Morning Fail

I had caffeine at dinner last night and didn’t go to sleep until after 11:00 pm.  This proved to be a very bad decision.

12:30 am – Baby B wakes up and cries for 15 minutes before going back to sleep

1:00 am – Piglet walks into our room saying that her pants are wet.  So is her bed.  I rig the bed so that I don’t have to completely take everything off in the middle of the night, but that Piglet can sleep in a dry bed.

1:25 am – crawl back in bed

1:27 am – Baby B wakes up, ready to eat.  Whine.  Feed baby.

1:40 am – crawl back in bed

4:30 am – Baby B wakes up crying again (I think my dinner caffeine is having a bad effect on both of us)

4:40 am – Russ gets up and starts getting ready for the day.  We are not a fan of his current rotation.

4:45 am – Piglet walks in the room saying that her brother woke her up.

4:50 am – get Baby B back to sleep.  Try to get Piglet back to sleep.

5:00 am – get in bed with Piglet, hoping to get her to fall back asleep.

5:30 am – Hear Russ’ car pull out of the driveway…I am alone with the madness.

6:00 am – Piglet still awake.  Leave and lock her door.  Call Russ to cry.

6:05 am – Baby B wakes up.  Won’t stop crying even when I’m holding him.

6:10 am – Total break-down.

6:30 am – Finally give in and feed Baby B.

6:45 am – Shower.

7:05 am – Let Piglet out of her room.  She never went back to sleep.  Try to be positive.  Give her eye drops and Zantac. (the first involves wrestling moves)

7:08 am – Put throw-up clothes and towels from incident occurring before bedtime last night in the dryer.  Put sheets, quilt, blanket, pjs, and mattress pad in washer.

7:10 am – Eat a surprisingly pleasant breakfast with Piglet.  Give her antibiotic.

7:25 am – Notice Baby B smells funny. Change diaper.  Get him dressed.

7:30 am – Potty, brush teeth, get dressed, do cute pigtails with two purple bows.  She may be exhausted, but she’s cute.  Maybe her teacher will be overwhelmed by the cuteness and overlook the grumpiness that will most likely be a part of the morning.

7:45 am – Notice that Baby B smells funny again and that his shirt is soaked.  Change his clothes again.

7:55 am – Get Piglet to get her shoes on.

8:00 am – Think we are actually leaving the house on time.  Notice Baby B has spit up again.  Decide to not care.

8:10 am – Everyone is buckled in and ready to go.  Realize you forgot to pack a lunch.  Decide to not care.

8:15 am – Drop Piglet off at school.  After being home for two days, she clings, and says, “Mommy, can you hold me?”

8:20 am – Back in the car and head to work.

8:25 am – Settle in the office and try to catch up on work not done over the past two days whilst home with sick child.  SO TIRED.

8:35 am – Realize it is the day of the Presbyterian Women’s meeting.  Mood turns around.  Morning is productive.

10:15 am – Go to PW meeting.  Other people hold Baby B to give my arms a break.  I even got enough snacks to count as lunch.  Awesome.  I love my job.

best big sister ever

We (mainly me) worried a lot about how Piglet would handle a new baby and being a big sister.  Beginning the weekend of the gender reveal shower back in March, I think she started worrying a little, too.  She would act excited about having a baby brother, but she also started acting out more than usual – she knew that her world was about to be rocked.  So many of the battles that we had fought for so long and finally won with her were having to be fought again.  She was being aggressive at school, having accidents, waking up at 5:00 am, and taking FOREVER to settle down for naps and bedtime – to the point that there were many times when we were both in tears before it was all over.

We tried everything we could to prepare her for Baby B’s arrival.  She got a cool “Big Sister” t-shirt.  We got a really good “I’m a Big Sister” book that described her situation perfectly and made being a big sister seem really exciting.  We tried to talk about how being a big sister was going to be great and that she could be a big helper (she really likes to help).  And we really stepped up the positive reinforcement – we are HUGE fans of the sticker chart.  She gets a sticker for lots of things and does a little dance when she fills up a row and gets a prize (which is usually just one silly band or a mini-pack of pez – I’m glad she is so easy to please).

So we worried and planned and praised, and she slowly started to come around behavior-wise.  And then Baby B was born, and she totally turned a corner – she began behaving so well.  She has had perfect behavior at school since he was born and has started getting excited about going to school again.  She is completely back on the potty trained train – even waking up completely dry in the morning.  She is staying in bed until 6:00 am (which may seem early to you, but 6:00 am still feels awesome after many mornings at 4:00 and 5:00).  She is laying down by herself for nap and at night and not fighting sleep.

