Two at Three

Well, I am now 12 weeks into this whole parenting two business. Emma was a very easy newborn as newborns go, but she has been giving me a real run for my money the past two weeks. She has actually been better during the day for the past few days BUT (and this is a huge BUT), she has now stopped sleeping through the night and is up as many times (if not more) as she was during the early weeks. I find that I can take a lot, but living on insufficient sleep plays with my mind more than anything else.

I have found that I am often impatient with Will when he is just being a normal two year old. But it seems he has a knack for being noisy just when I have gotten her to sleep. Or he seems to be dragging his feet about doing something when Emma is starting to fuss and needs my attention. I am not a yeller, but I have found myself snapping at him or speaking far more sternly than I ever would have before. I have also learned the fine art of apologizing to my toddler when I realize that I have made a mistake and asked too much or given too little.

I read someplace recently that you can start teaching a toddler to wait for something (while you do something else) but that you can't expect them to wait patiently more minutes than they are in years. And I am often asking Will to wait for something and then trying to sneak an extra task in, and that's when we run into a lot of trouble. That's clearly my fault.

Okay, so what is working? In addition to Triage Parenting, I also have to coin a new phrase: Relay Parenting or Pass the Kid. It seems as if from the time M gets home until the kids are in bed, we are constantly handing them off. We have settled into somewhat of a bedtime routine for both kids, which exhausts me to even think about let alone write down, but here goes (times approximate).

7:00 PM: Take Emma up for her tubby while M plays with Will or watches t.v. with him.

7:30 PM: Pass Emma to M and take Will up for his tubby while M gives Emma her nightly bottle.

8:00 PM: Pass Will to M so that he can do teeth brushing, lights out, and rock rock.

8:30 PM: M and I share the job of holding a now sleeping Emma until after 9. No matter what we have tried, she just will not go down before 9, but once 9 hits, she's okay being put down. So every three or four nights we try at around the 8:30 mark, but usually it's just easier to hold her.

The dinner dishes and cleaning up waits until after she is in bed. Fortunately, that's getting closer and closer to 9 and I remember Will's bedtime didn't slide forward for a few months.

Napping is still very hit or miss. Most mornings, she will take a nap in her crib, with little to no crying. But whether that nap is twenty or forty five minutes long is up to the day. The rest of the day, good luck! I either get her to nap in the Ergo, carseat, swing, or on me (which is where she is resting right now).

I have to admit, I feel as if I am running a very long marathon. There are moments when I really wonder how I keep up with them both all day, but it really is true that I am too busy to take note of how tired I am until bedtime comes. I usually fall asleep within minutes of climbing into bed. How long I get to stay there depends on how accomodating Miss Emma is being. Last night, I was in bed at 10:00 and up at 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, and 6:00 AM for Emma in addition to being up at 12:30 and 4:00 for Will. You can do the math on how much sleep I got because I don't even want to know.

If this post sounds negative, it really isn't meant to be. I am just giving you the Real Deal on Life With Two. There are moments every single day when I am reminded of how blessed we are. Emma is quite the little flirt now and her smile lights up her whole fact. She is starting to coo and I think we even got a laugh the other day. She is a real spitfire, our little girl, and I am falling more and more in love with her personality every day.

Will might try my patience occasionally, but he is really such a great kid. Really. He is the sweetest brother and gives Emma hugs and kisses all of the time. He calls her by her whole name, though it comes out Emma Drace. When he sees her every morning, he says, "Good morning, Emma Drace." When she cries in the car he says, "Why are you crying, Emma Drace?" And he still calls her My Emma a lot, too, and asks to hold her and feed her a bottle.

Today, I sat on the couch and was rubbing my foot and he asked me what was wrong. I told him that Mommy's foot hurt, and before I knew it, he bent over and placed a gentle kiss on top of my foot. He looked at me with the sweetest face and says, "All better, Mommy?"

Heart. Melts.

One thing that has really helped is that we still have the house cleaners that we started for my birthday. It was just supposed to be through August, but I am telling you, it is worth every single penny. It is a splure, but it is helping me to stay sane. The last thing I need to be doing right now is trying to scrub our bathroom grout.

Yeastie Beastie

No, I am not going to disclose TMI in this post. Well, unless you consider the fact that my daughter's mouth had more yeast in it than a bakery to be TMI?

