- William saying "Hold you" when he wants me to hold him.
- The new phrases, "What's in 'der?" and "Where'd it go?"
- William singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" from start to finish, and "Hello, everybody, so glad to see you!"
- The way he counts to ten.
- His daily report sheet from daycare today that read, "William had an 'AWESOME' day! He was full of energy and words--words we've never heard before. William was the center of attention today."
- William saying, "Oooh, gwoss" after pooping in the bathtub.
- Watching William set up a book against the fireplace hearth to use as a ramp for his cars and trucks, the way Daddy did when they were playing the night before.
- How he says, "God bwess you" when Ed sneezes.
- How he says, "Good boy Cwark" or "Get down, Cwark" to our cat, Clark, and tries to hold Clark or lie on top of him.
- Hearing him say, "Goodbye Daddy" when Ed leaves the house.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Things I Don't Want to Forget
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Weekend Report
Just a quick re-cap of our weekend:
- We experienced our first poop in the bathtub on Friday night! Boy--that was fun. I should have seen it coming, though. William has been pretty constipated this past week, and I guess his poops have been a bit tougher to pass than normal. The night before, I had tried pressing down gently on his abdomen for a few minutes, and I put some Vaseline on his bum, and that seemed to have helped because he finally pooped not long after. So I did the same thing Friday night (after he had been complaining a bit about pooping), although I made the mistake of doing it right before we got in the bath. So not long after starting the bath, William's face contorts and he tries to stand up and says, "Poopy, hurt" and then it was all over. William out first, then Mommy got to fish for poop, clean out the tub, clean tub toys, and then start all over. Quite the adventure!
- On Saturday, we took a trip to Ikea to look for a dresser for the baby's room. We didn't find anything we liked (among dressers), but William didn't want to leave Ikea. He threw what for him is a pretty good fit when we finally dragged him out of there. (It was mild by true two-year-old standards, though.)
- Today we attended our third swim class, and he did much better today. The teacher had us put life jackets on the kids, which William really didn't like. But he got over it pretty quickly. He kicked his feet and I actually got him to smile and laugh when he jumped off the side of pool holding onto my hands. He was still super cold by the end, and did not want to blow bubbles. But it's definite progress.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
The Circus!
The Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Circus is in town, and William's daycare took a field trip there today. I had no idea how William would respond to the circus, and how he would do during the two-hour performance. But he loved it! And he was so good. He payed attention the whole time, never got antsy, sat on my lap or stood in front of our seat without any problems, and just generally enjoyed himself. At the very beginning of the show, there was a clown that freaked him out a little, but he got over it quickly. His favorite part of the circus was definitely the elephants--which didn't come out to perform until the very end. I think he would have been more enthralled by the tigers, but we didn't have the best view of them. He also enjoyed the horses and dogs that performed. He wasn't into the acrobats so much, mostly because they were up in the air, and he was too busy watching everything around him and on the floor. He clapped and pointed and had fun with his daycare buddies.
I think the thing he enjoyed the most about the day, however, was riding the Metro train to and from the circus. He actually got upset when we got off the train and watched it speed away. Why does that not surprise me? All in all, we had a great day, and I'm very glad we went. This was a great age because he was too young to understand the concept of buying all the junk that they sell throughout the show. I can't believe how expensive all that stuff is! One of the twirly-things with lights was $20! I'm sure next year, I won't get off so easy.
I think the thing he enjoyed the most about the day, however, was riding the Metro train to and from the circus. He actually got upset when we got off the train and watched it speed away. Why does that not surprise me? All in all, we had a great day, and I'm very glad we went. This was a great age because he was too young to understand the concept of buying all the junk that they sell throughout the show. I can't believe how expensive all that stuff is! One of the twirly-things with lights was $20! I'm sure next year, I won't get off so easy.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Down on the Farm
We had a good but busy weekend (as usual), and mom was visiting, so no time to post. On Easter Sunday, we went to Ed's aunt and uncle's "farm." They have a gorgeous home on about 40 acres, with horses and a horse barn that's nicer than our house. William loved it. Ed's uncle has a tractor/front loader that he keeps in the garage and William was in heaven sitting on it, pretending to drive. Ed's uncle offered to turn it on and take William for a ride, but William absolutely did not want it turned on. He made that very clear! William also loves their house because there are lots of levels where you have to step down once, and there's a front staircase and a back staircase. Needless to say, I get a lot of exercise when I go there!
For once, I got some pictures, so without further ado:
I also wanted to report that William is now going to sleep in his bed with no protests at all, and I can even close the door! How's that for progress. He still wakes up during the night, and it's still inconsistent as ever, but for now, I'm pretty happy with how things are going. Half the time when he wakes up, I can just cover him with his blanket and make sure he has his pacifier, and he'll go back to sleep. Sometimes he wants some chocolate milk. Sometimes, he wants me to lie down with him. Also, Ed put him to sleep on Friday night and that went smoothly, too. Life is good!
