Toddler Dilemma

Kaylee was a good sleeper until about 5 weeks after moving to her big girl bed.  All of a sudden she started getting up and standing at the door crying. At first, we jumped up to see what was wrong as this was not normal for her. After several weeks of this we began to try different solutions, none seeming to work.  After Ella was born, shortly after my parents left, Adam and I decided to take a step back and do nothing. "Let her cry" became our motto. It worked. Her crying became less and less until she just stayed in her bed, cried for about 1 minute and then got quiet. Soon, she didn't cry at all and stayed in bed.

Within the last couple of weeks, the crying started up again. I am unsure when because my lack of sleep is pushing all my days and nights together. Since we have been back from my parent's house (we were there for 5 days last week) she has now been waking up several times at night as well. She does not seem scared, she just wakes up and wants up. She starts crying again as soon as we leave her room. (We have been leaving her door open with the hall light on the last few nights.) Also, she has a night light in her room.

I say all of this to say that I am tired of fighting this and I am looking for any advice that you as parents of older children (out of this stage) have.  We have tried just about everything. There is what is called the "sleep lady shuffle" that we have not tried. I have read her book, but know of nobody personally that has done the shuffle so I am not sure if I really want to put in the time and energy that it calls for. If you have done it, and it worked for you, then please tell me how you did it and how long it took.  I am exhausted and just want tear free nights once again so I am willing to try anything.

Thanks!

Sewing Sisters

There is a lovely lady named Jane from church and she has taken time out of her schedule to teach several of us how to sew. (My friend Cara has also helped alongside Jane and filled-in when Jane could not make it.)

When I picked my project, I decided to pick something that I knew I would use and also something that I could learn several different things at once.

So, I picked an apron. This apron has lined pockets, darts, gathers, and a lined top.

I have learned so much and have really enjoyed this class!

And I am finally finished my apron! :)

Kaylee's Kidbits

Kaylee seems like a giant now that we have Ella.  She is growing up so fast!

Some days her whining far exceeds the cute things she does, but that comes with being a kid.


She does a lot of cute things though.

Probably my favorite thing that she does is pick up Titus (her kitty), carry him over to me, and say, "Cheese, Momma, cheese."(meaning - she wants me to take a picture of her holding Titus)

She is all about dancing. She will start dancing to just about anything. Commercials. Someone humming. The clicking of the swing. When she starts dancing, she will say, "Momma, dance. Ella, dance. Daddy, dance." She loves to dance and wants you to dance with her!

I sat down one day to count out how many words she knows. I stopped counting at around 45 and her vocabulary is growing more every day.

The most exciting recent thing we have been working on is getting Kaylee to say "more" when she wants more food.  I even taught her the sign language to help her out. This morning all of my work has paid off. She called me over and said, "More, Momma." I am so proud!

The next adventure for little Miss Kaylee is potty training. As soon as we are home for several days and have no where to go, we will start. Keep us in your prayers. Speaking of which... if you have any tips that worked for you, please post them below or email them to me at kristadaulton@hotmail.com. Thanks!

Update on Ella

After about a month of non-stop crying and two different meds, Ella is finally a changed baby.  She has been cooing and smiling.  All around happy and predictable.  It has been a very welcomed change.

She is currently on Prevacid for acid reflux. For those of you that don't know what that is or remember what it is, acid reflux disease occurs when stomach acid backs up into the esophagus. Most babies will be over acid reflux by the time they are a year old. The Prevacid has given my poor little girl some much needed relief and we are so grateful for it!

She had her two month appointment yesterday. She now weighs 10 pounds 11 ounces putting her in the 48% for weight. She is still super long measuring in at 23 1/2 inches putting her at 85% for length. I think she may end up being taller than Kaylee.

One of the best things about her feeling better is that she is sleeping longer which means that I am getting more sleep.  The last two nights she has slept about 10 hours between feedings. Before the Prevacid, I was lucky if she slept 3 hours without waking up in pain. For this, I praise the Lord. I know that there are people praying for my little Ella and for our rest. The Lord has answered those prayers! Thank you for praying!

It's been a while since I have added my joyful moment - so here is one for today...

Joyful Moment of the Day: Kaylee, Ella, and I all danced together this morning to music. A very special Mommy moment.

