Need to Sleep!

Yesterday all of Ian's naps were in someone's arms. The first two were in my arms during Sunday School and church, the third was in the Snugli while I mowed the lawn, and the fourth was in Paul's arms while he shopped in Borders. This meant it was very hard to get him to take his first nap in his crib this morning. After letting him cry 30 minutes (the longest I've ever let him cry it out), I nursed him to sleep. The second and fourth naps he cried about 10 minutes before he fell asleep. I rocked him to sleep before his third nap. I am trying to help him develop his self-soothing skills, but for a variety of reasons (some are logical such as that I don't want his crying to wake Nadia), I have a really hard time letting him cry. I would have thought it would be harder to let your firstborn CIO. I am surprised that it's harder for me to let him CIO than it was for me to let Nadia. When I hear him cry, my instinct is to go pick him up and comfort him. It doesn't help that when I do let him cry and then go get him, he looks so pitiful - cheeks bright red, tears and boogies smeared on his face and in his hair, etc.

As hard as it may be, I MUST start doing it at night. I am going to lose my sanity if I don't start getting more sleep. I can't believe I am still functioning given how little sleep I've gotten for over 6 months. Friday night and last night were particularly awful. Saturday night was bearable which is why I was able to mow on Sunday although I wasn't able to finish the whole lawn due to heat exhaustion (it was over 90 degrees out and I was carrying Ian). I usually mow on Saturday, but on Saturday I was dizzy and my head was throbbing so badly I thought I was going to throw up just from exhaustion. I felt the same way today. I was able to function better on Saturday night because a miracle occured in that there was a 45 minute overlap between Ian and Nadia's naps and then to make the miracle even better I was able to get Ian to fall back asleep on me for an additional 45 minutes. That 90 minute nap made the dizziness go away. Ian has been going at least 5 hours the first stretch, but I don't generally go down the same time as he does (although I often go down within 30 minutes of him if he goes down at 8pm or later). What made matters worse last night was that Nadia woke up at 12:30am because she had pooped in bed. I changed her at 12:45 but then insomnia kicked in and I was still awake when Ian woke up at 2am. I didn't get back to sleep until after I put him back down at 2:45am. His first stretch has been okay, but the problem has been that he gets up very frequently after that. I could handle one feeding a night, especially if I could go back to sleep right away. But to be up several times and have a hard time going back to sleep and then to have him start his day sooo early (lately he's been staying up for the day starting as early as 4:45am or today it was 5:30) just leaves me so exhausted. I don't even bother trying to take anything for the headaches. It doesn't help. I need SLEEP. I didn't nap yesterday due to mowing, but I did get a 45 minute nap today. I have to say though I didn't feel somewhat "sane" until 5pm today. Up until that point I just wanted to go to sleep or cry my eyes out. I would give a million dollars (not that I have that much money of course) to be able to sleep 9 hours in a row, especially if I could do it several nights in a row. My plan tonight is to go to bed by 7:30pm and only get up to feed Ian once between then and 6am. Hopefully I will remember how awful I feel during the day and not cave in when he's crying. If Nadia gets up in the night, I am sending Paul since changing her diaper cost me 90 minutes of sleep.

Nadia hasn't had an accident since Friday. She pees on the potty many times a day now. She's drinking a lot more water and milk and not holding it a ridiculous amount of hours any more. She can sit on the regular potty by herself as long as I help her get on it. Once she starts pooping more regularly on the potty (the last time she did that was Thursday), I am going to have her sleep in her underwear at night. She's not peeing during the night. If she doesn't poop during the night, she stays dry. So she's really close to being day and night potty trained. We just need to get her to poop on the potty more. I find it ironic that I am saying that as both in March and mid May #2 was going far better than #1.

During one of Ian's naps today I had her wear a Snow White costume I had bought on clearance after Halloween a few years ago at Walmart. She loved it. She asked for her princess book that my brother gave me last month. It's size 3T/4T so it's a little big for her, but she had fun wearing it.

