Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Visit from Cousins
We were lucky enough to have Kami, Adam, and Austin come spend the night with us Monday. Lily adores her older cousins and they are so patient and good with her. They kept her very entertained which was extremely helpful in her recent fragile state. Aunt Kami got lots of snuggles from Sarah Ellen. She even saw her first smiles (which I have yet to see). We made a trip to the aquarium. This trip was much easier for me with all the extra hands to help. Thank you guys for coming to keep us company.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Surely Not Our Lily
The terrible twos are upon us. It started Wednesday morning (remember my puny girl that wanted to be carried around the aquarium). The day started out with her being puny, then progressed to her being downright mean. She basically yelled at me all afternoon. If I said black, she would yell white. If I relented that it was white, she would yell black. She went into timeout three times within 30 minutes. James was working late, and thank goodness, the Clums had us over for dinner or I might have gone crazy.
Things just got worse on Thursday. She yelled at me again all morning. I regrouped during nap time and was determined that I could be the better person and very patiently handle Lily's tirades. That lasted about 10 minutes. She wanted to be carried down the stairs. Once I did, she started screaming that she wanted to do it herself. Do you think someone likes control (wonder who she gets that from)? I finally got her in the car and headed out to Mommy and Me (Sarah Ellen's first). She was fairly quiet until I turned onto Camp road. She started screaming for me to go the other way. This continued until we reached Cameron's house. Then, I apparently got her out of the car the wrong way and she screamed about that too. So, I grab the car seat in one arm and Lily under the other arm. We walk into playgroup with Lily screaming at the top of her lungs. I plop her down on a chair. She jumps up, runs to the door, screams to go back to the car and do it her way. She then grabs the diaper bag and begins throwing it on the floor. The other moms were a little shocked to see Miss Lily in such form. Finally, I take her into a bedroom and tell her to calm down. She lay on the bed for 15 minutes sucking her thumb. After that, she was a happy girl.....until bedtime.
James and I had our toughest discipline experience with Lily on Thursday night. After bath, things quickly went down hill. She screamed about how she walked out of the bathroom, where her diaper was to be put on, doing her pj's by herself, and basically everything. We attempted timeout. She continued to scream. She even told us to leave and shut the door. Yes, she was telling us how to do timeout. She's controlling her punishments. Finally, we brought out the big guns. We told her if she didn't calm down, we would put her straight to bed without reading books. After several opportunities, Lily couldn't get it together, so we did it - we put her in bed without reading books. When she realized we were serious, she let out blood curdling screams. We left. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. To leave my baby in there screaming for Mommy and Daddy was horrible. Yes, I know she brought it on herself, and yes I know she will be a better person because of it, but it was just awful. She cried for about 30 minutes and then fell asleep. You would think it would be our newborn crying it out, not our toddler. The next morning, she was a happy girl and didn't seem to hold it against us.
She continued to be challenging on Friday, but we were able to read books. She got it together just in time, and I don't think I could have handled doing it again. Tonight we had a small victory. I've been at a loss as to how to discipline her. Timeout does not work. Forcefully telling her (okay yelling at her) does not work. Taking away books does not work. So, tonight I got creative and thought about positive reinforcement. I drew four squares on a piece of paper and got some stickers. Each square represented a part of bedtime routine: diaper, pj's, brushing teeth, and reading books. If she completed each one without fussing, she got a sticker. It worked!!! She did the whole process without getting upset (and this is after missing her nap today). She couldn't wait to get her next sticker. Score one for Mommy and Daddy.
I have to give Lily some credit here. I made her sound like a little tyrant. She does have two top molars coming in, and just a wee bit of change is going on around here. This does not excuse her behavior, but she does have a lot going on at one time. She continues to make us laugh all the time and amaze us with the things that come out of her mouth. She is wonderful with Sarah Ellen, gently rubbing her head, giving her hugs, and even sharing lovey. These qualities that are now challenging us, independence and strength of will, will carry her far in life. We just have to channel them as best we can.
Things just got worse on Thursday. She yelled at me again all morning. I regrouped during nap time and was determined that I could be the better person and very patiently handle Lily's tirades. That lasted about 10 minutes. She wanted to be carried down the stairs. Once I did, she started screaming that she wanted to do it herself. Do you think someone likes control (wonder who she gets that from)? I finally got her in the car and headed out to Mommy and Me (Sarah Ellen's first). She was fairly quiet until I turned onto Camp road. She started screaming for me to go the other way. This continued until we reached Cameron's house. Then, I apparently got her out of the car the wrong way and she screamed about that too. So, I grab the car seat in one arm and Lily under the other arm. We walk into playgroup with Lily screaming at the top of her lungs. I plop her down on a chair. She jumps up, runs to the door, screams to go back to the car and do it her way. She then grabs the diaper bag and begins throwing it on the floor. The other moms were a little shocked to see Miss Lily in such form. Finally, I take her into a bedroom and tell her to calm down. She lay on the bed for 15 minutes sucking her thumb. After that, she was a happy girl.....until bedtime.
