Jack (19th mths)
On 10/31/11, we went for Jack’s 18 month visit and Sophie’s 4 month visit. The doctor suggested that by Jack’s next appointment, we get rid of the bottle and the binky. I thought to myself, yah right. Impossible. This isn’t going to happen. But I thought ok, that’s 6 months. Plenty of time. Tom and I decided to start with the bottle. He was taking 3-4 a day. One in the morning, one at naptime, and one at bedtime.… and then usually one more random one in there. We also used the bottle to calm him down in a pinch. We often carried a bottle with us, just in case. A tailgate, the restaurant… you never know when you might need something to pacify him quick. So we deleted the morning bottle. Not so bad. He didn’t even notice and we just fed him immediately and there was no change. Then we deleted any extra bottles. Soon, he was falling asleep in the car for a nap without the bottle. Tom stopped giving him the bottle at naptime. The first day he cried for 20 minutes… then 10, then 5. A normal fuss before nap/bed time is less than 5 minutes. It’s working! Then we would distract at night. We would watch movies and have popcorn, thus forgetting about the bottle. Within a week, he was bottle free. Really? It was that easy?!
So 11/12- 2 weeks later… I thought, ok, I can do the binky. My motivator was his lack of talking. I want this kid to start communicating. Tom and I agreed that we could go down to nap and bedtime. The first day was Saturday. There was a fit when we took it away, but we quickly redirected. Tom would take Jack up to his room and “have a talk”. They would talk about “big boys”, they would talk about the day, they would talk about the trees outside, they would talk about the leaves… they would talk about everything. Eventually he would forget and life would resume. A couple of times, he would remember and go to the countertop where we keep the binkys and point to the countertop with his caveman grunt. “Unnhhh! Unhhh!” and we would just say no and redirect. The tantrums were short lived (less than 5 minutes) and he often moved on to something else really quick. “Do you want to play baseball? Do you want to go for a walk?” We were giving the binky at nap and bedtime, but this seemed to make it harder. He remembered the binky and didn’t want to give up the binky when he woke up. So Tom didn’t give him at naptime.. and again, within 2 days he was over it. We can even say the word without any trouble. Are you kidding me? This kid was attached to this binky and had it in his mouth 90% of the day. I can’t believe it was that easy. I am confused by myself to admit that I think I miss it. I don’t understand myself. I can’t believe my little boy is growing up. He seems older now. He jabbers more. We have 2 new words… Ball and Poop. Yep. Poop. And that was an exciting one because it has new sounds. J We have ah, and eee, and now oooop. I never would have thought I would be THAT excited for the word “poop”.
Jack also is working on “going to class”. I signed him up for jumpbunch classes and he didn’t seem to like it at first. He wanted to play in the gym and pointed to the door. For the third class, I went with him and we left Daddy and Sophie at home. I was able to show him the gym area and that it was for “big people”, not little people. And there were no toys set up. Then I asked him if he wanted to go to class, and he took my hand and we walked to class. He didn’t cry at all! He played with his silly snake, and popped bubbles and smiled when he got his stamp. He threw the ball at the bullseye and shared with out kids. I was so proud of my little man! What a big boy. We are working on story time at the library… he just has too much energy to sit still.
Sophie (5 mths)
Sophie now stands in her walker and enjoys a new view of the house. She can see so much more and enjoys watching her big brother. She laughs at him and watches his EVERY move. I love her deep little laugh. I tickle her thighs and she cackles. She also has begun squealing. She must be happy to hear her voice, because she is CONSTANTLY squealing and screaming.
She has begun eating solids… she has tried carrots, peas, peaches and pears. We mix some rice cereal into the food and let her pig out. She didn’t like it at all at first, but has quickly caught up. I think having a full belly helps her sleep better. She is settling into 3 naps a day, and Tom is working on her routine. Jack naps firmly at 1 and is in bed firmly at 9/930 pm. We are working on 10am, 2pm and maybe a 5ish nap for her. She goes to bed easily at 8 or 9 pm and sleeps… oh, I don’t know how long. Since she always comes into my bed to nurse, the time varies. Sometimes I feel like she nurses all night. I am constantly lifting up my shirt, and flipping her from side to side to alternate sides. Sometimes I think she just stays on for hours while we sleep. How I love cuddling with her in bed. I love her nuzzled up against me in a little ball in my stomach. I love when she falls asleep nursing and I just want to hold her forever in the evening. I never want to put her down. Sometimes we both just fall asleep and end up together all night. Other nights, I lay her down drowsy to get her used to her bed. She seems to like it. She too will cry for less than 5 minutes and fall asleep. That seems to be our rule. We put them in bed and give them 5-10 minutes. I can’t think of the last time that we gave in and had to go get them… it always works.
I am still the only person that can hold Sophie, with the exception of Tom. Every now and then, someone can hold her for 5 minutes, but then she realizes I am missing and begins to fuss, which quickly turns into an all out protest. If I am holding her, she is content and watches the world going on around her. I love holding her and I secretly don’t mind that she prefers me. I love being the one to hold her and know that she is perfectly content and feels safe with Mama. It won’t be long and then she will be up and running around like her brother. I am cherishing these moments of her sitting calmly in my lap soaking up the world. I melt when she tilts her head 180 degrees to look up at me and smiles, knowing that Mommy is right there. I melt when I come home from work and she sees me for the first time. A huge toothless gummy smile spreads over her face and takes over her whole body when she realizes its me. It’s the best feeling in the whole world. I wish I could “come home” 100 times a day.
Also, just for a point of reference, our 2001 Moms and Preggos page has BLOWN UP and become a full fledged addiction. Katie Hills and I created a group/forum for mothers and pregnant moms to share info and ask questions. It has become so much fun, and I hate to say that I am addicted. So much that I had to get an iphone to keep up……. J
LOVE!!!!
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