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Days like today and yesterday, I wonder to myself... Who ever says, "I think it would be a good idea to have a THIRD child."?

I also had these thoughts when fully pregnant with Micah and chasing Caleb around (for fun and otherwise). But that was more tiring than stress-inducing.

Today and yesterday have been both, but the stress level definately escalated.

Caleb is his usual, active, creative self. He is also three years old and this by no means is ageism, but he's three for goodness sake, he is a handful or two.

The problem is, the hands are busy. Very busy with a six-weeker who would rather not sleep, but doesn't actually enjoy being awake after about two hours. This would be no problem if he'd just nurse and fall asleep, or just fall asleep after much cuddling, rocking, bouncing, singing, and other supposedly soothing activities.

He, at these times, does not want to latch on. He does not want to rock. He does not want to cuddle or hear my bad singing (can't blame him there). It seems like there is nothing that he consistently prefers.

What works best, as far as I can tell, is putting him in the front carrier and bouncing on the exercise ball. Now the exercise (I always wanna spell this work excercise, it just comes out that way) ball is supposed to promote good posture. With approximately 11 extra pounds of minihuman suspended from the carrier, good posture goes straight out the window.

At this point I say a little prayer for the... overly endowed women of the world. They must have serious back problems.

Anyway, back to the ball and the carrier. How long do you think one can bounce before going batty? I think I'm getting close. So I get up from bouncing and feign a bounce as I walk around a bit. This kid is no slacker. He knows the difference. Soon enough, he's back to fussing.

If I happen to get him to fall asleep in our bouncy state, I'd better just keep right on bouncing because if I try to stop, which I can for a while but not long, he's right back at it. Forget trying to put him down. The only place he'll go is the bouncy chair with convenient vibration (a Caleb hand-me-down that we bought second hand - best buy in the world), but that is for a limited time. Approximately 20 minutes is his max.

Imagine poor Caleb. He's getting his own string cheese out of the fridge, taking just-for-fun baths (ok, not a hardship) because I can't wash him up and it's a nice (confined) space for him to be supervised, and playing by himself. He did create a train with a couple of baskets. I, and the ball, were the engine, but we didn't go anywhere. Just bounced.

I'm not complaining, mind you, just pondering...

In the midst of the chaos, I have not once stopped and said, "Golly, I can't wait for another one!"

Who are those weirdos who have all their kids a year apart, on purpose? Must be saints or something.

There is a silver lining on this rain cloud, though. All the times that Micah's pulled his tricks are during waking hours. Or I should specify, NORMAL HUMAN WAKING HOURS. I know some babies seem to have their days and nights mixed up, or that's how it's refered to. Micah is not one of those. He wakes up at night to nurse and falls asleep for another cycle. I believe these to be about 2-3 hour spans, but it's the middle of the night. I am not checking the clock, and if I did, I'd likely not remember in the morning anyway.

Regardless of the timing, the nighttime goes smoothly for both of us. I love nighttime. I look forward to tonight. Now I never thought I'd be saying, "I can't wait to wake up every two to three hours during the night," but I am, and it's true.

Micah has not always behaved this way. I'd say, before two days ago or so, he's done this four times, and not all day long like yesterday and today. It would be something like wake up, eat, stay awake, do the fuss thing, go to sleep again for about 20 minutes, eat again, and then sleep "like a baby" - boy is that a funny phrase - for a couple of hours, or at least one solid hour.

Yesterday, it went on all day. He didn't nap more than 20 minutes at a time. It was a bad day for all involved. I'm not sure what's precipitating these moods. A one-month-old is a mystery to me, in a way... But for sure, Micah and I are still getting to know eachother. Or rather, he's got me right where he wants me, and I'm trying to figure out his game. I'm sure, just as I've figured it out, he'll try something else, better or worse.

In the meanwhile, the house looks messier, the dishes we used today are waiting for a little bath, Caleb is probably feeling the decreased attention from Mommy, I'm still in my pjs and I'm feeling yucky.

But hey, at least I blogged!