This has been the week from hell. All of my frustrations have to do with the new sleeping arrangements we have for our kids. Almost 2 weeks ago we moved Dani into a toddler bed upstairs to share a room with her big brother. Dani has always been a great sleeper, but 2 weeks ago she decided to climb out of her crib. We knew it was time to make the transition to a toddler bed. I've been worried about her sharing a room with her brother for a long time. Carter is a rambuctious boy and I hadn't roomed them together earlier because I was afraid something would happen to her. Since she wouldn't stay in her crib, she left me no choice.
The first week went rather well. They went to sleep just fine at night. In fact, it always got quiet in their room after just a few minutes of us putting them down to sleep. Naptime, on the other hand, is a struggle. Dani wants to nap and Carter just wants to horse around. A few occasions he has actually woke her up from her nap. She was not pleased.
That leads us to week #2 which has been a total nightmare. Not only is naptime still a struggle, but bedtime is being dragged out as well. Carter does not want to settle himself down! It's not like I'm putting him to bed at an unreasonably early hour either. I wouldn't call 9 p.m. early by any means for a toddler. Plus, Carter is now having potty training regression because of all this. On several occasions I have put him to nap or bed only to have to go in there 30 minutes later because he pooped in his pull-up. It's so frustrating! Apparently, it is completely normal, especially if they are dealing with a major change or stress of any kind. I'm supposed to act like it's no big deal (which I haven't been doing - Ooops!). I'm hoping this is short-lived and he gets back in the swing of things soon.
I'm just so tired. This is such a great stage for them, but at the same time it is SOOO challenging to me. I've got Carter CONSTANTLY getting into mischief and Dani CONSTANTLY attached to me like super glue. She always wants me to hold her. I normally love this, but it poses a problem when I actually try to do something for myself like go to the bathroom or even *gasp* housework.
Sorry if I'm complaining a bit much tonight. I just needed to vent.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Preoccupied
For the past few days you could say I've been a bit preoccupied. . . . by my boobs. As you may know, I stopped breastfeeding Danielle just last week. I thought my biggest obstacle was the emotional aspect of losing that closeness with her. I guess I was wrong. Weaning is also tough physically. I've been experiencing a lot of soreness and pain, which is a normal part of weaning. In an effort to dry up my milk and relieve some of the discomfort, I have been reading up on all the old wives tales and suggestions various websites offer. Here are some of the fun things I've been doing: putting cabbage leaves in my bra, drinking sage tea (pretty gross), and taking Sudafed. My lactation consultant also suggested shredding up a potato and putting that in a bag inside my bra twice a day. Fun stuff! Not quite, but I'm hoping to get some relief here soon. I was in so much pain yesterday that I tried to get Danielle to breastfeed so it would feel better, but she didn't want anything to do with my boobs. Lol! I guess I'm on my own now. I'm afraid to exercise for fear all the movement will bring me to tears. Let's just say, I can't wait for this all to be over with.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Another Milestone. . .a bittersweet one
Danielle, now almost 13 months old, has officially weaned herself from breastfeeding! Last week was the last time I nursed her. She did it all on her own and it went so smoothly. The only person having a hard time with it is me. :-( For the last few days I have been extremely sad. I know it sounds crazy, but it almost feels like I lost a baby I'm THAT sad. I feel very proud to have nursed her as long as I had. I never in a million years thought I'd make it past 3 months, let alone a whole year! She made it easy for me. She's a good baby.
The last few months I felt ready to wean her, emotionally and physically. It was getting hard to position her because she was getting so big and all those teeth in her mouth were a bit terrifying to say the least. It's nice to have my body back, and my boobs. :-P I just hope this feeling of sadness goes away soon.
The last few months I felt ready to wean her, emotionally and physically. It was getting hard to position her because she was getting so big and all those teeth in her mouth were a bit terrifying to say the least. It's nice to have my body back, and my boobs. :-P I just hope this feeling of sadness goes away soon.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Short and Sweet
I realize I haven't blogged in awhile, and I feel terrible for my procrastination. My life with 2 kids under 2 years of age has suddenly picked up speed. I am so busy these days, it's just exhausting. I'm having trouble finding time for myself. The days just fly by!
