best-laid plans

This is my third six-month maternity leave in four years, and I look at each of these breaks from the office as my chance to play at being a stay-at-home mom.  I picture crafting, going on little day trips, having delicious meals on the table when Jon gets home from work, all of that wonderful stuff.  That's what staying home with little ones is like, right?

But then a couple of weeks ago, Jon came down with a combination of Lyme disease and two other tick-born illnesses (a lot like Lyme, but on steroids) that landed him in the hospital for two days and, between the pain and the painkillers, kept him in bed for about a week.  I haven't seen someone so sick since I studied in Cameroon during college and 11 of my friends came down with malaria.  That sick.  And I was not a very sympathetic nurse - it took about five days before I stopped thinking about how much his illness sucked for me, and started to consider the possibility that it might suck for him more.

But back to it sucking for me - I was operating in survival mode for that week, with no one to help me with bedtimes and grocery shopping and late-night baby wakings.  I was pretty proud of myself if I managed to get the boys breakfast (read: dry Cheerios in front of the tv) or out of the house to the library or playground once or twice.  Jon is much better now, and I have just started to feel like things are somewhat under control again.  Wah wah wah, I know.  But the first six weeks with a newborn are tough enough, without a major health crisis, a home purchase, surgery on the dog, and almost two weeks (!) of well-meaning house guests thrown in.  Last whine, officially.  I promise.  

And, still, my worst day at home is better than my best day at the office.  I mean, really:

 I get to hang out with these lookers all day.  Best job ever.  And we frequently have afternoon dance parties to Thrift Shop in our living room, which they frowned upon at my office.

Now I'm getting ambitious, and packing everyone (including the dog!  Who will hopefully be heavily sedated - maybe we have some leftover Percoset from Jon's treatment) in the van and going to NYC for the weekend.  Finn on the subway - that should be interesting. 

My first three weeks as a mother of three

Conor "reading" to Cass.  Sweetheart.

I've been tip-toeing into this whole mom-of-three thing.  Jon has been home with us until now, but he goes back to work tomorrow, so the real fun should start then.  So far it's been slightly chaotic but manageable - the baby is a dream, especially now that I've figured out how to nurse her (they are each so different!), but the boys are . . . hellions.  If they are left to play together for more than five minutes, they will certainly try to murder each other.  Especially if I am marooned on the couch with a nursing baby and can't get up to stop them.  Is this a boy thing?  A two- and four-year-old combination thing?  Finn, charming as he is, is particularly challenging.  We found this in his room after his last nap:

"I rip Bear Hunt Catch a Big One.  It otay."

No, it not otay.

Anyway, I'm coming out of the newborn fog and want to record some moments from these first few weeks before they are lost for good:

1.  The first time the very alarmed Finn saw me nursing Cass: "Mama!  Her try to eat you belly button!"  (We'll work with him on the finer points of the anatomy of the female torso someday.  Or not.)

First day home.

 2.  After the pediatrician told me that Cass has reflux (like her brothers, ugh.  The spit!  The never-ending spit!) and that I have to cut out all dairy from my diet, Jon's immediate reaction: "Well, at least it's not alcohol."  Truth.

3.   We threw a low-key fourth birthday party for Conor, with store-bought cupcakes, pizza, and a slip n' slide for the kids and a bunch of their cousins.  I didn't hand-make a single thing.  It was a lot of fun, and it seemed like my sleep deprivation hadn't caused too many problems in pulling off the party.  Until the boys opened their little gift bags and dug into the "candy sticks" I had given them:

Do you know what these are?  CANDY CIGARETTES.  Yup.  I was obviously not paying close enough attention.  Oops.  But can you believe they still sell these??!!  Otherwise, happy kids, happy party.

This one is from May 21, his actual birthday.  I just love his little serious face.

4.  Last weekend we went to the annual open house at John Crow Farm to pick up our meat share.  Gorgeous day, great music, free beer, and very happy animals.

Someday I am going to figure out how to make photos look nice and professional on this blog.  Not today.

Why don't the ducks fly away?  Don't they know we are going to eat them?

5.    We bought our first house!  It's totally normal to buy a house and have a baby in the same week, right?  Excellent planning on our part.  I actually think I may have started early labor during the home inspection.  Details to come. 

First Five Favorites

 

Linking up with Hallie to share five favorite things - Newborn Edition!  Sweet baby Cass is three weeks old, so I have newborn items on the brain, and most of these these have seen me through three babies in four years.  Trust me, they rock. 

1.  BumGenius One-Size All-in-One Organic Cloth Diapers

                  

We have used these diapers for four years, and have loyally bought a few more each time we have a baby.  We've pretty much had two kids in diapers at any given time and have needed to occasionally buy new ones to last us between washes, but these things hold up for YEARS.  And how freaking cute is that pattern?

For Cass, we've added Thirsties cloth wipes and Kissaluvs diaper lotion potion to our cloth diapering routine, and they have made it even easier - now everything just goes in the diaper pail, no need to separate out yucky disposable wipes for the trash.  And the bum spray smells wonderfully of lavender. 

2.  Ikabags Stockholm Diaper Bag

I love diaper bags that don't look like diaper bags.  Jon got me this one for Mother's Day this year, and I love it for the summer.  (Side note: I just noticed that bizarro little bear doll in the photo.  It doesn't come with the bag, fyi.)  It has a dozen interior pockets and fits everything somehow.  I do wish the straps were a bit more substantial, but I can live with that small flaw.  And each one is hand made in France, which makes me feel a little more stylish even when I'm wearing yoga pants and a milk-stained t-shirt (so, most days).  And here's my winter diaper bag (slash work bag slash gym bag - this thing may be the perfect bag):

It's from Timi and Leslie, and is a more stocked diaper bag - it has a changing pad, bottle holder, etc.  But NO ONE can tell it's a diaper bag - I can't tell you how many fancy lawyers at my fancy law firm have complimented me on this bag.  Stealth mom.  

3.  Water Wrap

Hiking with 3-month old Conor.

 This is the best wrap for summer babies, hands down.  It's like a Moby, which I also love, but much more lightweight and stretchy so you don't get quite so sweaty.  And it has UV protection.  AND it's waterproof, so you can wear it in the water (not, like, swimming, obviously, because then your baby would drown, but if you want to wade waist-deep in the water with your toddler or something).   Oh, and it's black so it matches all of my (boring, black) outfits.  And it's made by a mom-owned business with the awesome name Gypsy Mama, in Maine.   Win-win-win-win-win.

 

4. Aden & Anais Muslin Swaddles

Put!  A!  Bird!  On!  It!

These are apparently old news by now, but I don't care.  We started using them with Conor four years ago, and are die-hard loyalists.  I buy these for every new mom I know.  They are the only swaddles we've found that actually stay put, and the same blankets we used with Conor and Finn are somehow even softer now than they were four years ago.  Magic.  But we did get this gorgeous pink set as a gift for Cass, and I love the delicate patterns.  See?

Cass loves them too.

5.  This Girl:

All babies are sweet, but this little lady is maybe just the sweetest.  Even hidden under a pile of ruffles (her party dress for Conor's fourth birthday).  I am IN.  LOVE.