Tag: Kids & Parenting

For the Love of Sleep

Published by dee on May 1, 2012

It almost seems wrong to say anything, for fear that it will never happen again, but Sunday night Caleb slept for 8 1/2 hours straight without waking.

8 1/2 HOURS.

Now, I love sleep just as much as the rest of you, but I have to say that when my alarm woke me up instead of a baby waking me I went into panic mode. Okay, maybe not full on panic, but definitely a state of confusion. It took me a minute to figure out where the strange sound was coming from and even longer to figure out why the baby was still in the bassinet and not in bed with me.

Granted, I did not go to bed at the same time he did so I didn’t get the full 8 1/2 hours in, but I did manage to get at least six consecutive hours of sleep and it felt SO good.

When he did wake up, he was quite unhappy that his tummy was so empty but we quickly remedied that. If you’ve ever breastfed a baby, you know that 8 1/2 hours without feeding the baby or pumping is quite uncomfortable so I was more than happy to comply with his screaming demands.

I’m still a little in shock that he slept so long and keep thinking that it has to be some kind of fluke. My older two did not sleep through the night this early so I didn’t expect it at all. I could certainly get used it though!

Update! — He slept 9 1/2 hours last night and I feel amazing today! Keeping my fingers crossed that this is the new schedule!

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Catching Up

Published by dee on August 30, 2011

Feeling a bit scatter-brained this week, but I’m trying to do better at updating things so here are a bunch of random updates to fill you in.

In pregnancy news, I’m now 14 weeks and into the second trimester. I’m feeling much, much better when it comes to the queasy, nauseated mess that I was a few weeks ago. However, I’m still ridiculously tired the majority of the time. I have managed to force myself out of my comfy chair and gotten a few things accomplished around the house. I would feel better about that if there weren’t so much more that needed to be done. I’m at least getting the laundry washed. It just may not be folded and put away.
Things seem to be going really well for Zach at school this year. There have been a couple of complaints, but they have been minimal. I mean, what kid wants to do homework? I think it has made a big difference this year that we were better prepared and had supports in place for his sensory issues from the beginning. We’re currently exploring what other services may be available for him during the school day, but there is a chance he won’t qualify for anything. Apparently in Missouri, SPD does not qualify him for services as a primary diagnosis.
Both Zach and Evie are signed up for Tumbling classes at the Y this year. I was really hoping to put them in dance, but we are really trying to watch costs right now and it was just a bit more than we wanted to spend. The tumbling classes go for two months at a time (and are much cheaper), so they can try it out and it isn’t a huge loss if they decide to drop it. The first session is Monday night and they are both really excited about it. The best part is that they are in the same class and they are excited about getting to do it together.
Zach also is wanting to join Boy Scouts (Tiger Cubs) this year. They are having a meeting about it tonight and he asked me if he could go so I guess we are going to. Honestly, I’m glad he is interested in it but I’m a little hesitant about the time commitment. Our evenings are so jam-packed already during the week, but I know it will be a good experience for him. I’m also hoping that maybe he will build some closer friendships with kids in his school.
I’m really getting excited for our annual Labor Day weekend trip to the lake, but praying my sister-in-law doesn’t go into labor while we’re gone. She’s about two weeks out from her scheduled c-section date, but could go into labor at any time. I would really like for her to hold off until I’m back in town to greet my new little nephew!
Exciting things are happening for our little church that we’ve been a part of the last couple years. As a new church start, we’ve been meeting in various locations but we have finally purchased and are moving into our own building this week. It will be a huge deal for us to have our own space in a permanent location. In preparation for our Grand Opening at the new building on September 25th, I’ve been working on overhauling our web site. Finding time to work on it has a been a challenge, but it is going to look great when it is finally done. The church’s band (which hubby plays Bass in) is also going to be playing a show at Zona Rosa on the 10th, which we’re hoping will pull in a few new people. It will be his first time playing in front of people (other than at church) and he’s really excited about it.
My calendar is starting to fill up with Fall photo sessions and I’m getting really excited to get out and shoot! Between early pregnancy sickness and the incredible heat we’ve been going through this summer, I haven’t felt like doing much of anything. Now that it is finally starting to cool down (at least a little bit) and I’m feeling better, I’m ready to get my finger clicking again!

