Two Boys, One Room and a Quiet Night

Last month, we started sleep training our baby who was nine months at the time. He made the decision easy for me because a) after not sleeping well for nine months I was exhausted and b) he had stopped nursing. This was enough motivation for me to think that he was ready. At this point he had been waking up once or twice a night for a feed.

But how do we do this when we have a three year old in the room? I didn't want to interrupt his sleep with a screaming baby. I also didn't want to disrupt his routine. I had asked others and was told they get used to it and not to worry so much about it. We found a balance and decided to move Stephen to the bedroom and William along with his bed to the living room for a week.

At first, William hated this idea. He cried and fussed and refused to drop the subject. His current phrase is "I don't like that idea." But Chris, who knows his son so well, made a game out of it and made it a fun adventure and then there were magically no more tears. In their place were bright excited eyes and an eager little boy who from that moment on looked forward to sleeping in this new spot.

Stephen adjusted fairly well too. He did wake up a number of times the first couple of nights and cried for a while, but not nearly as long as we were expecting. Maybe 20 minuets at the most (if I remember correctly). And by the end of the week if he woke up, we only heard him cry for a few seconds before he went back to sleep.

Then came the tricky part. Putting William back in the room! Again William "didn't like that idea." But after some discussion and a game of making signs of where the boys were going to sleep and putting a sign on the wall that said "The Brothers' Room." He seemed okay with it. (I had suggested the sign say "The Boys Room" but William came up with "The Brothers' Room" and so it was). We put Stephen down first and then about 30 minutes later ushered William into the room "quiet, quiet" like and basically hoped for the best. William usually sings and talks to himself for a while so we knew this would be weird. He still did his usual self-calming but Stephen didn't really seem to respond. I sitting to the baby monitor so stressed and angry that William wasn't being quiet but in the end, Stephen didn't care. Only I did.

There have been a handful (maybe two handfuls?) of frustrating moments where the boys wake each other up; especially with these never-ending coughs. Stephen doesn't sleep as late as we'd like, but that took a while for William to get used to. But overall, it seems to be working out okay.  Chris and I are enjoying having our living space back and even watched a TV show together to celebrate! (oh the life!)

Coming back from Vegas has brought some bad habits back into play, such as a 4 a.m. feed and needing to be rocked to sleep more often, but I know we'll get over this hurdle soon enough. At least I hope we do!

Last month, we started sleep training our baby who was nine months at the time. He made the decision easy for me because a) after not sleeping well for nine months I was exhausted and b) he had stopped nursing. This was enough motivation for me to think that he was ready. At this point he had been waking up once or twice a night for a feed.

But how do we do this when we have a three year old in the room? I didn't want to interrupt his sleep with a screaming baby. I also didn't want to disrupt his routine. I had asked others and was told they get used to it and not to worry so much about it. We found a balance and decided to move Stephen to the bedroom and William along with his bed to the living room for a week.

At first, William hated this idea. He cried and fussed and refused to drop the subject. His current phrase is "I don't like that idea." But Chris, who knows his son so well, made a game out of it and made it a fun adventure and then there were magically no more tears. In their place were bright excited eyes and an eager little boy who from that moment on looked forward to sleeping in this new spot.

Stephen adjusted fairly well too. He did wake up a number of times the first couple of nights and cried for a while, but not nearly as long as we were expecting. Maybe 20 minuets at the most (if I remember correctly). And by the end of the week if he woke up, we only heard him cry for a few seconds before he went back to sleep.

Then came the tricky part. Putting William back in the room! Again William "didn't like that idea." But after some discussion and a game of making signs of where the boys were going to sleep and putting a sign on the wall that said "The Brothers' Room." He seemed okay with it. (I had suggested the sign say "The Boys Room" but William came up with "The Brothers' Room" and so it was). We put Stephen down first and then about 30 minutes later ushered William into the room "quiet, quiet" like and basically hoped for the best. William usually sings and talks to himself for a while so we knew this would be weird. He still did his usual self-calming but Stephen didn't really seem to respond. I sitting to the baby monitor so stressed and angry that William wasn't being quiet but in the end, Stephen didn't care. Only I did.

There have been a handful (maybe two handfuls?) of frustrating moments where the boys wake each other up; especially with these never-ending coughs. Stephen doesn't sleep as late as we'd like, but that took a while for William to get used to. But overall, it seems to be working out okay.  Chris and I are enjoying having our living space back and even watched a TV show together to celebrate! (oh the life!)

Coming back from Vegas has brought some bad habits back into play, such as a 4 a.m. feed and needing to be rocked to sleep more often, but I know we'll get over this hurdle soon enough. At least I hope we do!

Baby B2: Ten Months Old

Ten months down and only two more to go until we get to party! I can't believe my little guy is ten months old already. He is measuring 28.5 inches tall and weighs 17 pounds 14 ounces. It seems like yesterday he was five months old--not nursing, not sleeping and crying all the time. And now?

He's moving all the time. Seriously, after a week spent in Las Vegas with a few older cousins he came home cruising like no body's business. And he loves reaching for things above his head. Drawers and cupboards are to be opened and contents studied. We look around and wonder how things got so un-baby proofed in the last three years! He is seriously into everything.

He makes a lot of happy sounds these days. Sometimes he tries to tell us stories or sing along with our songs and he loves giggling. He is very ticklish!

About a month ago we started sleep training at night. I'll write more on that later since it is it's own process, but I will tell you that for the most part, it has been successful. Prior to our Vegas trip, he was sleeping through the night without a feed for about a week. During our trip however, we ended up giving him a bottle between 2 and 4 a.m. and now back at home we're re-training to get him back to waking up between 5:30-6 without a feed. Just like his brother, he is an early riser.

