Mommy Unaware

Matt doesn't understand why I don't notice when he gets haircuts. I don't notice when anyone gets haircuts...that is, unless there were multiple feet of hair chopped off. It's just not one of those things I notice. It always amazes me, those women, who notice when someone gets even just a trim.

So it's always a game we play. Matt gets a haircut and waits to see how long it takes me to notice.

Last Saturday Matt got a haircut after work. Bear saw her dad for the first time that day and said, "Daddy Hair!"

I just don't get it.

Similarities

I saw this picture of Chipmunk and laughed because it reminded me so much of a post we wrote on Bear around the same age.



The similarities are there...

Happy Face!

I agree with Nina that toddlers are all about obsessions. Bear's latest obsession is all about happy faces.

If you happen to color with her, she'll probably demand that you draw a happy face. If you're lucky, she'll draw one for you, too.

Whenever we make the trip to Costco, it's always her responsibility to hand the receipt to the folks that check the carts when we exit. They always draw a happy face for her on the back of the receipt and she will stare at it with glee all the way to the car.

When Chipmunk starts to grimace, she yells out, "Baby Happy Face!" Okay, so he's not really smiling, but at least she's trying to understand the concept. I don't know if "frowning" is in her vocabulary yet.

This morning she took apart a box of wipes and ran up to me yelling, "happy face! happy face! happy face!" This is what she showed me:



She really is seeing happy faces everywhere.

6 Weeks

Here's a picture that Matt snapped of Chipmunk smiling.



It's these moments that remind me that all the rest of the hardships that we're going through are worth it.

Chipmunk has so far been at his worst when it comes to colic. I'm hoping that this is the peak of the fussiness and crying. He used to cry for part of the day...these past few days he's been crying most of the day. At night he won't sleep unless I'm holding him.

He also hates being in the car. He cries loudly until he goes hoarse whenever we're driving places. So driving long distances aren't really an option right now. Fortunately, the crying doesn't bother Bear much. She aptly tells me, "Baby crying! Baby Hung-gy (Hungry)" and then most of the time just falls asleep to the background noise of the wailing. Impressive.

So it doesn't matter. He cries at home, he cries in the car. I will just have to deal with it until the colic disappears. Just pray that I can remain sane and keep some semblance of patience in the meantime. And while I wait, I can always enjoy his smiles here and there...reminding me that the constant crying is just temporary.

Longing for a Haircut

Reasons to Cut My Hair:

1) The last time I had it cut, Bear was in the womb.
2) I have to use Costco size bottles of conditioner in order to have enough to condition it.
3) Brushing is a painful ordeal. Bear actually copies me by pretending to brush her own hair. She even says, "ow ow ow."
4) Every time I sit down I sit on my hair.
5) Every time I lay down I lay on my hair.
6) Chipmunk likes to grab the loose hairs while he feeds. Ouch.
7) It takes forever to dry.
8) Last but not least, Someone out there could really use my hair.

One of these days I will get to it.

Mommy and Me Time

Since Chipmunk needs to be held a lot, Bear often has to do things on her own. She's a trooper though and doesn't seem to mind too much that I'm always carrying the Chipmunk around. Because of that I've been trying to find some special time for just the two of us to hang out and have fun. There is this span of time in the late afternoon where Chipmunk is sleeping and she's ready and refreshed after her nap that's perfect for some Mommy & Bear activities.

Today's activity was egg dying. She was so excited as I was diluting all the dyes, it was a task keeping her from spilling them. I even pulled out the non-washable crayons for her to color her eggs with. She was so thrilled that she slammed a couple of the eggs on the table and cracked them. Whoops.



Here are her eggs. She's so proud of them and even adorned them with stickers later on.



I tried to get a nice picture of Bear with her eggs, but she developed a "camera smile." You know, the ones kids force when they say "cheese." Unfortunately, her fake smile makes it look like she's in pain in most of her pictures.

Despite the look on her face, I think she had a good time.

Deprivation and Reward

When you lack something, it helps you appreciate it all the more when it comes.

Last night I got to sleep for 3 and a half hours straight. Wow, it felt great. Yup. Chipmunk slept for a 4 and a half hour stretch.

More of a schedule is finally settling in. Chipmunk actually gave us 2 colic free nights.

