Jaxson has been in this world official two months, 24 days, and 4 hours. While this kid is super cute, it has not been 2 months, 24 days, and 4 hours of total bliss. Thomas and I knew having another baby was going to have its challenges. We also knew having another baby before Liam’s 2nd birthday would create even more challenges. With that said, we have had several precious moments.
One moment in particular was an evening in Liam’s play room. I was sitting on the floor feeding Jax and Liam came over squatted down between my legs. He turned around and tapped on Jaxson and put his arms out. He wanted to hold his baby brother. I carefully placed Jax in Liam’s arms and was brought to tears seeing the amount of love my 17-month-old had for his little brother.
Now if only every second of every day was this magical. Most of the time Thomas and I are running around trying to keep the household going. I want to share with you some things we have done that have made this time in our lives a little easier.
Helpful Hints
1. Communiate…about everything.
Thomas and I communicate about every last little detail when I comes to the kids. For example, when we leave the house. We each start with one kid. We check for shoes and jackets, we wipe faces, change diapers if needed, pack a bag, etc. The key is if I’ve been getting Jax ready and getting him in the carseat only to discover I need a burp cloth; I ask Thomas to grab a burp cloth. He may ask me to brush Liam’s teeth as his grabbing the keys and what not. Point is, communicate what you need from the other person.
2. Live in the here and now.
I cannot tell you how many times I want to be working on this blog or need to clean the house and I find myself getting frustrated because at that same time Liam wants to play or Jax is fussing. What I’ve learned is stopping what I’m doing and take care of my kids. They are what matter most to me anyway. Most of the time as I return to whatever task, I find myself in a better mood after playing with Liam for 20 minutes or knowing Jax is good. Being present and living in the moment is the best. When all is said and done you will remember the time you spend playing on the floor with your kids, you won’t remember cleaning the house.
3. Just breath.
Right now take a deep, long inhale…hold it…exhale. Feel better? I try to do this breathing technique every time I’m about to fly off the handle. A few weeks back I was feeding Liam and as a typical toddler he threw his food on the floor. At first I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs. Instead I closed my eyes took a deep meaningful breath. I opened my eyes and Liam was looking at me. When we made eye contact he smiled. I felt better and let me tell you the ending to this situation would have been very different had I gotten upset.
Granted I’ve been a mother for all of 18-ish months and I’ve only had the two for a couple of months. I know things are going to constantly be changing. I also know I’m not always going to handle every situation the way I want to. With that said I am going to try to use this hints in my life as I have the pleasure of watching these beautiful boys grow up. I truly believe this is the way to too much happiness!
