Another WIN as a mother

Is 3:00 PM on a Wednesday an appropriate time to start drinking?

No?

I really wish it were, as I can now take the title of the world worst worst mother.

It was seemingly innocent scenario, we were having lunch with friends who also have a young child and an infant.

MM and the other family were going to the play place at a busy Chick-fil-a on a very very rainy day. As MM was walking to the play place, I notice that she'd peed through her cloth diaper and her leggings. Good, win for me.

Then, and here is when the big one happens, I have been nursing V at our table and see that there was a free seat in the play place area. So I put V into her car seat, not buckling the harness like the horrible mother I am, and start moving thinking I could start nursing her again when I got settled in the play place. Half way through I noticed that the car seat was lighter suddenly, I turn around and there is V on the floor face down in the middle of a Chick-fil-a.

Now, seeing your infant on facedown on the floor in public (or anywhere unexpected) is something that is burned deeeeeeep into your motherly mind. I am fully prepared to have night terrors about it for the coming lifetime.

It took everything in my power not to sit down and cry clutching V in the middle of the fast food joint.

As I was trying to nurse my crying daughter,  I notice that the very helpful and polite Chick-fil-a staff was mopping up behind my chair. Apparently V's last little burping session left a little more than just some spit up on my shoulder. You're welcome teens that had come to do their lunch-time devotionals. This is what you have to look forward to in motherhood.

After going back to a friend's house and letting MM run around bottomless for the rest of our visit, I called the peds office, like a chump, which they told me to of course... watch her and make sure she's acting OK and breathing OK and you should be fine. I also googled this little ditty from Dr. Sears and held her for the rest of her life.

To make ourselves feel better I got her all dolled up in baby jeggings and a headbad because that is dolled up to me.

At one point when I was overcoming my inability to mother. I was thisclose to snapping a picture of MM's urinary ensemble, but thought that was bad taste.

"Leavin' here, arrivin' there"

I figure I should keep up the trend of banging one of these out every blue moon.

We faced our parenting fears this weekend and traveled back to Charlie's grandfathers' stomping grounds in Andrews, SC.

We did have some foresight and split the ride up into ridiculously small legs of 2 hour drives each day. Compared to some of you out there, it's like we're going to the grocery store or something, because we are such scaredy cats for babies crying in the car.

First, we left on Friday night and made the trip to Laurinburg, NC to squat at our friends' house while they were gone for the night.

Not only did was assume they didn't use the A/C, and apparently V hates sleeping with wind on her or something, because she was a real pill that night. I ended the evening by 1/2 sleeping with her snoozing beside me in bed, until I gave in and got up.

Saturday we jumped in the coche' to make it down to Andrews. We got there just in time for lunch and for MM to get attacked by fire ants and ruin everyone's mood for .8475 seconds. Because through her crying, she wanted to jump on the tractor that was among the farm equipment and the 100 acres of farm land.

Nothing like rockin' Lilly among her ant bites. Back to normal.

This is day 3 after the bites, they last a while and are super itchy. She had about 25 bites on both feet and legs. Poor girl, she is such a tough little trooper.

We had a great time celebrating Charlie's Grandfather's 90th birthday. The hospitality was outstanding, including 15 additional grandmother-ish ladies to push the sugar on MM including cookie, cake and icing which she would run over and pop in her mouth before I could stop her.

It was certainly worth the trip south and we may even make the trip again 'round Christmas as they promise pulled pork, and I am certainly fond of the pig.

We did the same wimp-like 2 hour trip back to Laurinburg to camp out with our friends who were there and also showed us fabulous hospitality. We even got one of those cliche' bath time pictures.

Ruthie loves to drink bathwater and was working on some beard action to keep up with her dad's outstanding beard.

Back at the homestead we're back to lovely play dates (LOVING THEM! Let's keep them coming!) and weekly (sometimes bi-weekly) trips to the library where MM uses them also as a playground, and I sweat to keep V from crying because, hello, we're at the library and I imagine a crying baby isn't the norm.

My goal this week has been to get a handle on V's naps and clean the bathrooms. I can confidently say I've done neither. I have one day left.

AND, Charlie and I will be going to dinner without either babe, for the first time this weekend. Wish me, V, and my soon-to-be-busting boobs luck that we all survive.

6 weeks

6 weeks, 6 long tear-filled weeks. Someone told me the first 6 weeks are like baby-bootcamp and then things start getting better. Did they mean, like right when you hit 6 weeks, or more like 7. Because things getting better now would be perfect.

I guess I was just fooling myself when I thought things were getting better around here, they are not.

I think we had a little glimpse of what good sleeping and napping was like, but then all hell broke loose at nighttime and I've only almost cried twice this morning thinking about how frustrated I am with the whole thing. Anyone who has solid advice on what to with an infant who dislikes the big aden and anais swaddles, SwaddleMe swaddles, Ergobaby Swaddlers. PLEASE LET ME KNOW. Because the frustration is real.

I will say daytime is getting better, we get to play more and have awake - stare at each other- time, which is great. But God knows I'd love to get a smile or something. I mean give me a LITTLE SOMETHING.

I constantly worry that something is wrong, because we haven't smiled or cooed or had more than 45 second of tummy time. As much as I don't want to brag, MM was a perfect little baby in a majority of aspects. Which makes this little one SO MUCH HARDER.

To make matters worse, I was trying to feel like a person again (why even try, right?) and start working out with a kettlebell. I believe I was doing some things wrong initially and really hurt my shoulders, which has become a rectorial thorn in my side (shoulder) for the last week. Which doesn't make sleeping, picking up a 30 pound toddler or even a 12(?) pound infant any easier.

Now, on the bright side, MM has been a semi-wonderful toddler through this whole thing, and breastfeeding has been nearly the pill it was for MM's newborn-hood so that is all good. Had it been as hard, there would have been lots more problems. Days are going by quickly which have been leading to the dreaded evening/nighttime. We have been scheduling playdates for the mornings which have been excellent (and anyone that wants to plan one, hit me up! We will travel to you too! did that sound desperate? oh well) but I'm sure are no good for napping.

What else? Sleeping frustration, physical pain, house a complete mess... I think that about covers it.