One Month In

It has been just over a month since little Robin joined our family.  Everyone asks me how it's going.  My answer--alright.  I have discovered a new level exhaustion resulting from constantly caring for a newborn while trying to meet the needs of two preschoolers.  It's amazing how you can forget how hard it is to be woken about every two hours during the night for 10 minute stretches.  I can easily understand how sleep deprivation is a form of torture.

My least favorite part of the day is preschool pick up.  It requires waking Eileen up from her nap.  While she benefits from a 2-3 hour nap every day,  Linus' pick up and drop off schedule leaves her getting only somewhere between 1 and 1.5 hours.  The result is an often overtired Eileen and a fried mama.  My one real complaint about Linus' preschool is the lack of parking.  Parents are required to park in the neighborhood and walk.  This means I have to adjust timing to allow for walking 2-3 blocks to the school once we park.   The effort that it takes to get out of the house and to and from school is at times overwhelming.  It is often in the moments after returning home from taking Linus to school and getting Eileen down for nap that I just want to collapse.

Preschool griping and lack of sleep aside, life with a newborn is pretty wonderful.  Robin is a very good little baby who loves his mama best.  Since I'm pretty sure this is our last baby I have been trying to soak in every little moment.  Weekend afternoons are lovely.  Robin and I snuggle up together and take a nap.

People tell me I look good.  I am so happy to not be pregnant and to have my healthy little baby, I know I am often glowing.  I am also practically mainlining coffee, so maybe it's just the sheen from a dark roast.  Blissful babies and strong coffee, how can you not look alive and well?  I also went to the chiropractor a few days ago which was immensely helpful.  So I guess overall, when I am not ready to collapse in a puddle on the floor and cry from exhaustion and the constant meeting of needs, I am overwhelmed by feelings of joy, happiness, and caffeine.

overwhelmed with joy or overtired? not sure but the baby is very cute

Today while Eileen was at preschool, I took Robin and Linus in for well child checks.

Robin is doing great.  He is now 20.5 inches long (7%) and 9 lbs 1 oz (23%).  He has been battling a nasty case of baby acne but the doctor assures me that baby acne is not an indicator of his future adolescent acne.  He got the Hep B shot from which he quickly recovered and then slept the rest of the day.

Linus got 2 shots (MMR and Polio) and the FluMist vaccine.  I had to pull him out of hiding from behind the exam table and then hold him down during shots.  Linus did not recover as quickly as Robin and quickly informed me that I was terrible, a mean mommy, and the worst mommy he ever had.  I responded with hugs and a simple, "I know."  We then got milkshakes at Dick's and things were mostly all forgiven.

Three kids is definitely a handful, but at least it feels like we kind of know what we are doing.  It's too bad you have to learn everything the hard way the first time around.

I also wish someone had told us earlier that if you wanted the kids to be quiet and leave you alone, just put them inside storage benches.