WOW! Really?!

Today was an adventure to say the least.

It started decently though. I woke up, took a shower before either kid woke up. I don't think that has ever happened without an alarm being set.

And then it began. As I cooked Ana her egg and she pushed me, trying to get me to pick her up and hold her... but she was hungry and was also letting me know this fact. Then Titus began screaming.  Could I get to him? No. I had an egg on the stove. Once I had Ana's breakfast prepared and at her table, I was able to tend to Titus. It wasn't long though, that Donner started frantically pacing the living room. Drat! Forgot about her again. I let her out. Once Titus was settled, Ana was finished.  After some toddler wrangling, I was able to get her to the floor to change her diaper and get her dressed.  After she was dressed, I changed and dressed the baby. Then I called the doctor. I had been planning this call all weekend.  The amount that Titus loses after each feeding just isn't normal! Nor is the amount of pain he is in.  Once I got the appointment, I had to leave for the appointment.  I had only been up an hour and a half, and I had a Target run to make before hitting the doctors.

Do you know how many baby wipes you go through in about 2 weeks with 2 in diapers?! A LOT!!! I feel like I buy a large box (the equivalent of 7 normal boxes of wipes) every week! Its probably every 2 weeks in reality. I should probably pay attention to it.

Anyway, going to Target by myself with the 2 kids was a new thing for me. Titus hasn't been out of the house much, and if you have ever been shopping with Ana... its ALWAYS an adventure! She doesn't think that she needs to sit in the cart facing Mommy. She knows that she gets WAY more attention if she gets on her knees and turns around facing where we are going and waving at passers-by. (At least she is no longer STANDING on the seat facing outward!)

Not 2 minutes into the trip, I began regretting it. Ana was already turned around and Titus was starting to fuss. Ana tried getting Titus to calm down by pushing the blanket covering the infant seat into his face so that she could get to his paci... then pushed the blanket so that just his mouth was visible and began shoving the paci into his face, all the while Titus is getting louder and louder. I got Ana wrestled back into the seat facing the correct way and Titus quiet and then practically sprinted to the baby section, threw the wipes box onto the bottom of the cart. For good measure, I also threw a box of TJ's diapers under the cart. I was not gonna come home to find that I needed diapers too. Then I raced over to the toy department. There are these little Strawberry Shortcake dolls that we've decided to collect for Ana for outings such as doctor's appointments.

Once back in the car, I noticed I had about a half hour to get across town to the office. With TJ screaming (he hates the car) and Ana screeching (she hates when TJ screams), I drove through town with the radio up trying to drown out all the noise.

Here's where my day gets even "better!" In the waiting room, Ana gets a wild hair up her butt! Again, Titus is screaming (the screaming is why we're at the docs) and Ana sees an exit door. She looks at me and giggles and then runs. Straight for the door! I'm running after her holding Titus and just as I reach her arm, she lets out another giggle and goes as limp as a wet noodle and slinks to the floor!! I could hear the chuckles of the other parents. I know they aren't laughing AT me... but I also know that my situation has to look pretty comical. She didn't do this just once. There were a few exit doors and she tried escaping out of them all.

Once in the office, it went rather well (minus her running out of the room ... she can open doors now... while I was feeding Titus). She is very protective over her little brother and protested rather loudly about the doctor touching him, but other than that she was content to color and stick stickers all over the chair.

Titus is gaining weight! Up to 10lbs 7oz! The doctor upped his dose of medication and changed up his feeding lengths a little. Hopefully that goes well... follow up at his 2 month check up in a few weeks!

AMAZINGLY, Anastasia walked holding my hand back to the car (this is the first time she has not tried to escape into the parking lot). The car ride home was quiet while both kids slept. AMAZING.

Nap time. Both kids slept. I regained a little sanity. Then the cousins came over. I love them. Sam has such a gentle personality.  Ana woke up from her nap, and Sam's peaceful playtime came crashing down.  It was like she never slept! She followed behind him snatching EVERYTHING out of his hands! We still aren't sure if "Mam!" means "Sam" or "Mine!"  Once she had her dinner she was quiet. :) And happy. And while each in their own highchair, the two toddlers get along really well!!! :)

Oh well... she's 18 months. Almost 2! It'll only get more adventurous from here.

And then they'll both be toddlers.

Oh boy! Oh boy!

Where Has the Time Gone?!

Where has the time gone?! I still remember the day I had her. Not too much about the days that followed... but the months that followed seem like they just happened!! My "Little Miss"... my "Missy"... my "Snot Bucket"... my Anastasia is 18 months old today!!  