And the snot? Well, that's starting to lessen as well.

Aaaah.

Then again, we won't know what will happen tomorrow.

(Sorry, haven't posted any pictures...well, because my children were snotty)

Surviving

It's been rough. I won't lie. Having 2 sick kids takes a lot out of you. Bear wakes constantly at night and is super tired and cranky during the day. She also has these nice canker sores which she complains about constantly and keeps her from eating. Chipmunk has trouble staying asleep and has trouble eating with his stuffy nose (along with his bouts of crying for hours). Both of them have had fits of coughing and our humidifier has been on constantly. Gratefully there are no fevers...just a lot of snot.

But we're surviving...snot and all.

On the other hand, I've been super industrious. Well, some women shop when they're having a rough time. I clean. I don't just vacuum and wash dishes. I rearrange furniture and scrub grout between tiles with old toothbrushes.

I should be sleeping though...and perhaps I shouldn't be moving furniture either.

Numbers

30 - the number of minutes it takes to pack 2 kids into the car

19 - the number of times I told Bear to stop waking up her brother this morning

17 - the number of diapers I changed yesterday

9 - the number of times Chipmunk woke up out of a sound nap suddenly, usually from snorting (stuffy nose)

8 - the number of times Bear lost Sonja and ran through the house screaming for her

6 - the number of dirty outfits I changed yesterday

5 - the number of hours Chipmunk was up last night crying

4 - the number of Curious George episodes I had to watch today

3 - the number of hours of sleep I got last night(in 3 different parts)

2 - the number of kids in this house with colds involving stuffy noses

1 - the number of tired moms in this house

One Down, Two to Go

When I was a first time parent with Bear, I spent most of the first month feeling like I was doing something wrong. Actually, I spent most of the first year feeling like I was doing something wrong. Seasoned parents would tell me that "3 months" was the magic number. "Just wait 3 months," they said, "it'll seem much better then." Of course it was hard for me to imagine with a screaming one month old day in and day out. When 3 months rolled around, it was like magic...the colicky symptoms went away, a better schedule was established and I felt much more at ease about being a parent.

I find that having experienced the dramatic difference of 3 months, I've been impatiently waiting for Chipmunk to hit that point. I find myself muttering things like, "only 8 more weeks to go" or "one month down, two more to go." Now that Chipmunk has hit the 1 month mark though, I realize that 4 weeks came and went much quicker than I expected.

So perhaps I should stop looking forward to "3 months" and just enjoy "right now" because I'm afraid I'm going to miss out on something special...like the joy of having a newborn...

Whoa Mama!

I've read that newborns are supposed to gain on average an ounce a day. Sixteen days ago Chipmunk was 8 pounds which was 13 ounces less than his birth weight. Today he weighed in at 9 pounds 8 ounces! That's 24 ounces in 16 days! The doctor took a look at the chart and said "Whoa Mama, what have you been feeding this boy?"

Suffice it to say I'm not too worried about his weight anymore...however I am concerned about his feeding habits. When you're feeding a child every two hours it wears you down after a while. I hope he grows out of this growth spurt soon and slows down the frequency of his feedings. I really do need longer intervals of sleep. I think 20 minutes at a time just isn't healthy.

Entertaining ourselves

When you're sleep deprived, you've got to entertain yourself somehow.



Thanks, Matt, for making me laugh.

Falling Asleep Standing

I took a Humanities class during my freshman year of college where the most interesting part of the class was seeing how many people were sleeping through the lecture the morning after a paper was due. One time, there was this poor soul who obviously ran to class to turn the paper in time, was too late to get an actual seat, ended up having to sit on the steps of the lecture hall, where he promptly fell asleep and snored loudly (to the amusement of those sitting around him) throughout the hour and a half of lecture.

Ah, sleep...so very necessary...yet so fleeting when you've got a newborn.

This time around I've been trying harder to get rest when I can...especially with our little Chipmunk who has daytime and nightime reversed...so he's up all night, and come morning, up rises Bear who needs my attention as well. So my sleep has been short and sporadic. I think if I had to sit through a Humanities lecture right now, I'd be the one snoring.

Granted, Chipmunk is more predictable since he's our second kid...we're able to read him better than we could as new parents with Bear...so it's not as frustrating...just more sleep depriving. I'm amazed that Matt can get up to go to work at 6:30 in the morning after a night of sleeping in a chair with Chipmunk in his lap.

