I love swings.
I love Fisher Price.
I love electricity.
I detest perfectionism and always fearing I am going to mess something up irreversibly.
Everyone's life has improved about 500% since I let down my guard and started swingin' that baby! At the moment, I don't really care if there's a price to pay later!
:)
p.s. credit to Lorin for giving me a talkin' to after my last post.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Asher 8.5 weeks
Here's a video clip...no exciting plot twists, just some simple footage...of happy little Asher from earlier today: http://vimeo.com/6773353
Here are a couple of pictures from yesterday...cutie pie!
And here's a picture from today...sleep!
There's a story behind this last picture. Doesn't he look cozy? Asher has not been napping easily, if at all. Did I mention that already? :) I spend most of the day trying to get him to sleep lately, and it mostly goes like...get him sleepy, hold til good and deeply asleep (or put him down sleepy, same result either way), put down, get at MOST 15 minutes of sleep before crying ensues, attempt to lengthen nap by same method, get same result. The process never really ends. I mean, when do you really stop and just let him be up for a while when you've been doing this for an hour and a half and he's only gotten 1 or two catches of a few minutes each? He's grumpy if he's up, so you try again, eventually feed him, and suddenly you've been doing it all day. You can imagine how the two year old loves the utter boredom of being shooed out of the way during his mother's desperate battle to get the baby a nap. I am totally drained. I know I'm not handling this right somehow, but I haven't known what else to do as the days tick by. I'm planning on letting him cry as needed for naps between 12 and 16 weeks (book and sleep doula advice), but it's a long way from 8.5 to 12 weeks :P I tried some crying anyway, but I can tell it's a bit too early.
I've been somewhat against using a swing. I know a lot of people whose kids get addicted to them, and they use them for a long time--til the baby grows out of it--and then they have problems not having other ways to get the baby to sleep, and the baby is still not self-soothing. Also, my fave sleep book cautions that they don't really get restful sleep while moving, and to stop the swing after the baby falls asleep. Furthermore, how does it help a baby to sleep in his crib ultimately if you have him in a swing all the time? Well, I got desperate so I tried our swing anyway. He HATES it. He just cries, cries, cries. Same as Owen.
I went to my mom's program at church last week and dropped off Asher for the first time with all the grannies in the infant nursery.
Me: 'This one doesn't nap. Anything you can do to try to get him to sleep is appreciated!'
Them: [nodding heads at still-rookie mom] 'Sure. Is he your first?'
Me: 'No! I should know what I'm doing, shouldn't I?'
Them: 'Oh, don't worry about him. Go have fun.'
Me: [to myself] They'll see. He doesn't sleep!
Upon returning to nurse him, he was fast asleep in a swing :P Of course! Upon returning to pick him up...still asleep. He slept for 2.5 hrs! It was a side-to-side swing instead of front-to-back, and they left it going the whole time.
Within 24 hours I have purchased said swing from the online classifieds, and Asher slept in it all day. I am PETRIFIED about what habit I am breeding, but how can I go back?? I have so much freedom. It's like he is physically unable to stay awake when he is in it. I see him blink wide-eyed awake just like he does in my arms or the bassinet, but as it continues swinging, his little eyes lull back closed.
What scares me is that when he got out of it for some awake time today, he was *super* grumpy every time, and he almost never is. Why? Didn't he just get some sleep finally? Maybe he got enough sleep to realize how tired he is. Or maybe his brain got so used to the soothing motion that he started missing it even when awake. Also, as soon as I stop the motor, he jerks awake crying. That's not a good sign! I hope when I make the change at 12 to 16 weeks it won't make it incredibly more painful for him. I hope I'll be brave enough to go ahead and stop using it then since I know that it's better to teach him to nap in the crib earlier than later. It will be a whole lot easier to put him in a swing with no crying than in a crib and listen to him suffer. Ack! Maybe I'm being way too uptight. A friend of mine (who incidentally recommended this particular swing to me early on, but did I listen??) says that when they outgrow the swing they outgrow the need for it, so not to worry about using it even long-term. I'm still scared of that.
What do the readers think about swings? I'll value your opinion more if you've actually had experience using them and transitioning out of them :)
Here are a couple of pictures from yesterday...cutie pie!
And here's a picture from today...sleep!
There's a story behind this last picture. Doesn't he look cozy? Asher has not been napping easily, if at all. Did I mention that already? :) I spend most of the day trying to get him to sleep lately, and it mostly goes like...get him sleepy, hold til good and deeply asleep (or put him down sleepy, same result either way), put down, get at MOST 15 minutes of sleep before crying ensues, attempt to lengthen nap by same method, get same result. The process never really ends. I mean, when do you really stop and just let him be up for a while when you've been doing this for an hour and a half and he's only gotten 1 or two catches of a few minutes each? He's grumpy if he's up, so you try again, eventually feed him, and suddenly you've been doing it all day. You can imagine how the two year old loves the utter boredom of being shooed out of the way during his mother's desperate battle to get the baby a nap. I am totally drained. I know I'm not handling this right somehow, but I haven't known what else to do as the days tick by. I'm planning on letting him cry as needed for naps between 12 and 16 weeks (book and sleep doula advice), but it's a long way from 8.5 to 12 weeks :P I tried some crying anyway, but I can tell it's a bit too early.
