The Writing is on the Wall

Literally. It really shouldn't be all that surprising that I frequently try to convince my husband that we need more wall quotes. And for some reason--even though he always ends up being the one to hang them--he continues to let me buy them.

But seriously, what else am I supposed to put on the massively large wall that, because of the split-foyer, is awkwardly a part of the living room, entryway, and stairway downstairs?

Not the best angle, but a shot of the wall during the (difficult) painting process shortly after we moved in
 

The wall now!

It's a little hard to read, but the quote says "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord". And I love it! Darrell, however, did not love the hanging process required for this quote; apparently it was more finicky than the others he's done and the letters did not want to adhere to the wall. He's (pessimistically) convinced that they'll just fall off one day, but so far so good. And here's hoping it stays that way--I don't know if I could talk him into another one if this one fails! (At least not another one in that location--I've already got him on board with one for the nursery, and our basement is rife with possibilities for quotes now that we're finally in the process of getting it all finished!)



Garrett: One Month!

Height/Weight: At his two-week check he was up to ten pounds, eight ounces and 21.25 inches, so I'm guessing he's at least eleven pounds by now (probably more), and maybe even close to 22 inches. He definitely seems like he's gotten quite a bit bigger in the two weeks since that appointment.

Wearing: Size one diapers and 0-3 month clothing. Although he's pretty much outgrown Gerber brand 0-3 month clothing; I've consistently found that this brand runs smaller than others.

Eating: Momma's milk. All the time. We've had no issues whatsoever getting him to eat--the bigger challenge is getting him to stop! Oh, and as a side note--I've told Darrell that I'm exclusively breastfeeding until Garrett is potty trained. Newborn poop is soooo much more enjoyable to deal with than toddler poop.

Sleep: All things considered, sleep is pretty good. He's a newborn, so I don't really expect him to go longer than three hours between feedings, but I keep holding out hope that maybe he'll start giving us longer stretches at night soon. During the day he's still all over the place, but I can usually count on at least one two-hour nap (which sometimes even overlaps with William's nap!), so that's nice.

Likes: I hate to say this, but pretty much everything? He's pretty content and easy to please. Nothing really stands out as a particular "favorite", so I'll refrain from listing everything he encounters/does on a daily basis (although I will say that Mom is really liking our swing this time around. I can't believe we didn't have one when William was an infant--kicking myself for that decision!)

Dislikes: Not a whole lot here since he is pretty laid-back. Dirty diapers are probably the thing that bother him most--which thankfully, is a super easy fix (although let's not talk about the number of diapers we go through in this house, mmkay?). Sudden, abrupt movements (like when William pushes his swing a little too aggressively) definitely startle him and sometimes upset him, but even that's not too bad. He does struggle with bedtime a little bit and we're starting to see a "witching hour" emerge in the evenings, but I think that's mostly because Mom and Dad are trying too hard to make him go to bed when it is convenient for us and not necessarily when he is ready to. But really, is it too much to ask for him to go to bed by 9:00 so Darrell and I can have at least a little adult time before we need to go to bed ourselves?

Firsts: Well, considering this was his first month of life, pretty much everything was a first. And we did our best not to let two kids cramp our style, so Garrett definitely got out quite a bit. He was at the Shrine at six days old, headed to church at ten days old, has made countless trips to the grocery store and Target, and he's even gone on a few road trips: Kimball for his newborn photos and Mitchell to meet great-grandma. He's also started attending Kindermusik with William and me, although (thankfully!) he's just slept through the classes in his car seat.

