Paige couldn't be more different. Every bath time she coos and smiles through the entire process. It's not until she's lifted out of the tub (when I'm sure she gets cold) that she utters the slightest cry. What a lovely water baby.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Bath Time!
When Reese came home from the hospital, every bath for the first three months of her life was full of screaming. From beginning to end, Reese would turn red-faced and protest her time in the water. Thinking about her love of bath time now, it seems impossible, but I've got the photos to prove it. (see below)
Paige couldn't be more different. Every bath time she coos and smiles through the entire process. It's not until she's lifted out of the tub (when I'm sure she gets cold) that she utters the slightest cry. What a lovely water baby.
Paige couldn't be more different. Every bath time she coos and smiles through the entire process. It's not until she's lifted out of the tub (when I'm sure she gets cold) that she utters the slightest cry. What a lovely water baby.
Christmas
Christmas this year was full of activity--and lots of packing.
After Santa visited our house in Austin, we packed up the girls (and Annie) for a whirlwind tour of the grandparents' homes in San Antonio. Reese was beside herself with all the attention and I'm convinced she now thinking Christmas is a multi-day present giving event more like Hanukkah (on steroids), but oh well. Next year we'll also have to tackle the idea that Paige will get to open her OWN presents. Reese sure didn't mind helping this year.
The girls were showered in gifts and attention and Mommy will be spending the next week unpacking, doing laundry, and finding homes for all their new toys.
Reese At Play
Here are some of Reese's block creations. We were pretty impressed with her solo construction ideas. When you ask her what she's built she'll usually tell you it's either a tower, a skyscraper, a neighborhood, a zoo, or HEB.
Always shopping...
For Christmas, Rachel gave Reese a second tutu. Hesitant to give up her original tutu from Grandma Bailey, this is how Reese chose to combine them. Kind of reminds me of Madonna or a bride circa 1985.
It Takes A Village
The saying that begins, "It takes a village..." rings in my head constantly now that I have two children. Well, that along with the stories of my mother raising two small children while stranded in a house in Minot ND when it was 50 below. Or Kevin's mother and her story of the Ohio roads that were too dangerous to drive with kiddies in tow. And with the possibility of Kevin traveling for work in the near future, I find myself thinking: What are people thinking when they have kids and try to raise them on their own?!?
Now that the child:parent ratio in our house is 1:1, things get hairy easily. (Let's not even delve into the problems that I encounter when the kiddos outnumber me while Kevin is at work.) I don't have enough hands (or time) to keep everyone clean, feed, and happy all the time. Usually it's my needs that give first--"Today I have to choose between: taking a shower, eating 3 meals, or going to the bathroom by myself, which will it be?" It makes the idea of living near grandparents, or moving to a country where villages pull together to help care for small children (even if they don't have running water) seem like a swell idea.
So, you may ask, why not hire help? To which I answer: Have you priced baby sitters lately?!?
If I have to pay the teenager down the block $10/hr so my kids are alive when I return, I've barely got cash left over to justify spending on leaving the house in the first place. Let's not even get into the price of nannies--we are living on one income for the time being.
We had a friend babysit for us during the month of December on four separate occasions. I felt like I was in heaven. She didn't charge us anything, and the children were happy, fed,bathed, and usually asleep when we returned. Now that we have two kids, finding babysitting help is much harder--if it takes both of us to wrangle the children, we feel badly asking any ONE person to take over the task for us. And now that we don't have the time/money/energy to see our friends as much socially, we feel badly asking them to babysit for us. "Hey, we haven't seen you guys in a few months, but can you come watch our kids so we can get out of the house?" It just seems like we're taking advantage.
So, here's to hoping that as the girls grow we find some good, cheap, babysitters, or I may forgo running water and find a nice village.
Now that the child:parent ratio in our house is 1:1, things get hairy easily. (Let's not even delve into the problems that I encounter when the kiddos outnumber me while Kevin is at work.) I don't have enough hands (or time) to keep everyone clean, feed, and happy all the time. Usually it's my needs that give first--"Today I have to choose between: taking a shower, eating 3 meals, or going to the bathroom by myself, which will it be?" It makes the idea of living near grandparents, or moving to a country where villages pull together to help care for small children (even if they don't have running water) seem like a swell idea.
So, you may ask, why not hire help? To which I answer: Have you priced baby sitters lately?!?
If I have to pay the teenager down the block $10/hr so my kids are alive when I return, I've barely got cash left over to justify spending on leaving the house in the first place. Let's not even get into the price of nannies--we are living on one income for the time being.
