Maybe you heard over on Instagram that the baby came! 
We are beyond excited…and happy…and thrilled…and above all TIRED.
I have the most wonderful mom in the world who came down and spent an entire week with me…getting up at night to help us take care of the baby….I am truly blessed.
She left today and I shed a few tears…
Miss A has been a terror to say the least. She acts out at the slightest hiccup and has this deep desire to always hit me…I can see it in her eyes as she comes at me with those little arms trying to hurt me.
I enlisted the help of “time out” and am still unsure if it’s helping or not.
I get it…her “life got-flipped turned upside down…” and now she has to share my attention with this little being that sleeps a lot and requires the upmost care and tenderness, above all she claims that the baby “won’t play with her” as she puts it. Sad.
Two kids are so hard….Mom’s You Rock!!
But seriously… take a moment and give yourself a big hug…..moms work so hard and you are awesome!!
The worst part is that everyone says that three is harder than two…I think we are done 🙂
I know that this is the adjustment phase and that it will get better.
I think my body is still full of crazy hormones and that these emotions are normal. I just honestly feel like my life is over….I know that isn’t true… but right now it feels like it. Everything will be ok…I know it.
I wanted to share some more images from the full maternity photo shoot that I had done a few weeks ago. These were days that were full of less stress and a lot less bending over (#bigtummyissues). I have so many mixed emotions right now. It will all be ok!
I love how they turned out.
Pics by Emily Menzie
Give me your second child tips and tricks!!
Hawthorne & Main is all about finding your style for your space! It should be a reflection of you! 
Congrats!! I follow you on bloglovin and will hop over to follow your instagram now! Currently mom to a 8 month and 2 year 8 month old (yep born on the same date randomly). Here are my tips: http://spotofteadesigns.com/tips-to-go-from-one-child-to-two/
Hey Tara! Wow can’t believe they have the same bday! haha. Thank you for sharing your tips!
Congrats on the new baby!!
When we had our third our middle one was the same way. He was 3 when our littlest was born and right put out that this new sister was in town. He was old enough to sit down and have a chat with and he made it clear that although he loved his new baby, he was mad at us. Once we figured that out we made sure to carve out time specifically for him a couple times a week, where we would go for an ice cream or take a walk or just play something he wanted, no interruptions allowed. All in all he just wanted some time where our full attention was on him and mom wasn’t having to pause things because baby was crying or fussing or needed dealing with. It’s tough for them when they’ve been the ones who’ve been the centre of attention for so long to take a step back and see all that attention showered on someone else.
It doesn’t last long (at least it didn’t for us) so hang on momma, you’re doing great!
Thank you for your comment Chandra…truly. I think you really have a good point. A lot of our play time gets interrupted by baby. I should try to make a strong effort to give her one on one time with no interruptions. Hope this doesn’t last long 🙂
Gorgeous photos!! I wish you the best in this new chapter in your life 🙂
Blessings,
Edye | http://gracefulcoffee.wordpress.com
Your pictures are stunning! And congrats on the arrival of your newest little one. Adding a baby to the family is always an adjustment. I promise you that it does get better though! I am expecting #5 right now and things will eventually settle down. My biggest tip would be to use a wrap or a ring sling for baby. It will keep her safe away from little hands but allow you to be hands-free to devote time to your older child. Also, ask your older child to help out with baby as much as possible- pass you a diaper, sing her a song etc and praise her for being kind and gentle while pointing out how much baby loves her. You can do this and you will rock it!!
I shared some tips two years ago on how we make things work with 4 young children- maybe you’ll find some suggestions there? http://onemamatoanother.com/life-with-4-young-children/
I completely agree with Chandra! Also, if you can help your older one verbalize what she is feeling and why so that you can validate what she is feeling and also work together to come up with a plan so she feels heard. This should help her learn to use words instead of acting out.
Shannon this is such great advice. I think I am too quick to dismiss her tantrums and just chalk it up to her just acting out. I know that I need to take a step back and really try to understand why she is acting out and let her know that her feelings are still important to me. Thank you so much for your comment!
Congratulations!
I think your little one is just confused and a bit hurt that she now has to share you. I get it too. When our 2nd came I would also carve out time just for the 2 of us, no baby. I kept re-assuring her that Mommy still loves her and I’d cuddle her as often as I could and tell her how much she’s loved. My hubby also really stepped in and would take the older one alone to do things and again re-affirmation in words and deeds that she was still important and loved. Then I’d let her help me with the baby, she was 2 so it started small, holding the baby while sitting, helping to get me things to change the baby, helping me bathe the baby etc. We also got her a doll with some of the same baby things I had so she had a baby too. We’d go on walks, all 4 of us,, we’d bathe our babies together and even have Mommy nap time together.
Just some suggestions. She will come around and be a great big sister!
Hang in there!
And try to get outside often, it helped me with the hormones after the birth.
Thanks so much for your comment Victoria. I read this last week and realized that I never responded. I sat down and realized that I have not taken the time to really give my first one some extra attention since the baby came. I am really trying to be more conscientious about giving her some one and one time now. She loves to “help” with the baby which I am so grateful for. We are slowly getting to a normal around here…but it has been rough. Hope you have a great weekend!
Congrats on your beautiful baby! My Mom always said a new baby effects the oldest every time. They get kicked out of their spot once again. We had 7 children and usually whoever acted out or was mean, I found they were looking for attention. Even if it was negative attention. So, I would compliment them even if it was “you have such a pretty shirt on today”. Or, “wow, you can color with such pretty colors”. And read, read, read to them. All of our children are huge readers. They’re now 18-35 yrs old. We made it and so can you…. Love your blog.
oh Diane thank you for your comment, I totally needed this tonight! I really believe that she acts out a lot of the time because she is looking for attention. We love to read but I am sure we could spend some more time together enjoying it. Glad you survived kids, there is hope for me after all! hahah
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