Sometimes I get frustrated with myself for not being able to do more in a day, but then I think back on my day today and I did two loads of laundry (including folding and putting them away), made brownies (Paul's request this morning), made pancakes for Nadia and I for lunch (inspired by reading If you give a pig a pancake many times recently), did some dishes, and of course took care of my two little ones by myself until Paul got home at 6:10pm. I love being a mom, but I had no idea how utterly exhausted I would feel for months on end.

Happy Father's Day!

I am very grateful for my Dad, Paul's Dad, and Paul. Nadia and Ian are so very blessed to have such a great Dad, PopPop, and Grandpa! To celebrate Paul's special day, I had made 3 photo gifts and one photo card for him (and of course I found deals so I only paid shipping for each of them, lol). The two spiral notebooks and the pad of notepaper have pictures of Ian and Nadia on them, and they are two items that Paul uses for work. I also went to McD's this morning and got him 2 bacon, egg, and cheese bagels. His first choice would be Dunkin Donuts, but his second choice is McD's. Nadia also made him a card at church this morning.

Nadia is really doing a great job with potty training. I'm sure she'll still have an accident now and then, but she's mostly potty trained. If I put her on the toilet when she gets up in the morning, after she eats, and after her nap, she usually will immediately go. What a breakthrough! She also has transitioned to the regular potty. One of her little potties has been packed away in Ian's closet. I am keeping one in our bathroom in case she needs to use it while I am showering. She has been staying dry during her naps; so the last several days she's been staying in underwear for 12-14 hours straight. Since she peed twice before we went to church, I didn't even put a pull-up on over her underwear for our trip to church. We were at church 3 hours so I had her try to go before we left, and she succeeded! It was the first time she used a public toilet. YAY! At this point I will take some of the responsibility for any accidents she has because I think if I put her on the potty frequently enough, she won't have any #1 accidents. She also stayed dry last night! I think it won't be long before she's also night time potty trained. Way to go, Nadia! I am very glad that she has come so far in the last week with potty training.

Ian gained 7lb 1oz in exactly 2 months. His 4 month doctor appt was on 4/20, and today he weighs 16lb 7oz! Paul is going to go with me on Thursday to take the kids to their doctor appointments, what a relief! It will be Nadia's 2  year check-up, and Ian's 6 month check-up. I'm hoping since it's her birthday she won't need any shots that day. I know Ian will be getting shots. Paul often stays home on Thursdays because he watches the kids starting at 2:50 when I leave for work. Usually he stays in his office and does work until that point, but he's going to help out more this Thursday. I said since he did school work most of the vacation maybe he could take this Thursday as a "vacation" day.

Similarities and Differences (birth - 6 months)

I thought it would be nice to post a reflection every 6 months of some of the ways Ian and Nadia were the same and different during that age span. This will help me record some things I might otherwise forget to mention, and it's fun to reminisce back to when Nadia was this age.

1. Ian smiles more easily and laughs far more easily than Nadia did. It is sooooo easy to get Ian to laugh. For example, yesterday I was rubbing his bottom gum (it looks like his first 2 teeth will break through in the near future) and that got him laughing heartily!

2. Ian's diaper needs to be changed more often than Nadia's did or it will leak. He also poops way more than she did. Sometimes it seems like he's still in the newborn stage where every diaper is a wet and poopy diaper.

3. Ian likes sitting in the bouncer or high chair a lot more than Nadia did. Nadia liked the gym a lot more than Ian and by 6 months she was sitting independently on her gym. Nadia didn't have a bumbo or swing so I can't compare them in that regard. Ian hasn't been too crazy about the bumbo.

4. Nadia loved looking at the Take Along books while listening to the cd's. Ian enjoys it when I sing, but isn't as interested in the books or cd's.

5. Both were playing with toys and putting them in their mouths. Nadia had better skills with her hands such as taking the rings off the rock a stack toy.

6. Nadia rarely spit up. Ian spits up in large quantities All Day Long.

7. Both had brown hair at birth that fell out by about 4 months, and the new hair was blonde.

8. Neither like to eat solid foods at first. Nadia stopped making faces once I switched to fruits. Ian makes faces even with unsweetened applesauce. Nadia was faster at learning to eat solids. I need to buy some fruit baby food for Ian and hopefully find one that will get him interested.