I am writing this post because I truly believe that yeast infections in a baby are far more serious than your average pediatrician will lead you to believe. Now, I love our pediatrician to bits and pieces (even if she is way too cute!), but when she said that Emma's oral yeast infection shouldn't cause her to be fussy, I have to respectfully disagree.

Her fussy period was two weeks long and it was horrendous. It was an all-day-long-affair that would cause me to want to tear my hair out. I couldn't figure out what had changed my "easy" (sorry, but she was!) baby into a baby that reminded me of her brother at that age (not "easy" at all). In fact, she was worse than her brother, with the exception that she did sleep through the night. Then she stopped doing that! And when she stopped STTN, I freaked. I freaked BIG.

I started playing with The Evil Dr. Google. And I found that thrush does hurt babies! And it does make them fussy! Apparently, it also makes it very painful to breastfeed, so nursing babies will avoid nursing, or will nurse halfheartedly (she was so doing this!), and then become fussy.

So, I started pumping after she would feed and offering her a bottle of the pumped milk (it isn't as painful for a baby to take a bottle because they don't have to suck as hard). And what do you know? She stopped being as fussy. I also started treating myself for the yeast infection, even though I wasn't having a lot of symptoms, I read that a nursing mom and baby can continually pass the infection back and forth, even if one is not showing symptoms.

I talked to my OB, looking for their advice on treating yeast on nipples. My OB's nurse was a family practice nurse for many years and recommended a soft wash cloth to wash out the baby's mouth before applying the medication. I tried this and it seemed to help the white patches in Emma's mouth (but if you have this issue, please remember to wipe very gently, as the patches are sore and to use a different cloth or gauze for each side so as not to spread the yeast) and then apply the nystatin. In two days after starting this, the patches cleared up, whereas before, we had been using the medication for ten days and the patches were still very present.

Now, I have my "easy" baby back. She allow me to set her down to get things done during the day, she doesn't seem to fuss nearly as much, and she is back to STTN. I know this is just my baby and an anecdotal event, but I think that if you are dealing with unexplained fussiness, you might want to look into a yeastie beastie!

Worries and Likes

Stay at home moms. . . what do you worry most about? What do you enjoy the most about being a SAHM?

Work outside the home moms. . . what do you worry most about? What do you enjoy the most about being a WOTHM?

We're Baaaack

The time with my parents went well. It was nice to have a bit of help with the kiddos and to see Will have such a fun time with his Grandma and Papa. Emma continued to regale us with her fussiness and seems to only really be happy when held. . . by me, specifically.

The first night was rough and little sleep was had by all. But the second and third nights were great! Emma and Will slept through both nights in their respective beds and I got about ten hours of sleep each night.

My mom also delighted in making all of my favorite dishes, we went to Costco (yes, Costco) for gelatto, and even to a rummage sale or two. Will scored a new play kitchen and a bubble machine, as well as some random books. He was very pleased.

It was nice to have a few days away. Here, when both kids are sleeping or I have a few moments where they are both content and occupied, I feel the need to do laundry or prepare dinner. At my parents', there isn't much for me to do but rock my baby and laugh over my 2-year-old's antics. It's a nice change of pace.

But we won't speak of the drive. The three hour drive was awful (Emma on the way down and Will on the way up). It will be awhile before I recover from that!

Here We Go

There comes a time when you just can't stay home. . . or within 20 miles of your house. In the last month, I have missed my mom, dad, and sister's birthdays. I have been so lazy that I haven't even mailed their gifts (I did call them on their special days). I also desperately want my kids to have a good relationship with my parents.

So, my plans today are to put the kiddos in the car and make the three hour drive south to my parents house. As M is working, I am making this trip alone.

I am currently trying to pack the car, but it's a little difficult, because Emma will not let me put her down (she will, however, allow me to hold her and blog at the same time). Oh, and she has stopped sleeping through the night. I know sleep goes in waves (at least with my babies), but between her constant need to be held and refusal to nap during the day, and her letting me get very little sleep at night, I am going a bit batty. This is what I thought the newborn days would be like and I was prepared for that. This phase coming a bit late in the game has caught me unaware. But it's just a phase. It was pass.

So, wish me luck! I will be back on Thursday or (if it's going really well) Friday.