We had a friend babysit for us during the month of December on four separate occasions. I felt like I was in heaven. She didn't charge us anything, and the children were happy, fed,bathed, and usually asleep when we returned. Now that we have two kids, finding babysitting help is much harder--if it takes both of us to wrangle the children, we feel badly asking any ONE person to take over the task for us. And now that we don't have the time/money/energy to see our friends as much socially, we feel badly asking them to babysit for us. "Hey, we haven't seen you guys in a few months, but can you come watch our kids so we can get out of the house?" It just seems like we're taking advantage.
So, here's to hoping that as the girls grow we find some good, cheap, babysitters, or I may forgo running water and find a nice village.
Friday, December 17, 2010
One out of Three
I didn't start blogging after the birth of Reese until she was almost five months old. Why the delay? Because she was the colicky baby from hell...I love her dearly, but it's true. At just days old she would stay awake for hours on end screaming unless she was being held and soothed. Some colicky babies like to eat for comfort (so I've heard), Reese made breast and bottle feeding a nightmare as well. There were many days when I was so tired I could barely stand, and my nerves were rattled by my introduction to motherhood. In short, there was plenty of material to write about, I just didn't have the stamina or gal to write about it. Five months later, Reese began her transformation into a much more manageable baby, and her blog began.
While pregnant with Paige I dreamed of having a fat, happy, sleepy baby who would make motherhood-of-two an easier transition for me. Well, I'm 1 for 3.
Fat: Born early at just over 5lbs, Paige is gaining weight, but is no chunky monkey. It doesn't really bother me that she'll likely be a little one like Reese, except that I still have worries about how much she's eating. Since deciding to bottle feed her expressed milk (which is still going well), I can see how much she eats, and I just don't know if she's getting enough. It's a total Catch-22: breastfeed and you have NO idea how much they're eating, bottle feed and still wonder if 1oz at a time is really enough.
Happy: Here's the one thing that rings true for Paige--she is a MUCH happier baby than Reese. She began smiling about a week and half ago. She turns on the smile for Mommy (or Mommy's voice) quite often, but has also been known to flash some big grins to her big sister. This week she's started laughing and "talking." If she's awake and well rested, you can put her in her bouncy seat or on her play mat and she'll screech and laugh at all the things she sees. Reese wasn't a grumpy baby, just serious, so seeing Paige act like this at such a young age is really a joy.
Sleepy: Maybe if I had been sedentary during my pregnancies, my children would have learned earlier to sleep in stationary positions. But alas, teaching kept me on my feet during my pregnancy with Reese, and Reese kept me active during my pregnancy with Paige. In the long run it was probably good for my health, but it's left me wondering if it turned my children into motion-junkies. Much like Reese, Paige has had difficulty sleeping unless she's being a)held b)vigorously jiggled (via person, automobile, or vibrating contraption) or c)in her swing. Since coming home from the hospital Paige has slept in her bouncy seat, in her swing (in our closet), and in my arms (or any other relative willing to hold her), but NOT alone in her bed. About a week ago we thought we had broken the motion-sleep habit by accomplishing a few days/nights of sleep in her crib. It was short lived, though, and she's been putting us back through our paces lately. When Paige gets sleepy (about an hour after she wakes up--e.g. leaving me just enough time to feed her, change her, and never leave the house), we swaddle her up and begin to soothe her. Rocking and jiggling are the main methods of success, although lately she enjoys a pacifier as well. Just when you think she's asleep, you lay her gently in her crib and tip-toe out the door. Without fail, between 5 and 15 minutes (if you're lucky) later, she's awake and screaming. Last night, she woke up from a nap around 12:45PM and we couldn't get her to go down for more than 15 minutes at a stretch until 9:30PM when we relented and put her back in her swing. (Where she slept until almost 3AM, completely exhausted.) At one point last night we tried letting her cry for a little while (since we KNEW she was fed but exhausted), but she only succeeded in getting more upset, sweaty, and on the verge of vomiting. We had a mild success this afternoon when Kevin spent almost 45 minutes soothing her into DEEP sleep before putting her down. It seemed to work, but the practicality of me doing that on my own multiple times a day is slim. From several experiences this week I know that there aren't a whole lot of things more frustrating that getting a baby to sleep (so you think) and then having said baby awakened by a tantruming toddler who bursts into the room, or a dog that decides to come in and give her coat a good shake, or a dog who barks at the UPS man (who always seems to come when one or BOTH children are sleeping), or a neighbor delivering holiday cookies....you get the point. It doesn't help matters that I think Reese and Paige conspire via ESP so that there's NEVER a point when they are both asleep--day or night. In my fragmented night sleep (which is still not coming in more than 3 hours increments), I'm dreaming of a night when both my children sleep for more than five hours at a time. Let's just say I now understand why sleep-deprivation is used as a form of torture.
