try not to baby things down for them too much. I explain things to them. I am not a huge baby talk person. I have always interacted with them as the red blooded people they are. I think this has shaped them for the better. I can see it in the oldest. He has a grasp on reality. The things he can discuss blow me away sometimes. I encourage him to think through his thought process. I can explain something and then ask him what he thinks/feels/wants from that situation. I have explained to him what is happening if I think he feels anxious. I explained homelessness to him. We have had conversations about dissent. We talk about body autonomy and consent. They know the actual names of genitals. My motto is if I keep that conversation going and trust them with actual knowledge that it will pay off down the road as life gets messier.

Sometimes we cannot do it all. We just can’t. It’s a fact. We want to. We feel we need to. This leads to being burnt out. I know, I have been there. Sometimes you have to take a step back and delete some shit from your life and schedule. Sometimes you have to say no we are not going to do that. Today we are going to be lazy and relax and enjoy one another. There is nothing wrong with taking some time to just be. As a family. I am still working on this. I am not great at taking things off of my plate. It is a work in progress.

Children love their mother so much. Sometimes I can feel their love radiating off of their little bodies. It can be overwhelming. Sometimes moms just need no one to touch them for, maybe, 2 minutes. That would be nice. Then you hear their little tiny human voices saying “mommy” and they just want to nuzzle in and you realize how very loved you actually are.

My favorite most calming thing in the world is when either boy hugs me and snuggles in to the right side of my neck. I call that “the good stuff” and love when they hug me tight, their little cheek against my neck. That is my calm. That is my heart. That is my motherhood.

I am not a perfect mom. I feel like I am failing a lot. I am hard on myself. I always think I can do better (I should reread that perfectionism paragraph, huh?) I am just being honest here. I do know that I have grown so much since having children. I have become a better person and woman because of them. They have shown me where my heart actually resides. They have made me cry. They have made me laugh. They have made me angry. They have made me insanely happy. They have made me stronger. I am thankful for these last six years. I feel lucky that I get to take this journey with them. Even as I shouted to my husband last night “You are getting a vasectomy!!! I do NOT want a third baby, they are crazy right now!” Yes, they were being insane. Fighting over Mario toys, tears and yelling, all as I was trying to make their dinner plates. No one could eat until the fight was resolved. It was ridiculous. It was so loud. It was frustrating. It was all mine. My crazy, loving, obnoxious, kind, silly, frustrating, kind, hilarious, adoring, and imperfectly perfect family.

I am looking forward to where the next six years of this journey takes me. Thank you boys. Thank you Jackson for making me a mommy. Happy start of labor day my sweet boy.

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Categories Momommahood, motherhood, parenthood, Uncategorized

My Tiny Hero

July 18, 2016 //
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Yesterday I came incredibly close to losing my first born child and my youngest cousin. This story has a happy ending. It is a story that I want to share though. I have been talking about it a lot all day, if you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you know this, except, as the day has progressed the initial shock of it has worn off. I actually cried about it for the first time this afternoon. I cry at commercials, songs, shows, movies, and books, so for me to not have tears until 24 hours later means I was taking time to process this.

We arrived at a family party yesterday afternoon. Jackson loves their pool and immediately wanted to go swimming. He is a strong swimmer. He has been swimming unassisted for over a year. He has been in water since he was 3 months old. We are human fishes. We are merpeople! Ha! I lathered him up in sunblock and sent him on his way. There was a large number of adults outside right by the pool. My cousin Gavin was also swimming. I thought nothing of it.

I chased down Alex with sunblock, then I pinned my squiggly toddler to the floor to get his face covered. I handed him to my dad and started to apply my sunblock. Jason had been standing nearby. Then he wasn’t there anymore. Then someone came and told me Jackson and Gavin almost drowned. I don’t remember who. Or exactly how it was phrased. I had tunnel vision. I looked out the window as I dashed outside, seeing my husband lifting Jackson off of the pool ladder. My aunt was getting out of the pool as well, soaking wet, fully clothed. I made my way over and saw my child shaking and hugging his dad. Then I got the story.

