Being a Mom of 2

On January 22, 2013, my world was ROCKED. Little baby Maleah was born and life as I knew it was changed forever. No one can ever prepare you for the process of going from a married couple to a couple of parents. No book, no anecdotal advice, no amount of watching friends do it... nope, nothing can prepare you for the way your life changes after your first child.

I remember struggling so badly with the 3-hour schedule. I felt like we were chained to this incessant wheel of feed-play-sleep. I remember resenting how long it took to get Maleah settled for bed - how am I going to spend an hour of my life every night getting this tiny person ready for bed?  I remember crying over lost sleep, crying over room-temperature cups of coffee, crying over her crying. 

I finally settled in to being a parent. All those things I found so difficult in the beginning slowly but surely just became part of who I am. And, no longer did I resent the bedtime routine... it actually became my favorite time of day. I don't miss the "freedom" I had before Maleah came along... and, frankly, during the times she's spending the night with a grandparent and we're able to do things kid-free, I'm really just counting down the hours until she's with us again. 

So when we found out we were expecting baby #2, I wasn't really sure how to prepare myself. How much more change would there be? How would I handle it? How would Blake and Maleah handle it? How could I stretch myself even more to care for another child? 

Honestly, the adjustment to two children has not been as difficult as I imagined. If Blake weren't as helpful as he is, I might be having a tougher time. But usually when things are hectic, we divide and conquer. We each take a kid and handle whatever needs to be handled. The hardest part, so far, about having two children is the heartache of not being able to be in two places at once. 

The other difficult adjustment has been helping Maleah transition to being a big sister. She has been the center of our world and, while we have tried not to spoil her, I know (as an only child, myself) that it's very different to suddenly have to wait... or to share... or to be told "no". She has adjusted fairly well, but also being almost-3 means she is changing in addition to the change of having a baby sister. 

The best part about being a mom of 2, though, is really simple. Snuggling both of them at once is like the greatest feeling ever. These two beautiful little girls didn't exist just a few years ago. Blake and I haven't even been married five years and, yet, we have these new people to call our own. It is such an amazing thing!

And who knows... maybe I'll eventually be writing about being a mom of 3. :)