I hear stories of babies Paige's age "sleeping through the night," being in the 90th% in weight, and never giving their parents any trouble. To them, I secretly think, "I hope your children pay you back when they're teenagers," and cross my fingers that my girls are just giving me a run for my money now and will be easier to manage as they grow.
In other news, Paige now fits in the Baby Bjorn, although she doesn't like the new born head support; and Reese has succeeded in bringing home yet another cold to share with the family. And yes, Paige has already gotten it. It must be all of those big sister kisses.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Santa and Jesus
Last Christmas was the Christmas-for-understanding-presents: Reese helped everyone open their gifts, and had a blast with all the paper, bows, and ribbon. This year, Reese is all about the Christmas stories--Santa and Jesus.Let me be clear: she by no means has an understanding of both the secular and religious implications of the holiday, but it is fun to hear her relate her thoughts and feelings about each.
Highlights of Santa: Reese knows he has a beard, and that reindeer help him (although she was adamant that reindeer DO NOT have red noses), but she thinks he lives at the mall. This weekend, the fire department drove through the neighborhood on a fire truck with Santa atop. We heard the truck making the rounds in the neighborhood, and on our third attempt, Reese caught sight of him. She was pretty excited and talked about it the rest of the afternoon. Her synopsis of why he left? "I think he had to go back to the mall." Here's some video of her talking about Santa's drive around the neighborhood.
Speaking of the mall, we made our annual Santa visit on Tuesday morning. We arrived promptly at 10AM, fearing long lines and cranky children (both mine as well as others). We were third in line to see Santa, the girls were dressed in their matching Christmas dresses, everyone was fed and awake, and then Santa appeared. Reese cowered in fear, grabbed my hand and told me she wanted to go home. Suddenly the event she had been talking about for weeks, was too scary. We watched other children (both older and younger than Reese) sit on his lap without incident. But when her fear didn't abate, I put Paige on his lap, snapped a photo and called it quits. After all the effort to get two kids out the door to the mall, though, we stayed and had a soft pretzel for morning snack and then rode the indoor train.
Jesus: On Monday, Reese's school had their Christmas celebration parties and went on a hunt for baby Jesus. (They actually had a infant sibling play the role!) It was another event to remember for Reese. She's been telling us a lot about how baby Jesus was in a manger with his Mommy and Daddy (sometimes referred to as Mary and "I Forgot") and lots of animals.
Highlights of Santa: Reese knows he has a beard, and that reindeer help him (although she was adamant that reindeer DO NOT have red noses), but she thinks he lives at the mall. This weekend, the fire department drove through the neighborhood on a fire truck with Santa atop. We heard the truck making the rounds in the neighborhood, and on our third attempt, Reese caught sight of him. She was pretty excited and talked about it the rest of the afternoon. Her synopsis of why he left? "I think he had to go back to the mall." Here's some video of her talking about Santa's drive around the neighborhood.
Speaking of the mall, we made our annual Santa visit on Tuesday morning. We arrived promptly at 10AM, fearing long lines and cranky children (both mine as well as others). We were third in line to see Santa, the girls were dressed in their matching Christmas dresses, everyone was fed and awake, and then Santa appeared. Reese cowered in fear, grabbed my hand and told me she wanted to go home. Suddenly the event she had been talking about for weeks, was too scary. We watched other children (both older and younger than Reese) sit on his lap without incident. But when her fear didn't abate, I put Paige on his lap, snapped a photo and called it quits. After all the effort to get two kids out the door to the mall, though, we stayed and had a soft pretzel for morning snack and then rode the indoor train.
Jesus: On Monday, Reese's school had their Christmas celebration parties and went on a hunt for baby Jesus. (They actually had a infant sibling play the role!) It was another event to remember for Reese. She's been telling us a lot about how baby Jesus was in a manger with his Mommy and Daddy (sometimes referred to as Mary and "I Forgot") and lots of animals.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Like Mother, Like Daughter?
Shortly after Reese was born my mom quickly tired of calls with questions like "How old was I when I rolled over?", "When did I get my first teeth?", "How much did I weigh when I was ____?" Many of her answers were "I don't know, I'll check your baby book." Soon, however, she decided it was easier to relinquish custody of the baby book instead of fielding my random questions via phone**.
Since inheriting the records my mom kept of my youth, I've consulted the book many times. While Reese and I didn't accomplish all our developmental milestones along the same timeline, it's been comforting to see the growth charts that chronicle my slow weight gain as a baby and see notes about my screaming colicky months.
My baby book contains all the typical trappings: news paper clippings, "baby's firsts," month-by-month photos etc. But, it also contains short journal entries that my mom made during each month of my young life. The entries are handwritten on notebook paper and begin relating short anecdotes of my life around the one year mark.