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Can I Go Take A Nap Now?

Published by dee on August 2, 2011

So it seems that Hubby thinks baby #3 is already getting left out because I’m not writing about it much. He commented about the fact that I haven’t written anything about the baby other than announcing that I’m pregnant. And yes, he’s right, but I also haven’t written about much of anything lately. I haven’t written about our vacation, Zach’s birthday party, how Evie is growing up faster than I can keep up with, how summer has passed me by in a blink, or how all I want to do is sleep, sleep, sleep right now. I start to type out a post and then…zzzzzzzzzzzz…

I am so very tired. ALL. THE. TIME.

There are multiple post starts in my drafts folder that will likely never see themselves published. Seriously, my writing has been so terrible I can barely even choke my way through it. I get halfway done with a thought and get so bored with it I never finish it. (See? This post is getting there too, but I’m going to attempt to slug my way through it.)

So, I’m about 10 weeks along right now in this pregnancy (due Feb. 26th). I’m tired pretty much all the time. The all-day-long sickness is finally starting to get a little bit better, as long as I make sure to eat something fairly soon after I get out of bed and continue to eat frequently through the day. The only problem with that is that nothing tastes good most of the time. Once I get a few bites down I’m usually okay, but forcing those down can be rather difficult. The other problem is that nothing I drink tastes good so I’m not getting nearly enough liquids in my body. The only things that I’ve found that really taste good are lemonade and ruby red grapefruit juice and those both give me massive heartburn. Seriously, I can’t even drink a Diet Coke. It tastes horrible to me (certainly helps the whole caffeine addiction problem though). Oh, and did I mention I’m tired?

I officially broke into the maternity clothes stash today. I still have a few pairs of jeans I can wear and plenty of stretchy shirts, but my work pants are starting to look a bit ridiculous as I haven’t been able to button them in a couple weeks now. That happened entirely too fast. At least with the maternity clothes on the bump might start looking more like baby belly than just fat belly that can’t be sucked in.

Hubby claims I’m already nesting, but I just call it planning. I’ve rearranged Evie’s bedroom in my head about 10 different times now, trying to figure out how to fit the crib in there, as well as another dresser. I’ve started a registry list on Amazon (not because I plan to have a shower, but because of the discount I can get later!) with all the things I might want this time around. They have come out with a lot of new things since Evie was born 3 years ago! We have most of the essentials still, but I’ll still want/need a few new things.

That’s pretty much where I am now that I’ve gotten over the shock a little bit. I think we all get a little more excited every day. Evie wants to kiss and touch my belly all the time and constantly asks about the baby. Zach hasn’t talked as much about the baby, but he has been extra snuggly with me lately. And Hubby, well I have to say he’s been nice about the fact that all I want to do is sleep all day. I think we’ll all be a little happier when Mommy starts feeling a bit better though!

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Six

Published by dee on June 24, 2011

Excuse me while I get all mommy-bloggerish and weepy on you, but this little chunk of love –

has suddenly turned into this gigantic six-year-old boy (ok, so he’s not officially six until Sunday, but still!). SIX!

It’s like I blinked and all of a sudden here we are. We’ll be spending the weekend celebrating his six-year-oldness and I’m just sitting here in disbelief that six years can go by so fast. Six years of crazy ups and downs, but mostly six years of the most amazing love I’ve ever known. That boy holds my heart in his hands for sure.

(And by the way, that first picture up there is part of the set that really convinced me I wanted to learn photography someday. I think I’ve come a long way since then!)

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The Boy

Published by dee on April 27, 2011

He won’t let me take a decent photo of him anymore. I get silly faces or poses every time.

He knows more than mom and dad all of a sudden and is very unhappy when we tell him otherwise.

