Tuesday, July 26, 2011

What a Week!




I swore up and down that I'd do better with this blog, but it truly has been Grade-A crazy around here. And I swear, it never fails that when I have a spare couple minutes and think to blog, this stupid laptop is having internet issues. I sure did miss this computer when it was in the shop for a few weeks, so it's better than nothing, but it never fails to screw up in the 5 minute period I'm looking to use it...

BUT ANYWAY...

Right now I'm getting a taste of "single parenting" while Jay is laid up. He had surgery on Wednesday and is not supposed to be doing any lifting or moving around, etc. So of course, he's been up and about quite a bit. Nothing compared to his usual by any means, but he definitely has not been laying down and resting as I think he should. So of course today he feels like poo. Uh huh. Why must some people (men) do everything the hard way??

On Wednesday we also had the Audrey severe reaction to ant bites fiasco. She broke out in hives and a rash and her little extremities were all swollen. So five prescriptions and a referral to the allergist later, she's doing much better.

Audrey has also decided to start using the potty. Maybe she'll be super duper easy?? That would be a pleasant change of pace! She doesn't use it consistently enough to take her out of diapers, but she's gone 4 or 5 times just today. It's getting a little aggravating with the constant trips back and forth to the potty, but if I don't have to go through what we did (and sometimes STILL do) with Amber, it'll be worth it. She looks like such a little peanut on the potty, though!

But the biggest achievement of the past week is that Amber is now paci-free. I know it's absolutely ridiculous that she still took it, but I kept finding reasons to postpone the "breakup"--Audrey was going to be born, Audrey was so reflux-y, trying to potty train, still trying to potty train, Stella to be born. There was always some reason to wait, and I dreaded the day they'd be gone forever. I started limiting her to bedtime only, and then I started eliminating them one by one. And when the last one broke, she just got rid of it herself. KNOCK ME OVER WITH A FEATHER!! And we've never heard another word about it... She was pretty crabby at bedtime because I think she didn't know what to do with herself in the bed without them, but never once did she ask for them.

It's been a tough week, but it's also been a great one! These little girls never cease to amaze me!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

The Fallout


The first few days/weeks of me with the girls by myself was going so surprisingly easy. Apparently the honeymoon is over.

First, Stella started up with the same miserable reflux that Audrey had. This is my worst nightmare come true. (Well, maybe not the WORST nightmare I could conjure up, but the worst one that didn't concern major illness, death, etc.) That first year with Audrey was HORRIBLE, and I just don't know how I could do that again with two other little ones running around.

Also, the 'big girls' are now starting up with issues that I KNOW are directly related to the stress of the new baby.

The lesser of the two: Amber has decided to un-potty train herself. She was wetting the bed pretty consistently for a week there, which she NEVER did before, even when we were potty training. But now she basically keeps refusing to use the bathroom. I will catch her walking around like a T-Rex or something trying to hold in #2 (which seems to be the biggest issue). Then when she absolutely cannot hold it any longer, she cries that the poop is "hurting her cute butt." No fooling--she's probably major league stopped up that point! And she will refuse to do ANYTHING on the potty unless you hold something over her head--like watching a show, going somewhere fun, getting chocolate milk, whatever. It's getting REALLY REALLY old to keep scrubbing little poop spots out of underwear on a girl that has been potty trained for months.

BUT the MORE annoying issue is Audrey's refusal to nap. She was a 2-3 hour a day napper before. And OVERNIGHT she started refusing to sleep. AND SHE IS DOG TIRED. She wants me to stay in there with her and rub her back or whatever till she falls asleep but I CANNOT do that with the other 2 and I WILL NOT start that bad habit. Oftentimes I'm stuck having to lay with the girls when we're not at home in order to get them to go to sleep and it is a ROYAL pain in the butt. I don't know how or why people do this on a daily basis. I mean, you spend half your day trying to get kids in the bed, and they wake up half the time when you try to get up and leave ANYWAY.

I put her in the bed with the same routine every single day, and she just screams and screams and SCREAMS. For hours. I'll check on her periodically so she doesn't think I've abandoned her, but that's old too. And if by some miracle she does fall asleep, it's never for long. I think as soon as she gets into a lighter sleep cycle, and realizes she drifted off, she's up screaming again.

And all this boils down to--MOM NEVER GETS A NAP FOR MORE THAN 10 MINUTES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY. And I'm trying to cut back on the caffeine to see if it helps Stella any, so I can't even enjoy a coke or something to try to take the edge off the sleep deprivation. I seriously have not napped more than about 20 minutes during "naptime" since Stella was born because no one will freaking STAY ASLEEP and BE QUIET!!!

Yet, the worst part of the whole scenario is the ensuing moods. I have NO PATIENCE for a mood induced by someone not sleeping. Maybe it's because I haven't slept either... but I hate that I wasted my time doing the "before bed" song and dance for naught.

BUT, if we can get everyone in the bed for 8, perhaps there is a silver lining.