Spring Break

I was so looking forward to Spring Break!  A would be home for an entire week.  And an extra set of hands?  Yes, please!

Unfortunately, the weather was cold and dreary.  And we even got a little snow?!?  Not funny, mother nature.  But we still made the most of A's week at home.

Spring break didn't start out so great.  We had our taxes prepared.  Sort of.  Turns out the tax preparer needed additional information so we have to return.  But it looks like we owe money for the first time ever.  Whaa whaa.  I also had a dentist appointment that afternoon and I have my first cavity in 7ish years.  So not a very good Monday.

Tuesday was a bit better.  A and I took the boys out for lunch.  Nothing note worthy about lunch, but I always enjoy getting out of the house and the boys were great.  That afternoon we took W over to Nani and Papa's house for a sleepover.  Nani offered to take W for the night and A and I were so excited to only have to wake in the night for one boy.  Naturally, W slept through the night just fine at Nani and Papa's.  The first time he's slept through the night since March 11.  Yes, I remember the date.

Wednesday, we picked W up from Nani and Papa's and headed to the Children's Museum.  These places always give me anxiety.  So many children running around, the noise, the germs, the chaos... I'm kidding.  Kind of.  We'd never been before and spring break was probably the wrong time to go because it was crazy crowded.  I hated it.  But W loved it!!  And I supposed that's all that matters.  W even cried when it was time to have lunch.  The water room and car wash were his favorites.

 

Thursday, we visited my sister-in-law for a play date.  I have a 9 year old nephew, 7 year old niece, and a 4 month old nephew.  W loves his cousins and enjoyed playing with their toys and exploring the house.  It was great to catch up with my sister-in-law and W must have had a great time because he slept through the night that night.

Friday, we had another play date.  I've known Krista since junior high.  She has a 3 year old daughter through IVF and a 2 year old son.  Her son was a surprise natural conception when her daughter was only a few months old - I love hearing stories like that. :)  I hadn't seen Krista since the summer, but she's one of those rare people you can go awhile without seeing and then just pick up where you left off.  Love her!  We met at the mall play place and then had lunch at the food court.  W fell asleep on the way home and I treated myself to a Birthday Cake Frappuccino.  A fun day.

Saturday morning, we colored Easter eggs.  I think W was more excited about the set up than the actual coloring of the eggs.  But he did enjoy naming all the colors and dropping the eggs into the cups.  Only 2 cracked eggs - better than I expected.  After that, A and I went on a lunch date while my mom watched the boys.  I had been wanting to try out Cheddar's and I loved it.  Nothing fancy, but any restaurant that has cheap margaritas and comfort food is a win in my book.  I had a margarita, spinach dip, soup, and a bunch of sides including broccoli cheese casserole... so yummy!

Sunday was our usual church and Starbucks.

A heads back to work this week and I actually do too!  More on that later.  All in all, it was a wonderful Spring Break and I'm sad it's over.

Bed Time Bootcamp

I recently had my 6 week follow-up appointment with my OB.  It was really bittersweet.  I love the doctors in the practice and after seeing them so often, I was a little sad thinking that I wouldn't be returning for a year.  Even sadder, I'll probably never be under their supervision for a pregnancy again.

But, my doctor and the nurse wanted to know all about baby and one of the questions they asked was if I was getting any sleep.  Ha.  I told them that baby actually slept really well and W was the problem.  I explained that he was waking multiple times during the night.  It usually took a really long time for W to fall back asleep and A would often have to sleep next to him.  I also mentioned to them I wasn't comfortable with letting him "cry it out" and that I didn't think it would work anyway.

My doctor said it was very common for toddlers to regress when a new sibling came along.  This I knew.

The nurse was really helpful.  She also advised against letting W cry.  There was a reason he was crying in the first place - he was scared, he needed soothing, etc.  So not comforting him would likely make him feel worse.  She also said that sleeping next to him was probably not the best solution.  He was quickly getting used to this so every time he awoke and realized A wasn't next to him, he'd cry out for A.  Her suggestion:  stay with him until he settles, let him know that you'll return in a set amount of time, then leave the room.  Repeat this process, increasing the interval each time.  It was definitely worth a shot.

So Bed Time Bootcamp, as I dubbed it, began Friday night.  Instead of the usual, giving W a bottle and letting him fall asleep while A rocked him, we were going to completely change up the bed time routine.

