"With this baby..."

I haven't been very good at blogging lately.
I guess exhaustion from a pregnancy and chasing around a 1 year old and redoing a whole lot of house limits my time to sit down and jaunt my thoughts loud and clear.
But no fear! I am back! With a new computer and an organized house and ready to conquer the bloggers world.
Or at least the 100 or so people the typically read my blog ;)
Be on the lookout though. I am going to do an 18 month update on Reagan soon. He is a completely different baby from his 12 month update, so I figured why not add some more milestones and keep them fresh on my mind for whenever I get around to finishing up his scrapbook.

So without further ado: a blog post!

I catch myself saying "with this baby we will..." a lot lately.
We will do "this" better.
or be more strict on "this."
or be more lenient on "this."

While I know things will be different the second time around, and while I may be more prepared; I also know that most of my "plans" will be thrown out the window.

I know I say I won't snuggle him so much so he doesn't get so used to being held.
But in reality I know that they grow SO QUICKLY, and I will snuggle away as much as I can.

I know I say I will be more strict about sleeping schedules.
But in reality we did pretty well with Reagan. He has been sleeping through the night since two weeks old.
And as strict or lenient as we are I know that it doesn't really matter how good of a sleeper they are, because I now know that they will regress when they are teething, and when they are having a growth spurt, and when they are sick.
But no fear, because I also know that when that time passes they will go back to their old schedule.

I know I can give him formula, even when people say not to, and he will be just fine.
My milk won't go away...and I will probably be able to nurse for an entire year again.

With this baby I won't be as scared...I am a veteran mom now.
But in reality I know I will be in pain, and my hormones will be all over the place, and I will probably call my mom the minute we get home from the hospital and feel like crying and overwhelmed and say "help."

If you would have asked me two years ago, I would have assuredly told you I was ready for Reagan.
Umm...I think we can all agree that no one is reallly prepared for children. Amen?

My brain is now FILLED with what most people would view as useless information. Like which diapers make Reagan break-out or what soap is the most natural.
I can tell a tired cry from a whiny cry from a sick cry from an in pain cry.
I have tried cloth diapers, making my own wipes, making my own baby food,
I know about so many things that 2 years ago I had NO clue about.

Things like putting your kid under a fan - try it...it fascinates them.
Or take them out. It is most moms worst nightmare to take a fussy baby out, but if Reagan was ever fussy and we went out...he was almost immediately calm.
Did you know that their toenails hardly grow? Or maybe that is just my kid, but I have clipped Reagan's toenails exactly twice. On the contrary I am clipping his fingernails weekly.

Yes, with this baby things will be different.
I might be more prepared.
I might understand the day to day life a little more than I did before.
But I also know that things will not always ever go as planned - and that is ok.

So while I say I am going to keep this baby with me in the hospital room our whole hospital stay; reality is that giving birth is hard work...and I might just need to sleep a little bit before we are sent home. I can send the baby to the nursery...that is why its there! And he will be just fine.

Newborn photo cred: Ashley Clark