We followed a very strict schedule with Nathan and he had a very involved routine.
He napped every single day at 10:00, then again at 2:00 then went to bed at 7:30.
At night his bedtime routine took anywhere up to an hour.
We fed him dinner, let him play for a bit. Then it was bath, books and bed.

Poor Ryan. This kid hasn't had a consistent day since he was born.
His day looks more like this.

6:30 Up for the day, play "quietly" and try not to wake up the maniac in the other room.
8:30 Down for nap.
9:30 Time to bring Nathan to a playdate (or school or storytime or a doctor's appointment), wake Ryan up, hope he falls back asleep in car.
10:00 - 12:00 Catnaps all morning in the car/stroller.
12:30 - Try to get Nathan's lunch on the table before Ryan starts crying to be nursed.
2:00 Time for Nathan's nap, attempt to get Ryan to sleep now too so Mommy can have a much needed break!! Read them stories together, two birds with one stone.
5:30 Ryan is hungry and screaming but I am still cooking Nathan's dinner so he'll have to wait.
6:30 Put Ryan in his bouncy seat in bathroom so he can hang out with us while Nathan gets his bath. He watches Nathan splash around and pour water from cup to cup, that counts as play, right?
7:30 Already?? Quickly put Ryan to bed, no time for a story but he heard a lot throughout the day, that'll have to do tonight. Quick song and a kiss before I leave the room, hope he doesn't cry because now I have to go put Nathan down.
8:00 Come back and check on Ryan - sound asleep.

I often feel guilty that he doesn't get the same undivided attention that Nathan got as a baby but it doesn't seem to bother him at all. He's the sweetest baby in the world, all smiles, all the time. So I am telling myself that it's making him a very easy-going, go with the flow kind of person. Numero Uno on the other hand is very particular and a little less accepting of change so maybe it's better I don't have the luxury of sticking to a schedule this time around? That's what I tell myself to sleep at night.

If I'm only going to get 2 or 3 hours of sleep at a time, I want it to at least be sound sleep.

Home, sweet home

Today we closed on our house... our home. The moment I walked into this house, I knew it was meant to be ours. By the time we walked through, I was already imagining where the Christmas tree would go. I am so excited to raise Nathan and Ryan in such a beautiful home, it is perfect for our family.

Perspective

Since having kids I've learned an important lesson. There will be really great days and then there will be really challenging days. The challenging days suck... there's no other way to put it. The only thing I can control is how I react to them. I can either dwell on the negative or look for the positive. Today is a perfect example.

Glass half empty:
Ryan had me up ALL night, I'm talking hour and a half intervals. Needless to say I was exhausted at 6:30 but he decided this was a perfect time to get up for the day and practice his new skill: loud, bird-like screeching. Ten minutes after Nathan woke up, Ryan fell asleep for his morning nap. So while Ryan caught up on his sleep, I ran around and made Nathan's breakfast, got him dressed, packed up the diaper bag and took a shower.

Verdict : What a rough morning!

Glass half full:
I've been trying to break the habit of putting Ryan down for a nap in his swing. As much as I love that little 3 hour dream machine, he has to learn to sleep in a crib. So this morning I put him down for a nap in his bassinet and he napped... for two hours!!

Verdict: What a great morning!

I still would have loved a nap but it was nothing a cup of coffee and a morning out in the fresh air couldn't cure.

Focus on the positive... my parenting mantra :)

A dry bum and a full belly

That's all it takes to keep this little guy happy.
I lucked out again with one the world's most chill babies.
Unless he's hungry or wet, he's a pretty happy guy.

Happy Mother's Day

I had the most wonderful Mother's Day weekend this year. It started with time.... to myself. That might sound horrible at first. Time to myself for Mother's Day? Shouldn't I want to spend every waking moment with my children? Here's the thing, I spend every waking moment with my children.  Every... single... day. So yes, time to myself  is a luxury I was happy to accept this weekend.

I spent Friday night laughing over artichoke hearts, steak tips and a brownie sundae with friends from school. And I spent Saturday morning with 3 wonderful new Mommy friends (without our kids!!!) slowly sipping coffee and talking about... what else, but our kids.

Then Saturday afternoon was spent with Will and the boys. We took a drive up to Ogunquit, ME to be greeted by drizzly rain. But we still had a great time eating lobster rolls and ice cream, taking our new wheels out for a spin and practicing our funny faces.

Sunday morning, Will occupied the boys and let me sleep in. I didn't get out of bed until 9:38!!! I was greeted with flowers and breakfast and homemade cards and a new pendant to add to my favorite necklace.

Then we piled up into the car and met up with my family to take my mom out to lunch. We spent the afternoon with my parents and 3 siblings, passing the baby around and laughing, then ended up back at my parents' house eating dessert in their dining room, a tradition that occurs at almost every holiday or special occasion.

This of course is the edited version, the perfect version. It was still a regular day, complete with dirty diapers,   whining, and the occasional threat of timeout. I rushed around when we were running late this morning, left the house with wet hair and showed up to lunch frazzled. But every day comes with a few negatives. It's the positives we must hold onto, for it's the positives that form our memories.  And today, my first Mother's Day with two little boys instead of one, will always be a happy memory.

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful moms out there.

2 months old

It's hard to believe this little nugget has been with us for almost 9 weeks. There are days when he still feels completely brand new, and others when I can't remember what it was like before him. Since this blog serves as my baby book, here a few stats I don't want to ever forget....

Age: 2 months

Weight: 12 pounds, 4 ounces

Length: 24 inches

Eating: After a rough start including latching issues for him and a nasty case of Mastitis for me, we are now exclusively breastfeeding. Our only issue now is that he's refusing to take a bottle which is making it hard for me to have any freedom!

Naps: No schedule whatsoever during the day, wherever and whenever he feels like it. Hard to get baby #2 on a schedule when your day revolves around baby #1's social schedule.

Sleep: Last feeding around 7, goes to bed around 8 and sleeps until 4!!! Nurses at 4 and then goes back to sleep until 6 or 7. This little guy is going way easier on me than his brother did, who woke up at 12, 2, 4, and 6 every single night until he was about 7 months old.

New stuff: Smiling and cooing which is awesome. Recently discovered his hand which has quickly become his favorite chew toy.

Are you ever lying in bed, just about to fall asleep when you hear a sound? Your heart stops and you lie there quietly...listening. Was it my imagination? Did I really hear something? Then you hear it again. And you try to stay so quiet, you don't dare make a sound, for fear of calling attention to yourself. Then you realize you have to go to the bathroom but there's no way you can get up now. And of course your throat starts to tickle and you want to cough so badly but you can't risk making a sound.

That's what it's like having a 2 month old sleep in a bassinet a foot away from your bed.