Living Arrows 2019: Week Eleven

We survived! I can officially say that this household is back to having two working parents and now has two proud nursery goers too! This last week has been a bit of a blur of activity compared to our usual slow days during my maternity leave. It’s funny how out of practice you get at keeping the pace up, it’s Sunday night and I’m exhausted. Is it too early to take a week off on holiday?!

Last week we eased ourselves back in with some shorter hours whilst the baby settled in to her new routine. I found returning to work quite different this time (far less nerve-wracking!) but was slightly dreading that first morning walk in to the office… I needn’t have worried, from the first hello it felt like I’d just been off a week rather than about forty of them. Is that a good thing? I’m hoping so! With it being the first week I’d purposefully left our days off together a little quieter so that we could take some ‘rest’ if we needed it. Not that you get any rest with a toddler and a baby around! This week normal service is resuming; I’m on full hours, we’ve got lots planned and we’ve got a busy weekend ahead with the baby’s christening. Time to crack on…

Him

He has been a real delight this week. I was starting to think that we would never see the end of the tantrum stage but it feels like there’s light at the end of the (long, oh SO long) tunnel. This week we’ve put some real emphasis on him being the bigger boy and supporting us and his sister with these changes to our routine. My goodness, is it cute to see him in that role. I was worried that he’d go a bit backward with his sister cramping his style at nursery and my mum’s house but he’s really come in to his own; offering to help, trying to make her smile and generally being a great big bro.

That’s not to say he’s been perfect but I’ve found this week that our time together has been far more pleasant. Is it me or him? I don’t know! His conversation is always a delight and he genuinely makes me laugh with some of the comments that he makes. Whilst normally he’s all about Daddy, this week he’s given me a little more love and it’s exactly what I needed! After a busy few days playing whilst we worked, he’s helped me with the food shop, made amazing progress in his swimming lessons (I mean, he still refuses to go under water but there were no tears this time which is an absolute win!) and had new friends come to play. He’s even turned a bit of a corner with his eating at home!

The weekend has been all about family time. He spent Saturday morning at my parents house, bossing his Grandma and Grandpa around and making cakes, followed by an afternoon playing with Nanny at our house. I love seeing those relationships develop – there’s nothing quite like seeing people you love interact together, is there? Finally we rounded off the weekend with some of his favourite things – time outside. Beach in the morning, jobs at home in the garden in the afternoon and a dog walk in the woods. I swear, nothing wears this kid out but at least this weekend we’ve given it a good go!

Her

It’s been a big week in her world. My little shadow has branched out and spent entire days without me. We’re firmly into some strong separation anxiety at the moment but she’s done really well at both nursery and my mum’s house. That is, until I walk in through the door and she promptly bursts into tears! I’ve found leaving her far more terrifying than leaving him despite being more confident in the people that she’s with; she seems far smaller than he ever was! Despite all of this, I’m so pleased and relieved that the week has gone well and even more excited to say that she’s successfully taken a bottle twice now; even one from me! Weaning continues to go well but this little boob monster loves her milk and has refused all of our attempts at a bottle until now. Hurrah! Hopefully this means we can leave her a little more, or rather I can.

This weekend I’ve really noticed the relationship she has with her big brother. Whilst she’ll happily play when he’s not around, the moment he’s back downstairs, she’ll come searching for him. The poor girl is glutton for punishment considering he’s a little heavy handed with his affections; she just laughs and encourages him further! My favourite is watching her chase him around the room – there’s no way she can keep up with him whilst she’s crawling but she gives it a good shot! – and hearing them giggle away together in the buggy. These two are going to give me a run for my money, I can tell you. I’m exhausted just thinking about it!

This post is linking up with the Living Arrows series over at What The RedHead Said. If you’d like to see more of our weekly updates, you can find them here!