Gavin’s arm floats had fallen off at some point. He began to struggle. Jackson saw him. His first instinct was to swim over, grab his cousin, try to help him up, and then begin to swim towards safety. Gavin began to panic and pulled the both of them under. Which is a pretty normal reaction to drowning. You hear about that happening a lot. My aunt Bridget trying to reach for them from the outside of the pool. My aunt Jenny jumped into the pool, in her clothing, to save both boys.

Jackson is 5 years old. He tried to save someone’s life. He tried to save his cousin’s life. He told me last night that he just tried to hold his breath as long as he could when he was going under. He did his best. The amount of calmness this child dealt with this entire situation astounds me. He was calm enough to see someone drowning and tried his best to save that person. He didn’t freeze or scream, he went in to help, not even thinking of the possible outcomes. Then he was calm enough while struggling to remember to hold his breath under water. He is 5 years old! 5!

Both boys were fine. They are both fine today. Jackson is a bit banged up. He has some scratches on his neck. I noticed those this afternoon. Both boys got back in the pool a little later. No further situations developed. I was glad they both felt safe enough to try and swim again.

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Yesterday I could have lost my son and cousin or just one of them. Our family could be spending our Monday a lot differently. We could be in a hospital hoping someone pulled through. We could be planning a funeral for a tiny human. The magnitude of that is not lost on me. I am thankful that Jackson saw Gavin and that pulled the adults’ attention to the pool. I am thankful my aunt reacted quickly enough to save both children. It makes me sick that I was inside chatting away with my Dad about freaking sunscreen! As I slathered it on my arms. I know I could not have known what was about to happen. I know these things happen in the blink of an eye. I know that they are both safe. But in a different blink of an eye that all could have ended tragically.

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I have been cherishing my sweet boy today. We checked on him as he slept last night. I rubbed his face and covered him with a blanket. I have been calling him a hero, because he is. I told him he is a good person and so very brave. I let him pick out a toy at the store and any treats he wanted. I have hugged and kissed him. We built lego sets and played a board game over and over. I let him listen to the song he wanted in the car over and over. He had his summer reading tutor over this afternoon. We told her the story. As I was saying it out loud I lost it. I told her that is the first time I had started to cry thinking of what could have happened. She said, “yeah I bet you were in shock still. I am going to cry!” I think that is a fair conclusion.

He makes the world a better place, even if he hadn’t done what he did. He is so bright and sunny. He is so personable and friendly. He can talk for hours. He lights up the world. The world could have lost that light yesterday. I am so thankful that I get to continue to raise this incredible human being.

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After we got home and the boys in bed, we were cleaning up the kitchen. It was a disaster. I was exhausted. I kept grumbling about all the dishes and mess. My husband said to me “Better dirty dishes to complain about than only having one kid.” I was confused at first but then he explained what he meant. Our complaints could have been far more serious last night. I will take a kitchen full of dirty dishes at the end of a long weekend over losing my sweet child any day.

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Categories Jack, love, parenthood, Uncategorized

Not Your Average Hershey Squirt

March 19, 2016 //
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I have been so swept up in taking care of Alexander lately. As I should be. We are a few days shy of 6 weeks of his GI issues. He HAS had a few good days mixed in, but then a day or two later it seems to return. Thursday night I took a step back mentally and thought about how consumed I have become. I need to be his advocate because he cannot be his own, but a lot of other things seem to get pushed aside. One of those being posting recipes. I am still cooking and there have even been a few that I meant to get around to sharing but didn’t. Another has been making fun shaped meals for the boys.

Yesterday morning despite all the craziness. Alex waking up hysterical at 6am. It being a school morning. Me trying to film a Pilates video for MarchMATness. (I failed at that! I caught up today though!) I made time to make them a fun breakfast. Jackson was over the moon. Alex yelled at me that there were blueberries on his heart shape french toast sticks. He grumbled then picked them off. You can’t win them all I suppose. Jackson loved his shamrocks!

