A New Mom Again—Eight Weeks In

It’s hard to believe our little Maia was born just eight weeks ago. Before this time I was all sorts of emotions rolled into one (tiny) ball. I can recall the feelings of excitement-fear / joy-anticipation / and giddiness-nervousness that plagued me in varying degrees during the weeks–and days–leading up to our daughter’s birth. I mean, how could I not be? It has been almost four years since I became a first-time mom.

Being a new mom AGAIN is a totally different experience (as it is with every woman, every pregnancy, every child). For me, the pregnancy this time around has been so smooth-sailing past the first 14 weeks (of nausea, vomiting, and even a one-time trip to the ER for hyperemesis gravidarum) that our OB sang praises to me practically every check up for maintaining a healthy weight gain, limiting my sugar intake (though it did not seem like it) and looking great all throughout the pregnancy. And I FELT great… No migraine attacks, no crazy heartburn moments, not even leg cramps! Even labor & delivery was easy (more on Maia’s birth story in a different post!) But in short, this pregnancy was GOLDEN! I’d not hesitate going through it all over again if it were always this easy…

Eight weeks in, I’d say there are countless moments of utter joy in being a second-time mom…with bonding times between Miggz and Maia topping that list. There are also times when things unexpectedly just hit you in the face, things that are to be expected–like the random meltdown moments from big brother Miggz (after all…he’s adjusting to a whole new role as a big brother and a whole new place in the family as no longer the only child among other things)–but that I have not necessarily readied myself for, I admit, despite reading up on “how to prepare the older child for baby no. 2” topics many times over the course of the last few weeks.

Eight weeks in, I’d say I’m now an expert in meeting the physical needs of baby no. 2, having gone through all the feeding-changing-sleeping routine with baby no. 1. I can distinguish between cries and can anticipate baby’s needs in a blink (for the most part). What I’m still learning is this whole new realm of balancing (before it was time between job and family, now, time between two kids). I must say though, I am LOVING every moment of being a full-fledged, full-time mom, thankful to not have the need to work out of the home and just concentrate and enjoy–even LAVISH–in the comfort of our home with not one, but two kids.

I’m loving it so much that, eight weeks in, I can say that I’d do it all over in a heartbeat.

HOORAY for Miguel’s “Early in Bed” Time

I could jump for joy for the rest of the night right now.

My son–who does not go to bed earlier than midnight–has actually fallen asleep out of sheer tiredness and genuine sleepiness. He is now knocked out and asleep, and it looks like it will actually last through the morning.

Officially in bed by 10:30PM. That’s a new record of early for us.

I know for most parents’, and even kids’, standards, anything past ten o’clock is way late for a child’s bedtime. Trust me, ever since his birth, I’ve tried to put Miguel on a sleeping schedule…to little success. I attribute it to his enormous, unlimited amount of energy, our frequent traveling, and, I admit, our lack of discipline in enforcing waking up hours (which results into crazy bed time hours).

You see, I LOVE to sleep. Terrence used to be an early riser, but since being around me, has grown to love his sleep as well. I am NOT a morning person. I don’t wake up early unless I absolutely have to. And I would NEVER wake a sleeping baby, unless we are traveling, or going to church, or have other plans that require following a schedule or having to be somewhere on time. We just indulge in sleep. We let Miggz do the same, allowing him to sleep in as late as he wants to in the mornings. We’ve never had a problem on that front because, like me, he’ll sleep as much as he wants, usually waking up near noon lately. The problem with this arrangement (if you can call it that) is he doesn’t go down for a nap until later. MUCH later. The past few weeks it has been 6 PM. (I know!!! CRAZY!!!) This leads to a really late bed time of past 12 MIDNIGHT on most evenings.

Not normal at all.

So you can see why I am rejoicing right now, finding solace in the quiet of our “after-hours.” It’s SO great!!! I told Terrence earlier that we need more evenings like this. Which simply means we have to have more mornings like this morning, when the three of us were actually up around 7:45 AM (a rarity!) and out of the house by 9:45 AM, and in church by 10 AM. We all had time to bathe, get dressed, and grab a quick breakfast. I even had time to wash and prepare a couple of Miguel’s milk bottles for the road. And we got to church with enough time to park the car a block away, and have Miguel get settled in the toddler nursery prior to the service. It was AWESOME.

We need to wake up early tomorrow.

And the day after that.

And the day after that.

Let’s see WHO will have the willpower to do so. Me, or the baby.

Miguel when he was seven months old. He's ALWAYS been a sleepy-head (just like Mommy).

Looking Back: Miguel @ Eight Months

I was editing some pictures today from a party Terrence, Miguel and I went to almost a year ago. The daughter of one of our fellow church members was having her debutante party, and they asked Terrence to take some pictures at the event. Looking through those pictures again made me look back at that point of my new mommy-hood. Miguel was only eight months then, and he was just showing the first signs of separation anxiety. He was good about it though, until one of our pastors approached him in his stroller at the party, and he cried like I’ve never seen him cry before! Lol…

Terrence took some photos of Miguel and I before we left the house for the party. He looked so cute in his “little man suit” that I just had to share these! The photos are also some of our most poignant mother-son shots, probably because he didn’t want me put him down at all (either that…or he was just knocked out silly!)

