Two

Luca is two years, two months and a couple of days old.

#2 arrives in just over two months’ time.

In just over two months’ time I am going to have TWO children.

Dear, sweet Baby Cheesus … WHAT HAVE WE DONE?!    

 

No … it’s not that bad. Luca’s just in the throes of the “terrible twos” and it’s not easy dealing with that kind of behaviour, particularly now that I am into my third trimester with #2. We are 100% aware though, that 99.9% of the time, he will only have a tantrum/moaning session when he is exhausted. And by exhausted, it could range from 10 minutes later than he is used to napping during the day, or a couple of hours later. If there’s one thing a toddler ISN’T, it’s predictable.

Don’t get me wrong. He’s an amazing kid. He’s REALLY smart (which also probably contributes to his frustration and subsequent tantrums), really sweet (when he’s not in a mood) and on top of being a good sleeper (please Karma, don’t punish me for saying that, I’m just saying it for the blog’s sake, not boasting!) he’s happy at school and is a highly sociable, friendly and healthy little boy.

But its not easy! If you aren’t on Twitter and didn’t see my posts this evening, the short and frustrating story is that I spent a good 30 minutes being a good wife and mother, making Luca and Dave fresh, honey roasted vegetables with pasta and a béchamel cheese sauce. Luca took one bite of the pasta (which had one SLIVER of courgette hidden in the cheesy pasta) and spat it right out. I didn’t even try to give him more. I wanted to cry, I was so frustrated. I handed him the balance of the plain cooked pasta and he happily announced, “NOODLES!” and promptly wolfed it all down. I cried a bit. I mean, I spent time COOKING when I could have spent 3 minutes warming up a Woolies microwave meal. Which he would have eaten without question. WHY DO I BOTHER? It’s because I’m a mother … I care. I want my child to be healthy. But, thanks to Twitter and the moms who responded to my desperate plea for reassurance, I’ve decided to let Luca win this round. I mean, I’ll keep trying but I’m not going to get myself into a state because he doesn’t like ANY (disguised or otherwise) veggies and the only fruit he eats (and asks for, 20 times a day) are bananas. Whatever. The general consensus is that the majority of toddlers live on white bread, pasta, tomato sauce and fresh air. The ones who munch on fresh fruit, raw veg and homemade goodness are the exception, not the rule.

I do know that when #2 is ready, I want to give baby-led weaning a go. It exposes little ones to MUCH more in terms of variety, from a very young age. Nothing to lose … nothing to lose.

The other number 2 …

#2/#themole is growing nicely – Dr C says that he will more than likely be bigger than Luca was when he was born – 2.8kg. Good thing, because looking back at the pictures of me bathing Luca when he was just a couple of days old gives me the heebies! I have been chatting to a couple of other second time moms, about how little I’ve done in the preparation department. It seems that I am not alone – at least where the others are also having a second baby of the same sex. The reality is, there’s just so much less to worry about! I have containers FULL of clothes that Luca hardly wore. He (#2) will sleep in our room (in the Mothercare Moses Basket that I still need to buy) for the first couple of months. We’ll turn our study into a playroom, to give us more space. I need to get a chest of drawers or something in which to store his clothes as we have a seriously massive lack of cupboard space here.

The point is – I haven’t done ANYTHING in anticipation of #2’s arrival. Hell, the child doesn’t have a name yet! Okay, I will admit that this fact is freaking me out a bit … Luca had a fully furnished nursery before I was 5 months along, as well as a first AND second name. Not so much this time. I have “pinned” a few pics on Pinterest for inspiration, but that’s about as much as I’ve done. The truth is that a) he doesn’t even have a room yet and b) we’ll move (hopefully in the next 6 months) into a new, bigger house. So I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. For now, the littlest Dadic will live with Mum & Dad 🙂

That’s my little update for now … all baby-related, I know. Sorry non-parents! I will try to be more exciting again soon … promise 🙂