9. Nadia learned to nurse without a shield before she turned 1 month old. Ian was on the shield until he turned 4 months old. In the beginning I had to wake Ian to feed him during the night. I never had to do that with Nadia. Nadia started to show a preference for the bottle over nursing by 5 1/2 months and weaned herself off me about a month later. Ian still loves to nurse, and he also drinks a fair amount by bottle. Nadia's weight gain was fairly steady from 2 weeks to 6 months old whereas Ian's was very slow the first 4 months and then very rapid the next 2 months. They both weighed 16lbs at 6 months.

10. Ian is a grabber. Nadia didn't grab my hair constantly like Ian does. He takes my earrings out, grabs my bracelet, and even holds the sheet with his right hand when he's sleeping in his crib.

11. Nadia was sleeping better at night at 6 months than Ian, but I also had been doing sleep training earlier with her. I would have thought it would be harder to do CIO with your firstborn, but for whatever reason it's harder for me this time. The good news is that CIO usually only equates to 5-15 minutes with Ian whereas it lasted MUCH longer with Nadia.

12. Nadia was taking 3 naps a day whereas Ian has been taking 4 naps a day. Ian has started to transition to 3 naps. For a long time Nadia's naps were 45 minutes long although they were longer than that by 6 months. Ian's naps were 30 minutes long for a long time, and they are just now getting longer.

13. Ian sweats far more easily than Nadia (or Paul or I).

14. Ian is more active than Nadia was in terms of his arms and legs being in constant motion. Nadia was more "talkative" than Ian has been thus far.

15. Nadia started sucking her thumb right before she turned 4 months old. She never liked a pacifier. Ian liked the pacifier for the first 4 months. He occasionally sucks his hand, but thus far he's not a thumb sucker (which is fine by me as I am not looking forward to breaking Nadia of that habit).

NOTE: The first 2 pics are of Nadia and Ian at birth, and the second 2 are of Nadia and Ian at 6 months.

P.S. I never said thank you to those who responded to my hpt post. I really appreciated knowing I am not alone albeit none of you said you saved 7 hpts from one pregnancy, lol. A couple of days ago I went through the 7 hpts from 2009 and threw away 3 of them. I kept 12dpo, 14dpo, 16dpo, and 18dpo. My first Beta was 19dpo, and so 18dpo was the last day I tested (even though I still had 3 more hpts as I had purchased a lot of 10 hpts on eBay). I plan to put these 4 away in my box of keepsakes (which is where I think I put the ones I saved from prior years).

Better Late than Never

Ian hasn't used the Nap Nanny since May 22. I probably could have transitioned him sooner, but we wanted to avoid needing to buy another pack 'n play for when we were in Maryland prior to our trip to Florida. I've had "sell things on eBay" on my to do list since then, and yesterday during the 30 minute overlap between Ian and Nadia's naps, I listed three items on eBay - some books my sister asked me to sell for her, the maternity swimsuit I purchased last summer, and the Nap Nanny. I listed two of the items as auction OR "buy it now." I don't have a lot of experience with selling on eBay. I mostly used eBay for buying. I probably could have listed the Nap Nanny at a higher "buy it now" price because it sold within a few hours of when I listed it. I'm happy though that it means someone else is getting a good deal for it. They paid me $100 including shipping. I underestimated what it would cost to ship it. I thought it would be no more than $20 since it's so light, but it cost $28.81 to ship it to CT via UPS. Including the box it weighed 6 lbs, but I was billed for 39 lbs because of the dimensions of the box. Maybe FedEx would have been cheaper? I've never sold anything this large on eBay before. Usually I just ship things from the Post Office (only 1/2 mile from our house). After paying UPS, eBay, and Paypal, our "profit" is $59.79, which is about half of the $124.01 I paid for it. It was worth every penny that is for sure! I forgot how much fun it can be to track items you are selling on eBay - seeing how many people have viewed your item, how many are "watching" it, watching the bidded price go up, etc. Maybe that will inspire me to list some other items on eBay. I should try selling things on Craigslist also. I've never listed on Craigslist before. I'm also considering taking things to a consignment shop that only sells baby/children's clothing. It would be fun to shop there. It just opened a few months ago, and I haven't checked it out yet. I should put it on my to do list. :-)

