Monday, December 15, 2008
Sleep change
We've changed Allyssa's bedtime routine by adding putting away toys and subtracting rocking. We were putting her toys away for her, but now she is required to help. She doesn't care for it because she is tired and she sees toys she'd still like to play with, but everything takes time and she will learn. As far as not rocking Allyssa, that has gone well. For the week and a half or so before we took away rocking, Allyssa was not falling asleep when we rocked her anyways. She was going to bed awake and staying awake for up to an hour and a half before falling asleep on her own. She always was put in her crib at 7:30. Now she is put in her crib with no rocking at about 7:15 or 7:20. Saturday was the first try. She was up for 1 hour before falling asleep. That was typical of a normal day, so we weren't frustrated with the results. Sunday, she was holding a stuffed dog, so David put her to bed with it. She fell asleep on her own within 20 minutes. No crying. Some fussing. Today we gave her the dog. No crying or fussing. Asleep withing 15 minutes. I think she likes this new bedtime routine (except for the putting toys away part).
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Scheduling Part 2
One reason I really love a schedule is that it helps the parents see when something needs to be changed. I know that my daughter needs a new bedtime routine because she quit going to sleep easily. She quit caring that she was being rocked and often fell asleep in bed on her own. It would take her a while, but she would do it, and often quietly.
Today a new bedtime routine was started. We bathed her and got her dressed for bed, read 2 books to her and gave kisses. We wrapped her up and gave her her pacifier, but instead of sitting down in the den to rock her, we carried her straight back to her room. She was quiet at first, like she has been every night this week when I've laid her down to sleep. Then she began to cry. I know that she can fall asleep on her own, so no rocking for her tonight. It will be hard for her at first because she is used to being rocked, but she'll get the idea. In a couple of weeks, she'll be much better at this.
Another reason that I like my particular schedule is that it includes a lot of unscheduled time. Approximatly 5 days out of every week, Allyssa does not have to go anywhere or do anything in particular from the time she is done with breakfast until lunch time and again from the time she wakes from her afternoon nap until supper. I think that this is very important. This is the time in which Allyssa develops most of her skills. This is the time in which I teach her new words like "grass" when we see the dog roll around in it. This is the time in which Allyssa gets to practice her fine motor skills and learn shapes and colors and everything else that toddlers learn. Not every minute of every morning or every afternoon of these days occur at our house, but most do.
For example: Today I needed to go to the store to get milk and a few other things. Allyssa got bored with the particular thing she was playing with, so I said to her, "Allyssa would you like to play, go to the store, or clean something?" I was open to any of these ideas knowing that the trip to the store could be delayed until another time. Now Allyssa is 18 months old and does not know how to say the words "play," "store," or "clean," but she does understand that I ask her similar questions often and that she is getting to choose the next activity. Today, going to the store was her choice (and she had a great time talking with every customer in the whole store). I knew that this was her choice because after I asked the question, she walked directly to the workshop where the shoes are kept.
Other days she does not get the option for a trip to the store. Some days her options are dolls, blocks, or a walk. The important thing in my opinion is that she is learning to make decisions and she is spending the majority of her time at home. Car trips teach toddlers very little. Sure, after a while, toddlers will become easier travellers than they were before or they'll learn to "read" a book in the car, but at this age learning takes place in an environment like home. That doesn't mean that I think that kids should go no where, but I do think that outings shouldn't take place too often. (I am also not saying that home is the only place kids learn. Kids who attend daycare have schedules and days very similar to my daughter's daily activities. All moms know that no one can replace them, but some moms do need or have to work and other moms choose to work. My personal choice is to be a professional mother. I take my job as a mom very seriously and know that it is just as respectable as the work of mothers who work outside the home. I don't know what it is like to be a mom who works outside the home, so because I cannot understand their situation or lifestyle choice as well as they can, I think it is important for me to find worth in my own occupation and allow them to find worth in what they do as well. And of course, as Christians, we know that our true worth is found in Christ.)
