Last week could probably be described as “lazy chaos”. I was solo-parenting for most of it, too pregnant and tired to really care about much beyond keeping the kids mostly alive. We didn’t do much besides attempt to keep the floor at least 50% visible under the layer of laundry and toys.

Sunday:

Weirdo

We found some extra kids

He thinks I am a jungle gym

Monday:

The big bed makes him look like a baby again

I want a choclate river

Dragon noodles I turned into fake Pad Thai

Tuesday:

Very proud of his outfit

Ice cream for dinner

Tooth brushers

Wednesday:

Pls jump yourself into exhaustion

Cuddles seem so nice but it’s SO HOT

Thursday:

More lake life

Very fancy photoshoot outfits

TAKE MY PICTURE MOMMY

Friday:

I sent her to piano alone because…

…this was happening in the car

ALWAYS ON ME

Saturday:

MORE JUMPING

The whole recital was extremely adorable

A small sample of the mess I live in

Once again, it’s Tuesday and I am just getting this done. I shot my (most likely) last two client sessions before I have the baby this weekend and all that work was exhausting. This week Evan has camp so the house it much, much quieter during the day, so I’m hoping I can get all that editing, plus some cleaning and organizing, plus some napping done. Mostly the napping. It’s going to be a long time before I get a nap again once I have a baby. (37 weeks, fingers crossed I have a baby at exactly 40).

Dear Internet, please forgive the absolutely dismal quality of photos this week. Caroline was sick Monday and Tuesday, which overlapped with me being sick Tuesday through Saturday. I pretty much let the kids fend for themselves. The only thing we managed to do the second half of the week was swim class, and that’s only because the super warm, humid pool helped with my horrible hacking cough. Thank goodness I’m back to about 90% healthy and the house is back to the regular level of disaster instead of the kind where it looks like it’s been hit by a tornado.

Sunday:

A Lego set that comes with four sharks is an excellent set

FANCY HAIR for our photo shoot

The children barely fit with all those stupid balloons

Monday:

He knows I’m going to take it away

Trying to cheer up his sister

The super creepy turkey vultures are back

Tuesday:

Linc pulled her hair, then lay like this for 15 minutes to apologize

This cat is always judging me.

New earrings from RocksBox are A++

Wednesday:

Sure, do whatever, as long as I can monitor you from the couch

Pathetic

Linc is also judging me

Thursday:

Sharing toys with sick mommy

He went down for nap without nursing for the first time for me.

That drowned rat look is very nice

Friday:

World, please send help, I’m locked in this house with a useless mother

Thank goodness for naps

From the tap is better than from the tub

Saturday:

24 Sharpies is exactly what the baby needs

Caroline made a dreamcatcher at school, Linc decided it’s a hat

Linc also decided HE is a hat.

Hopefully, the last of this awful cough clears up soon and I can get back to just being normal pregnant levels of uncomfortable. That sounds delightful.

Like that title? I just made up a word, y’all.

Baby Evan has been experiencing a little bit of day/night reversal lately, but not in the usual way. Most of the time when babies get their days and nights confused it involves sleeping all day and very exhausted parents at night, especially during those first crazy, disorienting weeks right after you bring baby home. My child is doing just fine with his day-night sleeping patterns (besides the sudden and disappointing shortening of the ONE nap we have left to less than 2 hours most days) but his need-for-attention patterns are WHACKED.

Today at breastfeeding group Baby Evan flung himself into at least four different mamas’ laps, climbing over and pushing out of the way their own smaller babies. (He’s pretty much the infant version of Godzilla.) When one mom was foolish enough to pick him up after group he clung to her like she was the last empty lifeboat on the Titanic. While I was trying to make a pie this afternoon he literally hung on to my apron strings and pressed his face against the backs of my knees. His independent playtime has been cut from at least an  hour a day to just a few minutes at a time followed by much crying and whining and arm-raising until someone (me) lets him rub his nose on their shoulder and dig his sharp, grubby little finger nails into their arms.

And then bedtime comes and our sweet baby boy – who was once totally unable to sleep without at least 30 minutes of rocking and lullabies – thrashes out of our arms. He wants to be left ALOOOOOOOONE dammit, alone in the dark in his crib with his stuffed Yoda and his blankie. Mere minutes (and zero crying) after E sets a totally awake and active baby in his bed there is total silence from the nursery.The baby lays himself down. He pulls the blanket over himself, stuffs a corner in his mouth, and sleeps. It’s….mind boggling. As far as I know we haven’t trained him to put himself to sleep or encouraged it in any way. In fact, I’m a little sad he doesn’t want to rock before bed, since it’s the quietest, calmest part of the day and a baby cuddle is such a great way to relax.

I’ve started to wonder if affection works the same as food – maybe Baby Evan has a necessary daily allowance of love and if I meet all his needs before 7 pm he doesn’t have to fill up right before bed. Clearly his heart is bigger than his stomach.

Of course I know I’m tempting the mommy-blogger-gods AND Karma AND Fate AND probably a pack of rabid flying squirrels by writing about this on the internet, but I’m willing to risk it. Maybe my story will help some poor exhausted parent give their kid a chance to put himself to sleep and discover that’s what he wanted all along.