James and I had our toughest discipline experience with Lily on Thursday night. After bath, things quickly went down hill. She screamed about how she walked out of the bathroom, where her diaper was to be put on, doing her pj's by herself, and basically everything. We attempted timeout. She continued to scream. She even told us to leave and shut the door. Yes, she was telling us how to do timeout. She's controlling her punishments. Finally, we brought out the big guns. We told her if she didn't calm down, we would put her straight to bed without reading books. After several opportunities, Lily couldn't get it together, so we did it - we put her in bed without reading books. When she realized we were serious, she let out blood curdling screams. We left. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. To leave my baby in there screaming for Mommy and Daddy was horrible. Yes, I know she brought it on herself, and yes I know she will be a better person because of it, but it was just awful. She cried for about 30 minutes and then fell asleep. You would think it would be our newborn crying it out, not our toddler. The next morning, she was a happy girl and didn't seem to hold it against us.
She continued to be challenging on Friday, but we were able to read books. She got it together just in time, and I don't think I could have handled doing it again. Tonight we had a small victory. I've been at a loss as to how to discipline her. Timeout does not work. Forcefully telling her (okay yelling at her) does not work. Taking away books does not work. So, tonight I got creative and thought about positive reinforcement. I drew four squares on a piece of paper and got some stickers. Each square represented a part of bedtime routine: diaper, pj's, brushing teeth, and reading books. If she completed each one without fussing, she got a sticker. It worked!!! She did the whole process without getting upset (and this is after missing her nap today). She couldn't wait to get her next sticker. Score one for Mommy and Daddy.
I have to give Lily some credit here. I made her sound like a little tyrant. She does have two top molars coming in, and just a wee bit of change is going on around here. This does not excuse her behavior, but she does have a lot going on at one time. She continues to make us laugh all the time and amaze us with the things that come out of her mouth. She is wonderful with Sarah Ellen, gently rubbing her head, giving her hugs, and even sharing lovey. These qualities that are now challenging us, independence and strength of will, will carry her far in life. We just have to channel them as best we can.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Our Big Adventure
I've been getting a little stir crazy hanging around the house all day, so I decided I was up for an outing with both girls. I made plans to meet Molly at the aquarium on Wednesday morning. I was a little hesitant because Lily was a little puny all morning. She is cutting her top molars (the last ones - thank goodness). I took the risk and headed out. We got there around ten and Lily was excited to be there. Molly called saying they were running late, so we walked around downstairs for a while. Lily started to get very restless, so I took her to the new camp ground exhibit. As we were strolling around, I got a whiff of the oh so familiar infant dirty diaper smell. We headed over to the concrete stairs so I could change Sarah Ellen. Of course it wasn't a simple little poop. No way, this was a blowout that got all over her bottoms and took about 15 wipes to clean. So now my cutie is dressed in her top and a diaper. Lily was very patient while I changed the diaper. As I was finishing, she asked if she could go push the elevator button. I told her yes, turned my back for two seconds, and turned around to see the door closing and no Lily. She got on the elevator. Thank goodness as soon as I pushed the button, it opened right up. All this and we hadn't even started going through the aquarium yet. Once we did set out, Lily decided she wanted to be held. So I carried her in one arm and pushed the stroller with the other arm most of the time. We didn't last too long, and soon headed home.
I suppose I will get better at these outings, but it is definitely harder with two. Even though it's more of a challenge, I'm going to continue getting out. It is best for all of us to get out of the house now and then.
I suppose I will get better at these outings, but it is definitely harder with two. Even though it's more of a challenge, I'm going to continue getting out. It is best for all of us to get out of the house now and then.
More Visitors
My parents, sister, nephews, and grandmother came down one morning for a visit. This is a picture of my grandmother, Hester Ellen, holding her tenth great-grandchild Sarah Ellen.
Lily had a blast with Adam and Austin. I told my sister she may have to leave them for the summer. I could use some live in toddler sitters right now.
Lily had a blast with Adam and Austin. I told my sister she may have to leave them for the summer. I could use some live in toddler sitters right now.
The Unswaddler
Our little wiggle worm was escaping her swaddles in week one. We could swaddle Lily with a receiving blanket for weeks before she started breaking loose. We then moved to the Amazing Miracle Blanket (one of my baby must haves). Lily stayed in these blankets until she was 4 1/2 months. Our new little Houdini has even managed to squeeze an arm out of these blankets already. She likes her freedom.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
I fought the yeast and the yeast won.
It was just not in the cards for me to nurse my children. After a horrible experience with Lily, I decided that I was going to try again, but not put pressure on myself if it didn't work. Easier said than done.
The main problem with feeding Lily was that she would never latch. So we tried for a week (and I say we because it took both James and I to try to get her on). Because we didn't want her to get confused, we would feed her with a dropper, that's right a dropper. So every feeding (8 times a day) consisted of attempting to latch her for 30 minutes, then feeding her with a dropper, and then pumping. After a week of this, I came downstairs in tears, handed the baby and a bottle to James and decided I was done. I did continue to pump for two more weeks, but two cases of mastitis ended that too. It was a hard decision to make, but the right decision. I fought with Lily the whole first week of her life, and we both were so relieved to switch to bottles. Both of us were much happier.
