A Mother of Two

Having two kids is so much easier than having one.

I know that sounds crazy, but for me, it's so true.

Bringing Brown-Eyed Boy into our lives, going from zero children to one, was the hardest thing I have ever done. It was such an absolute life change that it took me months to wrap my mind around it, to feel like an actual mother instead of the awkward babysitter. I struggled, until Brown-Eyed Boy was about a year old, to let go of my old life and embrace the changes that having a baby brought.

Once I started feeling like a mother, adding Baby Blue Eyes to the mix was just a bump in the road. We quickly remembered what it was like having a newborn in the house, and she slipped easily into our routine and our lives.

Thank goodness I didn't have to go through that hard adjustment all over again.

Not that having two kids is a piece of cake all the time.

I dreaded the day Mr. Brown Eyes went back to work after Baby Blue Eyes was born. But, besides Brown-Eyed Boy throwing fits that I was feeding the baby instead of getting him chocolate milk, it went pretty well. Until bedtime.

Let me explain. Putting Brown-Eyed Boy to bed is a time-consuming process. We say prayers. We read scriptures. We read a book of Brown-Eyed Boy's choosing. Sometimes two or three or more books. We turn the light off. And then either Mr. Brown Eyes or I must lay beside Brown-Eyed Boy until he stops wiggling and giggling and squirming and playing with his toy cars long enough to fall asleep. Sometimes it's a matter of minutes before he's conked out. Other nights it takes hours.
On this my first night having the kids to myself, Baby Blue Eyes was sleeping peacefully while I brushed my little boy's teeth and put on his pajamas. Then she woke up abruptly, wailing. I told Brown-Eyed Boy to lay in bed while I went to get her out of the carseat, intending to read Brown-Eyed Boy's bedtime story and nurse Baby Blues Eyes at the same time. But when I brought the baby in, instead of getting into bed Brown-Eyed Boy threw himself on the floor in a tantrum.

For a moment I sat there, baffled, while they both cried.

Then I smiled.
I had to, or I would have cried, too.

Somehow I resolved the situation and got both of them to sleep without anymore tears. And let me tell you, nothing makes me feel like a more accomplished mother than a quiet house full of the sound of peacefully-sleeping children.

I love my babies,
The Brown-Eyed Girl