Top 10 Things to Ask Yourself Before Having a Baby

Now that we are on kid number 2, Adam and I have been debating about having another kid. This debate (and my current lack of sleep) has spurred my

Top 10 Things to Ask Yourself Before Having a Baby

1. Am I ready spiritually? Kids are a ton of work. As with marriage, your relationship with God is key to being a parent. Kaylee is hitting the terrible two's (sadly) and requires LOTS of patience. This is not a fruit of the spirit that I am "fruitful" in.  There are so many days where I either beg God for patience or have to ask Kaylee to forgive me for losing my patience with her. Add to that my lack of sleep from being up with Ella at night and I am not the kindest person in the world. Ironic though that in 1 Corinthians the first two words used to tell what love is are the two things I really struggle with sometimes. Patience and kindness.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.

Don't even get me started on the things I am lacking in the rest of that passage. Either way, if you are not ready to face the facts that you have areas in which you need to work on spiritually or if you are stagnant or do not have a relationship with God at all, you should probably think twice before popping out children.

2. Is my marriage ready for kids? Again, can I just say, kids are a lot of work! Marriage is a lot of work in itself and does not need the added struggle of kids if it is a rocky road in itself. If your marriage needs some work first, check out my Top 10 Ways to Keep Your Marriage Hot for my own marriage checklist.  I cannot imagine how bad things would be if Adam and I were on the outs. When it comes to kids, you have to be a team. Working. Supporting. Helping. Having kids comes a lot easier if you have your helpmate by your side. If your marriage is great, then you may be ready for little Junior.

3. Am I ready to give up my "me" time? Let me first say that if you have a wonderful spouse like I do, you will still be able to have "me" time. However, overall, your "me" time becomes "our" time once you have a baby. Babies require your undivided attention. So, that hour that you used to spend unwinding by watching television or playing on the internet is now spent playing with your baby or changing diapers. Kaylee is at the point now where she wants your attention as soon as you walk in the door. After a long day of work, you don't necessarily feel like dealing with a whiny toddler. If you are not ready to spend time with the baby after an exhausting day at work, you probably are not ready to start the reproduction process.

4. Am I ready to give up our "alone" time? As newlyweds you are all about being with your spouse and doing fun things together. You want to do things with other couples. You want to stay up talking until late hours dreaming about the future. After you have a baby, your time together is now spent with a third person. Your date nights can still happen if you want them to, but require a lot more work. You have to find a babysitter. You have to work it out where you can go when it is not time to feed or make sure to leave a bottle. Your late night hours are spent holding, changing, and nursing a baby. All the things you used to do together, are now things you do with a baby present. You can still do those things, but that time is much different with a baby around. No more quick runs to Wal-Mart at 3am for toilet paper - at least not together. If you are ready to give up your time "alone" together, then maybe you are ready to add that 3rd family member.

5. Am I ready to put forth the time and energy it takes to have a baby? New babies take energy all hours of the day and night. Late night feedings and whatnot. If you only have one baby, you may find time to rest if you are not working and can sleep while they sleep. With two kids, you don't have time to sleep because you have to chase around your older kid while the other one sleeps. Babies need lots of love and attention. This takes time. If you have lots of time and need to burn some energy, babies may be right up your alley.

6. Am I ready for all the baby stuff? Baby stuff is everywhere. You may not be a clean freak like I am so this question might not be for you. Just move on to number 7. However, you guys out there that think everything has a place - this one is just for you. Right now as I am writing this, I look around my living room and see the clutter of baby stuff. In 2009 before Kaylee was born, my living room looked so different. I had two couches, an ottoman, a tv stand, and two side tables. Now you can add to that the pack-n-play, the bouncy seat, Kaylee's little chair, a baby doll crib, a basket full of toys, other smaller toys that sit next to it, and a large stack of books.  We keep it fairly organized and in it's place, but it is still a lot of stuff. Something that you definitely have to get used to. If the idea of having cute little baby things scattered about your house makes you excited, having a baby will help you make it extra scattered.
 
