15 Thoughts This Mom Has Every Day

In between playing Ring Around the Rosie with Cali 457 times a day (it's her current obsession), and feeding Nash gas drops allll day, or responding to requests like "Mommy! I'm pooping! Wipe my butt!", I tend to have the same reoccurring thoughts on a daily basis. My days are pretty redundant during this phase of my life and I thought I'd let you into the very tired brain of a mom of a newborn and toddler.

In case you were wondering.

I'm not solving world peace or anything but here it is none the less...

 

 



1. Can my arm fall off from reaching over the bassinet and patting the baby's butt so much?

This is a legitimate concern. Nash's bassinet is right next to my side of the bed and I feel like I spend 3/4 of the night reaching over to pat his butt to teach him to "self soothe". I'll be honest. I usually give up 30 minutes in and rock/nurse him to sleep. Surely I'm doing permanent damage. They say patting the butt helps him learn to fall asleep on his own but I'll take bets on which happens first: my kid sleeping, or my arm falling off. My guess is the arm.

 

 

 

2. Remember when I used to like partying at 3am?

Seriously. How did I function in college? When I really think about how little sleep I got back then, it's amazing I didn't nod off in the middle of conversations. Which I did to my husband the other day,by the way. Yup. In the middle of him talking to me, I fell asleep sitting up. Oops. But why can't I seem to find the energy I used to have? Not to mention my diet no longer consists of wine and frozen corndogs 3 meals a day. You think I'd have more energy. Not less.

 

3. How does Cali run off so little sleep?

Speaking of energy, my 3 year old seems to have it in SPADES. And she's a horrible sleeper. Always has been. Maybe it's because I gave up patting her butt too soon.

 

 

 

4. I need to lay off Google.

Google is the devil. For realz, y'all. In the middle of the night, while I'm patting Nash's butt with my right hand, my left hand is usually Googling something like "Yellow mucous poop in newborn?" or "How much coffee is too much coffee?" or even "WHEN WILL MY KID SLEEP?!" and the results always make me either A)Worried something serious is wrong with my baby or B) guilty that I seem to be the only mom in the universe who's kid(s) refuses to sleep.

 

5. I should flirt with Tim more.

Poor Tim. I'm so tired these days that 99.9% of our conversations consist of talking about my Google searches, Crazy Cali, or my lack of sleep. The other .01% of our conversations, I apparently fall asleep during. He really is a saint. (And before all of you crazy internet commenters start giving me marriage advice, I'm exaggerating. A little. My marriage is great.)

 

6. How can I go pee without a baby attached to me and Cali following me to the bathroom?
This sounds like it would be easy but trust me... It takes very strategic planning and lots of distraction.

 

7. What is that smell?

Oh. It's me. Must be spoiled milk and unwashed hair.

 

 

 

8. How many times a day can Cali say "Mommy! Watch this Mommy!"?

I think her record is probably somewhere around 583 times in an hour. And the stuff she wants me to watch is usually things like her grinding crackers into my carpet, or her jumping off the bed, or her trying to pick up Nash. Ya know, things I should probably correct her on but she's always so dang proud of herself.

 

9. I wonder who Ben kicked off "The Bachelor" last night.

Don't judge me. I like this show. And never get to watch it live. Like, ever. I'm aware of the fact that I'm 31, with two kids, and a house to keep up and so my brain space should really be occupied by more important things than trash TV but what can I say? It's my guilty pleasure.

 

10. Have I fed Cali lunch today?

Or has she only eaten things like cheese and crackers? Probably the latter. Sure, go ahead and tell me that if I wasn't thinking about things like who Ben Higgins marries then I'd probably remember to feed my kid an actual meal. I'll just tune you out.

 

11. When does Tim come home? Is he home yet? Is it close to him being home?

No. In case you were wondering. We've still got, like, 1,000 days. Not really but that's what it feels like. How do military spouses and single parents do it? They're heroes. Like, should be given medals kinda heroes.

 

12. Can I buy some magic unicorn dust that will somehow make this easier?

You know, something that will make my kids sleep or get my newborn to not cry so much or will magically clean my house. Tell me where to find that and I'll pay good money for it.

*Google searches 'magic unicorn dust'*

 

13. How many days in a row have I worn these yoga pants?

Umm...

 

14. I should probably go to sleep now. I'll be up again in 30 minutes. Patting Nash's butt.

Never fails. Every night when both of my kids FINALLY fall asleep, and I'm staying up watching a recap of The Bachelor, this thought goes through my head. But sometimes I just need quiet. But I also know that soon and very soon one (or both, more than likely) of my kids will wake up so I probably need to take advantage of this time and actually sleep. And I will. Right after this group date...