So, I'm afraid that one of these days I'll catch myself falling asleep while standing. Now that would be something to see.

All About Personality...

Chipmunk had his follow up appointment with the doctor today. As I feared, he hasn't really been gaining any weight. I know, he was 8 pounds 13 ounces when he was born, which is quite sizable, but when we left he weighed just 8 pounds. Babies do lose weight during those first few days...but they're not supposed to lose that much.

So today he weighed 8 pounds...still. I was a little disappointed. I felt that perhaps I wasn't feeding him well enough...

So the doctor asked me a ton of questions...turns out he is eating...he just likes to take his merry, sweet time. For example, last night he ate for about an hour and a half straight. He drank the whole time, just very...very...slowly.

The doctor said that he was alert, well-hydrated and probably gaining weight (assuming he lost some weight after we left the hospital, too)...his personality was just too mellow and easy-going to be a vigorous eater.

Too mellow and easy-going to eat? Too lazy to eat, perhaps. It's so opposite from Bear's first few days who was constantly hungry and ate too quickly.

Different personalities? I guess we'll soon find out.

Rare Moment

Bear is fast asleep.

Chipmunk is fast asleep.

Matt is fast asleep.

It's 4:30 in the afternoon.

I'm awake watching chick flicks.

I think this is going to be a rare moment, indeed.

Our Hungry Chipmunk

Just wanted to update with some pictures of our little "chipmunk."



He was a big boy when he was born. He continues to amaze us with his superior eating abilities. He actively eats for an hour and then asks for more. I just don't have enough for him. He practically eats another meal right afterwards of what is supposed to be "supplemental" formula.

Here's Bear with her brother.



She came to the hospital everyday...ran into the room, wouldn't say hi to mom or dad, but would run over to her brother and yell out, "Hi Baby!" Ever since the chipmunk came home, she's been hugging and kissing him, patting his head and trying to tickle him.

Here's our family of four:



Whoa. Four. That's going to take some getting used to.

Turkey is done... (by padawanlee)

Just an update for everyone. Our newest member of the family came out healthy and well done today. He was born at 12:30pm at 8 lbs 13 oz and 20 inches long. Both mom and baby are resting and doing well in the hospital, mom is recovering well from the delivery and dad is happy that everyone is well and he is adjusting to being a parent of a newborn again. There will be no more tickets for sale for the traveling mommy show anymore but a new attraction will be soon taking its place. More updates and pictures to follow once we settle down.

Thank you all for your support, prayers, and words of encouragement over the past few months as God has blessed our family with this new baby boy.

Will Write Again Soon

One year for Thanksgiving I remember shopping for turkeys and considering the number of people we decided to get a 10 pound turkey. Comparatively, it's a small turkey.

I apparently have a small turkey inside me. He's estimated to be 9 pounds (give or take a pound) and he's stubbornly hanging out in the wrong position.

No, I don't know how this baby turned out to be 9 pounds. It was quite a shock for Matt and myself (Bear was only 7 lbs).

Apparently our turkey is done baking. He's being removed from the oven tomorrow at noon.

Will write again soon.

Welcome to the Freak Show...

You ever have the feeling that wherever you go people are looking at you funny?

Everywhere I go these days I feel like that. I feel like a freak show.

It's interesting to see people's reactions. Some people smile. Some people shake their heads. Some people have a pained expression on their face. Some try to discreetly point me out as they whisper to their companions. Some have the courage to even speak to me.

"You just have one in there, right?"

"Wow, you must be due soon!"

"You look like you're ready to pop!"

That's me. A one-woman freak show. Better get your tickets soon, the show will hopefully be ending shortly.

Eat Hot Dog? (by padawanlee)

I wonder when kids actually learn to read. Yesterday we went to Costco to pick up some supplies before baby #2's arrival and as we pulled into the parking lot Bear commented from the backseat "eat dinner, hot dog". Carina and I looked at each other with a befuddled look comprehending what Bear just said. One, we didn't mention hot dogs at all during the car trip and second, the Costco we were at was not the usual one we shop at. So either Baby Bear can read signs now or she had a strange craving for a hot dog... what do you think?