Sweet girl.
Benjamin helps with the bath.
Getting used to caring for two little ones definitely has its challenges. It's workable, though, and Benjamin has really risen to the occasion and is becoming a big boy before my eyes.
The night I went into labor Benjamin went to bed without a fuss and this trend has (pretty much) continued. He seems to understand that I can't hold him as much, and though it sometimes makes him sad that I can't hold two kids, he doesn't fuss too much about it. He loves Lydia and gets this protective, adoring smile on his face when he first sees her in the morning. He loves to give her kisses on the head. Don't get me wrong, he also sometimes wants to sit on her. (To keep her company.) But generally he's turning out to be a sweet big brother.
Lydia is still an easy baby most of the time, though she's showed us in the last few weeks that she's not exactly an Angel Baby. Still, she responds to comforting, and when she's out of control all she needs is a good tight swaddling. She is still sleeping 5 hours through the night with no fussing. Jeff and I are both getting more sleep than we did in Benjamin's early days.
The prospect of taking both kids with me anywhere is frankly pretty frightening to me. I had been freaking out all week that today I needed to take Lydia in for a hearing test at a Children's Rehab center 30 minutes away. As it turned out, Jeff had a doctor's appointment this morning and went into work late, so he watched Benjamin for me. I'm still not sure how that first "both kids" outing is going to pan out. I did get brave and took both of them for a walk around the neighborhood this morning. Benjamin held onto the stroller and pretended to push while Lydia slept. He did great. She did great. I was actually wearing makeup and jeans instead of pjs. It was a huge self-image boost. :D
I almost forgot a big piece of news...potty training has begun! It's the absolute worst timing according to the books...new baby and upheaval and all that...but Benjamin himself started it. He pulled off his diaper one day and I decided to see how he did going diaperless while he was downstairs. (There is no carpet to ruin.) He went right to the potty when I suggested it and used it. He continued that the rest of the day and there were no messes as long as I reminded him. We've had a few accidents since then because I'm now trying underwear, and he sometimes forgets if he's wearing a diaper or undies, but I think we're well on our way to buying diapers for only one child....hooray!