I think it has some to do with our planning and praising and a lot to do with all of the love she got when Baby B was born.   Family and Church Family and even Baby B have spoiled her with gifts for being a big sister.   She got extra attention from Grammy the week before and after Baby B was born.  During the birth, she got some really great quality time with Pops and Aunt Kathryn – they even took her to Old McDonald’s for dinner and let her have chocolate milk.  Russ and I have tried our best to give her lots of love and attention – it has been awesome that Russ quit his 3-week clinical after our bonus hospital stay.   And she is spending this weekend with Papa and Mimi.  She knows that she is loved and shouldn’t be threatened by Baby B.   One afternoon, we overheard her telling her animals in the kitchen that “my mommy and daddy love me so much”.

I also think it has mostly to do with something I forgot amidst all of the acting out and not listening and being difficult:  Piglet is an awesome little kid.  She is sweet and loving.  Caring and helpful.  She loves to give hugs and kisses.  She wants those around her to be happy.  And she thinks babies are cool.

I remember when Piglet was born, I began to appreciate and love Russ in new ways as I saw him be a great father.  The same has been true for Piglet.  I loved her so much before, and you worry that having a second child is going to change or limit how you can love your first.  It has changed how I love my Piglet, but in such a good way.  I love her as my daughter, but now I also love and appreciate her as a big sister.  I love seeing her in this new way.

She is just awesome.

She loves to help. 

She loves to hold him and admire him.

She loves to give him kisses.

When he cries, she tells me that he needs to eat or that he needs his paci.  If she doesn’t see him when she comes in the room, she asks “Where’s my baby brother?” – wanting to make sure he is still here.  I think these two will be good friends with a great love for each other.

The other day, she walked over to him, grabbed his hand, and started singing him the ABCs…and I knew that this having two kids thing was going to be pretty cool.

magic

I have magical powers.

Today, after I picked Piglet up from school, we picked Russ up and headed to McAlister’s for a treat to celebrate a beautiful day and Piglet’s awesomeness lately.    Then after our snack, Russ asked, “do you want to go to Target?”  stupid question really.  But I did add (after “woohoo TARGET”) that I had  been thinking about how I wanted to pick up the Disney movies that were out of the Disney vault because I LOVE Disney movies and we only have two, both of which Piglet LOVES.  We tried to bring home some VHS versions of others from Grammy’s house, but the constant rewinding is just so tedious.  Plus most of them wouldn’t work at all – I guess that’s what happens to VHS tapes when they are 25 years old.

ANYWAY, Russ actually said, “sure that’s a good idea” – magical miracle numero uno.  I think the fact that Piglet has watched Madagascar EVERY SINGLE MORNING for the past few weeks influenced that decision heavily – he’s ready for some more options.

We walk into Target and see the first movie display shelf.  All movies were $6.99!  Some good movies, too, like Madagascar 2!  (I didn’t know there was a sequal but by golly Piglet should LOVE it and we would love a little variation in the mornings) and Curious George 2!   Magical miracle numero dos.  I LOVE SALES.

Then we walk past another display shelf with really classic Disney movies for $13.99!  like Snow White! and Sleeping Beauty!  I was seriously ready to pay the full $19.99 price because I love the movies that much and didn’t want to risk missing out when they went back into the vault.

And I LOVE SALES, so we really stocked up on movies.  Figured we could put them away and save them for future presents and bribes.

All in all a very successful trip to Target.  If you are a Disney fan like me, I suggest you hit them up.

The only dicey moment came when we were in the farthest furthest opposite corner from the bathrooms when I realized I needed to go.  right then.  Last night at approximately 7:45 pm, I entered the stage of pregnancy in which you must use the bathroom every 30 minutes.  Then Piglet also realized that SHE needed to go.    She is potty trained, but still don’t know how long she can hold it on command. So Piglet and I embarked on our journey across the store.  She decided she needed to run the entire way, which meant I needed to walk rather quickly.  But magical miracle numero tres – we both made it!

potty talk

I dare you to announce that you have to use the bathroom in our house.  Because if you do, the next few minutes will go something like this:

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Piglet grabs you by the hand:  Oh, let me take you.

cupping her hand by her ear:  I want to hear it.  Do you want me to read to you?  runs to get a book.

If you are of the male variety she will continue:  Boys don’t wipe.  Boys don’t sit down.

If you are of the female variety she will get TP for you:  Here, you need to wipe.

Yay, you peepeed.  I’m so proud of you.  You need to wash your hands.

