This Too Shall Pass

This is the story of two days in our house...the last two days (Wednesday and Thursday)...two days that could not differ more.

Wednesday
Colton woke up crying at 2 AM* .  I go to his room to comfort him and end up laying in bed with him for 30 minutes or so.  When I go to leave, I notice his diaper has leaked through, so I take him to the nursery to change his diaper (we decided to keep only one changing table in the house with the logic that Colton won't need it that much longer...fingers crossed!?!).  Levi wakes up ready to eat and starts crying.  Colton's sheets are ruined, so I take him to our bed and begin nursing Levi.  Colton is calm at first, but then starts playing in our bed...Josh tries unsuccessfully to calm him.  Josh decides to go change Colton's sheets, and then puts him back in his own bed...Colton screams hysterically until 5:30AM (I think there was another Levi feeding somewhere in there).
Levi wakes up again at 6 to nurse, and then we all sleep until 9ish when both boys wake up again.  The day is rainy and gloomy.  Josh and I are at each other's throats because of the night before (I think he could have been more helpful...he thinks I should be more patient...our typical "we have a newborn in the house" dilemma**).  We force ourselves to get out of the house and run a couple of errands.  We get home right in time for nap time and put Colton down...he screams hysterically for another hour before finally falling asleep.  Colton naps for about an hour and when I go to get him, he is still in a bad mood... temperamental, fussy, etc.  I take him to the playroom in hopes that he will cheer up (and have a mini-breakdown, crying because it feels like I have lost my "happy baby.")  Colton does cheer up, I make us some dinner, which we all enjoy together.  Colton helps me give Levi a bath and then I give Colton his bath (the first time in weeks...Josh had to do it in the late parts of my pregnancy).  Colton watches "Sesame Street," we put him to bed (he only cries a few minutes...HALLELUJAH!), and we finally take a deep breath.

In short, a long, long, mentally and physically exhausting day...
But then...
Thursday
Colton wakes up briefly at 1AM.  Josh goes in to his room, comforts him, and he falls back to sleep until 7.  Levi sleeps until 8, so I have an hour or so to spend with Colton...getting his breakfast, getting him dressed, reading.  Josh takes Colton to school and then goes to his parents' house to help with some task...I have time to catch up on blogs, check Facebook, Pinterest, etc.  Levi hangs out in his chair watching me.  Levi, Chipper, and I decide to enjoy the sunny, warm day and go for a walk.  Colton and Josh get home...I play outside with Colton for a bit.  We put Colton down for his nap (he cries, but only for 15 minutes or so...AND doesn't get out of the bed!).  I actually take a shower and even blow-dry my hair!!!  Josh's parents want to watch the boys for a couple of hours, so they come over, and we head out to Ruth's Chris happy hour!  I have a glass of wine (or two) while sitting at a bar with my husband (watch out world...I'm a grown up again).  We come home, put Colton to bed (he doesn't cry at all or try to get out bed...holy crap!), and take another deep breath...this time, much happier/relaxed/content.

In my days of being the parent of "two under two," the one thing that resonates most clearly is that one day can be absolute HELL, while others are pure bliss.  Shoot, things change from moment to moment.  These two boys are such a blessing and bring so much joy to our lives, but they are both pretty needy and a lot of work.
The take home message thus far, then, is that in those moments of angst, we must remember that better times are around the corner.  Here's to hoping those better days far outnumber the hard ones though!

* Colton has never had problems sleeping, but in the past week, he has started fighting us at nap time and bed time...he doesn't want to stay in his bed, cries/screams, etc...SUPER!
**In general, my husband is a very good father and helper to me with this whole newborn thing (and beyond!).  He does, however, really struggle over night.  Josh does not like to give up his precious sleep.