Crazytown

Now that I've crossed the auspicious threshold of mother of two, people constantly ask me how it is.  You know, really expectantly if they are expecting number two themselves or knowingly if they are a seasoned mom.  This question was always on my lips when I was pregnant with Avery, accosting every friend who had just given birth to tell me what it was like to take care of two.

My two favorite responses came from my friends Lauren and Andrea:

One kind of ducked her head and guiltily looked side to side before whispering, "you're going to think I'm crazy, but..." I leaned in closer with rapt attention, "I think having two is easier."

What?!  It was the answer I had been dreaming to hear but hadn't allowed myself to hope for.  I mean, Seth had been a really easy baby, but that's just it, he's still a baby...

The other answered, "one is hard, but two is Crazytown."

Great.  

And the funny thing is the answer is both.

I'm kind of a wuss when it comes to doing things that are hard, or gross, or cause sleep deprivation.  This made for a hellish character building experience for Taylor when we had Seth.  Let's just say I was a basket case for the first six weeks with small signs of improvement through 8 weeks, and then grace of God took over in the form of baby sleeping for 12 hours by 12 weeks (that is of course after getting over the shock of moving to a foreign country with an infant), so I was back to my stable, steady self in 3 long months.  Thank you to those of you who prayed for us during this time - we are forever grateful!

So when the plus sign showed up on the pregnancy test when Seth was 13 months old, you can bet we wore our knees raw praying I'd handle my post-partum hormones more gracefully this time.

With baby number two I've had a TON of help.  My mom came for 3 weeks, Taylor's mom came for 10 days, tons of friends brought us meals, and Taylor worked from home to ease me into this whole being out numbered business and to give me time to recover from my c-section. And though I had my moments, I haven't had any post-partum symptoms like I did with Seth.  Not even your typical Baby Blues. 

PRAISE THE LIVING GOD.

When the last mom left, and Taylor went back to working at his office, learning life with two kids was a baptism by fire of sorts.  You see, I hadn't had to cook, clean, or do anything really except for nurse (part of the reason I haven't been posting because who wants to read about breastfeeding? Not me).  

And then everyone left.  


And stopped bringing food.

And Taylor had a deadline so he not only was back at the office after 5 1/2 weeks of working from home, he was working until bedtime.  Bedtime.  Out numbered until bedtime. 

To give you an idea of how it was, here is a screenshot of my response to Taylor asking how we were doing one day:

Did I mention he is known for his sensitivity?

Thankfully every day on either side of this one has been much easier.  

Maybe that's what my friend meant by Crazytown - they can be angels one day and putting canisters of pretzels on their sisters the next.