In which I answer the question "do you want more?"

For some reason, this question has started to come up again. Maybe it's because my baby is not a tiny little thing anymore. Maybe it's because the two we have are spaced pretty close together. I don't know. I'll be chatting with a stranger in Target  a friend about Colin and Reid, and they'll smile and ask, "Do you want more kids, or are you done?"

I can usually sense just a hint of sarcasm in there. Like they're hoping I'll say, "Yes! I want ALL THE BABIES as soon as possible!" so they can laugh at me behind my back.

The truth is, I really don't know. There are days that I would honestly tell you that two is enough. That we're done. And there are other days... days when no one is sick, and both boys go to bed without a fuss, and everything is right with the world. On those days, I would tell you that yes, I would love a third.

What I do know for sure is that if it's up to us, it won't be any time soon. We've decided to wait it out before we do anything hasty. We are not going to try and get pregnant again anytime soon, but we are also not going to do anything permanent to prevent it. I'm on the pill now, and will keep taking it until we have "the talk," which will likely be years down the road.

So, back to the "do you want more kids" question. If I'm lucky, it will be quickly followed by, "Will you try for a girl?"

The answer to this question may surprise you. While I would be tickled to have a little girl, and buy frilly pink things and headbands with huge bows on them, I love being a boy mom. I really do. Boys are great. Yes, they're crazy, and messy, and they break things, but oh my word are they great. I love having two sons, and between you and me, I would love to be able to have another one. 

Just not right now.

Wordless Wednesday: Two Pieces of My Heart

The Great Paci Purge

We've done it, you guys. We are a pacifier free household.

It's kind of funny how it happened, really. A couple Saturdays ago, we had a babysitter come to the house so we could have a date night. That night, the sitter didn't give Colin his paci, but he went to bed just fine without it. He's been without it at daycare for a while now, but we were still allowing him to have it in bed at home.

That night, we decided that if he could survive one bedtime without it, that it was time just to get rid of it for good.

Someone stole a paci intended for baby brother...

The first couple nights were too easy. The second couple nights you would have thought we were torturing him. After that, things kind of leveled out, and the last two nights he hasn't mentioned it at all. Saturday will mark two weeks since he's used one at all, so it's safe to say we're done.

Since Reid still won't take a pacifier at all (he prefers his thumb or a blankie to suck on), I think it's time to throw out the few pacis I've kept in hiding.

It feels really good to have a parenting "win" under our belt. Next up? Hopefully, more potty training successes.

I just love this little boy-man so much.

 

Mom hair

Motherhood causes us to make sacrifices. If you're a mom, you know exactly what I'm talking about. We moms have to put ourselves on the back burner pretty much all the time. We are always making sure the kids are fed before we fill our plates. We wear the same pair of jeans until they fall apart, but our kids have more clothes than they can wear. We sacrifice our sleep, our bodies, our social lives... I could go on and on.

The funny thing is, these sacrifices don't always feel like sacrifices. We do these things because we love our children. Yes, we have moments when we feel a little burned out and even resentful, but at least for me, those moments are fleeting and often fade after doing something for ourselves. It doesn't have to be much. A Starbucks run, a hot shower, a date night, a new pair of earrings. Whatever it is that makes us feel a little human again.

One of the things I tend to neglect when there's a baby in the house is my hair. Besides the issue of time (it takes a while to blow dry and style it the way I like it), babies are grabby. As my sister recently put it, "those sticky hands find everything." I don't know about you, but I'm not a big fan of my hair being pulled out in fistfuls. As a result, this is the look I've been sporting on the daily.

{also notice the ugly nursing bra with a gigantic strap}

After having two babies, this is becoming a habit of mine. I grow my hair long while I'm pregnant, give up on it by the middle of the third trimester, and revisit it again when it starts to drive me crazy.

Well, I think that time is coming soon. I think I may be just about ready to take the plunge and get it cut again. Maybe.

Moms, what are some of the sacrifices you've made for your kids?

Of Potties and Growing Boys

When you've got two small children, there's pretty much a new milestone every day. And when you're not the first born, let's be honest - those milestones don't cause as much of a commotion as they did the first time around. Not that they aren't just as special, but the chaos of having a family of four or more just makes parents more... relaxed about these things, in my experience.

Anyway, as a mom I feel it's important to document these milestones so that I can look back later and see what my kids were doing at certain ages. It's also important to take time to celebrate that my babies are growing, thriving and doing new things.

Which brings me to the two most recent reasons for celebration. Reid's big news is that at 7 months, he has started sitting up unassisted. I can't believe how big he is getting! He's at such a funny age where he is curious about everything and wants to touch (and taste) anything and everything in sight.

And as for Colin, well.. I don't have a picture to illustrate this one (haha) but my big guy has started to pee in the potty! The potty training thing has been slow going due to the fact that we have a very strong willed and stubborn boy on our hands, and also because he's in daycare Monday through Friday and it's hard to be consistent. We've decided not to push it because he seems to do better with it when he suggests a trip to the potty. When we prompt him too often, that stubborn streak kicks in and he is adamantly against it.

It's still not happening every day, but next week he'll be moving into the next class at daycare, and his new teacher there is a potty training pro, so I think she'll be a lot of help in getting him to use the potty all the time.

When he does go on the potty, flushing the toilet seems to be his favorite part of the whole thing. Sometimes he will pee a little, flush, sit back down and pee some more, then flush again. If only he understood the concept of saving money on the water bill. Oh well, at least we're making some progress, right?

There really is something new every day at our house. Soon, Reid will be crawling and cutting teeth, and who knows what new things Colin will be doing in the coming months. Time flies.

What milestones are you celebrating today?

 

Reid is 7 months old!

At 7 months old, Reid:

• is still toothless.
• has the biggest, most amazing smile.
• can sort of sit up unsupported, but starts to tip after a couple minutes.
• is very "grabby" and pulls hair, which is why mine is always up right now.
• has the prettiest gray-blue eyes.
• loves to snuggle and to nurse.
• is currently waking twice a night, although he goes back to sleep pretty quickly.
• drinks 7 oz of pumped breast milk at a time while at daycare.
• eats 2 jars of stage 2 baby food each day in addition to his milk.
• loves his big brother so much.
• just started saying "dada."
• rolls from tummy to back and back to tummy like a pro.
• can scoot a little, but hasn't attempted crawling yet.
• is basically an angel baby who has totally stolen my heart. 

Reid, you are going to be a ladykiller one day. I hope you never forget that your mama was your first love.

Colin is 2 1/2!

At 29 months, Colin:

• sleeps well in his big boy bed, but still wants us to lay with him while he falls asleep.
• still uses a pacifier at home to sleep, but doesn't have one at daycare anymore.
• has peed in the potty a few times, but we still have a long road ahead of us in the potty training department.
• often eats like a full grown man. he's a bottomless pit.
• does not like to be told what to do. he is fiercely independent.
• however, he loves his mama very much and hates it when i leave him at daycare.
• is an incredible big brother. he is so, so sweet with Reid and i'm so thankful.
• loves trains, cars, trucks, boats, and big machines.
• does not like to have dirty hands.
• is very expressive, can throw a mean tantrum and has had his fair share of time outs.
• can navigate the iPad all by himself and loves Netflix and YouTube.
• has an amazing vocabulary and memory for a two year old.

Oh how I love you, my silly pumpkin head. I can't wait to see what you'll be like at three!