6 Weeks Check-up
Today was my six week check-up with the midwives. They check out your junk, weigh you, ask you some "are you suffering from PPD" questions and then send you on your way with birth control (lol... just in case waking up 4 times a night really leaves you with a strong libido). I've been thinking a lot lately about how a second child is different from the first... and this check-up really brought it home.
Last time, with Lilah, the post-partum was such a shock for me. She was a very difficult baby. Now that I have another to compare... there is no comparison. Sure, he gets a little fussy around dinner/bedtime when there are 40 balls in the air at once and Yan and I are doing our damndest to get our needy 2 year old to sleep and maintaining the illusion that "nothing has changed." We've got potty-training regression, attention-seeking behavior, and a typical two year old who is just pushing her boundaries as far as she can before they snap back. But this new child... oi. What a treat. And there are many other things that put me into such a zen-mama state.
Sure I'm tired. Waking up at 12:30, 2/3, 5, 6, 7am is no picnic. And occasionally we get a 2 year old shrieking from her room as well needing someone to fix her hamster bottle (a camelbak rigged to her wall to prevent us from getting her water at night). And this child loves to nurse more than Lilah ever did (every 1-2 hours).
But here's what's different.
I don't mind. I get hangry and tired-cranky occasionally, but it's not the same. I don't have that crazy resentment of loss of freedom. I don't have the immediate knee-jerk response of "oh hell naw! Mom can't be the fixer of all things!" I've already been broken down by someone else. And here's the important part... I look at my two year old and think "holy crap... I remember when she was this big... and now look at her!" and I have the very sure feeling that this will end too soon and I should actually revel in it now as opposed to resent it.
I very clearly remember how long every day on my own was with Lilah when I was home with her on maternity leave and over that first summer. I started counting down until 6pm around 4pm... knowing that reinforcements were coming. Furthermore, I remember those self-righteous people who told me "savor every moment! It goes by so quickly!" and thinking to myself "yeah right... you take a colic baby for a 4 hour screaming fit and tell me how quickly time flies." But it did. It was the fastest-slowest time I've ever experienced.
I'm done having babies... but I can see how this could get addictive***. :)
*** Please note: The only way that I survive these days with two children at this point is with a hell of a lot of help from grandparents. Thank you thank you thank you. I wouldn't be so cushy and comfy if I didn't have that amount of support.
Last time, with Lilah, the post-partum was such a shock for me. She was a very difficult baby. Now that I have another to compare... there is no comparison. Sure, he gets a little fussy around dinner/bedtime when there are 40 balls in the air at once and Yan and I are doing our damndest to get our needy 2 year old to sleep and maintaining the illusion that "nothing has changed." We've got potty-training regression, attention-seeking behavior, and a typical two year old who is just pushing her boundaries as far as she can before they snap back. But this new child... oi. What a treat. And there are many other things that put me into such a zen-mama state.
Sure I'm tired. Waking up at 12:30, 2/3, 5, 6, 7am is no picnic. And occasionally we get a 2 year old shrieking from her room as well needing someone to fix her hamster bottle (a camelbak rigged to her wall to prevent us from getting her water at night). And this child loves to nurse more than Lilah ever did (every 1-2 hours).
But here's what's different.
I don't mind. I get hangry and tired-cranky occasionally, but it's not the same. I don't have that crazy resentment of loss of freedom. I don't have the immediate knee-jerk response of "oh hell naw! Mom can't be the fixer of all things!" I've already been broken down by someone else. And here's the important part... I look at my two year old and think "holy crap... I remember when she was this big... and now look at her!" and I have the very sure feeling that this will end too soon and I should actually revel in it now as opposed to resent it.
I very clearly remember how long every day on my own was with Lilah when I was home with her on maternity leave and over that first summer. I started counting down until 6pm around 4pm... knowing that reinforcements were coming. Furthermore, I remember those self-righteous people who told me "savor every moment! It goes by so quickly!" and thinking to myself "yeah right... you take a colic baby for a 4 hour screaming fit and tell me how quickly time flies." But it did. It was the fastest-slowest time I've ever experienced.
I'm done having babies... but I can see how this could get addictive***. :)
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| My cheesy-smiler milk-addict |
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