 

15. This too shall pass.

I tell myself this every. single. day. Parenting is tough. And despite my jokes about magic unicorn dust, it's not supposed to be easy. WE'RE RAISING HUMANS. Actual people that will grow up and go out into the world and make some sort of impact. And I'm 100% aware that I am SO FREAKING BLESSED to live this life. Honestly. I'm living my dream. Yes, it's exhausting. Yes, I've given up on ever getting more than 5 hours of straight sleep until my kids are out of the house. And no, I don't shower every day (Do not give me that look). But when Cali wraps her arms around me and says something like "I love you mommy. We best friends" or "I so essited to cuddle with you" my heart melts into one giant puddle of mush and temporarily forget every other thought running through my head. Because the time is NOW and babies don't keep. So I'll pat Nash's butt and spin around the Rosie until I fall over. This is a season and I'll miss it when it's gone. 

 

 

 

 

On Adjusting to Two

 

 

I have officially been a mom of two kids for almost 2 months and boy, let me tell you, there's been a learning curve. Not to mention Tim is out of town for 2 months and we just moved to a new city. Needless to say, some days I struggle to just keep my sanity. Let's not even try for a "Pinteresty" kind of day.

 

Popcorn for lunch? Sure, kid.

TV alllll day? Oh yes. Why not?

PJs to the grocery store? Whatever you want, Cali.

I consider it a good day if I've managed to keep Cali from PICKING UP NASH.

 

I think the thing I've found to be the hardest (after trying to convince Cali to NOT PICK UP NASH) are the little things that I never really thought of. Like trying to put Cali to bed while taking care of Nash's needs. Or cooking dinner while making sure Cali DOESN'T PICK UP NASH (Do you see a common theme?). I'm learning quickly that sometimes I just have to go with the flow and do whatever gets the job done with the least amount of stress on all of us.

 

Like this. This is how I've been getting Cali to sleep every. single. night.

 

 

Ideal? Not even close.

 

Easy, to the point, and how it's getting done? You betcha.

 

Where I really struggle is making time for each of them individually. Even if it's just the little minutes of the day like putting Nash on the bed while I give Cali my full attention during bath  time.

 



Or not falling asleep when I put Cali to bed so I can snuggle on this guy alone for a few minutes.

 



 

And guys, let me tell you, there is such a HUGE amount of guilt when it comes to that for me. I really struggle sometimes with accepting the fact that it's not just me and Cali and our crazy adventures anymore. She doesn't (and can't) get my full attention 100% of the time anymore and it's something we're both learning how to deal with. But on the flip side of that, I also have a ton of guilt when it comes to not being able to give Nash the time and devotion that I gave Cali when she was a baby.

 

It's a back and forth that I'm daily learning to work around.

 

One thing that has been a LIFESAVER for me is baby-wearing. To have Nash strapped to my chest frees up both hands for chasing Crazy Cali around. And part of Cali adjusting to having to share my attention is wanting to do everything Nash does...

 

Like have me wear her again...

 

While I'm wearing him, of course.

 

Oy vey.

 

This child hasn't wanted me to wear her in over a year but one look at Nash in there and it's all "WEAR ME, MOMMA! I WANT ON YOU TOO!"

 

Now anybody that has followed me for a while knows I'm a big fan of the K'Tan. It carries the baby like a wrap but without having to tie it.

 

However, once Cali reached a certain size there wasn't enough support for my shoulders and it KILLS my neck and back to wear her.

 

Enter (drumroll please)

the Wrapy.

 

It's a wrap. You've seen them.

 

You can learn more at their website

www.wrapy.com

 

And you can see reviews of people that have used it here.

 

This one is so soft, y'all.

 

AND I can wear Cali without the stress on my body.

 

See?

 



 

It's hard to see because of the color of her dress but she's strapped on my back with the Wrapy.

 

And she loves it.

 

And I don't feel like I'm leaving her out of anything when I carry Nash.

 

AND, right now, I have discount codes to give you.

 

You're welcome.

 

When you subscribe to my blog before March 1, I'll send you a code to receive 15% off of your order!

 

Now, before you roll your eyes and dismiss everything I've said, let me be straightforward.

 

Yes. They sent me a free one to review.

 

But everything I've said here is my own opinion. Trust me, I've been sent things to review before that you've never seen on this blog. Why? Because I didn't like the product. So you can rest assured that I mean what I say.

 

On that note, both of my kids are magically asleep at the same time so I'm going to take advantage of it while it lasts. Probably for the next 10 minutes or so but hey, I take what I can get.