Success

In all seriousness, I'm not sure what exactly I did but Ian slept through the night last night. Really. I gave him his regular dream feed at midnight and was upset that he didn't eat from both breasts, only one. I thought for sure he would be getting up around 3AM or so because he'd be starving. I heard him stir around 3:30 but I didn't get out of bed to go see him, figuring he'd be crying in a short time anyway. Then I heard him actually cry closer to 6AM and got out of bed with the intention of feeding him but his eyes weren't even open. I wasn't in the mood for another half feeding so I gave him his Suckie and snuggled him back up with his blanket and didn't hear from him again. I woke up in a panic at 8:34AM from the landscapers outside and almost didn't want to go check the crib; I thought for sure something terrible had happened. When I finally got up the nerve I tiptoed to his crib and found Ian fast asleep still with the Suckie in his mouth. And he was quietly snoring! Shaun was all stretched out in his bed too, like a starfish.

I crawled back into bed in disbelief that I was able to sleep so long! If this was a fluke I'm going to be seriously upset. What a mean trick to play on a fatigued mother!

In other news: Craig and I pow-wowed the other night about Shaun's behaviour. Up until recently, time outs and spankings (I can only count on one hand the number of times we've actually had to spank him) have worked to get Shaun back in line. Well, the saucy little man pushed me to the limit last week when Lisa, my sister-in-law, came to visit with her boys. He actually shot me! It was an imaginary gun that he created out of Lego but he's not allowed to play guns. When I told him that he told me "NO" and then when I said he was done playing with Lego since he was being saucy, he shot me. He pointed that little stick right at me and said "Pew". If I was in a better mood that night I probably would have gotten all dramatic and died right in front of him and then reminded him that guns hurt people so the Lego had to be used differently, but he had been testing me all day.

When Craig got home I shared the days' happenings and we thought we'd try a new line of discipline: grounding. The next morning after breakfast we had a family meeting and Craig and I explained the whole thing to Shaun - what grounding meant, when he would be grounded, and what he would be grounded from. That evening, Shaun got grounded. Again for being saucy (notice a trend?). He was grounded from TV for the whole next day. It was Saturday too so a long day for him to have to go without Bugs Bunny and Tweety and Super Why. His grounding included his Toopy and Binoo movie from the library too. He wasn't too happy about that. But he was able to keep himself busy and happy with his trucks and puzzles and didn't ask for TV once after we each reminded him that he was grounded for the previous evenings shenanigans. Since then he's been using his manners more and when Craig or I tell him to do something, he answers "Yes Mum" or "Yes Dad". Damn right you better answer with Yes!

No wonder my mum and dad grounded me so much when I was a kid. It sure does work!

Too Much?

It feels like I've been doing a lot of complaining in my posts of late. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE being a mum and I honestly don't want to do anything else.

But sometimes I feel like I just can't do anything I want to do. I know that having children means sacrifices; I'm more than okay with that. In fact, I can't remember the last time I spent a day doing things ONLY for me. I got away a couple weekends ago to shop with a friend but it was to shop for fall clothes for Shaun. I didn't buy a single thing for myself. Okay, I didn't intend to make this a complaining post.

What I really want to say is, my idea of doing things for myself includes my husband and my children. And when even that fails, it's super frustrating.

It's All Falling Into Place

I knew it would get easier. It took a lot longer than I thought it would, and life still isn't where I would like it to be, but it's getting easier.

Ian is finally in a place where his schedule is somewhat predictible. We still have to put him back to sleep occasionally when he wakes halfway through his nap but 50% of the time he sleeps his whole nap through. That's a whole 50% better than even last week. It's a challenge to get him to sleep until 8AM; he's waking up at 6:30 or 7:00 crying like he's hungry but is only taking a couple mouthfuls of milk before drifting back to sleep. This morning I gave him his soother at 7AM (it took me getting out of bed 4 times before he actually held it in his mouth) and he went back to sleep until Big Brother made a social call and woke him up at 8. Oh well, better than waking up at 7 I suppose!

