Samantha: 81 Months, Week 2
Aedan: 46 Months, Week 5
Owen: 5 Months, Week 2 (Week 24)
With being sick, playing catch up, and lots of things happening after that, I am writing this blog post a couple weeks behind. Because of that, I don't remember too many details, so I am just going to make this post short and talk about what I can remember and share the pictures.
Sunday was a typical day of going to church and just spending time together as a family. Here is my attempt at trying to get a video of Owen rolling over that Sunday afternoon. Samantha came by to help give him a boost from behind. Even though she helped him, he really can roll over all by himself when he wants to!
I also took my chance to get a picture of his two little teeth that popped through last week, one on Wednesday, February 21st and one on Friday, February 23rd. No more smiles of all gums for this little guy! Aren't his little teeth so cute?!
This is a weird picture, but after putting Owen down for his afternoon nap, I noticed that I had an imprint of his ear on my arm. I thought it was cute, and it made me stop and smile, so I decided to take a picture. Even though sometimes it's tiring being the main person taking care of Owen, I will miss these days of being able to hold him in my arms, nurse him, and rock him to sleep.
As the evening went on, especially after dinner, my stomach started bothering me again. I thought it might have been just some indigestion or something like that, but then I got the chills, just like I did the week before when I got sick. In fact, I had to get off the phone with my parents because I wasn't feeling well, and I ended up getting sick to my stomach again, just as I was about to get in bed for the night. I couldn't believe it happened again, exactly a week after I got sick the first time, and on Sunday night again, meaning Ben would have to make different plans for Monday so he could help me take care of the boys. Part of me wondered if my sickness ever really went away. I didn't feel sick anymore after that first day, but I was never really back to normal, I suppose.
Ben cancelled a couple of his classes so he could stay home and help me out again on Monday. I felt bad that I was putting him behind again in his work. Obviously I can't help when I get sick, but I was so frustrated that it happened again. It was times like that that I wished we lived closer to family so that someone else could have possibly come over and helped me with the boys, allowing Ben to continue working. Ben actually decided to take Owen and Aedan with him to his 10:00 class because he didn't feel like he could cancel it again. He set Aedan up with a computer to watch a couple shows, and he tried to put Owen on the floor gym to play, but apparently had to pick him up after a little while because he was getting too loud, so he just taught the rest of his class while holding Owen in his arms. I'm sure it wasn't the easiest for him, but I appreciated having time to rest and work on getting some strength and energy back. I think his students enjoyed having our kids in class that morning. There probably aren't very many professors, particularly male professors, that would bring their kids to class.
Here is Owen rolling moving around and pushing up the floor that day before lunch. It's amazing how strong he is getting and how much he can move around to what he is trying to reach.
Here are some other videos of me attempting to catch Owen rolling over on video. It's fun watching him roll over on his side to play with toys, grab his feet and pull of his socks, look up at me and give me big smiles, talk, babble, and coo, roll from side to side, and finally roll all the way over in the last video. It's so fun to see him learning and growing and moving and exploring.
Over the weekend Owen was doing pretty well napping, he took 2 hour afternoon naps and was following a pretty good schedule. We have trying to be more mindful of watching the clock for when he's been awake for two hours and trying to get him down for naps around that 2 hour to 2 hour and 15 minute mark. It helps him to get good sleep and not get overtired, which then makes it easier for us to get him to sleep. However, on Monday afternoon he was giving us a hard time napping again, which I felt bad about since I was still not feeling great. Eventually we just gave up trying to get Owen to nap, and Ben actually just took him out to the store to do our weekly grocery shopping, and he ended up falling asleep in the car seat for awhile while they were out.
