HELP!!!

HELP WANTED

Mother in serious need of advice regarding sleeping children in the same room. Has received advice previously (for which she is very grateful), but is interested in all possible advice from all possible parties interested in providing it. Children began sleeping in same room tonight at 7:30...it is now 9:00...and just...got...quiet...

This is how tonight went (strike that...should read "is going"). Kate fell asleep nursing. Jordan brought James in to lay him down. I was still holding Kate. James began crying that Kate was in his room (prior to this moment, he was so excited to have Kate sleeping in his room). And when I say crying...I mean he was trying to make it loud. Kate, of course, woke up. I burp her and nurse her a little more. She's done. So, I sing to her and rock her, because now she is totally wide-eyed from the recent drama. James is in his crib and standing up. Every now and then he jumps down to his crib mattress. Whether standing or kneeling or lying, he's talking...asking me questions, making observations, recounting the woes of sharing a room. I'm trying to be as quiet as I can to keep from rewarding his talking (we had told him to be quiet and go right to sleep--no talking) and to keep from completely arousing Kate into a playful mood. Occasionally I respond to questions, remind him to lay down and close his eyes (and mouth), and replace his blanket.

Eventually, I see that the effort is futile. Kate will just have to lay down wide-eyed and ready to play. So, I lay Kate down. Then I replace the blanket James has thrown to the other end of his crib, but insists must be replaced before he can sleep. I leave as Kate rolls onto her belly, pushes up with her arms to watch me walk from the room. As the door closes, she begins to cry.

James is quiet at first. Eventually, he begins to imitate her cry...he even gives her a sharp "no, no." We even hear a couple barks and some high-pitched yelps. All of this occurs intermittently over the course of an hour and a half. We think they're asleep...then one of them makes a loud noise (cry--Kate-- or chatter--James) waking or alerting the other. Eventually they get quiet only to repeat the process. It has now been 12 minutes with no sound...wait...James is knocking into his crib...ah yes....the Elmo's World theme song ("That's Elmo's World..."). And now he is giggling. Well, we can just hope it doesn't wake Kate.

Seriously, if anyone has any advice for how to motivate your toddler to just go to sleep and to be quiet, I would appreciate it. I know it may just come down to them learning to ignore the other, but if there is anything that can help in the meantime (James now has the hiccups and he apparently needs to talk to himself about it--9:20), I'd be happy to hear.

An Ode to Motherhood

I recently watched this Mormon Messages video clip about motherhood. It was amazing. I think I may watch it every day.


"...may I say to mothers collectively, in the name of the Lord, you are magnificent. You are doing terrifically well."

The message was taken from this talk given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. I just read the talk and was uplifted and provided a hopeful boost.

"If you try your best to be the best parent you can be, you will have done all that a human being can do and all that God expects you to do."

Kate's Baby Blessing

We traveled to Utah for a two week vacation to visit family and friends. While we were there, Kate received her baby blessing along with her cousin Lily who was also in town. It's so fun to have two little ones so close in age. I'm excited to see them grow up together...as together as you can grow up with one living in Alaska...

I learned something at Kate's baby blessing: Ask someone to care for your other children during your child's blessing or you probably won't hear any of it. James was very interested in what was going on during the baby blessing, so interested that he wanted to talk to me about it while the blessing was being said. So, as I was silently trying to keep him quiet in such a way that would keep him from getting upset, my listening skills failed me. Thankfully, Jordan remembered the blessing he gave and wrote it down for me.

I'm grateful for a wonderful husband and two wonderful kids. Here are some pictures of Kate on her blessing day.

Kate: 2 Months Old

Our Sweet Baby Kate is now 2 months old! We love having this little girl around! She is so smiley. If you so much as look in her direction she'll break into a big 'ol grin. Then if you hold eye contact, she'll give you all sorts of coos and squeals and maybe even a little giggle if you talk to her. At her 2 month check up she measured 22 inches and weighed in at 9 lbs. 15 oz. She's growing well. She's also sleeping well. I am very grateful for that. Her longest sleep stretch at night was 13 hours, but she usually sleeps 8-10 hours a night. Without further ado, here are pictures of Sweet Baby Kate at 2 months old.

Our Two Cute Kids

Our friend took pictures of James and Kate on a couple of occasions. She does a great job. She took all of the pictures below except for Kate's 1 month picture. All of these pictures were basically spur-of-the-moment. Let me tell you, it's hard to coordinate the hands of a toddler and newborn. The hand picture is a little fuzzy, since we weren't using the flash, but I still love it.

Kate at 1 month old.
We sure think she's cute!

James at 2 years old.
We sure think he's cute too!

Definitely Related

Here are some pictures of James and Kate from their 1st week of life. Every now and then, Jordan and I find ourselves calling Kate James. Although, they are obviously not identical, there is definitely a resemblance.

Week 1: Sweet Baby Kate

Our Sweet Baby Kate doing what she did best her first days with us...sleeping.
She could go through a whole feeding and diaper changes without opening her eyes a single time. Very impressive.

James meeting his sister for the first time.
He said she was "so cute" and "so tiny." He loved holding her and rubbing her head. He also thought he would love touching her eyes, but we intervened before he could test his theory.

Our first family photo with our new addition.
Can you see how much James loves his baby sister?
Can you see how much Kate just loves sleeping?

James proudly sporting his "I Am A Big Brother" badge that was given to him by our nurse.

James stayed with our good friends, the Hanbergs, while we were in the hospital. They helped him make a cute birthday card for Kate.

Kate sleeping and viewing her brother's card through osmosis.

Kate all dressed up to go home.
She wasn't a fan of getting dressed at first. She fussed a bit as I put her clothes on, but once I got to the accessories, she stopped fussing. I think this little girl is going to like getting dressed up.

A mother-daughter bonding moment.

Our precious baby girl.

I just like this picture. It looks like Kate is trying to inform me of something very important.

Our attempt at a family picture...I include it here because I think Jordan looks really cute. I just love the dimples.

Our burrito baby.

Our Sweet Baby Kate at 1 week old.

At Kate's 2 week appointment, she weighed in at 7 lbs. 2 oz. and measured 20 inches long. You may be thinking, "Wow. She grew 1 inch in just a week. Impressive." I thought so too for about 20 seconds before the nurse at the doctor's office informed me that the hospital does not use a very accurate method for measuring baby length at birth. So who knows how long she actually was at birth? I sure don't. Some of the doctor's comments about her at her appointment include: "She's very strong." "She has good muscle tone." "She's a very calm baby." At one month, she still spends most of the day swaddled and sleeping, but she is becoming increasingly alert and awake. Every now and then we get a big smile and a coo (started at about 2-3 weeks). We love it. We love her! I can't imagine life without her.