Recent Challenges

Well, we have had some challenges lately...

1. back to half day daycare for Matt...which means he is taking his nap at home and so that means the peer pressure of everyone on the cot sleeping is missing. At home in his room, he is running around and playing, then when he gets frustrated and angry, he is tearing up the few books that will have pages, putting the pages under the door, taking his clothes out of his 2 drawers, which means socks and PJs are everyone....and the new thing is taking his diaper and clothes off....which wouldn't be terrible but he has had an accident with pee on the carpet once, but the terrible thing is he has taken the poop and spread it EVERYWHERE....Friday was horrible b/c I let him "cry-it-out" for 30 min or so while I fed Alexandra and when I went up there to check on him....OMG, poop everywhere, I had to throw out the sheet, his angry bird shirt, wash all the socks, pjs, stuffed animals and bedding...and clean. Called Jay to tell him to get the grocery store carpet steamer as our tiny steamer was not going to cut the mess that Matthew left us...So tried to not make a huge deal....b/c I don't want to encourage this when he is mad as a way to goat mom...but sure enough Sunday, he did it again. Luckily, I didn't let him cry it out as much, really he wasn't crying, just normal banging around that lets us know he is awake and not sleeping....so I got to him with poop in his hand, smiling like, "yeah, this is fun, making a mess"
So, what to do...hopefully it will not happen again this week. I know part of him not wanting to have a poopy diaper is a good thing b/c it means he is aware of his body and doesn't want to wear his poop...but gosh, taking it off and then pretending it is mudd and spreading it everywhere is so not fun for mommy....we are going to laugh about this later I am sure, but for now...any advice or ideas on how to get him to nap....how to get him to not take off his poopy diaper and spread it around? This is normal right?

2. Sleeping...when my mom was here she helped us get Alexandra to sleep in the pack n play...she was up 1-2 times a night...since she left, we moved Alexandra to her room and she is falling asleep and going down around 7-8pm and sleeping in her crib...but she is waking up now every 2 or so hours...which means 2-3 wake-ups...and she is not going back to sleep...we need to toughen up a bit and let her cry it out...I know that....and per the articles I am reading online, I think she is wet and that is a reason she is waking up....and maybe she is not hungry but we are feeding her...so that is making her wet more often and thus waking her up....also she is rolling over and whole sleep on her back thing...I try to get her to sleep there, but she typically rolls over to her belly which makes her really mad...she likes to sleep on her side....I think I am in for a few horrible nights, but going to have to do something b/c waking up at 10, 1230, 330, 530 and having her sleep with me in this little single bed are just not working....I am not getting any sleep and we are according to the articles on sleeping babies giving her bad cues and feedback. So suggestions and thoughts?? She hits 5 months old here in a few days so that is time for sleeping 5-6 hrs at night right? and it is old enough to let her cry it out a bit? It is also ok at this age to let her sleep on her side/belly right?
I just don't remember these details with Matthew...he wasn't a great sleeper but it seems like at this point for him, we was sleeping at least long enough at night to let us only have 1 wake-up during the night....just don't remember.

So, that is about it for us....we are enjoying the last bit of cold weather and spending time in-doors...the only downside is that we can't get outside on Saturday/Sunday right now with the rain and with Matthew not taking swim lessons...once April starts we get back to Saturday morning swimming which I know Matthew loves and looks forward too immensely.

So advice and suggestions are welcome on our 2 major issues....I know the sleep issues are really a huge fault of mine but time to get a little tough love going....potty training is still in the background, Matthew is not really interested but I do try to encourage him to sit on the potty while watching his Cat in the Hat TV show...so hopefully one day he will do something on the potty and start at least doing it at daycare with peer pressure around him....we can only hope!

4 Months and 2 yrs

Guess I haven't updated on the growth and milestones. Alexandra is 4 months and at her appointment she weighed in at 13lbs 3 oz and 26 inches. 26.5 inches is the upper range for 6 month Carter body suits so really soon I am guessing we are going to move up to the 9 month size...she is just so tall! So it has been a rough month as she has gotten a runny nose and is a fussy girl, especially in the evenings but she is getting better...or maybe I am just handling it better so don't notice it as much.
She started 2 days a week 1/2 days at daycare, and it was nice to have her at school so I could actually focus on getting work done as I am teaching 3 classes right now and it is a first time for one class so it takes up more time than usual as I have to do some additional prep work.

Matthew is 2 yrs, weighing 27 lbs and 36 inches tall. He is wearing 18months close still at least pants but getting into some 24 months shirts. He takes swimming lessons on Saturday right now with a parent. Jay and I have each taken him and for the most part he really enjoys being in the water, chasing the duck and jumping into the water to us (as long as we hold his hands) but not so keen on blowing bubbles or doing anything on his back. He has another year before he is even old enough to join a real swim class and he enjoys the current class so much we have decided to continue so he keeps working on the skills he will need to move forward when he is ready. The big downside is the class is Saturdays at 11 so it kinda prevents us from doing anything fun on Saturdays...but small price to pay to ensure he doesn't develop a fear of water and can transition to swimming lessons in a year....plus it wears his butt out so he typically takes a decent nap on that Saturday.
In other news, we went to the Dr. Seuss Birthday bash at the Magic house in Kirkwood MO on 3 March. They had a big Cat in the Hat themed event and since Matt is pretty crazy about the Cat, it was a fun outing. It was super crowded but we got our picture with the Cat and spent quite a bit of time in the special auditorium where the Cat themed events were taking place and Matt was just happy to be there and watch the costumed Cat walk around and give High 5's to kids.

So that is about it, we don't have much going on in March as swim class does take a break for 2 or 3 weeks between sessions and it is still chilly here, (snowed yesterday, 5 Mar) so not much on outings, but I am sure that will change and with our break from swimming for a few weekends we can hopefully make the best of the situation and get back to the Zoo, Bird Sanctuary and other STL area kid-friendly attractions.

Pictures on facebook, will try to keep it updated, but as you can see I am well almost 2 weeks behind posting this information so bear with me as I am just a bit busy with the 2 kiddies and only having daycare part of the day and for Alexandra part of the week.
Hope to have news on a job soon for me...watch FB for updates!