Today, our Aerin Isabel turns one month old.

And because I know my sister — who is currently living in Paris(!!!) for 3 months — is always begging me for pictures of her nieces, here is the latest of Aerin:

One of the most common questions I hear these days is: how is everything going? In other words, just how in the world am I surviving motherhood with two babies that are just 13 months apart?

The answer is simple: one day at a time.

That, and wonderful grandparents who are doing everything they can do to pitch in so that I can get some rest here and there.

As previously stated, Aerin has finally started to sleep in 2-3 hour stretches. But her day-night reversal has not improved and she fell victim into the dreaded “witching hour” at only 2 weeks of age. As such, I look to the hours between 12am ~ 3am with great trepidation every night. What usually ends up happening is that I will hold her and bounce her around the house for up to 3 hours at a time, because HEAVEN FORBID that I even sit down while holding her…she will start screaming her little head off! (And we can’t have her waking up Claire, who will surely take a while to fall back asleep, or J, who has work the next day.)

That being said, Aerin generally seems to be an easier baby than Claire. I am not sure if this is because she is the second child and we know what to do and expect, or if it’s really because she is an easier baby. (Neither J nor I can accurately remember how Claire was at this age.)

Speaking of Claire…I had failed to mention on this blog that she has been pulling herself up into a standing position for over a month now, and even took her first unassisted steps a few weeks ago. However, our overly-cautious little girl is still too scared to transition fully into walking. We’re in no hurry and are letting her do things at her own pace, but I think it’s safe to say that she is now a toddler. 🙂

With toddlerhood comes all the frustrations of this stage, which mainly stems from not being able to physically accomplish everything they want to do — including communication. This, in addition to her new life as a big sister (where she is no longer the center of attention at all times), has led to an increase in tantrums and other unpleasant behavior, such as throwing items on the floor. And if you can believe it, Claire has started to talk back to us! Most of what she says is still gibberish, but the tone and attitude — including gesticulations! — are definitely already there.

This is perhaps the most difficult part of my new life: attending to a newborn while tending to an oftentimes frustrated toddler.

Once again, one day at a time.

The upside to Claire’s maturity is that she is learning, and absorbing lessons at an unprecedented rate. I am proud to say that at 14 months of age, our eldest already knows 3 letters of the alphabet: O, R, and S. 😀  This is mainly thanks to my cousin’s wife, who had gifted us the LeapFrog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Alphabet Set — although this toy is marketed for those who are 2 years of age and older, Claire has loved it since day one and plays with it all the time. Additionally, we all continually point out different letters of the alphabet in books and anything else with large text — this is something even the grandparents, whose English is not too great, can help with since they all know the English alphabet.

As for mommy — myself — I am happy to announce that I seem to be back to my pre-pregnancy self in terms of how I am physically feeling (aside from the typical new parent fatigue). I have lost an additional 5 lbs since my last update, bringing the total weight loss to 30 lbs in 1 month, and am hopeful that I will lose the remaining 20 lbs in 2 more months, as was the case the first time around.

I will also be turning 31 next week, and have decided to keep it low-key by celebrating it with a lunch-and-movie date with J. And although he wanted to take me to my favorite steakhouse in NJ, I insisted on Red Lobster instead so that we could save some money.

Is this a sign of old age? Not being excited about birthdays anymore, and insisting on cheap(er) celebrations? And we can’t overlook the fact that most of the items on my Amazon Wishlist now consist of things for Claire and Aerin!

…Does anyone have any suggestions on what movie we can watch on my birthday? I hardly watch television anymore, so I have no idea what’s even playing.