Today was Brielle's two month checkup and she did great! She slept the whole way there and didn't cry at all when I took her out of her carrier and undressed her. She just laid there looking around at all of the new things, smiling whenever I looked at her.
She weighs 10lbs, 13oz, which puts her squarely in the 50th percentile for weight, up from the 40th percentile for the last visit. Her length, measured at 22 inches, is in the 76th percentile (ha...the doc looked at me like...ummm, riiiight. There's no way she grew that much since birth). We chalked that up to a measuring error and moved on. Her head circumference is in the 36th percentile.
She looks great. I tried to show Dr. Grant the tooth, but it was hard to see and she didn't believe me. "It's not a tooth" was all I got. I wanted to be like "NOOO... LOOK! She has a TOOTH..you can SEE IT!" but it wasn't worth the argument. I showed her where Brielle had been hit in the head two days ago by a thrown truck, and she said it looked fine. Her bellybutton has healed well and she just looks great.
She got a bunch of shots and cried right when she was getting them, but then stopped as soon as the doc picked her up to hold her. She slept the whole way home, woke up for a bottle, and went back to sleep. I love my good little baby girl!!!!
Friday, April 12, 2013
The challenges of being an urban mom
Some days, it's wonderful to live in the city. It's nice to know that I live a block away from the Children's Place, a pizza store, a CVS, a fire station (for the boys!), several restaurants and about 2 dozen convenience stores. If I'm out of milk, I can literally go next door and get some. If I need a dollar store, I have about 5 in short walking distance. The library is a five minute walk away, Target is a mile away, and we have 5 playgrounds in walking distance. If I hop in the car (HA...what does it feel like to hop in the car?!?), I can drive north about 10 miles to Yonkers and find any store under the sun I need.
In theory, I could be exposing my kids to the tonnnnnns of museums, art galleries, etc that this amazing city has to offer. We could be enrolled in fifty million kids classes and could be a member of 50 different play groups. Could. Are we? Do we get out to any of these fun and exciting places? No. Why? Being a mom to ONE kid in the city is a challenge, but totally doable. Being a mom to TWO brings things to a screeching halt... the MTA (our subway system) is light years beyond where it should be in regards to making things accessible for people with disabilities or strollers. Are there elevators I can take? Yes, definitely. Luckily, there is one located not too far from me.. only about a 15 minute walk away.... and there is a station at many of the major stops. So if I need to go to Times Square or 34th street, I'm good. If I need to get to 86th and central park west, where the kids' pediatrician is, I'm in trouble.
Even if there is an elevator, though, I'm kind of out of luck. You see, I have an almost 4 year old who is totally capable of walking and can walk a million miles if it's to the ice cream store, but who immediately says "Help. My little legs are too tired to walk and I need to ride in the stroller" if we have to walk to the train station. Any idea what it's like taking a double stroller on the train? It's not pretty, and during rush hour times it's impossible. People will practically fight to the death to get in a subway car during rush hour and there is no WAY people are going to make room for a double stroller. Waiting for stinky and painfully slow elevators to get you down to the station and then down to the platform is not a fun experience. Do-able, but not fun. Especially at stations like columbus circle and 34th street where I have to take three separate elevators just to get out!
So we're kind of limited as to where we can go. But there are situations that come up all the time that are quite tricky. Like today. Brielle had a 9am appt with her pediatrician today for her 2 month well visit. No, I did not choose this time. 9am (in actuality 8am, since it takes us an hour to get there) is not a time when people are going to be lining up to your door to babysit. Sure, I COULD have begged and gotten someone to come, but I decided about 2 weeks ago that I wanted to try this on my own. I was going to have to do it SOMETIME and what better place to go on an adventure like this than to the pediatrician's office, where they are used to screaming children. So once I decided that I could do this, it took a LOT of planning to figure out how. Should I take the double stroller to 59th street where there is an elevator, and then walk up to 86th? That's only a mile and change.... buuut the 59th street elevator is OUT of service, and that means I'd have to be on the train with a double stroller during rush hour and it gets REALLY crowded between 125th and 59th street. THAT option was out. Should I take the double stroller to 59th street and transfer to the 1 train uptown to 96th (elevator) and walk down to 86th? No, for the same reasons as before. Ok...so the double stroller was out. Single stroller in. Well, who gets to ride in it? Liam would love to walk, but he's at the "I'm not going to hold hands with you if I don't feel like it" and "I'm going to follow any bird I see" and "I will lay down on the sidewalk if you try to take me somewhere I don't want to go" stage. Dangerous when I'm carrying Brielle.
Do I let Eli ride his scooter to the train? No...I don't feel like dealing with a scooter on the train.
I decided Eli would have to walk and Liam would ride and I would carry Brielle. I've been talking this up to him for the past few days, promising ice cream and jellybeans and anything under the sun to get him to walk. I did everything I could last night to get ready..... packed the bag, the snacks...got bottles ready... I was not counting on Liam waking up at 5:30am this morning. I was not counting on Eli sleeping in until 7:40 when we needed to leave at 8. I was not counting on our water being brown yesterday and me having to instead bathe Brielle this morning. I was NOT NOT NOT NOT counting on it raining. Sigh.
