Back In the Saddle Again...

Yes, I'm blogging again. I've been meaning to for a really long time and I just haven't made it a priority. Pregnancy made me really tired (lazy) and new motherhood has kind of kicked my butt, but no more excuses!!

Here's an update from the past 7-8 months or so...I was pregnant, had a baby, and now I'm learning about life with two girls. Elise Danielle was born July 26 at 7:05 am via C-section, just like her big sister. She weighed 7 pounds and was 20 1/4 inches long (though she was likely shorter than that--you try stretching out an hours-old baby to see how long she is).

We opted for another C-section because it was the safest way to go, but I was kind of bummed about it. As strange as it sounds, I wanted to experience labor pains, if only just a little. The idea of a totally scheduled C-section, which sounds ideal to many women, was a bit disappointing to me. I held out hope that I'd go into labor on my own, then we'd drive to the hospital for the C-section. I sort of got my wish. I did have a few very minor pains in the weeks before Elise was born, but nothing severe or consistent. So bright and early Thursday, July 26 (exactly one week prior to my due date) Eric and I checked in to the hospital. They quickly got me hooked up to all the machines and pumped me full of fluids (just to ensure I looked nice and plump in all our pictures), and lo and behold...we discovered I was in labor. I started feeling a few pretty intense pains during the two hours before our surgery. So as it turned out, I felt a few labor pains and Elise kind of came out on her own time. Maybe a few hours early. Here is our newest precious baby girl:

 

That was ten weeks ago. Here is a more recent picture:

As expected, her big sister just LOVES her. So much so that sometimes I have to make sure she naps in places where Lanna can't reach her. I'm just thankful she isn't jealous. Here they are together:

 

Anyway, she's a sweetie little baby and sleeps like a CHAMP!! I give her one last feeding around 10:30 pm and she sleeps until 6:30 am--and she has been doing this for more than a month now.

Lanna is back in school now as a totally new kid! Her teachers tell me that gone is the quiet, shy little girl from last year, replaced by a cute, outgoing little jokester. Who knew? I love it!

Okay, enough of this. I promise I'll be back to posting normal stuff again, not just kid stuff. It's hard not to mention the major changes in my life since my last post so long ago. Thanks for reading!

The Terrible Threes

Yep, you read that right, The Terrible Threes. Parents of any child that is 3+ are nodding their heads with me on this one. Non-parents and parents of under threes are probably going, "What?! I've always heard of the Terrible Twos."

Three hit us hard in this household. Thankfully, we were prepared for it thanks to those "Just Wait 'Til" parents who said, "Just wait 'til she turns three. Three is worse than two." While I still don't like any statement that begins with that phrase (see this previous blog post), that advice did at least prepare us for what was to come.


You still get the falling-on-the-floor, crying tantrums, but you realize that at age two they were still a little cute. At three, well, some days kids make you just want to lock yourself in a room, simply because locking them in a room is frowned upon. My kid is just downright obstinate.

As frustrating as it can be, I came to the realization the other day that while at three the lows may be pretty low, but the highs are even higher. She may make me want to bash my head into the wall, but then I'll watch her on the playground chatting it up with new friends she's made and marvel at how just six months ago she would have only played near them. She may have spent most of her twos telling Daddy she only wanted Mommy, but now when Daddy comes home she runs into his arms and yells, "Daddy I LOVE you!" Yep, at three, the highs are pretty high.

Just Wait 'Til...

With school starting yesterday for many people, I know a lot of parents out there feeling a little bit wistful about their babies growing up. Whether it's the first day of kindergarten, the first day of high school or anywhere inbetween, it's an important new beginning every year. And with that new beginning comes the need to commiserate. We all need to do it on occasion. Whether it's something we're dealing with at work, a tough time with our kids or significant other, sore muscles from a new workout routine or whatever is challenging us at the time. Everyone has a need to just sit down and vent and whine to a friend willing to lend a sympathetic ear. But I'm curious, does anyone else get as incredibly annoyed as I do when that friend begins his/her response with the phrase "Just wait 'til..." That phrase is almost never followed with something positive like, "Just wait 'til your daughter is potty trained and then you'll save tons of money on diapers and pull ups." No, it's usually something like, "You think potty training is frustrating? Just wait 'til she is potty trained and then you have to make a mad dash to the bathroom everywhere you go." Or, "Your kid is cute now, but just wait 'til she turns 11 and is embarrassed of everything you do."

Yes, most of my examples are from parents commiserating about parenting things because I think we are the absolute worst offenders of this. There are continuous ups and downs during the parenting experience, but why do we feel the need to tell other parents of how it gets worse? What's with the one-upping? Why can't we just let someone express their frustration and just nod along or offer helpful suggestions and words of encouragement? This makes me think of the It Gets Better Movement, which began following a startling number of suicides amongst GLBT teens. Most of us are probably familiar with it, but if you're not, it's a collection of user-submitted videos featuring celebrities and everyday people sharing words of encouragement about how life gets better after the bullying and general anxiety about fitting in during high school. Why can't everyone do this for each other?

We're all guilty of it. I'm sure I've done it, but soon after I had my daughter I discovered how often we use this phrase. Let's all try to be a little more mindful of how discouraging these words are. Next time a friend is commiserating about a challenge he or she is facing, resist the urge to say anything that begins with the phrase "Just wait 'til..." Instead, remember the golden rule and find something encouraging to say.