So Shaun and I schemed together last night before he went to bed and we made all these plans for a special date this morning. The plan was to leave Ian with Daddy and go to the library, TSC Store to check out some diggers, and then Dollarama to buy some much-needed craft supplies. The morning started out not so good: Shaun refused to eat his breakfast. On a normal morning I wouldn't have an issue with that because I'd just leave his breakfast on the counter and when he asked for a snack mid-morning I'd give it to him. Since we were going out I didn't have that luxury. Strike one against Mummy.

Once he finally ate his breakfast, he asked to go to TSC first. The plan was not to buy anything, just look. He knew that but still wanted to go there first. I wanted to head there last in case he had a fit at not buying anything but figured, 'he ate all his breakfast, let's go there first and start the morning out on a more positive note.' He ended up having a fit, of course, and we left the store with Shaun in a grump. Strike two against Mummy.

Next was the library. I played his favourite music in the van on the way to the library (Bananaphone by Raffi, and Spiderman by Erick Traplin) in hopes of lightening his mood and removing the cloud of grump that was hanging over his head. It wasn't to be. We quickly picked up our item on hold and left. There was no way I was going to try and find stories with a crabby 3 year old! He was being so crusty he didn't even want to sign out the hold item. It is Toopy and Binoo, a DVD movie that we've been waiting weeks for since it's so popular. He was furious that I signed it out after he said he didn't want it. In hind sight I should have left it at the library but I was thinking more towards later in the week when he decides he actually did want the movie afterall. So now he's even more miserable and I'm feeling not so chipper myself. Strike three against Mummy.

So we came home. There was no Dollarama trip and I promised myself that I won't plan a special morning with Shaun for a long, long time. It seems every time I plan to do something special with just me and him, it blows up in my face. The most special times we share are the ones that are spontaneous. So much for my type A personality trying to plan everything.

I Believe in Miracles

Just like the video says: I believe in miracles. I didn't want to believe it myself and came up with every single excuse why dairy wasn't the cause of Ian's fussiness. Well, I'm a believer. We did a trial on Tuesday night and I had a bowl of cereal before bed (THE best bowl ever since it had been so long) and then I had another one Wednesday morning. Throughout the night Ian had a bit of trouble settling but nothing that I really took notice in. But Wednesday morning he cried. And cried. He just couldn't settle. I gave my baby a sore tummy! And I was convinced. The remainder of Wednesday was back to dairy-free and by his evening nap he was back to the baby I knew he was capable of being. Hearing this song when I was thinking of one to link to made me chuckle. It's so appropriate for the situation: "where did you come from baby, how did you know I needed you?". It's just so perfect. I seriously DO need a happy baby so I can be a happy mummy.

So, dairy-free I will go at least for a couple of months. I'm not sure quite yet about yogurt or cheese but large amounts of milk definitely give him a belly ache. I picked up Calcium at the grocery store this morning to fill the void that no milk is leaving in my diet. At least it gives me 6 more Weight Watchers points to use during the day! I had to find something good in not drinking milk for 2 whole months. Yeash!

Just a comment about the song. Until I watched the original video of the band Hot Chocolate doing this song I never noticed the bongos tap-tapping in the background. They really do add a lot of depth and dimension to the song!

Kids and Firetrucks

Maybe it's the noise they make or the whole mystery surrounding who's inside and where they're going, but kids love firetrucks. Shaun's fascinated by them. Firetrucks take second place only to 'diggers' so they're a big thing in his life. This evening there was an Open House at the local fire station and I made a whole outing out of it. It didn't go off without a hitch but we had fun anyway.

I decided I would take the city bus with Shaun instead of drive the van because it's been ages since we took the bus somewhere. But I forgot to grab money out of the van before Craig left for work. I had to scrounge throughout the house looking for $5. Not easy when the biggest denomination of money is a quarter; only one. The rest was made up with dimes and nickels. I'm sure I looked like a real winner when I clambored on the bus with a handful of small change.

