In an attempt to ease the transition from the pacifier, Sarah and Eve have been accompanying us to the park the past couple of mornings. The goal is to let the kids run themselves ragged so that when we get home they eat lunch and are thrilled go to bed. So far it seems to be working. They’re so happy to see their cribs at naptime they both start signing “sleep” and saying “night-night”. The first nap we took without paci’s was met with a little resistance, but not too much. They cried, yes, but it didn’t last for more than 5 minutes. Ella only napped for about an hour and 45 minutes before she woke up with a scream. I knew she was looking for her paci, so I ran upstairs and grabbed her before she had a chance to wake Sterling. I brought her down to our room and offered her a cup of water to which she responded, “no”. Did she want to color? “No”. Did she want to lay down with mommy? “No”. Did she want her blankie? “YES!” So we went back upstairs to grab her blankie. When she realized she was only getting blankie and no pa pa, she lost it. She cried something that sounded a lot like grief. She mourned the loss of pa pa as if she had just lost her best friend. After she cried herself out, we cuddled up in my bed and rested for another 30 minutes. This time when she got up she was refreshed and in much better spirits. At 3:30 I woke up Sterling who had been asleep for 3 hours at that point. I probably would’ve normally let him sleep longer, but I needed him to be tired for bedtime that evening. When bedtime rolled around on day 2 they went down without a single tear shed. Ella talked for about 15 minutes, and then went to sleep. Sterling lasted a bit longer, playing for about 45 minutes before he finally went to sleep without one fuss. I guess we’re moving in the right direction. Day three they woke up a little earlier than usual. They were up by 7:15am, but I’ll take it. That’s not too horrible for this time of transition. Day 3’s naptime was very successful. They went down without a peep. This time it was Sterling who woke up after only 2 hours of napping. Again, not their normal nap, but not horrid either. Ella continued to nap until her regular time, and the rest of the day was just like any other day. Bedtime was a bit of a set back. Ella did pretty well and went to sleep without fussing, but Sterling had a little more difficult time going down. After an hour I went up and ended up rocking him to sleep. I don’t normally rock my babies to sleep but this whole giving up the paci bit is making me realize exactly how quickly they’re changing from babies to little kids, and I want to soak in the last few breaths of babyhood while I can. So, I got to rock my baby to sleep, and I loved every minute of it. I loved feeling his little body go limp in my arms, and listening to his breath become a steady rhythm. I loved smelling his sweet little baby smell, mixed with the hints of boyhood. I loved watching him snuggle down into his crib as I ever so gently laid him down and covered him up. I won’t have babies forever so I’m glad I’ll have that memory to tuck away for the teenage years.
We ran as fast and as far as we could across the wide open soccer field.
What fun pockets provide for little hands! Ella loves her pockets. She’s found they’re great hiding paces for snacks. I’ve had to empty several pockets full of crushed crackers before doing laundry recently.
All three babes have found that going down the slide headfirst is doubly exciting as going down feet first.
I just love this little girl. I think she’s absolutely precious, and I’m going to miss her so much when she moves next month. What will we do without our little Evie? If you know Eve, you know it was the smallest of the group who went head first down the slide first. As I’m always telling Sarah, my kids just never think up the things Eve thinks to do. She’s such a little daredevil. Oh the scares she’ll give her mother as she gets older…Sarah’s bound to be completely grey headed before she’s 35!
I think it’s just about time for Sterling to get his ears shortened again, don’t you?
Such a sweet little boy. No one would believe me if I told them what a fight he put up his first night without the pacifier.
Just a sweet picture of my pretty girl.
I’ve brought the stool from the kids’ bedroom down to our kitchen. The stool has been beside Sterling’s bed until now. Once we lowered their cribs, I was too short to be able to rub their backs while they were lying down. Someone really should consider short mothers when designing cribs! I’ve kept the stool next to Sterling’s crib so I could stand on it and lean over to rub his back if he was having a rough night. After his great escape from the pack-n-play while we were in China, I decided I didn’t want anything next to the crib that had potential to bump a head if he fell out of the crib in the middle of the night again. I was actually thinking it would be good to put it in the bathroom to encourage hand washing while Ella is potty training but decided the kitchen might be a better place to put the stool so Sterling has access to it as well. I don’t think it should come as any surprise when I say we washed our hands at least once an hour today. Any opportunity to play in the sink is met with great enthusiasm. Is it too early to teach them how to wash the dishes?
As a side note, I didn’t believe the doctor when he told me Sterling was 2 inches taller than Ella. I’m still not sure I agree that he has a full 2 inches on her, but this picture made me realize that he is gaining a little height on her. They’ve always been so similar in size that it surprises me to see him getting bigger than his older by 3 minutes sister.
Who hasn’t given their baby a bath in the sink at least once?
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