She is precocious.

She is sassy.

She is loud.

Rambunctious.

Loving.

Sweet.

Aggressive.

Silly.

Athletic.

Strong.

Intelligent.

Protective.

She is her own, independent person, and I am PROUD to be her mother! 

Here is a picture timeline of the last 18 months of my "Little Miss."

Just born

Getting ready to go home!

1 week old and first bath!

1 month old!

Goofy grin! 

2 months!

3 months!

4 months!

5 months!

Snot Face!

7 months!

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months!

1 year old!!

13 months

14 months

15 months

16 months

17 months

18 months!

What's not to love about that face? Those expressions?! :)

We Survived!!

Well... we made it.  We've survived.  

Titus is 1 month old!

This month has flown by! Christmas seems like ages ago and it was within the month. I barely remember New Years!

Ana just LOVES her little brother!!  Donner is protective over him, and I am loving my Little Man. 

Most of the time he sleeps peacefully. Although he is like a Chihuahua and vibrates! :) But that is calming down. :) He is a big fan of swaddling, pacifiers, and eating (but not in that order). He is in size 1 diapers and soon will be out of newborn clothes. I'm not sure how much he weighs or how long he is, but he has a doctor's appointment at the end of February. He is definitely growing though! 

2 more months and that "first 12 week" period is over! Then its "smooth sailing"... HA! We'll see about that. ;) But it'll be easier than the first 12 weeks, that's for sure. 

Day 1 of No TV!

I read an article last night.  A mom wrote about the techniques she used to help harness the behavior of her almost 2 year old!  I wouldn't classify Anastasia as a "bad kid"... but she is definitely strong-willed and she is starting to test her boundaries.  Before completely losing control of her and myself, I want to reign things in.

Here are the things she outlined:

1. Go Low on the Sugar
2. Minimize screen time (I'm still gonna allow her Yo Gabba Gabba and Strawberry Shortcake and animated movies... she just won't get all 3 everyday, nor will she have the TV on all day long.)
3. Eye to eye (When redirecting her, I'll get down to her level and make contact with her)
4. Keep it quiet (Try not to raise my voice)
5. Distract and elaborate (Get her to stop doing what she is doing by giving her something else to do but still explaining why we don't do the first thing.)
6. Foster your relationship 
7. Save the 'no' for extremes
8. Offer two choices 
9. One page (This refers to the parents... it'll backfire on us otherwise.)
10. Be firm

All of these things may not be practical for OUR family, but how will I know unless I try putting them into practice first? 

So... day 1.  TV is off... well, off of "regular" TV.  I turned it to a music channel.  Ana so far seems to prefer this.  She is playing independently and dancing around the room to the music.  Her blocks came out and she intently built with them for a longer time period than normal, she did an art project (of course she ended up putting the stickers on her and the table more than the foam butterfly she had in front of her... but she was being creative nonetheless), she "cooked" in her pot with her veggies and fed the concoction to Donner, she played with her dollies, and she and I counted and learned the letter "A" on her doodler.  All of this was just this morning! 

Now she is down for her nap, and she went down without a fuss!  I even worked on not using "No" and not raising my voice.  Of course, this proved difficult as she seems set on testing limits while I'm nursing Titus and can't actually go over to her.  So while she noisily banged the new coaster on the coffee table, I raised my voice over the racket and said, "Ana! No! We don't do that!"  Did it work?  Nope!  I had to put TJ down and go get the coaster.  But hey... we're working on it! :) 

After nap, we'll have lunch.  Maybe she'll get to watch Strawberry Shortcake while eating.  She needs a distraction from Donner sitting right next to her begging for food so that she doesn't feed her whole lunch to the dog.  

Sleep

How can something that sleeps so much and semi-peacefully cause SO much sleep deprivation?! 

Maybe it's because when he is awake and its dark outside he can't seem to find the internal button that allows him to burp, fart, etc.

Maybe it's because his crying wakes up his sister and then he promptly falls asleep, so then I'm dealing with her; and as soon as she is back asleep, he decides its time to eat again and then we repeat the "can't find the internal button" scenario. 

Maybe it's because when he sleeps and it's light outside his sister IS awake, so that whole "sleep when the baby sleeps" advice goes out the window. 

