Rob had a beautiful wedding ceremony, the food was delicious and the guests danced until well into the morning. Or so I’m told. I missed almost the entire thing cause I was off looking after my kids. Justin was too caught up in everything to take his afternoon nap, so I knew we were in for a long day. The ceremony was outdoors and it was quite hot, so shortly after the bride arrived I had to take Justin into Dad’s air-conditioned RV to cool off — and we ended up missing the whole ceremony. I did get to chat with some people in between the ceremony and reception, but just as they were getting settled for dinner, Justin fell asleep and Brayden decided he wanted his mom. So Justin napped in the RV, Brayden watched me from his car seat on the ground outside the van and I sat there with a crossword puzzle waiting for Chris to bring me a plate of food. We were so exhausted that we left even before the dance started (how were we supposed to dance if we had to watch an infant and a toddler?) We made it home by 9:30 p.m. but couldn’t get Justin to sleep until 11:30, and then Brayden wanted to eat at 2:30, and then both kids were up at 6…yuck.

However, things are looking up. We’re on day five of this Saskatoon trip and Justin has finally settled back into his regular sleeping schedule, which is good for everybody. The wedding craziness is also over so everyone is a lot more relaxed. Hopefully we can just enjoy ourselves for the rest of the trip. Cross your fingers for us!

I thought we were in for some serious grief after we took Justin to the dentist today and she told us he would have to give up his pacifier since it was starting to affect the shape of his mouth. For the past year he’s only ever had the soother when he sleeps, and although logically I knew we’d have to wean him off it completely at some point, I was kind of hoping he’d give it up on his own. But that didn’t happen, so today we bit the bullet and hid it away. He kind of wanted it at nap time, but we distracted him with a stuffed animal, and he went to sleep with it instead (his nap was only about half as long as normal, but we thought that was pretty good considering). Then tonight Chris put him to bed with the animal again, and Justin didn’t even ask for the soother. Out of sight, out of mind, I guess. I really expected him to put up more of a fuss, but he seems to be more adaptable than I thought. Awesome!

I never thought I’d be the type of person to say this, but there’s something strangely fulfilling about raising kids. I’ve never been one to enjoy domesticity (cooking leaves me cold, for instance) but I do get a bit of a glow when I feed my family and see them thrive. And it’s pretty cool to see all the new things the kids learn to do (Justin just figured out how to moo like a cow, which doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it’s so darn cute). My life just seems so much more meaningful since I became a mother.

I’ve got the warm fuzzies right now because Brayden slept nine straight hours last night (and after Chris fed him, he went back to sleep for another two and a half). Let’s hope this continues…

Officially, I’m recovered from my c-section, but I still have a sizeable paunch and that’s kind of depressing. I could live with not being a size four again, but I have no desire to look three or four months pregnant anymore. A couple weeks ago I swallowed my pride and bought some maternity shorts to get me through the summer — they’re a little big, but they’re super comfy and little else fits. Sigh. I only have five pounds to go to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight (of course, it’s seven pounds to get back to what I weighed before Justin, and a whopping 15 pounds to get back to where I was when I got married, but let’s go with the five for now) but it seems all of those pounds are concentrated right out front. Don’t be surprised if you don’t see any new pictures of me for a while.

On a very positive note, Brayden is moving ever closer to sleeping through the night. Justin started sleeping through the night at eight weeks old, and we’re crossing our fingers that Brayden will do the same (he’s six and a half weeks right now). Last night he slept 12 hours and only woke up once, so that’s promising. Thank God both of my boys like to sleep!

I spent most of Mother’s Day in a bit of a funk about all the things it seems I should’ve already taught Justin but haven’t: how to use a fork, how to drink from a real cup, how to eat a sandwich that isn’t cut into bite-size pieces…sigh. Not coincidentally, all those things relate to feeding. Justin is such a picky eater that I’m usually afraid to try new things at the table in case it leads to a battle. Plus of course I’m such a neat freak that it’s hard for me to let Justin make a mess in the name of learning. In my head I know it’s never too late to start teaching these things, and there’s no point in beating myself up over it, but I sometimes can’t help feeling like a substandard mother. Oh, well…

For a long time leading up to Brayden’s birth, I wondered if a second baby would rock our world the way the first one did. The answer to that is clearly no. True, we got off easy cause Brayden is such a good baby; it hasn’t been too hard keeping him happy. But I think the reality is that you just don’t sweat the small stuff the second time around.

