When I found out I was pregnant with Fin, I was really unhappy. Jack was only 10 months old and super, super needy. He nursed all day and all night. He was up at least every two hours on a good night and hourly on a bad one. He hated people, screaming at everyone from the checker at the grocery store to the ladies I work with, and wouldn't take a bottle so I couldn't leave him easily. When the second line came up on that pregnancy test, all I could see was my future with a bigger version of that Jack and a baby that had the same temperament that Jack had as an infant. I was already sleep deprived with a husband bunking on the couch, so the thought of having two super needy kids just made me want to jump off the nearest cliff.
Thank the good baby Jesus that that future never came to fruition (I seriously prayed for it not to).
Jack, while still not 100% over his hatred of people (just ask the photographer from today's MDO pictures), he is 85% better. The last two Tuesdays that I've dropped him off at MDO so I could have a break, there was nary a tear. And he'll actually let a stranger talk to him without screaming as if they are pulling his fingernails off one at a time. He's not hit his big temper tantrum throwing stage yet either, so things are pretty positive on the Jack front.
Fin, so far, is pretty mellow. He can (although he doesn't always) lay down and fall asleep without nursing. He likes to eat, but will take a passie for his sucking needs instead of insisting on a breast. At this point, he doesn't scream in the car (but I know that can absolutely change in the next few months); our first trip to Little Rock last weekend went pretty well. He'll hang out in the bouncer and the swing for short periods of time. He's gaining weight well (13 pounds when my sister weighed him last weekend), sleeping decently for his age (up 2-3 times a night to eat), and, unfortunately, losing his hair (which is standard for my babies; they have hair at birth and are bald by the time they are 3 months old).
It has not been nearly as bad having two so close together as I feared it would be. That's not to say there aren't times that are difficult. Sometimes Jack needs me and I'm nursing Fin so I can't go to him in a timely manner. Sometimes Jack whacks Fin on the head with a shoe. Sometimes Jake has drill so I have to deal with two kids who wake at night (yes, Jack still doesn't sleep through).
But sometimes Jack points at Fin, makes a smacking noise, and leans down to give him a kiss.
I'd say things are going well.
(And he's started smiling already. Awesome. :-D )