When Reese started acting very "two-ish" this fall, Kevin and I started to wonder, "Is this normal?" And, let's be honest, there was a little bit of wondering, "Who does she get this from?"
I dug out my baby book to investigate.
The first group of journal entries I grabbed were from the months leading up to Kim's birth (15-21 mos. old). I sighed when I read my mom's bubbly entries about my developing verbal skills and her croons of "What a lovely child." Nice, but no help.
When I searched more for the entries about my life as a two year old, though, I discovered a 6+ month gap in my mom's writing--coinciding with the birth of Kim. Now that I have two kids of my own, I can hardly blame her for putting down the pen. It's hard to find time to go to shower, let a lone write.
When her journal entries resume around the 2 1/2 year mark, their tone is different. Her sentences are shorter, her stories about my behavior not so glowing. I breathed a slight sigh of relief and found solace in quite a few. Below are some direct quotes from the entries...see if you can see the parallels between them and what Kevin and I have been going through lately.
* "Elaine likes to dress herself. Gets frustrated but doesn't want any help. She yells 'I cant do it by myself!'"
* "Elaine has an elaborate bedtime routine. Gets rocked, drinks juice, brushes teeth, reads bedtime books, says prayers, needs a glass of water, needs a new book, says good night, gets up 5 minutes later, goes to bathroom, needs more kisses, needs to be rocked again, then maybe will go to sleep."
* "Elaine loves the swing and would swing all day long if we would push her." (There have been many times I've taken Reese to the park in hopes she'll run off some energy, but all she wants to do is swing.)
* "Elaine whines a great deal when she wants something. Should tape her and play it back to her as a punishment."
I KNOW I became an easy kid for my parents at some point--good in school, played independently, ate vegetables, was responsible--so, I'm hoping that Reese has such things in her future as well.
In this post I chose to leave out the amusing tales of my interactions with Kim as a toddler. (Think "Elaine bit Kim's finger today for no reason..." kind of tales.) After all, I know that relationship turned out ok despite any bodily harm we inflicted on each other before the age of 5.
And don't let this post fool you--Grandma Bailey has her own slew of stories about a toddler Kevin who could be found smashing Christmas ornaments and dumping Cheerios all over the kitchen floor. If only we knew how our genes would combine and create the perfect storm of toddler-hood...
**Editor's Note: My mom was not trying to hold my baby book captive, in fact she had been trying to give it to me for months (if not years) leading up to Reese's birth. Not one to be a pack-rat, though, I kept refusing it until she eventually brought it up to Austin and dropped it off during a visit soon after Reese's birth.
Since inheriting the records my mom kept of my youth, I've consulted the book many times. While Reese and I didn't accomplish all our developmental milestones along the same timeline, it's been comforting to see the growth charts that chronicle my slow weight gain as a baby and see notes about my screaming colicky months.
My baby book contains all the typical trappings: news paper clippings, "baby's firsts," month-by-month photos etc. But, it also contains short journal entries that my mom made during each month of my young life. The entries are handwritten on notebook paper and begin relating short anecdotes of my life around the one year mark.
When Reese started acting very "two-ish" this fall, Kevin and I started to wonder, "Is this normal?" And, let's be honest, there was a little bit of wondering, "Who does she get this from?"
I dug out my baby book to investigate.
The first group of journal entries I grabbed were from the months leading up to Kim's birth (15-21 mos. old). I sighed when I read my mom's bubbly entries about my developing verbal skills and her croons of "What a lovely child." Nice, but no help.
When I searched more for the entries about my life as a two year old, though, I discovered a 6+ month gap in my mom's writing--coinciding with the birth of Kim. Now that I have two kids of my own, I can hardly blame her for putting down the pen. It's hard to find time to go to shower, let a lone write.
When her journal entries resume around the 2 1/2 year mark, their tone is different. Her sentences are shorter, her stories about my behavior not so glowing. I breathed a slight sigh of relief and found solace in quite a few. Below are some direct quotes from the entries...see if you can see the parallels between them and what Kevin and I have been going through lately.
* "Elaine likes to dress herself. Gets frustrated but doesn't want any help. She yells 'I cant do it by myself!'"
* "Elaine has an elaborate bedtime routine. Gets rocked, drinks juice, brushes teeth, reads bedtime books, says prayers, needs a glass of water, needs a new book, says good night, gets up 5 minutes later, goes to bathroom, needs more kisses, needs to be rocked again, then maybe will go to sleep."
* "Elaine loves the swing and would swing all day long if we would push her." (There have been many times I've taken Reese to the park in hopes she'll run off some energy, but all she wants to do is swing.)
* "Elaine whines a great deal when she wants something. Should tape her and play it back to her as a punishment."
I KNOW I became an easy kid for my parents at some point--good in school, played independently, ate vegetables, was responsible--so, I'm hoping that Reese has such things in her future as well.