I also forgot to grab the stroller out of the van. No worries, I thought, I'll just put Ian in the Snugli. I ended up having to switch diaper bags to the backpack style so I had one less thing to worry about keeping track of since I didn't have the stroller. As a result I also forgot to transfer snacks for Shaun. I did remember to pack him a cup of milk, thank goodness for that because the BBQ that I thought was free, wasn't. Poor Shaun didn't eat lunch because he was being a stinker, was refused snack after his nap because he didn't eat lunch, and didn't get 'free' dinner at the fire station because, well, I didn't have money. If I had bought him a hamburger there then we would have been walking home. So he starved. When we finally got home just after 7PM he was delirious. I made him a peanut butter and jam sandwich because that was the quickest thing available. Then he had a handful of summer sausage, a yogurt, a pickle and a gigantic cup of milk. I felt terrible that he was so hungry. Maybe next time he'll eat his lunch when it's lunchtime!

All in all he had a terrific time. I'd post pictures but the battery on the camera was dead. Silly me left it on when I was uploading pictures last. He was able to sit in the cab of a truck and try on a fire fighters boots. They had a demonstration there of what happens when you pour water on a grease fire; he thought that he explosion was 'super cool' to use his words. Then he went inside a child-sized house that teaches children what to do in the event of a fire - crawl close to the floor, touch the door before opening it, climb out a window if you have to (are you remembering your fire safety week in elementary school now?). They even had a smoke machine in there that simulated a real fire. While he was scared in the beginning he was reassured by the (cute) firefighter (oh, did I just say that??) that it was only make believe and there wasn't a real fire. Then the ladder truck extended the ladder and we were able to watch them rappel from the end. On the way home Shaun said that he doesn't want to drive an excavator anymore when he's bigger. He wants to drive a fire truck. Whatever he wants is fine by me! Anything would be better than the operator for the kiddie helicopter ride that he wanted to be after we went to the fair on Sunday!

Big Kids

My friend Erika came over last night with her daughter, Jasmine, who turned 2 in May. Jasmine and Shaun had a great time playing house with Ian and even sat long enough for me to snap a couple photos. Obviously this is before the crying spell began! Our two babies look like such big kids next to the real baby. They grow up too fast!

One Month Old

Ian is a month old. I can't believe it was a month ago that my pregnancy ended. I would love to say that Ian is on a great schedule and that we're back to being a happy family, but I can't. I've been trying SO hard to get him into a good routine with eating and napping falling at the same time every day and he doesn't seem to want anything to do with that. Even his night time sleep is hit and miss at best. I feed him at 11:30 and some nights he'll sleep until 3:30AM but others he's up at 2AM and then again at 5AM. I just wish I could get some predictibility out of him. And our day begins at 8:00 in the morning. That's the way it's been since Shaun was born and the way I like it. We have such a routine with Shaun getting his once-daily cup of chocolate milk and then me making him oatmeal (yes, it's been the same breakfast for over a year and that's how he likes it) and him sitting in the living room to watch Super Why. But Ian never wakes up at 8:00 to eat. He's on his own schedule and in a house like this, that's not okay. He's giving me a run for my money that's for sure.

I had a friend come over with her daughter for dinner last night. Thank goodness because it was the worst night since Ian was born but more on that later. She seems to think I have too high expectations of Ian and that I'm being unrealistic. I keep comparing how Ian is to how Shaun was at the same age. I know that's not healthy because they're different children and they'll never be the same in all respects but can't they at least have the same schedule?! I'm doing everything the same. Ian just isn't 'getting' it the way Shaun did and that's frustrating.

