I thought it was a challenge balancing life with just one baby, but adding another and both under two, I really wondered how our parents did it! Our newborn baby boy was miserable. We calculated how many hours he actually slept his first week or two and one 24 hour period, he only slept 3 hours broken up. About every 15 minutes or so he was back to crying and wide awake.
I don’t know how our little girl slept, but she rarely woke up. But that poor little guy was a mess. He lived on Mylicon Drops and meds for awhile. With colic, reflux, a hernia, and having a traumatic entrance, he was a bear! We kept taking him to the Doctor and did what our families suggested to help him. One of my sisters had us elevate his bed to a 45 degree angle and wedge him in to stay elevated. That helped but not a lot.
Many days I was exhausted and sometimes my poor husband would come home for supper to check on us and we’d all be crying. I’d have to walk outside for some air so he’d take the kids till I got back in. A solitary moment to regain my wits and pray was all I needed to get back to it!
I nursed our daughter about 5 months but this dude puked up everything I ate and I had to really watch my foods. I decided a 6 week cutoff was a must. My patience was wearing thin and my prayers more intense! It wasn’t his fault and I felt so sorry for him. I now wish I would have been a little more persistent and not given up so quickly on him.
Both myself and his daddy had a tough time with getting him calm, especially those first few weeks. However, there was one person who he’d quit crying for and calm down. That was my mom; my aunt that raised me. She’d come over and as soon as she’d take him, the stink pot quit crying. I can’t figure out to this day why, but they continue with a close bond, which is a blessing.
That fire for the Lord that was set earlier was left on the back burner so the cliche goes. I found myself so wrapped up with the babies, cleaning, cutting grass, helping at the farm, taking care of the gardening, and canning and freezing that although I prayed, my brain was preoccupied with the everyday tasks. I didn’t take the time to read the Bible and search books as I started out and that desperate feeling of Something More dwindled a little. I did buy our daughter a set of Alice In Bibleland books that I began reading to her each night. I knew I had to get back.
The kids started to grow and when they were maybe about 2 and 3 or even 3 and 4 or so, I decided to sell Pampered Chef. I had a passion for cooking and baking so this job was fitting. And, this mama lacked a social life and the frustration of the same routine was intense.
Usually I had a babysitter when I would work a show, but many times they would let me know at almost last minute they couldn’t. I’d end up bringing the kids to the barn where my hubby was milking cows, but that didn’t last long. I sold it for about a year then had to quit.
I met a lot of interesting people along the way and being a consultant broke me out of my shell a bit. My confidence in people grew and I felt more comfortable around others; Well, some others! One said they were cold natured by nature but God created us all to love and it is choice on how to bahave and treat others.