I've been somewhat against using a swing. I know a lot of people whose kids get addicted to them, and they use them for a long time--til the baby grows out of it--and then they have problems not having other ways to get the baby to sleep, and the baby is still not self-soothing. Also, my fave sleep book cautions that they don't really get restful sleep while moving, and to stop the swing after the baby falls asleep. Furthermore, how does it help a baby to sleep in his crib ultimately if you have him in a swing all the time? Well, I got desperate so I tried our swing anyway. He HATES it. He just cries, cries, cries. Same as Owen.
I went to my mom's program at church last week and dropped off Asher for the first time with all the grannies in the infant nursery.
Me: 'This one doesn't nap. Anything you can do to try to get him to sleep is appreciated!'
Them: [nodding heads at still-rookie mom] 'Sure. Is he your first?'
Me: 'No! I should know what I'm doing, shouldn't I?'
Them: 'Oh, don't worry about him. Go have fun.'
Me: [to myself] They'll see. He doesn't sleep!
Upon returning to nurse him, he was fast asleep in a swing :P Of course! Upon returning to pick him up...still asleep. He slept for 2.5 hrs! It was a side-to-side swing instead of front-to-back, and they left it going the whole time.
Within 24 hours I have purchased said swing from the online classifieds, and Asher slept in it all day. I am PETRIFIED about what habit I am breeding, but how can I go back?? I have so much freedom. It's like he is physically unable to stay awake when he is in it. I see him blink wide-eyed awake just like he does in my arms or the bassinet, but as it continues swinging, his little eyes lull back closed.
What scares me is that when he got out of it for some awake time today, he was *super* grumpy every time, and he almost never is. Why? Didn't he just get some sleep finally? Maybe he got enough sleep to realize how tired he is. Or maybe his brain got so used to the soothing motion that he started missing it even when awake. Also, as soon as I stop the motor, he jerks awake crying. That's not a good sign! I hope when I make the change at 12 to 16 weeks it won't make it incredibly more painful for him. I hope I'll be brave enough to go ahead and stop using it then since I know that it's better to teach him to nap in the crib earlier than later. It will be a whole lot easier to put him in a swing with no crying than in a crib and listen to him suffer. Ack! Maybe I'm being way too uptight. A friend of mine (who incidentally recommended this particular swing to me early on, but did I listen??) says that when they outgrow the swing they outgrow the need for it, so not to worry about using it even long-term. I'm still scared of that.
What do the readers think about swings? I'll value your opinion more if you've actually had experience using them and transitioning out of them :)
Friday, September 25, 2009
Dilemma
So what do you do when you tell/ask your toddler not to shriek and scream in his crib at nap time (if it's just rest time that's fine with me too, and I would even just let him stay in his room, but he is not mature enough to accept that option and won't choose his big boy bed over his crib right now...the independence is too scary for him) and he starts obeying? He has been sitting quietly, exerting great self-control today after we talked about it yesterday saying, 'Mommy, I want to get out. Mommy, please, I want to get out please!' Well, stink, I still need him to stay in there, but now he is being so sweet and not tantruming. I should think these things through more carefully in advance ;)
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Miscellaneous
A bad day. A very, very bad day. No naps for Asher from 11:45 to 6:15pm. I am losing my mind trying to get him to go to sleep! Letting him cry, not letting him cry, nothing is working. When I finally get him down, he's up in 10 minutes. This can't be normal. It's not very motivating to do the hard work of getting him to sleep when that's the payoff. Owen during all of this tries very hard to be patient, but he's 2. So he ends up acting out, I end up getting frustrated and losing my temper, and the vicious cycle of misbehavior on both of our parts begins. We had a great snuggle before bedtime--after the string of bath, dressing, book-reading, etc. tantrums--where I did some apologizing and we talked and prayed about having a better day tomorrow. These are the days when it becomes clear just how much both of us need grace from each other and from God...feel that sinful nature rear it's ugly head.
I will write all the cute things I can think off to shake off this day!
-Owen is obsessed with trying to notice when trees are changing color (after I told him about autumn and how that all works). 'Look mommy! Dat tree is turning colors! Is red!'
-When on walks in the neighborhood (which has many patches of 'wild' forest along the road) Owen said recently, 'Look dat plant. It has little bit of tomatoes on it! Look dat one. It has little bit of cherries on it!' ...in reference to two bushes that had tiny berries on them.
-Owen is finally social enough to look forward to meeting with friends and wanting to go see them. He's very huggy/hand-holdy with his little friends, and shares incredibly well. He is also very tolerant if other kids bully or steal from him. What a surprise!