I used to recycle back when all I had to do was put newspapers, aluminum cans, etc. in the special bin and put that out on the curb. When we moved in 2004, we moved to a place that didn't provide that service. So I stopped recycling (embarrasing but true). That's part of the reason I stopped subscribing to the newspaper. For whatever reason it really bothered me to put a newspaper in the garbage can. The only thing I continued to recycle was plastic bags because I could return those at the grocery stores I shopped at or Walmart. When we moved to our new home (Sept 2008), I continued to save my plastic bags even though the stores around here don't take them back. What I need to do is buy some bags that I can take to the store so I don't need to use plastic bags. Anyhow, I recently gave my mom about 18 months worth of plastic bags to take back to Maryland with her as she does have curbside recycling. A few weeks ago I decided that I needed to start recycling again even if it involved driving 15 minutes to take my stuff to a recycling center. I made my first trip today and learned that they don't take glass or styrofoam, and they only take #1 and #2 plastic (and those must be separated). Thankfully they took almost everything I brought (cardboard, magazines, cans, plastic, and plastic bags). I only drink water so I don't produce as much plastic waste as my hubby who drinks juice and LOTS of soda. I had been buying one half-gallon of skim milk (for Paul & I) and one gallon of 2% milk (for Nadia) each week over the past year. I am not going to be buying 2% milk again until Ian turns 1 year old. Once her current milk is gone, I am switching her to skim. The next time I take things to this recycling center, I also want to check out their thrift store. I see that sometimes they have a special where you get 50% off everything. From the photos on the web it looks like they have a lot of clothes and toys. I'll probably also donate some things that I don't want to take the time/energy to sell.

Since it has been taking longer and longer to get Ian to go to sleep for his naps and at night, Paul let him CIO before his 3rd nap today. He cried 10 minutes and then slept 45 minutes. I followed Paul's example and after several failed attempts to get him down, I let him cry about 10 minutes when I put him down at 8pm. I guess Ian is now going to need to learn some self-soothing skills. He's doing MUCH better with sleeping at night. Last night he woke up once (within the first couple of hours after he went to sleep) and cried for about 10 minutes and then he slept until 4:30am! I had been awake since 4am as I was in pain. My body wasn't expecting him to go sleep almost 9 hours. After nursing him for about 40 minutes he slept another hour. Ian slept 9.5 hours total! YAY! I am sooooooooooooo happy that I'm down to one feeding during the night. The only problem was I couldn't get back to sleep, and 4am is a bit early to start my day, but I am very encouraged that in the near future I should feel far more rested than I have felt the past 6 months.

The final bit of good news would be that we are over the hump with potty training. On Tuesday and Wednesday Nadia peed on the potty four times a day each day. Today she did the same plus she also pooped on the potty once -something she hadn't done in a couple of weeks! She now goes when I suggest that she "tries." She doesn't have to sit on the potty for extended periods of time any more. Whew. She stayed dry during her nap yesterday and today. She stayed dry overnight on Monday night and Tuesday night. This morning while shopping at Walmart she told me she needed to go potty as we were checking out. I rushed her to the potty. She didn't go, which didn't surprise me as she's only used her little potty at home thus far. What amazed me was that she held it until we got home. I immediately put her on the potty and she immediately peed. Way to go, Nadia!!! The next step is to get her to start using a regular size toilet. I think we'll use the Elmo insert as a transition. I feel such a sense of relief that the worst part of potty training is over for Nadia. I am glad I'll get an 18 month break before I think of tackling this with Ian. :-)

Progress!!!

Ian is making great progress with sleeping at night! I put him down around 8:15, and I thought 4:00 was the first time he woke up, but Paul told me that Ian cried for 8 minutes around 10pm. I am so glad that CIO has only meant 5-15 minutes for Ian. Nadia cried a LOT longer than that. I went to bed at 8:45 so that was a wonderful stretch for me also. I nursed him until 4:30, and then he slept until 6:15! He slept 9.5 hours total, which is a big improvement!

