Right now we are a family of four. Man versus man. Two versus two. Our family feels complete and we don’t have any intention of becoming out-numbered by our kids, unless someone who has a lot more power than we do has other plans. 😉
Our first month as a family of four has been interesting to say the least. It’s been the craziest month ever starting with the fact that we accidentally bought a house the same day we had a baby.
Long story short, we were planning to move and we were working with a builder to build a house, but things weren’t going quite as planned and it was becoming really stressful trying to figure out when and if the house would be ready, when we should sell our house, etc.
Since we were staying local in the weeks prior to the babe making his arrival, we thought we’d just go kill some time and take a peek at a house that came on the market.
…and then we fell in love and bought it. Whoops.
…and then our relator listed our house while we were still in the hospital and sold it within two days of us being home.
So needless to say it’s been hectic, buying and selling a house and having a baby all at the same time. Not to mention this was all during the start of summer at the gym, one of the busiest times of year for us since we train a lot of high school and collegiate athletes.
Ever since we got home from the hospital we have been going non-stop. With inspections, showings, doctors appointments and keeping the house clean (with a newborn and four year old!) we were tired and overwhelmed, but feeling really happy, blessed and excited.
We are ready for the next chapter in our lives even though it wasn’t exactly the plan. We’ve been known to do things in a bit of a funky order (hello having opened a gym and had our first child in the same year!) so why not keep the trend going, right?
Unfortunately, things didn’t stay quite as positive as we also lost someone special in our family this past month. My father-in-law passed away rather suddenly just a few weeks after Drew was born. We are really thankful that he got to meet Drew and got to know CJ for four years, but also sad that he’ll never get to see our boys grow up. Watching a spouse lose a parent is really difficult…I want to take away the pain my husband is feeling, but I feel hopeless since there is nothing I can do.
I try to keep things all positive here on this blog, but I also want to be real. Amidst all of this craziness, I’m focusing on taking time to do what needs to be done to keep my family and myself healthy and happy.
A few other observations on life with two…
I was really worried that I wouldn’t be able to love another child as much as I love Connor. Fortunately, that hasn’t been an issue and my love has developed even more for my big boy as I watch the loving the relationship forming between my two boys. It’s clear they are going to be so much more than just brothers!
I’m much more confident and 10,000 times less anxious and uptight this time around. I am following my instincts more and I’m relishing in the chance to snuggle this babe because I know how quickly time flies. It’s easier to enjoy the journey knowing everything that’s hard right now (lack of sleep, recovering from childbirth, breastfeeding, etc.) gets better. Yes, I will sleep through the night again!
Having a helpful husband is the best. When we are all home, it doesn’t really feel hard having two. We divide and conquer quite well.
When I’m alone with both boys things can get a little dicey at times, but fortunately Connor has been ridiculously patient. I take a lot of walks with the boys so Connor can ride his bike. Everyone is happy to get outside! We also watch way too much Disney Jr. and Nick Jr. right now, but it’s a phase so I’m not stressing too much about it.
Planning and prioritizing is more important than ever. For example, I know many moms say they don’t have time shower, nevermind to exercise and forget about making time to cook healthy dinners. All of these things can happen daily (or on most days) with a lot of planning and a little help. I’ll do a whole post with some helpful tips about eating healthy (hint: food prep when the kids are being good!) and staying consistent with exercise when you have a newborn.
Daycare is amazing. For moms of two, I highly recommend keeping your older child in daycare, preschool or whatever he/she does now if financially possible. It’s great to have one-on-one time with the baby and it’s nice for your big kid to stay in his routine and get some exercise and social interaction!
Breastfeeding hurts less. I still can’t say it always feels good. Some days are much better than others, but I’m much less stressed about the whole feeding situation all this time around. We’re going with the flow…literally. Sorry…TMI?
I now understand the witching hour situation. When it was just Connor I would give him an early tub (around 5pm if we were home or around 5:30pm on days he goes to school). I’d finish making dinner and we’d eat and then relax on the couch for a show or two before bed. Now, Connor hasn’t been napping so he is exhausted by dinner time and Drew eats more during the afternoon and evening. It’s busy and lots of multi-tasking has to happen. When Drew wants to eat, it’s gotta happen asap. He’s not a patient baby when it comes to food. 😉
So far my recovery has been going really well. It feels much easier than my recovery with Connor. I’m not sure if it’s because I was in better shape and gained less weight than I did with Connor, because my labor and delivery was so fast this time, or because I simply had no choice but to keep going with all of the life happenings we’ve had going on.
In my next post I’ll share more about Drew’s first month and how I’m feeling one month after having baby number two! I’m not planning on doing monthly posts about losing the baby weight this time, but I do plan on sharing tips for staying healthy as a mom of two and postpartum fitness in general. I’ll share my progress and training updates from time to time as well.
What questions do you have about life as a new mom of two? Moms, any tips or other observations? Do you want to hear about anything specific when it comes to postpartum fitness and nutrition?
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