(Bha. Look at that face!)

 He loves to eat. I feel like if I offered food all day long he would eat it. He loves feeding himself finger foods: baked, diced sweet potatoes, potatoes, carrots, green beans, bananas, avocado and baby friendly pancakes. We continue with some purees too and try to offer what we are eating if we can. I'm a bit nervous to offer dairy yet. I've been told he is old enough to give it another try, but I'm hesitant. I just hate the pain he goes through when it doesn't agree with him.

He has six teeth now. I can't tell if there is another one coming in or not. The drool would indicate it's on the way!

I've stopped giving him breastmilk. My supply has always been too low, but it got to the point where what I pumped just didn't add up to enough to warrant the time spent pumping. Every mom needs to make that decision on her own. For me, it was getting less than 5 ounces a day. He drinks 5 ounces per feeding of formula and it was taking me 3+ sessions to pump that much. That was one bottle a day and then it decreased even more. And I just had to stop. I didn't reach my goal of nursing
him for a year, but we had a rough road and I'm glad I could do what I did for as long as I did.

I've really enjoyed this little guy these last few months. He seems to be a very curious and friendly boy and from what I can tell will be full of adventures in the future.

Ten months down and only two more to go until we get to party! I can't believe my little guy is ten months old already. He is measuring 28.5 inches tall and weighs 17 pounds 14 ounces. It seems like yesterday he was five months old--not nursing, not sleeping and crying all the time. And now?

He's moving all the time. Seriously, after a week spent in Las Vegas with a few older cousins he came home cruising like no body's business. And he loves reaching for things above his head. Drawers and cupboards are to be opened and contents studied. We look around and wonder how things got so un-baby proofed in the last three years! He is seriously into everything.

He makes a lot of happy sounds these days. Sometimes he tries to tell us stories or sing along with our songs and he loves giggling. He is very ticklish!

About a month ago we started sleep training at night. I'll write more on that later since it is it's own process, but I will tell you that for the most part, it has been successful. Prior to our Vegas trip, he was sleeping through the night without a feed for about a week. During our trip however, we ended up giving him a bottle between 2 and 4 a.m. and now back at home we're re-training to get him back to waking up between 5:30-6 without a feed. Just like his brother, he is an early riser.

(Bha. Look at that face!)

 He loves to eat. I feel like if I offered food all day long he would eat it. He loves feeding himself finger foods: baked, diced sweet potatoes, potatoes, carrots, green beans, bananas, avocado and baby friendly pancakes. We continue with some purees too and try to offer what we are eating if we can. I'm a bit nervous to offer dairy yet. I've been told he is old enough to give it another try, but I'm hesitant. I just hate the pain he goes through when it doesn't agree with him.

He has six teeth now. I can't tell if there is another one coming in or not. The drool would indicate it's on the way!

I've stopped giving him breastmilk. My supply has always been too low, but it got to the point where what I pumped just didn't add up to enough to warrant the time spent pumping. Every mom needs to make that decision on her own. For me, it was getting less than 5 ounces a day. He drinks 5 ounces per feeding of formula and it was taking me 3+ sessions to pump that much. That was one bottle a day and then it decreased even more. And I just had to stop. I didn't reach my goal of nursing
him for a year, but we had a rough road and I'm glad I could do what I did for as long as I did.

I've really enjoyed this little guy these last few months. He seems to be a very curious and friendly boy and from what I can tell will be full of adventures in the future.

Could this be it?!

Our application is in. We have a number. The lottery is a week from today. Could this really happen?!

I've mentioned before that we were hoping to get some help from the city for housing, by way of down payment assistance or a below-market rate condo. I also mentioned that funds were no longer available for the down payment assistance option a few months ago.

But, after I left my job in January we realized that our income now fit within the bracket for the below-market rate housing! Chris got busy applying and after submitting a three-inch stack of paperwork (that could not be filed electronically) we were given our number and told to wait until March 23.

The waiting is the hardest part and I'm getting a little stir crazy! I'm trying to keep my hopes high (but not too high, you know?). My heart beats faster when I think that this could really happen! Chris reminds me that if God wants to provide a home for us via a lottery, he can do that, even if it sounds crazy. If he has another way, he'll show us that when the time comes. We need to keep our trust in Him. There are only six two-bedrooms open and most likely hundreds of applicants. But God doesn't really concern himself with the odds does he?

I want to have faith and hope that our number will be drawn, that our family will be provided for (blessed, really). Will you pray with us? Will you pray for the lottery next Thursday? That the numbers drawn would be for the right families. And maybe that would include us?

Our application is in. We have a number. The lottery is a week from today. Could this really happen?!

I've mentioned before that we were hoping to get some help from the city for housing, by way of down payment assistance or a below-market rate condo. I also mentioned that funds were no longer available for the down payment assistance option a few months ago.

But, after I left my job in January we realized that our income now fit within the bracket for the below-market rate housing! Chris got busy applying and after submitting a three-inch stack of paperwork (that could not be filed electronically) we were given our number and told to wait until March 23.

The waiting is the hardest part and I'm getting a little stir crazy! I'm trying to keep my hopes high (but not too high, you know?). My heart beats faster when I think that this could really happen! Chris reminds me that if God wants to provide a home for us via a lottery, he can do that, even if it sounds crazy. If he has another way, he'll show us that when the time comes. We need to keep our trust in Him. There are only six two-bedrooms open and most likely hundreds of applicants. But God doesn't really concern himself with the odds does he?

I want to have faith and hope that our number will be drawn, that our family will be provided for (blessed, really). Will you pray with us? Will you pray for the lottery next Thursday? That the numbers drawn would be for the right families. And maybe that would include us?