-'Asher is awake! Asher is awake! He's getting bigger! He will be able to play with you soon!'
-'Mommy, you want MUCH jelly on your samwich! You want MANY jelly!'
-Owen loves watching his 'Go Potty Go' video, but consistently runs to the DVD player and shuts it off as soon as it gets to the last few minutes. The content of those minutes? 'Are YOU ready to throw away your diapers? Are YOU ready to wear big kid underwear? I know you are! You're a big kid! It's time to use the potty!' He does not enjoy the direct challenge.
-That reminds me, Owen can change a DVD on his own now, quite well.
I will write all the cute things I can think off to shake off this day!
-Owen is obsessed with trying to notice when trees are changing color (after I told him about autumn and how that all works). 'Look mommy! Dat tree is turning colors! Is red!'
-When on walks in the neighborhood (which has many patches of 'wild' forest along the road) Owen said recently, 'Look dat plant. It has little bit of tomatoes on it! Look dat one. It has little bit of cherries on it!' ...in reference to two bushes that had tiny berries on them.
-Owen is finally social enough to look forward to meeting with friends and wanting to go see them. He's very huggy/hand-holdy with his little friends, and shares incredibly well. He is also very tolerant if other kids bully or steal from him. What a surprise!
-'Asher is awake! Asher is awake! He's getting bigger! He will be able to play with you soon!'
-'Mommy, you want MUCH jelly on your samwich! You want MANY jelly!'
-Owen loves watching his 'Go Potty Go' video, but consistently runs to the DVD player and shuts it off as soon as it gets to the last few minutes. The content of those minutes? 'Are YOU ready to throw away your diapers? Are YOU ready to wear big kid underwear? I know you are! You're a big kid! It's time to use the potty!' He does not enjoy the direct challenge.
-That reminds me, Owen can change a DVD on his own now, quite well.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Early Bedtime Magic
Well, I got brave and tried the early bedtime with Asher. I didn't know if he was too young for it to be helpful, but I was getting desperate. The history here is that we hired a sleep doula to help us figure out how to help Owen sleep better (gasp! I'm admitting it in writing, and somehow find it shameful I have to pay for parenting skills!), and the cornerstone of all of her advice had to do with putting Owen to bed early...really early. It was so helpful in improving his daytime sleeping. Well, so with Owen, so with Asher! I had really wanted to just do what normal people do and put my child to bed at 7 or 8 or a convenient hour for our family, but as Asher's naps degraded to 15 minutes and it started taking a loooong time to get him to sleep at night, I had to try it again. Alas, it seems that these two boys just require this long night sleep to have even halfway normal napping.
I put Asher down drowsy but awake for the last two nights at 5:30, after bad nap days. Then I let him cry. First night he cried on and off for 25 mins then went to sleep for the night til after 8am the next morning (2 feedings)! Next night he only cried for 10 mins, then slept til 7:15 am (2 feedings). Today he is much more sleepy for naps and not waking nearly as much after every little noise, sensation, or passing of 5 minutes :) Yay!! He is still only doing 45 mins at a time, but that is a BIG improvement. So, I guess we'll resign ourselves to being wierdos who put our kids to bed at 6 since it improves our lives otherwise so much. Asher is REALLY happy and smiley now in the morning; obviously getting some much-needed rest.
Owen and I on the other hand have a killer cold. Owen hasn't had one for a really long time, and he always used to sleep right through them, but this one is really keeping him up and making him miserable. I know how he feels :P We have also had to take a hiatus from bike-riding. Owen got himself some saddle-sores and they are so raw that he shrieks if water touches them in the bath. Yikes! And of course wearing a diaper and getting salt-water on them doesn't feel great either. So we said goodbye to the bike for the moment, to Owen's chagrin.
Well, I'm about to cough up a lung, think I'll sign off.
I put Asher down drowsy but awake for the last two nights at 5:30, after bad nap days. Then I let him cry. First night he cried on and off for 25 mins then went to sleep for the night til after 8am the next morning (2 feedings)! Next night he only cried for 10 mins, then slept til 7:15 am (2 feedings). Today he is much more sleepy for naps and not waking nearly as much after every little noise, sensation, or passing of 5 minutes :) Yay!! He is still only doing 45 mins at a time, but that is a BIG improvement. So, I guess we'll resign ourselves to being wierdos who put our kids to bed at 6 since it improves our lives otherwise so much. Asher is REALLY happy and smiley now in the morning; obviously getting some much-needed rest.
Owen and I on the other hand have a killer cold. Owen hasn't had one for a really long time, and he always used to sleep right through them, but this one is really keeping him up and making him miserable. I know how he feels :P We have also had to take a hiatus from bike-riding. Owen got himself some saddle-sores and they are so raw that he shrieks if water touches them in the bath. Yikes! And of course wearing a diaper and getting salt-water on them doesn't feel great either. So we said goodbye to the bike for the moment, to Owen's chagrin.
