Aedan: 45 Months, Week 2
Owen: 3 Months, Week 4 (Week 17)
Going into this week, I knew it was going to be busy. Ben was going to be out of town Wednesday morning through Friday night, and my dad planned on coming up Tuesday afternoon through Saturday morning to help me out.
Sunday morning was a church day. With being out of town over two Sundays, it felt like a long time since we'd been at church. The other big news of the day was that we decided to drop Owen off at the nursery for the first time. He had nursed before church, so I knew he would be okay. Plus, church only lasts a little over an hour. He's old enough now to start going to the nursery, and it's nice for Ben and I to be in church together. Owen would do fine during the music, but I think he would be a little too chatty during the sermon. He did great in the nursery that day and was ready to come back home for a little morning nap.
Owen never stays asleep for very long in his car seat, which is unfortunate sometimes, but it just made it so that he was very ready for his afternoon nap after lunch that day. I usually nurse him before his afternoon nap, as an attempt to help keep his tummy full longer and give him a better nap. I did this with Samantha and Aedan as well, and I always enjoy this time I have to just sit and hold my baby while he sleeps. It was bright enough in the room that afternoon that I got these cute little sleeping pictures of him, so peaceful and relaxed.
After having two days of cancelled school last week, Monday came with school back in session and a full week ahead. Ben went to campus to get ready for the start of the semester, and the boys and I did our weekly grocery shopping. It was a pretty typical Monday. The only new thing that started happening this week was that Owen would go down just fine for his afternoon nap, but then he would wake up after forty-five minutes to an hour crying. I usually was able to get him to go back to sleep by just picking him up and holding him against my shoulder to rock him back to sleep. I know there is something called a 45 minute intruder that happens around this age, where they experience the end of a sleep cycle and that transition wakes them up sometimes. I think that happened every day but one this entire week, so I came to expect it. Basically, by the time I got him down and then came upstairs, did a few things around the house, and sat down, he would be up crying again. Not exactly the most relaxing nap times for me.
I put Samantha to bed that Monday night, and she was pretty insistent on cuddling up with Owen on her pillow. She loved having him lay there next to her, and he was glad to be held and kissed. :) So sweet.
I put Samantha to bed that Monday night, and she was pretty insistent on cuddling up with Owen on her pillow. She loved having him lay there next to her, and he was glad to be held and kissed. :) So sweet.
Looking back on this week, I don't remember many details, especially with Ben being out of town, it was all about just taking care of things and surviving. Tuesday morning was MOPS and then I did a little touch-up cleaning around the house before my dad arrived that afternoon. The kids were super excited to see him, and I was very glad he sacrificed his time to come up and spend some days with us so that I could have some help with the kids. He even got to come to our small group with us on Tuesday night. I brought milk for a bottle with me, as I've started to do lately, and Owen actually did a fairly good job drinking most of the milk I put in the bottle. At one point I looked over at Ben with an excited look and thinking, "He's actually drinking it!" I want him to get used to drinking from a bottle not only for the occasional time that I want to go out over a time when he's hungry, but also because Ben got us tickets to see Les Miserables in Indianapolis on St. Patrick's Day. (Have I mentioned this already? Also, have I mentioned how excited I am about this?! What a wonderful, thoughtful gift. My husband knows me well.) However, in order to do that in a couple months, Owen needs to be able to take a bottle, particularly taking one at night to go to sleep since I won't be back at his bedtime. Ben and I need to be more intentional about getting him used to it so that it isn't difficult for Ema and Papa to care for him while we're gone.
Wednesday morning Ben left on his trip. I so wished I could have gone with him, but it wouldn't have made any sense for me all of us to tag-along, making the drive much more difficult and the whole trip much more stressful for him. I miss him a lot when he's gone. We make a pretty good team. We have a pretty good system worked out for taking care of things around the house and the kids. Plus, I look forward to our time together in the evenings to talk, hang out, watch TV, and talk and cuddle in bed. (I think that's one of the strangest parts about him being gone, sleeping alone in bed. In fact, I actually moved his pillow under the covers lengthwise so that it felt like someone was laying in the bed next to me.) I was glad for Ben to have this opportunity, and I prayed for him whenever I thought about him, but he was dearly missed by everyone in the house, and we couldn't wait for Friday night when he would come back to us.
On Wednesday morning Grandpa came with us to the library for story time. At first Aedan was being grumpy and didn't want to go, but I kind of made us go to get him out of the house, and especially since it was the first story time. He is in the mood lately where he doesn't want to leave to go anywhere, but then he has a great time while he's there and doesn't want to leave there to come back home.
My dad was a huge help at those difficult times of day, like lunch time and nap time when Owen is getting tired and grumpy, but I still have to get lunch served and get Aedan to bed. Grandpa even helped put Aedan to bed for me when Owen was needing me, so that way he didn't have to wait as long for me to be done. Owen didn't sleep for very long on Wednesday afternoon, even though I tried to get him back to sleep after he woke up. I spent almost 50 minutes trying to get him back to sleep before I finally gave up. Luckily, Aedan took a nice long nap which was good. He was tired from being out late at small group, and he needed a nap if he was going to make it through AWANA that night. His napping is hit or miss lately, even though he could use one every day and still wakes up way too early in the morning.