I decided that I could DO THIS and we did. We made it work. Even in the rain. Eli whined and complained about walking and I burst out into hyper excited mom mode "ELI! LOOK AT THAT FIRE TRUCK! LOOOOK...a truck with a COW ON IT... LOOOK...a STREET SWEEPER... HEY...the next time we go to the ICE CREAM STORE, what flavor are you going to get?!" Annnnnything I could do to make him forget about the fact that we were walking. In the rain. And for the most part, it worked. Mom trickery at it's finest.
What is it like getting on a full subway carrying a baby with two small people who MUST sit down on the train in big boy seats and not in their stroller? Challenging, to say the least. But we did it. Eli had fun telling me the numbers at each of the stops (though he still reads them backwards... telling me we are at 541 street instead of 145th) and Liam was mesmerized by a guy in front of us with a crinkly bag of Doritos. The challenging part was when we had to switch trains. Normally if I am by myself and on a crowded train, I would get up the stop before and start easing my way to the door. When you're with little kids who will fall over if you try that, you have to stay in your seats. People on trains cannnnnnnnnooooot be bothered by moving out of the way of strollers. AT ALL. Even nice people. Even other moms. Strollers = looks of disdain. I had to literally yell "CAN YOU PLEASE LET US OFF?" to get people to move. I ran over a lot of feet. But we made it. We got on the new train with more seats and we got off the train. Both boys walked up the stairs while I held Liam's hand and the stroller while carrying Brielle. One out of every 200 people offer to help when they see this, and I didn't encounter any of them on my way.
We made it to the office and there was only one other person there. The boys ran off to play with the big toy in the center and look at the fish tank and Brielle slept. We made it into the check in/weigh room without incident. The lady brought the boys stickers which kept them still for about 25 seconds. Then she left and showed me how to lock the door so the boys wouldn't escape. Ten seconds after she left, Liam walked over to the door, unlocked it, and tried to escape. Every single drawer was opened and closed fifty times and it was a struggle to keep the boys off of the computer and off of the rolling stools. We finally got the OK to move into the other room, where there were more drawers and a FUN reflex hammer. Everything had to be banged. I had 10 spiderman/batman stickers applied to me. I could go on....
The appointment as a whole was a success. Brielle was an angel and was happy to sit there looking around, even though she was sans clothes and probably freezing. She cried for about 20 seconds after she got her (FIVE) shots and then stopped as soon as Dr. Grant picked her up. Dr. Grant called in an aide to escort the boys out to the waiting room while she was giving shots, so as to not traumatize them, and I was like.... A) Clingy liam is never going to leave me and B)they don't mind needles. They stayed.
Leaving was the challenge because it was POURING, but we made it home with the promise of ice cream. And hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows and sprinkles. I can only smile to myself when i think of all of the overly worried people who passed us walking home... me holding an umbrella and a flimsy blanket over Brielle... Liam in his stroller using his umbrella like a captain america shield, completely getting wet, and Eli refusing to hold his umbrella at all, getting soaaaaaaked. And me, the crazy lady yelling (in the cooold rain)... "HEY! ELI! There's a big puddle!! Run up to that one!! Yaaaaay! Splash splash splash!" hahaha.
That was way longer than I intended it to be, but I wanted to write it for my future self to look back on and remember.
In theory, I could be exposing my kids to the tonnnnnns of museums, art galleries, etc that this amazing city has to offer. We could be enrolled in fifty million kids classes and could be a member of 50 different play groups. Could. Are we? Do we get out to any of these fun and exciting places? No. Why? Being a mom to ONE kid in the city is a challenge, but totally doable. Being a mom to TWO brings things to a screeching halt... the MTA (our subway system) is light years beyond where it should be in regards to making things accessible for people with disabilities or strollers. Are there elevators I can take? Yes, definitely. Luckily, there is one located not too far from me.. only about a 15 minute walk away.... and there is a station at many of the major stops. So if I need to go to Times Square or 34th street, I'm good. If I need to get to 86th and central park west, where the kids' pediatrician is, I'm in trouble.
Even if there is an elevator, though, I'm kind of out of luck. You see, I have an almost 4 year old who is totally capable of walking and can walk a million miles if it's to the ice cream store, but who immediately says "Help. My little legs are too tired to walk and I need to ride in the stroller" if we have to walk to the train station. Any idea what it's like taking a double stroller on the train? It's not pretty, and during rush hour times it's impossible. People will practically fight to the death to get in a subway car during rush hour and there is no WAY people are going to make room for a double stroller. Waiting for stinky and painfully slow elevators to get you down to the station and then down to the platform is not a fun experience. Do-able, but not fun. Especially at stations like columbus circle and 34th street where I have to take three separate elevators just to get out!
So we're kind of limited as to where we can go. But there are situations that come up all the time that are quite tricky. Like today. Brielle had a 9am appt with her pediatrician today for her 2 month well visit. No, I did not choose this time. 9am (in actuality 8am, since it takes us an hour to get there) is not a time when people are going to be lining up to your door to babysit. Sure, I COULD have begged and gotten someone to come, but I decided about 2 weeks ago that I wanted to try this on my own. I was going to have to do it SOMETIME and what better place to go on an adventure like this than to the pediatrician's office, where they are used to screaming children. So once I decided that I could do this, it took a LOT of planning to figure out how. Should I take the double stroller to 59th street where there is an elevator, and then walk up to 86th? That's only a mile and change.... buuut the 59th street elevator is OUT of service, and that means I'd have to be on the train with a double stroller during rush hour and it gets REALLY crowded between 125th and 59th street. THAT option was out. Should I take the double stroller to 59th street and transfer to the 1 train uptown to 96th (elevator) and walk down to 86th? No, for the same reasons as before. Ok...so the double stroller was out. Single stroller in. Well, who gets to ride in it? Liam would love to walk, but he's at the "I'm not going to hold hands with you if I don't feel like it" and "I'm going to follow any bird I see" and "I will lay down on the sidewalk if you try to take me somewhere I don't want to go" stage. Dangerous when I'm carrying Brielle.
