Monday, January 16, 2012
Parental Observations
This is what is going on in my brain today.
1. There should be a lock on Amazon when the following criteria are met: 1) it is the middle of the night 2) a baby (or two or three) is crying/refuses to sleep, and 3) you have a sleep deprived desperate mother. This is the perfect storm for impulse buying of baby gear that you are certain, at that moment, will solve all of your problems.
2. My house looks like babies-r-us gone wrong. There is more baby gear than you can imagine. There are a few items that we couldn't live without, and a few that are nice to have but not critical. Perhaps soon I'll bless you with a little tour of our gear with reviews of what works best. I could also save you some money and review the 95 swaddling devices I've tried (see #1 on how this happened).
3. There is one sure way of making you feel like taking care of three babies is easy. Have one of those babies get sick and require basically 24 hour care for a few days. For example....say one of your babies has reflux/formula issues, then gets an ear infection, then gets diarrhea, then gets a horrendous case of diaper rash as a result - resulting in on and off inconsolable screaming for a few days. Even with help, that plus taking care of two other babies is exhausting. So when you go back just taking care of three healthy babies it seems like a piece of cake! Okay, not a piece of cake....but easier than it was.
4. This is my favorite recent text from Jack: "Anna pooped. Dogs ate my sandwich". Apparently Jack made himself lunch and when sitting down to eat realized Anna needed to be changed quickly. While changing her he turns around to find both dogs finishing off his lunch. Highlight of their year I'm guessing.
5. Formula smells simply awful, but special formula for sensitive stomach babies smells like canned dog food. As does anything that comes out of the baby after ingesting said formula. So you've been warned. I, along with my house and belongings, will smell like canned dog food for the next year. I'm sure that makes my co-workers ready for my return.
6. Someone would make a fortune if they could invent an easy way to teach people to sleep in spurts. I don't easily nap nor do I go back to sleep easily once I wake up. So my typical day starts at 1:45 AM when I wake up for the 2 am feeding. Sometimes I'll be able to get an hour or two after that, but usually not. You would think that the fatigue would add up and force it to happen, right? Nope. This sounds like something I'll probably google next and end up buying more useless crap on Amazon.
7. I may be a bad mom...I laughed a little when the girls got shots. Don't get me wrong, it was sad; but, the sudden noise that came out first before the real cry was...just funny. I also have a bad habit of laughing in inappropriate situations, so perhaps it just falls in that category.
For the record, I have spent the last 2 hours (from 4-6 am) blogging and studying one "spirited" child closely on the video monitor to try and figure out her sleep problems. Does the swaddle calm her? Is the swaddle her worst nightmare? Why does she go to sleep for 45 minutes and then wake up like there is a loud alarm clock in her head? If you have made the connection between how I sleep and how she sleeps, you are not alone. If you have a magic solution for this sweet little spunky one, e-mail me.
Other than shots, we had a great checkup today. Anna is 6 lbs 13 oz, Brooks is 8 lbs 3 oz, and Irene is 9 lbs 10 oz. Crazy to think they were just 3 and 4 lbs when born. I can't even imagine them that small now.
1. There should be a lock on Amazon when the following criteria are met: 1) it is the middle of the night 2) a baby (or two or three) is crying/refuses to sleep, and 3) you have a sleep deprived desperate mother. This is the perfect storm for impulse buying of baby gear that you are certain, at that moment, will solve all of your problems.
2. My house looks like babies-r-us gone wrong. There is more baby gear than you can imagine. There are a few items that we couldn't live without, and a few that are nice to have but not critical. Perhaps soon I'll bless you with a little tour of our gear with reviews of what works best. I could also save you some money and review the 95 swaddling devices I've tried (see #1 on how this happened).
3. There is one sure way of making you feel like taking care of three babies is easy. Have one of those babies get sick and require basically 24 hour care for a few days. For example....say one of your babies has reflux/formula issues, then gets an ear infection, then gets diarrhea, then gets a horrendous case of diaper rash as a result - resulting in on and off inconsolable screaming for a few days. Even with help, that plus taking care of two other babies is exhausting. So when you go back just taking care of three healthy babies it seems like a piece of cake! Okay, not a piece of cake....but easier than it was.
4. This is my favorite recent text from Jack: "Anna pooped. Dogs ate my sandwich". Apparently Jack made himself lunch and when sitting down to eat realized Anna needed to be changed quickly. While changing her he turns around to find both dogs finishing off his lunch. Highlight of their year I'm guessing.
5. Formula smells simply awful, but special formula for sensitive stomach babies smells like canned dog food. As does anything that comes out of the baby after ingesting said formula. So you've been warned. I, along with my house and belongings, will smell like canned dog food for the next year. I'm sure that makes my co-workers ready for my return.
