The transition from 1 tiny human to 2.
Becoming a Mom is no doubt the world's biggest transition. I mean, maybe there are other ones, but not that I've had experience with, so in my own opinion - this is it. You go from having umpteen hours to get ready and take selfies to literally throwing on any pair of pants you can find. From deciding whether or not you want to go out and have some drinks with friends to scheduling months in advance when someone can come look after your kids and flying out the door the second they arrive. Naturally, I could go on and on and on about all the crazy things that change in your world when you become a parent but I'll save it. Theodore just fell asleep and I NEED REST, so this won't take long. Well, maybe it will, maybe I'll just get going and won't wanna stop because no human is on my boob or yelling at me to give them yogurt in a BOWL, not in a tube, COME ON GUYS, duh. What was I saying? Ah yes, motherhood and it's insanity.
So to go from being baby-less and to be quite frank, selfish, unreliable, and irresponsible at times to all of a sudden, a human's life DEPENDS on you - is a pretty big deal. It's a game changer. You become a Mom, you enter parenthood and guess what, you're stuck there forever. You will never not be a parent again, which I find quite wonderful but needless to say, it's a huge thing.
HOWEVER, going from 1 little dependent human to 2 little dependent humans is also a really, really big deal. I was feeling inspired to write this blog post from a friend. She posted on FB the cutest picture of her little lady asking how she's going to love her next baby (she's currently pregnant) as much as she loves her. It made me start to think back to life before Theodore. It's not an easy thing, thinking about life before the ones you put on this earth. Like anything in life, if I knew then what I know how, I probably would have appreciated the simplicity of one baby rather than two. NOW, please, do not take this as a jab towards Mom's with only one little stinker running around. THIS IS STILL THE WORLD'S CRAZIEST JOB, trust me. It doesn't matter if you have one baby or ten thousand babies, you won't know what sleep is for a very long time, and your mental exhaustion will always be running on the highest level known to man. However, bathing one baby rather than two babies is no doubt in my mind much easier, feeding one baby rather than two babies is less messy; getting one baby into the car rather than getting two - don't even get me started. It's a war zone out here people, a war zone.
If I was one of those magical unicorn Moms I would have already sleep trained Theo properly so that he would nap when Kaia naps, but unfortunately I'm just a regular boring old mom, and I am therefore stuck with babies that nap at different times of the day almost always. The second Kaia falls asleep, guess who's up? TAKE A WILD GUESS. It's like he knows she's gone and voila, Mama all to himself. Theodore Ross Smith lookin' for someone to pass him as many toys as possible hoping to shove them all in his mouth. I won't lie, or even deny just how tired I am. I never drank a cup of coffee my entire life, through University, through work, through Kaia, but now, if I don't have at least one coffee in the morning you better just avoid me because I am not to be messed with.
Okay, so it's literally taken me a week to attempt to finish this blog post. Another very obvious change from one to two - there is quite frankly no free time at all. At least for me. For a Mama that ends up closing her eyes at 8PM just like her kiddos (trust me I've tried the whole stay awake a bit later to enjoy some peace & quiet thing and I am a horrible, angry tired human the next day) and alas, alone time just isn't much of a thing.
Sidnote: don't even get me started on babysitters. It's all well and dandy when you hand off one little human to someone but try TWO. Pft, I can barely take care of them on my own, I can't imagine a babysitter being able to manage two. And I mean, I do it because I pushed them out of my who-ha and so I am technically forced into it, but for someone to willingly take both of them off my hands is basically a big LOL. So instead, I send Theo off to one person and Kaia off to another. This of course requires extra planning and me basically being over it before it even begins.
Thinking back to the days with one child under our roof is quite honestly a distant memory at this point. I really do enjoy going through our old videos and watching Kaia when she was learning how to crawl, and walk, and stick her finger up her nose, but am I ever thankful that Theodore graced our lives with his 10 different chins. This is the busiest, most exhausted and overwhelmed that I have ever been but it is also the happiest, most loved, most alive that I've ever felt. So as I rub my eyes a million times trying to keep them open and finish this post, I'll look over at Theo who will I'm sure be waking me up in the next few hours looking for the goods, and I'll think of Kaia who will be yelling "MOMMY... HIIIIIIIIIII" from her crib at 7AM. Instead I'll simply dream of relaxing on a tropical beach because that's about as close as I'll be getting to one for the next little while. I'm quite content with that, as I have my perfect little paradise right under this roof. *THE WORLD'S CORNIEST ENDING CAUSE I'M NICE LIKE THAT*
xx,
Sheridan
