Life calms down

Wow. I am too old for 5 parties in one weekend. Whew! Monday was a relief. The boys had school (we have so many days off for Jewish holidays that we are able to keep some of the regular school days the public schools have off) and then enrichment. Mae went to Tumbling and then on to Bestemor's with Henry, where she did great and was very busy. Usually Karin said she would just sit in her little stuffed chair, clutching her blankie and watching Henry. This week she was all over the place. They are really getting to be buddies. In lieu of their budding friendship, click HERE to peek at what Henry is getting for his birthday from Mae (his bday is on Xmas, poor kiddo, but since we don't do Xmas anyway, I figure he will always get bday presents from us!). MANY MANY thanks to Karen of Gwenblog for sending Gwen's unwanted Elmo Henry's way. I can't wait to see his face when Elmo goes crazy! Love it!

In other news, we haven't had a decent night's sleep in 3 nights now. Mae is napping like a champ but is up from about 11:30 til about 3am, screaming her head off. Holding her helps. No bottles, thanks. Not too cold, thanks to the long underwear under the jammies. I took her in this morning just to make sure her ears were still OK and they were. We surmised the Augmentin might be hurting her stomach (it does that) and since she wasn't eating, it would hurt it even MORE on an empty stomach. We'll see how tonight goes. Lordy.

And here is another tidbit you won't hear me telling our pediatrician. It's funny. I was VERY sure to wean Ted from any 'bad influence' about a week before a pediatrician visit. No more bottle at 15 months? You can bet he had his last bottle a week prior to his appointment. No more pacifier after age 2? Good thing he bit through it and only held it in his hand (for 6 more months) a few days before his 2nd birthday. With Sam I was more relaxed but also had less to deal with (no bottles and no binky anyway-can't remember what all else you stress about with a baby.) Well. Miss Mae would prefer to start her day around 5:30am and then nap from about 8-10. This morning nap is a drag and usually disappears before 18months anyway. Sooo...I thought I'd try and help it along. I have to say, it's working for us. Every morning between 5:30-6am, I hear her wake up with the "Rescue me NOW or I will scream the house down" cry and I race to the kitchen, micro the 8oz whole milk bottle, and dash back upstairs to her room. I settle her back into the middle of the crib, cover her up with blankie, and...hand her the bottle. And I leave!! Back to bed. She has slept in til 9am this way. Bye bye morning nap, hello 3 hour afternoon nap. Heaven. Now, if we could just get our nights together, I would be close to experiencing the (unknown at the time) bliss I was lucky enough to score with both boys. Excellent nappers, those boys. Sam is actually trying to cut his nap out these days. Sad, but normal. Ted dropped his nap about 3.5 and Sam is just 3...so I bet it will be gone altogether next semester. Oh well. It was nice while it lasted. In the meantime, anyone know how much a night nurse costs? Ah well. Snuggling at 3am has it merits too, I suppose.