Thursday, September 17, 2009

and Then There Were 3....

So we've officially entered the "mutiny is possible" phase of parenthood. :) Sam-I-Am, to keep up w/Dr. Seuss References, (Samantha Marie) joined the group on 7 July 09. In the two months that she's been a part of the crew I've learned a ton.

First of all, going from 2 to 3 kids is significantly easier then going from 1 to 2 kids. When Thing 2 joined the crew, I was terrified of losing control--dishes, laundry, etc. So I tried, unsuccessfully more often then not, to do all things all the time. More often then not, I was INSANELY frustrated w/this baby who wouldn't let me get anything done. Argh! :) So, during my whole pregnancy with Sam-I-Am, I spent a lot of time being internally FREAKED OUT on how I was going to manage 3 of them. I was all panicked until Sam-I-Am made me calm down during delivery...we had a bit of a complicated delivery--I reacted poorly to normal dose from epidural, her heart didn't like pitocin and she enjoyed playing with the cord. :) Good times! So while 2 docs, 5 nurses and anthesiologist (sp???) were discussing emergency c-section, I realized that at some point during my pregnancy, I forgot to Let Go and Let God. So, as I've got docs arguing about c-section, a hubs who is trying to act like he's not nervous about what's going on, and nurses monitoring my way low BP and Sam-I-Am's way low heart rate, I took a deep breath and laughed about how I thought I could control anything, let alone everything, and when docs stopped arguing and started explaining I was able to say "Okay, just let me know what you need me to do". Sam-I-Am eventually stopped playing with cord, liked the pitocin and made her debut at 4:32pm. And I've been a lot more relaxed ever since. :)

Second of all, I've learned the new one makes you appreciate the old ones more. Thing 1 took to Sam-I-Am just like he took to Thing 2. He's got another sibiling--no big to him. He talks about how she has his smile and his ears and anything else cute that she does is just like when he was a baby. He likes to help feed her, even if it does involve lecturing me about how he can only feed her, not burp her, because that's my job. Thing 2 is enamored with Sam-I-Am. Thing 2 had a few issues the 3rd to 4th week after Sam-I-Am came home, but it wasn't bad--just wow cranky with EVERYTHING. It might have been a growth spurt. It might have been final adjustments to her world changing. It might have been the fact that Army Guy went back to work, Miss Cassandra went home and it was just Mommy, Thing 1, Thing 2, and Sam-I-Am. Thing 2 has become increasingly more independent and older in the last few weeks too. She enjoys playing in her room w/her toys (that might have something to do w/them all being put in time out for a week…), she’s started cleaning up her toys w/o me screaming at her (tho only when Army Guy is gone interestingly enough), and she’s just generally a bit more relaxed. She’s so old though. This morning I asked her what she wanted for breakfast to which she replied “A bagel, with nothing on it, cooked for 8 seconds on a paper towel please”. Ta-dah. And I was a little sad because there was no trying to decipher what she really wanted, but relieved that it wasn’t as much of a guessing game anymore. 

Finally, I’ve learned that there’s absolutely NO way to control sibling arguments. Thing 2 will look at Thing 1 the wrong way and he comes unglued. Sam-I-Am gets cranky with Thing 2 cuz she gets too close to Sam-I-Am’s face and it irritates her. Though, the really awesome part is that Sam-I-Am ALWAYS takes her pluggie when Thing 2 tries to give it to her. I think it’s because she just knows that Thing 2 will not give up and just end up shoving it down her throat. So Sam-I-Am at 2 months has already learned to pick and choose her battles with Thing 2. So anyways, I’ve stopped trying to make them all get along and now I get involved only if there’s hitting, ugly words or blood involved. It’s taken a load off my stress level. Next task to work on: tattle telling.

I’ll probably continue sharing Lessons Learned later, but I’ve rambled on for long enough.

OH! Almost forgot, Army Guy’s doing well in command. So far no significant issues….no bat phone ringing at 3am. The guys need some work, but it’s doable. FRG is going…I’ve got a bunch of stuff done and I’m getting positive reviews so yay for that! Unit found out yesterday they are officially NOT going to Iraq. But they’re still deploying so yah, I’ll let you guess where they’re going. We’re potentially 6 months out and instead of being all prepped like I was for last deployment, I’ve prepped as much as I want and have decided to “head in the sand” the rest of it.  I’ve got my stuff together on the FRG front and on the Mommy front, so I can afford to head in the sand some of the rest of it. Good times….good times…

1 comment:

Loretta Monroe said...

Seee...... adjusting to three is soooo much easier! I told ya! :o) I thought I was going to lose my mind with #2 and then freaked out during my entire pregnancy with #3. But it really hasn't been that difficult. Even with my Army Guy deployed.... we're in a groove and it all works out. Of course they do make me crazy now and then. But I realize that it's my lack of tollerence that gets me cranky. They are just being "little" and they can't really help it. But I can help how I respond! Anyway... glad you have adjusted nicely and are doing well.
oh yeah.. and the "head in the sand" thing... that's work'n well for me too! :o)