Yesterday, April 4th, was Headbanger's first birthday! I'd been looking forward to it for a while. I can't believe that she's a whole year old, but even more so, I can't believe that we've both survived this long. I can't believe that I've survived (mostly) stay-at-home motherhood for this long. And not only have we survived, but I think that we've done pretty well.
Eating the cake.
Other than the two bumps on her head, which seems to be magnetically attracted to the coffee table, and the eczema on her knees, she's perfectly formed and retains all of her original fingers and toes. She nearly always sleeps through the night, eats her vegetables and is a happy kid.
During the first few months, I wasn't sure that I was going to make it. At three months old, it was still taking an hour and a quarter to feed her and she ate eight times a day - for a combined total of 10 HOURS OF EATING PER DAY EVERY DAY! I was losing my mind as I spent the majority of my waking hours glued to the same spot on the sofa. Now, it takes about 5-10 minutes for her to gulp down a bottle (5 or 6 times a day) and about twenty minutes to eat solid food (twice a day). We made it! I really didn't think I would.
The three of us and Flashlight's parents visited England when Headbanger was three and a half months old. When we got back, she refused to nap during the day and after two weeks, we were both going crazy. She was exhausted and I was at my wits end trying to get her to sleep. In a moment of desperation, I ran to the library and checked out "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" and read it in an afternoon. I started implementing its advice the next day and life improved dramatically over the following week.
When I started teaching my class in August, I thought it would make life harder for everyone. But teaching forced me to implement more of a schedule and Headbanger responded very well to this. Teaching also got me out of the house and forced me to do something intellectual twice a week. Instead of a burden, it was a lifesaver.
The biggest test of my sanity has been pregnancy. I couldn't believe that I was pregnant so soon after having Headbanger Fortunately, morning sickness only lasted 12 weeks instead of four and a half months. Headbanger has also become more dependent in the last month or two and doesn't need me to entertain her continually. I don't have as much energy as I'd like, but I'm much more functional this time around. At this stage in pregnancy with Headbanger it was all I could do to get off of the sofa and do anything. This time around, I'm able to take care of her, take care of myself, keep on top of the laundry, dishes and floors, teach a class, volunteer at the local art museum and run a cub scout group.
I guess that I didn't know what I could do. I was terrified at the beginning of this pregnancy that it would be just like the last. And the last was hard enough to make me consider never having another child. But I did it! The three of us have survived each other and we're on our way to becoming four. I am genuinely looking forward to the new baby.
1 comments:
WOW! You are so together. I was such a mess at the stage you are in now. There is no way I could have taught and class or kept nursing if I was feeding for 10 hours a day. You should feel really great about yourself that you are able to do the things you need to do as a homemaker and also as an intellectual. You really do have the best of both worlds. It does get harder to balance everything once you have more than one child. I think the thing that saved me was scheduling their naps at the same time so I could either take a nap or have an hour or two to myself. Yay for you Chicken Little!!!!!!!
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