So Ian seems to have a personal fussy period that begins around 4:30 and continues way too long into the evening. Last night it began at 4:30 and went until Craig came home early from work - after my begging - at 8:20 (thank goodness Erika was here until 7:30 because I would have gone bananas without any help!). Then Ian was quiet for about 10 minutes and it all started back up again and went on until 10:20 when I fed him. During that time I tried everything I could think of to try and settle him: rocking, singing, diaper changing, bed, talking, sitting, laying, nursing, everything. And nothing worked. He cried. And cried. And cried. I started thinking last night that maybe it's The C Word. I don't want to say it... Colic. Okay, I said it. I've read that colic is unexplained crying for at least 3 hours straight and happens at least 3 times a week. Well, Ian has cried 4 out of the last 6 nights for at least 3 hours. It all seems to fall around the same time too. I don't want to think that this may be the problem because I think that too many people self diagnose their child as having colic when in actuality it's just a fussy period of their day. But seriously, this was uncontrolable crying and it just went on and on. I'm dreading that hour of the day today.

I have some online friends who have suggested that it may be the dairy in my diet that's causing Ian's fussiness. I have a hard time believing that the dairy I'm eating is affecting the dairy Ian's drinking from me but I'm willing to try anything. This morning I had my last cup of milk for the next 48 hours. I'm also cutting out yogurt and cheese. Anyone who knows me well will say that my favourite drink is milk. I know, sad. But it is. How in the world am I going to go 48 hours without drinking the best drink on Earth?! I'm getting sad just thinking about it. But if giving up dairy for a time means Ian will be able to settle and the hours of crying will be lessened, I'm all for it. I will sacrifice my milk for the sake of my sanity.

Pipsqueak

We have a nickname for Shaun: it's Boogeyman. He knows it so well he'll tell random people in the mall that his 'real name is Shaun but Mummy and Daddy call me Boogeyman'. It's hilarious to hear him speak so adoringly of his nickname. He'll learn soon enough that we call him that not because of the scary 'Boogeyman under the bed' but because his finger is constantly in his nose. Yep, I bred a nose picker. I have pictures of him when he was only a year or so old with his fingers in his nose. Let me try and dig those out of the archives... Okay, so I lied. It's from May of 2007, so he was 20 months old. Anyway, his fingers seem to be magnetically drawn to his nose, even in public, which is SO embarassing! It used to be cute when he was, well, 20 months old but now it's just annoying and disgusting. Anywho, that's how he got his nickname.

I've fallen on a name for Ian too. I never really accepted that it was his nickname until I heard Shaun and Craig call him it this morning. When he was born, since he was so much smaller than Shaun, I started calling him my Pipsqueak. Then, as nursing became more established, we learned that he squeaks when he's nursing really well. And not just any old squeak. It's loud! And annoying! And I love it! And Pipsqueak fits him perfectly: for his size and his squeak. Although I don't know how long I'll be able to think of him as a Pipsqueak. He got weighed this morning: 10 pounds, 2 ounces!!

He's a Stinker!

I've been working tirelessly on trying to get Ian on a schedule for my own peace of mind but also so that we can have a bit of predictablity in our day. He's such a stinker: he's having none of that!

When I try and put him on a 2 1/2 hour routine he decides he only needs to be fed every 3 hours. So the next day I'll switch to a 3 hour routine and then Ian will be starving at only 2 1/2 hours. I fed on demand for the first 2 weeks while I was trying to establish my supply and Ian was still learning the whole booby thing. I'm beginning to wonder if his resistance is more related to his weight than his temperament.

Shaun was born at one week overdue so Ian's adjusted age compared to Shaun is still only 2 weeks. And Shaun was more than 2 pounds heavier at birth than Ian and thus able to go longer between feedings. Maybe I'm being unreasonable in thinking that Ian should be on a flexible schedule but I really need to have some sort of order in my day! I loved being able to know when Shaun would be eating later in the day simply by the time he woke up in the morning - woke up at 9AM, then he'd be eating every 3 hours from then. No exceptions. Shaun thrived on a schedule. Ian - not so much just yet.

I'll give it time. He's still only 3 weeks old. I'm just hoping it doesn't take much longer...