Well, we have officially mastered the first week as a family of five. I find it difficult to wrap my head around the fact that Raegan has only been with us for seven days- it feels as though she has always held a place in our family; that we were merely waiting, living "around her" until she could arrive. I also cannot believe how much easier it is to be a New Parent the third time around. Perhaps I have matured a little, or maybe it's as simple as now knowing what to expect- regardless, I am more relaxed and patient with this baby. Her piercing cries at all hours of the night don't phase me, her 133 crappy diapers are no surprise, and the lack of available time to conquer mounting housework isn't stressing me out either.
I wish I could go back in time and kick myself in the ass. After first bringing home Noelle four years ago, I complained to my mom that the sum of my days were spent feeding, burping, and changing the baby. Not to mention all the time spent snuggling her to sleep! I wasn't getting anything done. What a jackass I was. I would trade my left foot (my least favorite) for that kind of luxury now. I miss those quiet days.
I love the fact that Noelle is interested in the baby and find it unbearably adorable how seriously Dryden takes his role as big brother; however, I wish that they would show their interest with a little less...enthusiasm. Today I had to tackle Dryden as he tried to force feed his Oreo cookie to her. ("Baby needs a 'nack Momma.") I am no longer allowed to feed Raegan without his approval or supervision, and he insists on stuffing her mouth full of pacifier the second she starts crying. I went to the bathroom and when I came back into the living room, Raegan had a pacifier in her mouth. So did Saku. And he cornered Noelle and was trying to convince her it was the cool thing to do. Christ, now I have to hide all the pacifiers so he'll stop "helping." Noelle is experiencing some jealousy issues. She doesn't care about us holding a new baby- she's pissed that a new baby is sitting in all her favorite baby toys. I caught her trying to sit on the baby in the baby swing; she took the toy bar off the bouncy chair and gave Raegan shit in babble-talk (I can only assume it went something like this: "Who said you could play with Bear, Elephant, and Bumble Bee?! Step off little one...these toys are mine.") Noelle also found the fish tank musical thing for the baby's crib- I watched her run away with it and later found it hidden in her bed. Next she'll be going through the dresser and stealing all her old baby clothes and stashing them around the house. I now see all the baby toys as potential weapons: the bouncy chair could act as a baby launch pad- Raegan could be the first baby in space with the right amount of help from Dryden flinging her. The baby swing could induce incredible motion sickness- and projectile vomit- as Noelle likes to turn the dial full blast because she likes the sound it makes at that level.
I set up a baby swing in the bathroom tonight- I think it's only fair that if I hide from Noelle and Dryden in there during the day, as a good Mom, it seems like I should let her hide in there too.
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