Knock, Knock: Shit Happens March 17, 2010

For the last couple of weeks I’ve been walking around feeling like the punchline to some crazy parenting joke.  What do you get when you cram a family with 3 children under the age of 5 into a tiny house with 2 busy parents and 2 aging dogs?  A lot of poopy messes….that’s what!

I had somehow forgotten just how much an infant poops, and pees, and poops…you get the picture.  We should own stock in diapers…it isn’t uncommon to be changing a diaper and have new poop oozing straight into the fresh diaper.  Every mom knows and loves the poop up the back explosions, and I don’t know what YOUR baby’s ca-ca is like, but this breastfed baby has the staining power of I don’t know what.  Is it weird to actually have a designated scrubbing device devoted JUST to working out said stains from at least one outfit per day??

I have to say that even with the high volume of infant-poopage happening all-day every-day (and the laundry that goes with it), I still rate this as more tolerable than the potty adventures of my 2-year old.  She hasn’t been on the breast since babyhood…and her ‘deposits’ are full-on, grown-up YUCKY!  Of course, we were working towards the potty-training but with a new baby in the house the toddler does regress.  At least she’s on more of a schedule, and she doesn’t GO nearly as many times in a day as the baby.  Last week she was in the tub ~ her tummy had been a little funny for a couple of days (hey, we eat a TON of fruit…thanks, Daddy) and “mommy, I icky in the bath-tub!”  Within seconds I had fished her and every toy from the water, and my heart sank as I noticed the “icky” was not packaged nicely in a floating poo that could’ve been easily cleaned out.  No, no…it was quite the mess.  Hello, Clorox!  Again…every mother out there can relate to this one…it wasn’t the first time and it won’t be the last!  (To top it all off she has now developed an aversion to getting back INTO the bathtub for her bath.  “Mommy, I icky in the bathtub!!”  Sigh.)

Oh well, as they say, “Shit Happens!”  It really and truly does.  I can deal with that…it just comes with the territory.   Our poor aging dogs are fortunately prohibited from all carpeted areas of the house.  Our female dog “Sugar” ain’t so sweet in her old age.  She’s grumpy, has trouble getting around, and pees on her blanket almost daily.  Double sigh.  The laundry doesn’t stop going in this house…and apparently, neither do the occupants inside!

The 4th Trimester March 9, 2010

Some call it “the babymoon” and others refer to it as your “4th” trimester…and some mommas may not even have a name for those first few months of life with a newborn babe.  It’s definitely a period of transition as our bodies adjust (can you say hormonal fluctuations?), and as we get to know this beautiful new being who completely needs you all day and all night.  I don’t think I was prepared with my first baby for the level of exhaustion that would come along with motherhood.  I can report that with my 3rd baby the sleeplessness does not get better, but I have adjusted more easily.  Either way this period of time can be a roller coaster of emotion…your heart has just grown exponentially, and you’re likely experiencing a depth of love that you didn’t even know existed!  You look at your baby and you see the most precious, beautiful being you’ve ever seen.  You look in the mirror and want to cry or shriek at the haggard, pudgy version of you looking back.  You secretly wish for just ONE good night of sleep but it doesn’t come so you put on a smile and do your best to hold it all together.  It can be pretty intense, but the truth is, like a season in time it will pass and these intense moments will be gone, and your newborn babe will begin to grow and mature and take shape as the person he/she will become.  You’ll start to feel a bit like yourself again, but you’re a new self now, because you’re also growing, maturing, and taking shape as the Mother you are becoming.  It’s a wild, poopy, messy, loving, ride…remember to breathe and take care of yourself.  Before you know it, that baby will be 2 and a whole NEW set of challenges will come your way…start handling the challenges with grace early so that you’ll be better prepared to keep your cool when that darling 2 year old is screaming NO at the top of her lungs and pitching a fit that could rival the devil.