Mr & Mrs Smith

This was a significant Easter because Mr Smith got ordained as a High Priest and set apart as 2nd Counselor in the Bishopric. You heard it, I will forever be sitting out in the hall with two screaming children. Actually, I'm going to assume the best in this situation and think that Ms Lexi won't yell out "daddy" 20 times during Sacrament meeting to get his attention. It's going to be great. Mr Smith will miss his calling as Financial Clerk. He really still attends all the same meetings, but now he has to be more social and involved. It'll be great for him. I know he has been well prepared for the responsibility. I'm proud of my husband for being worthy and able to accept such a humbling call - even if it makes Sunday mornings more hectic. I will just have to get more used to sharing my husband. So, we took 3 week old Dallin to church last Sunday, sustained daddy, and Ms Lexi didn't bat an eye as he walked up to the front and bore his testimony...

Monday was the first day I cried since bringing Dallin home. I got mastitis again, one week after finishing my last antibiotic. He is 3 weeks now. With that and the 1-2 hour sleep stretches and decreased appetite, I just physically and emotionally let go. I don't think I wanted to give up, but I thought about it happening. Nursing that is. I made Mr Smith stop whatever important work things he was ignoring me for to help. I just needed him and the drugs. Thank goodness my mom was here for the kiddos since I just couldn't be me. Im truly sorry I couldn't be me, but maybe it just happens sometimes. At least this time it didn't happen over the weekend. Luckily nursing actually feels better once I get past the fear of the initial touch and latch. We can do this. Milk supply, we can do this. And encourage longer sleep stretches. Right after this fever & headache dies down…oie Good thing that face is totally worth it.

Well one more thing off the list… it's exhausting to have two kiddos cooperate and have me, the photographer, have everything ready to go. What happened was baby wasn't ready at first. So I had to feed him. And then Lexi thought it was over before it began. So when she didn't want to look at the camera, she didn't. It's hard to direct this little army, so just ignore the non-ironed collar and poor hand placement. We're going with real life dressed in white. At least Gammi was here to help out where Mr Smith failed me. Gammi hoped in at the end. The light was gone before I could even pretend to get dressed. I'll be in a photo one of these days.

So far, I've failed as a mother and I'm pretty sure Lexi only thinks Easter is about eggs. Her and Maren enjoyed their simple hunt though for fruit loops & cadbury eggs. It's just something that has to be done, especially with your best pal. Gammi dyed eggs with her later that night. As Gammi will confirm, Lexi is much the talker these days. I wish I was better at taking video of her daily mumbles and dance parties. She also will confirm that she tests your patience with her lack of listening skills or respect for authority… but I guess that's the constant battle of dealing with 2-3 year olds. Lots of babbles, negotiations, ultimatums, patience, cuteness, sassiness, goofy-ness & a lot of love.

We won't know what it's like to feel well rested for awhile, but baby D will. And luckily, Lexi has been better at staying in her room and sleeping past 8AM. Baby D still likes to eat though and I haven't gotten past the 2 hour mark at night yet. I guess he can be loud when he sleeps too (just like Lexi); I can sleep through the non-cries, but Mr Smith moved to the couch. I really wish we had a guest bed or at least a longer couch. I wanted to do a basic comparison between Dallin & Lexi (which I'll have to add to once I remember things). Like… Differences: w/Lexi, I had swollen feet/ankles, cried a lot over nursing, clogged tear duct, cradle cap w/Dallin, I had indigestion, mastitis infections, choking until blue, failed glucose testing, light eyelashes & little hair on top Similarities: gained same amount of weight, similar birth weight, loud sleepers, shallow breathers, came out nursing every 1-2 hours, great in the car seat & body car...

Time creeped by and then he came into our lives and BAM, we're already 10 days in.  We entered survival mode during this adjustment period. As lovely as holding a newborn is, the first two weeks really are rough.  We are getting better with feeds and are still trusting his body to breathe when we have those choke moments. Otherwise, nursing has finally calmed down as far as being engorged goes. I just have to keep an eye on clogged ducts. I'm excited to get to the time when night feeds don't last an hour and latching doesn't take much thought. I don't have any expectations until around a month though. That one magic day where nursing is no longer a struggle with floppy neck and hands and they just get it. He is still an easy baby in the fact that he doesn't have a loud cry, just enough to tell you he is hungry. He does well in the swing and the car seat. He seems pretty chill once fed.  As far as some sort of schedule goes, while he is awake in the day, we ...

So I read through the first few blog posts of when Lexi was born, and I definitely have to say the second time around was A LOT easier, emotionally & physically. My role is somewhat defined as a mother. I've been through the nursing woes once before and my body honestly understood how to recover fairly quickly. Dallin will be a week tomorrow and I went to the doctor with him on my own and picked up a lot around the house. Outside of standing for awhile, I feel pretty good. Oh wait, the exhaustion is the hardest to fight through, but amazingly enough, you can push through on very little sleep when you need to. I'm thinking Mr Smith and I both averaged about 4 hours a day this first week, but definitely not in a row. It has been nice having the support of Mr Smith and all those who have helped with Lexi and brought food.  However, while my woes of the first pregnancy were lightened the second time around, we have experienced new difficulties, like mastitis, whic...