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We had his GI appointment on Wednesday. The only way I can describe it is awful. I have never felt like I wasn’t being heard quite so much at a doctor appointment. I explained what we had been dealing with. Chronic diarrhea with maybe 3 good days mixed in over nearly 6 weeks. She did a brief exam of him. She diagnosed him with CONSTIPATION. She actually said he is constipated and that some loose stool is just slipping around clogged poop. She then prescribed a colon cleanse for a 17 month old toddler! A colon cleanse. Following the 3 intense days of being on a laxative, she wanted him to be on the laxative in a smaller dose for SIX WEEKS. At which point we would “discuss weaning him off of it.” She also told ME that I don’t feed him enough fiber, without even glancing at his food journal I have been keeping meticulously. She said I also give him too much milk. Something I have never been told by a pediatrician regarding either of my boys. I always fill out their food intake at their physicals. I questioned her on this. My mom was there, she questioned her on this. She just kept insisting he was constipated.

I informed my husband. I told him to pick up the prescription. He did some research while I was getting us all home. Miralax is not greatly received and there are many concerns with it. We both then researched child constipation. We did come across some instances of loose stools being associated with it, however they were more of smears or as I like to call them “hershey squirts.” Alexander has full blowouts sometimes up the back diapers. Multiple a day. These are not squirts. They are giant diapers. We decided not to start any laxative that evening.

The boys’ pediatrician is off on Thursdays. During the day I contacted my husband’s aunt, who is a pediatrician and family doctor. She lives out of state. I explained in great detail Alex’s history and asked her opinion on the diagnosis and colon cleanse. She was very concerned with that recommendation and definitely wanted us to speak to Alex’s Pediatrician as soon as we could. I called her and left a message yesterday morning. When she got back to me she read me the report of the GI with a tone of surprise in her voice regarding the constipation diagnosis. I seconded her concerns immediately and explained that was the exact reason I left a message for her. We were NOT happy with that and we don’t feel that he is constipated with the amount of poop he has. She agrees. She has been at our side since this started 6 weeks ago. She has seen some of the diapers. She told me to monitor him over the weekend. Thursday he had a couple better diapers. Much more normal consistency but yesterday there was another loose one. She is on call all weekend if we need her. She wants to touch base next week. Possibly perform another exam herself and then if it is still ongoing send us to another GI at a different hospital.

I have told people this before, but I am so thankful for her. She has truly been wonderful through all of Alexander’s issues. She has been by our side. She has tried to find us answers and if she couldn’t she has tried to find a specialist that can. She listens to what I have to say. She calls me back whenever I leave a message for her with questions, updates, or concerns. She sees the boys when I want them to be seen. I am not sure what life would be like with another pediatrician and I don’t even want to know. I am so incredibly grateful I came across her when Jackson was 2. At that point in time I didn’t know that she would be such an integral part of our family’s life.

We still don’t have all the answers on Alex, but that is ok. We have been working hard to figure it out. We have someone who is his champion and wants to help us solve this. We will get there. It may take some more time. I have come to terms with that. This whole situation could be worse. We could have a pediatrician that acted like the GI we saw, and then we would be nowhere at all. Luckily, we have one of the great, amazing, and incredible apples in the Pediatrics world.

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He hates EB

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He LOVES chocolate

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These two are my world!

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He likes flying

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Categories Uncategorized

Rare Disease Day 2016

February 29, 2016 //
1

I love someone rare

It is Leap Day. It is also Rare Disease Day. My sweet little boy is the reason I am talking about this day. This sweet little boy has kept me on my toes since I was pregnant with him. He is always up to something and giving me some kind of scare. From being admitted at 35 weeks pregnant due to low amniotic fluid and possible very early induction to save him, to an umbilical cord that took a wrong turn and took months to close up and heal, to FPIES, to an ER visit yesterday morning because he got his sweet chubby thigh stuck in the crib all night and it was covered in welts, swollen, stiff, and he limped. I rarely have a dull  moment with him.

He is so full of life. He is very brave. I do not see him hesitate in life very often. If he sees something he wants to do, he will 99% of the time go for it. He loves to make me laugh. He loves to feed people or share his food with them. His smile is contagious. I dare you to see him smile and try to keep a smile off of your face. He is a fierce momma’s boy. I say this a lot, but it is true. I am always holding or snuggling him. Did you know, I literally get a standing ovation every time I walk into a room and he sees me. He stands up and claps, cheesy grin plastered across his sweet face. He loves his big brother so much. The way he watches Jackson makes my heart melt. Jackson had his 5 year vaccinations last week and completely freaked out. Alex had been fine mischievously walking around the exam room up until that point. As fat tears fell on my arms while I held Jackson, Alexander walked up, watching. I slowly watched his face transform from curiosity, to concern, to outright devastation, as he too began to sob. I love to hear him say Dada. If I just mention the word Daddy he lights up and says Dada, DA! DADA! That is his biggest buddy. He tries so hard to keep up with the two big guys around here, when they play catch or when they wrestle. Which is frequently to both things.

