New addition

I am back yet again, this time with a new baby girl!  I had forgotten what a newborn is like… always eating and sleeping and eating and eating. It’s funny because now that I have a toddler, the newborn seems like a piece of cake.  Sure, she’s a diva who doesn’t want to be put down, but still… how hard is it to just lay her on your chest and relax?  I certainly don’t need an excuse to kick back and do nothing. =}

Little Guy is smitten with the baby, but not so happy with Big Guy and I for not hanging on his every word.  He managed to transition into the terrible twos (at 19 months) just a few weeks before his baby sister arrived.  Horrible timing!  My sweet little boy can throw a mean tantrum… the face scrunches up and he flops to the floor with a shriek.  If that doesn’t elicit enough of a response from the adult in the room, he starts to throw things and hit whatever is in sight, including mom.  He stomps around alternating cries of despair with screams of anger.  It’s all very dramatic.  When I’m not sleep deprived, or worried about the safety of the baby, it’s kind of amusing, actually.  I can only figure out what has set him off about 50% of the time, but whatever “it” is, it is a grave matter indeed.  Judging by the look on his face, the world is about to come to an end.

Little Gal has a healthy set of lungs as well, which she employs each and every time Little Guy is settled into his high chair or my lap.  She already needs to claim as much attention as possible and Little Guy is not handing it over happily.  There are several times each day when I have to leave one of them in a fit to attend to the needs of the other (who is already in the midst of a meltdown, anyway).

Oh, yeah, I know how lucky I am.  It’s just that it doesn’t FEEL all that lucky when you’re in the middle of some crisis and counting to ten to keep from losing it yourself.  And it’s not just me.  Big Guy happily returned to work this week after two weeks at home with his loving family.  The last week he just keep repeating, “I feel really bad for you here by yourself when I go back to work.”  The truth is, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself already.

That said, I survived my first week at home by myself. Of course, Little Guy spent one entire day with his grandparents while I was home with the baby.  And he spent an entire second day with his other grandmother while we took his sister for a hearing test (whole other drama there).  I really only had 3 days home alone with the both of them (and a couple of electricians, as luck would have it).

So… send your pearls of wisdom my way.  How do you cope with a 20month old whose favorite word is “Help!” and a newborn who just prefers to be held all of the time?