Why I Never Leave My House

I gave birth to my second daughter 12 weeks ago today and I thought having two kids kids, a toddler and an infant, would be a piece of cake. For some reason, the first few weeks were great. My toddler seemed to be adjusting well and baby was the epitome of perfect; she slept great, was a good eater and rarely cried. Soon after those first two weeks, shit hit the fan. My toddler was a supreme sass-hole in every way, shape and form. If you were holding the baby, she had to be up in you face, making sure she was getting all of your attention. She threw tantrums over anything and everything. She was talking back and acting out at school. She also pretty much stopped sleeping. She wakes up every two or three hours at night screaming for my husband or poking him in the face while he sleeps on the couch. Yes, my poor husband has been sleeping on the couch since baby came home from the hospital so there goes our sex life (as if we had one since becoming parents). This is all normal behavior when a new baby comes home so I expected it. Now that school is over, I no longer have those four precious toddler-free hours during the week to just sit with baby and take in her fleeting baby-ness. But that baby isn’t as ‘perfect’ as I once thought. I wasn’t expecting her to hate something so much so early in life.

My baby hates her car seat and car rides.

She is a feisty little thing that will in fact pierce your eardrums if you so much as put her down for a millisecond. The moment she is put in her car seat, she screams. Most babies like car rides and even have to be driven around by a sleep deprived mommy or daddy to lull them to sleep. Nope. This one is defective and hates it. That is why I never want to leave my house.

Leaving the house with said a baby + a toddler is a nightmare and fills me with so much anxiety, I chose to stay home as much as I can or wait until their daddy is home to go anywhere. Before baby, I was constantly on the go with my oldest. We went everywhere from the moment she was born. She actually loved the car so this car-hating baby is very different for me. We’ve been missing out on parties and other events since she’s been born because it’s just easier to stay home than to deal with a screaming baby which then makes the toddler cry (she has sensitive ears). If we’ve missed out on something in the past two months, family and friends, this is probably the reason and we’re very sorry. 

So if you invite us to any sort of birthday party or barbecue or play date this summer and I decline or we don’t show, please don’t be offended. We’re adjusting to having two kids and it’s definitely not easy. Add a screaming baby who hates her car seat and car rides, it’s just not worth it for us to go somewhere where she’d have to be in the car for 20-30+ minutes. We still love you all and will see you as soon as she outgrows her hatred of the car. 

– Casey