Owen is 6 weeks old now, and we're settling into our life together. Getting here has been quite a journey, but I'm glad we've finally arrived. Owen is finally starting to "wake up", spending his time looking around, observing our world and interacting with his doting brother, Collin.
Owen still doesn't have a real schedule yet, but he's sleeping longer at night, from about 10 pm to 3:30 am, creeping toward the coveted 8 hour stretch (but still oh, so far away), and he's becoming much more aware of our daily comings and goings. He has an adorable smile, which we've seen since he was just a week old, but now it is clearly social. he's also started to "coo" and chatter, and is quickly learning how to hold up his little head and track toys as Collin shows them to him.
We continue to try to figure out the whole co-sleeping thing, but now I'm at least confident once he sleeps through he'll be in his bassinet, so I'm a bit more relaxed about it. As it turns out though, Owen does great in the co-sleeper bassinet that goes in our bed-- it continues to be my own problem in that I frequently fall asleep when he wakes up to eat at 3:30 am and don't put him back in the co-sleeper. Its true, I'm a lazy parent.We're starting to be more consistent about tummy time, even though he doesn't seem to need it much, as Owen is quite the mover and shaker. He cranes his little neck and kicks out his legs often, as though he knows he'll need to use them to support his weight. A little early practice I suppose. He moves around the bassinet often and when I get him out sometimes I'm amazed how far he's moved without being able to roll or crawl.
Owen continues to be a good eater, I'm sure he's gained a considerable amount of weight, we'll be able to find out exactly how much at his two month appointment in just a few weeks. However, we do wonder if Owen has reflux, he often coughs, has wet hiccups, spits up a ton and has trouble burping and passing gas, but he doesn't have the hallmark of reflux, crying or pain while eating. Instead, he's quite a happy baby-- who spits up.
Our daily lives have reached a comfortable ebb and flow. Sadly, it seems I have to get up at 6:15 a.m. to get ahead of the boys, and between potty training (yes, we really are potty training) and changing and feeding Owen its a struggle to get out of the house by 9 am, but we try. With the winter bearing down on us, I try to get Collin out of the house almost every day to keep my sanity. Being cooped up in our house makes for a bit of the crazies....It seems like Owen is growing faster that I can keep up with, maybe because our days go by so fast. I feel like I barely get a chance to eat lunch, let alone slow down and enjoy the boys in a way that is slow and steady, instead its toddler nuttiness and Owen and I trying to keep up with the pace. I definitely have considerable guilt that I don't spend as much one on one time with Owen as I'd like to, just as a function of how our lives work. I was a bit of a closet guiltress, but then I learned its an epidemic. Turns out there is a whole "syndrome" of second child guilt. There are chat rooms, Mom's club groups, probably even a support network. So I don't feel as terribly awful because its the unknown secret about having two kids under two. You just can't attend to them both all the time. There is no way around it, someone doesn't get all the attention, and I constantly feel conflicted that its Owen more than Collin because Collin has the ability to whine and make verbal requests. While Owen's cries are quickly soothed as soon as I pick him up.
I feel like Owen is saying: "HELLO! Pay attention! I'm awake and need some time to play too!"Meanwhile, our house is a mess. I've resigned to the fact that it won't be clean again for awhile. A friend posted this quote, and I think it fits perfectly with our life:
The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.
- Ruth Hulbert Hamilton
But we'd don't mind so much, as I have two amazing boys to play with. As Owen gets older we get better at the day to day, but its also bittersweet because it means I'm getting closer and closer to having to head back to work.
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