After that experience, you would think it would have been easier this time to not put too much pressure on myself. Not so. Sarah Ellen was the opposite of Lily and latched on immediately. It was exciting and a huge relief for both James and I to see how good she was at it. Things continued to go well, except for the excruciating latch on pain. Sixteen times a day, I would grit my teeth, slam my feet on the floor, and say cuss words in front of my newborn as she latched on. Everyone said it would get better, so I hung in there. Then I started to get burning pains as well. I soon found out that this was caused by an invasion of yeast. Sarah Ellen had thrush which she passed on to me. Who knew that a little bit of yeast could be painful? Well it is. The problem with yeast is getting rid of it. The lactation consultant was adamant that I needed to take high powered medication to get rid of it or else we would continue to pass it back and forth to each other. The Internet also recommended this. The doctors, however, disagree with this new protocol and gave me the original amount of medication. Along with the meds, I had to boil everything used by Sarah Ellen everyday, wash laundry in hot water everyday, and keep everything scrubbed clean (in all my spare time). Despite meds, vinegar rinses, creams, taking acidophiles, eating yogurt, and taking garlic pills, I could not get rid of the stuff. So, the yeast won, and I gave up breast feeding. Once again, it was a horrible decision to make, but the right one for us. I can't explain the relief at giving her that first bottle. I also don't think that Sarah Ellen was getting enough to eat, because she was losing weight, but after 5 days on formula, she gained 11 ounces.
Society puts so much pressure on women today to breast feed. I sometimes think I should have tried harder, but then I remember that pain and know that I tried as hard as I could. Sarah Ellen is thriving and such a content and happy baby girl. I can also look at my oh so smart Lily Bean and know that they are going to be just fine on formula. This is one mama that is happy to bond with her baby with bottles. Not to mention, James can now do night feeds!!!!
The main problem with feeding Lily was that she would never latch. So we tried for a week (and I say we because it took both James and I to try to get her on). Because we didn't want her to get confused, we would feed her with a dropper, that's right a dropper. So every feeding (8 times a day) consisted of attempting to latch her for 30 minutes, then feeding her with a dropper, and then pumping. After a week of this, I came downstairs in tears, handed the baby and a bottle to James and decided I was done. I did continue to pump for two more weeks, but two cases of mastitis ended that too. It was a hard decision to make, but the right decision. I fought with Lily the whole first week of her life, and we both were so relieved to switch to bottles. Both of us were much happier.
After that experience, you would think it would have been easier this time to not put too much pressure on myself. Not so. Sarah Ellen was the opposite of Lily and latched on immediately. It was exciting and a huge relief for both James and I to see how good she was at it. Things continued to go well, except for the excruciating latch on pain. Sixteen times a day, I would grit my teeth, slam my feet on the floor, and say cuss words in front of my newborn as she latched on. Everyone said it would get better, so I hung in there. Then I started to get burning pains as well. I soon found out that this was caused by an invasion of yeast. Sarah Ellen had thrush which she passed on to me. Who knew that a little bit of yeast could be painful? Well it is. The problem with yeast is getting rid of it. The lactation consultant was adamant that I needed to take high powered medication to get rid of it or else we would continue to pass it back and forth to each other. The Internet also recommended this. The doctors, however, disagree with this new protocol and gave me the original amount of medication. Along with the meds, I had to boil everything used by Sarah Ellen everyday, wash laundry in hot water everyday, and keep everything scrubbed clean (in all my spare time). Despite meds, vinegar rinses, creams, taking acidophiles, eating yogurt, and taking garlic pills, I could not get rid of the stuff. So, the yeast won, and I gave up breast feeding. Once again, it was a horrible decision to make, but the right one for us. I can't explain the relief at giving her that first bottle. I also don't think that Sarah Ellen was getting enough to eat, because she was losing weight, but after 5 days on formula, she gained 11 ounces.
Society puts so much pressure on women today to breast feed. I sometimes think I should have tried harder, but then I remember that pain and know that I tried as hard as I could. Sarah Ellen is thriving and such a content and happy baby girl. I can also look at my oh so smart Lily Bean and know that they are going to be just fine on formula. This is one mama that is happy to bond with her baby with bottles. Not to mention, James can now do night feeds!!!!
"Mommy, I put my bloomers on by myself."
Lily is really turning into Miss Independent. She has to take her clothes off, get her diaper ready, and put on her pj's by herself. I know this is a good quality for her to develop, but sometimes it takes a little bit of patience to wait on her. One day, we were getting ready to go somewhere and Lily was upstairs and I was downstairs. I asked her to get a pair of bloomers out of her drawer and bring them down to put on. I went about packing things up (I forgot how much you have to pack with a newborn), and heard Lily upstairs saying, "Mommy, I put my bloomers on by myself." She was so proud. When she came down, I noticed she didn't have her bloomers on, but I decided not to say anything, because we were ready to go. We then ran our errands and came home. When James went to change Lily's diapers, he discovered that she did indeed put on her bloomers by herself.
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