Brad let me sleep in with Keegan. He got up and fed Jeremiah breakfast and when I woke and went into the living room, they greeted me with big smiles. This is a common occurrence in my house (Brad gets up with Jeremiah and lets me sleep in). He also takes one shift with Keegan during the night. I reciprocate by letting him take naps when he has time. It's a good system we have going here, although I will be very glad when we can both sleep all night. That day seems like it will never get here and when it finally does, there will probably be another baby in the picture.
On with my day: breakfast, fed Keegan, laid him down for a morning nap, took Jeremiah outside and let him play while I paid some bills, came in and fixed lunch, etc. Pretty much just a regular old day but it was just so good. One reason being how beautiful the weather was and the other reason being the fact that both boys took a 3-hour nap AT THE SAME TIME *insert angels singing The Hallelujah Chorus* I had time to wash the dishes and bottles, pick up the living room (the toys, not the actual room), and take a 1.5 hour nap. Yep, I did it. I laid my head right on that pillow and conked out. I looked at my clock around 2 and didn't see it again til 3:30. It was amazing. This is such a rare occurrence I thought something was wrong when I woke up but sure enough everything was fine. I was just given the beautiful gift of a nap. Naps work wonders for tired moms. All you tired moms out there know what I'm talking about! The rest of my day consisted of taking our bi-weekly family trip to the grocery store and cooking supper. I bathed Keegan during supper (he had a pee-related disaster that turned poopey) and Jeremiah after supper. I had a half-bath while bathing Jeremiah because of all of his happy splashing. After giving both of them some milk, they are fast asleep tucked away in bed. This has gotten to be one of my favorite times of the day. I love my boys, don't get me wrong, but it's exhausting taking care of two babies all day long. On long days I find myself longing for the 7:00 hour when I know bedtime is soon and I can relax...or get everything else done that I need to get done...yeah, let's go with that...what is relaxing again?
Both boys absolutely love bath time. I kicked the baby bath tub out a couple of months ago because Keegan kept trying to commit suicide in it. Seriously, I was afraid for his life. I would put him in it and he would plant his feet, arch his back, and slide right down into the water. After a couple of almost-dips, I decided to just bathe him in a shallow pool of water in the big tub. He now happily kicks and waves his arms, splashing me almost as bad as Jeremiah does.
Today Keegan had his first experience with "real food". It was interesting, as it always is when babies try food for the first time. He didn't quite know what to do with it but had a few good bites that he managed to swallow. I am making it my goal to get him to eat food as quickly as I can since I couldn't nurse him. He needs good nutrition so the sooner he can eat fruits and veggies, the better. He will turn 4 months old in 2 days. Time is, as always, flying by. I have to admit I am sad when I think about how I no longer have a newborn but I don't stay sad for long when I look into his beautiful blue eyes (YES, they're still blue!) and think about watching him grow. With each new stage Jeremiah enters, I am convinced I like it better than the last. I am going through the same thing with Keegan. I do love the newborn stage but I also love to sleep, and Keegan is becoming the best sleeper. His sleeping habits have been really good since he was just a few weeks old.
His nightly sleep schedule right now looks like this:
-Sleep from 7pm to about 2:30am, wake up and eat
-Sleep til around 6:30am, wake up and eat
-Sleep til around 8, usually 8:30
That's 13 hours right there.
Did I mention he's a good night sleeper?
I have to brag about that because he struggles during the day to do...everything...
His "nap schedule" is nonexistent right now. Now that he can sit up in the Bumbo he is happier but there for awhile he was a crabby little man. He certainly does NOT enjoy shopping (much to my demise) like Jeremiah did and still does. He enjoys being in the stroller until you stop, say, to swing your other kid or sip your coffee or something. He gets really hot in the carseat so these hot summer/fall days have been rough on him. I feel so bad for him when I pick him up and he is soaked from his own sweat. Even when we blast him with air, it doesn't help. Those carseats just don't breathe. I guess that one isn't his fault. About his daily crabbiness: I guess he just has gas issues maybe? We can't figure out why he is unhappy often but like I said, it is getting better. He just has to learn how to be happy. I'm sure he'll figure it out.
The past four months with my two little men have been busy, exhausting, and incredible. I feel like I have found my true calling in life: motherhood.
Here are some pictures of Keegan's first rice cereal experience and Jeremiah eating all by himself:
"Here, Mom, put it right in here!"
The good stuff
Yum!
Using a big boy fork
This boy loves to eat!
-Hannah Elise