For once, I got some pictures, so without further ado:
I also wanted to report that William is now going to sleep in his bed with no protests at all, and I can even close the door! How's that for progress. He still wakes up during the night, and it's still inconsistent as ever, but for now, I'm pretty happy with how things are going. Half the time when he wakes up, I can just cover him with his blanket and make sure he has his pacifier, and he'll go back to sleep. Sometimes he wants some chocolate milk. Sometimes, he wants me to lie down with him. Also, Ed put him to sleep on Friday night and that went smoothly, too. Life is good!
Friday, March 21, 2008
Seven More Things About Me
My friend Laura at Laura's Mommy Journal tagged me for this 7-things-about-me meme, so here goes. (If you want to know the first 7 things I revealed about myself, go HERE!)
1. I am the youngest of five kids and always thought I'd have a lot of kids, too. That was before it took me until I was 30 to find Ed! Age and the economy have a funny way of giving you a reality check when it comes to the number of kids you'll actually have!
2. I have never had a pet dog. My mom had five kids, and that was enough responsibility for her. Dogs are a lot of work! We had lots of cats, though. I'm definitely a cat person, although I don't object to having a pet dog. But if we never have one, I'd be okay with that, too.
3. I'm a recipe junkie. I LOVE going through magazines and clipping out recipes and organizing them into categories. But I bet I've only actually tried about 10% of the recipes I've clipped. I come by this honestly, I think, though. My mom can read cookbooks like they're novels.
4. I worked at Barnes & Noble for about 3 years (2000-2002) and LOVED it. I had accumulated some credit card debt, and wanted to be debt-free by the time I turned 30. I worked about 18 hours a week and got that credit card paid off. And as a bonus, that's where I met Ed! He was working there, too, in the music department. The first night I met him, he told me he had grown up in North Carolina and he was a jazz musician, and I was hooked! I got reprimanded once for spending too much time in music flirting with him! Ed HATED working at B & N, but he's glad he did, since he met me.
5. I broke my leg in 2002, at my friend's bachelorette party. Before you start imagining all the crazy ways that I might have broken my leg at a bachelorette party, it was way more lame than that. We went rollerskating, at a skating rink (actually, we were rollerblading), and I fell and somehow managed to sit on my foot when I landed. I didn't know it was broken until 2 days later, however, when Ed and I returned to DC from the wedding, and we went to the emergency room. I managed to get through the rest of the wedding weekend with an ace bandage, a borrowed foot splint, and a pair of crutches my mom and Ed bought. About 2 years later, I broke my foot (same leg) when I fell down the stairs at my house. Up until I turned 30, I had never broken a bone or been to the emergency room in my entire life.
6. I hate to exercise. I don't enjoy it, and I always feel worse after I've done it. LOL! That's not totally true--there's definitely a great sense of accomplishment when you've motivated yourself to do something, and you've followed through. But physically, I usually end up with a headache. Or shin splints. Or I get all itchy. I realize that these symptoms would probably stop if I did it more regularly, and overall, I know I would feel better and have more energy if I made exercise part of my routine. But I can never seem to get over that hump that integrates exercise into my daily/weekly routine.
7. I recently spent an entire day at work and did not do one work-related thing the whole day. I'm not proud of this, but this is what I'm capable of. Instead, I read blogs, "chatted" with friends via e-mail, visited my moms' board on babycenter.com, window-shopped on-line, went out to lunch, and archived some blog entries. I felt really guilty that night, and the next day, I kicked it into gear at work. I'm actually quite lucky that I can get away with that at my job. I know very few people who could!
So that's it--seven more facts about me. MJ and LJ--play if you want! (But don't feel obligated. It was more challenging the second time around!)
1. I am the youngest of five kids and always thought I'd have a lot of kids, too. That was before it took me until I was 30 to find Ed! Age and the economy have a funny way of giving you a reality check when it comes to the number of kids you'll actually have!
2. I have never had a pet dog. My mom had five kids, and that was enough responsibility for her. Dogs are a lot of work! We had lots of cats, though. I'm definitely a cat person, although I don't object to having a pet dog. But if we never have one, I'd be okay with that, too.
3. I'm a recipe junkie. I LOVE going through magazines and clipping out recipes and organizing them into categories. But I bet I've only actually tried about 10% of the recipes I've clipped. I come by this honestly, I think, though. My mom can read cookbooks like they're novels.
4. I worked at Barnes & Noble for about 3 years (2000-2002) and LOVED it. I had accumulated some credit card debt, and wanted to be debt-free by the time I turned 30. I worked about 18 hours a week and got that credit card paid off. And as a bonus, that's where I met Ed! He was working there, too, in the music department. The first night I met him, he told me he had grown up in North Carolina and he was a jazz musician, and I was hooked! I got reprimanded once for spending too much time in music flirting with him! Ed HATED working at B & N, but he's glad he did, since he met me.