Then there are the moments where he does scare me because things seem to happen to him at a higher rate than did Jackson. Maybe it is because I am so hyper aware of all things involving him that I notice every small tiny deviation from normal patterns. Or maybe, things just do happen more frequently. It is likely a combination of both. We have had even more situations than I mentioned earlier. I really glossed over things there. I glossed over how scary it was when he was first having FPIES reactions and we had no clue what was happening. I will never forget when his tiny body went into shock and what he looked like. I will never forget the fact that when he was born, he didn’t cry. The cord was wrapped around his neck and the nurse took what seemed like an hour to get him breathing. It wasn’t an hour, it was probably a few seconds, but in that moment, having given birth previously, it seemed like an eternity.

His may not be the most dramatic rare disease. His may not even be the most dramatic case of FPIES. I am so incredibly thankful for that. Every day I am thankful that when it comes down to it, so far, he has just scared us with things that we are capable of managing in a healthy way. It doesn’t take away from the fact that these things seem to happen to him or that he does in fact have FPIES and is IgE allergic to bananas. Most tests came back negative, that one did not. We are still waiting on a few more results, including avocado and kiwi. I can manage these things. I can keep him safe. I am thankful that every day I get to see that toothy silly grin and those big blue eyes and that raspy voice say mom mom mama mom mama mama. There may be moments where I am utterly exhausted or feeling overwhelmed with doctor and hospital visits or just from worry or from regular mom stress, but all it usually takes is a hug and snuggle into my neck to bring me back down. And if I am lucky, big brother Jackson is telling me I am the most important thing in the world, even more important than monster trucks, and you know how much I like those mommy!

Happy Rare Disease Day 2016!

 

 

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Categories Food Allergy

The Halves of My Heart

February 20, 2016 //
1

Elizabeth Stone has said “Making the decision to have a child – it is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” I have known this for the last 5 years, since Jackson was born. It seems to be resonating even more this week. We are on day 11 of diarrhea with Alexander. The pediatrician wanted to see him yesterday when I spoke to her about it. It had been far too many days for her to be comfortable with just riding it out.

In the office he happened to poop, which was actually helpful. Unfortunately, they found black blood in the diaper. Have you ever had moments in your life where time kind of stands still? I would describe it as how they portray it in a movie. A monumental moment in the storyline, where the character seems to move yet the world around them is in slow motion or totally frozen. I have now had two of those moments in my life. This was the second one. I did not expect her to come back and say that. She was gone less than 5 minutes. Alex was trying to tear apart my diaper bag and I was texting my husband back. She sat down to explain this to me. She went through the list of possibilities and what we are doing moving forward. I heard every word, but the world around me seemed to slow down. The smile I had on my face when she walked in quickly vanished. I was oddly aware of the motion of my face changing.

Today, the diarrhea is actually worse than it was yesterday. It has kind of gone back and forth over the past 11 days. He is unhappy at times. Large chunky tears rolling down his squishy plush cheeks. I wipe them away and kiss his sweet little face. I hug him and he snuggles his face into the right side of my neck and shoulder.

He is his normal mischievous self at times. Trying to grab his brother’s robot toy. Tearing apart the cabinet in my master bathroom. Rearranging all of my makeup, serums, and creams. Smiling his big toothy smile as he walks up with his arms out and says “mama mama” He is always a momma’s boy.

This morning I dropped off the additional vials for them to run labs. Now we wait. Now we focus on keeping him hydrated, avoiding an ER visit if we can. Now we hug and kiss him. Now we watch him play as our hearts are in our throats. Now I sleep restlessly and wake often. Now I scrub things around the house because sometimes that is what I do when I am particularly anxious. Now I try to remember that Jackson is having a hard time adjusting to the new way of life around here. Now I try to explain to him that he is important and special too. Now I try to give him extra attention. Now I wonder, where does all of the time go during the day? There is a lot to think of at every moment.

