Doing this the second time around, I'd like to think that I've learned a thing or two about motherhood. Although, I'm definitely re-learning and remembering things forgotten (i.e. diaper blowouts, creating a new sleeping schedule and cooking/cleaning/doing the laundry with one hand), one task that is teaching me a whole lot is
leaving the house. With a newborn and a toddler in tow, time is usually not on my side. So, I've reminded myself of a couple things and figured I should write them down for refreshment and/or let some new mommies in on a few things.
1) Don't plan on being everywhere
on time. I tend to stress out if I'm late to events and outings. Having a new baby though, I've re-learned to be patient and more lenient in this area. Usually, others will understand too and life isn't about rushing through it. You will get to your destination eventually. If though, I must absolutely be somewhere at a certain time, I tend to get everything ready(this includes myself and the kids) about 3 hours ahead of time.
2) Make sure everything is absolutely ready to walk out the door about an hour
before you have to
leave to give you time to relax and feed your baby. Since I'm breast feeding, I have to make sure our little girl is full and happy before I put her in the car seat. Otherwise, we will be making a stop or two on our destination to feed her which is definitely not uncommon.
A few places we've stopped so far? An Autozone parking lot, a gas station, a dirt lot
next to a gas station, a dirt lot next to a
stop sign where we imagined giving tickets to several cars making california rolling stops (I must laugh at this one), a grocery store parking lot and off a random dirt road as I counted 110 cars on a train going by...just to name a few "detours". My husband and our three year old son are complete troopers because they have sat patiently at just about every stop!
I remember just how quickly Levi went from being an itty bitty baby to being a rambunctious, independent toddler. I know our little girl won't be so little real soon so I'm enjoying Lyla's time as a wee one. The snuggles, the little giggles, the feedings, the random stops, the diaper changes, the tiniest outfits, the innocence, the coos, the cries, the soft skin, the spit up
and all. I'm remembering to
live life a little more slowly and enjoy it
a day at a time.