Fussbudget

She's 11 weeks old. And for the past two weeks, she's been fussing like it's her job. Well, it is her job, but still. Her nonstop fussing is starting to make me a bit batty. I literally cannot set her down for a moment.

Late-onset colic? Early teething? Reflux? Milk protein sensitivity? General fussiness? Growth spurt?

All of these things have crossed my mind. She fusses non-stop throughout the day and must be held almost all of the time (upright, against my shoulder, standing, not sitting) and will only nap when held this specific way or nursing. She refuses to go down until 9:30 most nights, but then redeems her daytime behavior with a solid, good sleep that goes until 7 or 8. So. . .

I guess I probably shouldn't complain, but it's hard to be the only source of comfort during the day with a busy toddler also needing my attention. When she cries, she stiffens and seems in pain. She seems better after a good burp or messy diaper. I sometimes wonder if she might have reflux. She does spit up a lot. But then she sleeps like a champ at night, after feed.

So. . . . again. Your thoughts?

The Two Month Appointment

Emma is 10 weeks, but we just had her two month appointment yesterday. That's always strange to me, that the months and weeks are off. Oh, and her pediatrician didn't have any appointments last week, so we were also another week off due to that.

Anyway, the appointment. Emma is growing like a weed. She is smack in the middle of percentiles for weight and height and her growth curve looks perfect. Her noggin is a little above average, which our pediatrician likes to say means her little brain is growing well. I just think my kiddos have big heads, but it's nice of her to put it so politely!

Everything looks great. Dr. S commented on her head control (I guess it's really good) and her really "open" ear canals (random). She did have a yeast infection in her diaper area (common) and some oral thrush (also super common), so we had to start meds for that. Fortunately, I haven't had any issues with my nipples feeling infected, but I still get to paint on the oral meds on the girls just as a precaution and we have to boil bottle nipples and binkies. Fortunately, she doesn't use a lot of either, so it's not a lot of work.

Emma got three of the four required vaccinations, they were out of the fourth, so we'll have to go back for that. She screamed like a banshee and only Da Boob would calm her. She was pretty sleepy right after that, but by the afternoon, oh MY. She was not pleased with life and cried nonstop for a few hours. She did have a fever from the vaccinations and I don't think she felt well. Finally, I just took her to bed with me and let her nurse until she was quiet and content. We got her down by 8:30 last night, which is the earliest she has been to bed. But I can't complain about our little girl's sleep. She routinely is sleeping through the night now, from 9:30 PM - 8:00 AM. Before you hate me too much, I will add that she does not take any naps without being held. Even her swing won't do. It's the Ergo or my arms or possibly the car if she's in a giving mood, but she is a picky napper. I have gotten her to take a few naps here and there in the crib, but it's the exception, not the rule. Even when she does sleep, she is a total cat napper. Dr. S explained that it's probably because she is getting so much restorative sleep at night and doesn't need the naps as much.

She congratulated us on a good sleeper, but reminded me that it can all change at about fourth months. Ah, the dreaded sleep regression. I already was well-aware of this, thanks to Will's antics at that age, but she also said that some babies just lock into a good sleep pattern and stick with it. We'll see. She has already exceeded all of my sleep expectations, and I know I can handle the regression if it comes.

I was feeling a bit guilty that we were still at a 2 - 3 hour feeding schedule, rather than a 3 - 4 hour one, but Dr. S reminded me that because she is not getting any feedings a night, we are having to put all of her daily requirements during the day. She said that I have to keep in mind that most young infants are still getting at least one feed per night at this age, so it's okay that she is still eating so often during the day. That was nice to hear and made me feel better.

Young infant. That means that I don't really have a newborn anymore. I guess they are technically newborns until 12 weeks, but we are at the 11 week mark tomorrow. She is too big for most newborn outfits now and I have noticed even a few of the 0 - 3 outfits getting a big snug. This causes such a myriad of feelings in me, it's hard to put it into words. I was dreading this newborn phase (in terms of logistics with a toddler and lack of sleep) and it has literally flown by. I do think I have enjoyed Emma's newborn phase far more than Will's. I have been so much more relaxed and less anxious. I definitely have to credit her sleeping so well so that I can sleep. Honestly, I know I am pretty fortunate. How many people with a 2 month old and a 2 year old can say that they are sleeping through the night? Not too many.

She's healthy, we're sleeping. Life is pretty good.