Here they are…

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Mommy and Daddy Date Night

It’s not easy to have dedicated “just Mom and Dad” moments between Terrence and I ever since Miguel came along. I mean…we love toting him around everywhere we go (and miss him a LOT when we don’t), but sometimes you just need your “alone” time as a couple to reconnect and remind you both about the pre-baby days.

So tonight, I invited Terrence to go to the movies (we’re lucky enough to have both my mom and dad at home to watch Miguel). It’s been AGES since we’ve been to one, and watching two grown-up flicks in one night definitely felt…exhilarating.

He sat through The King's Speech (my pick).

 

And I sat through The Adjustment Bureau (his pick).

 

It turned out to be a good night :).

Time Capsule

Wow.

I feel like I just went back in time.

I’ve spent the past couple of hours being wide awake and looking for and finding my former blogs. Three of them to be exact. Actually four…because I created a blog on our wedding website as well, which I just remembered about right now. Come to think of it, I know I also have a multiply site account, but I cannot for the life of me remember my user name or password for that one. So five former blogs (this is my sixth).

It’s amazing to believe, but I have actually been blogging for seven years!!! My oldest blog post dates back to November 7, 2003 (guess what blog platform it’s on). Granted there is a HUGE gaping blog hole in their starting from somewhere after around the time Te and I got married to somewhere after Te and I had Miguel (which, incidentally marks the beginning of this blog). I hugely blame my cessation of writing blog posts on Facebook and the ever-present status updates (which are really mini-blogs if you think about it). Oh, and on new motherhood. But I am really glad I blogged again!

I enjoyed re-opening these virtual time capsules and re-reading about my former life. Me, the not-yet-married (but very much in love) chick. Me, who wrote about…LOL…getting old at 22. Me, many, many, many blog posts away from being a Mom. I look back at those blogs and smile, because I knew, even back then, that I wanted to be a Mom. And now here I am, all the more motivated to write again, because I want Miguel to be able to go back in history and read this time capsule I’ve set up for him, so he’ll know how much he’s changed our lives.

Especially mine.

One of my five former blogs was on blogspot.

Operation: Family Schedule

We’ve been in Arizona for almost a month, and I must say the progress that we’ve made is great. We’ve got most of our boxes unpacked (except for those tagged as “new home” for when we eventually move into our own home). Our room and Miguel’s room are pretty much set up. For our room I just need to get to work on organizing our files, a task I wanted to get done in New Jersey but didn’t have time for. For Miguel’s room, we just have a wall border to apply, and his transportation and safari-themed bedroom-playroom will be complete.

Now all that’s left to do is LIVE. BREATHE. ENJOY.

In the time we’ve been here, our days have been pretty much unstructured: lazy mornings, brunches, and no designated bedtime except for Miguel. But after a month, I really feel like it’s time to put some order into things, especially if I want to be a productive SAHM. Here’s a preliminary schedule I’ve drafted:

8 AM – Rise & Shine: Miguel wakes up, takes a bottle. Most days he’ll snuggle and snooze some more for an additional two hours (I’ll try to resist the urge to sleep in with him from now on). I’ll get up, have some coffee while I read for half an hour (emails, Facebook, the morning paper), and contemplate what to prepare for breakfast.

8:30 AM – Can I be a Culinary Queen? Time to cook breakfast. I hope to be able to whip up some goodies from my dusty old cookbooks, deviate from the usual bacon and eggs from time to time.

9 AM – Breakfast. Just some quality time to enjoy the first meal of the day.

10 AM – The First Chores Get Done. Miguel takes another bottle. Clean-up after breakfast. Take out food for lunch to cook/heat up/or thaw.

10 AM to 12 PM – A Two-hour Block for Morning Activities. Playtime… errands… a time to tackle to-do’s.

12 PM – Lunch Prep. Cook rice, etc. This might be a good time to try out those recipes from Giada or Rachael Ray. Miguel takes another bottle (he only drinks 4 oz. at a time, hence, the frequent two-hour feedings).

1 PM – Lunch Time.

2 PM – Clean Up After Lunch. Take out food for dinner to thaw. Another bottle for Miggz.

2:30 PM – Shower Time.

3 PM to 5 PM – Miguel Naps. This is a good time for me to get a break and either nap with him, or work on hobbies I’d like to get back into or start doing (photography, scrapbooking, writing among other things).

5 PM – Dinner Prep. Miguel wakes up from his nap and takes another bottle. Time for me to cook rice for dinner.

5 PM to 7 PM – Evening Activities. Playtime and bonding with the grandparents. A nice two-hour break for me and the hubby to get our own things done.

7 PM – Dinner. Miguel will take another bottle after his meal.

8 PM – TV Time. Fall shows are right around the corner…yess!

9 PM – Evening Bath. Then a final bottle for the day for Miggz.

9:30 PM – Bedtime. Miguel is off to bed. Lights are turned off, and he eventually dozes off.

10 PM – Miguel is Asleep. =)

10 PM to 12 Midnight – Late Evening Activities for Me and Te. Wash and prepare his bottles for the next day, kitchen clean up, maybe more TV, Facebook time, blog updating, etc.

12 Midnight – Lights Out. Time for bed. Tomorrow is another day.