Overall, Garrett has made the transition to two children about as easy as he could. And really, William is doing really well with things too. I definitely feel like I'm still adjusting, though, and the thing I'm having the hardest time with is just how constantly busy I feel. I feel like for every item I accomplish on my to-do list, six more items make it on the list. Plus, it seems that things like laundry, dishes, and emptying the diaper trash end up back on the list as soon as I've taken them off, which makes me feel like I'm constantly doing the same things and never able to get anything "new" accomplished. Darrell does his best to help in the evenings, but usually his "help" is playing with/taking care of the boys, which doesn't leave time for him to get "to-dos" accomplished either. Subsequently, I feel like "us" time has taken a major hit, because even on nights we do have both boys in bed at a reasonable time, we're usually both so busy with stuff that needs to get done that we don't have time to just be together and enjoy each other's company. I started pumping today during William's nap so that sooner rather than later we'll be able to leave both boys with my parents and doing something fun for us (like go out to dinner!), but even that feels somewhat counterproductive because it's thirty(ish) minutes during William's (precious) naptime that I'm not able to get other things done. I know this is all just temporary and, like all ages and stages, "this too shall pass", but it sure is exhausting. But we're doing our best to enjoy our little family and take things one day at a time--and ultimately, we couldn't be happier about having Garrett in our lives!

(And, just for fun, here's a quick link to William's one month update for comparison!)

Not Ready for This

I never thought I was going to be one of those moms who was all "oh, my kids are growing up so fast!" and find myself getting sentimental about it, but, well, it's happening. Maybe it's still just postpartum hormones? Either way, I am not ready for William to be growing up this quickly.

When it was time for the children's message at church this morning, I asked William if he wanted to go up to listen to the story. He initially said "no", but after watching the other children walk up he changed his mind. So he crawled off the pew and started walking up to the front of the church. Assuming that he'd want to sit on my lap once he got to the front (like he usually does), I followed behind. Well, today he just walked right up to the altar steps and sat himself down next to the other children. Not wanting to take away his independence, I perched on the edge of the pew at the front of the church, assuming he'd eventually come running to me and want me to sit with him. Nope. Not today. He sat up there--by himself--for the whole story. Sure, he got a little antsy and squirmed around a little bit (and played briefly with the altar rails), but never once did he try to come to me (or even acknowledge that I was there), nor did he get disruptive enough that I needed to intercept him. And as he walked back to our pew, he randomly started clapping--maybe he was proud of himself for being such a big boy? I know I sure was--although a little sad, too. Because seriously? He isn't even two yet (although that milestone is rapidly approaching!). I don't know if I'm ready for him to stop needing/wanting us.

Thankfully, later on in the service, he gave me a good reminder that he does have some sweet young innocence left in him. At one point when he was sitting in my lap, I leaned forward and whispered in his ear that I loved him. And he immediately turned his head around to plant a kiss on my cheek. I know it won't be long before he'll be too old to do embarrassing things like kiss his mom in public, so I'm going to enjoy every one of those while I still can. Because hopefully that wasn't the last one. I'm so not ready for that.

A Stinky Morning

My morning in a nutshell. You're welcome to feel sorry for me or laugh at my misfortune--for the sake of my own sanity I've chosen the latter.

800: William decides he's ready to eat breakfast. I get him started with some yogurt and zucchini bread, then start slicing up some grapes.
805: Garrett wakes up and demands to eat RIGHT.NOW. So I nurse him at the table and continue cutting grapes one-handed.
810: Garrett poops. And blows out the back of his diaper. William is still eating (and still wanting more grapes), so I wrap Garrett in a junk blanket to keep the poop from getting on me and continue to hold him until William is done with breakfast.
945: William wants a snack. I (foolishly) decide to give him a banana with peanut butter--a snack which requires the use of both my hands.
950: Garrett decides he's hungry as well. I manage to stall him with a pacifier until William is done with his snack.
1000: While I'm nursing Garrett, William comes over to let me know that he's pooped. Once I establish that it isn't a blowout (unfortunately a common occurance with him lately), I ask him to wait until I'm done nursing and then I'll change him.
1020: William is in a clean diaper. Garrett has started to fuss in his swing; I don't even have to get him out to be able to smell that he's pooped.
1040: I go back to William's room to check on him because he's been playing in there since his diaper change. I walk in the room and he immediately lets me know that he pooped again.

It may only be 11:00 here, but it's 5:00 somewhere, right?

