Bits 'n' Pieces of Post-Partum Randomness...

It's been a week since I posted?? How did that happen? Oh, yeah, now I remember, there's an extra kid in the mix now. I have an extreme dearth of blogging time, and an even more extreme lack of coherent thought. From what I hear, that's about right for this stage in my parenting career. Still, though, things are happening here. To wit:

********

Poor Leonard. Gran-Gran left on Thursday, and between having had her to himself for a month and the fact that I am not instantly available to him 24/7, it's been a very hard last couple of days. This sweet little boy who had previously thrown maybe five tantrums in his life has been melting down every half-hour or so. I feel so bad for the kid, but with wacky post-partum guilt hormones, I'm not handling the meltdowns well. My reactions range from wanting to give him the world as an apology for ending life as he knew it all the way to wanting to tell him he's a big kid and the whininess is killing me so deal with life already...

********

It bothers me when people make a big deal out of the baby while discounting the presence of his very cute older brother. Not that the baby isn't a big deal, but doesn't his brother count anymore? Poor Leonard's had a few encounters with folks who pretty much blew him off this week, and the big brother gig is wearing a bit thin. I suspect those of you with more than one child have seen this in action, but here's a typical scenario:

At Friendly's, we were mobbed by a bunch of biddies:

Biddies: "Oh, oh, oh, look at the baby! How CUTE!! How old is he?"

Me: "He's two weeks old."

Biddies (spying Liam): "Oh, oh, oh, and this must be the lucky Big Brother!!"

Liam: "No."

Biddies: "Oh, you've got it made with such a cute baby. How much fun is it to be the Big Brother??"

Liam: "No, I'm not-"

Biddies: "Is the baby a boy or a girl?? So, so cute! Cute! Aren't you happy to be the big brother?"

Liam: "NO! I'M NOT THE BIG BROTHER! I AM LEONARD!!!!!"

So at least I'm not the only cranky member of the family. Sigh.

********

But Gran-Gran is coming back next week. There is hope. And lookie the Easter eggs she and Leonard made this week:


********
And? Since when do they stamp expiration dates right on the eggs? Look between the sticker and the "Mommy," and there's an expiration date.


********

Thought we were through with various tummy bugs? Nope. Now the ferrets have GI issues. There's nothing like a couple of ferrets with diarrhea to create quite the mess, I tell you. Thankfully our vet was able to phone in some Bactrim to the pharmacy, so we didn't have to take five ferrets, a newborn, and a cranky 3-year-old to the vet's office.

********

How's Kieran, you ask? He's doing incredibly well. So well, in fact, that he managed to gain 12 ounces in his first 10 days on Earth. The baby is a natural-born nurser. And he sleeps at night. Both of which are wonderful things, truly, but in the perverse world of post-partum hormones, it's only adding to my guilt at my parenting of Liam. Liam was not a natural born nurser, and we spent the first six weeks of his life trying to get him to nurse enough to gain any weight at all. He cried a lot, and slept little. As did Kevin and I. Now that we've got Kieran around, I'm realizing how hungry Liam was in his first weeks. And I feel bad.

But, gosh, Kieran's a cutie:




********

What's this? Snow for Easter?

Hmph!

********

On a non-whiny note, lots of you have sent cards and gifts, made dinner, and phoned with congratulations. I fully intend to get Thank You notes out sometime before the first college tuition payment falls due, but in the meantime, know that we appreciate all of your help, good wishes, and generosity. Thank you!

********

And Thank You for sticking out the post this far. I hope to be back soon in a less cranky/less exhausted frame of mind. In the meantime, Leonard wants to know:

"Gran-Gran? Will you come back soon? I miss you and Mommy and Daddy are tired and cranky and Kieran isn't but he doesn't play trains, either."