Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Magical.

Why I have been bestowed the baby who is the amazing sleeper at night I will never know. Or his older brother was much worse of a sleeper than I ever knew, that I am, for once, experiencing the magic of a sleeping baby.

Tonight, for the first time in my life, I soothed a tiny baby to sleep, not by rocking him, or nursing, or even walking around with him. I soothed him to sleep simply by laying next to his bed, singing to him, holding his hand, and telling him, "it's ok." And that is all he needed.

He just needed to know I was there.
And man, his sweetness just melts me.


I am just thankful for this..............

Photobucket

Photobucket


and more giggling from the other day.



♥

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Mr. Contrarian and Mr. Stinky Pants.

Me: "The sky is blue."
Ryden: "No, it's not. It's purple."

insert snarky smirk (Ryden) and complimentary eye roll (me)

Yes. That is my life. A smart, comedic genius who seems to be fine tuning his skills on us every day.
However, the one silver lining is as he develops his sass, his sense of humor is coming right along with it. And he has really turned into quite the comedian. Not to mention, his timing. It's pretty amazing for a 2 1/2 year old.

Other than that, Ryden is finally getting back into the swing of routine. He still tries us quite often, but, now, he only has a few breakdowns. That is quite the improvement.

There are times where he has a bit of obsessive tendency. Like last week, it was over a plastic, purple easter egg. It went with him everywhere, and he talked about it A LOT!
The week before that, he had a cold and had a couple of nose bleeds, so, he would walk around holding a tissue at his nose constantly. When I would put him to bed, I would make him lay it down on his pillow.
I almost lost it when I saw him walking out of his classroom, one day, holding it to his nose. *head slap* UGHH!!!
But as quick as they came, they have gone.

He also has a thing for distinguishing between good guys and bad guys lately. Like, it's a nice spider, or nice snake, or nice ghost. Kind of funny.
And as for the bad guys, he has been yelling, "watch out mommy!" for the bad guys that are coming.

Now, for the pip squeak. I must say, it is so much easier the second time. But, nevertheless, it's still filled with the complete ups and downs of non-stop attention.

One day he naps ok on his own. The next day, he won't let me put him down. Then there are evenings where he is LITERALLY nursing for 2-3 hours straight.
But.... and a big but, I knew this going in to it. SO, it makes it much easier, and makes me much less resentful of being so needed all the time.

Don't get me wrong, though. Doing it a second time, doesn't make it all peachy. I still get tapped out, I still get frustrated, I still get tired, and I still tell him to "go to sleep, damn it!" sometimes.
It is what it is.

Oh, the sleep thing. There is part of the momma/baby physiological synchronicity dance that is SO amazing, but just as frustrating and exhausting.

Like, how can he be in such a deep sleep, but know exactly when I try to sneak out of bed?
Or how is it that the moment that he starts to stir, my boobs start to let-down (release milk)?

And I am so over the 20 minute wake-up, followed by the 45 minute wake-up while napping independently. I can't wait until he gets past that.

Being a second time mom, I thought I was on top of cleaning all the folds in his neck.
But to my surprise, I found a sour milk, butter fold under his chin. Yikes, I do not miss those.

On the note of stinky pants, Escher has the stinkiest gas! I, initially, cut dairy out of my diet and it went away. But then a couple of weeks later, it came back. Since then, I watch which veggies I eat, and have stopped getting my soy chai latte every night. And I hate soy, but started it to replace the milk I was drinking. I think it is slowly working.

Staying with the same topic, I have not changed more than 1 or 2 poop diapers in the past 2-3 weeks.
Yep, that's what I said.
Every morning, I take Escher to the bathroom, and that is where he now goes. And that is it.
I hope I get a record similar to Ryden's where I went about 6 months no poopy diaper. Which is even more of a bonus when you use cloth.
Plus, another second time mom perk is knowing I'm not crazy doing this.
I am absolutely positive that starting this so young with Ryden is part of the reason he potty trained at 18 months... never looking back!


Ryden had his first pieces of candy (other than lolli pops) this weekend. It was a bite of Starburst, followed by a few jelly beans. And man, he was so pleased! He told a few people after that, "I eat candy, I chew it." :)
It was pretty cute, but I can't help to think I am forever screwed when I am in the check out line at the grocery store now.
He got to go to two Easter egg hunts and it was great. I know he loved it.

Escher has started to really smile now, and it is the most awesome thing ever. And NEVER gets old.
Sometimes he even tries to talk back to me, and I absolutely love it.
It's the icing on the crooked cake.


(Jordan, if you are reading, this is why Ryden told you his baby brother is stinky. haha!!!)

I am going to get out the camera and start taking more pics. Not just with my phone.
I promise.

I went to my last appointment (6 week pp check up) with Angie yesterday, and it was a little sad. Sad that it is all over. I feel like a certain chapter (child bearing) of my life is now closed.
I guess I will march on with child rearing. :)

And we did a quick weigh of Escher, and I think he is somewhere around 14.5 lbs and 6 weeks. HAH!

And for good measure, in case you missed this, here is one of Ryden. :)


love,
us


Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Big Changes... In Little Time.


Today I went to my first appointment with my midwife minus my belly. It was surreal, though in a refreshing way. It really puts things into perspective. Time flies!!!

Even those last days and weeks of pregnancy, that went by in slow motion, will pass.
Believe it or not.

While my sweet baby is sleeping next to me, I am going to type ultra fast.
And by sweet baby, I mean my little mini-me.
Eric has Ryden, with bits of me, and I have Escher, probably with bits of Eric.


But here is a newborn pic of me... and one of Eschy.....


 




My little sweetness.

In these 2+ weeks, there have so been so many changes. Most of all, they have affected our little Ryden. He is doing good, considering, but I feel so bad.
I feel so bad for his routine going to poop.
I feel so bad for the parent I have been at times.
I feel so bad that he is sad at times.
.... and the list goes on.

He has cried more, had more breakdowns, tried us more, been yelled at more, taken a "moment" in his room more in these past two weeks than his entire life.
Eric and I even regrouped the other night, to discuss trying a better approach.

You definitely aren't feeling your best when a two and half year old is getting the most of you.
For these reasons, we are remembering to be more gentle with him, more tolerant, more consistent, and most of all... more tuned in.

And we also remind ourselves, this, too, shall pass.
And when it does, hopefully no scars are left behind.

As for everything else, things are coming along.
Eric goes back to work next week (though, not soon enough if you ask him :)  ).
I feel great- feeling human again.
Escher weighed in, today, at 11 lbs. 8 ozs. At just 2 and a half weeks.

Now, we jsut need to take Ilsa on a 10 mile run, and everyone will be happy.


And just in case you didn't see it, I am linking to the most amazing birth slide show that was put together by our photographer. I, honestly, had no idea how many amazing shots she got. And with the music, it still makes me cry almost every time I watch it. And I do watch it once a day. :)

If you are ever in Vero Beach and need a photographer, I highly recommend her.
a. tappen photography

CLICK ME TO WATCH SLIDE SHOW!!!!!!! 

And while I am at it......

If you are in Vero Beach, and need the most fantastic and caring midwife,
please contact Angela Love
I could not have done this without her. ♥

And...... baby is waking, so I'll keep it short.

Love to all,
Michele