Sunday She Said

Brooke is harassing Wrigley. Hugging her and yelling in her face.
Brooke: Wrigley has boogers in her nose
Mom:I dont think so Brooke
Brooke: Let me check
She then proceeds to grab the dogs nose and look up her nostrils. Dog is obviously thrilled.

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Eating My Words

About 10 days ago I posted about the trouble I was having with Ryan at night and how there is no way he would be moving into his room at the same point Brooke did ... which would be next weekend.

Obviously, the little guy knows how to read, read my blog, and decided to make me look bad.

Last Saturday night I went out with my sister. When I left, both kids were asleep. Ryan fell asleep around 7:30 and I told Jeff (as I walked out the door) that Ryan would be up around 10 or 10:30 to eat. I checked in at 10:30 and he was still sleeping. I checked in at 11:30 and he was still sleeping. I walked in the door at 12:30 to Jeff changing his diaper as he explained the little guy had just finished eating. He slept for 4.5 hours ... more then he generally does (straight) in a night. I'll admit, I was a little ticked. I figured Ryan just did his "long" period of sleep and was going to be up all night and since I was out so late I was going to be royally screwed.

Nope! He slept until about 6 am. His best night of sleep ever!

In fact, Ryan now officially sleeps through the night. Not only that, he appears to be on a natural schedule. He takes 4 naps a day, one of them (maybe 2) long and the rest about 45 minutes. He sleeps through the night every night (knock on wood) only getting up once to eat. His schedule is really quite predictable and now we are rushing this weekend to get his room ready for the big move. WOW!

Here is a pretty typical schedule he has been following this week:

Wake for the day at 6:30AM
Eat 7:00AM
Nap 1 8:30-9:15
Eat 10-10:30
Nap 2 11:30-1PM
Eat 1-1:30
Nap 3 3-4PM
Eat 4:30PM
Nap 6-6:30/645
Eat 8PM
Asleep by 8:45PM
Wake to eat 3:00-3:30AM, asleep by 3:30-4:00AM

Ryan, I officially apologize for knocking you on the interwebz and suggesting you were not a good sleeper. You are a great sleeper and I thank you for all of the wonderful nights of rest you have given me this week.

Potty Training ... Elmo?

We have been doing a little more potty training with Brooke. Not a whole lot, because she is extremely stubborn and pushing her against her will not get any of us anywhere. The bathroom now has a box of "presents" that are rewards for going in the potty. She has gotten one present so far and is jonesing for more.

She recently is pretty against going in the potty, but still wants these presents. Today she decided that Elmo had to go potty. So she took him in and was there for a while. When she came out she had a present in her hand and Elmo was "holding it". She told me that Elmo went pee-pee in the potty and that he should "open a present for Brookie".

She sure is a little stinker.

(And no, Elmo was not allowed to open a present for her)

Can't Stand The Excitement

Ryan was so psyched about the Bears/Packers game today he dressed head-to-toe in fab apparel. He has been anxiously awaiting kickoff ... But he just couldn't make it.

His sister has been yelling "GO BEARS" all morning, but then indicating that she wants Dora The Explorer, and no football, on the television when she gets up from nap ;)

True fans.

A Little Peeved

Jeff was asking me today about sleeping and napping, comparing Brooke to Ryan. We moved Brooke into her own room (from our room) on New Years Eve, the eve of her three month birthday. For Ryan that will be about 2.5 weeks from today.

He assumed she was napping regularly when I moved her into her room, but in fact (as I looked through the blog) I didn't start scheduling her with naps until Jan 9th, a week after she moved into that room. So you would think that Ryan is on the same path, right? WRONG.

One of the crucial elements to "sleep training" is that your child sleep through the night, which is at least 6 hours straight. You then build a nap schedule off of wakeup time, assuming a baby about 3 months old can only stay awake about 1.5-2 hours before needing a snooze. Brooke at three months was sleeping about 12 hours a night. I dont even want to talk about the horrible nights I have with Ryan. The longest he sleeps consecutively is 5 hours, and that on a really lucky night. On a good night, he is brought up to bed at 10:30 and asleep by 11:30 (Brooke was put to bed at 7PM at 3 months). He is generally up for the day no later than 7:30. He also wakes up once in between to eat. Thats a good night.

Last night, for example, I brought him up at 10:30. He fussed and cried until he fell asleep a bit after midnight. He slept a whole 5 hours (YAY) until he got up to eat. I fed him at 5AM and he never fell back asleep. He was in his crib grunting, whining and fussing until 7AM, at which point he started screaming and crying to get out. Thats a more typical night.