In this post I chose to leave out the amusing tales of my interactions with Kim as a toddler. (Think "Elaine bit Kim's finger today for no reason..." kind of tales.) After all, I know that relationship turned out ok despite any bodily harm we inflicted on each other before the age of 5.
And don't let this post fool you--Grandma Bailey has her own slew of stories about a toddler Kevin who could be found smashing Christmas ornaments and dumping Cheerios all over the kitchen floor. If only we knew how our genes would combine and create the perfect storm of toddler-hood...
**Editor's Note: My mom was not trying to hold my baby book captive, in fact she had been trying to give it to me for months (if not years) leading up to Reese's birth. Not one to be a pack-rat, though, I kept refusing it until she eventually brought it up to Austin and dropped it off during a visit soon after Reese's birth.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Christmas Card Photos
This weekend, while Kevin was at HEB I had the challenge of trying to take our annual Christmas card photo--this year with both girls, no parents, and no animals.
I won't reveal the "winning" photo(s), but here are some of the ones that didn't make the cut.
Two Month Check Up
Today was Paige's two month check up. Following a 4:45AM wake up call, and a fussy morning, I was not excited about the idea of dragging both her and Reese (along with my GIANT mug of coffee) to the pediatrician.
Our doctor was actually running late (an oddity), but Reese amused herself with the magazines in the office and held on to the promise that I would let her color on the exam table with her crayons once we had been called.
Paige's appointment went well--she's up to 9lbs and 20 1/2" long. Her measurements have her hovering in the 5-10th percentiles in length and weight, but since she started off the charts (negatively), I'm pleased. Four pounds in two months? I'll take it. Besides, we're used to the little numbers in our house thanks to Reese. Just like Reese, though, her head circumference is her biggest measurement. Lots of brains, right?
The doctor said everything looks good. He's happy with her weight gain, and he commented on how strong her legs muscles are (she tried to kick him during the hip exam).
At the end of her appointment, Paige got her first immunizations. We passed on the Hep B vaccine in the hospital since she was getting so many tests run and being poked constantly, so she received three shots and one oral vaccine. When Reese was her age (and until recently), she would cry after getting shots, but would have a very ANGRY cry. Paige, started with the silent scream (which I expected), but then had five minutes of the most pathetic cry I've ever heard. She was frowning and crying real tears. It was one of the saddest things I've seen in a long time.
Reese was never the kind of kid who's run fevers or (God-forbid) slept all day after getting her shots. Usually, she's just a little sore and cranky. So far Paige is fever free, but I have managed to get her down for a nap (in her bed no less!), so we'll see how the day goes. Tylenol is standing by just in case.
Our doctor was actually running late (an oddity), but Reese amused herself with the magazines in the office and held on to the promise that I would let her color on the exam table with her crayons once we had been called.
Paige's appointment went well--she's up to 9lbs and 20 1/2" long. Her measurements have her hovering in the 5-10th percentiles in length and weight, but since she started off the charts (negatively), I'm pleased. Four pounds in two months? I'll take it. Besides, we're used to the little numbers in our house thanks to Reese. Just like Reese, though, her head circumference is her biggest measurement. Lots of brains, right?
The doctor said everything looks good. He's happy with her weight gain, and he commented on how strong her legs muscles are (she tried to kick him during the hip exam).
At the end of her appointment, Paige got her first immunizations. We passed on the Hep B vaccine in the hospital since she was getting so many tests run and being poked constantly, so she received three shots and one oral vaccine. When Reese was her age (and until recently), she would cry after getting shots, but would have a very ANGRY cry. Paige, started with the silent scream (which I expected), but then had five minutes of the most pathetic cry I've ever heard. She was frowning and crying real tears. It was one of the saddest things I've seen in a long time.
Reese was never the kind of kid who's run fevers or (God-forbid) slept all day after getting her shots. Usually, she's just a little sore and cranky. So far Paige is fever free, but I have managed to get her down for a nap (in her bed no less!), so we'll see how the day goes. Tylenol is standing by just in case.
Lights, Lullabyes, and Locks
Kevin and I used to look forward to 7:30PM because it meant bedtime; which translated to a few hours of peace before we had to turn in. We could use the time to talk, watch a TV show, or work on a pet project. Since Paige's birth, our evenings have gotten a lot busier.
Of course we knew we'd be spending time in the evenings feeding and soothing Paige, but Reese has been giving us a run for the money at bed time, and now the 7 o'clock hour is something we dread, not look forward to.
It started with the screams from her bedroom for more lullabies, sips of water, and diaper changes, then recently escalated to trips out of her bed and down the hall. Last weekend, we reached the breaking point on several issues: lights, lullabies, and locks.
