Well, life is much more busy than it ever has been before. No one could have prepared me for the amount of things that would change in my life as a result of having a baby. LAUNDRY, for example!!! We used to wash a couple loads every week between the two of us and now it is literally every day. Now, to some of you that sounds very uncomplicated...but picture this. We have no dryer...so clothes hang around on 'air dryers' and draped over the radiators to dry. In this cold climate, it typically takes 1 day to dry a load of laundry if I am vigilant and keep swapping the clothes on the radiators with the ones on the air dryers. So with all the washing that is going on now, there is not enough hours in the day to dry everything....so now we have loads of condensation in the house...making it damp and in some cases, there is moldy stuff growing on the walls. And it's not just Kaleb's clothes! Everyday I battle to keep clean clothes on...Kaleb's urp, pooh or wee are constantly scheming against my efforts to be presentable and pleasant smelling. This morning before Tico left for work, he hugged me and stepped away and said, "You smell like vomit"...thank you, Kaleb! ;-)
Another thing that changed significantly is our 'couple time'. Somehow, Kaleb always seems to know when things are heating up and puts an abrupt stop to it by waking up and crying in the most desperate voice! That puts a damper on things straight away. But my sister assures me that we will get the hang of it (and she has 5 kids!).
The other thing I took for granted before having a baby... was reading and finishing a good book! I hardly have time to read a few pages at a time. I got a John Grisham book from the library the other week...and it is always hard to put his books down...unless a baby is screaming in your ear! :-) That would also be why my blog hasn't been updated for so long!
I had heard that you say good-bye to sleep when you have a baby. Well we haven't said good-bye officially, but it definitely only comes in short intervals. A typical night for me would be to grab a nap (if we are home and I am lucky) between 8 - 10pm. Wake up and feed Mr K. Put him in his bed at 12am. Wake up to feed Kaleb at 3am. Put him in his bed at 4:30 or 5am. Wake up at 6:30 or 7am to feed him again and try and put him back to bed by 8am. After that it would generally be a feed every 3-4 hours during the day...with random naps throughout the day. Tico is pretty insistent that I nap when the baby does, which I try to do if there isn't anything more urgent to do!
But let me take this opportunity to brag on my husband...he helps so much with the housework and with Kaleb. He is a great cook so he keeps us well fed, too. He does the shopping (I do miss these outings but it is so complicated to go shopping with a little baby!) and he is just so good to us! Now, I know some ladies are not as blessed to have helpful hubbies...and some research has shown that men leave baby-things to the ladies to do because it isn't 'man-ly' or just because they aren't very confident in their 'baby skills'. But my personal experience is that when I see my hubby rocking Kaleb to sleep in his arms, I just think to myself "What a hottie!!!"...it is very man-ly! We are a team and we are learning together. I think my love for Tico grows with each new skill he acquires regarding baby K...whether it is patiently rocking him to sleep or trying to help him get rid of trapped gas by doing the 'bicycle' with his legs or just talking to him and kissing him. He is a good daddy. I somewhere heard that the best gift you can give your kids is to leave them in no doubt that you love their daddy/mommy! This gives them a sense of security next to none!
And speaking of things that have changed since baby Kaleb arrived....no one prepared me for the amazing and deep love I would feel for him. And this too grows daily. I mean the other day I was on the bus and there was a grumpy dog who was sniffing around. I felt so protective of Kaleb...I would have thrown myself in front of the stroller if that dog had come close to us...I would throw myself in the line of fire to save my son...this is an amazing love I have never felt for anyone. Of course I love Tico but it is a different kind of love. This little person depends on me and is unable to fend for himself...he needs me in a way I have never been needed. And I like to feel needed! :-)
So to wrap it up...(it has taken me like 2 hours to write this with all my little interruptions) life is very different now. There are daily opportunities for growth and stretching. My patience gets daily exercise!! But as the poem on Julie French's blog says...my life could have been different, BUT I CHOSE YOU!!!
Another thing that changed significantly is our 'couple time'. Somehow, Kaleb always seems to know when things are heating up and puts an abrupt stop to it by waking up and crying in the most desperate voice! That puts a damper on things straight away. But my sister assures me that we will get the hang of it (and she has 5 kids!).
The other thing I took for granted before having a baby... was reading and finishing a good book! I hardly have time to read a few pages at a time. I got a John Grisham book from the library the other week...and it is always hard to put his books down...unless a baby is screaming in your ear! :-) That would also be why my blog hasn't been updated for so long!
I had heard that you say good-bye to sleep when you have a baby. Well we haven't said good-bye officially, but it definitely only comes in short intervals. A typical night for me would be to grab a nap (if we are home and I am lucky) between 8 - 10pm. Wake up and feed Mr K. Put him in his bed at 12am. Wake up to feed Kaleb at 3am. Put him in his bed at 4:30 or 5am. Wake up at 6:30 or 7am to feed him again and try and put him back to bed by 8am. After that it would generally be a feed every 3-4 hours during the day...with random naps throughout the day. Tico is pretty insistent that I nap when the baby does, which I try to do if there isn't anything more urgent to do!
But let me take this opportunity to brag on my husband...he helps so much with the housework and with Kaleb. He is a great cook so he keeps us well fed, too. He does the shopping (I do miss these outings but it is so complicated to go shopping with a little baby!) and he is just so good to us! Now, I know some ladies are not as blessed to have helpful hubbies...and some research has shown that men leave baby-things to the ladies to do because it isn't 'man-ly' or just because they aren't very confident in their 'baby skills'. But my personal experience is that when I see my hubby rocking Kaleb to sleep in his arms, I just think to myself "What a hottie!!!"...it is very man-ly! We are a team and we are learning together. I think my love for Tico grows with each new skill he acquires regarding baby K...whether it is patiently rocking him to sleep or trying to help him get rid of trapped gas by doing the 'bicycle' with his legs or just talking to him and kissing him. He is a good daddy. I somewhere heard that the best gift you can give your kids is to leave them in no doubt that you love their daddy/mommy! This gives them a sense of security next to none!
And speaking of things that have changed since baby Kaleb arrived....no one prepared me for the amazing and deep love I would feel for him. And this too grows daily. I mean the other day I was on the bus and there was a grumpy dog who was sniffing around. I felt so protective of Kaleb...I would have thrown myself in front of the stroller if that dog had come close to us...I would throw myself in the line of fire to save my son...this is an amazing love I have never felt for anyone. Of course I love Tico but it is a different kind of love. This little person depends on me and is unable to fend for himself...he needs me in a way I have never been needed. And I like to feel needed! :-)
So to wrap it up...(it has taken me like 2 hours to write this with all my little interruptions) life is very different now. There are daily opportunities for growth and stretching. My patience gets daily exercise!! But as the poem on Julie French's blog says...my life could have been different, BUT I CHOSE YOU!!!
I am attaching some random pictures for you to see...enjoy!
CHEESE!!!!
Kaleb's new toys
Daddy knows how to make me smile...
out and about in Edinburgh...
when Auntie Dea visited us...
when Auntie Dea visited us...
sleeping peacefully
