I'd rather be sleeping

I'm trying very hard not to disappear from the blogosphere now that Beckett is here, but I have to admit, posting regularly is slightly difficult right now. This is mainly because it is very rare that BOTH my children are sleeping at the same time, and if by some off chance they are, then I'm rushing around the house, trying to be productive -- washing dishes, doing laundry, mopping and waxing the floor, planning a strategy for the implementation of world peace... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Yeah... I'm totally lying. If my kids are snoozing at the same time, you better believe I'm curled up in the fetal position right there next to them, trying to soak up some of the silence and stock piling a few hours of shut eye to prepare for the "dark time" (aka night, aka the time when I want to cry for several hours in a row b/c my son will not sleep, aka HOLY GOD WILL THIS INFANT EVER GET DAY AND NIGHT FIGURED THE FUCK OUT?!)

Ahem. Sorry. 

Anyways, with all that said, stories and information and general randomness keeps piling up over here, so I'm doing a quick round-up post to update everyone on life around the EdelSpot. It goes a little something like this:

1. Showering has become something akin to a religious experience for me. Seriously. My house is never, and I mean NEVER quiet any more. There is a baby crying, a toddler melting down, a dog barking or the television/radio blaring nearly every single moment of the day, and half the night. So when I shut my bathroom door, and turn on the blessed white noise of the shower, I very nearly weep with joy. I love opening the shower door and getting hit with the puff of steam I've let build up, I love that first moment when I step into the slightly scalding water, and I love (WITH A PASSION) the feeling of relief I get as all the dried milk, baby spit-up, finger paints, and random food items (sometimes smushed in my hair) gets washed away. For those 10-15 minutes I have a lovely feeling of being just a woman (and not a mommy), and it is delicious. Even though I know it will only last a few moments before I'm once again scraping peanut butter off my arm or wearing a t-shirt with an apple juice stain on it. And I'm okay with that. As long as I get my time in the shower.
2. It is official that second children get treated differently than first children. Haven't decided yet if that is a good or a bad thing for Beckett. On the good end of the spectrum, second children seem to be (at least in our household) worried over less, which probably will lead to a healthy and non-twitchy kiddo. On the bad end of things, I have about two photos of our little man and instead of stressing about whether things are clean, sterile and steam sanitized, I find myself using lukewarm water and a prayer (on a good day) or my very own spit to clean items from pump parts to pacis.  And once I let the dog lick something clean (I think it was Beckett's head).
3. Some things never change. See this post about my magical nipples. Apparently, they have not lost their ability for good since Kate was a baby, as they are working their witching ways with Beckett. GOOOOO BOOBS!
4. Speaking of boobs, Beckett weighs a hefty 7 lbs. 14 oz. now, which means mine have moved to udder status quite well, thank you very much. Today was our two-week check in, and Beckett's stats are 22.25 inches long (95% so we have a tall boy like his daddy), 7 lbs. 14 oz. (45% so slightly below average) and his head circumference is 35.8 inches (40%). Really, nothing too interesting here, but have to put in the pertinent info because as I've outlined before, baby books likely ain't gonna happen, so I'm just planning to tell my kids to Google their info when they ask some day.
5. I picked up a pamphlet about temper tantrums at the doctor's office today. The title of the piece is "Temper Tantrums: A Normal Part of Growing Up." I don't really plan on reading it, but the subtitle makes me feel good somehow, so I'm just going to hang it on my fridge and stare at it every time Kate blows a gasket because she can't find her Cinderella doll, or I won't let her have a second brownie, or global warming pisses her off.
6. I also learned at the doctor's office that I am not a terrible mother (well, actually that wasn't confirmed, but ONE of my fears was laid to rest). For the last several days, I've been thinking that Beckett always has a load in his diaper because he smells funny, but half the time he is clean. So last night I'm holding him and thinking how much I love him, and then I'm thinking how bad he smells. And wondering if it is normal that I think my child stinks instead of thinking he smells like happiness. And THEN I start to worry that maybe HE doesn't smell, that I am smelling ME, so then I get all paranoid about my hygiene AND I think I'm a bad mother because I STILL think my baby smells bad. Fast forward to the doctors office and I find out that his umbilical cord is getting ready to fall off, and that is why it smells bad. There is nothing wrong, it isn't infected and he isn't going to always be the stinky kid in class, but that just happens sometimes. Whew. Still, I can't wait until that damn thing falls off so I can snuggle my baby and NOT think about breathing through my mouth instead of my nose.