Whatever the reason... he is too cute and precious to get mad at even if I can blame him. So I will go on sleep deprived! :) 

New Year's Resolution

OK... last year's resolution was all about living life simply and healthily.  I think we did pretty well! Ana loves all sorts of healthy foods, I experimented with new vegetables we found at the Farmer's Market, we got Donner some much needed help towards mental health, and we became more active. Even being in Monterey meant a healthier time for me and my medical condition! I'm happy to report that from September 2009 through September 2010, I have been the healthiest (neurocardiogenic syncope wise) that I have been since diagnosis (2000)!! I only had one or two "episodes" that I can recall over that entire year! Far cry from the 1+ episodes a month for the previous 9 years!! Maybe it was the weather in Monterey (which we have always suspected to be a huge trigger for me) or maybe the wiring in my heart was "reset" after delivering Ana, who knows! All I know is that I was better! Hopefully, it continues, cuz I'm not sure the weather is going to be as kind in Georgia. :-/

This year, the resolutions from last year will continue, and we'll add on "Family Time." There has been a lot of separation for our family over the last year and a half. Ten months of total time spent apart. We know that this is what we have signed up for when Tim joined the Army, but he missed a lot of the newborn moments with Ana, including delivery, and will miss a lot of Titus's newborn time as well. So... in a sense, moving across the country will be good for us because we will have PLENTY of family time! :) We are already discussing plans for our first family vacation! :) Not sure when or where we'll be going... but we are going! Maybe to Florida... maybe stay in Georgia and explore... maybe go up to the New England area... lots of possibilities to think about! 

To continue with last year's, we'll find a Farmer's Market in Georgia, and continue switching things up in our diet so that it becomes more full of "whole foods" and less processed.  We'll also work on being more active. Since my health is better, I hope to add running back into my life. It's been a long time since I regularly ran... and hopefully it'll relieve some of the stress of raising 2 kids under 2 years old! :) 

And of course, blogging more was a "failed" resolution from last year, so I'll try again this year! ;)

2 weeks later

As promised: PICTURES!

Just after birth

The few seconds I got to hold him before he went to the nursery for monitoring

In the nursery with Daddy

His new Christmas Hat

Ana seeing Daddy for the first time!

Her new Baby from Titus

Meeting Titus for the first time! She gave him kiss right away!

Wanting to hold him all by herself.

In LOVE

Daddy and his 2 kiddos

Home from the hospital

Daddy and his 2 Paci kids! :)

Its been 2 weeks.

Tim is back in Texas. My mom is back at work. And I am with the kidS at home.

Kids. Its weird to say.  :) We have KIDS... not just one... but TWO! But at the same time, its great. :)

Right now, Anastasia is napping, Titus is napping, and even Donner is napping! Yes, I know... I SHOULD be napping too... but I chose a shower and blogging. I really want to get better at this whole blogging thing.  :)

Titus had his 2 week Dr. appointment yesterday. He is now 7lb 14.5oz. He gained a whole whopping ounce and a half! LOL He was born bigger than Ana, but SHE was a little piglet and had gained a pound in the first 2 weeks! BUT... he, like she did, has reflux. His, though, is worse. He is in so much pain after every feeding! :(  With Ana, I was able to nurse differently, adjust my diet, and hold her upright at a 45-degree angle for hours on end... with all of that, she didn't need any medicine. I just don't have that time with Titus. If I were to do the same things with him, Anastasia would probably feel neglected. :-/ So... we opted for medication. He has only had 2 does thus far, but we're hoping they work!! :) It won't eliminate the spitting up, but it should help reduce the force that its coming up with and it'll also neutralize the acids so that he is in a lot less pain! Dr. Chen said he has a lot of testosterone! He is already able to bear some weight on his legs (she said a 2 MONTH skill) and she witnessed as he rolled from his tummy to his side!! So other than the reflux, he is doing amazing!

Anastasia LOVES having a brother.... well, I think she is more in love with the fact that she is a big sister! :) He is going to start feeling smothered when he realizes that she kisses him every 5 minutes! :) She is struggling with the fact that she can't carry him around. :( Oh well. :) She does hold him lots!

The only "regression" she is exhibiting is the use of HIS pacis. She even uses pacis she refused as an infant! I'll take it as a good sign. I'd rather have that regression that the host of other things she could be doing!

I'm doing better. Still in a lot of pain. I keep forgetting to take my pain killers in the morning, and by the evening it hurts to walk... so I need to get better at remembering! :)  The mornings are pretty "easy"... once I'm up and drinking coffee and have shaken the "fog" off.  Both kids have the same morning nap time, so that's REALLY nice! By 3 o'clock, I'm exhausted and the pain begins setting in. But it'll get better. :) Overall, its going as smoothly as I could have hoped for with 2 kids under a year-and-a-half!