Dressing The Punks - Chelsea

After you have your first kid, everybody; and I do mean EVERYBODY, asks, “So, when are you going to try for number 2?” So before the soreness of labor subsides and the paint has dried on the nursery walls, we are supposed to pop out another one? The shear thought of it is exhausting! Some of you might not think that, but I had a colicky baby and not even the proposition of Ryan Gosling being the baby daddy is enticing me into baby numero dos (of course I am kidding). This nervous feeling of adding to our family came about when my sister asked my hubby and I to babysit my 6-month-old niece, Brooklyn. I didn’t hesitate for a second, as I believe family is there to help whenever you are called to do so. I really didn’t think about the amount of additional work that would be required by such an undertaking.

Well, let me tell ya, it was no walk in the park (and we did A LOT of that). I felt like a juggling monkey. This experience consisted of putting one baby down for her nap, while the hubby soothed our niece while she cried. After baby 1 was down, we then made baby 2 a bottle and put her down. Ironically, amid the chaos, I was actually able to fit in a 30- minute break to bathe. Was this a glimmer of hope? Then back to baby 2 and keeping her entertained. The remainder of the day consisted of switching off feedings, nap times, play times, melt downs, and interchanging laughing and crying sessions (the last 2 mostly came from my husband and me). All in all, the experience delivered a great wake up call for we rookies whom originally thought, “Two? It can’t be that big of a deal.” (The very fact that our niece was napping in a pack and play in the laundry room should have been all the information we needed!)

Happily, we did realize that our little Annabelle will not be little for long and we must embrace the time while we have it. We also need to relish the time the hubby and I have to spend alone together as, more babies equals fewer date nights. Finally, I will sum up our most profound realization from our experience with a message to all Moms of 2+, “You women are superheroes and with awe and admiration, we bow to you”. Get your maroon Smudge beanie here.  Make sure to follow Chelsea on Instagram (@annabellesandwhistles)  here.