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Thursday, November 13, 2008

Even Child Syndrome

NOTE: not to be confused w/ "Even-Tempered Child Syndrome" (if there even is an even-tempered child anywhere!!)

This is a rambling post. Feel free to not read if you want!

I'm having trouble adjusting to a fourth child in the house. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love all four munchkins & would never change a thing. It's just an adjustment & it's taking longer than I had hoped. When I say "Even Child Syndrome" in this post's title, I'm talking about birth order. It seems, at least for me, that it's harder w/ the even numbered child.

  • Pregnancy & Munchkin #1: I had a great pregnancy w/ The Prophet. I loved every minute of it - wearing those cute maternity clothes, feeling every flutter & kick, & I was never sick w/ him. Labor & delivery were a bit difficult due to pre-eclampsia. I had to be induced two weeks early & was on Magnesium Sulfate to prevent seizures, but that was the worst of it all. Once he was born, all was well & I loved being a mom. Everything was new to me & I soaked it all up.
  • Pregnancy & Munchkin #2: Even though I never got sick w/ The Archangel either, pregnancy was a bit tougher for me. I was tired all the time & very grumpy. Poor Casinodad had his head bitten off more times than I care to admit. Birth went well - I was induced two weeks early again due to Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (PIH). Once we brought him home, things were fine for a while, but I still couldn't shake the grumpiness. It was double everything - diapers, less sleep, laundry, etc. He was a bit more high-maintenance than The Prophet, too (& still is at times!) So, the second addition was a bit tougher, but we got through it.
  • Pregnancy & Munchkin #3: I was a bit less grumpy w/ The Princess' pregnancy. Casinodad made me promise to try & I felt that I succeeded! Again, I was induced (3 weeks early w/ her) due to PIH. No problems w/ delivery & once home, we adjusted very well. No out-of-the-ordinary problems. As she got a little older, she demonstrated her curiosity in many ways (dumping all my mom's spices on her basement floor & eating whole peppercorns, jumping off her dollhouse & needing stitches because she hit her head on her bedframe, or pouring dish soap on the carpet just to name a few). She keeps us on our toes, but having three wasn't bad at all.
  • Now: Again I was induced w/ PIH three weeks early. The Saint has done great sleeping at night. The first couple weeks, he woke up twice to feed & now he pretty much sleeps through the night. He doesn't sleep much during the day, just a few catnaps, but he usually doesn't wake up until about 10 or 11am.

So why do I feel so out of sorts? I'm getting more sleep than I did when pregnant, but I just can't seem to get going in the morning. I would love to be able to get up when Casinodad does at 6:30, before the rest of the crew, say my morning prayers, have my first cup of coffee, but I just can't. I usually roll out of bed around 8am instead to hear the sounds of the older boys arguing over the couch or whatever (& usually argue w/ each other most of the day). My house looks like it's been through several tornados & I just can't seem to motivate myself to do more than the essentials. The Saint is finally getting to the point where I can set him down for longer than a couple minutes during the day.

I know that "this too shall pass" & that God never gives anyone more than they can handle. So, I just do a lot of praying & give lots of hugs & kisses to the munchkins. After all, they're only this age once!

1 comments:

Bondfam said...

Hang in there! I know how you feel. Yours are closer together than mine, so are still more dependent on you. The Prophet and Archangel should be helping you out more. They are capable of doing quite a bit of housework! Don't let them take advantage of you (like mine do, sometime! I am trying to work on that!) Just because you have your hands full doesn't mean you're not the boss.

You could always be more strict on yourself. If you don't want to get up at 6:30, too bad! Get your butt up! Or make Casinodad wake you up! Get in the shower right away and you'll be moving in no time! Or you could just do like me and drag your feet till 10 in the morning!