Sleep Deprived but Happy

Sienna is two weeks old and I have been amazed at how quickly I have got used to having two littlies. It has been challenging at times but I have to say with no word of a lie that it is easier than I imagined. I am still getting my housework done, managing a quick morning shower and throwing a stew in the crockpot (sometimes).

The challenging part is when both girls require you at the same time then there is a period of craziness with an angry hitting, stomping toddler and a red faced flapping newborn vying for your attention. But even at these moments I have managed to stay airily calm. I mean what can I do? I could join Bianca on the floor for a tantrum! I have been most surprised at the experience I gained with Bianca and how much calmer and more confident that makes me feel in caring for Sienna.

Things that have been difficult:

• At meltdown moments dealing with two crying children
• Getting cabin fever from being at home more than I would like
• Transitioning from being available to Bianca 24/7 to her having to share her mummy
• Not being able to sleep in with newborn, because I need to get up to Bianca at 7am
• Having 10kg of weight to lose!!!

Things that have been wonderful: (these far outway the difficult)

• Watching how proud Bianca is of Sienna and hearing her call her 'my sisa' and 'our baby'
• Enjoying the newborn stage without as much apprehension as first time around
• Having the opportunity to do some things differently second time around - a fantastic birth experience for starters
• Feeling a completeness to our family (not that we are stopping at two) but just the feeling of having not one but two girls!!
• Having my love for one child multiplied by 100%, what a blessing.
• Having a sense of newness in my work as a stay at home mum. Enjoying establishing new routines and feeling really proud of myself at the end of a day knowing I have accomplished so much

The Home Straight

I am into the home straight now with under 4 weeks to go. A friend made an interesting comment yesterday about the last month of pregnancy being 'labour month' and this is quite fitting with how I am feeling second time around.



I am having a lot of pelvic pains, shooting pains, braxton hicks and just a wide variety of physical feelings that make me feel like my body is a well oiled machine beginning its countdown to show day.



I still seem to be running off high energy stores almost manic behaviour that I am sure my husband finds irritating. We have a list on the fridge at the moment of 'things to do before baby arrives' I thrust it into Chris's hands the day he arrived back from sea, after 9 weeks of work. I have been meticulously crossing things off the moment they are done. Chris said the other day "The moment all those jobs are done, you are just going to find more that need doing". I replied "Of course I wont honey then it will be time to for us to relax", but already there have been a few that have snuck onto the bottom.



I have also found myself on the quest for the perfect nappy bag again! I did this with Bianca and ended up getting a Oi Oi Designer Bag off trade me, which was way too cumbersome and felt like we were going on a weekend away everytime I left the house. So I have sufficed the last year with a $30 rucksack from Glassons. The only downfall is that to find anything in it takes about 10 minutes. So....... the search begins. I found this one below on an American Site, it has all the bells and whistles but is very expensive. I seem to have this strange idea that if I have this super organised nappy bag, motherhood will be a breeze, demented I know.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder or does it?

It was Bianca's pre-school morning today and I took a leisurely stroll around Mitre 10 to pick up some winter pansies. Over a hot drink in the cafe I started to read an article in the Next Magazine about couples that work away from home and it got me thinking about being a Fisherman's Wife.......

The general reaction when people find out Chris is at sea for three weeks at a time is to say 'wow that must be hard; what a long time to be apart; it must be difficult for you with a child' and to all of these comments sometimes they are true but generally 90% of the time I enjoy our lifestyle.

So I started to reflect on the pros and cons of how our family operates and why it would work for some people and not others. A big plus is Chris's career has enabled me the flexibility to be a full-time mum which I really thrive on and feel so blessed to be doing.

I also love routine and when Chris is at sea I have my schedule for the week and know what the plans are each day. But I also like change and to have something to look forward to. So when Chris gets back the house has that holiday feeling. We can decide mid week to spend the day in Kaiteri or drive over to Takaka to stay with family. Chris also has more opportunity to spend quality time with Bianca during the day, taking her swimming or heads out on the bike with her in her bike seat.

Some of the things that can be challenging is the adjustment period when he gets back in. For instance at the moment he has done a double trip meaning he has been gone for three sets of three weeks. Often people say 'it must be so romantic when he gets in' and I can say it used to be abit like that, we would head out for dinner and a movie, but now with a toddler life doesn't stand still and often its straight back into cooking tea, the bed-time routine with Bianca and Chris catching up on urgent maintenance around the house.

We usually have a two day settle in period, Chris gets his body clock back into sync from working shifts and I get used to having man shoes cluttering the door way and snoring in the bed!

Its not everyone's cup of tea but our choice of lifestyle suits us. We cherish our time together as a couple and a family but also rise to the challenge of life apart. Chris loves his job and being out on the ocean and I love the challenge of an independent life full of activities with Bianca, my own hobbies and friends.