Do I let Eli ride his scooter to the train? No...I don't feel like dealing with a scooter on the train.
I decided Eli would have to walk and Liam would ride and I would carry Brielle. I've been talking this up to him for the past few days, promising ice cream and jellybeans and anything under the sun to get him to walk. I did everything I could last night to get ready..... packed the bag, the snacks...got bottles ready... I was not counting on Liam waking up at 5:30am this morning. I was not counting on Eli sleeping in until 7:40 when we needed to leave at 8. I was not counting on our water being brown yesterday and me having to instead bathe Brielle this morning. I was NOT NOT NOT NOT counting on it raining. Sigh.
I decided that I could DO THIS and we did. We made it work. Even in the rain. Eli whined and complained about walking and I burst out into hyper excited mom mode "ELI! LOOK AT THAT FIRE TRUCK! LOOOOK...a truck with a COW ON IT... LOOOK...a STREET SWEEPER... HEY...the next time we go to the ICE CREAM STORE, what flavor are you going to get?!" Annnnnything I could do to make him forget about the fact that we were walking. In the rain. And for the most part, it worked. Mom trickery at it's finest.
What is it like getting on a full subway carrying a baby with two small people who MUST sit down on the train in big boy seats and not in their stroller? Challenging, to say the least. But we did it. Eli had fun telling me the numbers at each of the stops (though he still reads them backwards... telling me we are at 541 street instead of 145th) and Liam was mesmerized by a guy in front of us with a crinkly bag of Doritos. The challenging part was when we had to switch trains. Normally if I am by myself and on a crowded train, I would get up the stop before and start easing my way to the door. When you're with little kids who will fall over if you try that, you have to stay in your seats. People on trains cannnnnnnnnooooot be bothered by moving out of the way of strollers. AT ALL. Even nice people. Even other moms. Strollers = looks of disdain. I had to literally yell "CAN YOU PLEASE LET US OFF?" to get people to move. I ran over a lot of feet. But we made it. We got on the new train with more seats and we got off the train. Both boys walked up the stairs while I held Liam's hand and the stroller while carrying Brielle. One out of every 200 people offer to help when they see this, and I didn't encounter any of them on my way.
We made it to the office and there was only one other person there. The boys ran off to play with the big toy in the center and look at the fish tank and Brielle slept. We made it into the check in/weigh room without incident. The lady brought the boys stickers which kept them still for about 25 seconds. Then she left and showed me how to lock the door so the boys wouldn't escape. Ten seconds after she left, Liam walked over to the door, unlocked it, and tried to escape. Every single drawer was opened and closed fifty times and it was a struggle to keep the boys off of the computer and off of the rolling stools. We finally got the OK to move into the other room, where there were more drawers and a FUN reflex hammer. Everything had to be banged. I had 10 spiderman/batman stickers applied to me. I could go on....
The appointment as a whole was a success. Brielle was an angel and was happy to sit there looking around, even though she was sans clothes and probably freezing. She cried for about 20 seconds after she got her (FIVE) shots and then stopped as soon as Dr. Grant picked her up. Dr. Grant called in an aide to escort the boys out to the waiting room while she was giving shots, so as to not traumatize them, and I was like.... A) Clingy liam is never going to leave me and B)they don't mind needles. They stayed.
Leaving was the challenge because it was POURING, but we made it home with the promise of ice cream. And hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows and sprinkles. I can only smile to myself when i think of all of the overly worried people who passed us walking home... me holding an umbrella and a flimsy blanket over Brielle... Liam in his stroller using his umbrella like a captain america shield, completely getting wet, and Eli refusing to hold his umbrella at all, getting soaaaaaaked. And me, the crazy lady yelling (in the cooold rain)... "HEY! ELI! There's a big puddle!! Run up to that one!! Yaaaaay! Splash splash splash!" hahaha.
That was way longer than I intended it to be, but I wanted to write it for my future self to look back on and remember.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Brielle at 2 months!
Dear Brielle,
You are two months old today!!! I still remember the day you were born like it was yesterday, yet as your Grandma pointed out, it feels like you have been with us forever. I feel like you are so much bigger than you were when you were born! You're getting bigger and bigger by the hour, it seems. Your hair has grown a lot and amazingly hasn't fallen out like your brothers did. It stands straight up and is about an inch and a half tall. That's the first thing that everyone who meets you comments on... how much hair you have for a newborn.
You are an absolute joy, Brielle. An absolute joy. You really couldn't be a better baby. When we traveled to Austin for Tito Tommy and Tita Kathryn's wedding, you slept the whole way on the plane. When we were there, you started sleeping 7 hours in a row at night and you've kept that up at home, sometimes sleeping 10 or 11 hours at a time! Last night, you slept from 10 to 7:30!!! The night before, you slept from 6:30 to 5:15 and again from 6:15 to 10:30. You sleep a LOT. A LOT. Several people have suggested that's your way of dealing with the crazy energy of your brothers. I think you're just a super good baby.
