A Retrospective

As my maternity leave comes to an end (this is my last week off) and I look back over the last several months, I have come to the following realizations:

• Days and weeks may pass slowly but the years are sure flying by - my boys (yes, both of them!) are growing up so fast!
• I am far more confident as a parent this time around. I have learned to trust my instincts, to not sweat the small stuff and to pester doctor(s) when needed. There are not necessarily right and wrong answers to all parenting dilemmas and doing the best you can any given day is ok.
• Maternity leave is such a blessing and I was very fortunate to be able to take 12 weeks off with both Andrew and Tyler (in aggregate that is almost a half year off!). First and foremost, the bonding time is priceless. I just love cuddling on the couch with Tyler in the afternoons when it is just the two of us. Second, being able to temporarily disconnect from the office is very refreshing. When I go back to work I will have a fresh outlook since I have had a chance to 100% completely de-stress.
• I think that a lot of people (based on responses I received when I was pregnant with Tyler when people learned that I was pregnant with my second boy) feel that the "ideal" American family includes having 2 children, one boy and one girl. I was honestly extremely happy when I found out that I was having another boy and now that Tyler is home I can see how much fun having 2 boys is going to be -- and how much fun it already is!
• There are not enough hours in a day (I already knew this one) :)

Next week is going to be a tough week as we try to establish a new routine, especially the waking up super early part! Experts say that if you do something for 2 weeks it becomes a routine, so my goal is to go with the flow and be flexible as we iron out the kinks of the new routine over the next couple weeks. Hopefully by the first week in June we will all be comfortable in our newly established routine.