Now I Understand...

Have you ever talked to a mom of a young child and she has her figure back and then some and you know she doesn't spend all of her free time at the gym? You ask her how she did it and she tells you it's just from running around after her child all day. I never really understood before.

My firstborn was a dreadful baby, seriously it is lucky I had taken a year off work to stay home with her because no babysitter would have done it. She was colicky from day 2, you think I exaggerate but the nurses in the hospital would not keep her in the nursery because she was "too disruptive to the other babies". Really, too disruptive at the age of 2 days, I can only imagine what her future will hold. :) She had to be held at all times and even with that we had 5 hours of nonstop screaming all night. Ugh...I read everything I could on the subject and tried everything. Baby-wearing (carrying in a sling) helped immensely except for it intensified her need to be next to me at all times including napping and sleeping, meaning if I tried to let her sleep in her crib she screamed her bloody head off. The crying it out suggestion never met a child with willpower like mine. The situation was resolved finally when she was 6 months old and decided she would like some space and the kid was as good as gold pretty much ever since.

Now we are going through life with my second baby and she was the kind of infant that makes you want to have another, until now (thank goodness we didn't give in). Now she is the baby who is constantly on the move and I am the mom who is constantly chasing after her child. I am baby-proofing all the time and we currently have 5 baby gates sets up just downstairs, which she has tried to head butt and climb. I love her to death and it is funny watching her, but she is really moving whenever she is awake and the word no seems to have no impact on her. When my older daughter was the same age we would sit and read books and practice signing. If I try to read a book with this one she squirms out of my lap and tries to push the book to a gate and see if will allow her to climb over.

I love both of my girls like crazy and I am enjoying watching them grow up although I wish they would slow down a little. It is funny though to see how different they are. I am kind of wondering when I am going to have my figure+ back like all those other moms who say it just from chasing after their kids. :)