I was feeling better by Monday night and largely back to normal by Tuesday morning, and since I only got sick that one time on Sunday night, I figured it would be safe for me to go to MOPS on Tuesday morning. I look forward to MOPS so much, I didn't want to miss the meeting. I was a little tired, but it was nice to be able to go to MOPS and have both of the boys go to their childcare rooms to be around other adults and kids. I actually left Owen in the nursery the whole time that morning since I brought a bottle they could try to give to him. He didn't drink much of the bottle and he stayed awake all morning. There was just too much going on for him to fall asleep like some of the other babies in the room. As a result, Owen fell asleep in the car seat on the way back home, but woke up after a little while of returning home. We had lunch time and nap time, and I got both boys to sleep fairly easily. I was so glad they were both asleep, so I took these two cute pictures of my sleeping boys. I love how Owen's arms are out to his side like he's flying.
Wednesday started out rough because Owen woke up at 6:30, which is much earlier than he normally wakes up, and wouldn't go back to sleep. It's always a little easier if he sleeps a little longer and allows me to get showered and dressed and upstairs to help Ben with breakfast, getting Samantha ready for school, and everything else that our morning entails. Since he woke up so early that day, I tried to put him down for a morning nap at home before going to the library for story time, but I couldn't get him to stay asleep. I figured he would be tired, but he just kept fighting sleeping. I felt frustrated because I was looking forward to Owen taking a bit of a nap so that I could sit and play with Aedan, just him and I. But that did not work, and I ended up just going down and getting Owen up, hoping that he'd at least fall asleep in his car seat on the way to the library. Our time at the library was fine, and Owen did sleep for a little while, then he just hung out while Aedan played. I was even able to lay Owen on the floor on a blanket so he could roll around and play with his toys, while I played Connect Four and did a puzzle with Aedan. It was nice to have at least a little bit of time to connect with Aedan one-on-one while listening to the stories and playing a few games together.
I hoped that after the rough morning, Owen would at least give me a good nap, but that was not the case. He wouldn't sleep for more than 25 minutes and then when I tried to get him back to sleep, he woke up crying every time I laid him down. I was just feeling so tired of dealing with this during the day. When Owen doesn't sleep, I don't have any time for anything during the day, whether that is playing with Aedan or just trying to get cleaning or cooking or laundry done, because I am spending most of my afternoon trying to get him to go to sleep. One time he woke up crying because he had rolled over on his tummy and didn't know what to do because he hasn't figured out how to roll back yet. I feel bad sometimes because Owen is our last baby, and I want to enjoy his littleness, I want to enjoy holding him, but sometimes it's difficult to enjoy him when I feel like he has been so difficult with sleeping lately. Ben always reassures me that this is all just a phase, that he may still be dealing with teething pain, and I know all that in my head, but it certainly does not make getting through the days any easier sometimes. I got so emotional about it on Wednesday afternoon that I was just in tears. Part of me wanted to just let him cry it out a little more and learn how to sleep without having to nurse or be bounced to sleep. I felt like I was just enabling him and creating bad habits, and I just felt tired. Owen did so well sleeping over the weekend, but certainly wasn't doing well with his naps during the week. At one point I was trying to get him back to sleep and he was just crying on my shoulder while I was trying to bounce him. He hadn't really napped all day, making me pretty concerned about Bible study that night. If he wasn't going to nap, it would be hard bringing a fussy baby along with me.
That night, even though Owen didn't nap well and I was feeling emotional, I decided I needed to go to Bible study and be around some other moms. We have Bible study questions we could be discussing, but everyone was just feeling like talking, and it was so good, so therapeutic. I enjoyed hearing about everyone else's weeks and struggles, and it was so good to share what was going on with us, with Samantha's attitude, Aedan's whininess, and Owen's trouble sleeping. I felt encouraged and reassured by the women there. It was so nice knowing that I am not alone in how I feel, and that others are struggling or have struggled with the same things. I was pretty worn out from dealing with Owen that day, and was so grateful for one of the moms taking over feeding him his rice cereal that I brought along, giving me a little break from having to do that. Also, at the end of our time, when he started to get fussy and tired, another mom held him for me, giving him a change of scenery. I really appreciated how much they supported me that night, and I love this Bible study purely for the fact that I have gotten to know these ladies better over the weeks and friendships have started to form. I am really desiring close friends, friends that know me, friends that I can talk to and will share with me as well, and I feel like I am finally starting to find that connection in our town.
