Fourteen weeks old

What a great week. I didn’t know what to expect for this week, because it was my first week having two children at home with me full time. We’ve taken Little Man out of crèche for the remainder of my maternity leave to help cut costs, so that I can take some unpaid time off at the end of my leave.

I know it sounds silly because obviously they are MY children, but I wasn’t sure how I’d cope being on my own with both of them. I’m not used to it and I wasn’t sure how it would work. How do you ensure that you give them both the attention they need? What if they both need attention at the same time?

I’m happy to report that I needn’t have worried. I’ve discovered the main advantage to a 3.5 year age gap. The older sibling is more than capable of understanding that you need to tend to the younger sibling’s needs. And the younger sibling takes nice long naps, during which time you can pay full attention to the older sibling. At least that’s how it played out this week.

We made sure to get out and about every day. Our first big expedition was on Tuesday when we headed to a sling meet in IKEA. I’d never been to one before and wasn’t sure what to expect. It was a busy get-together of women all using, or hoping to learn to use baby carriers or slings. I use a Moby wrap, which is a stretchy wrap sling, to carry Little Woman regularly. I had the same slings for her brother but I remember that by 4 or 5 months he was too heavy for the stretchy material.

This time around I’m planning to get a structured carrier – probably a buckle carrier of some kind – for when we get to that heavier stage. I went to the sling meet hoping to be inspired as to what type to get. I came away with more ideas than I arrived with! Now I’m really not sure what to get. Currently the biggest contenders are the Manduca and Bondolino baby carriers. I’m hoping to hire both of them from the national sling library to try them out before committing to a purchase.

The rest of the week passed quickly. The good weather has definitely helped! Little Woman continues in her attempts to get mobile. She has mastered rolling from her tummy to her back. If you put her on her tummy now, she turns over in a few seconds unless it’s late and she’s tired. And if you out her on her back, she rolls straight on to her side and then tries her hardest to get all the way over on to her tummy. Right now she can completely turn her legs, hips, and torso, but her pesky shoulder is getting in the way and preventing her from making it all the way over. She’s so determined though!

The other piece of “progress” (if you can call it that) this week, is that she seems to have outgrown her carry cot, so at the end of the week, I tried her in the stroller proper for the first time. It lies flat, so the only difference really is that she has more space to stretch out. I took this week’s picture just before our first outing with her in the stroller. I think it’s safe to say she likes it!