Lights: Very suddenly Reese decided she was afraid of the dark. Screams of "It's dark. I don't like it." started coming across the monitor. To be fair, Reese's room is very dark at night. She doesn't have a digital clock or even night light, so once it gets dark outside, her room is pitch black. It's never seemed to bother her before, and we thought it helped her sleep. Besides the onset of two-year-old fears, I think her concern comes from her jaunts out of bed. Once she makes it out of bed, I'm sure it's hard to find her way back in the dark. So...we got her a nightlight. But not just any night light. We didn't feel comfortable getting her one that plugged in the wall after her "exploration" of the light socket on Paige's first night home, so we called Aunt Kate and got the skinny on her cool touch-no-plug night light. We found it at Target and it has been a hit.
Lullabies: For the last six months, Reese has been listening to lullabies on her CD player as she drifts off to sleep. We simply set the CD player on track #11 and it plays the last three songs and shuts off. Recently three songs started to not be enough and Reese could be found getting out of bed to try and restart her CD. Sometimes she succeeded, other times she only succeeded in hitting a combination of buttons that effectively paused the CD or sent it into a skipping frenzy. This weekend we also noticed that her lullaby CD was scratched so badly that it no longer played the last three songs without getting stuck. Luckily, the CD was one of a trio Grandma Bailey had bought for her, so we just stuck in a new one. BAD move. Little did we know how attached she was to those three tracks of music. It's taken some practice and convincing, but we now just start the new CD at track one (at night time) and let it run. Lately it's taking her so long to fall asleep, this is our only guarantee to limit requests for "more lullabies!"
Locks: Saturday night was a rough one for Mommy. Paige was up several times to eat and required some serious soothing to get her back down, and without fail, every time Paige was down, Reese was up---and wandering around the house. In the last month, we've tried multiple methods to stop this new habit. Our first attempts involved the no-eye-contact-silent escort back to bed. This works great if your child is seeking your attention. But after two weeks of 20+ trips a night, plus a wakeful baby, we couldn't take it any more. So, we tried time-outs. They worked the first two or three times, but time-out is no match for a curious and sneaky Reese. When trips out of her bed escalated in frequency and destruction (digging through drawers in the kitchen), I called the ball and demanded we get door knob covers/locks for her room. So, on Sunday, we installed three door knob covers: one on the inside of Reese's room to prevent her from getting out, and two on the outside of both Paige's room and the guest bathroom, to prevent Reese from getting in. It's a little bit of a relief to know Reese isn't wandering the house at 2AM, but she still is putting up a fight, and most nights (and naps) can be found (for at least a portion of the time), laying next to the door or trying her hardest to open it. Just this morning, at 5AM, i turned on the monitor to find her sleeping next to her door. At 11PM she was tucked in bed,and I feel badly that I don't know how long she spent on the floor, but I scooped her up and tucked her back in, and she's still asleep now....for the moment.
Of course we knew we'd be spending time in the evenings feeding and soothing Paige, but Reese has been giving us a run for the money at bed time, and now the 7 o'clock hour is something we dread, not look forward to.
It started with the screams from her bedroom for more lullabies, sips of water, and diaper changes, then recently escalated to trips out of her bed and down the hall. Last weekend, we reached the breaking point on several issues: lights, lullabies, and locks.
Lights: Very suddenly Reese decided she was afraid of the dark. Screams of "It's dark. I don't like it." started coming across the monitor. To be fair, Reese's room is very dark at night. She doesn't have a digital clock or even night light, so once it gets dark outside, her room is pitch black. It's never seemed to bother her before, and we thought it helped her sleep. Besides the onset of two-year-old fears, I think her concern comes from her jaunts out of bed. Once she makes it out of bed, I'm sure it's hard to find her way back in the dark. So...we got her a nightlight. But not just any night light. We didn't feel comfortable getting her one that plugged in the wall after her "exploration" of the light socket on Paige's first night home, so we called Aunt Kate and got the skinny on her cool touch-no-plug night light. We found it at Target and it has been a hit.
Lullabies: For the last six months, Reese has been listening to lullabies on her CD player as she drifts off to sleep. We simply set the CD player on track #11 and it plays the last three songs and shuts off. Recently three songs started to not be enough and Reese could be found getting out of bed to try and restart her CD. Sometimes she succeeded, other times she only succeeded in hitting a combination of buttons that effectively paused the CD or sent it into a skipping frenzy. This weekend we also noticed that her lullaby CD was scratched so badly that it no longer played the last three songs without getting stuck. Luckily, the CD was one of a trio Grandma Bailey had bought for her, so we just stuck in a new one. BAD move. Little did we know how attached she was to those three tracks of music. It's taken some practice and convincing, but we now just start the new CD at track one (at night time) and let it run. Lately it's taking her so long to fall asleep, this is our only guarantee to limit requests for "more lullabies!"