#NursingMamaProblems

Leaky boobs. Seriously. Why does this have to happen? When we were at Garrett's follow-up appointment three days after our discharge from the hospital, our pediatrician was impressed with Garrett's weight gain and commented that my milk must have come in. As we're getting ready to go a little bit later, I realized that noting Garrett's weight gain was irrelevant; all our pediatrician would have had to do to notice my milk had come in was look at the front of my shirt and the massive milk spot that had leaked through my bra pad. Awesome.

Listening to your partner snoring at 3:00 in the morning. I love Darrell and will (proudly!) admit that he does just about everything he can to make the nursing journey as easy as possible for me (including doing all diaper changes in the middle of the night). But there's something about listening to him snore while I have a hungry little monster sucking away on my boobs that makes me want to hand Garrett over to him with a bottle and call it quits.

The unpredictability of nursing on demand. A few nights ago Garrett nursed at 815. He averages two to three hours between feedings. By the time I got the house tidied up, prepped a few things for the next day, and polished off half a pint of ice cream (don't judge), it was getting close to 1015. Cue the debate: Do I go to bed immediately and try to get whatever sleep I can, even if Garrett gets up in a mere ten minutes to nurse? Or do I find a few more things to do (and there's always more things to do) and just stay up until his next feeding? (Spoiler--I went to bed and he slept until 1130. Win.)

Continued alcohol deprivation. Yes, I know, major first world problem. But I can't help it that I like my beer (and wine and tequila). And when we're having pizza for dinner, nothing sounds better than enjoying it with an ice cold beer. But when we're eating dinner at 530 and Garrett will (likely) be wanting to nurse again around six, I suck it up and be the responsible mom and pass on the drink. (Of course, he may not nurse again until closer to seven, which means I could have at least some of the beer--see aforementioned problem number three about unpredictability.)

Of course, none of these "problems" would ever make me want to legitimately consider throwing in the nursing towel; I feel very blessed that I was able to nurse William for thirteen months and that I am starting (what seems to be) another successful endeavor with Garrett. Nothing good comes without a few sacrifices, right?

Our BIG Big Brother

As far as grandparents go, my parents are pretty lucky. Since William was born, they've never lived farther than seven miles from us, plus we go to the same church, so they've pretty much always seen him at least once a week (and usually more--although they've done a great job of not randomly stopping by, which I'm grateful for). So it always makes me laugh when they proclaim how much they've missed him and how much he's grown on the rare occasions that they've gone longer than a week since last seeing him.

Well, folks, I'm here to admit that it's time for me to eat my own words. Between being in the hospital and nursing (what felt like) 24/7 for the first few days--plus William being out of the house for some playdates--I hardly spent any time with William during the first week of Garrett's life. When I finally had the opportunity to help with his bedtime routine at the end of last week, I was completely shocked by how much he had changed. Everything about him seemed "older"--his face was longer and losing the baby roundness, his legs stretched for what seemed like miles and felt way more muscular than I remembered, and even his demeanor appeared to be changing into something that said "I'm too cool for cuddles and other baby things". I almost cried a little.

I kid you not, I got all this out of one diaper change. Can anyone say raging postpartum hormores? Plus I had been spending so much time with Garrett that I was probably subconsciously comparing the two--and of course William would seem ginormous in comparison.

Mild panic attacks aside, I can honestly say that William has been doing great as a big brother. Granted, he's mostly disinterested in Garrett, but I suppose that's better than being overly interested and in the way. He does like to help "calm" Garrett when he is fussing by giving him his pacifier, although he can be a little forceful with the endeavor. And he's apparently concerned that Mom and Dad are going to forget Garrett in the car; he refuses to walk too far from the car (even if it's just into the house) until someone has gotten Garrett out. We'll see how much William's opinion of his baby brother changes next week when Darrell goes back to work and we can no longer play man-to-man defense. Fingers crossed for a smooth transition--although I'm trying not to worry too much about that and just enjoying this calm before the storm!

Storytime with my boys (sorry about the black--I'm too lazy to figure out how to get rid of it)