You drink 5oz bottles about 5 or 6 times a day, but you just used up your last 4oz liner and we're going to start the big bottles with you next! You've been downing 5 oz for the past few days, so we're going to bump you up to 6oz. You're getting thigh rolls and it's SUPER cute on you. :)
You LOVE bathtime. Love it. You smile the whole time you're in there. My little water baby. You also smile ALLL the time when you're awake. Any time mommy or daddy comes over and looks at you, you smile. You crinkle your nose up when you smile...it's the cutest thing ever. You are the smiliest, happiest baby I've ever seen.
You definitely love being held, but you are also super content to be put down. You love laying next to your crib and still delight in looking at the netting on the side of the crib. You sometimes can stay there for an hour, just looking around, happy. You also enjoy hanging out in your crib, looking at the walls, and I'll sometimes walk by to discover that you've woken up from your nap and are just looking around. You don't mind tummy time and will put up with it for a good ten minutes before you start to fuss. Your neck is SUPER strong and you can lift your head VERY high in tummy time. We always let you take your naps on your belly (cause you love it and sleep sooo much better) and when we transfer you, you usually lift your head and turn it from left to right and back about 15 times before you settle on a side you want. You've started moving sideways in the crib and no matter how we place you down, you ALWAYS end up in the top right corner or perpendicular (you still fit!) in the middle.
You rarely EVER spit up. Thanks for that. You're still in size one diapers, and you pee a LOT, so I have to change you a lot. You never fuss during diaper changes, though, and are super easy to change (especially compared to how your brothers were!). You can still squeeze into a few of the larger newborn outfits, but on the whole you are transitioning to 3month clothes. You have your 2 month doc appointment tomorrow and I'm curious to see how much you weigh. I can still hold you comfortably in one arm, but you are nowhere near as light as you once were.
Your brothers ADORE you and love giving you kisses. Eli calls you "Bielle" (leaving out the R) and calls himself your protector. He is very good with you and is always looking out for you. he's very understanding when you need to be fed or taken care of and is pretty good about waiting until I finish taking care of you. Liam LOVES laying next to you, and for the past week or so likes to roll you on your side in a big bear hug. He also loves hugging you but doesn't understand that it's NOT ok to lay on TOP of you while doing so. He has no idea that he's so much stronger than you are. He loves brushing your hair and trying to share his food with you. He also comes over quite a bit to try to put toys in your hand. He doesn't yet understand that you're too little to hold onto things.
You HATE being in the car, especially when it's stopped. We're taking our first trip to Maryland next week (a four hour trip!), so we'll see how that goes!
You are an absolute joy, my love. Thanks for being such a GREAT baby!
Love,
Mommy
You are two months old today!!! I still remember the day you were born like it was yesterday, yet as your Grandma pointed out, it feels like you have been with us forever. I feel like you are so much bigger than you were when you were born! You're getting bigger and bigger by the hour, it seems. Your hair has grown a lot and amazingly hasn't fallen out like your brothers did. It stands straight up and is about an inch and a half tall. That's the first thing that everyone who meets you comments on... how much hair you have for a newborn.
You are an absolute joy, Brielle. An absolute joy. You really couldn't be a better baby. When we traveled to Austin for Tito Tommy and Tita Kathryn's wedding, you slept the whole way on the plane. When we were there, you started sleeping 7 hours in a row at night and you've kept that up at home, sometimes sleeping 10 or 11 hours at a time! Last night, you slept from 10 to 7:30!!! The night before, you slept from 6:30 to 5:15 and again from 6:15 to 10:30. You sleep a LOT. A LOT. Several people have suggested that's your way of dealing with the crazy energy of your brothers. I think you're just a super good baby.
You drink 5oz bottles about 5 or 6 times a day, but you just used up your last 4oz liner and we're going to start the big bottles with you next! You've been downing 5 oz for the past few days, so we're going to bump you up to 6oz. You're getting thigh rolls and it's SUPER cute on you. :)
You LOVE bathtime. Love it. You smile the whole time you're in there. My little water baby. You also smile ALLL the time when you're awake. Any time mommy or daddy comes over and looks at you, you smile. You crinkle your nose up when you smile...it's the cutest thing ever. You are the smiliest, happiest baby I've ever seen.
You definitely love being held, but you are also super content to be put down. You love laying next to your crib and still delight in looking at the netting on the side of the crib. You sometimes can stay there for an hour, just looking around, happy. You also enjoy hanging out in your crib, looking at the walls, and I'll sometimes walk by to discover that you've woken up from your nap and are just looking around. You don't mind tummy time and will put up with it for a good ten minutes before you start to fuss. Your neck is SUPER strong and you can lift your head VERY high in tummy time. We always let you take your naps on your belly (cause you love it and sleep sooo much better) and when we transfer you, you usually lift your head and turn it from left to right and back about 15 times before you settle on a side you want. You've started moving sideways in the crib and no matter how we place you down, you ALWAYS end up in the top right corner or perpendicular (you still fit!) in the middle.