Well, I'm about to cough up a lung, think I'll sign off.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Day's Events
Welcome Graham Swint last Thursday, and congrats to the proud family!! A gorgeous boy! Very happy for G, M and Hannah!! Saw him via Skype today and they all look fantastic.
When I came downstairs this morning Owen was shirtless...he had been in the basement with Reuel after breakfast and had spun around so fast, for so long in the fast exersaucer (one of his fave things to do) that breakfast came back up. When I saw him he ran over to me and said, 'I'm sorry you puked up that!' Reuel taught him that word, not me, believe it or not!
Asher is possibly now more sleepless than Owen was at his age, mostly because we can't treat the condition by holding him for the duration of naps in order to get him more sleep like we eventually did with Owen. What is up with my children? The naps went from multi-hour, down to 45mins, 30 mins, now it is a struggle to get him to stay asleep more than 15 minutes, with vast stretches of awake time. He is exhausted! It had been a cinch to put him to bed at night, now Reuel says it is taking him 45 minutes to an hour of walking him around downstairs in order for him to be able to get fully asleep, he is so wound up and fussy. I wonder if we do something so incredibly bizarre in our approach to napping that causes this, or if it is a medical condition. If there were a drug for it, I would dispense it, and I am really against giving unnecessary medicine :} It's unfortunately going to be cry-it-out for Asher too (I really wanted to avoid that!!), just waiting a bit til he's a little older. He's got to learn how to put himself back to sleep when he wakes. We've tried it some already but he's a bit young yet.
Owen is laughing and/or crying on purpose, that's the best way to describe it. If you tickle him, he turns on laughter like turning on a faucet. It's clear that he thinks it's very fun to make up laughing sounds. They are loud and not *quite* as genuine as the real thing, but pretty good! Then, when the tickle session is over he begs for more...'More laughing, mommy!' Same with fake crying...when Asher was crying earlier and Owen was feeling left out of the attention loop, he started fake crying to try to get my attention. No cigar, buddy!
I have a cold, and the accidentally-undercooked-crust pizza I made for dinner combined with sparkling pomegranate juice from Trader Joe's seriously turned my stomach. Miserable all around :P Hopefully a night's sleep will salvage digestive peace.
When I came downstairs this morning Owen was shirtless...he had been in the basement with Reuel after breakfast and had spun around so fast, for so long in the fast exersaucer (one of his fave things to do) that breakfast came back up. When I saw him he ran over to me and said, 'I'm sorry you puked up that!' Reuel taught him that word, not me, believe it or not!
Asher is possibly now more sleepless than Owen was at his age, mostly because we can't treat the condition by holding him for the duration of naps in order to get him more sleep like we eventually did with Owen. What is up with my children? The naps went from multi-hour, down to 45mins, 30 mins, now it is a struggle to get him to stay asleep more than 15 minutes, with vast stretches of awake time. He is exhausted! It had been a cinch to put him to bed at night, now Reuel says it is taking him 45 minutes to an hour of walking him around downstairs in order for him to be able to get fully asleep, he is so wound up and fussy. I wonder if we do something so incredibly bizarre in our approach to napping that causes this, or if it is a medical condition. If there were a drug for it, I would dispense it, and I am really against giving unnecessary medicine :} It's unfortunately going to be cry-it-out for Asher too (I really wanted to avoid that!!), just waiting a bit til he's a little older. He's got to learn how to put himself back to sleep when he wakes. We've tried it some already but he's a bit young yet.
Owen is laughing and/or crying on purpose, that's the best way to describe it. If you tickle him, he turns on laughter like turning on a faucet. It's clear that he thinks it's very fun to make up laughing sounds. They are loud and not *quite* as genuine as the real thing, but pretty good! Then, when the tickle session is over he begs for more...'More laughing, mommy!' Same with fake crying...when Asher was crying earlier and Owen was feeling left out of the attention loop, he started fake crying to try to get my attention. No cigar, buddy!
I have a cold, and the accidentally-undercooked-crust pizza I made for dinner combined with sparkling pomegranate juice from Trader Joe's seriously turned my stomach. Miserable all around :P Hopefully a night's sleep will salvage digestive peace.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Little mommy
Owen LOVES Asher. I mean, every time that baby is asleep (which isn't too often lately), Owen is asking when he's going to wake up. And whenever his eyes are open Owen is saying, 'He's awake! He's awake! His eyes are open!' and smothering him with hugs and kisses. Or retrieving a blanket and trying to tuck it under his chin, or asking if we can bathe him, or lying next to him, or just caressing his little head. I keep thinking it will wear off, but it just seems to grow! It's very sweet.