6. Someone would make a fortune if they could invent an easy way to teach people to sleep in spurts. I don't easily nap nor do I go back to sleep easily once I wake up. So my typical day starts at 1:45 AM when I wake up for the 2 am feeding. Sometimes I'll be able to get an hour or two after that, but usually not. You would think that the fatigue would add up and force it to happen, right? Nope. This sounds like something I'll probably google next and end up buying more useless crap on Amazon.
7. I may be a bad mom...I laughed a little when the girls got shots. Don't get me wrong, it was sad; but, the sudden noise that came out first before the real cry was...just funny. I also have a bad habit of laughing in inappropriate situations, so perhaps it just falls in that category.
For the record, I have spent the last 2 hours (from 4-6 am) blogging and studying one "spirited" child closely on the video monitor to try and figure out her sleep problems. Does the swaddle calm her? Is the swaddle her worst nightmare? Why does she go to sleep for 45 minutes and then wake up like there is a loud alarm clock in her head? If you have made the connection between how I sleep and how she sleeps, you are not alone. If you have a magic solution for this sweet little spunky one, e-mail me.
Other than shots, we had a great checkup today. Anna is 6 lbs 13 oz, Brooks is 8 lbs 3 oz, and Irene is 9 lbs 10 oz. Crazy to think they were just 3 and 4 lbs when born. I can't even imagine them that small now.
 |
| Brooks and Irene |
 |
| Anna snuggling with Christina |
 |
| Irene doing her favorite thing |
 |
| Brooks trying to hide out before the dr appt |
 |
| A little playtime by the front door |
 |
| Anna, Irene, Brooks - getting ready to go to the dr |
 |
| Irene and Anna |
Thursday, January 5, 2012
2 months
I had all intentions of doing those cute "month" onesie sticker picture series...but not happening. So here are some pictures of each around when they were born, around one month, and around two months.
ANNA
 |
| Anna right after birth |
 |
| Anna about one month - right before she came home |
 |
| Anna a little over two months - I think she is a little over 6 lbs now |
IRENE
 |
| Irene a few days old |
 |
| Irene one month |
 |
| Irene two months (she is getting big - I think close to 9 lbs) |
BROOKS
 |
| Brooks a few days old |
 |
| Brooks around one month |
 |
| Brooks around two months - I think she is around 8 lbs They are all doing really well. More and more alert each day and starting to smile. Poor Brooks is battling some stomach issues that we are working to solve. We had a follow up ultrasound on Anna's head to check on the brain bleed - hopefully the results will show that it is continuing to resolve. Irene is our big eater and sleeper. Remember the post on nature vs nurture? Here is one more example, with pictures. Anna and Irene are pretty happy quietly staring at things, like the Christmas tree, and then will dose off to sleep. Below are pics of them doing just that. Then you have a few pics of Brooks with the things that keep her happy..... |
 |
| Irene after staring at the tree |
 |
| Anna after staring at the tree (they sleep in the exact same position with their heads back) |
 |
| Brooks occupied by my IPad |
 |
| Brooks occupied by my mom hypnotizing her with a stocking for a good while |
 |
| Brooks in one of her favorite positions |
 |
| Recent pics of all girls after eating before a little play time |
 |
| Play time. Their favorite play activity is staring and batting at each other. Not so interested in toys. Brooks left, Irene right, Anna top. |
 |
| Thew view from the video monitor. They are now in two cribs, about to be three. We feel like we are security guards in a mental ward watching patients try to bust out of their straight jackets. |
Christmas Recap
Anna Ruth did a great job of my side of the family Christmas recap on her blog, so check out some of the family pics over there - mccalleyfamily.blogspot.com I'll add a few more (some duplicates) and pics from Christmas with Jack's family. We took the girls for a short roadtrip to Memphis for the day Christmas morning and they did great.
 |
| Christmas Eve. Tired babies, but had to get a tree and PJs shot |
 |
| With Meme and Grump (my parents) on Christmas Eve |
 |
| Christmas Morning at Jack's parents-with our nieces, Kathleen and Sarah Beth and Nephew, Jack. |
 |
| Honey (Jack's Mom) with Kathleen and Sarah Beth |
 |
| Matthew (Jack's brother) with Anna |
 |
| Kathleen and Anna |
 |
| Melanie (Jack's sister) with Anna and Honey with Irene |
 |
| Me with Anna and Brooks |
 |
| Very tired after the road trip. Irene, Anna Brooks |
 |
| When we got back from Memphis Frances was there with her matching PJs |
 |
| NYE family Christmas - Kat and Lyndy, Frances, Irene, Anna, Brooks |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)