5. I broke my leg in 2002, at my friend's bachelorette party. Before you start imagining all the crazy ways that I might have broken my leg at a bachelorette party, it was way more lame than that. We went rollerskating, at a skating rink (actually, we were rollerblading), and I fell and somehow managed to sit on my foot when I landed. I didn't know it was broken until 2 days later, however, when Ed and I returned to DC from the wedding, and we went to the emergency room. I managed to get through the rest of the wedding weekend with an ace bandage, a borrowed foot splint, and a pair of crutches my mom and Ed bought. About 2 years later, I broke my foot (same leg) when I fell down the stairs at my house. Up until I turned 30, I had never broken a bone or been to the emergency room in my entire life.
6. I hate to exercise. I don't enjoy it, and I always feel worse after I've done it. LOL! That's not totally true--there's definitely a great sense of accomplishment when you've motivated yourself to do something, and you've followed through. But physically, I usually end up with a headache. Or shin splints. Or I get all itchy. I realize that these symptoms would probably stop if I did it more regularly, and overall, I know I would feel better and have more energy if I made exercise part of my routine. But I can never seem to get over that hump that integrates exercise into my daily/weekly routine.
7. I recently spent an entire day at work and did not do one work-related thing the whole day. I'm not proud of this, but this is what I'm capable of. Instead, I read blogs, "chatted" with friends via e-mail, visited my moms' board on babycenter.com, window-shopped on-line, went out to lunch, and archived some blog entries. I felt really guilty that night, and the next day, I kicked it into gear at work. I'm actually quite lucky that I can get away with that at my job. I know very few people who could!
So that's it--seven more facts about me. MJ and LJ--play if you want! (But don't feel obligated. It was more challenging the second time around!)
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Working the System
My theory about leaving the bedroom door open and William sleeping all night was proving true, until the last two nights, when he has woken up twice both nights. The night before last, he kept coughing and coughing, and we ended up being awake for almost an hour and a half. Last night, I think he was just figuring out how much control he really has. Ed has been concerned about William being able to get up and wander around upstairs and cause trouble. But I don't think we have to worry about that. When William woke up, he sat up in bed, rubbed his little eyes, and said (in a really pitiful voice), "Mommy, come. Mommy come."
I think the time has arrived for a little tough love!
I think the time has arrived for a little tough love!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Six More Weeks--will I make it?
Last night I had a bit of a mental breakdown. My back/butt pain was so bad that I could hardly walk. I had been sitting up in bed, propped with pillows, reading a magazine, but that must have been a bad position because when I went to get up, I literally cried, it hurt so bad. Poor Ed had to endure my tears as I hobbled to the bathroom, mumbling, "I can't do this anymore. I don't want to be pregnant anymore. I feel like I'm 80 f*ing years old." I sat in the bathroom and cried. When I came out, Ed had gotten me Tylenol and a glass of ice water, the way I like it (with lots of ice, ice in the glass first, and then water over the ice). I was better after that. Just one of those "I think I'm losing my mind" moments. *Sigh*
I go to the doctor on Saturday, so I'll ask about the pain and what I can/should do about it. In the meantime, I'm just counting down the days!
I go to the doctor on Saturday, so I'll ask about the pain and what I can/should do about it. In the meantime, I'm just counting down the days!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Weekend Report
I'm too tired for a real post, so I figured I'd do highlights. This was the first weekend in a long time that I haven't gotten at least one good nap, and I'm paying for it now. Combine that with the fact that William woke up before 6:00 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, and, well, I'm spent.
But back to the highlights:
But back to the highlights:
- Saturday was beautiful outside, so after a family outing to Target and Walmart and Wendy's for lunch, William played in the sandbox with his new front loader truck, and we drew on the driveway with his new sidewalk chalk. Both toys were a big hit, and I felt bad when I finally dragged him inside to take a nap. He slept for 3 hours, though!
- While William napped, I went to the mall and bought Bare Escentuals bare minerals makeup. I got a full consultation and it was nice to be pampered for half-an-hour. I figured that at my age, I should probably start investing a little bit more money in my appearance. And I haven't bought "real" makeup in ages. (I guess I haven't really worn "real" makeup in ages!)
- We had our second swim class today, and although the pool was significantly warmer and more comfortable than last time, William liked it even less than last time. And by the end, he was pretty cold. I'm pretty disappointed that he wasn't more into it. As soon as we walked out of the locker room and into the pool area, he balked and wanted to leave. Not good. He didn't flat out cry, but he was clearly not enjoying himself. I plan to continue the classes though. Hopefully the more we go, the more he'll warm up to it. I wish he didn't get so cold though!
