The Best Laid Plans

I have been trying to figure out what to get Nathan for Father's Day. I had originally planned on selling all of our outgrown baby gear (swings, bouncers, strollers, car seats), pregnancy paraphernalia (body pillow, maternity clothes), and bags upon bags of baby and toddler clothes in order to come up with the cash needed for an iPad. I knew he definitely wouldn't be expecting such an expensive gift, but I could see the value of him using it while in chiropractic school (and let's face it--I would enjoy using it, too!).

The plan was going great, and I had already sold $70 dollars worth of baby gear by last Saturday. A woman was coming later on in the week to buy several larger items, and I knew I would be able to buy the iPad. I felt amazing! I kept thinking I would earn "The Best Wife Ever Award" for decluttering our house in addition to earning some money. Nathan was pretty clueless that I was even selling stuff, so it would be a great surprise. I love surprising people with gifts :)

On Sunday, I left my wallet in the minivan for some reason. Maybe it's because I always have a huge diaper bag, two infant car seats, a stroller, and a toddler to get inside the house...or maybe I am just scatterbrained. I didn't intend to leave my wallet in the car, and I certainly didn't mean to leave the doors unlocked. Long story short, though, our car was broken into that night and everything was taken...everything down to the GPS and my breast pump power chords. 

I was distraught. I should have locked the doors. I should have brought the wallet (with the $70.00 inside). Nathan was so nice about everything and wasn't upset with me at all for leaving the door unlocked. He made sure to point out that it wasn't my fault that someone targeted us and stole from us. I guess that is true (to a certain extent). We filed a police report, and I let Nathan know about the cash I had been saving to buy his gift. My plan was ruined. I would be short some money for the gift I wanted him to have.

Again, he assured me that he didn't need an iPad, I hadn't ruined Father's Day, and that there were probably a number of other gifts he would enjoy. In fact, he told me exactly what he wanted: Sassy spoons. 

He loves feeding the boys with these spoons, but I think he deserves a little more than dining utensils for our children.

Nathan is such a great guy. I feel lucky everyday to have such a good friend. When I was crying over my lost wallet, he reminded me that I had won $200 to DownEast Basics--on of my favorite stores. We went and got a couple of dresses that day to cheer me up. I loved them and loved that they were free! 

See? Doesn't he look nice with his crazy hair and little vest?  And doesn't DownEast have cute dresses?!

So, I would welcome any and all ideas for Father's Day gifts. I love giving gifts, but I am not creative in the least or good at finding "the gift" on my own. Care to help me? Please?

Rolling...At Last!

For weeks now (months even), the boys have been on the verge of rolling over. They can roll from front to back, but rolling from back to front has eluded them. They couldn't seem to figure out what to do with their left arm once they started turning so it prevented them from completing the roll.

Based on his interest in moving, we assumed Ezra would roll first. He is certainly a kinesthetic baby. He loves his Jumperoo and has found a way to move without rolling. He lays on his back, flaps his arms, furiously kicks his feet, and manages to scoot backwards. It's rather impressive. He has been more motivated to roll and finally, it happened! On Saturday night, we placed the boys on their backs on their playmat while we tucked Eliza in. Ezra was on his stomach when we came back downstairs. I was so sad I missed it!

The next day, Ezra showed off his new trick during Sunday School. I tried to restrain myself from clapping with excitement when he looked up with a smile on his face. One day later, he is practically crawling. He army crawled this afternoon and is no longer happy simply laying on his playmat, staring at the various stuffed animals; he needs to move!

 Upon seeing Ezra move around, Elliott has suddenly taken an interest in moving himself. He is able to roll if we assist him just a little bit. He does most of it on his own, but still cannot get his left arm out of the way. He also scoots on his back and loves turning around in the crib and kicking Ezra.

I think it's time to put up the second crib.

The Definition of Insanity

Albert Einstein famously stated, " Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

By this definition, then, Nathan and I are insane. Every night, we go through our routine with Eliza and the boys. And every night, we hope that at least one of our children will go down without a fight and stay asleep throughout the night.