Danielle has been crawling for at least a month now and is now pulling up to a standing position on the furniture. She is so proud of herself and she gets so excited with her new adventures. I enjoy watching her. She is really a good baby. I've got it sooooo easy with her. She rarely fusses and she's a good sleeper for the most part. Although recently she has been waking up at least once a night due to teething pain. That part has been kinda hard on me. I spent the first few months of her life praying for the time she'd sleep through the night. And, after a few months, it finally came. Just when I'm getting back to my old sleep routine, it's all messed up again and she's back to waking up in the middle of the night. Ugh. It's hard, but I'm actually getting used to it. She's quick to fall back asleep.
I'm still nursing her and have been supplementing with Gerber Stage 3 foods, Gerber Puffs, Cheerios and most recently Gerber Yogurt Melts. She really likes those!!! I have given her some rice and she loved that too. I have a feeling she is going to be more of an adventurous eater than Carter was. He's actually kinda picky. But, he's a toddler, so I guess that is to be expected. I'm really proud that I have been able to nurse her for so long.
She loves books and really looks at all the pictures too! Carter would just flip the pages while I was mid-sentence. She studies the pages and takes it all in. She also points at the pictures. It's really cute. She also loves paper - newspaper, magazines, mail, you name it. Basically, anything crinkly. Of course I don't give it to her as I don't want her to choke on it.
As far as Danielle's speech goes, she has said 2 words so far: mama or mom and cat.
Carter is venturing into the "terrible two's" at full speed. He has REALLY kept me on my toes in the last few weeks, and not in a good way I'm afraid. He was jealous of Danielle when she first came home from the hospital, but got over it rather quickly. Now the jealousy is resurfacing and boy is it raring it's head with a vengeance! He will throw things at her, swat at her and try to kick her. It's SOOOOO not funny. It makes me so upset to see him act this way. I tell him no, give him time-outs, but nothing seems to get through to him. He just laughs. It drives me nuts. He wants the attention and he's willing to do whatever it takes to get it, including antagonizing his sister. The sad part is, he's not starved for attention by any means! We give him LOTS of attention. I just don't know what to do. My sister says it is just a phase. I hope it ends quickly. I used to be able to leave them together in a room at any given moment to take care of the dishes or chores or what not, and now I can't. It's frustrating.
On a more positive note, his vocabulary is growing immensely. He understands SO much and is now able to communicate with us better. We are getting less whining, which is awesome because there were days in the past where I just wanted to pop some ear plugs in my ears to sound it out. :-)
The last few months for me have been tiresome. These changes in Carter's behavior, coupled with Danielle's newfound adventures into crawling have really sapped me for energy. I find that the days seem too short. I can't get everything done that I need to and that leaves me frustrated. How do other stay at home mom's get all this stuff done at the end of the day? Am I just not cut out for this? Am I that terrible at time management? Do I have no resiliance? As you can see, I tend to be a bit hard on myself. Becoming a mother has basically forced me into becoming a better person. Things that I wouldn't normally worry about, such as my lack of patience, are now crucial to becoming a better parent. I need to work on that. I'm discovering that you need LOTS and lots of patience when you have children.
Danielle has been crawling for at least a month now and is now pulling up to a standing position on the furniture. She is so proud of herself and she gets so excited with her new adventures. I enjoy watching her. She is really a good baby. I've got it sooooo easy with her. She rarely fusses and she's a good sleeper for the most part. Although recently she has been waking up at least once a night due to teething pain. That part has been kinda hard on me. I spent the first few months of her life praying for the time she'd sleep through the night. And, after a few months, it finally came. Just when I'm getting back to my old sleep routine, it's all messed up again and she's back to waking up in the middle of the night. Ugh. It's hard, but I'm actually getting used to it. She's quick to fall back asleep.
I'm still nursing her and have been supplementing with Gerber Stage 3 foods, Gerber Puffs, Cheerios and most recently Gerber Yogurt Melts. She really likes those!!! I have given her some rice and she loved that too. I have a feeling she is going to be more of an adventurous eater than Carter was. He's actually kinda picky. But, he's a toddler, so I guess that is to be expected. I'm really proud that I have been able to nurse her for so long.
She loves books and really looks at all the pictures too! Carter would just flip the pages while I was mid-sentence. She studies the pages and takes it all in. She also points at the pictures. It's really cute. She also loves paper - newspaper, magazines, mail, you name it. Basically, anything crinkly. Of course I don't give it to her as I don't want her to choke on it.
As far as Danielle's speech goes, she has said 2 words so far: mama or mom and cat.
