Our Son At 22 Months

Ah, the Bean is sleeping and I have a few minutes to relax and catch up on our blog. Tonight's dinner is in the crock pot and the veggies for tomorrow's dinner are prepped. Amel got up with Bean this morning, so I slept in. I also got some cleaning done today. So, I am still in my pj's, but it feels good to get some things accomplished.

Last weekend, we transitioned Bean from sleeping in his crib in our room to sleeping on a queen mattress in his own room. It has gone fairly smoothly. I have had to go in and nurse him and lay down with him a couple nights, but he has slept through the night (8 or 9 pm - 5 or 6 am) several nights. We tried to turn his crib into a toddler bed, but it was not low enough and we worried he would fall out. We went to IKEA to check out toddler beds and decided they were too small. He moves around quite a bit and would sometimes smack his hands or head on the slats in the crib. The queen mattress is proving to be a good solution. He still loves Sesame Street, so I put some decals of his favorite friends around his bed. We say good night and hug and kiss them before bed and naps.

The Bean's other current obsession is dee duts (big trucks). His favorite big truck is the "wa hoe" (back hoe). There is quite a bit of construction going on in our neighborhood right now. When Amel is preparing to head out the door for work, Bean turns to me and says "uppy, big trucks!" I pick him up and we go out the door with Tata to see if there are any backhoes digging nearby. We also go on walks through the neighborhood to check out the equipment, as well as drive around the neighborhood, stopping to watch the construction each time we leave or come home.

I love looking at the world through my toddler's eyes. Simple things we take for granted are amazing to him. I try to be very patient allowing Bean to do things like open and close the garage door each time we go somewhere. He also loves to "beep" the car. Of course, it is often a challenge to get the keys back from him, but it's fun and I love seeing the joy on his face from these simple activities.

Toddler Early Brain Development

Everything I read about early brain development in toddlers at age two can be observed in our son these days. Two weeks ago (21 months), Bean said his first sentence, "Go, Dog Go!" which just happens to be his favorite book right now. We read it several times a day. When we are not reading it, we are quoting it. It is very entertaining to hear Amel read it to him.

Bean's vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. In the past three weeks he has started trying to repeat everything we say. I may be the only one who can decipher most of what he says, but he learns several new words each day.

Learning about how the brain develops is quite interesting to me. Since Bean was born, I have done a lot of reading about brain development and all those neurons that are making connections in his amazing brain. For anyone interested in this topic, I recommend reading Brain Rules For Babies. I read in various sources that watching television before the age of two is detrimental for children. It leads to problems with attention. We have been strict about not having the TV on while Bean is awake. However, the three of us were really sick with the flu for quite awhile last month and we turned on Sesame Street to entertain Bean a little. He fell in love with Elmo! We (Amel) has been letting him watch an episode of Sesame Street when he is up with him in the morning and I sleep in a little.

While at Costco, we ran across a Sesame Street Neighborhood set that includes several Sesame Street characters. Bean is really enjoying his new toy. He knows all the characters and says all their names. It is super cute to hear him calling for them.

Our Baby Sleeping Through The Night

When it comes to sleeping through the nigh, our baby has finally turned the corner. I am happy to report we have made a lot of progress! Moving the Bean's bedtime up has helped me get him to sleep more easily. We start his bedtime routine around 6:45 - 7 pm. He has a bath, we brush teeth, say our prayers and read two books in the rocking chair. He still nurses before going to sleep, but he is usually still awake when I put him down in the crib. He often cries for a couple minutes and I have to coax him into laying down. He then lays down and insists that I put my hand in the crook of his neck until he falls asleep. He is usually asleep by 8pm.

Once we got through a couple rough weeks of night weaning and moving him from our bed to his crib (which is next to our bed), he went from sleeping for 1 1/2 - 2 hour periods to sleeping from 8 pm - 12 am, then waking up at 3 am and up at 5 am. Gradually he started sleeping for longer periods. He started sleeping from about 8 pm - 3 am then up at 5 am. The last week we have had a couple nights where he has slept from 8 pm until 4 or 5 am. At 5 am the Bean is standing in his crib saying "up, up, up." He is ready to nurse and snuggle with mama. Occasionally he will fall back to sleep, but usually at 5:30 or  6 we are out of bed and starting the day. Yes, 5 am is early, but compared to where we started, I am not complaining too loudly about a 5 am wake up call. Now, if only I could start sleeping! I have been sleep deprived for so long, I don't think my body knows how to sleep anymore. Thankfully Amel usually gets up with the Bean at 5:30 or 6 and lets me sleep another hour or so. Bean and I are heading to Ohio in a couple days. I think we might move him into his own room when we come back. Another adventure!