Will he move into his own room in 2.5 weeks? Looking at how we are doing now, there is no way. Not only do I not want to spend all those hours in his room trying to get him to sleep, but all of his noise (from grunting to full out screaming) is likely going to be heard by Brooke as her room is only separated from his by the bathroom that lies between the two.

I wish I never looked back on the blog to see how different the two were. I thought Brooke was sleeping 9 hours a night. Right now I would kill for 9 hours of sleep. Seriously. Then I look back and see she was sleeping more like TWELVE HOURS? It made me a little mad at the fact that Ryan continues to wreak havoc on my nights. Every. Single. Night.

I know you cant compare kids. I know Brooke was a pretty awesome sleeper. I'm not asking for 12 hours. How about just 1/2 of that? How about 6 hours of sleep? Is that too much to ask?

Sunday She Said

Brooke has been so funny lately. Many of the times she is trying to be funny, as she is a comic at heart. But, often we find humor in the little things she says and does that she has no intention of being funny. I thought this was a great place to capture some of the stuff she is saying to us that keeps us in constant giggles :) For now I'll post on Sundays to highlight some of the things she says over the week. And, while I call it "She Said" for now, I expect you'll see see a transition to She Said / He Said before too long!

While driving in the car on the way to a doctor appointment. The radio doesnt work right now so we have been singing.
Mom singing
Brooke: "Good job singing mama"

As she impatiently waits for me to prepare her dinner
Mom: "It will be ready in a minute Brooke. I takes a while. I have to peel the orange."
Brooke: "Good idea Mama"

Taking said orange she jumps off her seat and runs toward Ryan on his playmat Brooke: "Big Sister eating orange Ryan!"

Tiny Dancer

Brooke started ballet today!

Dancing Queen

The video speaks for itself ...

Ponytail!

At the doctors office, once again :(

But, the good news is ... She's rocking her first ponytail!

Big Sister Duties

Ryan took a little nap in his swing. He woke up crying and Big Sister ran to the rescue.

"Shhh. It's OK Ryan" she cooed as she covered him with a blanket.

She then declared he "needs toys", at which point she generously shared all of the pins from her bowling set.

I'm not sure thats what he was looking for, but I think anyone who knows her knows that you dont argue with Big Sister Brooke.

Frequent Flyer Card?

We were back at the children's hospital again, the second time in just a few weeks. This time we werent admitted, but spent the whole day in the ER due to Brooke being dehydrated as a result of a bout of gastroenteritis (aka, the stomach flu). The triage nurse even recognized us! I admit, its a great hospital, but I'd be perfectly happy to never walk in those doors again.

Brooke was infused with a bunch of liquids to help with the dehydration, via an IV. That part of the trip is the 2nd worst medical experience I have had with her to date. It was very traumatic for both her and us :(

We were back home last night and have been working to keep her fluid intake up. She also has refused to eat for the past few days, so now calorie consumption is becoming a priority.

She's been hanging out in her Dora PJs all day and seems to be pretty happy. She probably cant figure out why I keep harassing her about drinking juice when I always tell her she can't have any juice and its only for "special occasions"!

I Just Cant Win...

We have been having lots of sleep issues around here, and it seems like the two kids are working in tandum to make things impossible. When he sleeps well, she doesnt ... and vice-versa. Its a strange thing that we are dealing with when it comes to Brooke, who has been an awesome sleeper since day one. I dont know if she is having issues with her new bed and room arrangement, having nightmares, or just going through a phase. But, after two months of not getting any sleep (thanks Ryan!) its just bad timing for her to add her issues to the pot. I am exhausted and there is just no way out. Yesterday I got both kids down at the same time for a nap and got 1.5 hours of sleep, which is more than I usually get at on time in the night. I was thrilled and thought it was a sign of a great night to come. Of course, I was wrong ;)

Here is a quick recap of our (my) night last night:

10:00PM - Bring Ryan up to bed

11:15PM - He is asleep

1:00AM - Ryan stirs looking for food. I ignore him hoping he will go back to sleep. He does!

2:00AM - Brooke wakes up crying and hollering "HELP!". I rush in and there doesnt appear to be a problem other than her being wide awake at 2AM. I get her to lay back down to go to sleep.

3:00AM - Ryan up to eat

4:00AM - Finally get Ryan back to sleep, took longer than normal

6:00AM - Ryan up to eat

6:30AM - Ryan falls asleep and I hear "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" over the monitor ... Brooke is up, about 45 minutes earlier than normal.