Well, during one of these lovefests a day or two ago where Owen just couldn't get enough of touching Asher and cuddling him, all of a sudden he sits back for a minute, pulls up his shirt, cups the side of his chest with his hand and leans over Asher lying on the floor and tries to stick his chest in Asher's mouth! Ha! I was beside myself trying not to laugh, and nearly passing out from the adorableness. It was a purely loving act from Owen, having watched this a million times by now, and wanting to give some of that love to Asher just like mommy does. So sweet and hilarious! I asked Owen if he was trying to feed Asher and he looked like he'd just been caught stealing or lying...sort of embarrassed and like he was doing something he shouldn't have been. I just smiled and didn't say anything more. What a memory that little scene will be for me!
I may have mentioned Owen's big boy bike that the Smiths gave us from their fleet. Owen is now OBSESSED with bikes, and improving his skills. He's darn good for a 2 year old! He rides all by himself turning circles in the drive. And only once have I seen him run into something. Here's some video footage: http://www.vimeo.com/6635520
Well, during one of these lovefests a day or two ago where Owen just couldn't get enough of touching Asher and cuddling him, all of a sudden he sits back for a minute, pulls up his shirt, cups the side of his chest with his hand and leans over Asher lying on the floor and tries to stick his chest in Asher's mouth! Ha! I was beside myself trying not to laugh, and nearly passing out from the adorableness. It was a purely loving act from Owen, having watched this a million times by now, and wanting to give some of that love to Asher just like mommy does. So sweet and hilarious! I asked Owen if he was trying to feed Asher and he looked like he'd just been caught stealing or lying...sort of embarrassed and like he was doing something he shouldn't have been. I just smiled and didn't say anything more. What a memory that little scene will be for me!
I may have mentioned Owen's big boy bike that the Smiths gave us from their fleet. Owen is now OBSESSED with bikes, and improving his skills. He's darn good for a 2 year old! He rides all by himself turning circles in the drive. And only once have I seen him run into something. Here's some video footage: http://www.vimeo.com/6635520
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Supermom
Well, at least I feel like supermom, having woken at 6:45 with Owen and Asher, feed Asher before getting Owen up, take both downstairs and get Owen breakfast and dressed, put Asher down for a nap (yep, cried it out this morning) and pop in a movie for Owen while I shower and dress, pack the diaper bag and get out the door for church by 8:05. Transfer sleeping Asher to car and drive 1/2 hr to city without tantrums, find parking spot in the city and walk 3 blocks with baby and walking toddler, drop off reluctant toddler in nursery, and head to mom's room to nurse Asher again. Breathe. Pick up Owen, attempt to keep him from pawing *all* of the cookies at the refreshment table, make social greetings, walk 3 more blocks, head home! An easy morning for seasoned mothers of multiple children, but a feat of daring for me, especially when we woke up so late ;)
Why wasn't Reuel with us? Well, Asher cried at 5am, and since it wasn't for a feeding Reuel got up to try to get him back to sleep, which happened without too much trouble, but then Reuel has this problem where he can't get back to sleep again (...handy problem to have since I virtually never ask him to do anything at night because I know it might risk insomnia for him! I begin to wonder if I'm being scammed). Reuel was up from 5am on, and then about 5 minutes before the kiddos woke up he finally rolled over and fell into a deep sleep. Since he had also stayed up late last night, I just couldn't bear to wake him, and he was still sleeping heavily as the departure time neared, and I didn't want Owen to miss his nursery class, and there was a special guest speaker this morning. So I went for it :) Reuel apparently slept til 9:30. This insomnia gig is working out well for him :}
Asher photo update!
[p.s. for record-keeping sake, Asher had a *fantastic* night...eat at 4:30pm, sleep by 6pm, up at 9pm to eat, right back to sleep, up at 3am to eat, right back to sleep, up at 5, back to sleep w/in 1/2 hr or so, up at 6:45am. Wow! He finally got some naps yesterday so I think he was able to sleep better at night. About every other night is good, and then there are still the bad ones...]
Chunky Monkey in the bath...
Some Owen love...
Down he goes...
Look at those cheeks! Or should I say jowls?
Why wasn't Reuel with us? Well, Asher cried at 5am, and since it wasn't for a feeding Reuel got up to try to get him back to sleep, which happened without too much trouble, but then Reuel has this problem where he can't get back to sleep again (...handy problem to have since I virtually never ask him to do anything at night because I know it might risk insomnia for him! I begin to wonder if I'm being scammed). Reuel was up from 5am on, and then about 5 minutes before the kiddos woke up he finally rolled over and fell into a deep sleep. Since he had also stayed up late last night, I just couldn't bear to wake him, and he was still sleeping heavily as the departure time neared, and I didn't want Owen to miss his nursery class, and there was a special guest speaker this morning. So I went for it :) Reuel apparently slept til 9:30. This insomnia gig is working out well for him :}
Asher photo update!
[p.s. for record-keeping sake, Asher had a *fantastic* night...eat at 4:30pm, sleep by 6pm, up at 9pm to eat, right back to sleep, up at 3am to eat, right back to sleep, up at 5, back to sleep w/in 1/2 hr or so, up at 6:45am. Wow! He finally got some naps yesterday so I think he was able to sleep better at night. About every other night is good, and then there are still the bad ones...]
