Category Archives: Motherhood

Motherhood, Otter, parenting

Amid the cries of baby…

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WAH!!!

Must…post…to…blog…

WAH!!

Must…contact…outside…world…

WAH!!

Must…shower.

It is a lovely thing, the first time your baby decides you are the end all be all of life and the human existence. When you can’t set him down without hearing him cry, can’t hand him off without hearing him cry, when you resign yourself to just hearing him cry so you can pee.

I am also the person who gets smiled at, and gets to snuggle the most, and gets the kisses, but I also get the most vomit, and god forbid I clean my kitchen, sweep my house, or cook dinner. I am oficially limited to foods that can be consumed with one hand and have little dripage.

Cereal is a hardship because of the milk, so mixing it with yogurt seems to help reduce spills.

Do not overcook pork chops and then try and eat them one handed, they will merely defeat you. Limit yourself to precut meals, or meat that is so tender it falls apart.

Happily I should be more than able to lost weight on my one handed diet, and with the vitamin supplements not suffer too much nutrition loss!!

On the bright side my dad is in town and I am beginning to feel the reality of the baby. After living with my parents when I had Monkey, it was difficult to fully embrace the new baby until I heard my parents goo and gah over him. Now he has been fully welcomed into the family, and his cries have been interpreted by my father to be commentary on the current political regime. Well frankly, I would cry too.

holidays, Motherhood

Mother’s Day

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Happy Mother’s Day to all the mom’s in my life! (WARNING: ensuing Hallmark card moment)

Motherhood is always challenging, always interesting, and always worth it, even though it may not feel like it at 3 am when you haven’t slept in a month. I just bury my nose in my baby or kiddo’s hair, breathe deeply, and remember that one day I will watch them tear their hair out over their own children. (Revenge! Ask my Mom, she says it’s sweet!)

To all the women I know who deal with poo, vomit, car crashes, late curfews, problems at school, the “yeah-but”‘s, the “gimmies”, rolling eyes, stomping feet, etc… you are wonderful people whose actions everyday are growing more wonderful people. You have the most important job on earth! Thank you for listening to me complain, helping me come up with solutions, commiserating when all seems lost, and generally being my village.

I won’t forget to cherish the handmade flower pots, and photo magnets, the sticky hugs and kisses, the smiles and giggles, the fact that my child still wants to play with me and hasn’t yet discovered I am the least cool person on earth, soft baby sounds, surprise room cleanings, and everything else that helps make all the sleeplessness worth it.

Thanks to my Mom, without whom I wouldn’t be here, I wouldn’t be happy, and I wouldn’t be me. Thank you for yelling at me, hugging me, making me brownies, coming out to help me with Otter, helping me raise Monkey, being my friend, getting drunk with me, and sharing in many sarcastic judgmental moments with me while somehow still thinking I am a good person!!

I love you!

Speaking of motherhood… ask not for whom the baby cries… he cries for me.

Motherhood, Otter

Alone….

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First day as a full on mother of two…

I woke up at 7 am, took a shower while Lee comforted Otter, dressed, took Monkey’s lunch out of the fridge and put it in her bag, set out her breakfast, and sat down to feed the baby. She ate and dressed and brushed her teeth and he finished up in time for us to run to the bank on the way to school. We even arrived early so the usual morning race into the lunchroom was replaced with a giggle filled leisurely stroll and a long goodbye from sister to brother.

Now, Otter is resting in his Pac’N’Play and I am drinking some coffee and relaxing. I guess the trick to making this work really is “early to bed early to rise.”

I reorganized the baby zone last night, so now we have all of Otter’s stuff in one easy to access location. It is a great use of the top of the dog kennels. We have always bemoaned how large they are and how much space they take up, but they are the perfect height for a changing station, and the shelving I placed above them makes great storage for clothes and diapers, etc. Lee even had me use the label maker on the bins, so everything is very clearly marked.

I also caught a sweet, sleepy moment between Daddy and Baby Saturday:
Aren’t they so cute together?

I just had to add this to today’s post: I was playing the previously mentioned ‘Mommy stole a kiss’ game. Otter was kissing back and then he smiled a full smile, and laughed! A teeny tiny baby boy laugh! All mine!! I am so happy I am delirious!!