Today a new bedtime routine was started. We bathed her and got her dressed for bed, read 2 books to her and gave kisses. We wrapped her up and gave her her pacifier, but instead of sitting down in the den to rock her, we carried her straight back to her room. She was quiet at first, like she has been every night this week when I've laid her down to sleep. Then she began to cry. I know that she can fall asleep on her own, so no rocking for her tonight. It will be hard for her at first because she is used to being rocked, but she'll get the idea. In a couple of weeks, she'll be much better at this.
Another reason that I like my particular schedule is that it includes a lot of unscheduled time. Approximatly 5 days out of every week, Allyssa does not have to go anywhere or do anything in particular from the time she is done with breakfast until lunch time and again from the time she wakes from her afternoon nap until supper. I think that this is very important. This is the time in which Allyssa develops most of her skills. This is the time in which I teach her new words like "grass" when we see the dog roll around in it. This is the time in which Allyssa gets to practice her fine motor skills and learn shapes and colors and everything else that toddlers learn. Not every minute of every morning or every afternoon of these days occur at our house, but most do.
For example: Today I needed to go to the store to get milk and a few other things. Allyssa got bored with the particular thing she was playing with, so I said to her, "Allyssa would you like to play, go to the store, or clean something?" I was open to any of these ideas knowing that the trip to the store could be delayed until another time. Now Allyssa is 18 months old and does not know how to say the words "play," "store," or "clean," but she does understand that I ask her similar questions often and that she is getting to choose the next activity. Today, going to the store was her choice (and she had a great time talking with every customer in the whole store). I knew that this was her choice because after I asked the question, she walked directly to the workshop where the shoes are kept.
Other days she does not get the option for a trip to the store. Some days her options are dolls, blocks, or a walk. The important thing in my opinion is that she is learning to make decisions and she is spending the majority of her time at home. Car trips teach toddlers very little. Sure, after a while, toddlers will become easier travellers than they were before or they'll learn to "read" a book in the car, but at this age learning takes place in an environment like home. That doesn't mean that I think that kids should go no where, but I do think that outings shouldn't take place too often. (I am also not saying that home is the only place kids learn. Kids who attend daycare have schedules and days very similar to my daughter's daily activities. All moms know that no one can replace them, but some moms do need or have to work and other moms choose to work. My personal choice is to be a professional mother. I take my job as a mom very seriously and know that it is just as respectable as the work of mothers who work outside the home. I don't know what it is like to be a mom who works outside the home, so because I cannot understand their situation or lifestyle choice as well as they can, I think it is important for me to find worth in my own occupation and allow them to find worth in what they do as well. And of course, as Christians, we know that our true worth is found in Christ.)
Night-Night
I was sitting next to a pillow, and Allyssa patted it and said, "Night-night." I layed my head down and said it back to her and began to pretend to snore. Allyssa watched me for a little while and then tottered off to get a toy. I was thinking, "Oh how sweet! She's bringing me something to cuddle with!" She came back with a little, plastic pig.
My pretend snoring sounds like a pig! (Good thing I really don't snore! :) )
My pretend snoring sounds like a pig! (Good thing I really don't snore! :) )
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Scheduling
I'm all about a schedule. I like them very much. I feel like life is much less hectic and chaotic with one. Here is Allyssa's current schedule (and I am LOVING it):
6:30 am sometimes arouses to get a pacifier and will either play quietly or fall back asleep; other days she sleeps right through
7:00-7:30 am Allyssa wakes up. After waking she likes to stay in her crib with one of us there talking with her for a few minutes. Then, we dress her.
7:00-7:45 am Somewhere in this time Allyssa eats breakfast. She eats oatmeal often and will eat an entire adult serving. She also likes omlets (thank you Sarah for the omlet pot!!), pancakes, and French toast.
After breakfast she usually gets her second diaper of the day, but it is play time.
Somewhere around 8:30 we get Mommy all ready for the day and say goodbye to Daddy.
She often wants to play outside at 9, but not always. We will also go on short shopping trips to get groceries at this time about twice a week.