Locks: Saturday night was a rough one for Mommy. Paige was up several times to eat and required some serious soothing to get her back down, and without fail, every time Paige was down, Reese was up---and wandering around the house. In the last month, we've tried multiple methods to stop this new habit. Our first attempts involved the no-eye-contact-silent escort back to bed. This works great if your child is seeking your attention. But after two weeks of 20+ trips a night, plus a wakeful baby, we couldn't take it any more. So, we tried time-outs. They worked the first two or three times, but time-out is no match for a curious and sneaky Reese. When trips out of her bed escalated in frequency and destruction (digging through drawers in the kitchen), I called the ball and demanded we get door knob covers/locks for her room. So, on Sunday, we installed three door knob covers: one on the inside of Reese's room to prevent her from getting out, and two on the outside of both Paige's room and the guest bathroom, to prevent Reese from getting in. It's a little bit of a relief to know Reese isn't wandering the house at 2AM, but she still is putting up a fight, and most nights (and naps) can be found (for at least a portion of the time), laying next to the door or trying her hardest to open it. Just this morning, at 5AM, i turned on the monitor to find her sleeping next to her door. At 11PM she was tucked in bed,and I feel badly that I don't know how long she spent on the floor, but I scooped her up and tucked her back in, and she's still asleep now....for the moment.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Incomplete
I'm a list maker. I always have been. Some days there is no greater satisfaction than crossing something off of a to-do list.
When my sister came to our house the day I was in labor to watch Reese, she jokes that she could tell Monday was "list day," because she found no less than 4 lists on the dining room table--grocery, house chores, baby prep etc.
It is ironic that since making our family "complete" with the addition of Paige, I have had to learn quickly to deal with incompleteness. To do lists are still getting made, but I've realized that checking things off with the regularity of the past is unrealistic.
With two needy children around, everything I do is piecemeal, and things are left incomplete constantly.
Dinner takes all day to prepare, and not because I'm creating gourmet dishes. Ingredients are chopped during Paige's morning nap, combined during Reese's afternoon nap, and with Paige in a sling or the bouncy chair, it all gets combined sometime between 4 and 6 and generally left to simmer until Kevin gets home.
Laundry? I try not to let it sit in the washing machine while wet, but it can now take up to two days to get a load completely washed, dried, and hung up. It's not helping matters that Paige sleeps in our closet right now--after soothing her to sleep, it's hard to justify the possibility of waking her up just to get some shirts on hangers.
Dishes now pile in my sink until I can steal a few minutes here or there to get them washed or into the constantly full dishwasher.
And forget blogging, reading, or even showering most days. Finding ten minutes here or there to do anything is a challenge. My car is desperate for a car wash, and I keep my fingers crossed that we get the library books returned on time.
So, with two small kids, things are changing--Christmas shopping is done on line, my hair is a little greasier, and I usually have a toddler in the shower with me. The to-do lists are still getting made, but I'm trying to give myself a break when things stay on them for days (or weeks) at a time.
When my sister came to our house the day I was in labor to watch Reese, she jokes that she could tell Monday was "list day," because she found no less than 4 lists on the dining room table--grocery, house chores, baby prep etc.
It is ironic that since making our family "complete" with the addition of Paige, I have had to learn quickly to deal with incompleteness. To do lists are still getting made, but I've realized that checking things off with the regularity of the past is unrealistic.
With two needy children around, everything I do is piecemeal, and things are left incomplete constantly.
Dinner takes all day to prepare, and not because I'm creating gourmet dishes. Ingredients are chopped during Paige's morning nap, combined during Reese's afternoon nap, and with Paige in a sling or the bouncy chair, it all gets combined sometime between 4 and 6 and generally left to simmer until Kevin gets home.
Laundry? I try not to let it sit in the washing machine while wet, but it can now take up to two days to get a load completely washed, dried, and hung up. It's not helping matters that Paige sleeps in our closet right now--after soothing her to sleep, it's hard to justify the possibility of waking her up just to get some shirts on hangers.
Dishes now pile in my sink until I can steal a few minutes here or there to get them washed or into the constantly full dishwasher.
And forget blogging, reading, or even showering most days. Finding ten minutes here or there to do anything is a challenge. My car is desperate for a car wash, and I keep my fingers crossed that we get the library books returned on time.
So, with two small kids, things are changing--Christmas shopping is done on line, my hair is a little greasier, and I usually have a toddler in the shower with me. The to-do lists are still getting made, but I'm trying to give myself a break when things stay on them for days (or weeks) at a time.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Judge Not
Before having kids, it's easy to judge the parenting you see in action around you. The kid screaming in the shopping cart, the mom at the pediatrician with a toddler wearing only a diaper, the 3 year-old fast food junkies that don't know the name of a single vegetable. "Our kid will never be like that," you think or say to your spouse.
