Life with 2... The Big Adjustment

I'll admit it, I am no super mom... meaning adjusting to two children in the house instead of one has been quite interesting for me.  My mom and dad brought Hannah up to the hospital the night Olivia was born and she was absolutely terrified of me.  Maybe it was the machines that I was hooked up to and the beeping sounds or maybe it was just the overall busy-ness in the room.  Either way she wanted nothing to do with me and all though I pretty much expected that reaction it still hurt.  I wanted to be able to scoop her up into my arms like I'd done that morning but I very obviously couldn't especially with the epidural still in my system.  So right then and there was the beginning of the Big Adjustment.
The next day Hannah was a little more herself (I wasn't hooked up to anything! Yay!).  She wanted me to pick her up still and wanted my attention 100% of the time.  I got a couple of pictures of her sitting on my lap with Olivia but before, during, and after the pictures she would say "I don't like it", talking about Olivia of course.  That day was the beginning of MANY temper tantrums.  She wanted to roam all over the hospital and the second we wouldn't let her she pitched an unholy fit.  And when she wanted me and I couldn't carry/hold/pick her up the tantrum escalated.  It ended after about 10 minutes but it wasn't pretty while it lasted.  

We were sent home the next day (Friday) and luckily had the weekend before Kyle had to go back to work.  He took Hannah to daycare that week and I stayed home trying to get used to having a new born again.  The evenings were difficult because for the first two weeks because I wasn't supposed to lift anything heavier than Olivia and Hannah was so used to me doing everything for her (baths, getting her dressed, playing with her etc.) and at that point I wasn't feeling up to doing a lot of playing around.  I know it makes me sound like a bad mother but those first couple of weeks are difficult enough getting used to one baby, but it's even more difficult when you have to entertain a VERY active almost 2 year old.  Hannah wanted me to do everything which was normal.  She depended on me for every need.  So when she had to depend on her daddy that was another part of The Big Adjustment that she wasn't all that crazy about either. 
I think the hardest part for me during The Big Adjustment those first two weeks was the fact that I felt so incapable of doing anything, I felt like I should be able to help and I couldn't.  I couldn't stand the fact that I couldn't lift Hannah up and put her to bed like I always had done.  Just things like that were a Big Adjustment for me as well!

After those first two weeks I learned that I am capable of taking care of two children and I've learned a whole new level of patience that I thought I'd NEVER have.  God will never give you more than you can handle and I know that for sure now!
Each day after those two weeks The Big Adjustment doesn't quite seem so BIG... Don't get me wrong we have our bad days and we have our great days, but those great days happen more often than the bad ones.  Every day gets a little more easier. Now Olivia is 8 weeks old and I can't believe it.  I enjoy having both girls home and most days I find myself wanting to keep Hannah home with me and the days we send her to school (which is only because we have to pay for it anyway) I end up picking her up early.  I love this life, the life as a mother and especially a mother of two girls! They bring such joy and light to my life.  Each day that draws closer and closer to me going back to work I find myself keeping Hannah home from school and we spend the entire day together. Just the 3 of us occasionally my sister will join us and some days my nephew will "play hookie" (please note he is only 6 months old) from school and we will have a play date!
The Big Adjustment turned out to be Not So Big and even though it's tough right now I know that having my girls this close will one day make them the best of friends, just as me and my sister are!
Life with 2 has been no walk in the park but I will say I am still learning and each day reminds me of what a blessing they are and how precious they are.  I am one lucky individual to be blessed with such.  I'm definitely learning to take it ONE day at a time.