Backward baby

Oh my Lily! Happy as a lark! Strong as an ox! Light of my life (well, one of them) Lily is discovering mobility. I know it's normal to wish for mobility, even cheer it on with the first child, then dread it's arrival with the second. I get that the prospect of two children running off in two directions can be stressful. But for me, for Lily, mobility cannot come fast enough! I need that beautiful little ball of joy to lay-her-sister-out. I need Lily to stand up and then sit on Grace! Grace loves Lily, I can see it 98% of the day. It's heartwarming, it's what I hoped would happen if I had two girls, but 2% of the day Grace either kicks, hits, pushes or throws her sister. I grew up with younger brothers. Rough housing is a part of life and I will allow it to some extent with the girls, but Lily is too small and defenseless at the moment for Grace to be so rough. Lily thinks that Grace hung the moon. She wants to be right there with Grace in the mix at all times. Even moments after Lily is screaming from the pain of a slap in the face or stomped on hand she is oohing and ahhing and smiling at Grace. So I am waiting with bated breath for the first time Lily hits back. Grace is not going to have a clue what hit her, and as sick as this might sound... It's going to be awesome!

So Lily is trying her damnedest to crawl. She is pushing up on all fours with her tummy off the ground. As strong as those legs of hers are. She has been standing, jumping, pushing off with them for months. Her arms are stronger. She gets to trying to coordinate the arms and legs to get to a toy and end up further away. She is now crawling, but backwards. Poor thing. She gets so frustrated and I have a feeling she will not be easily frustrated as she gets older.

Lily is also regressing in her sleep pattern. About a month ago she was sleeping through the night. Now she is waking with more and more frequency. She is not just wanting to eat either, she is up wanting to play and interact. I know that every child is different. I had already embraced this fact before Lily was born. I prepared for a baby that was high maintenance. I was convinced that Grace was a perfect baby and that the only place to go from her was down. Not true. Lily is so happy and content she makes baby Grace look like a seriously high maintenance child. I prepared for Lily to be a holy living terror, but so far she is an angel and Grace is the one giving me a run for my money. Though Grace started sleeping 11 hours a night at 2 months old. Here were are at 6 months with Lily and she is waking and feeding like a newborn. This up all night nightmare never crossed my mind. I know this too shall pass, these phases are not forever and one day I will look back and miss my 'Mommy and Lily time' that we shared in the middle of the night, but for now, I am exhausted...