Friday, January 25, 2008

Insanity, or, How My Life Has Changed With Two Children

Note: I started this post approximately six (6) hours ago and am just now getting around to finishing it.

So, it's been a crazy five weeks. Some friends warned us that going from one child to two would be harder than going from no children to one, and they were right. I'm mostly loving this time. There have been a few days where I wanted to change my name and run away. :)

Mikayla is five weeks and two days old. Her one-month checkup is this Tuesday. (Yes, I know she is already past one month, but that was the first available appointment with the pediatrician we prefer.) She is growing like a weed! The poor child is definitely a second child ... three weeks passed without any pictures taken of her. In contrast, it seems we took daily pictures of Katrina her first few months. Of course, I'm the third child in my family; I think there are three or four pictures of my childhood, total. Her days consist of eating, pooping and sleeping. She's smiling some, and making a few cooing sounds. I am excited to find out her stats (weight, length) at her checkup next week.

Katrina is a riot, of course. She is talking more and more these days. We took a trip to Illinois this past weekend (more on that later) and she said some of the most hilarious things. A sample conversation between Katrina and Auntie Leea (my sister) ...
Leea: Katrina, I love you.
Katrina: No you love me! My mama love me. No you.

Another fun Katrina-ism: we were eating at Chick-Fil-A and Katrina was playing in the play area with Cayden and Reagan Reynolds (Simon and Laura's kids) when she exclaimed several times, "I can't find my brother!" Then, when Cayden came down the slide, she said, "There's my brother!" I was highly amused. Not only does Katrina not have a brother (duh), that was the first time I know of that she has even used the word "brother."

Ahhh, to be two years old. :)

My mom took a turn for the worse health-wise last week. She ended up in ICU for several days, then transitioned to a regular hospital room before coming home on Monday. Her primary care physician was out of town, of course, so the doctor who cared for her at the hospital wasn't completely familiar with her medical history. The doctors think Ma has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and possibly congestive heart failure (CHF). Talking to my sister last week was heart-breaking. Leea is doing an amazing job caring for Mom, but it is definitely taking a toll on her. She was stretched to the point of breaking when Ma went into the hospital at the end of last week. I took the girls and went out there Saturday and returned home Wednesday. Mom sounds much better today; while the level of oxygen in her blood is still low, she is losing weight, meaning the edema is going away, and her energy level is getting better. (I'm really proud of my sister for all that she is doing. We love our mom, but she's not the easiest person to deal with, especially when she's sick. I'm proud of and thankful for the care Leea provides Mom, as well as the hurdles she's overcoming personally in dealing with mother dearest.)

It was good to see my sister Lalena, too. We rarely talk, except an occasional e-mail now and then, so spending time with her was good. Emily (who just turned 10 on Wednesday!) had a basketball game Tuesday night. She's a very good basketball player! We went to Subway after the game then to Lane's house. I love my big sister, and my heart aches for her. She is searching for love in all the wrong places, it seems. (Actually, both of my sisters are searching in the wrong places.)

I have one more week of maternity leave. It has passed so quickly!! I'm ready to go back. I was ready to go back several weeks ago. Thanks to insight from a good friend, I realize I don't feel like I'm accomplishing anything unless I'm super-busy. Having two little girls is super-busy, for sure, but I miss working. Does that make sense?

Okay, Mikayla is fussing for her eleven-o'clock-feeding. Time for me to go.

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