A and I agreed on a plan.  We decided to start our new routine around 8pm.  A would read 3 books with W and then sing a song.  Then, we'd try the method the nurse suggested for 2 hours.  If it still wasn't working, then we'd give in and try again the following day.

W loved reading the stories with A and sang along when it was time for the song.  After that, A tried to leave the room.  W immediately became hysterical and ran after A - something he's never done before.  He's always stayed in bed and waited for us to come to him.  I watched all this unfold on the monitor and immediately thought, there's no way this is going to work.  But A was amazing.  He brought W back to bed, very calmly told him that he should stay in bed and that A would be back to check on him.  A encouraged W telling W that A knew he could do this.  W got out of bed a couple more times, but he was no longer crying.  A checked on W a couple minutes later, then 5 minutes later, then 10 minutes later.  After a total of 30 minutes, W was asleep.  He had fallen asleep on his own!!!  This was huge progress!

W woke 2 times in the night and A repeated the same process.  W fell back asleep quickly each time.  This was awesome!!  It seemed like such a simple method and I don't know why it took us so long to try it.  A slept in our bed for the first time in a really long time and W slept alone for the first time in a really long time.

Saturday night, A did the same thing.  W only woke once during the night and S woke at the same time.  It was the first night in the past 6+ weeks that we got a decent amount of sleep!!!

W has woken a couple times in the night each night since.  A goes to him, settles him, lets W know that he'll return, and W falls asleep on his own.  He even got out of bed one night, called for A, and then hopped back in bed on his own and fell asleep.  Major major progress!  I'm hopeful he'll be sleeping through the night again soon.

W Lately

Aside from the poor sleep, W has been lots of fun and I can't believe how much he's learned and grown in a short time.

He's talking up a storm.  He loves to make comparisons.  For instance, he'll have apple juice and say, "Not orange juice."  Or he'll see our neighbor's dog outside and say, "Not Addie."  This goes on all day.

Some other favorites lately:

W:  Mommy, S eat bagels?

Me:  No, only big boys eat bagels.

W:  S no teeth.

W:  (points to himself) Not Baby S.

Me:  You're not baby S?  Who are you?

W:  Big Boy W!

W;  Baby S sleeping?
Me:  No, he's not sleeping.
W:  S eyes open!

W's absolute favorite thing to do is play outside.  Thankfully we've finally gotten some spring like weather around these parts.  I took him out the other day and W repeatedly said red stroller.  I asked if he wanted to go for a walk and he replied walk.  The two of us went for a really long walk and W started to whine and pout when I finally turned around to head home.  I'll gladly walk with you any time, kiddo!

I think I've mentioned it before, but W knows all his colors and loves to use them when identifying objects.  He knows red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, white, brown, black, and pink.

He sings songs lately.  Favorites of his are Baby Beluga, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and ABCs.

W can do 12 piece jigsaw puzzles.

He has started to count and can count to 5 on occasion, though this is a work in progress.

He can identify most letters of the alphabet.

W continues to be a wonderful big brother.  Always concerned about S and bringing him various toys, pacifiers, etc.

I'm so looking forward to the summer with these two.  S will interact more and W will be able to spend lots of time outside. :)

Night Time

I hate night time.  You'd think I'd be excited to finally rest and get some sleep, but that's the problem... I don't sleep and neither does A.  Although, W's behavior has improved tremendously since those first couple weeks, he continues to wake up every.single.night.  I don't know what to do about it.  A typically goes in and lays with W until he falls back asleep, but sometimes that takes forever.  Sometimes W wakes again as soon as A is trying to sneak out.  Sometimes A gives up and just takes W to the extra bedroom and they sleep on the day bed until morning.  We tried letting W "cry it out" one night even though I was against it.  As I expected, W became hysterical and it took a long time for him to calm down.  This waking up has been going on for about a month now with no end in sight.  Here's what a typical night looks like...

Go to bed sometime between 10 and 11 pm (whenever S falls asleep).

1:30 am - W wakes up.  A heads to his room and I typically get up and pump in order to give S a bottle (about 20 minutes for me and much longer for A).

3:00 am - S wakes up.  Give him a bottle, burps, and back to sleep (about 30 minutes).

5:15 am - A's alarm goes off.  Go wake him up since he's often in bed with W.

