Growth Spurt...

The last few days things with Munchkin have beena bit unusual. She's been a bit grouchy, waking up more often at night, and not eating as usual during the day. After doing some researching this evening and talking with the hubs, we decided she might just be going through a growth spurt. She had one between 6-8 weeks. That's normal. One place I checked said that after that kids generally have one once a month or every 8 weeks. It said that it only lasts for a day or two. We're on day two with this little gal, so I'm hoping that it won't last much longer. Last night I was up with her every 3 hours. It was exhausting. I really hope she goes back to her fabulous nights of only waking once. I hope tonight's the night.

Outside of this fun few days, things have been going alright. The hubs is on summer break, with the occasional work at a side job. It's been a bit of a change having him around. For me, it's been an awesome change. It's been a bit harder for the kids. They're so used to me doing things. Having him step in and do things has been a bit harder. But we're trying to live up the summer as much as we can. We've already had one family reunion. We've got another one next week. We're had some fun camping, and hope to do more. Swim lessons, trips to the library. Who knows?  I just hope it stays fun. And that I start getting more sleep at night. ;)

Family Reunion...

We have just finished a week-long family reunion. (Including driving days, and some family returning with us.) I fear it's going to take twice that long to get our kiddos back to where they were. They've been going to bed at 10 pm all week long with no naps. Fortunately, Monkey knows how to let herself sleep in. The same can't be said for Moose. Tonight is the first night of trying to get them back to normal. They've now been in bed for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Although this process is being made all the more difficult by Monkey's teething, congestion, and diaper issues. (Diaper issues are another blog, completely. Oy.) Munchkin seems to be doing well. Despite being the worst traveler in our family. Let's just say that being rocked to sleep in the car does nothing for her. Which makes an 8 hour day in the car very unpleasant.

But despite all the unpleasantness, we are so glad to be home. The kiddos will figure it out. Things will readjust. And it was so awesome to visit with family. I suppose the memories will be worth the pains of readjusting to normal life. :)

2 months...

I can hardly believe Munchkin is 2 months old. It goes so fast. She weighed in at 12 lbs. 15 oz. and she's 24 inches long. She's in the 95th percentile for both. Another big baby for us! I love it! She's starting to sleep a bit better. She even napped in her crib a bit today instead of the swing. (The batteries died, so it happened by chance. But she did well, so we'll have to keep this up!) She's still doing well at night, and becoming more alert and interactive during the day. The big kiddos still adore her, so I couldn't be happier! (Well, I'll be happier when I sleep straight through the night, but I'm not complaining or anything.) Overall, she's healthy so I couldn't be happier. :)

Accidents...

Sunday was a day of accidents for our big kiddos. Thankfully, none of them have any permanent damage. But it was just one of those days.

Moose was taking looking for his church clothes in the dryer. Afterwards, he told me he had an owie on his hand. There's a metal grate inside the tumbler. Apparently he put his hand flat on it. So he now has a waffle-like pattern on his hand. The burn wasn't too bad, thankfully. But he has a few blisters. In the end, I don't know if we could've prevented it. I don't know if I ever paid enough attention to the inside of our dryer, so as to tell him not to touch that metal grate. I'm just glad he's going to be alright.

Monkey had a harder time. We were out at a campsite with some family. They had a small pool with paddle boats for kids. It wasn't very deep. The hubs had walked around to the far end to get the paddle boats and push them back to the dock where you can get in them. My sis-in-law was on the dock with the kids. Monkey was there, waiting to get in a boat with someone else. Apparently she wanted to walk over to where the hubs was and (despite the urgings of the hubs, who was a distance away, but saw it coming and tried to get her to stop) she walked right off the dock. She went, more or less, head first into the water.  The hubs and sis-in-law grabbed her immediately and pulled her out. She was soaked from head to toe and pretty shaken up, but overall unharmed. It sure did scare us though. She calmed down pretty quickly and later on told her me, in her own way, about falling into the water.

Sometimes it seems like no matter how careful you are (and we consider ourselves to be pretty cautious parents) accidents can, and will, still happen. I'm just glad my kiddos are fine. Even the smallest scrapes and bruises can make you remember how precious your children are and how fragile too.

On a happier note, I spend most of today running errands on my own! The hubs had work off and so I was able to be out and about if the baby had nursed. I spent the morning running some errands with just Moose. It was very reminiscent of running Saturday errands with my Mom growing up. I got to go to the fabric store and spend some time getting supplies for a project. I also got to go for a run. What a day! Feeling so lucky to have such an amazing (and safe) family!

Pacifier...

Monkey is officially weaning off her pacifier. Yesterday was the first day where I told her she was a big girl who didn't need a pacifier anymore. We were going to go to the store to get her another "baby" for bedtime. But she wouldn't finish her lunch, so we didn't end up getting one. But I told her she was still a big girl and wouldn't get a paci for naptime. It took her a while to go to sleep, but she did. She had a harder time with bedtime. The hubs had the brilliant idea to give her a choice. He put the paci in one hand and a caramel hershey's kiss in the other. It was so hard not to laugh as she studied out her two choices. It was a serious deal for her. Too cute! She finally chose the chocolate and went to bed without her pacifier. However, at about 10:45 she woke up crying and we gave it to her. Today has gone well though. She fell asleep much faster at naptime. She also went down at bedtime without any issues. We'll see if she wakes up needing it or not. Either way, I think it's awesome progress. Yay! So glad Monkey's doing so well and becoming such a big girl! :)

Alone Time...

