It's been 6 weeks already!

- by Janelle (IM)

My world has completely changed. I'm sure it's no surprise to the many mom's of 2+ kids that I'm finding it hard to find time. Time to do laundry, time to wash those dirty pots from dinner, time to read a book - ha to that one! Also, time to write a post. So here I am with two hours away from both boys and I'm trying to play catch up on all these things.

These past six weeks since Myer's birth have been full of transitions and firsts.

Most noteworthy was Myer's birth. I have to say that my husband spoke to this perfectly in his post  "From intended to actual father". I often think back to the moment and am still in awe. What a powerful thing it is to bring a child into the world. I feel extremely lucky to have experienced birth as both the birthing mom and as an intended mother. Admitedly both of these births weren't the "beautiful" kind that you hear women speak of, but they were far-reaching in their own way and ultimately resulted in a healthy baby and a birthing mom who to me is a superhero. There are times when I look at Myer and tear up a little thinking about Kim and our efforts to bring this little man into our lives. Really it's hard to articulate just how amazed I am by Kim and also modern medicine.

Having a baby in the house has been a lot of fun for me and being that it's baby #2, there are some new firsts. For one I have more confidence; a bit of that "been here, done that" kind of mentality. For example, I don't panic if Myer doesn't poop for 4 days, and I can decipher if he's crying for milk or if he's simply tired and needs a little help settling down. For reasons like this I find that Myer is a very content baby and easy to please. These past six weeks with Myer has also made me realize just what rough shape I was in when I came home from the hospital after Asher's birth. When Asher was six weeks old I still had a hard time getting myself in and out bed. Being physically sound has allowed me to be more mentally sound which is helpful when dealing with sleep deprivation and a very energetic nearly 3-year-old.

My extra time in the hospital after Asher was born also meant that I missed out on early baby moments that may be overlooked at times, but which I fully embraced this go around. For one, meconium. Yep, that's right, poop! This black tarry early baby poo had me excited every time I saw it. At my birthing classes with Asher I learned about meconium and with it the advice to not use cloth diapers during this time. Well, I never saw it until Myer came along. I was almost disappointed when it came to an end and the regular cottage cheese poop started coming, haha!

Another first was being with Myer when his belly button fell off. I was doing a diaper change while visiting some family friends and immediately yelled out to them with excitement, "This might be a gross thing to share but Myer's belly button just fell off!!!" Not sure if they thought I was crazy :)

I simply love having my two boys! Asher has been a really great big brother. I permanently have a chair for him to climb up on at Myer's change table because he wants to have a look and help out. He always asks "Is it pee? Is it poo?" as he's getting onto the chair, and he hands me the wipes.

I feel so lucky.