We have not seen Charlotte since Nana picked her up Monday afternoon.  I just received this photo my mom took yesterday.  It scared me.  In only three days, she has gone from a little past 2 to almost 3!  She seriously looks older.  That is the crazy thing about childhood.  The growth and development happens too quickly for you to capture it on film and video and get it all down in a memory book.  Once you hit say 25 it’s all a gradual shift.  Oh, you’re 30 now?  35?  Wow, you haven’t changed much since 28.  But when you’re a kid… Hello!  Wasn’t that so and so’s kid with make-up on?  Well, she’s in high school now.  What?  3 years ago she was a string bean with braces and now she’s 14 going on 20.  I dread these rapid changes and the drama that will come with them–especially in the girl department.  But I thought I was so cool in 5th grade when the Flashdance/bandana craze hit.  Oh, you missed that one?  I actually wore a thin sweatshirt with the neck ripped out that said “Flashdancer” in fake, hot pink spray paint on it.  I complimented it with those ultra-80s earrings that fanned out like shells and 2-3 bandanas wrapped around my neck, wrists and ankles.  One of these days I will get my mom to email some old pics and share them here… but I don’t want to scare too many of you off just yet.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 6

Let’s face it.  We, as adult parents, are not nearly as entertaining to a 6-month-old as a high energy 2-year-old.  Thomas is bored this week without Charlotte.  Daddy can get him to giggle but Charlotte can keep him on a roller coaster of emotions through constant action and distraction that occupy him for longer stretches.  The look in this picture is one of fear.  It is the typical look that comes over his face when Charlotte charges at him to tickle him, tackle him or whatever other pro-wrestling move she can dream up.  Once he survives the licking (literally when it’s a “puppy kiss”), he breaks out in an ear-to-ear grin or even laughter.  It’s a good sign of a little Mommy free time to come.  “Oh, you guys are wrestling again?  No problem, just don’t break anything or kill eachother.”  Maybe when they’re 2 and 4?  Or 1 and 3?  He’s a boy, you know.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 6

Just when you get something figured out with your little ones, the game changes.  The minute your baby’s born you’re counting diapers and stressing over weight gain and feeding issues.  Breast or bottle or both?  The moment you get that down, it seems, you’re on to sleep concerns.  To wake or not to wake for a feeding?  At some point you MAY hit that 6-hour mark when out of no where teething hits.  Is that causing cold symptoms or is the baby just sick?  Before you know it, you are dragging a 6-month-old around in the infant carrier and he stares at you when you’re eating.  Break out the cereal and let the food battles begin.  Charlotte, pictured above, took to it all pretty well… but she never slept through the night in the early months and she was rarely content, so she had to give us a break in at least one department.  Thomas loves the bottle and, until recently, loved the boob.  He hates cereal.  Great!  At least we got over the potty-training hump with his sister but now comes dressing oneself.  Yes, I promise not to intervene on the 26th toddler try at putting on her undershirt.  As for Thomas, he does like sitting in the high chair, primarily because his sister jumps out from below the tray and scares him or screams until he laughs.  Oh, what fun gathering around the family table!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 6

I tried to exclusively breastfeed Charlotte and the poor girl was not getting enough milk.  She was losing weight the first few weeks of her life when she should have been gaining it.  My husband finally convinced me to give her some formula and the happy ending was that I still nursed her for 7 months in combination.  Thomas took to breastfeeding straight out of the womb.  He latched on and wanted to stay on.  The result is my milk supply was way up compared with my first experience and I breastfed him almost exclusively for two months-not an easy task trying to keep a 9+ pounder satisfied!  Back to work at eight weeks, I have continued to breastfeed when I’m with him, often more than once overnight, and pump at least once at work.  But lately bottles from Daddy and daycare have started to outnumber his feedings at the breast.  My 2-4 hour lapse between nursing or pumping has stretched to as long as 8 hours.  No surprise my milk supply is down.  Thomas’ bad cold and my dieting attempt have contributed.  My goal to nurse him until his first birthday may not happen.  The idea was, through breastmilk, to give him some extra protection against asthma and allergies that Daddy deals with.  At this point, though, I am pleased the nursing has lasted to the 6-month mark.  From the church infant room to my sister’s wedding reception at the head table, no place has been off-limits for nursing Thomas.  And I have never had a bad experience doing it-no mean looks or ones of disgust.  In fact, people have been cool with seeing the news lady trying to balance a baby on the breast while blocking a toddler from jumping out of the booth at Applebee’s.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 6

A flat tire killed the original plan.  Here’s the back story.  Papa had his second knee replacement two weeks ago.  Nurse Nana was willing to take on helping him and entertaining Charlotte for the week because they miss her.  We agreed to meet at the I-80 truck stop but Nana hit a chunk of metal on the road that flattened her tire–fortunately before she had gone too far.  We were a half-hour into the trip when we got word.  Charlotte was in tears but a quick trip to the McDonald’s Playplace cheered her up.  Glad the thing was open at 7am!  Fast forward to this morning and Nana decided to drive all the way here, now that the tire has been replaced.  Charlotte was thrilled Nana was on her way.  Nana thinks Charlotte is just what Papa needs to get through his painful recovery.  Mommy thinks Charlotte could use some one-on-one time with Nana and Papa since she has been doing so well sharing the love with her sick brother, Thomas.  “He has a bad cold,” she told Nana today.  And Nana and Papa likely will be exposed to it since Charlotte has managed to smother Thomas in ”puppy kisses” all weekend.  He attaches to her face like a jellyfish and she laughs about it.  All the while sharing more germs than I care to think about.  I have probably mentioned this scenario before but I’m a sleep-deprived mom, you know.  What?  What’s that?  Oh, that’s right.  I have only one kid to handle until Saturday morning.  I just got my second wind!!!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 6

