Foreshadowing
Last night the boys were in rare form.
Colin ate a decent dinner, including carrots, a good serving of protein (a hot dog and a little chicken), and a big glass of milk. Ryan finished everything I gave him at school (approximately 15 oz. in bottles, plus a nursing session at lunch) and was hungry again at dinner time. So while Colin ate, Ryan ate too. All was good and normal in the world, and I was blissfully unaware of the evening ahead of me!
Eventually it was time for Colin to go to bed, but I couldn't put him down because I had to nurse Ryan. Again. The baby had fallen asleep around 7:00, then woke up at 8:30 and was clearly hungry. While I took care of Ryan, Hari got Colin ready for bed (bath, pajamas, and playtime with Daddy!). Eventually Ryan dozed off, then it was my turn with Colin. In bed, quick story, then (as usual!) we both dozed off.
I woke up around 11:00PM realizing I had a ton of work still ahead of me (my normal prep for the next morning), and I still hadn't eaten any dinner! I hurried up and started the nightly routine: clean the kitchen so I have a place to work, wash Ryan's bottles, put all of Colin's containers from school in the dishwasher, clean out his lunchbox (crumbs, debris, residue... the usual ick), make Colin's breakfast and lunch, measure out Ryan's milk, wash Ryan's milk container and Colin's water bottle, feed the cat. Unfortunately I got stopped right before I made Colin's lunch... Ryan was sobbing. Again.
I headed upstairs to feed the baby, hoping it would be quick and I could wrap things up and get to sleep before 1AM. HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! The kid was clearly convinced he was starving. He finally finished and I put him down, expecting he would simply lay in his bed and peacefully drift off to sleep as he usually does.
Last night was simply not an "as usual" night.
I went back downstairs to finish up my work, then grabbed a quick bite to eat. Yes, I know midnight is not a good time to eat dinner, and you shouldn't eat right before bed and blah-blah-blah. I was hungry, and I ate when I could. That's a mom motto (or should be!).
I headed back upstairs, blearily looking forward to a few moment's quiet with my pillow. I brushed my teeth and then... heard Colin crying. "Mama! Maaaaama!" As usual I simply didn't have the energy or fortitude to try and get Colin to spend the night in his bed, so I brought him into our room where he happily plopped down and went back to sleep. Nighty-night time for Mom now, right? Wrong.
About half an hour later Ryan was starving again, and started sobbing. I tried really hard to wait, hoping he would just cry himself to sleep, but instead he kept getting more and more worked up... the kid was clearly hungry. I got up and was feeding the baby, trying to stay mostly asleep. Then Colin started waking up... which could have been a disaster since H was walking the dog and wasn't around to help. I quickly laid back on my pillow (still feeding Ryan) and let Colin snuggle against me. H came up a few minutes later and found us like that: the baby draped across me and Colin laying in the crook of my right arm with his head on my shoulder and his left arm draped up around my neck. It was a bit precarious, but at the same time I was surprisingly comfortable (or perhaps just delirious - I may not know the difference any more!).
H tried to take Colin from me so I could finish feeding the baby, but our big guy wasn't buying that. He did a quick hug with daddy, then scrambled back over and resumed his place with me. (Over-loved? Yes, I am. And I'm not complaining!)
The rest of the night is a blur. Ryan would nurse until I thought he was done and/or asleep, but the moment I put him down he would start sobbing hysterically again. Meanwhile Colin, at some point, was talking in his sleep moaning for "chicken dinosaurs... chicken diiiiinosaurs" while rubbing his belly in a circular motion. (Chicken Dinosaurs are any form of chicken - nuggets, breast, strips - provided it is in small bites and offered with dip.) So clearly he was hungry too.
Around 4AM Ryan finally dozed off, and put him in his bed and passed out. But only until 6:15 when he woke up starving again. I fed him, then ran to grab a quick shower hoping against hope that I might be able to get ready for work without any further little-boy-interruptions. HA! HA! and double-HA!
I managed a quick shower, threw on my robe and was downstairs trying to pack everything up when I heard Colin start crying for me. I went upstairs and his poor father was trying to calm Colin while holding a... you guessed it... crying Ryan. I asked Colin to use his words, and instead of crying tell me what was wrong. "Are you sad? Are you cold? Are you hungry?" "yeeeees" "You're hungry?" "Yes, I want eeeeegs."
Thankfully in my preparation the night before I had made Colin some scrambled eggs, so they were packed and ready to go - I just had to heat them up. I took Colin downstairs, threw the eggs in the microwave, and he downed two scrambled eggs and a cup of kefir in nothing flat!
And while last night was... challenging... all I can think is that this is foreshadowing. In a little more than 10 years my two little guys will be two much bigger boys who, like most teenage boys, will be bottomless pits. If last night is any indicator, it looks like I'll have a tough time keeping these two sufficiently fed as they get older! Wish me luck... I think I'm going to need it!!!
