Oh, Carolina. Lately I feel like you are too sweet and quiet to get the attention you deserve. It's easy to put you down and attend to your sister which is good and bad. Good that you are so patient and willing to watch us dance around trying to calm/please/persuade the resident three year old to do what needs done. But bad that you are so often ignored and/or overlooked. Is that just the way it goes? Why is a three year old so much more work? This time I'm very aware of how incredibly easy it is to have a newborn. I mean, what was I thinking before? Yes, Elisa was colicky and she didn't sleep long stretches, but all the nervousness and amount of energy I wasted worrying and trying to bend myself to her will was just that--wasted. She was a baby, for God's sake. Now I see what a baby needs and requires and it's not so bad. Or maybe it's just this baby. Carolina really is a pretty relaxed little girl and I'm so, so thankful we haven't fallen off the cliff this time. I kept waiting and waiting, but now I think it's safe to say we won't be down the colic road again. At 10 weeks she is just a few more shy of her third month which is when I remember so many things gelling for Elisa. She has her good nights (4-5 hour stretches) and her great nights (6-7 hour stretches), but mostly I think she is more consistent overall than her sister ever was. It makes dealing with the two of them on my own possible since I really don't know how I would do this otherwise. When Nacho leaves I don't get that pit-of-my-stomach panic like I used to with Elisa as a baby. Partly that's my own mothering vibe kicking in, but also it's the fact that Carolina makes it seem so much easier. She really doesn't fuss much at all and I'm still getting little naps from her throughout the day. No predictable patterns yet, but she seems to go with us wherever we need and most of the time she only cries when she's getting hungry again. So, thank you, baby. We needed you in our life to show us just how fun this could be.
EDITED TO ADD: We just visited the pediatrician for Carolina's belated 2 month appointment (she's 10 weeks already) and her stats are 12 lbs. 10 oz. and 25 inches long! Definitely following in her sister's footsteps as a tall girl.
2 comments:
yea, Carolina! love that smile.
you are so right. I feel like Waylon just sits and watches the show from the bouncy seat all day! I haven't even gotten out most of our "baby" toys yet.
and without disparaging anyone who has only one child, (because you know you also found life pretty hard when you were doing that), you can't help but look back on it like, "That? How was that so hard?" Maybe it is just experience that makes it easier?
For us, going from 1-2 was harder than 0-1, but that was all about the behavior of #1, not the addition of the baby. : )
None of our kids had colic - I can only imagine - not sure I would've survived. Even so, I'm like you, counting the calendar weeks, crossing fingers and hoping it's safe to say we're in the clear now. I believe we both are!
love the pictures of the two of you....and i probably haven't told you but also love the new blog name and picture. i'm feeling what you wrote about enjoying this stage a lot more 2nd time around.
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