Carter is venturing into the "terrible two's" at full speed. He has REALLY kept me on my toes in the last few weeks, and not in a good way I'm afraid. He was jealous of Danielle when she first came home from the hospital, but got over it rather quickly. Now the jealousy is resurfacing and boy is it raring it's head with a vengeance! He will throw things at her, swat at her and try to kick her. It's SOOOOO not funny. It makes me so upset to see him act this way. I tell him no, give him time-outs, but nothing seems to get through to him. He just laughs. It drives me nuts. He wants the attention and he's willing to do whatever it takes to get it, including antagonizing his sister. The sad part is, he's not starved for attention by any means! We give him LOTS of attention. I just don't know what to do. My sister says it is just a phase. I hope it ends quickly. I used to be able to leave them together in a room at any given moment to take care of the dishes or chores or what not, and now I can't. It's frustrating.
On a more positive note, his vocabulary is growing immensely. He understands SO much and is now able to communicate with us better. We are getting less whining, which is awesome because there were days in the past where I just wanted to pop some ear plugs in my ears to sound it out. :-)
The last few months for me have been tiresome. These changes in Carter's behavior, coupled with Danielle's newfound adventures into crawling have really sapped me for energy. I find that the days seem too short. I can't get everything done that I need to and that leaves me frustrated. How do other stay at home mom's get all this stuff done at the end of the day? Am I just not cut out for this? Am I that terrible at time management? Do I have no resiliance? As you can see, I tend to be a bit hard on myself. Becoming a mother has basically forced me into becoming a better person. Things that I wouldn't normally worry about, such as my lack of patience, are now crucial to becoming a better parent. I need to work on that. I'm discovering that you need LOTS and lots of patience when you have children.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
More Videos
Ken's best friend Drew was in town from Georgia this week and stopped by for a visit with his wife Maryann and their son. Carter had SO much fun with them and especially enjoyed all the attention Maryann gave him. Above is a video clip I took of them playing together.
Danielle started making some new sounds this week. Little did I know this was the very beginning of her learning to make raspberries! Love how she puffs her cheeks. ;-)
She finally got it! She's almost 7 months old and she's just now doing raspberries! I thought she was never going to pick it up. I think it's adorable, even if she does get slobber all over her face.
Here's another video of her doing raspberries. I love it!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Home Videos
Here are some of my favorite videos of the week. This one is when Danielle said her first word - Mom!
Here is Danielle having her first taste of a graham cracker. She loved it!
This is a video of Carter and Danielle playing. This was Carter's Gymini when he was a baby, but Danielle has been enjoying it most recently. Apparently, Carter isn't too keen on sharing this with her, as he pushes her off it in the video. At first she was smiling while he nudged her off, then her eyes get all big near the end. Keep an eye on her as you watch. Hilarious!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Lots to Catch up On
Danielle said her very first word on Sunday, Mom! I was so thrilled. It's so cute hearing her say it, and Mom no less - not the typical Mama. Carter's first word was Dada, so it only makes sense that Danielle said Mom first. I have a feeling she is going to be quite the talker! Carter can say a lot of words now, but he's definitely a motor kid (aka monkey). Danielle is also rolling all over the place now, tummy to back and back to tummy. She'll bring her knees up under her belly when she's laying on her stomach, but so far no real signs of crawling. It's gonna be a hoot once she gets going and seeing Carter interact with her. Yes, I said hoot. I'm getting old, or maybe just wise beyond my years. At least that's what I like to think. :-)
Ken and I drove down to Columbus to spend the 4th of July with my sister and her family. She always has a party with some of her closest friends. It was a lot of fun. We had Mai Tai's and enjoyed some good food and great company. It was a bit challenging at times. We spent most of the night following Carter around to make sure he didn't hurt himself of get into trouble. Some of the kids there were older than Carter and a bit wild, so I wanted to make sure he was safe playing with them. I guess I'm still a bit of a nervous nelly Mom. It's just never fun seeing your own child in pain or hurt, so of course I try to protect him to the best of my ability.
I can now trust Carter to be alone with Danielle at any given moment. He knows how to be gentle and plays well with her. She sits up in her boppy and he'll bring her toys to play with. He talks to her - still mostly "Carter Gibberish". They smile at each other and laugh together. It is so endearing. I'm so glad I ended up having 2 kids.
Carter is also becoming quite the little helper. He understands so much, it amazes me. He can follow simple commands, like go get that or turn that light off, etc. He's very smart. Just last night Ken and I were joking that he has a bit of OCD in him. He kept stacking books on top of each other & lined them up perfectly on the couch. Then he would move them, one my one, to a stack on the floor. Granted, it was the end of the night and he was pretty zoned out and tired. It was still funny - he's our little organizer. Now if we could just teach him to put away his toys.