Nadia is making a lot of progress with her attention span for reading and potty training. Her favorite book at the moment is what she calls the "cookie book" (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie). I love how she wants me to read books to her again and again and again (although I prefer to read a variety of books rather than the same one over and over). As for potty training, she woke up dry the past two days, and she's usually in her crib at night for 10-12 hours! Maybe she'll be totally out of diapers by her 2nd birthday (even at night)? Yesterday she peed in her potty twice for me in the morning, once for Beth in the afternoon, and then she didn't quite make it in time for Paul  last night, but she did run to the potty so part of it went in her potty, but Paul had a mess to clean up as she left a trail on the floor. Unfortunately she pooped during her nap. It's ironic to me as the first week of potty training she pooped in the potty every day but had a lot of #1 accidents. Now it's been a couple of weeks since she's pooped in the potty. Go figure. I hope she gets back on track with that soon as it was nice not having to clean that up. She peed twice in the potty this morning. I feel very encouraged!

I've also been making progress on my to do list, which is a great feeling. I love crossing things off! Yesterday I got to cross off "book cruise." YAY! It seems more real now even though it's 7 months away. I made reservations for an inside cabin for the four of us right across from a balcony cabin for Paul's parents. None of us have ever been on a cruise before, but I think we're going to have a wonderful time in the Western Caribbean in January! I also called two more electricians, and one is supposed to come today to give an estimate. I'm hoping this project can be completed by the end of the month as we bought the light fixtures and ceiling fan the end of August. I didn't think it would take 10 months to accomplish!

Now if whomever found the DVD I dropped in the parking lot last Friday would just return it to a Blockbuster Express kiosk, that would really make my day. It didn't cross my mind at first that maybe whomever found it might just decide to keep it. Oh well. Losing $25 really isn't a big deal (what it will cost if it's never returned). I shouldn't let it bug me so much!

HPTs

I can't recall when I used my first hpt. We started ttc in May 2002, and I started temping in Jan 2003, but I didn't start charting on Fertility Friend until September 2003, so I don't have as thorough of a record prior to that point as to exactly when I tested. I do know that the first time I ever saw two lines was June 15, 2005 - exactly five years ago. I was 12 days past an IUI, which was sooner than my RE's office liked to do a Beta, but I begged them to let me come in because the second line was SO faint that I kept questioning whether it was really there or not. Once they called me and told me I was pregnant (albeit my hCG was very low), I went to the CVS 5 minutes from our house and bought Paul a Father's Day card and a candy bar. Then I drove 30 minutes to where he worked. It's the only time I ever drove to his workplace while he was at work. I had to tell him in person so that I could then start calling friends and family to tell them the good news! At that point we had been trying for 3 years, and it was such a glorious feeling to know that finally a little life was growing inside me. Unfortunately, I was given methotrexate shots on July 5th to end the ectopic pregnancy. The pain of that loss is definitely eased by having two sweet children to hug and kiss each day, but I still grieve that loss from time to time.

Aside from the fact that today is 6/15, the reason I am reflecting back on my first pregnancy is because lately I've been trying to do a little bit of decluttering. For example, on Saturday I brought a HUGE bag of infant/toddler plastic hangers back to JCP. I figured most of the clothing I had purchased was from there, and I was hoping they will recycle the hangers. Well the hpts that I took last year when I was pregnant with Ian are in the dresser drawer where I keep my pajamas. Every time I see them I think I really should get rid of them. If not all of them, I should at least toss some of them. I have saved every single one. I honestly can't recall what I did with the hpts from my bfps in 2005 and 2007. I remember trying to decide what to do with them before we moved. I think I saved a couple and packed them away with other keepsakes. I know it seems crazy to save these sticks. I have a child sleeping in a crib at the moment who is proof that I was pregnant last year. For Pete's sake, can you think of anything else that someone has peed on that they might be tempted to save?? LOL! I am by nature anti-clutter. Paul used to call me "the chucker" although now that title goes to Ian for all the spitting up he does all the time. Well these hpts aren't really taking up that much room. So as illogical as it may be, for now I am keeping all of them. For whatever reason it's just way too hard for me to think of actually throwing them out; it actually brings me to tears. Maybe it's all those years of seeing one line on hpts that is causing me to save these. Maybe I know I'll never see two lines again. Whatever the reason, I am going against my usual tendencies and holding on to these hpts - at least for now. Have any of you saved a hpt even after giving birth?