I don’t want to jinx it but Charlotte has gone a week now with NO ACCIDENTS.  She has worn “big girls” every day and I’m not talking pull-ups.  Every time she has to go she lets us know.  Upon completion, the event is announced to anyone around who’ll listen–even strangers.  “I went pee pee in the potty,” she shouted in the waiting room of urgent care this morning.  (That’s another story.  We were getting Thomas tested for RSV when his cold and cough became more serious overnight.)  I have never been so excited about the idea of using public restrooms.  In the past week, I have found myself getting way too close for comfort in a lot of stalls.  Charlotte doesn’t want to just pee in the toilet.  She wants to touch every part of it to activate the flush.  “Mommy will do it,” I tell her.  Then she’s on to the sanitary napkin dispenser, opening and closing it.  Oh, that’s clean!  “What’s this?”   You’ll know soon enough, sweetheart.  Then it’s handwashing time.  And of course those sinks are always so neat and tidy.  Sure, Mommy will hoist you up to the basin and soak the front of your clothes with someone else’s dirty water in the process.  But what do I have to complain about?  Now we only have to buy expensive diapers and formula for one kid… but then there’s college.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 6

It takes years to earn a college degree but isn’t it amazing that in a few short months, even weeks, with a new baby you become a professor of parenting?  I’ll admit with Charlotte I didn’t get my diploma without a lot of tutoring from my husband–she was so rarely content as a newborn I initially dreaded the times Dave would leave me alone with her.  Then came Thomas and I sailed across the graduation stage with honors!  In seconds, I can cradle him in my arms and calm his fussiness.  Certain sounds I make repeated and whispered in his ear will suddenly soothe him.  Charlotte’s meltdowns can be cut short with a calm voice and distractions.  Dave is at the graduate level.  He can rest Thomas against his knee on his lap and rub his head so lovingly it puts our son to sleep.  An eye-level conversation with Charlotte about what she did wrong and a reminder that he loves her means all is forgiven when she gets mad or upset at Daddy.  Of course he has a bit of experience with two older daughters and a teaching career in his tool box.  For me, though, the learning curve in motherhood was steep.  But once you hit your stride isn’t it rewarding?  Of course we all have our daily moments but we get a lot of it figured out very quickly–just to save ourselves.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 6

It is unavoidable in some respects.  You will compare your second child to your first even when they’re different genders.  Charlotte started crawling on the day she turned 6 months.  She started walking on her first birthday–no kidding, to the day.  So naturally now that Thomas is two weeks away from the 6-month mark, he is being cheered on by his parents every time he pushes up on all fours.  The most he is doing at this point involves scooting backward like the centipede move break dancers were known for in my grade school days.  I know my son, like my daughter, will do things on his own timetable.  I embrace their differences.  But Dave and I find ourselves talking about what Charlotte did and when in comparison with the little snot-nosed babe frantically jumping in his bouncer.  Sorry, Thomas.  She is a tough act to follow, let’s face it.  But you are the cutest little bundle of baby boy joy I could have ever hoped for.  You have already far exceeded my expectations, little man.  Crawl on your own time.  And then get up, start running and tackle your sister.  You owe her!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 6

Despite being a TV journalist in the first-in-the-nation caucus state and a political science minor, I found myself today reflecting on something that didn’t involve hands on Bibles or motorcades of limousines.  Four years ago today my husband had his vasectomy reversed.  I was sitting in the outpatient family area of a Houston hospital waiting to hear that hopefully the lengthy procedure went smoothly, all the while watching President Bush being sworn in for a second term.  Who knew what was to come for our country?  Doom and gloom on the economic front were awaiting us.  But awaiting me was my first pregnancy then a second, both miracles in that babies were naturally conceived from a father whose vasectomy was done 14 years prior!  Dave was blessed with two beautiful daughters in his first marriage.  My step-daughters, Taylor and Lauren (pictured with Charlotte), are now 21 and 18.  I accepted the fact that odds were not in our favor and planned to try in-vitro or adoption to start a family.  But God had another plan in this case and I try to take time to thank Him every day for the outcome.  Yes, Inauguration Day will always mean a lot to me on such an intimate and personal level.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 6

“These kids are wild.”  That’s what Charlotte told me yesterday before she tackled a 2-year-old boy in the mall’s indoor play area.  All of their chasing and wrestling was a preview of what’s to come with her and Thomas.  Good thing all the breakables have long been stored away!  “It’s cloudy, windy and icy,” she told her teacher when the class was asked about the weather.  Apparently she pays more attention to the forecast than her mother does.  “Hi, I’m Charlotte.  Do you want to be my friend?”  This is what she told Lucy, the new girl at school.  Hearing that really made me smile.  When she wants to, Charlotte can have better manners than many adults.  “Why do you always mess up those towels?”  That’s what she asked her dad when he opened the cabinet to get one.  She recalled Mommy saying something about that when she was refolding the stacks.  Must you repeat everything Mommy says?

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 6