By Cheryl Bac
E-mail Cheryl Bac
About this blog: I'm a wife, stay-at-home mom, home cook, marathon runner, and PhD. I recently moved to the Silicon Valley after completing my PhD in Social Psychology and becoming a mother one month apart. Before that, I ran seven marathons incl...
(More)About this blog: I'm a wife, stay-at-home mom, home cook, marathon runner, and PhD. I recently moved to the Silicon Valley after completing my PhD in Social Psychology and becoming a mother one month apart. Before that, I ran seven marathons including Chicago and Boston. Exercise is an integral part of my life. I hope to one day go back to long distance running and tackle the New York City Marathon. Right now I run after my one year old son. Although I am a stay-at-home mom, we are rarely "at home." My mom also stayed at home with my brother and me. She warned me that, although rewarding, it can be isolating. So, with her help, I learned the importance of getting out into the community and meeting other mothers. On the rare occasion when I am at home and have a hand or two free, I squeeze in time to scrapbook. As a new mom, many challenges are thrown my way. I hope my opinions, triumphs, and struggles help experienced parents reminisce, new parents cope, and parents-to-be get an honest glimpse of what the first years of motherhood can entail.
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The first few weeks as a family of five flew by. Our daughter recently started smiling and her big brother and sister can't wait to make her laugh.
I'm very lucky that my husband was able to take time off of work after our daughter was born. He drove our kids to school and various classes, ordered food for meals when I was too tired to cook or grocery shop, did laundry, helped feed and comfort baby at night, and took photos of me with baby and her older siblings. I was able to rest, recover, and hold our newborn. What a gift.
My parents later visited us and helped take care of the kids and clean/organize our home. I especially enjoyed having adults to talk with while home with the kids. As expected, we spent most of their visit at home, but when we ventured out I appreciated having two extra adults to help entertain my older kids while I fed baby or changed a diaper. They also buckled our kids in the minivan, calmed baby while I drove, and made sure everyone stayed safe while we crossed parking lots, etc.
When my husband went back to work and my parents flew home, our home was surprisingly calm. I think my husband and my parents wore out our two oldest kids! It took some time, but my two oldest kids started spending more and more time playing together and helping one another while I tended to baby. There were definitely moments of chaos, but so far they've been balanced with many more moments of laughter and joy.
