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.

Updates

The sleep (Ian) and potty training (Nadia) updates would be that yesterday Ian's naps were all 30  minutes long, but today one of his naps was one hour long albeit only 5 minutes of it overlapped with Nadia's nap because she woke up early because she had an accident in bed. Last night Ian woke up at 11:30, which was too soon so I let him cry. He only cried for about 10 minutes and then he didn't wake up again until 2:30. Since he was able to go 6 hours, I've decided to start stretching the length of the first segment. My rule the past four nights has been that he had to go at least 4 hours. Last night Paul put him down at 7pm, but then he woke up a little before 8pm when I got home from class. I nursed him and put him back down a little before 8:30pm. Paul gave him a bottle at 4:40 and then he slept from 5:30-7:15. So last night was a good night for Ian as he slept about 10 hours total (two more than usual)! The potty training update would be that over the past 7 days Nadia only had one accident (not counting the time spent in her crib) - that happened Thursday night when Paul was watching her. I was really pleased that she told Gabby she needed to pee and then used the potty this evening while Paul and I were on a date. The bad news would be that she hasn't pooped on the potty for quite a few days even though the first 9 days she was potty training she pooped on the potty every day. That is frustrating! Also, she only pees on the potty once a day. I'm hoping she'll start peeing on the potty more frequently. Wednesday and today she had #1 accidents in the crib during her nap, and on Thursday she had a #2 accident during her nap. So there is a lot of room for improvement with staying dry during her naps. We'll keep working on that. I'm not going to attempt working on staying dry overnight until she is using the potty a lot more regularly during the day.

Hairdos

I think little girls look so cute in pigtails. Yesterday was the first time I put Nadia's hair in pigtails because Paul doesn't like pigtails and also because Nadia takes out whatever I put in her hair. Today I tried barrettes, and she didn't leave those in very long either. I enjoy styling her hair, but unfortunately she hates having her hair combed, brushed, or styled in any way. I hope in the future she enjoys it more. She'd probably prefer if she didn't have any hair as she hates having it shampooed, brushed, etc. I'm trying to decide how I want to do it for her 2 year old pictures. Last night someone told me at the choir picnic that they asked her how old she was and she responded "one years old." I was amazed as she always tells me "three," LOL!

Would you believe Ian peed just as I was putting on a clean diaper again today? It hadn't happened in months, and now it's happened two days in a row. I guess I need to be more efficient! Nadia never used the potty yesterday, but aside from during her nap, she didn't have any accidents. She's never peed in the car or when we've been out and about aside from the one time at the playground. So for the first time I took her on an errand with only underwear on (usually I've been putting a pull-up on over the underwear). We went to the grocery store, and she stayed dry. I figured since she hadn't had any accidents in public or the car in 2 weeks it was a safe move. She did pee in the potty before her nap; so I am hoping she'll wake up dry today. It seems we're down to one diaper a day for Nadia - just at night! I plan to keep as little in her crib as possible during naps until she regularly stays dry during her naps. I predict doing a little more laundry than usual for awhile, but hopefully it won't take too long for her to be trained not to pee or poop during her nap. In light of the short nap yesterday, she slept in this morning. Ian had been up for two hours by the time she got up. It worked out rather nicely as she woke up right after I put him down for his first (30 minute) nap.

How Ironic!

Even though I got more sleep on Monday night than usual (in part because I let him cry once), I was still really tired yesterday, and I was fearful of experiencing deja vu in class last night. So I decided to take a nap - something I hadn't done in weeks, and I really wanted it to be longer than 30 minutes, which is how long Ian's naps have been almost all the time for the last couple of months. I called Gabby after I put him down, and asked if she could come over in 20 minutes and take care of Ian for about 30 minutes while Nadia and I napped. It seemed like a good plan, but somehow Ian figured out that there was a babysitter waiting downstairs. I slept for one hour, and so did he. I didn't need to pay a babysitter to take a nap after all, LOL! On Sunday he did have one nap that was one hour long (the nap he took before we went to church), but all of his naps on Monday were 30 minutes long. I thought the one hour nap on Sunday was a fluke. It turns out though that his naps are getting longer. YAHOO! He took another one hour nap yesterday afternoon (albeit that one was in Beth's arms), and today his first three naps were each 40-60 minutes long.

Last night Ian slept for four hours the first stretch, three hours the second, and one hour the third. He got his usual 8 hours of sleep. There wasn't any crying involved as I had decided his first stretch had to be at least 4 hours long and his second had to be at least 3 hours. Did he know that too, LOL? He was up from 12:15-1:45am.  Thankfully the second feeding was much shorter. I still felt very tired again today and was hoping to have another nap since I felt sooo much  better yesterday after that one hour nap. Ian cooperated, but unfortunately potty training interefered with my nap.

Nadia didn't have any accidents Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday. You'd think I'd be thrilled, but during that time span she only used the potty twice. She just has amazing bladder control and has decided to only pee and poop when she's in her crib. Although I appreciated not cleaning up any messes, it seemed like a regression to me as the first nine days or so she pooped in the potty every day. Now she hasn't done so for several days. I know she CAN do it. She's choosing to go when she's in her crib instead. She even told me several times "Nadia pee pee in bed." It's very purposeful. I hadn't planned to work on naptime training yet, but it seems that if I want her to start using the potty during the day then I need to have her sleep without a pull-up or diaper. I decided last night that I would just start with her nap. I took all of the stuffed animals except for doggie out of the crib and also removed her sheet and blankets. I figured this way the only laundry I'd have to do would be her mattress cover and her underwear and clothes. Well one hour into her nap (and only 15 minutes after I had put Ian down) she was crying because she had an accident. I gave her a quick 30 second shower to clean her up and also as negative reinforcement since she doesn't like showers. She ate two popsicles this afternoon. I am really hoping she uses the bathroom before we head to church for the choir picnic. The picnic was supposed to be held outside at my choir director's house, but unfortunately it's cold and rainy today. It's supposed to be back up to 80 degrees tomorrow, but today isn't picnic weather At All. I'm hoping that tomrorow she'll choose to use the bathroom in the morning so that she can stay dry during her nap. I am thrilled that Ian's naps are getting longer!!!

I could have titled this post "Bodily Fluids Part 2" as this morning Nadia threw up (my least favorite thing to clean up) and then while Nadia was napping Ian peed all over the place while I was in the middle of changing his diaper. Ironically, I had just thought while changing his diaper this morning that this hadn't happened for a few months. I decided to give him a bath, and just as I was about to put him in the water, he peed again! This time he got the rug in the bathroom. So between Nadia's nap time accident and vomiting this morning and Ian's two incidents, I definitely needed to do a load of laundry today! I LOVE being a mom, but I'd really like to know where this image of mom's staying home eating bon bons came from. It's truly not a relaxing or glamorous experience to care for little ones all day long! I wouldn't trade it for the world. In fact even though I am still in the sleep deprived stage with Ian and the potty training stage with Nadia (neither are fun), I have to admit I am really struggling to accept the fact we're not going to do IVF again. I really want another baby.