A Month Of Bliss, Eleven Months of Hell?

Good lord! It's been a while, and frankly, I think it's rather ironic that the first time I have the opportunity to write a new post is the first day that my husband goes back to work...I wonder what that means? Needless to say, I am alive. The joys of being a mother to two haven't swallowed me up and spit me out. At least, not yet!

So, most of the visitors I've had over the past four weeks are extremely curious to see a) how my recovery has been and b) how it's been with two kids. I'll start with a).

My recovery has been ...um...interesting to say the least. After my first c-section, the recovery time was pretty minimal. I was out of bed after the first day home, racing up and down the stairs, carrying heavy objects, pretty much tempting fate. This time...not so much. I had to actually fill my prescription for Oxycontin (don't tell Lindsay Lohan...she'll be knocking on my door tonight on her way outta jail). Granted, I only took two of them (again, LiLo doesn't need to know that I have a surplus, so keep it on the downlow, please), but I had to take them so I wasn't feeling great about that. When I wasn't doped up on Oxy, I was popping Advil and clock watching to see when I could take another. I was bed ridden for almost 2 weeks and up until this weekend, I wasn't able to walk around the block without feeling a terrible pull and tug in my midsection. So, you can imagine the distress I was feeling when I realized that my husband was off to work this week and I was having to tend to an overly active 2 1/2 year old and a newborn who is constantly feeding. Luckily my immediate family has stepped in with their time and allowed me to break myself into the role of mom o' two slowly. Hence, I have some free time as my newborn sleeps and my toddler is off to Nana's house.

I do, however, now realize how much one forgets about the grossness that is a recovering mother's post-natal body. Ugh! Starting with the disgrace and embarrassment of having your first pee accompanied by the unsympathetic and immodest nurse, squeezed into a 10sq ft bathroom, followed up by a constant flow of stool softeners (which I felt were unnecessary to take), only to end with the first post-natal poop (and realization that I should've taken those tootin' stool softeners!!!!!!!). GAWD! How could I have ever forgotten my initial experience???? Not to mention the inability to soak in a bath because of the gaping axe wound I had across my belly. It was shock after shock after shock.

So other than the fact that the recovery time of the c-section didn't go as planned, all is well in my household. The sleep issue is horrendous, but expected. The baby is feeding every two hours (and gaining weight like a fat kid threatened with a hunger strike). She is, however, giving Mom and Dad a little bit of a break on the sleep front, generally knocked out from 10pm - 3am without issue. It's the other one that's giving us a hard time. When we first came home, my eldest got a cold, so was up all hours of the night hacking away. Now, it's not the cold that's keeping him up, it's more that he's discovered the art of manipulation and that he's a mildly independent human being. "Mommy, I need water", "Mommy, I can't find my soucie" (yes, we haven't kicked the soother habit yet...), "Mommy, I'm not tired", "Mommy, can I sleep in your bed?"...From what I've heard from other mothers, this is ONLY THE BEGINNING....Luckily we have a safety gate in front of his room, so he's not able to escape the confines of his firetruck bedroom...that being said, it certainly doesn't sway him from screaming at the top of his lungs from the threshold.


As for bringing the new baby home and the issues that may follow, luckily I haven't encountered those ... YET... My son seemed ultra excited at the hospital as the entire family converged over my constantly filling catheter bag (oh the shame of labour) to meet the baby for the first time. He was all about holding her and checking her out. Nowadays I'm not sure he's even aware that she exists until she cries. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but I'll take the peace while I can, as I'm sure it's not going to last forever.


Since my husband has been home, and my family has been a super help, we haven't really had to deal too much with one parent vs. two kids...and between the two of us, it appears that my husband has had more practice juggling than I have. That being said, I did wake up ON MY OWN this morning and had to put the baby in the crib (screaming of course!) while I did the morning routine with my toddler. All in all, it wasn't as terrible as I had anticipated. Granted, I only had two hours of two kids on my own before my mother-in -law rescued me and whisked my two and a half year old outta the house. I can't believe how quiet it is, though, with only one child here. Especially one child that sleeps often and can't talk or run! I feel like I should've had a training kid, so that I could've enjoyed my first born as much as this, rather than being stressed out over every little thing that happened. Ah, the joys of motherhood and hindsight!


Tomorrow is another day of just the baby...but Friday...Friday is the true test. The day where I have both kids ALL DAY, without ANY HELP until my husband returns from work. You'll have to check back with me then to see how I actually survive...until then, let me relish in the quietness and calmness that is my home.

PS- For those of you who are interested...I still haven't really given the tummy binder a real go, as it's been irritating my c-section scar...but I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to start up a "Tummy Tuck Fund" cuz the appearance of my hanging gut is a horror movie more scary than The Shining. Feel free to donate!