Chunky Monkey in the bath...
Some Owen love...
Down he goes...
Look at those cheeks! Or should I say jowls?
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Nightmare
Asher slept for 20 minutes between 7:30am and 2pm today. I had this exact same day with Owen at 6 weeks. I can't do another Owen.
Owen is upstairs screeching/tantruming in his crib for the last hour and not sleeping for the 2nd or 3rd day in a row.
I apparently have no parenting skills when it comes to getting babies to sleep. I know I went into Asher's birth deciding that I would make sure to be consistent and instill healthy habits from the beginning, but somehow that didn't work out; we and our visitors still ended up rocking or walking or holding him when he wouldn't sleep on his own. What else were we supposed to do? I know there was something I could have done much more consistently or better, but it seems like other people are similarly lax and do not end up with similar problems. I let Asher cry for my time limit of 10 minutes this morning to see what would happen and by the end of it he was so wound up and beside himself that when he finally fell asleep when I gave him a pacifier at 10 minutes, he woke up screaming again after 3 minutes, repeat this cycle several times. Does anyone suggest that he is not too young to let him fully cry-it-out now at 6 weeks? I think it would take a good 20-30 minutes and might break my heart again :P Owen did so much crying, and what good has it really done? Some people tell me to let him cry, but when I explain that he ramps up when I try they seem to be mystified, as if when they did it their children just fussed a little and then went right to sleep. Have I tended to Asher's crying too much? Would he have been a better sleeper if I'd ignored him more?
I am feeling very disheartened with my now extremely overtired baby who is finally sleeping fitfully, waking up and screaming every 15 minutes, and my toddler who is miserable but clearly tired, rubbing his eyes and yawning. I wish I knew the best approach for these two.
Sigh.
Owen is upstairs screeching/tantruming in his crib for the last hour and not sleeping for the 2nd or 3rd day in a row.
I apparently have no parenting skills when it comes to getting babies to sleep. I know I went into Asher's birth deciding that I would make sure to be consistent and instill healthy habits from the beginning, but somehow that didn't work out; we and our visitors still ended up rocking or walking or holding him when he wouldn't sleep on his own. What else were we supposed to do? I know there was something I could have done much more consistently or better, but it seems like other people are similarly lax and do not end up with similar problems. I let Asher cry for my time limit of 10 minutes this morning to see what would happen and by the end of it he was so wound up and beside himself that when he finally fell asleep when I gave him a pacifier at 10 minutes, he woke up screaming again after 3 minutes, repeat this cycle several times. Does anyone suggest that he is not too young to let him fully cry-it-out now at 6 weeks? I think it would take a good 20-30 minutes and might break my heart again :P Owen did so much crying, and what good has it really done? Some people tell me to let him cry, but when I explain that he ramps up when I try they seem to be mystified, as if when they did it their children just fussed a little and then went right to sleep. Have I tended to Asher's crying too much? Would he have been a better sleeper if I'd ignored him more?
I am feeling very disheartened with my now extremely overtired baby who is finally sleeping fitfully, waking up and screaming every 15 minutes, and my toddler who is miserable but clearly tired, rubbing his eyes and yawning. I wish I knew the best approach for these two.
Sigh.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
NuNu and Grandpa visited this weekend with big fun in tow including a trip to the orchard, canoeing the Concord river, a ride on the swan boats in the Boston Public Garden followed by PF Chang's for lunch, ice cream at Bedford Farms, and let's not forget there were some new toys sprinkled in for good measure. Thanks to the parents for a fun visit and help with the kiddos! Did I mention we ate [too] well? Hopefully we all get back on our diet wagons with success ;)
Some of Owen's take for the weekend...a cowboy outfit, made complete with Owen's birthday hat from Mommo and Daddo.
Asher is not completely fuss-free, we definitely have some crying when he's tired or hungry, as it should be! But the last couple of days he's had some more significant crying jags in the evening (and not even that bad mind you) and it caused me to realize just how much less fussy he is than Owen was! Wow. Of course maybe it's because I actually have *some* clue about the difference between hungry, tired, uncomfortable and overstimulated now and can respond more appropriately than I did the first time ;) I think Asher's recent fussies must be related to the 6-week fussiness peak that I've read about. And since he's 6 weeks (or 5 weeks 3 days according to EDD) today, maybe that means we'll only have a week of it total! That's not too bad.
Asher is committed to trying to injure both of us in the middle of the night. When I am burping him after feeding, he is really, really intent on holding his head and neck up as high as he can and trying to look around. I do not turn a light on at all when I'm feeding him, so I don't know what he thinks he's trying to see. Then, he gets tired or can't control himself anymore and his head comes crashing into my cheek or chin and it hurts!! Sometimes he lets out the most pitiful, sad-sounding cry after we've collided and I've tried to tell him he's bringing this on himself, but he doesn't seem to understand ;) I also try to keep it from happening, but it's difficult when I'm tired and not thinking that hard myself. Asher's liking his gym, and also loves looking at the sky outside. Other than that, he's still sleeping quite a bit and I'm not sure what else might be going on in that head! We haven't had any more really smiley days like that one I mentioned a while ago.
