Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Life with a 14 month old and a 3 month old:)

As you can imagine, life with a 14 month old and 3 month old can be pretty crazy. I finally feel like we have found our schedule and now its hard to imagine what I used to do with my days when I only had Elliana:)
 I will admit that at the beginning it was pretty difficult. It wasn't necessarily how close in age they were that was difficult, but it was the time of year. This winter was terrible. First it was the holidays and although we wanted to get together and celebrate with everyone, Ethan was so little and everyone was sick. So we pretty much stayed home and hibernated for a few months, which can kind of drive you a little crazy, especially when you aren't sleeping. On top of that Ethan was having a hard time. He had reflux and this funny thing called Grunting Baby Syndrome (except it really wasn't that funny). Since he had reflux he would spit up like crazy, like literally soak all my clothes. And then because he was so uncomfortable from the acid in his tummy he would grunt. I know it sounds odd, but he wouldn't ever really sleep he would just toss and grunt. He seemed so uncomfortable. Finally when he was 5 weeks old the Dr. suggested I give him Maalox. I had to give him 1/2 tsp. 20 minutes before each feeding. It was quite labor intensive, but it totally made a difference. He started sleeping good (which meant I was able to sleep), he stopped spitting up and was overall a much happier baby. Thank goodness for Maalox! After a few weeks, I decided to ween him off of it. I didn't know what the long term effects would be of having him on this antacid for so long. 

Anyways, long story short, he was amazing! When he was about 9 weeks he was fully weened off of it and doing so well. He only spits up every once and while and its hardly anything. And he doesn't grunt anymore!! Woot woot! I'm so proud of him. 

Also I am so grateful that this winter is pretty much over. With the inversion and the terrible flu season, I just always felt like there was a dark cloud hanging over us, waiting to get us sick. With a newborn, that was pretty stressful. But the clouds have lifted and now there is sunshine, not only outside but in my soul:) Now I'm sorry but I have to brag about my kids for a little bit. I am just one proud mama. 

At 3 months here are a few things that Ethan is doing:
*HE'S SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!!!!! He started sleeping through the night around 10 weeks:) We didn't even have to sleep train him, he just did it all on his own.
*Also he sleeps in his own room. We moved him a little bit earlier then we did with Elliana because we both just felt like he was ready. 

*He is one chunky monkey. He weighs about 14 lbs and is already in size 3 diapers. 
*He is such a happy baby. He literally smiles and talks all day long. His smile makes my life complete! 
 
At 14 months here are a few things that Elliana is doing:
*She still sleeps 12 hours at night and takes 2 naps during the day. I live for naps and I am dreading the day that she only goes down to 1 nap:(

*She can pee on command. Haha I know this sounds funny, but let me explain... So in the morning we take showers together and she would always pee either right before we got in (not in her diaper) or just as I shut the water off. So the last couple of days, while we are still in the shower I tell her to pee and she looks down and PEES!! hahaha so funny, but I am so proud:) 

*She knows how to open my phone. She knows to push the little button on the bottom and then she takes her thumb and slides it across the bar. So I had to lock it and put a password on it and I'm sure it will only be a few days before she figures that out. 

*She can run. It is a funny sight with how small she is, but she can pretty much keep up with the big kids.

*She loves to read. I often catch her in her room with her door closed and reading to herself. This was a picture I caught one time after trying to go in several times to take a picture and she literally yelled at me:)
*She just figured out how to climb up on our couch. Again it doesn't seem like she should be able to with how tiny she is, but she is one determined chica and figured it out. Mainly because thats the most common place that I feed Ethan and she always wants to be up there with me while I'm feeding him:) Now there is no safe place to put ethan.
*She is still learning what "soft" is. Ethan has many scratches from her:( 

*She loves to dance. It is so funny, but she begs me to turn music on so she can dance. Her dance moves include: turning, moving her shoulders up and down, moving her hips side to side, and spazing! I think out of all of her moves her spazing definitely is the funniest. Anyone who has seen her dance knows what I am talking about:) Lets just say, she takes after her momma in the spazing department.
Anyways, I honestly can't even handle how much I love my kids and how happy they make me.  Most days we stay in our jammies. Most days I have spit up, food, and heaven knows what else on me. And most days we just stay home. But everyday they are changing and growing and I am trying to memorize every part about them. Heavenly Father has blessed me so much and I am so grateful that I get to be their mom.
 

Trying to give Ethan her bottle.