- After swimming today, I went shopping with Ed's mom for a dresser/changing table for the baby's room. I found a few possibilities, but decided to hold off and talk to Ed first. I almost bought a potty seat for William, but decided to hold off on that decision, too. I just couldn't decide on what I wanted. William likes to sit on the big potty, so at first I grabbed a padded seat that fits over the regular potty seat. And then I was also going to buy the baby bjorn potty seat. But then I wasn't sure if that would confuse William, to have both options. And then there's also a baby bjorn seat that goes over the regular toilet seat. Too many damn choices. So I got nothing.
- I think my theory about William sleeping better when his bedroom door is open is true. He has slept through the night for the last three nights with his door open. I closed it tonight after he fell asleep, though, so we'll see what happens.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
22 Months--So Close to 2!
When people ask me how old William is, I now say, "he's almost 2"! Wow--that's pretty crazy. We're *this* close to having a 2-year-old. And we're about to have a new baby, and we'll start counting in months and milestones all over again. It's such a cliche, but time really does fly by.
Tonight is the 4th night in a row that William has gone to sleep in his bed by himself. Hallelujah! The last two nights, I closed the door to his room after he fell asleep, and both nights, he seemed to have woken up a bit more often. So tonight I'm testing the theory about the door--that leaving it open means he's less likely to need me to comfort him if he wakes up. We'll see though. Ed wants his door shut, and I really do, too, so ultimately, I think we'll shut it and it will just take some time (and maybe some tough love) for him to get used to it. But first, I want to see if there's a correlation.
Anyway, I tried getting pictures and video of William tonight, but he makes it impossible because he wants to be the one taking the picture. I'll try again tomorrow. As for milestones, he's mastered counting to ten, although actually counting objects gets away from him a bit. He understands the concept, though, and "counts" things all the time. He's still relatively easy-going and it doesn't take much to divert him when I have to tell him "no" or "stop" or when we have to stop doing something that he's enjoying. If he's not listening to me, I remind him to put on his listening ears, and that seems to work. (Now if I could only get Ed to put on his listening ears more often!) On the potty training front (not that I'm trying to potty train in any way right now), he's definitely showing interest in the potty, he even likes to sit on it, and he'll tell me when he's pooping. These are all good signs. I was going to get a baby bjorn potty for him, but he likes sitting on the big potty, and Ed says he'll have a huge problem cleaning out a small potty, so I may just go with with padded seat that you fit over the regular seat. Maybe I'll try both. I'm not going to worry about until after we've all adjusted to the new baby. (Which could take months and months!) His favorite book right now is Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you Hear? We went on National Geographic's Web site to look up what some of the animals actually sound like. A lot of them actually sound very much alike, so we're sticking to our made-up sounds for now. And finally, William still loves the Wiggles, but he's grown tired of some of the videos he's seen over and over on Youtube, so I've been trying to show him different songs.
As for me, I've been having really bad posterior pelvic pain. (I had to look it up, and that's my diagnosis.) It basically hurts really bad on the right side of my butt when I walk. I've been moving really slowly. I'm also having lots of BH contractions, but nothing regular, so no worries. I'm just at that point where I'm ready to not be pregnant anymore. I'm just uncomfortable all the time, whether it's heartburn or back (or butt) pain or tightness or other gastrointestinal issues. We're down to seven weeks, though, so I can make it!
So that's it for our update. Stay tuned!
Tonight is the 4th night in a row that William has gone to sleep in his bed by himself. Hallelujah! The last two nights, I closed the door to his room after he fell asleep, and both nights, he seemed to have woken up a bit more often. So tonight I'm testing the theory about the door--that leaving it open means he's less likely to need me to comfort him if he wakes up. We'll see though. Ed wants his door shut, and I really do, too, so ultimately, I think we'll shut it and it will just take some time (and maybe some tough love) for him to get used to it. But first, I want to see if there's a correlation.
Anyway, I tried getting pictures and video of William tonight, but he makes it impossible because he wants to be the one taking the picture. I'll try again tomorrow. As for milestones, he's mastered counting to ten, although actually counting objects gets away from him a bit. He understands the concept, though, and "counts" things all the time. He's still relatively easy-going and it doesn't take much to divert him when I have to tell him "no" or "stop" or when we have to stop doing something that he's enjoying. If he's not listening to me, I remind him to put on his listening ears, and that seems to work. (Now if I could only get Ed to put on his listening ears more often!) On the potty training front (not that I'm trying to potty train in any way right now), he's definitely showing interest in the potty, he even likes to sit on it, and he'll tell me when he's pooping. These are all good signs. I was going to get a baby bjorn potty for him, but he likes sitting on the big potty, and Ed says he'll have a huge problem cleaning out a small potty, so I may just go with with padded seat that you fit over the regular seat. Maybe I'll try both. I'm not going to worry about until after we've all adjusted to the new baby. (Which could take months and months!) His favorite book right now is Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you Hear? We went on National Geographic's Web site to look up what some of the animals actually sound like. A lot of them actually sound very much alike, so we're sticking to our made-up sounds for now. And finally, William still loves the Wiggles, but he's grown tired of some of the videos he's seen over and over on Youtube, so I've been trying to show him different songs.