Life is getting busier for me day by day. It feels like I have less time for myself as each day passes. I'm lucky if I get a shower before noon! I found it hilarious to discover one of my male facebook friends, a man I went to high school with, could totally relate. His one update read "Finally got a shower in today. Whew, I thought it was gonna be one of those "Daddy's stinky" days." I thought that was so funny because I swore I was the only parent who had this problem. The little things I used to do out of boredom prior to having kids, like paint my toe nails while enjoying a glass of wine, are now a distant memory. I do miss the extra time I used to have. It feels like there are never enough hours in the day. When it all boils down, my kids and their needs come first. They are my number one priority. I treat them as a masterpiece in the making. My one personal goal is to have regular date nights with my husband once I'm finished nursing Danielle. He and I have really lost touch since having kids. It's all about them, taking care of them and our day to day routines. It's time to put some of the focus back on us as a couple. I remember telling my newly pregnant friends my one pice of advice after their baby is born - make sur eyou take time for just the two of you (date nights), and yet I'm not practicing what I preached. It really is important. Once you bcome a parent, it's so easy to just get lost in it all. So, that's where I'm at with that.
Random thoughts:
Tiny Dancer: Carter has got the moves! He is a dancing machine. It cracks me up watching him. I love it!
Beautiful Babies: Do all parents think their kids are the most beautiful babies on the planet? I certainly think mine are. Maybe it's just one of those things.
Moocher Alert: Danielle is a total moocher! She is always giving me the stare-down whenever I'm eating something. It's so cute! She has already had a taste of graham crackers and really enjoyed it.
Ken and I drove down to Columbus to spend the 4th of July with my sister and her family. She always has a party with some of her closest friends. It was a lot of fun. We had Mai Tai's and enjoyed some good food and great company. It was a bit challenging at times. We spent most of the night following Carter around to make sure he didn't hurt himself of get into trouble. Some of the kids there were older than Carter and a bit wild, so I wanted to make sure he was safe playing with them. I guess I'm still a bit of a nervous nelly Mom. It's just never fun seeing your own child in pain or hurt, so of course I try to protect him to the best of my ability.
I can now trust Carter to be alone with Danielle at any given moment. He knows how to be gentle and plays well with her. She sits up in her boppy and he'll bring her toys to play with. He talks to her - still mostly "Carter Gibberish". They smile at each other and laugh together. It is so endearing. I'm so glad I ended up having 2 kids.
Carter is also becoming quite the little helper. He understands so much, it amazes me. He can follow simple commands, like go get that or turn that light off, etc. He's very smart. Just last night Ken and I were joking that he has a bit of OCD in him. He kept stacking books on top of each other & lined them up perfectly on the couch. Then he would move them, one my one, to a stack on the floor. Granted, it was the end of the night and he was pretty zoned out and tired. It was still funny - he's our little organizer. Now if we could just teach him to put away his toys.
Life is getting busier for me day by day. It feels like I have less time for myself as each day passes. I'm lucky if I get a shower before noon! I found it hilarious to discover one of my male facebook friends, a man I went to high school with, could totally relate. His one update read "Finally got a shower in today. Whew, I thought it was gonna be one of those "Daddy's stinky" days." I thought that was so funny because I swore I was the only parent who had this problem. The little things I used to do out of boredom prior to having kids, like paint my toe nails while enjoying a glass of wine, are now a distant memory. I do miss the extra time I used to have. It feels like there are never enough hours in the day. When it all boils down, my kids and their needs come first. They are my number one priority. I treat them as a masterpiece in the making. My one personal goal is to have regular date nights with my husband once I'm finished nursing Danielle. He and I have really lost touch since having kids. It's all about them, taking care of them and our day to day routines. It's time to put some of the focus back on us as a couple. I remember telling my newly pregnant friends my one pice of advice after their baby is born - make sur eyou take time for just the two of you (date nights), and yet I'm not practicing what I preached. It really is important. Once you bcome a parent, it's so easy to just get lost in it all. So, that's where I'm at with that.
Random thoughts:
Tiny Dancer: Carter has got the moves! He is a dancing machine. It cracks me up watching him. I love it!
Beautiful Babies: Do all parents think their kids are the most beautiful babies on the planet? I certainly think mine are. Maybe it's just one of those things.
Moocher Alert: Danielle is a total moocher! She is always giving me the stare-down whenever I'm eating something. It's so cute! She has already had a taste of graham crackers and really enjoyed it.
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