On Thursday Aedan and I didn't have any plans. Since we had Ben's parents coming into town for a visit that weekend, I wanted to clean the house, not just for them, but also because it had been awhile and I wanted to get any of my germs out of the house and off the furniture. Again, I hoped that Owen would take a good morning nap for me so that I could get some cleaning done, but I struggled again. After he screamed in my arms for awhile, I finally got him to fall asleep, but he woke up as soon as I laid him down. Sometimes it seems like he naps better when we are out places, and because of that, sometimes I don't like staying home because I know he just isn't going to nap well for me. But how am I supposed to get anything done if I never stay home? After having such a good weekend of solid naps, and seeing his two teeth pop through, I was so hoping that we were over this hard napping phase and that maybe it would go well for awhile.
Since Owen just cried every time I laid him down that morning, I decided to take Aedan outside for awhile to play in the snow since it was a nicer day. I just strapped Owen in the Ergo and put our Roocoat on. We actually walked over to the playground next to the preschool and Aedan played there for a few minutes. They had sleds for the kids to use, and Aedan finally felt brave enough to climb up the hill and try one. He is still pretty uneasy in new situations, and it took awhile for me to get him to not just hide behind my legs. It's so funny how different Samantha and Aedan are in the regard. Samantha has never had any fear, she is brave and outgoing, and generally just throws herself into new situations. Aedan has to wait and feel things out for awhile before branching out on his own. Once Owen was in the Ergo all warm and snuggly, he fell asleep pretty quickly. I just left him in the Ergo for awhile around the house while I got lunch ready, letting him nap for awhile until he was ready to wake up. Here is my little stinker, fast asleep, cuddled up against my chest.
As I was reading books to Aedan before his nap that afternoon, I had Owen down on the floor and noticed how much he was pushing up on his knees. I had never really seen him do that before, so I took a minute to record it. This boy really wants to move, and he has been enjoying being on his tummy a lot more now that he can roll back and forth. It's only a matter of time before he learns to push up on his knees and hands. It's amazing to me how babies learn.
After a bit of a rough morning, Owen took a good nap that afternoon, sleeping for around three hours. I couldn't believe it! I don't think he has ever taken that long of a nap, especially with me not having to go down and help him go back to sleep in the middle of it. I was so glad. It made him feel better and more rested, and it helped me feel better to know that he could do it. I was able to get some cleaning done around the house and had a really productive afternoon.
On Friday morning I had a quick doctor's appointment, so Ben stayed home with the boys, then he went to get more pellet bags for our stove (it's still not quite warm enough to not be running the stove downstairs), and also worked on caulking the bathtub downstairs before our visitors arrived for the weekend. He actually ended up just going to campus and getting stuff so that he could work from home, which I always enjoy. Even if he's just at the kitchen table working, it's nice having him around the house. :)
Owen had another good napping day on Thursday and slept for over two hours that afternoon, with just a short time of crying in the middle because he needed to burp, but then he went right back to sleep. His good nap allowed me to finish cleaning the house, put things away, and I even pumped because I was planning on going to a mom's night out on Friday night. And, I even had time to sit down and work on my blog for a little while. It's amazing what I can get done around the house in a couple hours without any kids!