Recently, she has given up her morning snack. I ask her if she wants one at 9:30, and if she doesn't she tells me what she wants to play with. We play together inside or outside until 11 when she begins to tell me that Daddy needs to come home and she wants to eat and take a nap. We look for Daddy out the window and change her diaper. Then we start getting lunch ready while we look for Daddy.
11:30 am: Lunch
11:45 am: Nap
1:30 or 2 pm: Nap over. Snack time. During snack time, I cook supper and stick it in the refrigerator to be heated later.
After snack: play indoors or out. Allyssa gets ready for Daddy to come home around 4. I try to stall her with toys, going outside or sweeping. She loves to help sweep and vacuum the kitchen.
5pm: Supper gets stuck in the microwave. Daddy gets home.
5:15 or 5:30: Supper
Right after supper right now we do Advent devos that she really loves. They only last a couple of minutes, but they are the highlight of her evening. After supper she plays with the nativity by the Christmas tree or any other toy she wants.
6:30: Milk. Allyssa doesn't need a snack most nights before bed, but she will occasionally ask for one. She does drink some milk before bed every night.
6:45: Bath time occurs every other day. If David is the one giving her a bath, he starts 5 minutes later than I do.
7:00: If it is a non-bath night getting dressed for bed happens now.
7:05: If it is a bath night, getting dressed for bed happens now.
7:15: 2 books and lots of kisses
7:15: Rock for 15 minutes
7:30: Put to bed, awake or asleep. She often will fall asleep on her own these days after we lay her down. If not, she gets re-rocked around 8 but that doesn't happen very often any more.
She has been sleeping through the night more and more regularly, but sometimes she does wake up. Last night she did because of a stupid train that blared its horn the whole way through town and was going at snail's pace because of road construction. Allyssa didn't sleep through that and needed a pacifier and to be tucked back in, then she fell right asleep.
6:30 am sometimes arouses to get a pacifier and will either play quietly or fall back asleep; other days she sleeps right through
7:00-7:30 am Allyssa wakes up. After waking she likes to stay in her crib with one of us there talking with her for a few minutes. Then, we dress her.
7:00-7:45 am Somewhere in this time Allyssa eats breakfast. She eats oatmeal often and will eat an entire adult serving. She also likes omlets (thank you Sarah for the omlet pot!!), pancakes, and French toast.
After breakfast she usually gets her second diaper of the day, but it is play time.
Somewhere around 8:30 we get Mommy all ready for the day and say goodbye to Daddy.
She often wants to play outside at 9, but not always. We will also go on short shopping trips to get groceries at this time about twice a week.
Recently, she has given up her morning snack. I ask her if she wants one at 9:30, and if she doesn't she tells me what she wants to play with. We play together inside or outside until 11 when she begins to tell me that Daddy needs to come home and she wants to eat and take a nap. We look for Daddy out the window and change her diaper. Then we start getting lunch ready while we look for Daddy.
11:30 am: Lunch
11:45 am: Nap
1:30 or 2 pm: Nap over. Snack time. During snack time, I cook supper and stick it in the refrigerator to be heated later.
After snack: play indoors or out. Allyssa gets ready for Daddy to come home around 4. I try to stall her with toys, going outside or sweeping. She loves to help sweep and vacuum the kitchen.
5pm: Supper gets stuck in the microwave. Daddy gets home.
5:15 or 5:30: Supper
Right after supper right now we do Advent devos that she really loves. They only last a couple of minutes, but they are the highlight of her evening. After supper she plays with the nativity by the Christmas tree or any other toy she wants.
6:30: Milk. Allyssa doesn't need a snack most nights before bed, but she will occasionally ask for one. She does drink some milk before bed every night.
6:45: Bath time occurs every other day. If David is the one giving her a bath, he starts 5 minutes later than I do.
7:00: If it is a non-bath night getting dressed for bed happens now.
7:05: If it is a bath night, getting dressed for bed happens now.
7:15: 2 books and lots of kisses
7:15: Rock for 15 minutes
7:30: Put to bed, awake or asleep. She often will fall asleep on her own these days after we lay her down. If not, she gets re-rocked around 8 but that doesn't happen very often any more.