Daddy's Girl

Yesterday morning while I was playing with Nadia during Ian's first nap, I gave her a big hug and said "you're mommy's girl." Nadia shook her head "no" and said "Daddy's girl." It hurt a little, but I of course am glad she loves her Daddy so much. I know she loves me too as lately she cries when I leave for work on Tuesdays. Daddy has definitely been #1 in her life the past month or so. She said it again this morning "Daddy's girl" and that put a big smile on her Daddy's face as he was here when she said it today.

Nadia had a lot of fun at Knoebels yesterday. I have learned that I shouldn't tell her where we are going until the very last minute as she had a very hard time taking her nap yesterday since she was sooo excited. She cried when we left. When it was time to eat dinner (around 5pm), I said let's eat pizza. She said "ride rides!" Who wants to eat dinner when there are rides to ride? Gabby and Alexis rode some rides with Nadia, and they also went off by themselves for awhile to ride roller coasters and such. My friend, Joyce, came up from Harrisburg with her husband and two kids (who will be in 2nd and 4th grade in the fall) so I got to spend some time with Joyce also. It was a very fun but tiring day. I was carrying Ian in the Snugli most of the time. We used to live only 10 minutes from this amusement park. I wish we still lived that close to it so we could go more often. Yesterday I bought Nadia a 4 hour pass for $10.50. Most of the time she didn't have to wait in line At All so she was able to ride many rides!!

If the ride home had been 2 minutes shorter, Nadia wouldn't have had an accident. She peed in the car as we turned onto our street. The good news is that she stayed dry last night (almost 12 hours!) and peed in her potty this morning. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!! Hopefully potty training will get back on track today as the past 3 days she didn't use the potty At All.

The other thing that put a big smile on my face was how well Ian slept last night. He went down around 8pm, and I went to bed at 9pm. I thought the first time he woke up was 3:15am, but Paul told me that Ian cried from 11:30-11:45. I think from now on I'm going to let him cry one time if he wakes up sooner than 6 hours after I put him down since he seems to only cry for 15 minutes and then sleeps at least 3 more hours. It was heavenly to only get up once to feed him last night! I nursed him from 3:15-4:00 and then he slept until 6:30. Amazing! No formula for Ian last night, and I finally got 8 hours of sleep!!! Oh how I hope this becomes the norm!! I sitll have a headache, but if I keep getting that much sleep, I am sure the headache will go away. :-)

16 Pounds!

Ian has caught up to his sister - not to her current (28 lb) weight but what she weighed when she turned 6 months old! He weighed 16lb 2oz this morning with only a dry diaper, which means he's gained almost 7 lbs since his 4 month doctor appt (4/20) and puts him up at the 25th percentile! I am sure the doctor will be pleased when he has his 6 month appt next week (6/24). I called this morning to request to be on a cancellation list for the urologist, and they gave me an appt one month from now (which is one month later than our original appt but one month earlier than our rescheduled one). It's at a different location, but it's only a few minutes farther away. I am glad the suspense as to whether or not he'll need surgery will end in July rather than in August. The other bit of happy Ian news would be that this morning his first nap was 75 minutes long!! Wow! Most of his naps are still 30 minutes long, but I have hope they won't stay that way when he has a longer one now and then. :-)

Weekend in Review

Friday Paul stayed home because his advisor and officemate (a doctoral student one year ahead of him) weren't going to be on campus. This enabled us to leave at 4:30 for a date. Gabby and Alexis came over to babysit. We had a nice time although we  felt rushed as we tried to run a few errands in addition to having dinner at TGIF. We checked out a place I was thinking of having Nadia's 2nd birthday party with Paul's family, but the mini bowling alley doesn't have many lanes, and the indoor playground isn't open yet so that won't work for this birthday. I do want to take Nadia bowling there sometime, and I want to go miniature golfing there with Paul on a date sometime this summer. We got home about 7:15 so that we could get the kids to bed at a reasonable hour. I finished off my meal for lunch after church today, and I have to say the rice that came with my meal was the BEST rice I have eaten in my entire life. This is saying a lot because I am not a big fan of rice. I prefer pasta or potatoes, but I definitely would like to have this rice again. One of the ingredients that made it so wonderful was pineapple. YUMMMY!