Partial Night Weaning Part II

January 19, 2012 Night One

Got the Bean to sleep around 8:30 pm. He woke up three times before midnight. Each time I nursed him back to sleep like usual. He woke at midnight I nursed him for about a minute and told him milk is all done and milk go night night. Tried to comfort him back to sleep by singing our lullaby song and patting his back. No good. I picked him up and walked/bounced/sang to him, told him I loved him and it was time to sleep, and cried with him. He pushed against me and cried a lot, gagged, and did those little sobs that completely break my heart. He finally fell asleep. Tired from carrying him, I sat in the rocker and he woke up. More walking/bouncing/singing/crying. He fell asleep again. Back to the rocker. Again, he woke up, but I was able to get him back to sleep by rocking him. We moved back to bed and I was able to get him to sleep with minimal crying. This took about an hour. He woke up two hours later, at 3 am. I nursed him for a minute, told him milk all done and milk go night night, sang to him, held him and he fell back to sleep and slept until 6 am!! That is the most sleep we've had in a row since he was 5 months old! I nursed him at six for about 15 minutes. He woke and nursed again at 8 am, then slept until 10 am. Poor guy, I guess the rough night took a toll on him. He woke up in a really good mood and wasn't any anymore needy or whiny than he has been the last few weeks. Last night really made me feel hopeful that we can do this! I asked my best friends and my mom to pray for us all last week and I think it really made a difference.

Night Two

Nursed the Bean to sleep. He was asleep by about 9, woke up at 11. I nursed him as usual. He woke up at midnight. I nursed him for a minute and he went back to sleep easily, with very little fussing. Woke up again at 2 am, lots of tears, walking, bouncing, rocking until 4 am. He slept from 4-6. Nursed at six, like usual. Honestly, I don't remember if he woke up at 8 am or not. It's kind of fuzzy. He woke around 10 and nursed like a crazy man, we cuddled a lot and around 11 he was ready to start the day.

March 2012

This tired mama is way behind on blogging!

A few things I don't want to forget:
*Week of March 25
- Bean's vocabulary is rapidly expanding! He started saying boo!, and says "off" and "up" very proficiently. He tries to repeat everything we say. It doesn't always sound like the word, but he says the same number of syllables and has the intonation down pat.
-Bean likes to play "pendulum" with Tata. Amel picks him up by his ankles and swings him side to side. He lays down and sticks his legs up to be picked up upside down.
*March 28 - Today Bean was singing "bumbumbum" to music, bouncing his knees to the music and turning in circles. He loves music and has good rhythm.

Bean 16.5 Months

*walking for a over a month, prefers crawling sometime
*says ouph (ouch) when we get hurt!
*very particular about nursing - lets me know which side he prefers and does not care for modesty.
*feeding therapy - trying to get the Bean to eat regular food - still only eats purees
*says elbow
*loves to sing "hands a washing" from music class
*likes to be in learning tower
*checks out situation before playing i.e. we went to Tumbleweed park. Bean sat on the ground for a few minutes looking at the playground equipment, decided which section he wanted to go to and played there the entire time we were at the park.
*Likes to hold my hand while riding in his smart trike - super sweet, although hard to do if I am the one pushing him
*Climbing wherever he can
*likes park benches

Lent 2012

Right now, I am feeling the need to clean my smelly kitchen, but have decided it is important to take a few moments and reflect upon the beginning of Lent tomorrow.

For Lent, I like to add something positive, as well as make a sacrifice. As a busy mom of a child who has difficulty sleeping day and night, I find it challenging to find time for prayer and meditation. I certainly don't have time to sit and meditate alone. I don't even get to pee alone. During this Lenten season, I plan to focus more on prayer and meditation. I know I will not be able to find quiet moments for myself, but my goal is to remember to pray and meditate on good intentions for my loved ones throughout the day. My husband and I both have/had grandmothers who were prayer warriors for their family. I want to be that kind of mama for my family.

I also want to add in focusing on the positive. In general, this is something I do a lot of, but have found this to be a bit of a struggle the past few months, I think because I am over tired. When I have feelings of jealousy or insecurity creep up, I want to remind myself to think about where others are coming from, empathize, and rise above negative feelings, especially in dealings with my husband. I really want to be his greatest supporter.

As far as giving up something for Lent, I am going to give up ... chocolate and animal protein - 46 days, I can do it, right? When I am craving chocolate or dairy that will be a reminder to meditate on how great my life really is and say a prayer for the health, safety, and well being of my loved ones.

I wish you all a blessed Easter season!