She has been sleeping through the night more and more regularly, but sometimes she does wake up. Last night she did because of a stupid train that blared its horn the whole way through town and was going at snail's pace because of road construction. Allyssa didn't sleep through that and needed a pacifier and to be tucked back in, then she fell right asleep.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Pregnancy Stuff
I never can decide which blog to put stuff about my pregnancy stuff on this one or that one. Everything is going well. My pee and blood looked good that they stole from me Thanksgiving week. Isn't that nice? As of right now there are no signs of preeclampsia which is great because I had symptoms this early with Allyssa. I am having hip problems. The doctor said it was a nerve, but it really feels like a joint problem. The doctor is probably right and I just don't know what a nerve problem feels like. It isn't fun. It used to only be a problem every once in a while when I would be walking and would only last a minute or two. Now my back is sore, and I'm convinced that is related to the hip, and it hurts when I lay down (sleeping is not fun), and when I sit sometimes, and especially when I get up. The doctor said that if my hip didn't get better soon (and this was a month ago) that it wouldn't until after I gave birth. Looks like I'm in it for the duration. She said that the uterus or something would be moving and that would either relieve my pain or not. Boo. It didn't help.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Big Tree
The internet was down, so I hope to publish about Thanksgiving still. We'll see. Today is the first day of Advent, so we worked on getting the house Christmasified. Allyssa woke up from her nap to see the tree all put together and lit (we'd been working on it since Friday, so the fact that something was going on in the corner, she knew, but she didn't think anything of it, probably partly due to the fact that the baby gate keeps her out of that corner right now). She walked up to the gate and smiled and looked big eyed at the tree and said, "Big Tree." She probably said "Big Tree" a million times. She just looked and looked. The tree is quite bright. It has 3600 lights on it. That is 36 strands. I strung them all. It took 3 days of nap times. David assembled the tree and hung most of the ornaments. It looks wonderful. Big Tree.
We also got out Allyssa's wooden nativity set (thanks Grandma and Grandpa). She loved playing with it. After supper we lit an Advent candle and gave her Mary, Joseph, and a donkey to play with while we did a short devotion. She thought that was too great. She loved the candle and when it blew out she said "Uh-oh." She wasn't ready for it to be blown out. She kept telling us "Uh-oh" about the candle after supper. Then, she loaded all the pieces from her nativity onto her booster seat because she couldn't see them well enough on the table (we did devos at the table). After a little bit I moved the pieces to the area beside the tree and turned the lights back on. Allyssa happily played there most of the evening. Big tree.
We also got out Allyssa's wooden nativity set (thanks Grandma and Grandpa). She loved playing with it. After supper we lit an Advent candle and gave her Mary, Joseph, and a donkey to play with while we did a short devotion. She thought that was too great. She loved the candle and when it blew out she said "Uh-oh." She wasn't ready for it to be blown out. She kept telling us "Uh-oh" about the candle after supper. Then, she loaded all the pieces from her nativity onto her booster seat because she couldn't see them well enough on the table (we did devos at the table). After a little bit I moved the pieces to the area beside the tree and turned the lights back on. Allyssa happily played there most of the evening. Big tree.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Doctor Appointment
Today I actually got to see my doctor. I am 21.4 weeks along and had yet to see her because everytime I went, she had to deliver a baby (I saw the other doctor in the office and the nurse practitioner every time until today). Things looked good. She said that my hip might bother me the whole time; stretches might help, but not likely; and when my uterus moves wherever it is moving (it is supposed to move at this point in pregnancy) in the next couple of weeks, it might make my hip quit hurting. I have to pee in a cup all day long and have blood taken tomorrow to set up a base line for all my numbers so that later on they can track everything well and make sure I stay healthy. I also am only waiting 2 weeks between this appointment and the next because 22 weeks is when trouble started with Allyssa. Dr. Hunter wants to keep a close eye on this pregnancy (probably more so than if I'd been her patient last pregnancy because she only has what I tell her to help her out, but hey she saved my life, so I'm not complaining or argueing although I don't like the people who take blood in her office, they are rotten). I'm very pleased with Dr. Hunter because (if you've been around me this past week, I'm sure you've noticed) I am very aware that 22 weeks is approaching. I know that things were very different with my first pregnancy, but that doesn't mean that 22 weeks isn't approaching. The good news is that I feel wonderful compared to my first pregnancy. Hooray! Oh and does anyone want to trade me places tomorrow. I'd be glad to let the horrible nurse stab your arm 4 times and get no blood out because he's an idiot. 4 times!! Give me a break!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Nervousness
I am nervous today because I'm returning my Bum Genius diapers to their manufacturer to be exchanged for ones that have functioning laundry tabs so that that the velcro doesn't stick to everything and his brother in the wash (if they don't think that I should get an exchange, I'll be charged with shipping them back to me and I won't get replacements). I waited to send them off until I got my new cloth diapers in. I figured I might as well buy new ones since we are having a second child. I didn't buy Bum Genius this time. I bought Happy Heinys. After a couple of weeks of using Happy Heinys I do have some comments about each type of diaper:
Bum Genius:
The velcro is little and can easily be undone by my daughter.