I’m starting to make a list of the items we’ll have to bring with us when we fly to Saskatoon for my brother’s wedding next month. It might be easier to list the things we’re NOT taking. Travelling with Justin always meant bringing an extra bag or two, but we never flew with him when he was a newborn; I’d forgotten how much stuff a baby requires. In the carry-on luggage alone we need diapers for both kids, bottles, snacks, books, toys, extra clothes…the list goes on (sigh). But I guess it beats packing up the car and spending two straight days on the road.

Obviously we’ve known for months that we were having another baby, but it still strikes me as bizarre to say I now have two children. That was always our plan, but it’s still a little strange to think that our family is now complete (which it definitely is, despite pleas from the grandparents). I’m the mother of two little boys — I just can’t get over that.

I keep waiting for Brayden to turn colicky or something; it’s hard to believe he could be such an easy baby (how did we get this lucky twice?) He has clear hunger cues (unlike his brother), he almost never fusses and he apparently likes to sleep for 22 hours a day. One of my fears about a second baby was that he/she would cry at night and wake Justin up; that’s really not an issue at this point, since Brayden is so quiet that the only person who even knows he’s awake is the one listening for him through the baby monitor. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, but maybe we’re just blessed.

As for me, I’m doing much better. The engorgement is over and done with, I’m off the painkillers and I’ve even managed to go for a few short walks. Chris and I have taken both kids to Justin’s play group, and to the library, so at least I’m getting out of the house. I look like I’m still four months pregnant (remember how all the weight I gained ended up right in front?), which is annoying, but we’ll see what happens by the end of the six-week recovery period. Cross your fingers for me!

Thanks to an abundance of help from my parents and my husband, I’m recovering quite nicely from the birth. Yesterday Chris and I actually managed to take both kids down to the library for a little family outing, which was great, although it did take a lot out of me. For that one hour we proved to ourselves that we CAN look after two kids at once. I don’t like to think about what will happen when my parents leave, but at least Chris will be home for a few months so we can figure out a new routine.

Brayden continues to be an angel baby and I just cannot believe our luck. Justin is adjusting well and has even settled back into his regular napping/sleeping routine, so everybody’s happy about that (it helped a lot when we put one of those childproof doorknobs on Justin’s room — at least now we know he’s not going anywhere at odd hours!) We’re slowly getting used to life with two little boys, but we haven’t quite figured out the new normal yet. It’ll come…

Well, it’s been three days since Brayden’s birth and everyone seems to be surviving. The hospital sent me home yesterday morning (less than 48 hours after my c-section…that sounds early, but it’s impossible to get any rest in the hospital and my doctor agreed that I’d be more comfortable at home). I’m mighty sore from the surgery, I’m still getting over that stupid cold that Chris gave me last week and I’m currently battling a bad case of engorgement (I gave up the breastfeeding yesterday), but things could be worse. So far at least, Brayden is an angel who never seems to fuss, and he pretty much just sleeps all the time — but he IS only three days old, so time will tell.

I’d planned on breastfeeding for at least a little while, but I certainly didn’t enjoy it any more than last time, and my doctor wondered why I was torturing myself. So we went to formula yesterday. My mom volunteered for baby duty overnight, and since I was no longer pregnant or nursing, I took a sleeping pill and crashed hard for the whole night — heavenly. On the down side, I’m feeling kind of useless cause I can’t really hold Brayden until my milk dries up (it hurts like hell when Brayden comes near me…how does the body just instinctively know when baby is near?) and I definitely can’t keep up with Justin.

It’s still early, but Justin seems OK with his little brother. We haven’t seen any signs of jealousy or resentment, but of course Grandma, Grandpa and Dad are all here and Justin isn’t having to compete for attention. He is, however, having sleeping issues. He recently learned how to open his bedroom door, and for the past few days he’s been refusing to go down for a nap (but then he zonks out around suppertime, which means he’s no longer tired when it’s time for bed). He also occasionally roams the house at odd hours of the night and someone has to corral him back into bed. We’re hoping it’s a phase, but we’ll see.