Ivy is two months old today and I just realized that now because I'm
not very bright really tired.
Sleep was the theme of the week. Every morning Rob and I go over the events of the previous night. "How did you sleep?" "OK. Not great. You?" "OK." And the comes the math: how many hours we were in bed divided by the number of wakings, carry the three hours when Ivy decided she wasn't hungry but she wasn't sleepy either, which makes...not very much sleep.
When Rob and I curl up in our king-size bed, it seems luxurious. Add a baby, a preschooler, and a fat kitty to the mix and things become clown-car cramped. I sleep with everything drawn in tightly and (I hope) out of everyone else's personal space, and wake up with knots in muscles I'd forgotten about.
It's fine, though. Really fine. And I'm not just saying that in a blow-you-off-I'm-suffering-and-don't-want-to-talk-about-it way. We're doing really, really well on rest. Ivy is working on getting a good five-hour block of sleep after we first put her down. I'm working on remembering that not every little squawk means "I'm hungry and I need you!" Rob and I each drink a strong cup of coffee in the morning, and at night, we go to bed when the kids go to bed.
This postpartum period, I taught myself early on to prioritize sleep above all things. It worked. I can tell because I start yawning at 8:15 PM.
Rob went back to work full-time on Tuesday. I'd gotten very used to having him home in the late afternoons, and I really felt his absence. Late afternoon is when everyone loses their cool. Westley is whiny, Ivy is fussy, I'm at the end of my energy. I don't like resorting to turning on the TV and leaving it on, but I feel like my current options are limited.
Ivy continues to be a total peach of a baby. She's very particular about certain things (if I try to feed her when she's tired, she howls angrily at me), and prefers being held whenever possible. Ivy's not as laid back as Westley was as a baby, but she's very clear about her needs which bumps her back into the "easy baby" column. Or maybe she just seems like an easy baby because this is the second time around, so I'm not flabbergasted by every little baby-thing she does.
After weeks of summery September and Septembery October, Fall arrived on Friday. It was cool and drizzly and Westley got to wear his rad Batman raincoat that I spent way too much money on, but fuck it he loves it so much and it really is the coolest little kid raincoat I've seen in a long, long time. I dressed Ivy in a ridiculous pajamas-Babylegs-socks ensemble, topped off with a hat that turned out to be too big and kept slipping off. I was so afraid she'd freeze, but she was cozy against my body in the Ergo carrier, and I ended up warming my hands in the space between the carrier and the infant insert.
I also decided that, to celebrate my seventh Fall and Winter in the Pacific Northwest, I will finally break down and buy the ugly, bulky gear that actually keeps a person warm when it's cold outside. I might even buy it from the outdoorsy store with the climbing wall—though I'm certain the real outdoorsy people will know I'm a faker and laugh at me. I don't care. I want to be able to walk to the park with my kids in the snow.
My mother thinks Ivy's eyes might be hazel. I've never been totally clear on what hazel eyes are supposed to look like. Ivy's eyes look brownish-blue-grey to me. (Westley's eyes are bright blue, and they were definitely blue at two months.) Before she was born, I dreamed about a brown-eyed blond toddler girl. Ivy looks nothing like I imagined, and everything like herself.
.....................................
5 comments:
I was also just contemplating the need to buy an actual raincoat! Lived in Oregon all my life but never remember to get stocked up on proper jackets, shoes, or umbrellas (gasp) when fall arrives. Now with two little ones to tote to Daycare every morning, I think I have to get it together. (I'm also scared of the whole REI experience!)
Oh sleep. Sweet sweet sleep. The thought of a 5 hour chunk sounds like the most incredible thing right now. And I must say, little Ivy is looking awfully cute these days. :)
So many thoughts, but can I start with the fact that when I visited Seattle to go to a friend's wedding the REI store was actually on my list of places to go? :) And it is an awesome REI. And yeah, I am borderline outdoorsy but even from the border I can tell you that we are generally not a judgmental but more of a , 'come and get your gear on' kind of bunch!
She is so cute. I thought I had an easy baby and now when I see friend's with new babies that will sit in a bouncer or be passed around I realize that I think I had a fussy baby... but we worked together and he is now a pretty mellow toddler so I win (right?). I hope you guys get a bit more sleep and keep feeling like it's all working... and get that warm coat!
The husband and I were talking recently how we KNOW we're done having babies, because the idea of doing the newborn stage again sends us both into spasms of terror.
Of course, our last kid has always completely refused sleep. Like it's evil.
Her eyes look brown to me. Two of my kids have brown eyes, and they looked like Ivy's. I have one with hazel eyes and they started out that baby blue, then turned green, and are now hazel.
Neither of my kids fit into what I tried to imagine they would look like either. With Audrey, I thought it would be much easier to imagine and that I'd just get a girl-version of Julian. But that didn't happen either! Babies are tricky like that.
Westley is looking more mature than ever in these pictures. Being a big brother seems to have brought out the wise-old-owl quality in his pictures because he looks like he's got some seriously deep thoughts happening inside that head.
Post a Comment