Ok. A few things about this week.

A. The bed is no place for a bear cub. Turn your back for one minute and the little cub will crawl right off. Our week started with an emergency trip to our pediatrician. I attributed my malaise, weakness, and stomach cramps to the emotional discomfort of feeling like a total failure with your infant son.

B. Apparently, the pediatrician’s office is flooded with stomach bugs this time of year. I spent the majority of Monday night hugging the John. As a general rule, when your job as a nursing mother is to stay well hydrated, tossing your cookies all night doesn’t make for a great day the next day. Thank GOD my mom happened to spend the night Monday night (totally unplanned) and spent the morning taking care of little Bear…and me…and making sure I didn’t pass out. And THANK GOD for my husband, who came home early from work. Yikes.

C. I had made plans weeks in advance to pick up my niece on Wednesday for some holiday fun…and I didn’t want to let some toilet talking ruin that plan. Plus I felt SO much better and hoped that food poisoning was the culprit.

D. On Thursday, my little boy started showing similar symptoms (I had previously thought I just got food poisoning from an Asian fusion restaurant; not too unlikely, right?).

E. I learned A LOT under unique circumstances about what being a mother of two may look like.

** It should be noted that my niece is probably the best behaved newly five year old and I have a pretty low maintenance nearly one year old. My trip into mommy hood of two should’ve been super easy. Here’s a spoiler: it wasn’t.

1. You do not get a free minute to yourself.

Ok, so I’ve read this a million times. Moms have to drink their coffee cold; their meals are scraps from their kids plates; you can’t pee in private…blah blah blah.

Here’s how this played out for me. Morning nap time is sacred in this home. It keeps me sane, it gives me a moment to communicate (however passively); drink my coffee; and recharge for the day ahead. I was super excited about having a gal pal to share this time with.

Yesterday, we gave little tot a bath while the bear slept. We got her outfit on, dried her hair. I smiled smugly,

This is great! I could do this every day!

We were having so much fun. I asked her how I should wear my hair…and then…the bear woke up.

What!? I still have like an hour…right?!

Nope. We had so much fun been an hour and a half. A sock bun for me and an easy jeans and tee outfit it was. The two kids had to watch me get ready. The ten minutes it took me to pull myself together felt like an eternity…

Dinner time for me? 8 p.m. My usual bedtime.

2. Blow out diapers are just as dramatic with two.

No need to elaborate here.

3. Limited screen time? What is that?

That is a crazy woman’s self-inflicted punishment. Christmas movies helped entertain my little Tot while little bear attempted to nurse. It may have only been 10 minutes at a time, but it was golden.

4. Let your husband help.

My man is the business. He took little Tot on a date to a house nearby with tons of inflatables and to a train filled with ice cream delights. She made special memories with the man I love so much; I got to put my little guy to bed and clean up from dinner. Note to self: don’t be that mom that has to do it all herself. I will rob my boy (and future babies) of the best guy ever.

5. The chaos is a small price for the precious moments.

Little tot helped so much without my asking. She wanted to spend time with little bear.

I looked in the back seat on occasion to see the two of them holding hands. It took all my willpower to keep the tears in. Little girl danced to cheer my baby boy up. She loved playing with him, and he loved looking at her.

These days went by like the snap of my fingers and I find myself wishing for the moments back. I guess cliches become cliches for a reason: the days are long but the years are short. There is nothing like being a parent. And, in my very limited experience, the more the merrier.

I had the best two days ever. And yet, I have serious respect for mommies of 2+.