As for me, I've been having really bad posterior pelvic pain. (I had to look it up, and that's my diagnosis.) It basically hurts really bad on the right side of my butt when I walk. I've been moving really slowly. I'm also having lots of BH contractions, but nothing regular, so no worries. I'm just at that point where I'm ready to not be pregnant anymore. I'm just uncomfortable all the time, whether it's heartburn or back (or butt) pain or tightness or other gastrointestinal issues. We're down to seven weeks, though, so I can make it!
So that's it for our update. Stay tuned!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Finally--Progress!
Finally, in week three, I'm seeing progress on the sleep front. Both last night and tonight, William got in his bed and I kissed him goodnight and left the room and he went to sleep. No crying either night, and tonight, he got up once to find me, but we went right back into his room and he got back in bed, and I haven't heard from him since. Last night, he didn't wake up until 5:15 a.m., and then went back to sleep until 7:00. Thank you God! God does like irony, however, because I woke up around 3:30 a.m. and never really went back to sleep. My back has been hurting and I'm finding it harder and harder to get comfortable. Gotta love it. Maybe tonight, we'll all sleep well!
On a different subject, William is getting over his cold, but he ended up staying home from daycare yesterday. I took him to the doctor in the morning because I thought he might be starting to wheeze, and he had been running a very slight temperature on Sunday night (about 100.2). But he checked out fine at the doctor's. So I took him to daycare. When we got there, however, he acted extremely clingy and wouldn't let go of me to go play. Not a good sign to the daycare teachers! He also started to feel warm, so I took his temp and it was 100.2. Great. The teachers wouldn't let him stay (am I a horrible mom for thinking--"Come on--it's just lunch and a nap! He's fine!"). So we went back home and he took a 3-hour nap and he was in a great mood the rest of the night. Go figure. I'm sure the teachers were a little peeved that I tried to bring him in, but he was fine at the doctor's office--no temp, acting normal. I swear!
Anyway, that's about it. Keep your fingers crossed that the sleep gods continue to treat us well!
On a different subject, William is getting over his cold, but he ended up staying home from daycare yesterday. I took him to the doctor in the morning because I thought he might be starting to wheeze, and he had been running a very slight temperature on Sunday night (about 100.2). But he checked out fine at the doctor's. So I took him to daycare. When we got there, however, he acted extremely clingy and wouldn't let go of me to go play. Not a good sign to the daycare teachers! He also started to feel warm, so I took his temp and it was 100.2. Great. The teachers wouldn't let him stay (am I a horrible mom for thinking--"Come on--it's just lunch and a nap! He's fine!"). So we went back home and he took a 3-hour nap and he was in a great mood the rest of the night. Go figure. I'm sure the teachers were a little peeved that I tried to bring him in, but he was fine at the doctor's office--no temp, acting normal. I swear!
Anyway, that's about it. Keep your fingers crossed that the sleep gods continue to treat us well!
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Weekend Report
Man--it seems like I just wrote one of these. But I guess another week has already flown by. We had a good weekend, although William has another cold. I knew it was coming, since almost all of the kids in his class had snotty noses last week. I just hope it remains as a mild cold. I might not have helped the situation any by taking him to swim class this morning. It would have been great, except there was some issue with the pool and the water was pretty cold. We got out of the pool after 25 minutes. I figured blue lips and shivering probably weren't a good thing. I think the class will be great--as long as the water is comfortable, though.
After the swim class, we went to Ed's parents house, and Ed's mom had pulled out a hot wheels garage that Ed used to play with. William loved it! He played with it for a really long time. It was in pretty sad shape, but William didn't mind one bit. After trying for an hour to get William to take a nap, we gave up and he had his first napless day--also probably not a good idea when a toddler has a cold. Around 4:30 he hit "the wall" and stopped being cute and friendly. He fell asleep in my arms around 5:30 and slept on the floor for about 30 minutes are so. Even when he woke up, he wasn't about to leave the comfort of my arms. We got home at 8:00 (he fell asleep in the car at 7:30) and he went right to sleep in his bed.
