Life with Two

I thought I would post this. I was writing another post, but saw that I had this one in a draft mode and never published it. Kind of fun to look back and read what I was thinking a few months ago.

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One of the most common topics of conversation I had while pregnant was how going from one to two kids would be one of the biggest challenges in my life.  I won't lie, transitioning from a three to four person household does change things up quite a bit--it takes longer to get everyone in the car, sleep is once again measured in three to four hour periods, I'm on call around the clock as a personal feeding machine and so on. Even so, the change doesn't seem quite as abrupt as I envisioned while pregnant. Perhaps, I was envisioning the worst possible scenarios, but so far I've been pretty blessed in many areas. Isaac sleeps well, Sebastian was able to stay home for two weeks on paternity leave, we've had a great support from family and friends near and far, and Aliyah has adjusted to the big sister role fairly well. She still has her 3 year old moments, but for the most part, we've been pleasantly surprised at how she's taking the fact that the attention isn't all on her.

Three weeks into being a mother of two and this here are some random things I've observed.

1. He looks like his big sister did as a newborn. Sebastian didn't see the resemblance until I pulled out a newborn photo of Aliyah. It will be interesting to see if they end up looking similar to one another as they get older. 
2. He eats...constantly! Especially in the first two weeks, I felt like I was nursing non-stop. 
3. Nursing was not any easier the second time around. Two weeks of intense, searing pain. But I think because I knew what to expect this time, I was able to get through it and know that it would get better, and it has. 
4. With Aliyah, I was able to nurse for 5 months, which was much less than I thought I would do so, but going back to work put a damper on my supply. This time around, my hope is to nurse longer than the 5 month mark, but I will also not stress out about it if it doesn't happen again. 
5. Boys (or maybe just Isaac) poop and pee a lot. I seriously do not remember Aliyah going through as many diapers as he did. More than once, I've used two or three diapers at a time because he will pee all over a diaper while I'm putting  a new one on. 
6. He loves to be held. I'm pretty sure this is a common thing for most newborns since I remember Aliyah loved to be held and would sleep best during the day in my arms. Isaac is the same. 
7. Swaddling is once again the magical sleep potion. There are times when Isaac will get done eating, Sebastian will swaddle him (because he is the master swaddler in this house. I can do it, but Sebastian does it better) and Isaac falls asleep in mid-swaddle. 
8. He's a big boy. One person told me he looked like a three month old already, another told me he's looks huge when I'm holding him and I keep thinking he's already lost his newborn looks. But he is so incredibly cute. 
9. Balancing my time between two young kids is my biggest challenge so far. Especially in these early weeks when Isaac needs so much attention, I find myself with the common worry of whether I'm giving Aliyah enough attention. We decided that we would keep her in daycare part-time while I'm on maternity leave, so she still goes three days a week. I love my days with two kids, but I often feel bad when I'm holding Isaac trying to get him down for a nap, or nursing him because it definitely limits the activities I can do with Aliyah. Also, engaging a three year old all day is quite the challenge when the Arizona heat limits outdoor time, so I am constantly on the look-out for educational things to do with her. So far, online printables, workbooks from Targets dollar aisle, trips to the library and Brain Quest have been my go-to activities. 
10. Aliyah is taking on her big sister role with flying colors. If Isaac cries and I'm not in the room, she'll talk to him sweetly. She loves to hold his hand and give him kisses.