Don't Push Me

Summer colds are the worst and my 3 year old always manages to catch one. I'm especially freaked out this year because of the baby. My mother says "Keep them away from each other." Oh ok. I suppose the baby and I will should move out of the house just to stay away from the 3 year old. It's near impossible to keep them apart. We're all living and breathing (and sneezing) the same air. Then my mother proceeds to say "You know how terrible a cold is for a baby? Their noses are so little and they have a hard time breathing." Thank you mom! Now I'm even more freaked out. She knows I don't handle illness well. If mother knows best, why is mother trying to push me over the edge?

The Joy of 3

It's been quite some time since I posted so let me see . . . where to begin. Baby boy #2 is sleeping through the night. He's 12 weeks old today - woo hoo - and he really is a good sleeper. He's still sleeping now and it's 7:45am. He did wake up at about 5am but was back in his crib by 5:30am. I really can't complain, but of course I will. It is exhausting during the day with 2 little ones. The 3 year old really keeps me going. He gets bored so easily and constantly wants to do something. He is in desperate need of a playmate, someone his own age. The husband and I try to keep him entertained but we have other things to take care of and just can't play with him all day. I have been taking the boys out to parks and playdates, but the baby doesn't always cooperate. Plus it's been very hot lately and I don't want to keep the baby out in the heat for long periods of time. It's a fine balance between reason and insanity when it comes to deciding what to do for the day. Right now I'm trying to figure out if we should head out today. Maybe to a store where it's nice and cool inside. But then I'll only spend money I shouldn't on things we don't need. If we go out early in the day, when we get home the 3 year old wants to know "Now what?" I swear there are mornings when he comes downstairs out of bed and asks me that question. Life is simply constant entertainment for him. Oh to be 3 again!

What Pain?

While I'm in bed last night nursing baby boy #2, I'm watching yet another reality show on TLC about parenting called "5 Under 5." This is about a lesbian couple who have a 4 year old daughter, 2 year old twin boys and are having another set of twin boys, all by the same donor sperm. Interesting to me for some reason. I must have caught the first episode because the pregnant mom was now in labor and giving birth in the hospital. As I'm watching the first baby come out and get swaddled in that infamous hospital blanket, something strange starts to happen to me. I start to well up and tears fill my eyes. What the hell is this emotion I'm feeling?!? No, it can't be. Instead of feeling grateful that I no longer have to go through what this woman is enduring, the pain, the anxiety, I'm feeling that tug at my heart. You know that tug that every mom gets at some point, otherwise she wouldn't be a mom. That longing, that "Awww" moment. All of this as I'm nursing my 2 month old. Hello? He's only 2 months. I swore off having another child after the nightmare I endured for 9 months and then the hideous labor I had. Am I insane? I'll say it again - HE'S 2 MONTHS OLD! He's still a baby - a big, smiling baby, but a baby nonetheless. I'm hoping this was a fleeting moment in time and I don't experience that emotional longing again. You see, this is what happens. Women forget the agony and continue to have more children. I must remember the pain. I must remember the pain. I must remember the pain. If I keep repeating it, maybe it will work.

Octo-money

I believe I posted a while ago that the Octomom was going to get her own reality show. Honestly, for $250k I don't blame her. That's a lot of money, but that's over a 3 year period. She has 14 children so when you break it down, that's not that much money. If you do the math, that's $5900 per year per child. I think you could easily spend $6k on a child in one year. Do I agree with what she did - having a bazillion children and no job or husband? No, of course not. But at least she's getting paid by a production company and not the taxpayers. I don't want to pay for her 14 children, and I shouldn't have to pay for them. But there's something that stinks about putting your kids on television for entertainment and they have absolutely no say about it. Especially when some of them are disabled. And who knows how many of the octuplets will have disabilities. We'll probably see that unfold on TV each week. That just doesn't seem right. I really shouldn't judge how other moms choose to raise their children. I have days when I'm not the greatest mom in the world. Thank God I don't have cameras filming me though.

Roll Overdrive

Baby boy #2 isn't even 2 months old yet and he already turned over from his back to his tummy for the first time last night. This child just wants to go, go, go. I thought my first was active - yikes! I'm in for it with these two boys. I hope I can keep my cool as they grow up. I fear I'm going to spend the rest of my life yelling "Don't do that!" or "Get away from there!" or "Stop it!" I am, aren't I? I know. It's going to be a l-o-n-g road ahead.