Ok, let’s go get an m&m.  Do you want a pink one?

she runs to the pantry and picks out an m&m for you:  Here you go.  I’m so proud of you.

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I double dog dare you.  But if you’re not up for the extra encouragement to support your efforts, I suggest you sneak off quietly.

Seriously, this happens every time.  There is no more privacy.  And I guess I’m kind of used to it since I’m willing to share our bathroom rituals with the world.

Piglet phrases

I keep forgetting how old Piglet is, and how much she knows – far more than I give her credit for most days.   She surprises me with her thoughts and random phrases.  I wonder where she’s getting most of it.  I wanted to record a few examples before I forgot this stage of cuteness:

Piglet LOVES going to church.  She thinks that everyone there is her BFF.   We were chatting with some folks in the sanctuary after worship and slowly everyone headed over to the fellowship hall for the fellowship time until it was just the three of us and another couple left.  She looks through the window into the narthex to see that the people who were in there were now gone, so she said, “Where did all my friends go?”  So we had to leave Russ to chatting and head to the fellowship hall so she could see all of her friends again.

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She is not the best listener, and she tends to ignore us when we ask her a question, so we have to get her attention, say “Mommy is trying to ask you a question” then repeat the question for the eighth time.  Last week, Russ and I were talking in the kitchen and she was in the playroom and saying something, but I figured she was just talking to herself as she is known to do.   Then she comes to the doorway and yells “Daddy, I’m trying to ask you a question!”

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Since she has not been a good listener for a while and doesn’t seem to be getting any better, we are experimenting with a new discipline technique.  Every time she doesn’t listen after the third time, I take away a toy and put it on top of the big bookshelves in our living room.  She can choose a toy to get back when she does a really good job listening the first time.  When Grammy came over yesterday, she showed her where many of her toys were and said, “My toys are on the shelf because I didn’t listen.  My climb up and get them.”  (Now we know we can’t leave her alone in the living room anymore)

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When she has had too much to eat or drink, she pushes her cup/plate away and says, “I need to take a break”

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I sent her in to wake Russ up on Saturday morning to tell him that breakfast was ready.  She was unsuccessful the first time, so I told her to try again and tell him that it snowed, then I hear “Daddy, get up.  It snowed.  It’s AMAZING.  Come see it!”  I wish I could convey the tone in which she said AMAZING – it was certainly said with amazement.

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Sunday night, she literally worked on pooping in the potty for four hours (what?! TMI).   She would get and say that she needed to go, go sit on the potty for a bit, then decide she was done without going.  She refused to get off the potty from 5:30-6:15 trying to go.  She even ate dinner on the potty….a potty picnic if you will.  (there is a photo to embarrass her with later, but I will refrain from posting that one – I do have boundaries, even if they are still a little on the far side of TMI).  Once she finally went, we celebrated and clapped and yelled “YAY…GOOD JOB” .  Then she went to get her potty party m&ms.  I said she could have three since she pooped and peed (she gets one for number one and two for number two).  She said, “No, two is enough”  and put one in each hand and headed off to get ready for bed.

This morning, she woke up a needed a diaper change.  Grammy went in to change her and Piglet asked if it was a big poopoo.  Grammy said it was, and Piglet said, “Say yay!”  But Grammy had to explain, that no, you don’t get a yay when you poop in your pull-up only when you poop in the potty.

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Papa and Mimi sent a bag of Valentine m&ms back with Russ yesterday for Piglet.  Russ tried to tell her she could have several since it was a present, but she said, “No, one is enough.  I need to go potty to get one more.”  Then that’s exactly what she did.  She does not listen and follow most rules, but this one m&m for number one and two for number two rule is hard and fast.

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She is BIG on matching.  Her cup has to make her pjs.  Her spoon has to match her fork.  Yesterday, she got herself dressed with pink socks, pink pants, and a pink shirt and delightfully exclaimed “my socks match my pants and my shirt”.

She also found fruit loops to match her blue cup and the green top to her cup this morning and was pretty excited.  She’s a strange one.

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Piglet is convinced that baby B is a boy.  She will say at random times “My baby brother in mommy’s belly” – we’ll see soon enough if she’s right and I have to figure out what we will name him.  I’ve got the perfect girl name, but none of the boy names fit yet.

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We have found that white grape juice makes Piglet poop when nothing else will.  Yesterday, Russ told Piglet that she had a big belly and needed to drink some more grape juice so she could poop.  Then she patted Russ on the stomach and said, “Daddy, you have a big belly, you need to poo poo”.