July Recap

Whew. What a month.

We had our first out of town trip as a family of four. We're never leaving home again. No, no, just kidding, it wasn't that bad, but anyone who has shared a hotel room with a toddler and infant knows that is a special situation. We ended up jamming Z's pack n play into the bathroom to make him go to sleep and we just made the trip down to the lobby for any nocturnal toilet needs. If there is one thing that is true of small children, it is they thrive on a schedule and familiarity. Traveling murders this.

However! It was great to see Grandma Sally and Joe's aunts and uncles. I love getting to bring the boys to see Grandma Sally because she's always so delighted to see her great-grandsons and trots them out to the other residents. I love the little town she lives in and it's always a pleasant time. Everyone showered the kids with gifts and love, which made me feel proud, even when Z was melting down from the combination of no naps, too much excitement and sheer toddler insanity.

Joe's parents and Hannah came up with us and stayed for four days, which was fun. Hannah loves her nephews and is always an enthusiastic guest.

A week later my parents came in for a week and Joe's brother, Zac, popped in for a couple days. More fun and frolicking. I was especially excited to visit the Como Conservatory with my parents and get to see the outdoor plants and gardens. I'd only ever been in the winter so this was great. I went on the carousel with Z also, which was hilarious. He looked completely stoned the entire time so I thought he was not enjoying it at all but then he sobbed when it was over and didn't want to get off.

Now, we are winding down from all of our visitors. Joe and I are working to get ready for the semester. I'm also working on getting the boys on their new schedule for the fall. Z will be going to his new daycare for a couple hours twice a week starting August 10th to get him acclimated and then will start our fall schedule August 24th. Bear will start either the 24th or the next week.

I'm feeling really good about the new daycare. The director has been really wonderful to talk to and work with. She's being really accommodating with my schedule and helpful in making me feel comfortable with the new situation. I think it will be great for Z to have the social playtime for those mornings but still get to nap at home. I worry a little more about Bear, but he's considerably older than Z was when he started going to a sitter so I'm sure he'll be fine. My biggest anxiety is pumping enough milk for daycare. I've never gotten a lot of milk from the pump and never can pump enough for a bottle in one session. It generally takes me 2-3 times to get enough for one bottle so I'm worried I won't be able to freeze enough milk to have plenty of extra if Bear has hungry days. Since Bear has this milk protein intolerance he can't have regular formula, so I'm going to talk to the doctor about trying him on soy formula, just so I'll have a safety net to put my mind at ease. He's shown no signs of a soy intolerance so I'm hoping he would tolerate soy formula if we needed it in a pinch.

Otherwise, we're doing well overall. It's been really challenging for me to be home with the boys and try to figure out day by day how to meet their needs. I usually feel like I'm neglecting one or the other and go from feeling like I have a handle on things to crying over feeling like the worst mother in the world an hour later. I've been immeasurably grateful for my mom friends whose encouragement and understanding keeps me puttering along. I keep reminding myself that this is a short season. My boys will not be so little for very long and things are going to get easier.

My recap of July: we're tired, but well loved by our families and blessed by our beautiful and challenging sons.