6:00-6:30 am - Both boys wake up for the day.

I'm exhausted.  So is A.  And now W has a cold and his nose has not stopped dripping so I'm sure we'll all have it in a matter of days. :(

I expected to have to attend to a newborn at night, but I certainly didn't expect both boys to be waking.

This too shall pass...

St. Pat's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day from my Irish boys!

This Week

I wish I was coherent enough to write a more interesting, witty post, but the sleep deprivation is getting to me. :)  Both boys are actually sleeping right now and I should try to nap, but I know as soon as I lay down, one of them will wake up.  It's inevitable.

We've had quite a busy week.  Lots of time spent outdoors (spring is finally here, maybe?), visitors, and trips to the doctor and salon (a much needed hair cut for W).  In other exciting news, S smiled for the first time!! :)  Our week in photos...

Quickly growing out of 0-3 month clothing.  I'm trying to make sure he wears everything before it's too small.

Pre hair cut

Pictures of S are so much easier - he's not always in motion like big brother!

Baby snuggles :)

Using forks to make tulips.

We've been out for walks every day!

1 month stats - Doctor says keep doing what you're doing.  That makes me feel good.  Tough to read, but 95th percentile for weight, 98th for length!

Poor S is losing his hair. :(

I wanted to use this photo in S's birth announcement, but I couldn't make it work with the layout.  These two have my heart.

Baby S is 1 Month Old

Dear S,

Happy 1 month, big guy! That sure went fast!

Aside from a couple days here and there and evenings, you're a very content baby. You love to eat and you take long naps (thank you!). You consistently eat every 3 hours, but will go 4-5 hours at night.  You often take a long nap in the morning and another nap in the early afternoon.  You love baths.  You have gorgeous blue eyes and I hope they don't change.  It's incredibly sweet when you look me in the eyes while I'm feeding you. :)  You're already wearing some 3-6 month size clothing (mostly onesies and one pieces) - you have a long torso just like your brother.  You also have really tiny ears and enormous feet. :)

We've taken you out and about quite a bite - to church, Starbucks, the grocery store, lunch dates, and dinner and you're always perfect.  Mommy also took you to work where no less than 6 people held you and countless others stopped by to admire you.  You were a perfect gentleman and slept the entire time.

Your big brother adores you. He's constantly bringing you pacifiers, blankets, and bottles and he's always talking about Baby S.  He helps with bath time and throws out your diapers.  He loves you so much and I know you'll have so much fun together.

You're a perfect addition to our family and we love you so much. Like we tell your brother, you are our everything and more, baby S.

Family Updates

Time is flying by at warp speed.  I can't believe baby S will be one month old on Thursday.  Say what?!?  It scares me how quickly he's growing.  Our days seem long, but time flies by - I'm not sure how that happens.

A turned 35 last week.  That also scares me.  35!!  Very thankful he continues to be healthy.  He's such an amazing help with both boys.  I try to urge him to do his vest for purely selfish reasons - I can't even fathom caring for these boys alone should A not feel well.  He's missed a couple vests, but has done really well all things considered.

W is doing much better in his role as big brother.  So very thankful for that.  The first couple weeks were really hard.  But since then, things have improved quite a bit.  We still have challenges - W usually gets at least one time out per day, but the tantrums have ceased for the most part.  He continues to be an excellent big brother - bringing over blankets and pacifiers for S.  S was crying recently and I was trying to soothe him.  W came running over with a bottle and starting feeding S.  It made my heart happy.

S has had a few fussy days recently, but for the most part, he continues to be a very content little guy.  Because he's so big, he sleeps well and eats very well - so much so that I have trouble keeping up with him.  W didn't have formula until he was 8 months old.  I think I may have to introduce it a lot sooner with S.  I was able to freeze so much milk for W.  Not so this time around.

S came with me today to visit work.  They loved him.  He was held by six different colleagues and met so many more.  And it was so great to get out of the house.  I needed it.  It was also great to catch up with my coworkers.  And I came home with gifts for W, S, and myself.  They are way too kind.

I'm attempting to baby wear this time around.  I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing and I'm fairly certain I tied the wrap incorrectly, but S has been asleep on my chest for a solid hour... so at least he seems comfy.

That's all the random news I have for now.  Not very exciting. :)