Even though I am complaining (just a little), Eliza has come so far these past few weeks, and I feel incredibly proud of her. Although she goes to bed without a bottle of milk, she thinks of every trick of the book to get us to stay with her longer. She wants eight songs, three prayers, and ten books read to her before bedtime. She wants a sip of water and to sleep with her Foofa--no, a pink Barbie car--no, the paperback copy of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farms! It's obviously out of control. We have finally learned to say "no" to her, which is undeniably hard. Some nights, she is satisfied with only a couple of songs, three books, and a prayer, but other nights (like tonight), she cries herself to sleep. It is heartbreaking! I sit at the bottom of the stairs listening to her sobs, and I all I want to do is run up and comfort her. I know she is capable of falling asleep alone, so I try my hardest not to give in. 

Once asleep, Eliza can usually go a solid 9 hours before waking up. This started a couple of months ago, and it is so nice! However, Ezra and Elliott are a different story altogether. 

They are six months old, weight eighteen pounds, and are incapable of sleeping longer than three hours at a time. Several people have told me, "Breastfed babies just don't sleep as long" which I know isn't necessarily true. I have two three month old nieces who are breastfed, and they both are able to sleep a seven-eight hour stretch at night. We've done the sleep training, and it did work for a couple of weeks. We've tried it a second time now, and we are not having good results. The boys want to nurse all night, and I am desperate for sleep, so I let them. Last night, Ezra woke up every hour, so of course he ended up in bed with me (and Nathan took Elliott and a bottle and went to a different bedroom). 

So many people have recommended that I let them cry it out; it just doesn't work for me. I'm trying to stop comfort nursing them at night, but when they wake up, they are definitely hungry. I really don't understand. We introduced solids last week, but it made no difference whatsoever. I think they are just in the habit of waking up. In South Carolina, they mercifully slept a four to five hour stretch each night. The first night back in Othello, they were back to their old ways. It's like they knew they were home and could do whatever they wanted. Silly boys. Lucky for us, they are happy during the day and seldom fuss or cry. They are the cutest little guys ever.

So yes, I may be insane, but I am convinced Ezra and Elliott will sleep through the night sooner or later. It only took Eliza two and a half years....

And on an even crazier note, I am glad Eliza's horrible sleeping habits prepared us for more sleepless nights with the twins. We would have been in for a very rude awakening! :)

5/31/2011

5/31/2011: We found out we were having twins.

It really was one of the best days of my life.

When things were crazy today (feeding two babies, chasing a toddler, playing with nieces and nephews), I remembered the emotional high of seeing this picture for the first time. What a miracle.

I think I had a smile on my face most of the day.

Flower Child(ren)

Eliza and her cousin Ellie love to dress up. Usually, they raid the pile of princess gowns and end up looking like a miniature Cinderella and Belle. Last weekend, though, they tried on various outfits and ultimately resembled a couple of free-spirited, hippie children.

I loved it.

This needs to be an album cover or something.

Half a Year

The boys turned six months old yesterday.

Elliott on the left and Ezra on the right

Ezra

Elliott

Can you believe it? I can't.

They are such happy babies. They laugh and coo constantly and they light up as soon as you look at them. Because they are so stinkin' adorable, Nathan and I can more easily tolerate the fact that we never sleep. For some reason, neither boy can go longer than two or three hours without waking up. We're hoping they grow out of this soon, but in the meantime, we've resorted to sleeping in different rooms with a baby. This way, Nathan wakes up when his baby cries, and I wake up to nurse when my baby awakes. The boys don't disturb each other this way, so we only have one fussy baby to deal with. We have been trying this method for a few days now, and it seems to work better for everyone involved.

Regarding milestones, neither boy has teeth or can roll just yet. Both of these accomplishments are in the works, though. They have been drooling furiously for weeks and are so close to rolling; they just need to work on tucking their arms and they will be in business. I keep joking that they are too fat to care about rolling.

