Posts Tagged ‘two under two’
Aquarius
When I learned I was pregnant with Jimmy in May of 2008 I was in serious shock for a while. I literally cried on and off for weeks, I just could not wrap my head around the idea that I was having another baby. I still HAD a baby. Chase was 9 months old when I became pregnant. I was weaning him off the bottle, but now instead of packing them away I was moving them to a higher shelf. I was pregnant.
Right after Chase had his first birthday in July, we transitioned him to a twin bed(which he adored) after he began to climb out of his crib. Instead of taking the crib down, it was simply moved to another wall in the nursery. I was 3 months pregnant.
Fall came and with it came beautiful weather in Pennsylvania. I love fall. Sweater weather is my favorite time of year, just cool enough to need long sleeves but not a jacket. Jim, Chase and I were all in a wedding in October, and Chase was the best little ring bearer ever. Chase loves to play outside and I did my best to keep up with his 15 month old self. He had adventures that needed tending to…I was just along for the ride. I was 6 months pregnant.
The Holidays arrived in a blur of activity that year. I was getting bigger and bigger every day and my February 10th due date was looming. I tried to concentrate on Chase, making this a special time for him. I felt bad that his world was about to be turned upside down, and he just was not at an age yet where I could explain it to him. I was still working weekends as a bartender. I was 7 months pregnant.
New Years Eve Day. I went to my lady bits/baby doctor because I felt awful. She checked me, not expecting to really find anything. She then informed me I was 3cm dilated and needed to head over to L&D for monitoring. I was 34 weeks pregnant. My girlfriend drove me to the hospital, and the looming threat of a premature birth loomed in my head. I was hooked up to the monitors and luckily sent home, but on bed rest until delivery. Chase was 17 months old and I was on strict bed rest.
January 17th. Chase gets croup and we land ourselves in the ER at 3am for a breathing treatment. I am 4cm at this point and crying because I don’t know what to do if I have the baby before Chase gets better.
January 24th. Chase is 18 months old.
January 26th. I am 5cm dilated but not in labor (whaaaaaaaaaat?)
January 27th, 2009. My baby makes his way into this world and into our hearts. Born at exactly 38 weeks, 6lb 12oz and healthy.
Happy Birthday James Mason. My Jimmy Jamboree. The Jamster. Jimmy Bo-bimee. Little J. Jimbo Junior.
I love you.
Posted in Uncategorized | 
Tags: babies, family, Jimmy, Love, momin' it up, sons, two under two | 
8 Comments »
Couch Potato
Sometimes I really miss watching TV.
I miss sitting down, having anticipated a new show all week, and anxiously watching. I don’t miss commercials (DVR, will you marry me? I’ll have a million of your babies.) I don’t really get to watch TV anymore. I have about 3 weeks worth of Day’s of Our Lives unwatched, and I haven’t yet caught up on last weeks Gossip Girl or One Tree Hill. Sigh.
And it’s not because I’m too busy to watch them. It’s not because I don’t want to watch them.
It’s because a toddler now controls the remote. How did that HAPPEN??
I started to notice it when C was about 18 months old. He has always liked the Backyardigans(kill me now), so if I needed to hop in the shower, or do dishes or home work I could pop it on and he was set. He was always limited on the amount of TV he watched and it wasn’t a huge deal.
That all changed. Suddenly, you would put an episode on and he would go into an epic meltdown and start handing the remote back to you. My 18 month old was picking the episode. Not cool, not cool at all. So for the next month or so, we watched ONE episode…over and over and over.
It hasn’t gotten any better. I am not proud to admit that my little man watches too much TV. He does. Having kids 18 months apart, being in school and working makes it so there are times during the day when I HAVE to be able to sit and get stuff done. When J was a newborn, it was the only way I survived him having colic and an 18 month old. My kids don’t nap at the same time, which means when the baby goes down for his long nap in the morning, I often use the TV as a way to keep C out of my hair.
I hate it.
I wish I could be using that one on one time with him better, but I have to get my work done. I just have to. Now he doesn’t sit in front of the TV with a glazed look in his eye doing nothing. He is building blocks and racing cars, but the TV keeps him occupied and in the living room.
The problem is what happans when you turn the TV off, or *GASP* change the channel to something that doesn’t make me want to chuck the flat screen through the window.
We are talking meltdowns like WHOA. It is crazy. Then, because my patience is low from having an almost 8 month old who apparently doesn’t need sleep, I give in and put it back on for “Just one more show”. I’m sure you can see where this is going.
I hate the TV battle, hate it. I am almost relieved that he will be at his nanny’s house a few days a week and occupied by her son, hopefully that will help break him of the want to have it on all the time.
In the meantime…the kid almost knows more numbers in Spanish than English. Damn Dora.
Packing Schmacking
I am in the process of packing our family of 4 for a week at the beach. You can hate on me all you want…but I NEEDZ HALP! I feel like I am going to forget something vital for the boys. How the hell do you pack a not quite 2 year old and a 5 month old for a week away…in a small SUV no less. Crapola.
So I have eleventy billion lists spread around me house so I can add things right as I think of them and I think I have all the basics. You know, bottles, formula, cups, diapers, wipes…all the good stuff.
I want to hear what YOU would pack for your kids for a week at the beach! I really need some idea for entertainment that doesn’t take up a ton of room..especially for Jimmy.
If you guys do a good job and save me some room…I’ll take one of you in my suitcase!
AND GO
It’s harder than I thought…but easier too.
I get asked alot about my boys. People want to know how old they are, and how far apart. I always answer the same way:
“They are almost exactly 18 months apart.”
It seems like the majority of responses to that are negative. People say things like:
“Yikes”
“Have fun with that”
“Poor You”
And other very encouraging things. Most of the people that react like this are strangers. The cashier at the grocery store, the librarian or the salesperson at the shoe store.
I don’t get it. Who says that to someone they don’t know?
I love having them close together. Sure it is hard. The first few weeks after Jimmy was born I was in hell. I cried every night and really didn’t see how it was possible to give myself to my toddler, who had just dealt with me being on bed rest for 5 weeks, and a colicky newborn.
My husband also wasn’t able to take much time off of work so pretty much straight away…I was on my own at home. I had some help, my mother in law brought me dinners and would take Chase for some alone time during the day and gave me time to bond with Jimmy. That was the greatest gift I could have received.
It’s easier now than I thought it was going to be. The boys are on a good schedule and now that Jimmy is over being a colicky mess of an angry baby, things are looking up!
Now it’s the little things that are hard. Grocery shopping? Not a chance with the two of them. A quick trip to the pharmacy? Nope. How about a Dr’s appointment for one, without a sitter for the other? Not on your life.
My time at home with them, which is MOST of the time, is fine. We have fun and everyone is happy. Time not at home, no matter where it may be…always has the potential to be disastrous. That is hard.
But as Chase’s 2nd birthday approaches I realize I am not going to be the Mom of two boys under two anymore. That has been a defining factor of my life these last 4 months. I’ve used it as an excuse to get out of things…and I’ve said it with pride for my boys. I love them and they are my world.
So yes, my boys are 18 months apart, and yes it’s hard. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.
