Sunday, March 20, 2011

Little Boy

Would you look at that little smile? And those cheeks! And that chin. He's all Tate, this one. He's even got a little dimple, which is actually not from my side of the family, but it's damn cute.

Our Prince is thriving amidst the chaos that is our life. He did a 5 hour sleep stretch on Friday night, which, according to someone quite sadistic, is considered "sleeping through the night." Um, not sure who decided sleeping from 9-2 was "sleeping through the night," but you can't fight City Hall.

I am diving into my life as a stay-at-home mom (on maternity leave) and venturing into play groups and Gymboree and lunch dates and walks with the kids, now that the snow has melted. Simon is very laid back and as long as he gets his meals and his clean diapers to poop in, he's pretty content. Simon is starting to smile and make more eye contact. I am singing Graceland to him all the time-- not sure why, but it's turned into "our song"-- and I swear he's tapping his feet to the beat. He's still got that newborn snorty thing going on so between him and Jeff's snoring it's a bit of a symphony in the bedroom during the night. I am pleased as punch that he seems to be sleeping pretty well and we are learning his rythyms more and more every day.

This week should be interesting. I am hosting a neighborhood playgroup on Wednesday afternoon. The part that makes it interesting is that I am somewhat afraid of other mothers. All other mothers. I am not sure why. There is so much second-guessing and it's so political nowadays to be a mom, that it makes me nervous to be around other mothers. And, because I just joined this play group I don't really know anything about the other moms, except their kids' names and their zip codes. They all seem truly very nice, but I am in transition thinking about my role as a professional and a mom and I project onto them that they have it all figured out.

I don't.

I may never figure it all out.

All I know is that I am scared and unsure, but it also seems like the right thing to get to know other moms in my neighborhood. They have already been a great resource for sleeping issues, and where to take children for fun and what to do about schools, etc. It's a great thing so I am just facing the fear and inviting them all into my house for some fun and levity. Or at least for an hour and a half while our kids steal toys from each other, melt down and generally help us all get in touch with shame.

You gotta love what kids do for your life.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Monkey Baby!


Our favorite monkey baby is thriving and growing. He's made it to six weeks! I am a little nervous about the six week growth spurt that allegedly will find him wanting to nurse round the clock. I am trying to prepare myself for this, as I may happen any day now.

Yesterday, I went on a walk with both kids for about an hour and a half with a little detour to Starbucks. It was a nice sunny day, but it was still only about 34 degrees. Sadie didn't have any gloves on, so I had to improvise. At Starbucks I took off my socks and made her wear them on her hands for the rest of the ride home. She didn't really enjoy having my socks on her hands, but it was better than frostbite, or so I tried to explain to her.

Simon is sleeping pretty well. I confess that we have him sleep in his car seat in our bedroom, which is not exactly surgeon general approved, but he did a stretch of 4.5 hours (9:00 p.m. - 1:30 a.m.) on Friday night and if all it took was to make his car seat a bed, then that's what we are doing. Obviously, not a long term solution, but we are on the survival plan still, so we only need to worry about the next 8 hours.

Friday, March 11, 2011

It's a bird, it's a plane...it's SIMON.

When I haven't been blogging, which is approximately 6 days and 23.5 hours of the past week, here's what we've been up to:

1. Simon had an ultra-sound at Children's Hospital for a potential spinal issue, that turned out to be all normal. He's got a little patch of hair at the base of his spine that concerned our pediatrician so we got an ultrasound at one of the most somber places I have ever been: a children's hospital. We are very grateful all is well with Simon's spine.

2. Mommy got a little cyst on her breast that hurt like the Dickens and got to take some antibiotics while trying to still "nurse around it." Won't be sad when that goes away.

3. Sadie got her first ever ear infection, which landed her in the after-hours clinic at 8:30 p.m. on Monday night. More antibiotics for Team Ellis.

4. Jeff had his first overnight trip for work and Mommy did some solo parenting of two. OMG, please send chocolates and sedatives...single parenting is not for the weak of heart. Thank god it was only for a few hours each day.

5. Go ahead. That's what the OB/GYN said to me about running, lifting Sadie, taking a bath, moving furniture. Anything I want. Time to say goodbye to the period of recuperation-- we are in a new phase now. (I think we can call it exhaustion and freak out.)

6. We saw a Montessori school in our neighborhood that we absolutely loved. One downside is that it's easier to win the Illinois State lottery than it is to get in. Another downside, once we get in, it's not cheap. Ahhhh, life in the city.

7. Mommy went to an attachment parenting meeting and walked away thinking she's a horrible mother because she is not rocking the "family bed" or wearing her baby from dusk til dawn. There are so many beautiful principles of attachment parenting. Unfortunately, my charming personality will only let me focus on the ones that Jeff and I believe are not right for our family. This mothering-competition-inadequacy cycle is a real noose around my neck. I hate it. And, I can't stop.

That's pretty much it. Simon is almost 6 weeks old. I am officially out of maternity clothes and into my "fat" pants. Jeff had a birthday that we acknowledged with a nice breakfast with friends. We are one toe removed from pure survival mode. It feels good.

Now, please excuse me, I have to go do something motherly.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

SIMON

Well, the lack of blogging tells you more about the state of affairs in my world than my simple recounting of the zaniness that is two children under two.

Simon turned 1 month old yesterday and weighed in at just over 11 lbs. He's growing up so fast. I love his pudgy little cheeks and his belly is getting huge, which is also nice because I think it means he may sleep more than 45 minutes at a time. A mother can dream...

So, he's been eating a lot, which is how he got from 8lbs to 11.1lbs in a month. He's a decent sleeper for a kid his age and he is the sweetest little boy I have ever given birth too.

Now that I am out of the shock of the experience, and the blizzard of 2011 has come and gone (thank god), I hope to blog more often. I can't believe how fast this is all going. Yesterday, the pediatrician told us that a new born is technically any baby under 2 months of age. So, we have one month left with our little newborn son.

A recap: Not much sleeping, Simon is growing and getting fuller, and we are through the first month of his life. Would I want to relive that month? Not particularly. The C-section recovery is as intense as last time, but all the more so because I can't pick up Sadie and it freaking hurts to have major abdominal surgery. The first few weeks of nursing were a little painful and only now starting to abate. Spring is closer and we are getting out and about.

I love this guy, but perfectly happy to be in the current moment and look forward to the delicious future days with my family.

Sibling LOVE

In case you didn't know, it's hard to get a 19-month old and a newborn baby to pose for a family photo. Also, when you have the aforementioned children, it's very hard to blog. So, let's be explicit: Sadie's baby blog may have more entries, but it's not because I love her more than Simon. Simon's baby log has less entries because I am working hard to keep everyone alive and well. (A feat that is ten times harder than my friends told me it would be. Still working through my resentment on that one!)

So, Simon is great. Our big project is to teach him the difference between night and day. Currently, he favors sleeping all day and snuffling, eating, and generally being awake all night. He's cute but his sense of schedule blows.

I love these little bugs and can't believe they are mine.

Awwwwww.....

Look at our resident cutie! With a face like this I can forgive him for some of his, shall we say, foibles. Specifically, that he loves to poop only seconds after I just changed is diaper. Then, he likes to pee all over my arms. He's really baptizing me by fire with this whole "I am a boy and I have boy parts" thing. He's a big old sleepy head DURING THE DAY. At night? Not so much. It's too soon to call in the big guns of sleep training, but the all day sleep fest and the all night snorting and rustling fest has raised my eyebrows a bit.