Daddy and son catching a TV show. Uh-oh. One of the new channels we can receive over the free digital airwaves has A-team reruns. Between those and the Wall Street Journal [which I recommended someone get him for a gift, oops!] I may have lost Reuel forever ;)
Here's a couple of Owen funnies from the last week:
Reuel was trying to teach Owen some early reading skills like letter sounds, and some simple phonics and spelling at breakfast time.
Reuel: C. A. T. Cuh. Ayh. Tuh. Cat! Hey Owen, how do you spell cat?
Owen: [Wrinkles up nose and sniffs the air]
Can you figure out what Owen was thinking? I guess 2 year olds really can't be expected to know what 'spelling' is!
Owen has really zeroed in on voice inflections that adults have (or maybe just his mother?) while speaking, and is a really good mimic. One of my favorites is when he's listing things. Today we were making a peach cobbler together and Owen says matter-of-factly, 'We need peeeach-es. [pause] And ciiiinamon. [pause] And suuuugar. [pause] And buuuuter. [pause] And a spoon! Hearing a recording of this is needed for full effect.
Driving in the car with my Dad after taking an unexpectedly tight corner that deseated a few of us, "Grampa turned really fast!", accompanied by my mother's not-so-muffled chuckles.
Brother love!
Some of Owen's take for the weekend...a cowboy outfit, made complete with Owen's birthday hat from Mommo and Daddo.
Asher is not completely fuss-free, we definitely have some crying when he's tired or hungry, as it should be! But the last couple of days he's had some more significant crying jags in the evening (and not even that bad mind you) and it caused me to realize just how much less fussy he is than Owen was! Wow. Of course maybe it's because I actually have *some* clue about the difference between hungry, tired, uncomfortable and overstimulated now and can respond more appropriately than I did the first time ;) I think Asher's recent fussies must be related to the 6-week fussiness peak that I've read about. And since he's 6 weeks (or 5 weeks 3 days according to EDD) today, maybe that means we'll only have a week of it total! That's not too bad.
Asher is committed to trying to injure both of us in the middle of the night. When I am burping him after feeding, he is really, really intent on holding his head and neck up as high as he can and trying to look around. I do not turn a light on at all when I'm feeding him, so I don't know what he thinks he's trying to see. Then, he gets tired or can't control himself anymore and his head comes crashing into my cheek or chin and it hurts!! Sometimes he lets out the most pitiful, sad-sounding cry after we've collided and I've tried to tell him he's bringing this on himself, but he doesn't seem to understand ;) I also try to keep it from happening, but it's difficult when I'm tired and not thinking that hard myself. Asher's liking his gym, and also loves looking at the sky outside. Other than that, he's still sleeping quite a bit and I'm not sure what else might be going on in that head! We haven't had any more really smiley days like that one I mentioned a while ago.
Daddy and son catching a TV show. Uh-oh. One of the new channels we can receive over the free digital airwaves has A-team reruns. Between those and the Wall Street Journal [which I recommended someone get him for a gift, oops!] I may have lost Reuel forever ;)
Here's a couple of Owen funnies from the last week:
Reuel was trying to teach Owen some early reading skills like letter sounds, and some simple phonics and spelling at breakfast time.
Reuel: C. A. T. Cuh. Ayh. Tuh. Cat! Hey Owen, how do you spell cat?
Owen: [Wrinkles up nose and sniffs the air]
Can you figure out what Owen was thinking? I guess 2 year olds really can't be expected to know what 'spelling' is!
Owen has really zeroed in on voice inflections that adults have (or maybe just his mother?) while speaking, and is a really good mimic. One of my favorites is when he's listing things. Today we were making a peach cobbler together and Owen says matter-of-factly, 'We need peeeach-es. [pause] And ciiiinamon. [pause] And suuuugar. [pause] And buuuuter. [pause] And a spoon! Hearing a recording of this is needed for full effect.
Driving in the car with my Dad after taking an unexpectedly tight corner that deseated a few of us, "Grampa turned really fast!", accompanied by my mother's not-so-muffled chuckles.
Brother love!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
What an afternoon!
Well, we spent all day at the Smiths and had a grand time. Owen rode a real big boy bike with training wheels and pedaled and steered and everything...and thought he was the cat's meow. Asher slept from 8:45 am to 4:45 pm straight with some scant feedings in the interim. Yikes, we might be in for it tonight, or it might be the best night ever with such great naps, who knows. In other Asher sleep news, sleeping in the carseat at night rather than flat on his back in the bassinet has suddenly transformed Asher...he is entirely easy to put down, falls right asleep, and sleeps at least 4 hrs at a time. Wow. I tried putting him down in the bassinet again just to see if it was a fluke...nope! Just won't settle down in there.
