Too Many Children
Next Entries »Getting on with it
Thursday, January 26th, 2006My two week babymoon is over. Matthew is back at work, I have accomplished getting two toddlers and an infant up, dressed, fed, nappied, nappied again and then nappied again (the infant is getting through about twenty diapers a day at the moment), got everyone in the car for the school run, come home, vacuumed and basically excelled at being in sole charge of three small children. Hah! have I got trouble coming tomorrow then, as this can’t last.
Still, I was quite worried about today, but so far it has gone pretty well and sometimes it is easier just to get stuck in rather than worrying about how it will go. The nanny doesn’t start until next week and even then she will just be here three afternoons a week so I’m quite sure there will be some tearful moments over the coming few days as I get myself into some sort of routine.
Both Eldest Son and I are suffering severe constipation, although I don’t think his has anything to do with having a baby despite his protestations that it does, middle son, whose appetite has suddenly increased three-fold to meet some sort of growth spurt is producing about five dirty nappies a day and the baby, well, as I said, about twenty dirty nappies a day so I feel up to my elbows in poop what with all the dirty underwear, nappies, laxatives and suppositories.
I have been sleeping whenever the baby sleeps while Matthew has been home and I am really going to miss that. If you don’t hear from me over the next few days you can assume I have fallen asleep over the keyboard before I ever get around to hitting the “Publish Post” button.
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Posted in Too Many Children
Showdown
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2005Eldest Son, Harry, is going through a phase. He is three and a half. It’s not a good age.
Having been - mostly - a very sweet, compliant toddler he has decided to become the toddler from hell. Yesterday was our worst day yet. He got up and decided he didn’t want to get dressed, he didn’t want cereal or toast for breakfast he wanted Thomas the Tank Engine chocolate, he didn’t want to watch children’s TV, his DVDs or any of the videos he has but he wanted to watch them all, no none of them, no this one, no none of them, no all of them. Then he decided he wanted to go to nursery because he couldn’t stand to be in the same room as me, but then he didn’t want to go at all today because he is three and what a three year old wants a three year old gets. He cried. He was naughty. Then he cried some more. And all this before eight o’clock. In the morning. The rest of the day was no better. By bedtime he was refusing to go to bed, screaming at me over the monitor when I went downstairs that he needed “one more little chat” before he went to bed, after forty minutes spent settling him, pottying him, settling him again, pottying him again ad infinitum. So I gave up and on the verge of throwing up (for I am still suffering moderate nausea) went downstairs to lie down. He was not happy about that.
I almost hoped he was sick. But no, he was fine. Just being three.
My battle with morning sickness is making things in the house less than pleasant I’ll admit, but I try to be patient. Yesterday I thought I might as well lock myself in the bathroom and sit with my head over the toilet bowl for all the good I was doing as a parent (at least in Harry’s eyes).
Today he is better. Would it be too much to hope that it was a short phase, culminating in yesterday’s showdown?
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Posted in Parenting, Too Many Children
I gave birth to tomcats, not children
Tuesday, March 15th, 2005Yesterday the boys were so feral that, by the time bedtime rolled around, I barely wanted to kiss them goodnight.
Ten minutes later, before I had even finished hanging the laundry, they were both sound asleep. Looking at their little soft warm faces, all I wanted to do was kiss them over and over.
Feral, I remind myself, for fear of waking them. Completely feral.
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Posted in Not Enough Children, Too Many Children
My sons are *&%£$% a$%(£^*
Monday, March 14th, 2005In the last fourteen days or so my sons have gone from being relatively well behaved to, well, what I can only describe here as *&%£$% a$%(£^*.
Second Son has decided he is no longer a baby (except at cuddles time) and is giving as good as he gets in the physical-abuse-from-his-brother stakes. Even my husband was surprised at the level of violence that exists between them now on the one night stopover he shared with us this week.
My husband, who is quite a mild mannered man, cannot explain where their behaviour has come from except to say that they are toddlers, siblings, energetic, used to mum being at home and out-and-out naughty. “It’s a bad combination,” he observed drily.
I run them ragged at the park. I occupy them exhaustively, I let them amuse themselves. I let them sleep less, I make them sleep more. I give them space apart, time together, praise them, scold them (and not all at the same time, you understand). We’re separating them now whenever badness occurs, but as soon as they are reunited it returns.
I am generally quite a mild mannered person too, but I AM CLOSE TO LOSING THE PLOT WITH THEM.
I know it’s just a phase, but I’m still considering sending them off for Army basic training.
Anyone any advice? Anyone?
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Posted in Parenting, Too Many Children
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