Day 12

On the one hand, taking care of a baby the second time is much easier! We are definitely calmer and wiser; but more noticeably, Wei is such a different baby from how Kai was at this age. During the day, Kai was looking around and making sounds, whereas Wei spends most of the day sleeping. She only wakes up to nurse. That being said, we're very lucky because both of our kids are very easygoing. They hardly cry. Kai was a happy baby since day one, and the only time we remember him fussing quite a bit was when he had gas. His little sister is the same way. Even when she does cry, it's usually for a minute or two and, as soon as whatever that's bothering her is gone, she stops crying immediately.

However, taking care of a baby while trying to keep a toddler happy has been difficult for us and on Kai. Even though Kai's a very understanding child, he's having a hard time keeping the self-centered toddler in line. Everything has to be a fight these days. Bill and I hate it when everything second word we say to Kai is either "No" or "Stop". We get frustrated and annoyed by the things Kai knows he shouldn't do but does them on purpose anyway (i.e., hitting one of us). He cries when we get stern with him, and he fake-cries when he doesn't get his way.

There have been times when I secretly screamed in my head, "Who is this little turd, and why ate you behaving this way?" There have been times when I really didn't like being around the whiny selfish and violent 2-year-old. However, all is forgotten when my son reaches out his arms for a hug or when he all of a sudden comes really close and says, "Sowee, mommy. I'm sowee."

Kai's still our sweet little boy. He just has a lot to deal with at the moment. What I'm glad to see and thankful for is the fact that all the acting out seems to be directed at challenging his parents' authority more than rejecting his baby sister. In fact, Kai seems quite fond of his baby sister. He checks up on her when she's sleeping on the crib, and he strokes her hair very softly when someone's holding her. He comments on how little she is and is already ready to help during diaper change.

We have TWO kids!! I'm still getting used to that.