The Truth About Our Life With 2

So the past month has been...interesting, we will go with interesting. Don't get me wrong I am head over heels in love with my little guy, he is the sweetest, squishiest, loveliest little boy in the world. Like I said I never worried that I wouldn't be able to love him as much as Lydia but I was not prepared for how to handle a 2 year old and a newborn and all that comes with it.

I want to remember this time so that if/when we decide to add to our family I will not be looking through rose colored glasses at the "seamless" "effortless" transition of growing our family because neither of those words fits the last month.

2 year olds are hard, newborns are hard (but not as hard as said 2 year old) put them together in the same house after only days of knowing the others existence in this world and you have a complete breakdown of the family dynamic, routine, and system you once knew. Lydia likes her brother, I wouldn't say loves or adores but she likes him, she thinks he's pretty cool sometimes but she didn't think mom was real cool for bringing him into this world. There was a complete break in communication between me and Lydia, she did not listen to me, she actually did the opposite of anything I asked, she ran in the other direction of me because she knew mommy's boo boo made me slow and less likely to hunt her down to change her 2lb saggy diaper butt or wipe that booger crusted toddler face.

Lydia also decided she no longer wanted to sleep in her big girl bed, we had a dream baby sleeping 4 hours for some stretches straight off the bat and here I am up for 2 hours chasing the big sister back into her bed, re-tucking, re-reading the bedtime story, crying, screaming....you get the point. So her crib slat went back up. Crisis averted for now except my ego as a mother is totally crushed, FAILURE much?? but at least we sleep when Garrett sleeps.

We now look like a three ringed circus anytime we leave the house, diaper bag packed for toddler and newborn check, massive double stroller check, wipes in said diaper bag... CRAP! yup I've gone to the park had both kids poop their pants and had 1 wipe left in the wipe case :) Not to mention anytime we go anywhere now we have to be prepared for the massive- omg- the world is ending tantrum from Lydia because she doesn't want to leave. Forget sweet hugs and kisses goodbye when it's time to go we have to already have Garrett strapped in and ready to go then put the girl over our shoulders and high tail it out of there before her scene causes stares and concern for bodily harm.

Now don't get me wrong, there are fantastic moments, the first time Lydia asked to hold Garrett I thought my heart would explode at the love I had for those two little humans that I help to create, the first time she actually introduced him to a visitor as her brother and "her Garrett" , when she asks me to go check on her Garrett or "bring my Garrett with us", those moments are priceless and make me so hopeful of what is to come. I want to enjoy my sweet boy in these newborn squishy moments because I am already all to aware of how fast he is growing but time can only help make this transition easier and maybe one day it will take reading back at this post to remember just how hard this was.

Oh and just to add to our madness I decided to try our hand at potty training :) Yes I am CRAZY but two in diapers is expensive and I would love for her to be potty trained before I go back to work, might not happen but a mom has to dream.

More on those and other adventures to come, for now I am going to try my best at loving and hoping my kids show me a little grace as I figure this whole juggling two kids thing. They sure are a blessing to my life though even in the chaos and tears.