Saturday morning I mowed the lawn. It's definitely getting to be more of a workout since Ian weighs more and the temps are higher. Paul's parents came over around noon and I left about 12:30 to go get my haircut and do a little shopping while Nadia napped and they took care of Ian. We have lived here 1.75 years and yet I still keep going to different hair salons. It's not good because I keep getting a different hairstyle every time. She definitely didn't cut it the way I was wanting her to. I hope I'll like it. I used to get my hair cut every 2 months by the same woman (for 4 years), but I went 5 months this time, and the time before that I went 4 months. Getting a haircut is definitely a luxury these days. I was hoping to REALLY be pampered on Saturday. I have been wanting to use the birthday money my aunt gave me to get a manicure and pedicure. The last time I had either done was in August (2009). At that point I hadn't had a professional manicure in 2.5 years or a professional pedicure in 1.5 years so I haven't gone as long as I have recently without one, but still I have been looking forward to it. I am determined sometime this summer that I will treat myself to that pampering experience! :-)  Around 5:30 Paul's parents and I took the kids to Bonanza as that had worked out well the previous weekend with my mom. It didn't work out as well this time around. I guess you just never know how kids this age are going to do at a sit down restaurant.

Nadia didn't eat as well which was part of the reason I didn't feel it went well, and Ian was fussier, but the most embarassing moment was when Nadia peed while sitting in the high chair. The first 2.5 weeks of potty training I always put a pull-up on over Nadia's underwear whenever we left the house. She never had an accident, so lately I've been just having her wear underwear. She had one accident last week somewhere other than our house, but it was at a playground. No one else was there, and she peed in the mulch so there wasn't any clean-up involved. Yesterday was a different story. Unfortunately she kept saying "pee pee potty" while it was happening. You can't expect a 23 month old to understand that's not something we need to announce to the whole restaurant. Oi vey. As of Friday she had only had one accident over a period of seven days (not counting time spent in her crib). Yesterday she had two accidents outside of her crib - once while on a walk int he neighborhood with PopPop (#2) and then at Bonanza last night (#1). The first 9 days she pooped on the potty every single day. Now it's been about 10 days or so since she's pooped on the potty. Very, Very Frustrating! Today hasn't gone much better in that regard. She stayed dry at church (I've gone back to putting a pull-up on over her underwear when she leaves the house) but then had an accident (#1) in her high chair at home. So we went from one accident in 7 days to 3 accidents (so far) in 2 days. I think the reason she had an accident at the restaurant was that she had been given a sippy cup of milk for the first time in three weeks, and I think she was drinking more and couldn't hold it until bedtime like she often has done lately.

After the kids and I got home (about 6:45pm) I decided to give them both baths. That went fine until I went to brush Nadia's teeth and she had a total meltdown. I have had trouble inspecting her mouth lately for new teeth because when I try to check she usually bites my finger. I did check yesterday and her two bottom canines have broken through so I guess teething has been part of the problem. She wouldn't settle down so I put her down to bed early (7:10) but then she stayed awake (wasn't crying but wasn't sleeping) until 8:20pm! Oi vey!!! I think we need to have a new rule of no sweets during or after dinner to see if sugar is the problem as she's been staying awake later, but generally she's not been sleeping in any more than usual so it just translates to less sleep. Ian is usually easy to put to bed, but it took me 65 minutes to get him down. He just kept fussing. He didn't want to nurse, didn't want a bottle, etc. I was very relieved and exhausted when he finally went down at 8:15pm. He slept until 1am and then after sleeping 2 hours was up again at 3:50. I guess I need to have him CIO more often. I didn't go to bed until 9:30 because I was clipping coupons that Paul's mom gave me.

