BIG NEWS!!

No, I'm not pregnant again! Thank goodness!! We're stopping at two, in case anyone was wondering...

I am, however, working on a different type of baby... a BOOK! Yes, this little space of mine on the internet has inspired me and given me the confidence to know that I am able to write more than just self-involved little blurbs about daily life, I can write to give people information to help them get through things that I, myself, have experienced.

This book will not be published until Annabelle is one year old. The reason for this is, it's a book about preparing for and parenting through the first year of having two babies under two years of age.

When I was pregnant with Annabelle and Emmaline was only nine months old, I started searching for resources on having two under two. There are forums and a couple of websites but no books and very little detail about how to prepare an infant or young toddler for the birth of a sibling. My book starts with preparing your oldest for the arrival of your youngest and walks a mother through the first year of the youngest child's life. Why a year?

Well, everyone I've talked to with two under two says that it's nearly impossible for the first six months, then becomes manageable for the next six months, and, once you hit the year mark, it gets easier every day. In my mind, that means, mothers need the most support, knowledge, and alcoholic beverages during the first year so I plan to provide the first two and recommend the third as often as necessary.

So, if you've raised two under two and have any input, I WANT IT! There will be a section of the book with contributions from moms who have been there! Everything from horror stories to amazing snuggly pictures! If you're willing to share, I'd love to have your experience to give to others!

Thanks for the love, everyone, I'm so excited to be working on this and finally able to share the news with you!!

Having Computer Issues and BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

I'm going from an old Acer laptop to a late 2007 MacBook and I'm having some issues...

I won't whine because I feel very fortunate to be inheriting a new to me computer but I will say that updating everything and cleaning things up has been a complete and total disaster!

On a side note, I'm excited to announce that this new computer is giving me much more power to do what I need to do for www.voxxi.com/author/amanda and www.mamiverse.com/amanda-edwards and I'm so excited for that!

Also, I'm very excited to tease a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT coming very soon so be sure to keep checking back here. Give me a day or two to get my act together before I reveal all to you!

Finally, I'm so sad that The Closer is over and, while I appreciate the effort from Major Crimes, it's just not the same without Brenda Lee Johnson every Monday night.

When Everything Goes Right

I know I complain a lot about how hard having two children is... I do this because, well, having two kids IS REALLY HARD! No matter how far apart in age, no matter their sex, no matter if you're a stay at home or working parent. Adding a baby to your family is a huge challenge!

This morning though, was one of those magical times when everything goes right and there's a glimmer of hope that you might actually be able to handle the impossible task of raising your own children.

Ryan left early, 6:45am, after making me breakfast and coffee. Then, parenting was on me all the way till bedtime. Both girls were sweet and cooperative. Annabelle napped for over an hour and Emmaline ate leftover corn on the cob for breakfast, her choice, not mine.

Anna woke and we all walked our lovely canal path together, enjoying the not-too-hot day and winding down for mid-day naps. Emma went down easily and a half hour later, Anna fell asleep too.

Ahhh... I got some work done. I got caught up on my DVR'd HGTV and What Not to Wear. I put on some mascara and brushed my teeth.

Annabelle woke up and nursed 20 minutes before Emmaline woke up. I rarely get one on one time with my youngest so this little moment was special; calm and quiet infant snuggles are so amazing.

Emma woke up in a great mood (hello, an almost 3 hour nap will do that to a toddler!) and wanted a granola bar. Done. And we were off to my parents' house for some quality time with Gigi and Poppy.

Now, the day is done and I'm exhausted but happy. My girls had a great day. I managed to get them to bed without too much craziness and I feel like maybe I can handle this whole motherhood thing. Thank goodness for days when everything goes right!

Putting a Baby to Sleep on Her Belly

I'm so torn and I know I'm not the only one. I sometimes put Annabelle to sleep on her belly.

I know the "Back to Sleep" campaign reduced the instance of SIDS greatly in this country but my baby simply does not sleep well on her back! I need rest, she needs rest, the whole family needs more sleep and sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, right?