You rarely EVER spit up. Thanks for that. You're still in size one diapers, and you pee a LOT, so I have to change you a lot. You never fuss during diaper changes, though, and are super easy to change (especially compared to how your brothers were!). You can still squeeze into a few of the larger newborn outfits, but on the whole you are transitioning to 3month clothes. You have your 2 month doc appointment tomorrow and I'm curious to see how much you weigh. I can still hold you comfortably in one arm, but you are nowhere near as light as you once were.
Your brothers ADORE you and love giving you kisses. Eli calls you "Bielle" (leaving out the R) and calls himself your protector. He is very good with you and is always looking out for you. he's very understanding when you need to be fed or taken care of and is pretty good about waiting until I finish taking care of you. Liam LOVES laying next to you, and for the past week or so likes to roll you on your side in a big bear hug. He also loves hugging you but doesn't understand that it's NOT ok to lay on TOP of you while doing so. He has no idea that he's so much stronger than you are. He loves brushing your hair and trying to share his food with you. He also comes over quite a bit to try to put toys in your hand. He doesn't yet understand that you're too little to hold onto things.
You HATE being in the car, especially when it's stopped. We're taking our first trip to Maryland next week (a four hour trip!), so we'll see how that goes!
You are an absolute joy, my love. Thanks for being such a GREAT baby!
Love,
Mommy
10 minutes with Liam at 22 months
These days with Liam are challenging. Very, very challenging. I don't remember Eli being this tough at this age, but that's probably because Eli was more verbal and he didn't have an older brother to bother him/constantly egg him on. Liam whines and cries 70% of the day. And he does dangerous things. Very dangerous things like...climbing the stove, opening the stove, etc. Sigh.
Just for fun, yesterday when I was trying to make breakfast, I jotted down everything Liam did in a span of ten minutes. Yes, this was all done in ten minutes.
-Brushed my nightgown with his toothbrush (which had toothpaste on it).
-Dumped out all of my measuring cups and spread them out throughout the apartment.
-Bit my computer cord...twice.
-Put the (toy) tool box up on the counter where I was trying to work.
-Went down into the cabinet where we lock up our cleaning supplies and got some out. (note to self...need new location for dangerous goods).
-Played with the trash can lid
-Opened the bottom drawer of the stove and put things in there
-Pushed over a box to get to the counter (to reach food, etc).
-Took the dish towels off the stove and fridge and flung them around
-Rode his bike over a pile of books he and Eli had removed earlier from the shelves.
All in ten minutes. Sigh.
His other favorite "menace" activities (carried out on a daily basis, multiple times) are:
-putting toys in the toilet
-flushing the toilet over and over
-"washing" his hands in the sink. (He fills it up and splashes, in addition to squirting soap all over the counter and floor)
-trying to climb the bookshelves to get to things
-trying to pull out the wii sensor underneath the TV
-getting into my closet so he can remove glue sticks from one of my drawers.
-throwing food. everywhere. stepping on the food before I clean it up.
-screaming
-crying
-opening the fridge to remove the mustard, lemon juice and lime juice.
-laying on top of his sister... to "hug" her
-throwing toys at his sister
-climbing into his sister's crib
-did I mention screaming? crying? whining?
-"helping" mommy bathe Brielle
-taking Eli's toys and throwing them behind the couch
-dumping out all of the toy bins
-climbing up on the windowsill
-taking apart his train tracks and banging them on things
-taking out the broom to "sweep."
-squirting his applesauce tubes on the couch
-taking off his pants, and, more recently, his diaper
-refusing to lay still for a diaper change
-demanding socks but refusing to let me put them on
-refusing to take a nap
Again, all of these things happen multiple times a day. It is a challenging age.
Just for fun, yesterday when I was trying to make breakfast, I jotted down everything Liam did in a span of ten minutes. Yes, this was all done in ten minutes.
-Brushed my nightgown with his toothbrush (which had toothpaste on it).
-Dumped out all of my measuring cups and spread them out throughout the apartment.
-Bit my computer cord...twice.
-Put the (toy) tool box up on the counter where I was trying to work.
-Went down into the cabinet where we lock up our cleaning supplies and got some out. (note to self...need new location for dangerous goods).
-Played with the trash can lid
-Opened the bottom drawer of the stove and put things in there
-Pushed over a box to get to the counter (to reach food, etc).
-Took the dish towels off the stove and fridge and flung them around
-Rode his bike over a pile of books he and Eli had removed earlier from the shelves.
All in ten minutes. Sigh.
His other favorite "menace" activities (carried out on a daily basis, multiple times) are:
-putting toys in the toilet
-flushing the toilet over and over
-"washing" his hands in the sink. (He fills it up and splashes, in addition to squirting soap all over the counter and floor)
-trying to climb the bookshelves to get to things
-trying to pull out the wii sensor underneath the TV
-getting into my closet so he can remove glue sticks from one of my drawers.
-throwing food. everywhere. stepping on the food before I clean it up.
-screaming
-crying
-opening the fridge to remove the mustard, lemon juice and lime juice.
-laying on top of his sister... to "hug" her
-throwing toys at his sister
-climbing into his sister's crib
-did I mention screaming? crying? whining?
-"helping" mommy bathe Brielle
-taking Eli's toys and throwing them behind the couch
-dumping out all of the toy bins
-climbing up on the windowsill
-taking apart his train tracks and banging them on things
-taking out the broom to "sweep."