They clean easily with no staining.
The inserts are easy to get in and don't pop out.
The adjustable snaps work well.
Happy Heinys:
The velcro is big and my daughter has not figured out how to undo it.
They clean easily with no staining.
The inserts aren't as easy to get in and they will sneak out a little because there is no stopper.
The adjustable snaps pop undone when inserting the inserts and when putting the diaper on the child.
Each diaper has at least one con and some pros. I am happy with my purchases but I hope that these 24 diapers get me through the rest of my children's diapering years.
Bum Genius:
The velcro is little and can easily be undone by my daughter.
They clean easily with no staining.
The inserts are easy to get in and don't pop out.
The adjustable snaps work well.
Happy Heinys:
The velcro is big and my daughter has not figured out how to undo it.
They clean easily with no staining.
The inserts aren't as easy to get in and they will sneak out a little because there is no stopper.
The adjustable snaps pop undone when inserting the inserts and when putting the diaper on the child.
Each diaper has at least one con and some pros. I am happy with my purchases but I hope that these 24 diapers get me through the rest of my children's diapering years.
Baby Gate for the Tree
I ordered it online because it was $50 less expensive that way. Way to go Amazon! I also got free shipping! I love Amazon. Now, it just has to get here. I hope that it fits around the tree. Our tree is huge! We got it at 75% off a few years ago at Target's after Christmas sale. It is much bigger than I expected. It is very pretty and I can't wait to decorate it on Nov. 30th. Our neighbor has a lighted wreath up already. Poor guy; he's totally going to miss out on the fun on the first day of Advent. Allyssa is big enough this year that she'll totally see how exciting and fun this is! I'm a little worried of course though because she's big enough to see how tatally fun and exciting this is. That's why we got a baby gate.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
The countdown is on
Grandma and Papa are coming for a visit over Thanksgiving week. Oh yes! I'm really excited because mom said she'd clean my silverwear tray in the silverwear drawer for me. Yes, it is one of those tasks that I never find important enough to do to actually do it. It needs to be done though, and who better to do it than a house guest? If I was at her house and she wanted her silverwear tray taken out of the drawer emptied, wiped out, put back in the drawer and re-filled with silverwear, I'd be happy to do it. So bring on the grandparents!! Tuesday they get to watch Allyssa all morning. Hooray! I'm excited about this because the mom who usually watches Allyssa when I have to go to town can't because she's out of town. Also, I get to cook Thanksgiving dinner. You'll never in a million years guess what we are having. I'll give you a hint, you won't be eating it at your Thanksgiving meal. Okay, now that I've got you really wondering...fajitas!!!! That's right! What? Is that unThanksgivingish?? Well, I'm sure the pioneers would have loved some guacamole at their meal. And guess what happens Saturday...all the fall decorations come down. Why is that exciting? Because Sunday is the first day of Advent, duh. That means 3000 Christmas lights are going up at our house, and that's just the tree!! Note to self: Really get on the ball about buying that baby gate thing that goes around a Christmas tree...times a wastin'!
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