This morning started out a little rough for me, since Munchkin has decided she still doesn't know how to nap during the day. (Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful her nights are still great. But still...) Fortunately, things started to level out, but I still wanted some time tonight. I already had plans to attend a bridal shower this evening (which was so wonderful!) but I was planning on taking Munchkin with me. By the time the hubs came home from work after 5, I had dinner cooked (nothing fancy. 4 small pot pies from the freezer.) and I was dressed in my running clothes. As soon as dinner was done, I went on a short run (which felt SO good!) came home, pumped some milk (the hubs really wanted me to be able to go to the shower alone. So I did!) and left for the bridal shower. It was so awesome to have so much time to myself. I desperately needed it. I'm so grateful for a hubs who's thinking about my well being. Alone time is so rejuvenating. (And by alone time, in this context, I mean time without kids!)

Phases...

With little ones, they grow so fast and change so quickly, it's hard to keep up. Once you think you have things figured out they change. This doesn't really get much better as they grow up, but with they're small, the phases tend to be shorter.  Munchkin just had a growth spurt. I think, anyway. They say newborns have a growth spurt between 6 and 8 weeks. She's 7 weeks today. This whole week her sleeping and eating habits have been pretty different. She hasn't been sleeping well during the day. (Thankfully her nights have stayed good.) She was also nursing a bit more frequently. But I was prepared for that and tried to nurse her more often to help increase my milk supply. But as of yesterday and today, it feels like she's going back to normal. Today she had 2 amazing naps at home where she slept solidly for 2 hours. She probably would have for her other naps too, but we were going to and fro a little bit. It seems like she's a different baby just a bit. I'm so glad! I hope this sticks and she doesn't go back to the way it was this week. As I'm so excited for her to be out of her growth spurt and sleeping more soundly, being a bit easier to handle, I have to anticipate that soon enough she'll hit another developmental something that will disrupt her days or, forbid, her nights. Nonetheless, I'll enjoy her in this calm place while I can. With children, the only certainty is change. So you just have to enjoy the good stretches while they last. :)

Transitions...

It seems like the transition from 2 kids to 3 has gone pretty smoothly. Sleep isn't too hard to come by, thankfully. Munchkin is pretty great at nights. She had a rough week, but it seems like it might've been a growth spurt, which I was anticipating at this point. It seems like she might be coming out of it, and her naps are getting better and she's still doing great at night. Monkey hasn't woken up at night for a while, thank goodness. That was hard. Moose has been my biggest problem lately. He's been whiney, and it seems like nothing is ever enough for him. He always wants more computer time, more time to play, more, more, etc. But as me and the hubs have been talking about it, we've realized he's gone through so much. Although he handles change like a real champ, it's still a big change. Just today I was doing some things with him and was interrupted multiple times by a fussing baby who was supposed to be napping. He handled it well, but I could tell he was frustrated and felt pushed aside. After really taking notice, I realized that his behavioral issues could very well be his way of dealing with everything that's going on. So I've made a mental decision to give him a bit more slack. I'm not going to let him get away with things, mind you. It's beyond me to do that. But I think I'm going to ease up on my knee-jerk disciplinary reactions to him. (I'm totally guilty of knee-jerk reactions. Just ask the hubs.) Hopefully my recognition of this will help me to be a bit easier on him, which might hopefully ease up his intense whininess/spoiled brat attitude. Here's hoping. :)

Mommy Back...

I went to the chiropractor for the first time today. It wasn't until I was there that I finally realized why I was having the pain I was. It wasn't really bad. Just a discomfort every now and then if I bent the wrong way. I had a small pain at the base of my neck and my lower/middle back. But after the chiropractor said I had "mommy back" it got me thinking about it. That's when I realized exactly where I got the pains from. Just picture it in your mind. Constantly looking down at my beautiful baby, whether in nursing or putting her to sleep. And bending down to put her down or pick her up from the swing. (She's been sleeping there ever since she got congested. We're working on transitioning her to the crib.) So I quite literally had "mommy back". Hazard of the job I guess. :)

Oh Monkey...

It seems like she is ready to lose her pacifier and be potty-trained at the same time. Although I have to admit that I want to lose the paci first, because I can't imagine my potty-trained kid still having a pacifier. Granted, it's only supposed to be for bed. (She occasionally will wander around with it after waking up.) I think it'll work out that way anyhow, only because I can't tackle potty-training while the hubs is still working. But losing the paci is something I think I can do. Lately she's been sleeping without the paci in her mouth non-stop. So I know she doesn't need it to sleep. It's just a comfort for falling asleep. She also likes to remove her own diapers, and even try to wipe herself. She can take her own pants on or off. I think that's one of the big signs they're ready for potty-training.

Today when she had a poopy diaper, she brought me some of Moose's undies. We have some potty-training girly ones (very thick) plus some plastic undie covers, so I showed her the girly undies and we put them on. After we changed her, I put her potty-seat on the toilet so she could sit on it whenever she needed to without my help. She sat on it right away, caught up in the excitement of it all. She didn't do anything. However, within five minutes or so, she peed. She let me know by bringing me another pair of undies and telling me she was wet, and they were dry. So I changed her, talked to her about using the potty and let her wear another pair. Fortunately, her bladder was pretty empty that time since she had just had a diaper change. A while later, she had another accident with a bit more in her bladder, so I had to do some spot cleaning on the carpet. After that one, we put the diaper back on.

I'm sure we'll get there eventually. I'm pretty sure that it will be over the summer while the hubs is home (maybe) and we can put more attention into it. Otherwise it'll just have to wait until the Munchkin doesn't suck up as much of my time and attention so I can devote more to making sure she's not peeing on my carpet. :)