-squirting his applesauce tubes on the couch
-taking off his pants, and, more recently, his diaper
-refusing to lay still for a diaper change
-demanding socks but refusing to let me put them on
-refusing to take a nap
Again, all of these things happen multiple times a day. It is a challenging age.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Being a mom of three kids under the age of 4
Being a mom of three little kids is tough. I must say, the transition from one kid to two kids was much harder than from two to three (probably because I already know how to divide my time and I'm a better multi-tasker, but mostly because I am better at handling lack of sleep now). I was pretty scared about how I was going to be able to manage three little ones, but I'm excited to say that so far, I think I've been doing ok. Sure, there are moments when I compleeeeeetely lose my temper and yell at the boys for things I shouldn't (and should, at times!) be yelling at them for. And there have been far too many days where the TV has been on for a good chunk of the day. And meals these days often consist of things like a bowl of cheerios and some pre packaged peaches... But on the whole, we're surviving. We haven't ventured outside alone yet, but that's coming. I'm almost brave enough to try it.
Days where both Mike and I are here (it's so nice to have weekends as a family again! I love maternity leave!) are SO easy. Easy in that it's so much EASIER to get things done with two adults around. Easier to put them down for naps, to feed them, to entertain them.
Days like today, when Mike works late and doesn't get home til nearly 10, are tough. Very tough. I don't know how single parents do it. I truly don't. I wanted to write this today so I can have a record of what days like this are like. One day, I'll look back at this and laugh.
As I sit here and type, I have a half asleep baby in my lap. For some reason, these past few days she has been VERY cranky and it's been harder than usual to get her to go to sleep. I think it's because for these last two days, I haven't been able to put her down for naps as frequently because her brothers have been screaming. I have something sticky on my arm... it could be from a variety of things, but I'm guessing it's from the peaches I gave the boys at lunchtime. There are cheerios stuck to the floor underneath the table that I'm too tired to pry off. Is it wrong that I'm thinking... it's ok...Liam will get them off tomorrow.... ?? Today is Tuesday and I haven't showered since Sunday morning. Showering these days is tough, because unless I bring the baby in the bathroom with me and close the door (and deal with Liam pounding and screaming because I closed the door), there's really no safe option for Brielle. I can leave her alone with Eli for a few minutes, but never with Liam. Liam, in a very loving way, likes to cover Brielle with her blanket (including her head), share his food with her (I caught him putting a banana in her mouth and applesauce, too), try to pick her up and share his toys with her. One day, I was able to shower when both boys were preoccupied with breakfast, but then I spent the whole time worried they were out there choking on their cheerios. Today, I had the chance because Brielle and Liam were asleep and Eli was busy watching something on TV, but by the time I finally got Liam to nap, I just needed a few minutes to crash on the couch. I could shower now that Mike is home, but I just don't have the energy for it. I'm also still in the same clothes I've been in since Sunday, which is nice because that means that today nobody peed or threw up on me. It also means less laundry on my end, which is good because the kids go through SO MANY CLOTHES a day.
Meals for me these days are tough, unless Brielle is sleeping. By the time I get food ready for the boys and start getting something together for myself, the boys are done and NEEEEEED me to watch something SUPER important (new ways to jump off the couch, etc). There aren't many safe places to put Brielle down if she's not happy in her crib, and it's hard to fix meals with one hand! Many a day is spent with me eating 4 or 5 granola bars, cereal bars, etc, because they are easy to grab. Today, I ate my weight in Cheez-Its.
Ok.. the many more things I wanted to cover will have to wait because I think this little chickie finally fell asleep (at midnight!) and I need to go to bed, too. Over and out.
Days where both Mike and I are here (it's so nice to have weekends as a family again! I love maternity leave!) are SO easy. Easy in that it's so much EASIER to get things done with two adults around. Easier to put them down for naps, to feed them, to entertain them.
Days like today, when Mike works late and doesn't get home til nearly 10, are tough. Very tough. I don't know how single parents do it. I truly don't. I wanted to write this today so I can have a record of what days like this are like. One day, I'll look back at this and laugh.
As I sit here and type, I have a half asleep baby in my lap. For some reason, these past few days she has been VERY cranky and it's been harder than usual to get her to go to sleep. I think it's because for these last two days, I haven't been able to put her down for naps as frequently because her brothers have been screaming. I have something sticky on my arm... it could be from a variety of things, but I'm guessing it's from the peaches I gave the boys at lunchtime. There are cheerios stuck to the floor underneath the table that I'm too tired to pry off. Is it wrong that I'm thinking... it's ok...Liam will get them off tomorrow.... ?? Today is Tuesday and I haven't showered since Sunday morning. Showering these days is tough, because unless I bring the baby in the bathroom with me and close the door (and deal with Liam pounding and screaming because I closed the door), there's really no safe option for Brielle. I can leave her alone with Eli for a few minutes, but never with Liam. Liam, in a very loving way, likes to cover Brielle with her blanket (including her head), share his food with her (I caught him putting a banana in her mouth and applesauce, too), try to pick her up and share his toys with her. One day, I was able to shower when both boys were preoccupied with breakfast, but then I spent the whole time worried they were out there choking on their cheerios. Today, I had the chance because Brielle and Liam were asleep and Eli was busy watching something on TV, but by the time I finally got Liam to nap, I just needed a few minutes to crash on the couch. I could shower now that Mike is home, but I just don't have the energy for it. I'm also still in the same clothes I've been in since Sunday, which is nice because that means that today nobody peed or threw up on me. It also means less laundry on my end, which is good because the kids go through SO MANY CLOTHES a day.