7. Do we have room for a baby? This is something I wish we would have considered before buying a car. Now we are stuck with a car much too small for our expanding family. If we would have thought about this early on, maybe we could have saved ourselves from being sardines and purchased a larger vehicle in advance. This is also something to think about as far as your home goes. Maybe you don't have an extra room for the baby.  If you don't have room, then you won't have space to fill it with your own little addition.


8. Are we financially ready for a baby? This is a really good question to think about. Not necessarily as the deciding factor, but to prepare yourself mentally for the difference in your finances.  Last year we spent $3821.28 on childcare and our general "baby" section of our budget. This does not include clothing. It is mainly diapers and other baby items that we may have bought over the course of the year. Throw in all the clothes and doctor's visits and you are looking at about $5000 added to your spending over the year. (This does not include your labor and delivery costs.) Maybe you want your baby to sport the finer things. You can expect to spend even more. If your finances seem to be pretty steady and you think you can find wiggle room for several thousands of dollars, you may just be ready for having a little tax deduction.


9. What stage of life are our friends? I find this question pretty important. One of my friends called me the pioneer of our friend group as I was the first to have a baby in the group. It was so difficult because when I was pregnant, all I wanted to talk about was being pregnant. Once I had the baby, all I wanted to talk about was having the baby and what she was doing at the time. Maybe you had the same experience after you got married. That feeling of now that I am married, I want to talk with my girl friends about being married. My friends did finally catch up with me, but it was probably the hardest transition I have ever had to make alone. If your friends seem to be on the baby move, then you may want to jump on the baby boom bandwagon.


10. Are you ready physically to have a baby? Having a baby takes a huge toll on your body. Even though you are having a baby, there are days when you feel fat and ugly. Once the baby comes, then you have to deal with the aftermath of the awkward belly flab, stretch marks, healing, and the line that runs down the middle of your belly that wants to stay with you until your babies graduate from college. Add to all of that, exhaustion, fatigue, leaking nursers, and hormonal changes. If you are not ready to take all of that on, then you may not be ready to grow a baby.


Please understand that simply answering yes or no to one of these questions alone does not answer the yes or no to whether or not you are ready to have a baby. That is why I have 10 questions.  I think you (as a couple) need to answer all of them to get a true picture of what life would be like with a baby and know if you are ready for a baby or not. Plus, as a couple take time to pray about it. (going back to question 1)  There are so many joys of having a baby/kids, but I also want to be real with you that they take work and require that you are ready to be the most selfless person that you have ever been. If you can't handle both sides of that equation, then as much as the idea of a baby excites you, you probably are not ready for one.  

Mommies

This Mother's Day I had the privilege of spending it with two of the world's best Mommies.

First, I got to see my best friend Meggan in action as she maneuvered her 1 year old all be herself while being 8 months pregnant. She was quite the trooper as we did lots of sight seeing and walking, all while dealing with not only a toddler, and a sick one at that. Being recently pregnant myself, I recall how difficult it was to keep myself going at 8 months, let alone deal with Kaylee. I was impressed with her patience with her sick little Addison and endurance in spite of being very pregnant as well as her perseverance and strength while we were out and about. She is one of the world's best Mommies!

Second, I saw my best friend Kimberly in her element as a new Mom. Her 4 month old has one of the most laid back personalities. You can tell that her parenting style is working great for him! When her handsome boy gave her some free time, she willingly helped Meggan and I with our kids. She was quick to walk with Addison when she needed to burn some energy and quick to hold Ella when I needed a break from her crying, all while taking care of Brayden.  I was impressed with her knowledge and memory of every instruction book she owns, her energy that never seemed to deplete, and her ability to manage all of us plus her puppy. She is one of the world's best Mommies!

Now then, I can't finish this Mommy blog without mentioning my own Mom. Even though I did not get to see her on Mother's Day, I definitely thought of her while I was around the two Mommies mentioned above. Seeing them in action reminded me of what a great Mom I had growing up. She taught me that everything has a place and how to be a good hostess. She taught me how to properly clean a bathroom and how a wash rag should be placed on the sink so it will not stink. She taught me how to love and respect my husband and how to patiently serve him. She taught me how to be a Mom and how to love and discipline my children. She is my Mom and definitely is one of the world's best Mommies!

I am so grateful for these three ladies!

I hope all the Mommies out there had a very Happy Mother's Day!