They are chunky babies, which makes me proud. Ezra weighs in at  17 pounds 2 ounces, and Elliott weighs a full pound more at 18 pounds 2 ounces. We made it to our goal of exclusively breastfeeding for six months, which I believe earns me (and Nathan who was very patient with having a wife who was always nursing or pumping) a whole book of gold stars. I haven't given myself a new goal, and I don't plan on stopping for a while. Things have gotten so much easier, and I only hope they continue to get better with the introduction of solids.

Even though Ezra and Elliott don't sleep well, I think they are wonderful babies. They are content as long as they aren't in their crib and seldom cry. And although they are similar in a number of ways, they definitely maintain their own distinct personalities. After my dad first met Ezra and Elliott, he told me he knew how to tell them apart. He explained that Elliott was a "Republican" and that Ezra was a "hippie." When he looked at Elliott, with his wide eyes, long eye lashes, and jovial smile, he couldn't help but think of a happy, go-lucky politician (thanks, Dad).

And when he looked at Ezra, the impression he had was, "Hey guys, let's just relax. I'm here to party."

Nathan and I couldn't help but laugh because it was such an accurate observation. Both babies love to interact with people, but Elliott really thrives off of being constantly engaged. He has a harder time falling asleep because he wants to be with someone all the time. Just tonight, Nathan joked that Ezra's lullaby was the sound of Elliott screaming: it puts him right to sleep! So yes, there is an obvious need to have the babies sleep in different rooms at this point.

Ezra is intense, but a bit more relaxed. He could stay in the Jumperoo all day if we let him. He gets into a groove and seems so happy that it is always kind of sad when we take him out. He has a look of being mildly entertained throughout the day (regardless of what we are doing) and really comes to life when we try to make him laugh. He has the cutest giggle, which makes it okay that he prefers to sleep in bed with me and nurse most of the night.

We know this phase won't last forever, which relieves me as much as it makes me sad. They are growing up so fast (too fast!). When I told Nathan that the boys were six months old, he quipped, "What? Only six months? But we have had them for for-EVER."

Don't worry, boys. He'll forget about never getting any sleep in a few years. He never held it against Eliza :)

The Bottle Fairy

Last weekend, the (seemingly) impossible happened....Eliza willingly parted with her beloved bottle.

For over a year, Nathan and I have encouraged, begged, bargained, and pleaded with Eliza to give up her bottle. We managed to get her down to only one a day, but we could not convince her to change her nightly routine. She used it as a kind of security blanket to fall asleep and would cry and refuse to get into bed without her glass bottle. Yes, it had to be glass. She is a milk connoisseur; she likes her milk cold.

Once we were back from South Carolina, we decided it really was time for Eliza to kick the habit. Nathan, being the genius that he is, came up with an excellent idea. As he was putting her to bed, he told her that her bottle was needed by other little babies and that it would be her last night to have a bottle before bed. In the morning, he told her, they would go to the mailbox and put the bottle inside. The Bottle Fairy would come and leave a present in exchange for Eliza's generous donation.

Eliza was excited! I could hardly believe it when she she asked questions about the fairy rather than crying. She proudly told me she was going to be "a big girl" and give her bottle away. It seemed almost too easy.

Eliza went to bed and remembered about the mailbox first thing in the morning. Nathan and her walked to the mailbox and placed the bottle inside. Eliza wasn't sad at all as they walked away.

A few hours later, she ran to the mailbox with her Princess bag in order to gather her loot.

Much to her delight, the fairy had left fruit snacks and a bunch of "big girl drinks" aka Caprisuns. 

Sipping from a straw? How novel!

Eliza was so happy and proud of herself. 

The real test was that night, though. Sure, she had happily given away her bottle, but would she regret it that first night without one? The answer, surprisingly, was no. She went to bed just fine and kept reassuring Nathan and I that she didn't need milk because she is a princess and not a baby. 

As it turns out, it seems as though Nathan and I relied on the bottle more than Eliza.