Meals for me these days are tough, unless Brielle is sleeping. By the time I get food ready for the boys and start getting something together for myself, the boys are done and NEEEEEED me to watch something SUPER important (new ways to jump off the couch, etc). There aren't many safe places to put Brielle down if she's not happy in her crib, and it's hard to fix meals with one hand! Many a day is spent with me eating 4 or 5 granola bars, cereal bars, etc, because they are easy to grab. Today, I ate my weight in Cheez-Its.
Ok.. the many more things I wanted to cover will have to wait because I think this little chickie finally fell asleep (at midnight!) and I need to go to bed, too. Over and out.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Liam at 20 months
Dear Liam,
At 20 months, you are a wild and crazy guy and a BIG, BIG handful!!! It's a good thing you're cute and lovable! You're a super physical guy, always having to do everything your big brother does, including jumping off furniture, doing flips, somersaults, riding your bike at top speed, running, etc.
This month, you've gotten much better at throwing and can even catch the ball a few times! You love playing catch with me and bring me the ball saying, "atch!" You LOVE riding your bike all over and love coming over to me demanding that I fill your little car with "atch" (gas). I took you outside on your bike a few days ago and you rode four blocks super fast. You surprised me because you were VERY good about stopping at each street corner to get off and hold my hand as we crossed the road. You've gotten very good at riding Kuya Eli's scooter and I think when we take you outside with it (we need to get you your own and a helmet), you'll be a force! You ride goofy, again suggesting that you might be a lefty. (When you eat and draw, you use your left hand. You throw with your right, though).
Your speech is still not quite there, but you're definitely saying more "words" than you were before. Interestingly, you usually leave off the first part of each word. The words you currently have are: "hi"... "hello"... "atch" (gas and watch)... "at" (cat and hat)... NO (which you say ALLLLLLLLLL DAAAAAY LOOOOONG)..."boo"... "poopoo" (you tell me most of the time you poop in your diaper)..."ike" (bike)... "ock" (sock)... "aff" (bath)... "up"..."out"...."off"... "ack" (EVERYTHING...but consistently for stuck). "ock" (dog)..."uh oh"... "whoa"... "awnt" (want)...."uck" (duck)..."ack" (quack)... and more I am forgetting. Even though you don't say much, you understand everything and can follow most commands we give you.
All of a sudden, you're able to sit still and read books now! Your attention span is still not great, but you can definitely sit and read short books. Your favorites are Moo Baa, La la la... Green Hat, Blue Hat.... A duck book about opposites.... a book about going to visit Grandma....Your old favorite the Five Little Pumpkins...and Five Little Monkeys.
When Brielle came, you all of a sudden gave up your 2-3 bottle a day habit. You just stopped drinking them and didn't ever ask for them! You even willingly give Brielle her bottle and haven't once tried to drink from it. It's like you knew that bottles were for babies and you're ok with that. You hardly drink any milk now, which is a big change from the 20 oz or so a day you were getting, but I'm making sure to give you a lot of yogurt and cheese. You also surprisingly love cottage cheese.
You surprised ALL of us by being a REALLY great big brother to Brielle. Since you're a mama's boy, I really thought you'd be jealous of your sister and have a hard time when I was holding her. Not so at ALL. You've been really, really great with her. You always want to hold her. When I put her in your lap, you look at her, pat her head, and then tell me "up!" So you like holding her in five second increments. Lol. Then when I pick her up, you immediately want me to put her back. You always bring her her pacifier when you notice it's not in her mouth and love to force it in there. When she is laying down on a blanket, you like to lay next to her. You've tried giving her a banana and some applesauce already, so she always has to be kept out of your reach :) When she's sitting in her froggie chair, you like to pull the music for her and like to sit right in front of her, looking at her. So far, so good!
Getting your diaper changed (still size 4) is the WORST THING IN THE WORLD. You fight it with every ounce of fight you have in your little body.
You love dogs and whenever you hear the neighbor's dog barking, you stop whatever you are doing and point or run over to the door. You LOVE the cats and always chase them around. Riley let you pet her yesterday and you were very happy. You still love pointing to her ears and claws.
Your favorite food right now are these portable apple sauce squeeze things and you ask for them about 5 times a day.
to be continued....you want me to read you a dinosaur book right now. (You just ripped out the T-Rex. You're especially good at ripping things out of books).
Brielle is 3 weeks old!
Dear Brielle,
I can hardly believe you're already three weeks old! You're still a teeny tiny baby (which is obvious when I hold you up over my shoulder) and are still in newborn clothes (barely!) and newborn diapers, but you're changing so much every day. I noticed yesterday that your thighs are getting bigger... you've got little thigh rolls now! Over the past two days, you're really starting to look around and notice more. Yesterday, you really looked at your brothers for the first time. (They ADORE you, by the way. They are constantly asking to hold you. Eli is always giving you kisses and Liam likes to pat your head and show me where your mouth and eyes are. Both of them frantically search for your pacifier and put it in when you start crying).
