With my son, cloth diapering was also a statement in addition to being the right thing. We put a lot of time and effort and research into whether the diaper service would work for us, what covers to use, etc.. In the end, pardon the pun, it turned out great. We loved it and have had every intention of going back to cloth now that the sunny, smelly summer months are over.
Then Leda happened. Not that it was her fault. She's just given us other priorities and worries. My son has his "diapering station" in his room where we've got a changing pad setup on the ottoman with wipes and lotions on the window ledge. For a whole variety of reasons, Leda has taken up semi-permanent residence in the living room. For middle of the night changes that rarely happen anymore. For space. She occupies the long chaise with her padded nest and lap pad at the end. When she was first born, it was just easier than worrying about waking up Cole.
On the other hand, cosleeping wasn't something we made any kind of issue-driven stance about. It just happened. Partly because we're crunchy, granola-loving hippies. Partly because of her health, Cole's history of not enjoying a big open crib early on, etc.. So sometimes she slept in bed with us in a "nest" meant for bedsharing. Usually she sleeps in a bassinet-meets-bouncy-seat rocker which made perfect sense given that we used to put Cole in the bouncy seat next to the bed when he was little.
Things have gotten weirdly calm and routine now though. No middle of the night feedings or fussiness for Leda. You put her to bed at 9pm and she sleeps until 6am like clockwork. Rather, it's Cole that is the nominee for Most Likely To Be Up At 2am. Poor guy. No clue what his deal is, but he's never been a through-the-night kid. It took him until almost a year old to not get up for a bottle and even now he'll sometimes wake up and be up for hours.
So the time has come to make some decisions. Mostly, purchasing another crib. Possibly giving Cole a toddler bed (though I'll be honest this seems like a bad idea to me given his independence). Having brother and sister share a room. In my head, I'm still trying to figure out the logistics. Cole goes to bed at 7pm and is restless. Leda goes to bed at 9pm. I see a future of creeping quietly into a room with creaky floorboards trying to gently set Leda down in her new crib while trying not to wake the stirring brother. Actually, when he does fall asleep hard he falls asleep very hard. But on the noisy nights when he decides to play in his crib for 2 hours screeching and shrieking what I really see in the future is 2 kids awake to be dealt with. No way around that until we sell the condo and they can have separate bedrooms.
The whole thing just feels weird though. Beyond our early parenting skill development and their infant days of needing constant attention, we've stumbled onto two kids with radically different personalities who we now have the confidence to deal with each in their own way. It's one of those bittersweet moments as a parent, actually. So hard to believe that Leda has come so far from her month in the NICU and has become, well, Leda. She's a smiling, good natured baby who really is pretty happy anywhere. And little did we know that Cole...oh Cole...we thought all babies were like that and we were getting away with something he was so "easy." I think we just had low expectations! In reality, he's a feisty, hard-headed little boy who is stubborn, easily angered, fun-loving, and demands interaction from the world.
I love them both. The question is how the next few decades are gonna go trying to get them to play nice!
Then Leda happened. Not that it was her fault. She's just given us other priorities and worries. My son has his "diapering station" in his room where we've got a changing pad setup on the ottoman with wipes and lotions on the window ledge. For a whole variety of reasons, Leda has taken up semi-permanent residence in the living room. For middle of the night changes that rarely happen anymore. For space. She occupies the long chaise with her padded nest and lap pad at the end. When she was first born, it was just easier than worrying about waking up Cole.
On the other hand, cosleeping wasn't something we made any kind of issue-driven stance about. It just happened. Partly because we're crunchy, granola-loving hippies. Partly because of her health, Cole's history of not enjoying a big open crib early on, etc.. So sometimes she slept in bed with us in a "nest" meant for bedsharing. Usually she sleeps in a bassinet-meets-bouncy-seat rocker which made perfect sense given that we used to put Cole in the bouncy seat next to the bed when he was little.
Things have gotten weirdly calm and routine now though. No middle of the night feedings or fussiness for Leda. You put her to bed at 9pm and she sleeps until 6am like clockwork. Rather, it's Cole that is the nominee for Most Likely To Be Up At 2am. Poor guy. No clue what his deal is, but he's never been a through-the-night kid. It took him until almost a year old to not get up for a bottle and even now he'll sometimes wake up and be up for hours.
So the time has come to make some decisions. Mostly, purchasing another crib. Possibly giving Cole a toddler bed (though I'll be honest this seems like a bad idea to me given his independence). Having brother and sister share a room. In my head, I'm still trying to figure out the logistics. Cole goes to bed at 7pm and is restless. Leda goes to bed at 9pm. I see a future of creeping quietly into a room with creaky floorboards trying to gently set Leda down in her new crib while trying not to wake the stirring brother. Actually, when he does fall asleep hard he falls asleep very hard. But on the noisy nights when he decides to play in his crib for 2 hours screeching and shrieking what I really see in the future is 2 kids awake to be dealt with. No way around that until we sell the condo and they can have separate bedrooms.
The whole thing just feels weird though. Beyond our early parenting skill development and their infant days of needing constant attention, we've stumbled onto two kids with radically different personalities who we now have the confidence to deal with each in their own way. It's one of those bittersweet moments as a parent, actually. So hard to believe that Leda has come so far from her month in the NICU and has become, well, Leda. She's a smiling, good natured baby who really is pretty happy anywhere. And little did we know that Cole...oh Cole...we thought all babies were like that and we were getting away with something he was so "easy." I think we just had low expectations! In reality, he's a feisty, hard-headed little boy who is stubborn, easily angered, fun-loving, and demands interaction from the world.
I love them both. The question is how the next few decades are gonna go trying to get them to play nice!