I was so nieve

It was back when I was pregnant with Levi, still working full time, that my then boss and I got caught up in a discussion about how his triplets (!!!) were being picky at the dinner table. They were five years old. They refused to eat anything green and also didn’t like potatoes. Any kind of potatoes. Even fries. I may have appeared understanding, but I was snickering on the inside. Surely, I thought, this was caused by soft parenting. Anyone whose anyone knows that if kids are only offered what the family is eating, eventually they’ll get hungry enough to eat what’s put in front of them and thereby conform to the family. I must have said something somewhat snarky because I clearly remember my boss telling me that, as a pregnant woman without any kids yet, I was the best parent I’d ever be.

Wow. Did he have me pegged or what?

This past week has been FULL of power struggles with my oldest cherub. I’ve been daily reminded that as humans, our sinfull hearts are evident even from a very tender young age. Discipline has been so difficult with Levi lately. What is right, what is wrong? How will he best learn? How can I give him the most accurate representation possible of how God loves us as HIS children? I must discipline him in love, and not anger, but MAN is that hard.

Oh, and he won’t eat anything I put in front of him at the dinner table.  Even fries.

Overdue update

The fact that it’s been so long since I’ve blogged should give you some insight into how busy I am. Or rather, how busy I feel. I marvel at women who have more than two kids, as I myself don’t feel like I can adequately accomplish (to my standards) much of anything these days.  Ah well, comes with the territory. And that territory has been lots of fun lately. Here is a totally informal bulleted list of some of the things I’ve made note of recently:

·         Cora is closing in on the ten pound mark (I’d guess she’ll be there by next Wednesday at the latest) and has been consistently gaining an ounce a week on breastmilk alone. If you knew me when I had Levi (or if you go back in the archives of my blog) you will see that Levi and I struggled mercilessly with milk supply and traveled a long road of supplementation etc. before finally being able to exclusively breastfeed.  I prayed fervently for the breastfeeding relationship Cora and I would have, and the Lord provided greatly! Things have been so very much different!

·         For a LONG while (maybe 5 weeks) Cora would not go back to sleep and stay that way after nursing in the middle of the night. Ugh.  We tried EVERYTHING we could think of. Finally we reluctantly moved her to her own room as a last ditch effort. Ta da!  It was a huge success. A week or so later we attempted to swaddle her again (which had been a big mistake previously) and she decided it was quite a nice way to sleep. We’re very much enjoying one 5-6 hour stretch of sleep each night, and then another 3-4 hour stretch after that.

·         Cora likes to be close to mommy. Surprised? Don’t all babies? Anyway, she loves nothing more than nursing and snuggling in bed with us. And we love it too – just not all night long because this mama don’t sleep too well with a baby next to her. Our afternoon naps together are simply blissful

·         About two weeks ago Cora started mirroring smiles – it’s more precious than words can express, so I’ll leave you with a picture:

·         Cora loves bathtime. Like her brother, she plays the part of the exhibitionist joyously. She If she appears unhappy, take her diaper off and she’ll be happy as a clam.

·         Bright lights make Cora cry. Dim lighting makes her sleepy. She likes music, and white noise, and very soft blankets. Most of all, she likes to be kept unreasonably warm.

·         The car-seat isn’t her favorite (I don’t know many babies who enjoy it) but a good car ride will put her to sleep – until we reach a red light at which point I’ll look back and see her little face scrunch up until she whimpers. So sad to watch.

·         Levi loves his little sister, most of the time. He isn’t usually bothered when she cries – except on time last week when he sweetly shushed her before placing a pillow over her face. Darling child.

·         Cora officially outgrew her newborn clothes over the last week. She’s solidly into her 0-3’s (or 3 month if she’s in cloth diapers, which we’re using more and more these days, although not exclusively by any means)

·         Cora really only naps in her swing, but I can’t complain. heck, she naps!  As I type this, she’s swinging peacefully and Levi is crying in his bed. This past week has been VERY tough for him. I find him begging for attention and for obvious reasons I don’t as much to give him as I used to. As a result, he’s trying to get my negative attention by acting out and being intentionally disobedient. It’s heartbreaking and infuriating at the same time – especially as I have less than half the patience I need and less sleep than I’d like. Dealing with his needs (and not meeting my own expectations in that regard) is far more difficult than meeting Cora’s daily needs. Babies are easier than toddlers.

And with that I’ll go tend to the crying toddler. I may come back and add things to this as I think of them. Like that bit about how our friends bought us a Roku player which keeps me company during those late night feedings. It’s magical!