This morning I went to Sunday School for the first time in several weeks. I joined a class that is doing the Truth Project. I arrived at 9am, which is generally when Sunday School begins, but this class is starting at 8:30. I had Ian with me, and Nadia was in Sunday School (she got promoted early to the preschool class last month as she was bored in the nursery). After Sunday School the teacher offered to try to find someone to watch my kids starting at 8:30. I guess Ian wasn't quiet enough. Sniff, sniff. My days of holding a baby in SS and church are coming to an end sooner than I hoped although it was soon after Nadia turned 6 months old that I started putting her in the nursery. In fact we left church early this morning because Ian was fussy; I thought it was because I didn't bring enough milk, but when we got home he didn't want a bottle. He just wanted to sleep in his crib. Leaving church early worked out well though because Nadia got a nap before Paul left to take her to Harrisburg. I think over the next 11 weeks I'm just going to go to Sunday School since that will be from 8:30-10:00. Being at church from 8:30-12:00 is just too much for my little ones. Once the Truth Project is done I'll probably take a break from Sunday School and just go to church for awhile until Ian is down to one nap a day.

Paul's cousin's graduation party was at 2pm today. We were all invited. I had no desire to take Ian as either he screams the majority of the trip (about 3 hours roundtrip) OR he sleeps too much and that messes up his schedule (which isn't that great to begin with!).  Paul had planned to take Nadia, but based on the troubles we've had with her lately (with potty training as well as other things), Paul changed his mind back and forth as to whether he'd go or not. Similarly, I cancelled my plans to go to the Toyota dealer tomorrow morning (I had an 8:30 appt as they were holding the Prius for us), and I toyed with cancelling our plans to go to Knoebels tomorrow, but since I had invited Gabby and Alexis to join us, it didn't seem right to dash their plans. As badly as I want the potty training to get back on track, the world isn't going to come to an end if we have to wait until Tuesday to ditch the pull-ups again. I knew we'd  be house bound for one week due to potty training, but I didn't think it would last a month. The problem is that she never goes to the bathroom when I initiate her going. Either she tells someone she needs to go or she sits down herself. The problem is that means we can't have her go to the bathroom before we leave the house, and she doesn't give us enough warning when we're out and about to get her on a potty in time. Let me say it again. I hate potty training. My new plan (since the chocolate doesn't seem to be working) is that she'll be able to watch a little tv or a dvd after she uses the potty, but otherwise the tv is staying OFF. She hates it when we give her a shower (and she's had quite a few showers over the past 10 days or so!), but it doesn't seem to be working.

Half Birthday!

Ian turned 6 months old today! I love how easy it is to get him to smile or laugh. I hope he stays that way!! He still loves to be held, but he's gotten better at lasting longer in other places as long as he has toys to play with - his favorite lately being the highchair. He still isn't a fan of tummy time though. I thought he'd have a better opinion of it now that he's been sleeping on his belly in his crib. I was wrong! He still loves to look at lights and moving ceiling fans, which means he's pretty easy to keep quiet while I hold him during church. I am already dreading the day when I have to start putting him the nursery. I love snuggling a baby during church!!! He can sit with assistance and stand if you're holding his hands.

Ian now weighs 15.75 lbs! He gained 6lb 6oz over the past 2 months. He's now at the 20th percentile for weight! Wow! He likes drinking his milk from a bottle or nursing. He's still not really consuming anything by spoon; so far I've tried feeding him oatmeal (baby cereal) and unsweetened applesauce.

Over the next month I hope that he gets in a habit of only getting up at most once during the night and sleeps at least 10 hours total. I also hope that his 3-4 naps a day will total three hours on average. Last night he only got up once (1:10am), but he only slept 8.5 hours as he went down at 8:00pm and got up for the day at 5:30am. I also hope that he learns to swallow solid food and sit independently over the next month. I think he'll also be getting his first two (bottom) teeth before he turns 7 months old.