Tuesday, March 30, 2010

2.5

Last month, Rolo turned two and a half.

I'll start with the bad. Although, to be fair, just weeks before turning two and a half, we introduced a tiny screaming baby into his world, so it's hard to tell whether the "bad" is because of that or is just a function of being two and a half. Up until recently, we totally lucked out in the tantrum department. Sure, he talks back, says "no" a lot and requires constant negotiation. But he didn't really engage in full-blown screaming fits. But since two and a half happened, there have been a handful. Still, not too many, so we're still pretty lucky. One time though, he screamed so much, he actually popped capillaries in his face and had red dots around his temples for 3 days. Not fun. Also, a sudden and and intense refusal to go to bed. Fortunately, this has dissipated, but for about 4 weeks, the child would break down at bedtime. This one, I'm racking up to some sort of reaction to having a new baby in the house. He's also very clingy with me. Not when I expected, which was was I was holding the new baby. Instead he'd freak out if I left the room. Or God forbid needed to actually leave the apartment without him. Suddenly he was the kid clinging to his mom's leg every morning at day care drop-off. Again, this has sort of stopped, so this may be another reaction-to-the-new-baby thing. Lastly, he staunchly refuses to have anything to do with a potty.

But the good? Is very good. He talks about manatees. And African safaris. He "reads" books. He wants to count everything. He can spell his name. He can pick out about 75% of the alphabet letters correctly. He mimics my tone of voice and it's hysterical. He uses slang phrases correctly. He tells stories that make me laugh. He does tricks. He tells jokes. He likes to color and paint.

Most important of all is how much he loves his sister. I honestly expected him to be jealous. I expected him to act out against her. None of that materialized. We brought home a new little person who reduced the attention he received from us in half and he couldn't love her more. He always wants to know where she is. He lights up when he sees her. He gives her kisses. He yells "Don't worry, I coming to get you!" while running upstairs (with me) to get her out of her crib in he mornings. He tells her "Don't cry, I right here" when she's sad. He reads her books. He shows her toys. All without me prompting him to do so. Yes, he can be a little rough sometimes, but he's two.

I couldn't be more proud. Honestly, some days I feel like my heart will break open with pride. He's a good kid. He's a really, really good kid.

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Monday, March 22, 2010

10 weeks

So my little Swiss Miss is already 10 weeks old and I haven't really posted a thing about her.

Let's see. About her:
She was born with a ton of hair. It continues to grow at an alarming rate.

She does not like to be disturbed while resting.

She is neater than her brother: she doesn't spit up and her poop stays in her diaper. That said, she burps and farts like a drunken frat boy.

She took to nursing immediately. As in, she was born, literally, making a sucking motion. She just recently found her thumb and is in complete heaven.

Her eyes, for now, are blue.

Her skin, unfortunately, is very dry and she has eczema and cradle cap something fierce.

It seems that she may have food allergies as well as reflux.

She doesn't really mind tummy time.

She loves to smile.

She loves to coo.

*******


Let's see. About me:

Having two kids is logistically as much of a pain in the ass as I thought it would be. That said, it's not as hard in other ways I thought it would be.

I'm on a restricted diet as a result of the aforementioned food allergies. No milk, eggs or soy ingredients for me. As an aside, I'd like to point out that with Rolo I pumped exclusively for over six months and now with this one, I've given up eating most foods that are delicious. I deserve some sort of mothering award, no?

I enjoy walking around the city with Swiss Miss.

I have no desire to return to work. This confuses me.

Having the benefit of experience, it seems having a newborn this time is infinitely easier. Not nearly as much frustration or depression. I attribute this to both the experience factor and that I had simply less to lose this time.

I love nursing her.

In the afternoons, she and I take naps on my bed. We look at each other as we drift off to sleep. It is my favorite time of day and I am very sad it will come to an end.

I am completely in love.

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