My heart walks outside of my body. Split in half. Each boy carrying a piece with them. The pieces made of porcelain. Alexander’s piece seems to be particularly fragile at the moment. Or maybe it is the carrier of that piece that is fragile. Regardless, my heart has not been my own in a long time. Half a decade. My heart belongs to them and all I can do is sit back and hope with all hope that it doesn’t get even one little chip on it. Knowing full well, the world doesn’t actually work that way. It will get battered and bruised as I sit here with open arms waiting to welcome the halves back whenever they need me.

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Categories Food Allergy, Jack, toddler

Babies, Amiright?

June 26, 2015 //
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I have still been cooking. I have even been coming up with a few new recipes. I even revamped previous recipes to make it seem different and new. I have gotten zero posts up lately! I have an almost 9 month old (two more days!) Who just popped his first tooth through. Simultaneously he began a very intense case of separation anxiety from me and me alone. My time to get things done has decreased. I get more sleep. But my days are filled chasing around two little boys, both of whom are often literally clinging to my body. Ha!

As a mom you cannot do it all. Something has to give. Taking time to photograph and write down every night’s dinner has been that thing. I am usually trying to feed two children and myself at the same time. I am trying to keep dinner as tear free as humanly possible. Being a momma to two very attached momma’s boys is a delicate balancing act! I actually have a couple photographed and recorded recipes that I just never got around to posting. But my kitchen is vacuumed. A TON of laundry is folded and put away! My sink isn’t over flowing with dishes. There is room to add more. Kids have been exploring outside. Kids have been taken to their various activities. Kids have gone on a day trip out of state. Forts have been built. I have been getting in my runs and Pilates. Breakfast, lunch, and dinners have been prepared for all every day. Sitting down to blog, eh, not so much. Babies, amiright?

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Every season is different. There will come a time where Alexander will sit around without demanding my undivided attention every moment of the day. His big brother has those moments. He will get there too. This first year of infancy is all about survival. Things tend to even out after they turn 1. Or so I have learned in my parenting experience. I should end this small update and try to get one of those backlogged recipes up. Then I should go and throw some of those dishes in the dishwasher to make room for the future ones that are just itching to make their way into my never ending pile!

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Categories Uncategorized

2 Hour Increments

December 20, 2014 //
2

Tomorrow Mr. Alexander will be exactly 12 weeks old. A couple days after Christmas he officially turns 3 months old. In our current state I live my life in hour by hour increments. I am still breastfeeding him and on average he eats every two hours. This is the average time. He has longer spurts and there are even times where he eats in under two hours.

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I am always checking my little breastfeeding app. How long has it been? How long-ish do I have? What can I get done before he cries out for me? Can I run to the store and be back in time so my husband isn’t trying to calm a very hungry caterpillar? Can I run to the store with both boys, putting Alex in the Ergo, get our errands done, get him back in the carseat and home without him wanting to eat?

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Sometimes the answer is yes. Sometimes the answer is I have lots of time. This afternoon has been one of those times. It is 3 and 1/2 hours and counting since he last ate. He is napping though and well, tick tock.

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There are times where the answer is no and Jackson and I are scrambling to drive home while Alexander is presenting us with his lively chorus of hunger. We live outside of Chicago. It is the end of December. It is in the 30’s. We are all always bundled up and stopping to nurse wherever can be tricky with several layers of clothing on! I have stopped the car a couple times and pulled over, climbed in the backseat or brought him in the front seat to nurse him. Especially when we have been very far from home.

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2 hour increments. That is life right now. It isn’t bad. It can be tiring. Say he eats for 20 minutes. I hold him for a little while after and we cuddle. I finally put him down and get up to do something. He decides he is hungry in under 2 hours. The 2 hours begin the moment he began nursing. There are times where I literally have 20 minutes to do something.