Speaking of his bed, I finally put his new bedding on his bed on Saturday, and I love it! I'll be ordering the window valences and a few other accessories soon, and I'm hoping we (meaning Ed) can get his room painted before the new baby arrives. Here's a picture of his bed all made up:
And here's a picture of William asleep in his bed. This was nap time yesterday. I was pretty shocked because after we read a few stories and I had been laying down with him for a few minutes, I told him I had to go clean my bathroom and I left his room and he stayed in his bed and went to sleep. This is totally different from the usual night experience, where he freaks out when I first try to leave the room, so I close the door and let him cry for a minute or two and then go back in and then he lays down and stays in his bed and then I can leave. Go figure. Anyway, here's the picture:
Saturday was a home day (I did manage to clean our bathroom!), and William spent lots of time playing with his toys. He discovered a Mr. Potato Head that he had gotten for Christmas, and that held his interest for a long time. He also played quite a bit with playdough. It's fun to see him playing with new toys, and interested in new things.
So that's it for the weekend report. Not much on tap for this week. Just hoping the whole sleeping-in-the-bed thing will get even better. It's been two weeks, and he still wakes up twice a night on average. I was hoping to be able to get him going to bed without any issues before I tackled the night waking issues. We'll see how it goes. I'm feeling a lot better about it now than I was earlier in the week. Stay tuned!
After the swim class, we went to Ed's parents house, and Ed's mom had pulled out a hot wheels garage that Ed used to play with. William loved it! He played with it for a really long time. It was in pretty sad shape, but William didn't mind one bit. After trying for an hour to get William to take a nap, we gave up and he had his first napless day--also probably not a good idea when a toddler has a cold. Around 4:30 he hit "the wall" and stopped being cute and friendly. He fell asleep in my arms around 5:30 and slept on the floor for about 30 minutes are so. Even when he woke up, he wasn't about to leave the comfort of my arms. We got home at 8:00 (he fell asleep in the car at 7:30) and he went right to sleep in his bed.
Speaking of his bed, I finally put his new bedding on his bed on Saturday, and I love it! I'll be ordering the window valences and a few other accessories soon, and I'm hoping we (meaning Ed) can get his room painted before the new baby arrives. Here's a picture of his bed all made up:
And here's a picture of William asleep in his bed. This was nap time yesterday. I was pretty shocked because after we read a few stories and I had been laying down with him for a few minutes, I told him I had to go clean my bathroom and I left his room and he stayed in his bed and went to sleep. This is totally different from the usual night experience, where he freaks out when I first try to leave the room, so I close the door and let him cry for a minute or two and then go back in and then he lays down and stays in his bed and then I can leave. Go figure. Anyway, here's the picture:
Saturday was a home day (I did manage to clean our bathroom!), and William spent lots of time playing with his toys. He discovered a Mr. Potato Head that he had gotten for Christmas, and that held his interest for a long time. He also played quite a bit with playdough. It's fun to see him playing with new toys, and interested in new things.
So that's it for the weekend report. Not much on tap for this week. Just hoping the whole sleeping-in-the-bed thing will get even better. It's been two weeks, and he still wakes up twice a night on average. I was hoping to be able to get him going to bed without any issues before I tackled the night waking issues. We'll see how it goes. I'm feeling a lot better about it now than I was earlier in the week. Stay tuned!
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Belly Shots--32 Weeks
Here's my latest belly shot, taken last night.
And for comparison, here I am at 28 weeks:
I'm getting more and more uncomfortable these days. It's hard to bend over and to get up and down. It's even hard to pick up William. I walk a lot slower and my back hurts a lot. But as I'm approaching the impending arrival of our new bundle of joy, there are lots of things I'm looking forward to:
1. NOT being pregnant anymore. Enough said.
2. Finding out if we're having a boy or a girl.
3. NOT being pregnant anymore. (Oh yeah--I already said that.)
4. Seeing William's reaction to the new baby.
5. Finding out what this baby will be like--what kind of personality he or she has.
6. The chance that many things will go better this time around, such as breastfeeding, and the whole baby sleeping thing.
7. The littleness of a baby.
8. Feeling more confident because we've done this before.
Here are some things I'm not looking forward to:
1. Being sleep deprived.
2. Labor.
3. Seeing William's reaction to the new baby if it's not a good reaction.
4. The chance that things will be the same this time around--a hard time with breastfeeding and a baby that doesn't like to sleep.
5. Being sleep deprived. (Oh yeah--I already said that.)
6. Feeling even more inept because despite the fact that we've done this before, it could be harder than the first time around.
I'm sure the truth lies in some combination of the above. And mostly I'm excited and eager and ready for whatever challenges lie ahead. Now if I can just get through the next 8 weeks . . .
And for comparison, here I am at 28 weeks:
I'm getting more and more uncomfortable these days. It's hard to bend over and to get up and down. It's even hard to pick up William. I walk a lot slower and my back hurts a lot. But as I'm approaching the impending arrival of our new bundle of joy, there are lots of things I'm looking forward to:1. NOT being pregnant anymore. Enough said.
2. Finding out if we're having a boy or a girl.
3. NOT being pregnant anymore. (Oh yeah--I already said that.)
4. Seeing William's reaction to the new baby.
5. Finding out what this baby will be like--what kind of personality he or she has.
6. The chance that many things will go better this time around, such as breastfeeding, and the whole baby sleeping thing.
