Baby gets easier, other kids get harder??

Nathan has gotten a bit better over the last week, but now it's my other two kids that are taking turns driving me crazy! At least they're taking turns, right?? Not much consolation.

Lynsey has been testing boundaries all week, refusing to listen and driving her sleep-deprived parents near the brink of mental breakdown. We have been getting so angry at her, which is not helping anyone, but it is so aggravating! Today I handled things a bit better by putting her in her room and walking away until I was calmer and more ready to deal with her. By the time I was ready to deal with her, she had also calmed down and was ready to listen - a much better result than the yelling and screaming that was happening before (and not just by her!).

Adam has also been really difficult lately. To those people that I may have told that he was not really all that affected by the arrival of Nathan, I want to take that back. He has been super clingy, only wanting me to do things, and having lots of screaming fits. I have found that when he starts screaming and throwing things, I can usually stop it by picking him up and snuggling him for a bit, but unfortunately when you have a newborn, this isn't always possible! I have learned to hold them both at the same time, as this has become a necessity. He's also been pretty tired lately which is contributing to his crankiness. Luckily, Nathan is getting a bit easier to put down (some days - not all!) so I can devote more time to my other kids. I would like to challenge whomever said that the transition from two to three kids is easier than from one to two!

On a brighter note, the carpet is being installed in our basement today! The last step! Brian has been busy painting the last few weeks, and we finished the last wall yesterday. Will post some pics in the next blog post of the finished product! Another 700 square feet for us to fill up with more of our junk!:)

Three kids - not so easy

I am not going to lie - things have been a bit rough since my last post! On Wednesday we left for Edmonton so the trim painters could come and spray lacquer on the trim in the basement. We had a nice time visiting and relaxing while we were there. We came back on Friday because we were told it would probably be okay to come back then. We walked into our house and the fumes were pretty strong. All the windows were open and it was warm and breezy, so the fumes aired out fairly well during the day. By evening, we realized that we could not spend the night there. Great - now what?? We called up Brian's aunt and uncle in the city and they graciously let us come stay with them for the night. It was at this point that we realized how much the lacquer smell had permeated everything in the house - our clothes, our food, our furniture . . . it was not a good feeling! We stayed at Terry and Marilyn's for the night, and the next day we went to Three Hills to stay with my sister Gert for the day and night. We had a nice time out there as well, but I was so ready to just be in my own house already! So frustrating being homeless with a newborn! We came home on Sunday late afternoon and the house had aired out significantly, and we deemed it safe to stay. Our contractor felt really bad about the whole fiasco and arranged for carpet and upholstery cleaning this week, and we also got our ducts cleaned. We had to throw out a bunch of food, wash all our clothes and bedding, and buy new pillows. Brian also bought a nice air purifier to help get rid of the remaining fumes that were hanging around. It seems the worst of this crisis is now behind us! What an ordeal - I had to keep telling myself that this too shall pass. And wouldn't you know, it did:).

I had Nathan weighed on Thursday (he was 2 weeks, 2 days old) - 9lb 11oz. Weight gain not an issue apparently! He is on the same track as Adam was at this age - another chubby baby coming up! He has been a bit more difficult again the last few days. He was super awake yesterday and feeding lots, giving me hope that he might sleep last night. Not to be - he had an awful night. He has been fussy most of the day today as well. He responds well to gripe water, but I don't want to overuse that. He's just got a lot of tummy trouble. It's like deja vu - my other two babies all over again. Lynsey was better during the night, and Adam was better during the day, so instead of a baby that's good during the day and at night, I have the opposite! Eek! I am very hopeful that he will sort himself out soon. It's been a bad last few days so I'm probably painting a worse picture than it actually is.

Adam has started answering questions a bit more reliably. He now says "Okay" when we ask him things, which makes communicating with him a bit easier. He still has his tantrums, and has had a few at very inopportune times lately (the most recent at the midwife's office while I was nursing Nathan - he starts walking out the door to go outside and as I haul him back in, while still nursing, he throws himself on the ground screaming. Good times.). This mother of three thing is going to take some getting used to, and hopefully will only keep getting easier from here. I have been very impatient with the other two kids lately, as I don't handle baby crying on no sleep very well, and Lynsey has been acting out a bit. It doesn't help that Brian now needs to spend his spare time in the basement painting . . . as I said, it can only get easier! I keep thinking that if I can make it through the first few months, I can do anything!

I did my first yoga workout today! I am about 10lb over my pre-pregnancy weight (I've allowed a few pounds for all the milk I'm carrying!) so I want to get started on tackling that as soon as possible. I hope to dust off my elliptical this week (literally - it is coated in dust from all the basement renos!) and slowly work my way back up to running. It felt good to do at least a small work out today - hoping I can get back in shape quickly!

The first 7 days!

We have officially survived the first week of Nathan's young life! I am tired, but feeling pretty good overall. My recovery has been really good - I was able to rest a lot the first week, and every day I feel like I can take on more. We took Nathan out for the first time on Sunday - went to Swiss Chalet for supper. He slept the whole time - a successful first outing! I took him to Lynsey's dance class yesterday and he didn't like the van ride so much. As soon as we would stop at a red light he would start screaming. I'm hoping he's okay on the highway, as we are heading off to Edmonton tomorrow morning for a few days. The trim painters are coming to spray lacquer on the trim in the basement, and we've been advised to leave the house for a few days.

I took all three kids out alone this morning for the first time! We met my friend Katie at Joso's play place. It went really well! The kids played and had fun, and Nathan slept and ate mostly. He also had his first poop explosion - always a memorable event:).

So far, I have been able to observe that Nathan will probably not be a so-called "angel baby". He has cried quite a lot in his young life, especially during the night unfortunately. For the first day or so, as mentioned in my last post, he struggled a lot with mucus in his lungs, causing lots of discontent. After clearing out the mucus, my milk came in and I think his tummy had some trouble adjusting to the milk or something - he seemed to have some gas issues. We've had some good nights and some bad nights, but we're learning what works with him and what doesn't. He does not want to sleep alone in his playpen at night, so we have the most success when we put him in our bed. He needs to be held upright a lot, indicating to me that he has some tummy issues. He's not the fussiest baby ever, so hopefully he will get used to being in this world and settle down a bit. When he gets angry, he gets REALLY angry - his cry is super urgent. Definitely crossing my fingers that he will calm down soon, especially at night! He has had a few baths and loved them both - I think the poor guy misses the womb a lot!

Adam and Lynsey seem to be adjusting pretty well. Adam is just going about his business and hasn't really made any changes since the baby came. He shows fleeting interest in him, but for the most part just ignores him. Lynsey loves him, as we predicted she would, and wants to hold him all the time. She has been suffering the lingering effects of her stomach flu and been a bit difficult this last week - very tired and whiny a lot of the time. I think she is finally completely over it and hopefully her behaviour will get back to normal.