With Jackson I lounged around so much. That sweet boy and I would sit on the couch all day, drifting in and out of sleep and breastfeeding. Sometimes when Alexander is nursing I am thinking about how much I have to do and is he even done yet?? There is SO much laundry, toys everywhere, dishes galore, and I need to do something about some of it. I put him in a contraption much more often than I did Jackson. Sigh. The poor second child. I feel so guilty sometimes. But things have to be tidied up or we will be living in filth. I have to wash and dry laundry or we will run out of things to wear, and did I mention it is winter? Jackson needs to poop and needs me to wipe him. Jackson wants something to drink. Jackson wants to cuddle with momma.

2 hour increments. They really do fly by. There is no way it can be time to eat again already? Oh look, my app says it has been 1 hour and 58 minutes, so it CAN be time to eat again. Where did those two hours go? I swore I just finished nursing. I still have more dishes to load.

Then there are those moments at 3am, because he wakes up at 3am like clockwork. He stops nursing and I am holding him in my arms. He is sound asleep, ready for me to gently place him in his crib. I take a moment to breathe him in. I resist kissing his sweet little mouth because I don’t want to wake him. I settle for his little fingers instead. I try to focus on his sweet cherub face with what little light there is in his room. Those cheeks are so full. He looks so peaceful and content. He has really filled out since being born. His cheeks are so squishy. I see a little double chin. I know under his sleep sack and jammies there are two thighs that have several little rolls in them. His new jammies are 6 months.

I did that. In 2 hour increments, I did that. For now, those moments bring me back to what really matters. 2 hour increments can really accomplish more than I imagine.

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Categories Breastfeeding, Jack, motherhood

Basking In The Loveliness

September 17, 2014 //
2

When you’re a parent to young children you hear time and time again “it flies by. They grow up so fast!” You hear it from family members, friends, heck even your own brain lets you know this. Not convinced that you tell yourself this? Go ahead and take a stroll down memory lane by perusing over old baby photos. You won’t believe how much things have changed without you even noticing. I did that recently. That chubby baby from 3 years ago is no more. Instead there is a near 4 year old little boy.

This week I didn’t need a stroll down photo memory lane. I had a moment at the grocery store where it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was checking out. We shop at Fresh Market and our location is small and quaint. Jackson was sitting on the bench across from my lane while I was waiting to pay for all of our food. He was playing on a phone my husband had recently restored for him. It is strictly for games and taking photos. Taking photos, his new obsession. He was clicking away and saying “Momma, I took a picture of my leg! My LEG!” Beaming with so much pride.

I just watched his little face as he concentrated on his task at hand. I lost my breath for a moment. He is a little boy. How he has changed from last fall! His legs are so long and thinned out. His body is rapidly losing that baby chub. Actually, it is all nearly gone. He still had his soccer gear on, which made him look even older.

Every day he is so engaged with life and with me. He has a million questions and things to show me. Lately I feel like every sentence starts with “momma look at this!” He doesn’t only request Disney Jr shows anymore. He has started wanting to watch shows on NickToons. Every once in a while he scolds me saying, “No I can do that myself!” Part of my heart aches a little each day as I notice how much he is growing, but part of me knows that all I can do is love and support him. I cannot stop it. I am certain I wouldn’t really want to stop it. I can’t keep him a baby forever. I have so much fun with him now. We do so many cool things together. I have always gone out of my way to do fun things with him. We started Gymboree classes at 7 weeks old. Now, though, he is very engaged in those things. Now he asks to go to certain places “Mom we haven’t been to the Children’s Museum in long weeks! This many!” He holds up a bunch of fingers.

Enjoying the fall weather yesterday

Enjoying the fall weather yesterday

Soon my world will be filled with baby moments again. I am pushing 38 weeks here. 38 weeks this Saturday! My world will actually be filled with little boy and baby moments simultaneously. The best of both worlds. Now when I go out and about and have our adventures I will have a little boy that understands our activities as well as that sweet babe discovering the world for the very first time. Only to slowly grow and change daily before my eyes. In 3 years I will be writing how I have officially left the baby world behind for good. Trudging full steam ahead into all things little boy world. But, let’s cross that bridge when we get there. For now, I am just basking in the loveliness that is being a momma to boys. To those sweet tender little men that love me with all their hearts and think I am just the bees knees, whether they are a baby or a little boy.

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Categories Jack, parenting