7. The littleness of a baby.
8. Feeling more confident because we've done this before.
Here are some things I'm not looking forward to:
1. Being sleep deprived.
2. Labor.
3. Seeing William's reaction to the new baby if it's not a good reaction.
4. The chance that things will be the same this time around--a hard time with breastfeeding and a baby that doesn't like to sleep.
5. Being sleep deprived. (Oh yeah--I already said that.)
6. Feeling even more inept because despite the fact that we've done this before, it could be harder than the first time around.
I'm sure the truth lies in some combination of the above. And mostly I'm excited and eager and ready for whatever challenges lie ahead. Now if I can just get through the next 8 weeks . . .
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
New Tactics
I'm changing tactics with the bedtime routine. I think part of the reason it's taking William forever to fall asleep is because I'm in the room. It distracts him. Last night, I stayed with him until he fell asleep, but kept the door open, hoping that if he woke up and saw it opened, he'd be less inclined to get up. And he didn't get up until 5:15 a.m., so I'm not sure if it had anything to do with the open door or not, but that's better than he's slept since we started this transition. So I thought I'd try the open door again tonight. Tonight, however, he kept playing and getting out of bed, so I finally put him in his bed and left and closed the door. He got up and started crying, so after a few minutes, I brought him my teddy bear (that I sleep with every night) and got him back in his bed and gave him a kiss and told him to go night-night and I left and left the door open. And he went right to sleep and let me walk out without protest. I had tried walking out earlier, too, but he kept getting out of bed, so there's something about closing the door on him that makes him get serious about going to sleep. I don't want to have to scare him into going to sleep every night, though. And I'm also worried about making him dread bedtime.
So I guess we'll see where this new tactic takes me. I know it's probably more important to be consistent, no matter what I do. But I also know that I can't just let him stand at his bedroom door and cry hysterically. The crying is way worse than it was when he was in the crib. It sounds so desperate and sad. I'm probably just enabling his attachment issues, but so much of parenting is instinct, and right or wrong, this is what I'm capable of doing at this point in time. So I guess my new plan for bed time is to kiss William good night and leave the room. I'll try leaving the door open, but if he gets out of bed, I'll close the door and let him cry for at least a few minutes before going back in and putting him back in bed. I also think it's time to start having Ed do the bedtime routine again with William. This causes as much crying as me closing the door, but it's got to be done.
I feel like such a sucky parent right now. I know I'm not, and that we all have to find our own way. And William is such a great kid. I'm obsessing about the sleep thing again when I should be blogging more about all the cute and amazing things he does day in and day out. Tonight he helped me make macaroni and cheese, and he managed to click on a Wiggles clip on Youtube that turned out to be "Gangsta Wiggles." Someone had put a rap song with a Wiggles clip, but William got really into it, dancing and clapping and laughing. I think I need to find him some kid-safe rap songs now. (If there is such a thing.) Anyway, I know we'll figure out the sleep thing. And I also know that feeling sleep deprived and the third-trimester hormones aren't helping anything. So hopefully I can move past this and start blogging about the fun stuff again. Of course, with 8 weeks left in my pregnancy and a toddler with severe mommy-itis, maybe there won't be any fun stuff for a while. Can you imagine what I'm going to be like with a newborn and a toddler with mommy-itis? Lord give me strength. I think I'll need it!
So I guess we'll see where this new tactic takes me. I know it's probably more important to be consistent, no matter what I do. But I also know that I can't just let him stand at his bedroom door and cry hysterically. The crying is way worse than it was when he was in the crib. It sounds so desperate and sad. I'm probably just enabling his attachment issues, but so much of parenting is instinct, and right or wrong, this is what I'm capable of doing at this point in time. So I guess my new plan for bed time is to kiss William good night and leave the room. I'll try leaving the door open, but if he gets out of bed, I'll close the door and let him cry for at least a few minutes before going back in and putting him back in bed. I also think it's time to start having Ed do the bedtime routine again with William. This causes as much crying as me closing the door, but it's got to be done.
I feel like such a sucky parent right now. I know I'm not, and that we all have to find our own way. And William is such a great kid. I'm obsessing about the sleep thing again when I should be blogging more about all the cute and amazing things he does day in and day out. Tonight he helped me make macaroni and cheese, and he managed to click on a Wiggles clip on Youtube that turned out to be "Gangsta Wiggles." Someone had put a rap song with a Wiggles clip, but William got really into it, dancing and clapping and laughing. I think I need to find him some kid-safe rap songs now. (If there is such a thing.) Anyway, I know we'll figure out the sleep thing. And I also know that feeling sleep deprived and the third-trimester hormones aren't helping anything. So hopefully I can move past this and start blogging about the fun stuff again. Of course, with 8 weeks left in my pregnancy and a toddler with severe mommy-itis, maybe there won't be any fun stuff for a while. Can you imagine what I'm going to be like with a newborn and a toddler with mommy-itis? Lord give me strength. I think I'll need it!