You've been totally fascinated by the light from the windows in the living room and completely enthralled with the netting in your pack n play for about a week or so now. Last night, you noticed and were FASCINATED by the cabinets. When Grandma was here, she noticed you liked hearing the chiming of a little frog toy we have. Yesterday, you were able to track the frog back and forth!
Your routine these days is pretty much as follows: You sleep for 2 to 3 hours and then wake up crying. I change your diaper (and sometimes your clothes) and then give you a bottle. You're drinking 3.5 ounces these days. You either fall asleep while drinking your bottle or stay awake anywhere from 10 min to an hour. On rare occasions, you're awake for 2 to 3 hours, but that's usually only once a day. You're a really, really good baby so far and hardly ever cry. You really only cry if you are hungry, if your tummy is bothering you, or if you have a poopy diaper. You're pretty easy at this point to put to sleep. If you're really fussy and I put you in the baby sling/carrier and walk around with you, you're out almost immediately. Every time I've gone out in public with you wearing you, you've been asleep the WHOLE time.
You much prefer sleeping on your belly and I let you do that for naps when I'm able to keep close tabs on you. You have AMAZING head control....even better than your brothers did....and are well advanced for head lifting at this point. If you lay on my chest, you're able to lift your head up very high and look around. Laying in the crib, you're constantly picking your head up and changing the direction you look.
You're a very happy baby and it looks to me like you're smiling all the time. I love watching your little face as you drift off to sleep.... full of smiles and cute little expressions.
We don't swaddle you during the day because I don't think you really like it. You're able to fall asleep just fine without being swaddled, which is very unlike your brothers. We still swaddle you up at night, though, because we want to really make SURE you aren't woken up by any crazy arm/leg movements.
At your two week checkup last week, everything looked great! You were wide awake the whole time, looking around, quiet and happy even though you had your clothes off and were probably cold. The only time you cried was when Dr. Grant looked at your hips and straightened out your legs.... you much prefer to keep them bent and HATE people messing with them. You were PAST your birth weight of 7lbs 10oz and up to 8 lbs already!!! WOOHOO! Still, you're only in the 40th percentile for weight, so Dr. Grant said you were just perfect. Your belly button wasn't quite healing right, so Dr. Grant had to cauterize it with some silver nitrate. It didn't hurt you at all and seemed to do the trick!
I'm really cherishing every minute of you, little girl! :)
Love,
Mommy
I can hardly believe you're already three weeks old! You're still a teeny tiny baby (which is obvious when I hold you up over my shoulder) and are still in newborn clothes (barely!) and newborn diapers, but you're changing so much every day. I noticed yesterday that your thighs are getting bigger... you've got little thigh rolls now! Over the past two days, you're really starting to look around and notice more. Yesterday, you really looked at your brothers for the first time. (They ADORE you, by the way. They are constantly asking to hold you. Eli is always giving you kisses and Liam likes to pat your head and show me where your mouth and eyes are. Both of them frantically search for your pacifier and put it in when you start crying).
You've been totally fascinated by the light from the windows in the living room and completely enthralled with the netting in your pack n play for about a week or so now. Last night, you noticed and were FASCINATED by the cabinets. When Grandma was here, she noticed you liked hearing the chiming of a little frog toy we have. Yesterday, you were able to track the frog back and forth!
Your routine these days is pretty much as follows: You sleep for 2 to 3 hours and then wake up crying. I change your diaper (and sometimes your clothes) and then give you a bottle. You're drinking 3.5 ounces these days. You either fall asleep while drinking your bottle or stay awake anywhere from 10 min to an hour. On rare occasions, you're awake for 2 to 3 hours, but that's usually only once a day. You're a really, really good baby so far and hardly ever cry. You really only cry if you are hungry, if your tummy is bothering you, or if you have a poopy diaper. You're pretty easy at this point to put to sleep. If you're really fussy and I put you in the baby sling/carrier and walk around with you, you're out almost immediately. Every time I've gone out in public with you wearing you, you've been asleep the WHOLE time.
You much prefer sleeping on your belly and I let you do that for naps when I'm able to keep close tabs on you. You have AMAZING head control....even better than your brothers did....and are well advanced for head lifting at this point. If you lay on my chest, you're able to lift your head up very high and look around. Laying in the crib, you're constantly picking your head up and changing the direction you look.
You're a very happy baby and it looks to me like you're smiling all the time. I love watching your little face as you drift off to sleep.... full of smiles and cute little expressions.
We don't swaddle you during the day because I don't think you really like it. You're able to fall asleep just fine without being swaddled, which is very unlike your brothers. We still swaddle you up at night, though, because we want to really make SURE you aren't woken up by any crazy arm/leg movements.
At your two week checkup last week, everything looked great! You were wide awake the whole time, looking around, quiet and happy even though you had your clothes off and were probably cold. The only time you cried was when Dr. Grant looked at your hips and straightened out your legs.... you much prefer to keep them bent and HATE people messing with them. You were PAST your birth weight of 7lbs 10oz and up to 8 lbs already!!! WOOHOO! Still, you're only in the 40th percentile for weight, so Dr. Grant said you were just perfect. Your belly button wasn't quite healing right, so Dr. Grant had to cauterize it with some silver nitrate. It didn't hurt you at all and seemed to do the trick!
I'm really cherishing every minute of you, little girl! :)
Love,
Mommy
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