He doesn’t like loud noises unless he is the one making them.

He would eat nothing but bologna and cheese sandwiches if we let him get away with it.

He would wear only sweatpants and t-shirts if it weren’t for the required school uniform.

He loves his family immensely, including his cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

He is incredibly smart, and is now reading and writing words and sentences.

He is better at video games than I am.

He is obsessed with all things Mario and Luigi.

He adores his little sister, even though when asked he’ll tell you he doesn’t like her.

He is still so little and vulnerable, even though he tries to act tough.

He is learning to deal with his anger in more appropriate ways.

He has almost made it through a full year of kindergarten, even though it has been scary and difficult.

He has started trying new foods again, even though 9 times out of 10 he’ll spit them right back out.

He wore blue jeans for the first time in over a year yesterday, because I asked him to for his school pictures. He didn’t complain and decided they weren’t so bad.

He held his little sister’s hand this morning when she was scared to go down the stairs by herself, and then opened the car door for her. This was after he corrected her for not saying please when she asked me for her cereal.

He is growing up, whether I like it or not.

He makes my heart swell with pride.

The last year has been a difficult one, but I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I don’t know if it is the OT sessions, the adaptations we’ve made both at home and at school, or just simply maturity on his part, but I’ve gone from feeling helpless to hopeful and that’s enough to get me through.

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I’m Not The Best at Making Decisions

Published by dee on March 10, 2011

Never in my 33 years of life have I dreaded summer. I have always looked forward to it. I love the sunshine. I love the heat (as long as I have air conditioning available when I want it). I love splashing in the water with my kids, taking trips to the lake, BBQ’s, and all of the other fun stuff that comes with summer.

This summer, however, there’s a new component – trying to figure out what to do with Zach while school’s out. This is filling me with so much anxiety right now that I can’t even think about the joys of summer yet. It’s complicated this year. If Evie was on school break too, I would hire a sitter to come to our house and call it good. I seriously doubt I could find a sitter to come to the house for what I can pay for only one child. If both kids were home it would be much more feasible, but I’m not ready to take her out of the day care that we love (it already makes me sad to think about putting her in preschool).

I’m not really sure where else to look at this point. I’ve checked with the YMCA day camps and they are a bit more pricey than what I can pay. His old preschool has a school-age program in the summer, but he wasn’t very happy there towards the end and says he doesn’t want to go back there. I’m sure there have to be more day camp programs around, but I haven’t found them yet, at least not ones that we can afford.

It seems odd that we can’t afford day camp costs, considering that we paid for full-time day care for the first five years of his life. Those years were a big struggle financially, especially after his sister came along. Now that we finally have a little bit of breathing room (thank you public school system!), adding on another $140-160 a week seems like a lot of money.

Then there’s the other issue that’s staring me in the face. Now that we know he has some definite sensory issues, I worry about introducing him to a new situation. What if we put him in a summer camp and he just can’t handle it? It took us several months of school before I felt like things were under control and I feel like we’ll be starting all over again. I don’t want the poor kid to be miserable all summer because he’s put in a situation that makes him uncomfortable. For my own comfort, I need to know that he’s somewhere that can handle his quirks and can manage a meltdown if/when it happens. I would hate to think that all the work we’ve done with him over the last few months would be blown because he isn’t in a place where he can get the support he needs.

So I’m stuck. I know I still have two and a half months or so to figure it all out, but I’m a little stressed out about it right now. Parenting brings so many challenges, but deciding who is going to care for my child when I can’t is the most challenging thing I’ve ever had to do. I never feel like I’m making the right decision, although I have been super lucky a couple of times. I guess I just have to keep looking until I find something that feels right.

In the meantime, I’m sending him back to Evie’s day care for spring break next week (even though he thinks he’s too old for it). He’s not at all happy about it, but I tried to buffer the disappointment a little by signing him up for another session of swimming lessons. I can’t wait to see him in the water again. Not only does he love swimming, but he’s getting pretty darn good at it too!

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