Monday, March 03, 2008
Weekend Report
I'm a little late with the weekend report, but was too tired to blog last night. The good news, though, is that William was over the stomach bug by Friday and we had a good weekend. Sleeping in the bed didn't go all that well on Friday night (he woke up 3 times, and was up for the day at 4:30 a.m.), but that was the worst of it. This week, I'm working on sitting on the floor next to the bed, rather than on the bed. We'll see how it goes.
William went to Temple on Saturday for his first bat mitzvah ceremony. (It was my first, too!) He had fallen asleep in the car on the way there, so he was kind of tired, but he was so quiet and solemn during the service. He didn't start playing until the very end. We stayed for a luncheon afterward and he got to run around a bit and play. He took a late-afternoon nap at home and then we went over to his friend Michael's house. Michael is his best buddy at daycare, and Michael's parents babysat for William while we went to the bat mitzvah party that night. I think William had a blast, and he got to watch TV! And not only TV, but cool TV shows, like Thomas the Take Engine and Noggin. I got back to their house at 10:15 to pick him up, and he had not fallen asleep yet. He and Michael were in Michael's parents bed, and Michael was fast asleep and William was watching TV. When he saw me he climbed over to Michael and started calling his name. It was pretty funny.
On Sunday, we stuck around the house most of the day and William got to play outside since the weather was nice. He had a blast. We played in our yard and then went to the school playground behind our house. We finally came in for lunch and a nap, and then Ed took William back to the playground after nap. I can't wait until it gets warm enough to play outside all the time. Our swim class starts this weekend (I mistakenly thought it was this past weekend), so we have that to look forward to.
I had a doctor's appointment on Saturday morning and everything looks good. I gained 3 more pounds, bringing the grand total to 30 lbs so far! It could be worse. Looks like I'll probably gain between 35-40 total, which is what I gained with William. I'm hoping it will come off the second time as easily as it did the first. Other than weight, the baby is in good position and all my other vitals were normal. So I go back in 3 weeks (which will be 34 weeks) and then I guess I start every week after that.
William's bedding comes in on Thursday, and my good friend is coming over Saturday so I'm hoping we can get some stuff set up in William's and the baby's room. There are so many decorating things I need help with throughout the house, though, and Stacey has a knack for that, so anything she can help me with will be a huge improvement! Mostly it will be nice to just hang out with her and catch up life.
So that's our news. I'm still feeling quite discouraged about the transition to the bed, but we'll get through it. Sleep is overrated anyway, right?
William went to Temple on Saturday for his first bat mitzvah ceremony. (It was my first, too!) He had fallen asleep in the car on the way there, so he was kind of tired, but he was so quiet and solemn during the service. He didn't start playing until the very end. We stayed for a luncheon afterward and he got to run around a bit and play. He took a late-afternoon nap at home and then we went over to his friend Michael's house. Michael is his best buddy at daycare, and Michael's parents babysat for William while we went to the bat mitzvah party that night. I think William had a blast, and he got to watch TV! And not only TV, but cool TV shows, like Thomas the Take Engine and Noggin. I got back to their house at 10:15 to pick him up, and he had not fallen asleep yet. He and Michael were in Michael's parents bed, and Michael was fast asleep and William was watching TV. When he saw me he climbed over to Michael and started calling his name. It was pretty funny.
On Sunday, we stuck around the house most of the day and William got to play outside since the weather was nice. He had a blast. We played in our yard and then went to the school playground behind our house. We finally came in for lunch and a nap, and then Ed took William back to the playground after nap. I can't wait until it gets warm enough to play outside all the time. Our swim class starts this weekend (I mistakenly thought it was this past weekend), so we have that to look forward to.
I had a doctor's appointment on Saturday morning and everything looks good. I gained 3 more pounds, bringing the grand total to 30 lbs so far! It could be worse. Looks like I'll probably gain between 35-40 total, which is what I gained with William. I'm hoping it will come off the second time as easily as it did the first. Other than weight, the baby is in good position and all my other vitals were normal. So I go back in 3 weeks (which will be 34 weeks) and then I guess I start every week after that.
William's bedding comes in on Thursday, and my good friend is coming over Saturday so I'm hoping we can get some stuff set up in William's and the baby's room. There are so many decorating things I need help with throughout the house, though, and Stacey has a knack for that, so anything she can help me with will be a huge improvement! Mostly it will be nice to just hang out with her and catch up life.
So that's our news. I'm still feeling quite discouraged about the transition to the bed, but we'll get through it. Sleep is overrated anyway, right?
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