If you were to ask me what the last two weeks have been like the answer would be chaos. Beautiful, wonderful, exhausting chaos.
My kitchen is piled high with dirty dishes. There is laundry overflowing every hamper. And my kids haven't eaten anything but fruit loops for two days. Oh and there are toys EVERYWHERE, in every nook, cranny, and crevice.
My house might be messy, but my kids are having the time of their lives!
Recovering from a c-section has pretty much put me out of commission when it comes for caring for my toddlers and taking care of the house. All of the work has fallen on my husband's shoulders, and let me tell you, he's amazing. The problem is there is just too much work for one person, and so it seems chaos has finally caught up with us.
I try to stem the flowing tide periodically by picking up the piles of dirty diapers next to my bed and occasionally putting away a basket of clean clothes when I can find one, but mostly I've just decided to let the mess be.
There was a time in my parenting journey it would have bothered me immensely. I remember getting ready for my mother to visit after Rooster was born. She was coming to help me! So naturally, I cleaned the house from top to bottom before she arrived. Sure, I just had a baby, but that was no reason for the toilet to be dingy.
Well, here we are 2.5 years and 2 babies later, and next time my mom comes I really hope she brings her own gallon of bleach.
However, while our house is a mess and our daily routine in shambles, we are all actually doing quite well. Little Bear and I have spent the majority of time curled up in bed together. It's been wonderful getting to snuggle with him so much. I never would have slowed down this much if I wasn't recovering from surgery and so on that count this c-section has been a blessing.
Of course, Rooster and Cupcake LOVE their little brother! They giggle and say his name every time Little Bear and I venture outside of our safe haven. Rooster just wants to wrestle with him, and Cupcake just wants to hold him and kiss him. I try to let them have a little "baby time" once a day, but for the most part we keep them at a distance while we work on what it means to "be gentle".
If I had to pick the biggest challenge of the past week though, I'd say it's been sleep. Or a lack of sleep. Little Bear has actually been a great sleeper so far. As long as he eats every 2.5 hours during the day, then I can usually expect 4-5 hour stretches at night.
However, I still wake up every 2 hours at night regardless of when he eats. At first it was the pain that kept me up. I just couldn't get comfortable. Then around 3 days postpartum, I woke up suddenly in a dead sweat. I was freezing cold and dripping wet. Weird. Right?
Except it kept happening every time I fell asleep. So I googled it and discovered that I'm suffering from Postpartum Sweating. It sounds silly, but it's seriously annoying. Apparently it's a pretty common way for the body to shed water weight after delivery and it's more common after c-sections because your body doesn't lose as much water as with a natural delivery.
Whatever the reason, it's miserable to finally curl up in bed at the end of a long and noisy day, only to wake up before my baby does and not be able to get comfortable again!
Lucky for me, my husband really encourages naps around here, and considering the chaos of two toddlers and a newborn, I'm actually very well-rested!
I am very ready for life to return to normal though. At least a new normal! I'm ready to vacuum my house, cook dinner every night, and have some semblance of a daily routine. I'm ready for my husband to go back to work full-time, and to try my hand at this whole mothering three little ones all day by myself.
Mostly I'm just ready to be a homemaker. I never stopped being mom, but over the past two weeks my roll as a homemaker has been completely neglected. It was definitely for the best! I needed to rest and recover, but I've missed my daily to-do list. I know it may still be a few weeks (or a few years!) before I get around to everything I want to do, but I'm definitely ready to start!
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Of course, Rooster and Cupcake LOVE their little brother! They giggle and say his name every time Little Bear and I venture outside of our safe haven. Rooster just wants to wrestle with him, and Cupcake just wants to hold him and kiss him. I try to let them have a little "baby time" once a day, but for the most part we keep them at a distance while we work on what it means to "be gentle".
If I had to pick the biggest challenge of the past week though, I'd say it's been sleep. Or a lack of sleep. Little Bear has actually been a great sleeper so far. As long as he eats every 2.5 hours during the day, then I can usually expect 4-5 hour stretches at night.
However, I still wake up every 2 hours at night regardless of when he eats. At first it was the pain that kept me up. I just couldn't get comfortable. Then around 3 days postpartum, I woke up suddenly in a dead sweat. I was freezing cold and dripping wet. Weird. Right?
Except it kept happening every time I fell asleep. So I googled it and discovered that I'm suffering from Postpartum Sweating. It sounds silly, but it's seriously annoying. Apparently it's a pretty common way for the body to shed water weight after delivery and it's more common after c-sections because your body doesn't lose as much water as with a natural delivery.
Whatever the reason, it's miserable to finally curl up in bed at the end of a long and noisy day, only to wake up before my baby does and not be able to get comfortable again!
Lucky for me, my husband really encourages naps around here, and considering the chaos of two toddlers and a newborn, I'm actually very well-rested!
I am very ready for life to return to normal though. At least a new normal! I'm ready to vacuum my house, cook dinner every night, and have some semblance of a daily routine. I'm ready for my husband to go back to work full-time, and to try my hand at this whole mothering three little ones all day by myself.
Mostly I'm just ready to be a homemaker. I never stopped being mom, but over the past two weeks my roll as a homemaker has been completely neglected. It was definitely for the best! I needed to rest and recover, but I've missed my daily to-do list. I know it may still be a few weeks (or a few years!) before I get around to everything I want to do, but I'm definitely ready to start!
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awww I hope you get some much needed rest soon girl!!!
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog from pinterest and your post on what it really means to be pro-life. God keeps nudging me about releasing my fertility to Him. We have 8 children, so far...
ReplyDeleteI think the night sweats are so annoying! I finally resorted to putting a towel underneath me so at least I didn't have wet sheets every night. It was crazy.