So. Owen didn't take a nap today and needed to go to bed early. Asher slept all day and woke up right as the three of us arrived home and needed to get Owen in bed. Of course! Asher was *ravenous* having pecked at his meals all day, so after getting out some peanut butter and jelly and a bagel to make a quick sandwich for Owen I parked myself on the kitchen floor to nurse Asher and figured Owen wouldn't die if he ate a plain bagel for dinner. Lo and behold, while I'm paralyzed, Owen proceeds to push his stool across the kitchen retrieving a knife and then commences making his own sandwich :} Seriously! He did it all...opened the jars, spread his sandwich, got a banana. There was jelly bomb residue left around the kitchen after the fact, but hey, he really helped out in a pinch! I did have to squeeze in a picture or two when Asher took a nursing break. He also (under my verbal direction) got a sippy cup and brought me the milk and Hershey's syrup for some chocolate milk. And put away the jars, milk, etc. when he was done! (Did I mention that when I came downstairs from getting dressed this morning he was alone in the dining room putting away his duplo blocks all by himself! I gave him a mini Hershey bar for that.)
Well, between the big-boy bike riding and making his own dinner Owen was feeling pretty full of himself. So what does he do completely spontaneously during bathtime but stand up suddenly with a peculiar look on his face, tell me he needs to pee-pee, let me take him out and dry him off and then sit on his littly potty and go...first time. :O Now to the early potty trainers who mastered this all long ago, what's the big deal...well, if you'd seen the magnitude of the tantrums surrounding attempts to encourage the potty around here, you'd understand that this was a bit miraculous. I am probably the only mother in the world who's instant internal response was, 'Oh NO! Does this mean we are going to have to stop suddenly and find bathrooms whenever and wherever we go? Shoot!' But I guess it has to happen sometime, and my son appears to be potty-training himself, which isn't all bad.
What a growing-up day. Good thing I have another baby :)
So. Owen didn't take a nap today and needed to go to bed early. Asher slept all day and woke up right as the three of us arrived home and needed to get Owen in bed. Of course! Asher was *ravenous* having pecked at his meals all day, so after getting out some peanut butter and jelly and a bagel to make a quick sandwich for Owen I parked myself on the kitchen floor to nurse Asher and figured Owen wouldn't die if he ate a plain bagel for dinner. Lo and behold, while I'm paralyzed, Owen proceeds to push his stool across the kitchen retrieving a knife and then commences making his own sandwich :} Seriously! He did it all...opened the jars, spread his sandwich, got a banana. There was jelly bomb residue left around the kitchen after the fact, but hey, he really helped out in a pinch! I did have to squeeze in a picture or two when Asher took a nursing break. He also (under my verbal direction) got a sippy cup and brought me the milk and Hershey's syrup for some chocolate milk. And put away the jars, milk, etc. when he was done! (Did I mention that when I came downstairs from getting dressed this morning he was alone in the dining room putting away his duplo blocks all by himself! I gave him a mini Hershey bar for that.)
Well, between the big-boy bike riding and making his own dinner Owen was feeling pretty full of himself. So what does he do completely spontaneously during bathtime but stand up suddenly with a peculiar look on his face, tell me he needs to pee-pee, let me take him out and dry him off and then sit on his littly potty and go...first time. :O Now to the early potty trainers who mastered this all long ago, what's the big deal...well, if you'd seen the magnitude of the tantrums surrounding attempts to encourage the potty around here, you'd understand that this was a bit miraculous. I am probably the only mother in the world who's instant internal response was, 'Oh NO! Does this mean we are going to have to stop suddenly and find bathrooms whenever and wherever we go? Shoot!' But I guess it has to happen sometime, and my son appears to be potty-training himself, which isn't all bad.
What a growing-up day. Good thing I have another baby :)
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
First smile today!
Asher gave me a couple smiles today at 5 weeks, 1 day! Yippee! At first I thought I saw one flash by, but didn't trust that it wasn't just a random happenstance. Then, it was undoubtable! I was too busy enjoying them to actually capture one well, but you might see some hints of one beginning or ending in the photo shoot below. The smiles were accompanied by some yelpy vocalizations that were ever so scrumptiously delightful.
(This is my favorite Asher picture of the day ;)
(This is my favorite Asher picture of the day ;)
Debbie's visit
Forgot to mention a while back that Auntie Deb came for a very fun visit. For several days afterward Owen said, 'Aunt Debbie's sleeping' every morning at breakfast, hoping she was still in the back room. We got not a single good shot of her visit, but here's the best we have! And we're praying for her adjustment and success at her new position at Johns Hopkins!!
If this picture doesn't describe Owen's attitude toward his brother (generally; as long as Mom's attention isn't *too* divided), nothing does!
My fantastic boys!
If this picture doesn't describe Owen's attitude toward his brother (generally; as long as Mom's attention isn't *too* divided), nothing does!
My fantastic boys!
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