So, if you can do some math here and there, my opportunities to sleep were from 11:15-1:00, 1:00-2:00, 2:30-3:00 and 4:00-6:00. Assuming I immediately fell asleep and slept through those times, I got 5 hrs and 15 minutes of sleep broken into small increments. I'd kill for that much sleep straight, but doing it in shorts burts just isnt cutting it ;)

Its currently 7:45 and Ryan is still sleeping. If these kids would just coordinate I'd have a chance! Unfortunately, they both appear to be out to get me.

Ryan Is 2 Months Old

Ryan has been amazing us lately with his smiles. He is a happy guy and loves to smile at all of his toys ... and occasionally for Mom and Dad. Today he flashed the sitter a gummy grin, and she was so smitten she had to snap a pic ;)

History Repeats Itself ...
Brooke spent a lot of time on her playmat before she was really mobile. She often had company.

Ryan loves the same playmat and spends lots of time on it as well. Similar to Brooke, he is rarely alone on the playmat. But ... the dog is not who he has to share with.

Ryan had his two month checkup (all is well!)
Height: 23.5 inches
Weight: 15.7 lbs
He is 75% for height and off the charts for weight.

Ryan had three shots and an oral vaccine. He was less than thrilled. The first shot he didnt bat an eye at, but the second two made him very angry. He screamed for a good five minutes. I put him into his carseat and he passed out. An hour later and he still sleeps, snoring away in his carseat.

Here is what I had to say about Brooke for her 2 month checkup:

2 Month Checkup
Height:24 1/8 inches
Weight:14 lbs 15 ounces
Brooke is a BIG baby - about the size of an average 6 month old ... but also a healthy baby :) She did great at the doctors office today and showed off her strong legs by kicking the doctor and scooting herself along the examining table when the doctor put her on her tummy. She also got a bunch of vaccines today: hepatitis B; polio; DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis); Hib, to protect against meningitis; pneumococcal, to protect against severe bacterial infections, ear infections, and meningitis; and rotavirus (given by mouth), to prevent stomach flu. Watching her get shots was not fun (I didnt even look actually) but she took it like a trooper. She cried for a bit (with real tears) but soon was comforted by mommy & with her pacifier. I popped her into her carseat to leave and she was asleep by the time we got to the car. Right now we are home and she is still in her carseat, snoring away.

Sound familiar?

Oh What A Night

Ryan has been a real challenge at night, and its a bit confusing. Confusing because he isnt a challenge at any other point except for the night. During the day he is in a good mood, eats regularly, and sleeps often. At night he fusses and whines, eats every two-three hours and sleeps for only about 1.5 hours at a time. We have been having a hard time figuring him out. I had a sneaking suspicion he didnt like his sleeping arrangements, but it seemed strange to me that a month old baby could be so particular.

Then recently I noticed he slept well in our bed, and took good naps in his sisters crib while she and I were reading books in her room. It seemed again that the bassinet he was sleeping in might have been the root of the problem. Brooke recently moved to her big girl bed leaving her old crib available and last night we moved it into our room and moved the bassinet out. Ryan ate at 10:30, was asleep at 11:30, and didnt wake up again until 4:30. Thats 6 hours without eating and 5 hours of sleep.

Awesome, right? Well, maybe not so much.

While Ryan was having the sleep of his life, Brooke was struggling two doors down. She woke up at 2AM and from 2AM till 5AM was wide awake in her room. She wasnt crying, but she was singing, counting, and hollering random stuff. I went in there once and Daddy went in there twice to try to get her back to sleep, but she just couldnt settle down. So from 2-5AM I layed in bed and listened to Ryan peacefully snoring, with a two-year-old singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Happy Birthday to You" as she alternated between English and Spanish in counting from 1-10. Daddy slept through most of it too, until I woke him up and suggested he try to wind Brooke down. While he was also unsuccessful, at least I was partly successful in avoiding being the lone sufferer ;) Essentially, the only person who had a good night sleep last night is the one who hasnt had one his whole life. Yes, he deserved a good night of rest ... but Mommy does too. Lets hope for better luck tonight.

Ryan Talks To The Animals

In January of 2009 I posted a video of Brooke on a playmat talking to the animals - she was about four months old. Here is Ryan, doing the same thing, at two months old. It's also his first video post ;)

Laughing: Confirmed

Today Ryan was in his bouncy seat, batting at his little toys. This time we for sure heard him laugh. Brooke assumed he was laughing at her, and put on a big show. Of course, we told her he was laughing at her because she was so silly ... which escalated her already goofy behavior :)

Ryan is 8 weeks old and will be 2 months old in just a few days, and we have a confirmed laugh ... witnessed by three people!