Life with Two...Thoughts after 1 Month & 4 Days...

Alright, so while having a newborn and toddler is not as hard as I thought it would be, it is CRAZY.   I think (actually, I know) it will get a bit easier once we are no longer zombies (please tell me this kid will start sleeping through the night soon?) because having two demanding little beings attached to you on top of being EXHAUSTED at all times is just ridiculous.

Here's the thing.  There is NO DOWN TIME.  None.  Having just a newborn is hard and super time consuming as it is...constantly feeding, changing, washing (it's not like a 2 year old, who you can just throw a couple goldfish at if she gets snacky).  But then you add in a toddler, who wants water, play doh, to draw, to watch Super Why, to go outside, to sit on your lap, to be held- you are always tending to someone.

Everett is easier than Ella in terms of not projectile vomiting 100 times a day and not screaming all night long, but I think he is much needier than Ella.  She was perfectly content sitting in her boppy during the day.  She would drink her bottle in 5 or 10 minutes.  Everett gets fussy when he is alone- he is perfectly content as long as you are holding him.  Seriously, if you held him all day long (which I feel like I do!), you probably wouldn't even have to feed him.  He also takes much longer to eat than Ella did.  Sometimes he'll pound his bottle, but he usually takes his sweet time, as half the bottle dribbles down his chin and neck, and I try to balance him, the bottle, and a burp cloth while trying to wipe up the milk before it settles in the creases of his neck.

So if you wonder why I don't answer the phone or respond to texts right away, it's probably because I'm either feeding Everett (which requires both hands and most of my concentration!), or I'm holding him while at the same time trying to load/unload the washing machine; wash dishes; get in a quick email or blog post; or paying attention to Ella.  Oh, or if Ella is at school and Everett actually lets me set him down, I may be napping. :)

Anyway, along the lines of my post, this blog post from "Parenting Illustrated with Crappy Pictures" cracked me up.  Especially this part: Go to bed. I can't handle one more minute of this parenting thing. I have to do this again tomorrow! How can I handle another day like this one? Nobody is listening to me!  We all have those days (often?) where you put the kids to bed early because you just can't take another minute of parenting and then think how you have to do it all again tomorrow!!

So I pasted the post here for your enjoyment...

the uppers & downers of parenting (or, coffee & wine)

I am a drug addict. I use uppers and downers.
But only to make me a better parent.
I never drank coffee before I had kids. At least not in a "Fresh Pots!" sort of way. We didn't even own a coffee maker.
Back in those days, I looked down upon anyone who needed coffee in the morning. The more they required it the less I thought of them. They were weak. Slaves to the bean. Didn't they know it is a drug they are addicted to? Just stop drinking that shit and then you won't need it.
Then I had two kids.
Kids wake-up with energy. Kids wake-up with loudness.
Kids wake-up too f****** early.

No I will not play with you. Go away. I need coffee.
After coffee:

I don't need it. But they need me to have it.
I'll stop drinking it just as soon as they stop waking me up before the rooster crows.
(We don't actually have a rooster. Did you think we did when I wrote that? That would be cool. Maybe I should take this out and let you think we have a rooster.) 
So that is my little helper pick-me-upper in the morning. 
 And then there is the evening.
Sometimes, after an especially rough day, I'm stressed out at night.
Everything sets me on edge. I'm a bundle of nervous thoughts.

Go to bed. I can't handle one more minute of this parenting thing. I have to do this again tomorrow! How can I handle another day like this one? Nobody is listening to me!
But then my husband hands me a glass of wine.
After wine:

Again, I don't need it. But they need me to have it.
So that is my occasional little calm-me-downer in the evening.
Coffee & wine. My unsung parenting tools.