I haven't posted in several weeks and I can't imagine things are going to get better in the near future. I return to work in two days (GULP!) and imagine that free time is going to be even more scarce than it's been these past few weeks. I have been amazed at how radically different my two maternity leaves have been. After Ian was born I had so much time on my hands that I was dressing him up in his various outfits and taking pictures to post on the blog. I can now admit that I was a bit bored and went a little stir crazy. I even went back to work a little earlier than I had planned. I expected to have a similar experience after Brendan was born but I was completely wrong!
I have been anything but bored these past 12 weeks. Having two little ones to care for has kept me super busy and quite happy too. I have enjoyed my time with Ian as much as I have enjoyed my time with Brendan. It's been particularly fun these past two weeks as they have both established good schedules and I have been able to carve out some time to be with each of them individually. Brendan typically takes a short morning nap around 10am which has been a good time for Ian and I to read a book or do a puzzle (he is incredible with puzzles! I picked up a few from the dollar store that have 48 pieces and he puts them together almost entirely on his own!). After lunch I put Ian down for his nap and have 20-30 minutes of time alone with Brendan. This was usually spent just nursing him but in the past two weeks he has become very interactive and we spend a good chunk of this time giggling and smiling at each other. It's precious! Ian wakes up from his nap and comes to get me up. We leave Brendan asleep and have a good hour or so to play outside (if it's nice). After Brendan wakes up he nurses and then I put them both down and get dinner started. And suddenly Daddy is home! It's amazing how quickly the days fly by. Quite a change from my first weeks home after Brendan was born when I was struggling to get through an afternoon and texting Stephen at 4pm to inquire about his ETA!
Being home has also allowed me to get Ian well on his way to being potty trained. We are making huge strides forward and I am very proud of him. He will be starting preschool this summer and it's been a hope of mine to have him potty trained before he goes. Brendan continues to grow like a weed. He's around 16 pounds now... double what he was when he was born! He continues to have excellent motor development and has been enjoying both the bumbo chair and Johnny-Jump-Up.
But perhaps the thing that makes me smile the most is seeing Ian and Brendan start to interact with each other in a positive way. Ian has been much more gentle with his little brother and seems to enjoy it when Brendan is looking his way when he is building something with his Legos or jumping on the couch (technically it's a No-No but not one that is enforced very stringently). Ian likes to hold Brendan on his lap and even joined Brendan in his crib the other day so he could read him a book. It was so precious to see the two of them together in the crib and made me look forward to seeing them develop a lifelong bond (and hopefully friendship) with one another.
But at last, my maternity leave is coming to an end and I must return to work. I'm sad but also realize that I have six short months before I will have completed my NHSC commitment and will once again be able to be home with my boys a bit more.
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