Marcus's third month: A review

Yeah, not sure this child belongs to Chin.
He's another Bao clone!

Marcus is smiling a lot more. He's very handsome. It is a little frightening how fast he is growing. I think he might be taller than me by the end of the month!

I'm seriously just loving being Marcus's mom. He is a very pleasant baby. Quite the opposite of his sister, he falls asleep very easily. I can set him down and he'll go to sleep by himself without needing to be rocked. He is a light sleeper, however, and will easily wake up whenever Camille is being crazy around him (which is all the time).

I went back to school this month and I'm surprised at how much my heart aches to be away from my children. I am so thankful that Chin's mom has been able to come up on a weekly basis to take care of the kids, though!

The specs

As of September 10:

• Weight: 13 lbs 5.5 oz (90%ile)
• Height: 23.7 in (50-75%ile)

Milestones & important events

Snuggle

September 2 - We savored a rare treat of a kid-free evening (well, for 2.5 hours) when we dropped both kids off at our friends' house and went to Chin's coworker's housewarming party. Chin was introduced at the party as, "My coworker who has kids." We felt old.

September 6 - I had another UTI.

September 11 - I drove down to Portland with the two kids. For the first 40 minutes of the drive, Marcus was asleep in the backseat while Camille was chatting up a storm (even though it was her naptime and she was supposed to be snoozing, too). Then Camille started crying and fussing for 30 minutes because she had just realized that we had been driving for a long time and that BaBa (Chin) was not there. Five minutes after Camille finally fell asleep, Marcus woke up and cried for 10 minutes. But the rest of the 3-hour drive was completely pleasant! :) We got to spend 4 days in Portland with my family while I was still on summer break. It was wonderful for the most part, but at times really stressful because I was single-parenting two kids.

September 13 - Holly Jane Ng is born! Our kids gain another cousin who is as cute as a button.

September 20 - I got mastitis again.

September 26 - The Fall quarter started today. I am doing a clinical rotation at a pediatric site in Covington and a family site in Bellevue. They are very different and I am liking them both!

Favorite part...

Being able to maximize my summer break by planning multiple play dates, visiting family, and just basking in this wonderful season of motherhood.

Least favorite...

Hello, what's up with the nonstop infections and antibiotics?!?!

Shout outs

...to Chin's Mom for being such a trooper in making the weekly commute up to take care of our kids while I'm at school/clinical. You have been an amazing blessing in our lives!

...to my MEPN friends from nursing school. You are such a brilliantly wild and wonderful group of people. There was a string of days when I had multiple encounters with MEPN friends and you have all reminded me of how kind-hearted and fun you all are. I love you all so much and I feel deeply thankful to have you in my life!

Discoveries & reflections

Oh, it's real. It's real.

...I am convinced that the entirety of "Yo Gabba Gabba" was written under the influence of LSD.

...Aside from having a widow's peak and long toes, Marcus doesn't look anything like his father.

...Our house is in a constant state of chaos (as evidenced by the photo on the right). And I feel like I'm moving through life at the speed of frantic. I think it's the fact that I try to multitask, but fail miserably at it. There are so many things that I want to do and I am unwilling to surrender to the fact that they can't all get done. At least they can't all get done by me in the specific timeframe that my delusional mind has come to expect.

...I shouldn't plan on getting anything done!

...Sleep: Feed him a lot and let him sleep longer? Or just feed him a little bit and wean him off the nighttime feeding sooner? When he wakes up crying, do I pick him up and soothe him right away before he wakes up all the way? Or wait it out and train him to soothe himself back to sleep? How long should I swaddle him? I dunno. I don't remember. Have I learned nothing from the previous child?

...Marcus has no discernable schedule, really. But that's okay. I'm actually glad that he is so flexible.

...Camille's "terrible two's" have gotten better this month. However, she has basically decided that she is done with naps. We can probably get her to nap 3/7 days. It's a freakin' miracle when she does nap. *sigh* And potty training seems to be a dream of the distant, distant future. She is just refusing to do it.

...Having to pump at the clinic/school = a lot less time to eat.

...There is no amount of coffee that could keep me from immediately falling asleep and continuing to stay in that state until the eventual explosion of my boobs.

Chunk

Compare to Camille's third month