And then you have a kid...
Suddenly your eyes are open to a new world--you're the one with the kiddo screaming in the milk aisle because your trip is too close to nap time. With Reese, I came to understand many parenting situations I didn't before. Yes, I cried the first time she ate a french fry at Chickfila (convinced the American Academy of Pediatrics would hunt me down for such an infraction), and I did with-hold TV viewing until 18mos, but we've had our share of "I-thought-I'd-never" moments.
And then you have a second kid...all bets are off. You realize it's impossible to manage things that were common place just months before. For example:
* Getting both children "appropriately" clothed. My definition of appropriate is on the slide. Reese throws a fit when it's time to wear two matching socks? Who cares if one's pink and one's green. There has been more than one occasion since Paige's birth that she's left the house in her Pajamas, just b/c I don't have the time or energy to fight the battle of changing clothes.
* Dinner is still a family event in our house that we haven't given up on. Unless Daddy's at work late, we sit down for dinner together every night. The change has come in Reese's meals and appetite. She doesn't' eat her veggies? Oh well--I'm not going to cajole and bribe. If she's hungry she'll eat. Daddy's not home tonight and we're eating as a two-some and she wants waffles and bananas for dinner? Sure, coming right up.
* With Paige around, there are definitely more opportunities for Reese to play independently. While it's taken almost 2 months, Reese is finally getting used to this fact. And with this comes more opportunities to get into trouble. I'd heard stories about toddlers attacking furniture with Sharpies, or swallowing something inedible, and thought, "How does that happen?" Well, folks, the answer is "quickly." In the few minutes it takes to swaddle Paige, change a diaper, or God-forbid FEED her, Reese is finding all new ways to entertain herself. Examples so far include: scribbling all over her stomach with pens she dug out of a drawer in the kitchen, covering our freezer in the reward stickers we've been using for her potty chart, pulling all the books off of Mommy and Daddy's book shelf, rearranging the ornaments on the Christmas tree (and moving half a dozen GLASS ones to Annie's bed), unwinding half of a spool of thread etc etc. Let's not forget last night when she got out of bed, wandered into Paige's room, and dumped EVERYTHING from the changing table (including Paige's pacifier and medicine) into the Diaper Genie.
And so, I vow not to judge other parents...it's all about survival.
And then you have a kid...
Suddenly your eyes are open to a new world--you're the one with the kiddo screaming in the milk aisle because your trip is too close to nap time. With Reese, I came to understand many parenting situations I didn't before. Yes, I cried the first time she ate a french fry at Chickfila (convinced the American Academy of Pediatrics would hunt me down for such an infraction), and I did with-hold TV viewing until 18mos, but we've had our share of "I-thought-I'd-never" moments.
And then you have a second kid...all bets are off. You realize it's impossible to manage things that were common place just months before. For example:
* Getting both children "appropriately" clothed. My definition of appropriate is on the slide. Reese throws a fit when it's time to wear two matching socks? Who cares if one's pink and one's green. There has been more than one occasion since Paige's birth that she's left the house in her Pajamas, just b/c I don't have the time or energy to fight the battle of changing clothes.
* Dinner is still a family event in our house that we haven't given up on. Unless Daddy's at work late, we sit down for dinner together every night. The change has come in Reese's meals and appetite. She doesn't' eat her veggies? Oh well--I'm not going to cajole and bribe. If she's hungry she'll eat. Daddy's not home tonight and we're eating as a two-some and she wants waffles and bananas for dinner? Sure, coming right up.
* With Paige around, there are definitely more opportunities for Reese to play independently. While it's taken almost 2 months, Reese is finally getting used to this fact. And with this comes more opportunities to get into trouble. I'd heard stories about toddlers attacking furniture with Sharpies, or swallowing something inedible, and thought, "How does that happen?" Well, folks, the answer is "quickly." In the few minutes it takes to swaddle Paige, change a diaper, or God-forbid FEED her, Reese is finding all new ways to entertain herself. Examples so far include: scribbling all over her stomach with pens she dug out of a drawer in the kitchen, covering our freezer in the reward stickers we've been using for her potty chart, pulling all the books off of Mommy and Daddy's book shelf, rearranging the ornaments on the Christmas tree (and moving half a dozen GLASS ones to Annie's bed), unwinding half of a spool of thread etc etc. Let's not forget last night when she got out of bed, wandered into Paige's room, and dumped EVERYTHING from the changing table (including Paige's pacifier and medicine) into the Diaper Genie.
And so, I vow not to judge other parents...it's all about survival.
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