Ugh...

Here's how I'm justifying it, feel free to flame me, if you must...

1. I only put her down on her tummy for naps, never overnight.

2. We do everything else on the list that reduces the risk of SIDS. I mean e.ver.y.thing! Annabelle sleeps in our room, in a basinet. We have a fan going for white noise in the summer and a humidifier in the winter. We swaddle when she's on her back/propped slightly on one side. She occasionally uses a pacifier. She's NEVER exposed to cigarette smoke or any other inhaled toxins (no perfume or cleaning supplies in our house!). And we breastfeed... a lot...

There you have it, my confession to you, I'm not the best mother ever and I sometimes do things that are frowned upon. I'm real. I'm honest. I put my baby to sleep on her belly.

Bedtime is so hard!!!

As featured in Mamiverse!  

 

When I'm home by myself to put the girls to bed, I cannot begin to express just how challenging it is. Seriously, it seems impossible. 

The main issue right now is that Annabelle, my newborn, is simply refusing to lie anywhere peacefully (unless she's asleep) anytime after 11am. Before then, she can tolerate a few minutes on her play mat or in the swing but, in the afternoon, she demands to be held or rocked or nursed or worn in a carrier. That's pretty much fine (Emma, my toddler, went through that phase too except it was worse) except when it comes to bedtime! 

I suppose it's my own fault for making both girls have the same bedtime but, honestly, I didn't create their bedtimes, they did! I follow their cues and know that they go down easiest, sleep best, and wake up later when they go to bed between 6 and 7pm. It just so happens that they're usually both anxious to go to sleep at the exact same time each night. Oy!

Most of the time, my husband Ryan is around to put Emma to bed while I put Anna down. This works out great when they both go to bed easily. Sometimes Emma requires multiple "goodnights" from Mommy even if Daddy is the one putting her to bed. Annabelle will sometimes need to be jostled for a while or lay on her tummy on Daddy's chest before finally snoozing peacefully.

 

When I'm by myself, however, bedtime is an almost impossible task. Since Anna will not lie down quietly somewhere, I get her ready and nurse her to sleep first. During this time, Emma is usually watching television, eating what's left of her dinner, or playing quietly... until she's not...

Without fail, she comes storming into the bedroom, climbing on top of me, yelling something about "more please" or "daddy-daddy?" or "night-night". This, of course, wakes Annabelle at which time I must walk Emmaline back to the living room or wherever she came from, refocus her on her quiet activity, remind her that I'll be done soon and she has to be quiet, and return to Annabelle to get her back to sleep... again...

Not exaggerating, this happens at least twice, usually three times. It's a nightmare.

At some point, I have to give up on Annabelle and leave her to cry for the five minutes it takes me to get Emma to bed. Seven on a rough night. Not joking, I have an angelic child when it comes to going down for the night when it's just me. Emmaline is a dream for mommy. She usually asks to be nursed and, when it's just me at home, I'll agree to nurse her for five minutes and then she goes right to sleep. If Anna wasn't crying in the next room, I wouldn't put a time limit on nursing my toddler but since there's a screaming newborn involved, we have to set limits. After a reminder at 2 minutes and 1 minute remaining, she usually lets go and says, "all done" at which point I hold her to give her one last hug before setting her in her crib. I give her her "peanut" (it's a lovey from my mother in law) and her blanket (knit by my mother), tell her to close her eyes and go to sleep and that I'll see her in the morning and I love her so much. I close the door on my way out and that's it. She's amazing.

Then, I have to go back to the newborn...

Annabelle has struggled to settle for a while and getting her to sleep at night usually means swaddling, white noise, patting, and nursing all at the same time. Sometimes for over an hour. It's exhausting for all of us. I'm ready for this stage to be over.

As I write this, I have been working with Annabelle to get her down on and off for an hour and a half. She's quiet now but we'll see if she's not fussing for me to come back in a minute or two...

And...  she's up... not joking... off I go!