Our
second child has been such a huge blessing to our family. I wasn't sure how I
would handle two kids under two, but Giovanni has been such a sweet baby and it
has been easier than I expected it to be. That doesn't mean it has been easy all
the time. Breastfeeding has been much easier than it was with Gianna and that
has made feeding him easier. However, from birth to 13 months he pretty much
woke every 1-3 hours at night and it was rough. Tim tried to help as much as he
could, but Giovanni usually wanted me because I was the one who could feed him.
Co-sleeping didn't really work most of the time but at least I could nurse him
while lying in bed rather than having to get up to make him a bottle and sit in
a rocking chair to feed him etc. Most people can't understand how I was able to
survive that long with such broken sleep and honestly, I am not sure how I did
it. I will say that prayer, family support and Giovanni's sweet temperament
were crucial to my survival and well-being. I honestly felt like I was running
on God's grace most days and it helped knowing so many people were praying for
me. Another helpful thing was that Giovanni typically did not fight sleep like
Gianna had. He would nurse back to sleep easily although he would occasionally
wake up when I tried to transfer him back into his crib. Every morning he would
give me the biggest smile and that helped me to get through the rough nights.
He is seriously one of the most loving and sweet babies I have ever met. I think
it helps that he has a very loving and caring big sister, but it seems to really
be his personality. He seems to have a bit of St. John Paul II's love for
humanity because he is always reaching out to strangers and smiling at them.
Now that he can walk he loves to interact with people sitting next to us in
Church and will often walk up to them and hold their hand. This week I had both
kids with me while grocery shopping and I turned around to get something off
the shelf and when I turned back to my cart I found Giovanni had reached out to
a woman walking next to our cart and was holding her hand. He is seriously such
a loving little boy and brings smiles to everyone he meets. I am beyond blessed
to be his mother and watch him share his love with the world. It has been an
exhausting year for both Tim and I, but we love Giovanni so much that it makes
all the sacrificed sleep worth it.
For
the most part I have loved having two kids even though it can be challenging at
times. Especially now that I have two toddlers it can be very stressful dealing
with double the tantrums but there have also been a lot of benefits as well.
Gianna is a very attentive sister and can help Giovanni calm down at times and
since he was born she has been excellent at finding pacifiers for him. It is
seriously awesome to ask her to go upstairs to find his pacifier or bottle etc
and she will run upstairs and return with what I asked for. She is such an
amazing sister and mom to her baby dolls. She spends a lot of time putting her
babies to sleep or breastfeeding them and it is super adorable. Having Gianna
as my firstborn has made the transition to two easier. I have had a lot of days
when I feel like I can't handle it anymore but thankfully God blessed me with a
sweet husband and two sweet children to give me the strength I need. I end
every day exhausted and emotionally worn down from handling the constant
demands from both kids, but I am also extremely thankful for them and happy.
Motherhood is basically an emotional rollercoaster every single day. I have so
much respect and compassion for all the mothers out there because it is really
tough!
At 14
months Giovanni is still a big cuddle bug and we love it. He prefers to snuggle
with me most of the time, but he will pretty much let any family member or
close friend hold him and he will snuggle with them, it is very sweet. He has a
special bond with both of his grandfathers. We spent a few weeks in Washington
last Christmas when he was only two months old. I remember when Tim’s Dad would
come home from work he would sit with Giovanni on the couch and Giovanni would
laugh at him. That was the first time he started social laughing and it was so
cute. Since my parents live close he gets to spend more time with my Dad and
when he sees my Dad he lifts his arms to tell my Dad to pick him up. When my
parents watch the kids, Giovanni will refuse to go to sleep for my Mom because
he wants my Dad to put him to sleep, it is very sweet. Aside from being a sweet
cuddle bug, Giovanni keeps us on our toes by climbing everything. If we do not
keep our dining room table chairs pushed in, he will climb them and climb on
top of the table! He will climb pretty much anything. It is stressful, but I
guess that is how life with boys will be. Another favorite activity of his is
eating. He can be picky with some foods but when he loves something he will
tilt his head back with delight and smile and occasionally he even holds the
food up and sings. We love watching him enjoy his meals. He also still loves to
nurse which has been a special bond for us. Now that he is older I usually just
nurse him at home which is easier because he is quite the active nurser. Overall,
he has a huge personality and we love our Giovanni Paul so much! I am looking
forward to watching him continue to grow and develop over the years!
