Today is officially Zannas seven week birthday and goodness has it been a wild ride juggling two children. A lot of other parents did tell me the leap from one to two is giant and they were definitely right. Having two children is like trying to get five organised at once, time consuming and constantly having to think ahead.
Don’t get me wrong I love it but it has been really exhausting and emotionally draining from the start. When I had Olivia I felt like I was hit by a train, its true when people say that nothing can prepare you for having a child. You get offered all the advice from others but you still aren’t ready no matter how much you think you are and its tough to get in the swing of things. I remember people constantly telling me “it will get better” and I just wanted to slap them! But they were truly right. This time around I told myself “you can do this, you are a pro second time around” and this is true to a certain extent im definitely more relaxed but I forgot how much hard work it is at the start. I thought I was tired until I had a newborn!
Society tricks you into thinking babies are all cuddles, that newborn smell, lots of sleeping etc all the good stuff but the small print at the bottom reads..lots of crying, lots of rocking and bouncing and lots of broken sleep for mummy and daddy..yawn!
I forgot all of this. It may have only been three years ago but you do forget all the hard times and I guess that’s why parents go on to have more children because if they remembered they probably wouldn’t 🙂
Now that I have a baby I get constantly reminded about all these forgotten issues like reflux, constipation, colic, feeding problems, sleep regression the list goes on. I can hardly remember a time when Olivia was a baby it seems like a lifetime ago. Even leaving the hospital I had to ask how often I should feed Zanna I had total baby brain. My mind continually ticks over thinking “was Olivia like this?” and “did Olivia do this?”. Zanna and Olivia do have similar traits in that they were both very unsettled at the start with wind issues but on the other hand they are like chalk and cheese. Zanna is a real clingy baby she absolutely loves to be held and cuddled. Olivia was and still is very much independent. she was happy to go into her Moses basket and self settle Zanna not so much, thank goodness for the saviour that is the sling!
*Disclaimer – I do actually know how to wear it correctly and did not leave Zannas poor legs like this I had just put it on and needed to adjust it before Chris snapped the photo thinking it was funny 🙂
There have been many highs and many lows over the last seven weeks but I wouldn’t change it for the world. Things are getting easier with Zanna as she becomes more settled and I am able to enjoy her more. What feels like constant crying and pacing up and down the living room rocking doesn’t last forever and now the babbling and smiles are appearing I have had a memory flashback to the good times a newborn brings and that is a reminder that yes people are right “things do get better” and long may it continue.