On Thursday we didn't really have any plans, so we just hung out at the house. Grandpa dropped Samantha off at school (with Aedan and Izzy tagging along). Then, once Owen started showing signs of being tired, I put him down for a nap, Aedan played and did puzzles with Grandpa, and I attempted to start cleaning the house. I figured I'd take advantage of the fact that I had another person at home with me. It had been about a month since I really cleaned, and the dust and stinky toilets were more than bothering me.
Once Owen woke up from his nap, we decided to go over to school to have lunch with Samantha. I figured she would like that surprise, and Grandpa would enjoy being able to see her school and her classroom. I have also wanted to come and eat with her, but it's harder to do that now with Aedan and Owen to bring along. We got to eat at a table off to the side with her, and Aedan was so excited to sit next to Sissy, even though neither of them ate very much of their food. I know we surprised her, and she was delighted to share her lunch time with all of us.
Again, my dad was super helpful when I didn't have enough hands to do everything. For example, on Thursday night he actually made dinner while I nursed Owen. Samantha and Aedan just kept asking for snacks, so I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to just have an early dinner. Then, after dinner Owen was getting tired and fussy, but I also had to give the kids baths. Grandpa offered to hold his youngest grandchild with I bathed Samantha and Aedan. A few minutes later, Owen had fallen asleep on Grandpa's shoulder. He took a nice little evening nap all snuggled up. It was so cute that I just had to take a picture.
Samantha had been busy in her room making something that evening. For Christmas, my Grandma gave her this wonderful craft box full of stickers, cards, envelopes, fancy scissors, craft paper, and lots of fun things to use to make crafts. Later that evening, I saw this card laying out on the counter, already sealed up, so I don't know what it said. Isn't is beautifully decorated? I especially love how symmetrical it is. Samantha loves to spend time on things like this. She loves to be creative and make things, and she is getting good use out of her desk.
The days with Ben gone went okay, but I sure was glad when Friday finally arrived, knowing that he would be home late that night. Owen woke up twice a night, like normal, and did a good job going back to sleep for me. I made sure I was up and ready by 7:00 so that I could help the big kids and make sure Samantha got ready for school okay. I was glad for my dad coming up not only for the help, but also for the company. Sometimes I get a little scared being in the house by myself, especially overnight.
Here is a picture of my little guy and me on Friday morning when he woke up for the day. Even though I look pretty tired, he looks cute, happy, and well-rested.
That Friday we did not have any plans to go anywhere or do anything, so I decided to take advantage of the fact that Grandpa was there to be an extra set of eyes and hands for me. I decided to finish cleaning the house, while Owen napped happily in his bed for his morning nap, and Aedan had Grandpa's full attention for reading books and playing. Here's a cute picture of Aedan cuddled up with my dad on the couch, listening to a book. Aedan loved having Grandpa here and having a built-in playmate. This little boy is so sweet and loves spending time with people. It's fun to see him interact and play with people. His play has become much more imaginative and creative. My time home with him is going by way too quickly.
Lately I have been wondering whether or not I should stop using the swaddle sleep sack for Owen because he is becoming more of a mover. He will turn himself around on his floor gym, and although he hasn't rolled over yet, I'm sure it's only a matter of time. With Samantha and Aedan, we stopped swaddling them when they consistently busted out of their swaddles every time they slept. However, with them we had smaller swaddles. With Owen, we have these larger ones that will accommodate him for much longer. I'm always so hesitant to do anything that will mess with their sleep, especially with how he's been waking up after forty-five minutes to an hour during his nap every day. But I also don't want to wait too long and have it be a difficult transition for him either. I have tried leaving his hands out a few times or using a sleep sack with his arms free, and he still seems to have the startle reflex and will sometimes wake himself up with his hands. Access to his hands doesn't seem to have a soothing effect on him yet. We will see. For now he is happy being swaddled, so until we get past this new sleeping problem, I think I will continue to swaddle him. On Friday afternoon I had to take a picture of him in his bed because I definitely laid him down straight up and down, and when I came down to get him when he woke up, he was turned at an angle like this, so he is definitely learning how to move around, even when swaddled.
Ben got back at about 10:00 p.m. on Friday, and I was so glad that weather cooperated enough for him to make it home. Izzy was also super excited to see him. My dad planned on leaving Saturday morning, and I even took advantage of my chance to sleep in a little bit. We then spent the morning together at home as a family. We worked together to put away our Christmas decorations and take down our Christmas tree. (The only thing that has to stay up are our icicle lights because there's no way we can get a ladder out in the snow to get them down right now.) I love decorating for Christmas, but it's also nice getting everything put away and having more space again, although it isn't as bad in this house. The kids helped take ornaments off the tree and find the boxes that they belonged in. It was a successful morning of getting things done.
Saturday evening we decided to go to a free magic show that was advertised through a note sent home from Samantha's school. We got there a little early so we could get seats, and Owen fell asleep in his car seat for a little evening nap in the car and the beginning of the show while Samantha and Aedan just ran around the gym and played before the show started. We got the kids juice and Skittles to munch on while watching the show. The magician had a pretty dry sense of humor and most of the jokes were over the kids' heads. His tricks were fairly basic, but they were interesting, and the kids were flabbergasted at how a cut rope when back together, a bird and coins appeared out of nowhere, and a ripped up newspaper went right back together. The kids really enjoyed the show, and it was free, so there really was nothing to lose in the first place. There aren't too many family friendly events like this around our town, so I figured we should take advantage of them when we can. It was a fun evening out together as a family.
(Blog about January 7-13, 2017)
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