I think that is about it for now. The house is still slightly quiet (except for the a/c repairman who will leave before my children wake up if he knows what is good for him) so I'm going to take a moment to make sure the house is in order, do some ironing, maybe bake some banana bread.... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Beckett is already hosting important business meetings with his stuffed animals. That or they are planning a raging kegger. 

My babies.

Kate during her daily dress-up routine -- I have to admit she makes an adorable Cinderella. However, everything must be just right, including her makeup, gloves, shoes and purse or she has a temper tantrum. But its okay, its "A Normal Part of Growing Up." Whew.

Baby E2: Week 22/23

I haven't posted a lot about this pregnancy. Mainly because its been so routine and, frankly, I said it all the first time around. Yes, I still hate being pregnant, but yes, I'll suck it up because I'm fairly certain the whole stork bringing a baby thing was a mean-spirited myth meant to give future mothers hope that they could have a bundle of joy without their bodies being wrecked by an invading army (i.e. baby) for nine months.

Lying jerks.

Anyways, I'm currently 22/23 weeks along now. I give an estimate because frankly, I'm even a little confused about how far along I am. Baby measures big, not sure exact date I'm due, blah, blah, but I CAN tell you I am past the half way mark in my pregnancy and very large in size.

I can also tell you that being pregnant a second time is much less stressful than the first go around. While there are still worries in the back of my mind (will this baby be healthy, will he run for president someday?), I don't find myself flipping out with every new symptom of pregnancy. I mainly roll my eyes and go, "Oh, yeah, forgot how bad THIS SUCKED."

I've also gained less weight than a hippo this time around. Which is a bonus, but then again, I JUST got my appetite back from a pretty sick first trimester and I gained more in the last month than I gained in my entire first three months, but, you know... whatevs. I'm trying not to go totally out of control this time, but lets be honest. This is the LAST time I'm EVER going to be pregnant, so might as well enjoy the ride, am I right?!

In more recent news, little boy E2 is a mover and a shaker. I told Ben that I could literally feel him squirming at 13 weeks. At about 20 weeks, he was kicking hard enough that Ben could feel him. And while I can't get Kate to sit still long enough to feel him yet, I can't wait to let her feel her baby brother moving. Because she certainly isn't tying this all together just yet. I need a book. Or a movie. Because "Your little brother is in mommy's tummy" isn't cutting it.

And in, just this week news, the sleeplessness has kicked in. Yay for trying to be patient with an impatient two-year-old on very little sleep. I mean, double Yay! Every morning from about 3:30-5:30 I'm up, futzing around on my iPhone and willing myself back to sleep. Some of it is baby E2 kicking me awake, and some of it is the typical stress and anxiety of pregnancy. But all of it sucks, and I'm ready to sleep through the night again. In what, oh, three years (sigh)?

I keep promising myself I'll upload photos of the belly soon, but that would require TAKING photos, so we'll just see when that happens. But in the meantime, just imagine me. Ten pounds heavier, with all ten of those pounds located in my belly, hips and thighs. Ahhh, an image of beauty is coming to mind... is it not?

Mommy lesson #4

If a product has the word "miracle" in the title, and if you have heard/read amazing things about said product, don't wait a few days to test it out. That is just plain stupid. Because a company wouldn't call something the "Miracle Blanket" if it wasn't true.

I dedicate last night's sleep and the lack of a 3 a.m. meltdown (by both Kate and I) to the Miracle Blanket and my sister-in-law that sent it to me. Bless you. Both of you. Equally.