Colin ate a decent dinner, including carrots, a good serving of protein (a hot dog and a little chicken), and a big glass of milk. Ryan finished everything I gave him at school (approximately 15 oz. in bottles, plus a nursing session at lunch) and was hungry again at dinner time. So while Colin ate, Ryan ate too. All was good and normal in the world, and I was blissfully unaware of the evening ahead of me!
Eventually it was time for Colin to go to bed, but I couldn't put him down because I had to nurse Ryan. Again. The baby had fallen asleep around 7:00, then woke up at 8:30 and was clearly hungry. While I took care of Ryan, Hari got Colin ready for bed (bath, pajamas, and playtime with Daddy!). Eventually Ryan dozed off, then it was my turn with Colin. In bed, quick story, then (as usual!) we both dozed off.
I woke up around 11:00PM realizing I had a ton of work still ahead of me (my normal prep for the next morning), and I still hadn't eaten any dinner! I hurried up and started the nightly routine: clean the kitchen so I have a place to work, wash Ryan's bottles, put all of Colin's containers from school in the dishwasher, clean out his lunchbox (crumbs, debris, residue... the usual ick), make Colin's breakfast and lunch, measure out Ryan's milk, wash Ryan's milk container and Colin's water bottle, feed the cat. Unfortunately I got stopped right before I made Colin's lunch... Ryan was sobbing. Again.
I headed upstairs to feed the baby, hoping it would be quick and I could wrap things up and get to sleep before 1AM. HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! The kid was clearly convinced he was starving. He finally finished and I put him down, expecting he would simply lay in his bed and peacefully drift off to sleep as he usually does.
Last night was simply not an "as usual" night.
I went back downstairs to finish up my work, then grabbed a quick bite to eat. Yes, I know midnight is not a good time to eat dinner, and you shouldn't eat right before bed and blah-blah-blah. I was hungry, and I ate when I could. That's a mom motto (or should be!).
I headed back upstairs, blearily looking forward to a few moment's quiet with my pillow. I brushed my teeth and then... heard Colin crying. "Mama! Maaaaama!" As usual I simply didn't have the energy or fortitude to try and get Colin to spend the night in his bed, so I brought him into our room where he happily plopped down and went back to sleep. Nighty-night time for Mom now, right? Wrong.
About half an hour later Ryan was starving again, and started sobbing. I tried really hard to wait, hoping he would just cry himself to sleep, but instead he kept getting more and more worked up... the kid was clearly hungry. I got up and was feeding the baby, trying to stay mostly asleep. Then Colin started waking up... which could have been a disaster since H was walking the dog and wasn't around to help. I quickly laid back on my pillow (still feeding Ryan) and let Colin snuggle against me. H came up a few minutes later and found us like that: the baby draped across me and Colin laying in the crook of my right arm with his head on my shoulder and his left arm draped up around my neck. It was a bit precarious, but at the same time I was surprisingly comfortable (or perhaps just delirious - I may not know the difference any more!).
H tried to take Colin from me so I could finish feeding the baby, but our big guy wasn't buying that. He did a quick hug with daddy, then scrambled back over and resumed his place with me. (Over-loved? Yes, I am. And I'm not complaining!)
The rest of the night is a blur. Ryan would nurse until I thought he was done and/or asleep, but the moment I put him down he would start sobbing hysterically again. Meanwhile Colin, at some point, was talking in his sleep moaning for "chicken dinosaurs... chicken diiiiinosaurs" while rubbing his belly in a circular motion. (Chicken Dinosaurs are any form of chicken - nuggets, breast, strips - provided it is in small bites and offered with dip.) So clearly he was hungry too.
Around 4AM Ryan finally dozed off, and put him in his bed and passed out. But only until 6:15 when he woke up starving again. I fed him, then ran to grab a quick shower hoping against hope that I might be able to get ready for work without any further little-boy-interruptions. HA! HA! and double-HA!
I managed a quick shower, threw on my robe and was downstairs trying to pack everything up when I heard Colin start crying for me. I went upstairs and his poor father was trying to calm Colin while holding a... you guessed it... crying Ryan. I asked Colin to use his words, and instead of crying tell me what was wrong. "Are you sad? Are you cold? Are you hungry?" "yeeeees" "You're hungry?" "Yes, I want eeeeegs."
Thankfully in my preparation the night before I had made Colin some scrambled eggs, so they were packed and ready to go - I just had to heat them up. I took Colin downstairs, threw the eggs in the microwave, and he downed two scrambled eggs and a cup of kefir in nothing flat!
And while last night was... challenging... all I can think is that this is foreshadowing. In a little more than 10 years my two little guys will be two much bigger boys who, like most teenage boys, will be bottomless pits. If last night is any indicator, it looks like I'll have a tough time keeping these two sufficiently fed as they get older! Wish me luck... I think I'm going to need it!!!
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