Now, Aedan did not nap on Friday afternoon because he was just too excited about Ema and Papa coming to visit that weekend. I wished he would have napped, but he hadn't napped for a couple days before that either, so it wasn't too surprising. I'm pretty sure he is outgrowing his naps because he doesn't nap more often than he does nap, but that's okay, but I know most four year olds are about done napping. Here is Aedan when I let him get out of his room that afternoon. He was just laying on the floor with his microphone, singing the Moana song. We have this CD playing almost non-stop in our car, so it's not surprising that he knows most of the words. I thought it was cute, so I took a secret video of him singing. :)
Ema and Papa arrived a little after Samantha got home from school for the day, and the kids were SO excited to see them and have them stay at our house for the weekend. They immediately took them to their rooms to play, Aedan taking Ema to do puzzles, and Samantha taking Papa to see her new desk and area for Kit. Ben and I looked at each other and jokingly said, "Well, I guess we can leave now." When Ema and Papa are around, our kids no longer care about us, and we are okay with that.
After a little bit of play time, we got in the car and drove to Brimley for pizza. Owen ended up falling asleep and taking a little nap in the car on our way there, so that was good. Our pizza was delicious, as usual, and then we went back home for more play time with Ema and Papa. As soon as we got back home, I left for the mom's night out at Applebee's. I didn't know if I should go or not since we had visitors, but I missed the last mom's night out; plus, we wanted to have Ben try giving Owen a bottle to put him to bed, as practice for when we will be gone to see Le Mis in a few weeks. I figured it would be best if I wasn't even in the house, so Owen doesn't know that I am there somewhere. When I got back home, Ben told me how it went putting him to sleep. He said at first he was really mad, but once he got him to calm down and realize that Ben was trying to give him milk, he ate his typical 1.5 ounces, and then he was done. He didn't fall asleep with the bottle, like he normally does when he nurses, so Ben walked around with him for just a few seconds, and he fell right asleep. Even though I'm sure he filled his tummy less than when he nurses, he still slept like he normally does, waking up around 2:15 to eat and then again around 6:45. I was so glad that it worked for someone else to put Owen to bed besides me. It made me feel so much better about Ben and my plans to go out to dinner and the show, as part of my Christmas present. Hopefully Owen will do well for Ben's parents, just like he did for Ben, when we are gone.
I've talked a lot about how Owen has been napping, but I haven't mentioned much about how he has been sleeping overnight. Most nights he has been waking up once, anywhere between 12 and 2, usually more around 2, and then he will sleep again until about 6:45 when I usually just nurse him and get him up for the day. Some nights he will still wake up twice. It seems like he is establishing a pretty good rhythm of sleeping, and I certainly don't mind having my sleep interrupted less. We continue to give him baby rice cereal every night around dinnertime, and we are looking forward to trying some vegetables in the next week or so. Owen shows a lot of interest in our food and watching us put spoons and forks into our mouth, so it will be interesting to see what he thinks of trying some different flavors of food. Our little guy is changing so much lately with rolling over and starting to eat food. It's exciting, but also bittersweet at the same time. Since it's our last little baby, sometimes it's sad to think about all of his "lasts." But at the same time, it's so exciting to watch him grow and learn and to see glimpses into his own little personality.
Our main plan for Saturday was to go tubing in the afternoon with Ema and Papa. The morning was just a relaxing morning, giving the kids lots of time to play with Ema and Papa. Samantha and Aedan even played together really well that morning. We were debating when to go tubing and decided to let Aedan and Owen have nap time before heading out. Since Aedan hadn't napped in several days, he desperately needed one that afternoon. So, around 3:30 we got everyone bundled up and headed to the hill. Our plan was just to take turns inside the building with Owen, so that way we could all have a turn tubing together. We ended up staying at the tubing hill for about two hours, and everyone had a blast. Ema and Papa enjoyed going down the hill, and it was pretty slick so we got going pretty fast! We all took turns going with each other and even did long tube chains all together. It was a beautiful day and not too cold, so everyone had a good time. Even Owen did great hanging out in the building with different people holding him and entertaining him. The kids loved being able to share this experience with their grandparents. Ema posted these pictures on Facebook and said, "This is what we do in the UP on Spring Break."
The rest of our Saturday evening involved dinner, bath time, and bed time. But everything is more fun when you have your grandparents staying at your house, reading you stories, and putting you to bed. :)
(Blog about February 25-March 3, 2018)
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