I like to rub Tillman's big bald head and I tell him it's for good luck. We both get a kick out of it and it usually makes him belly laugh.
Another favorite of ours is that I stick my nose in his mouth and say, "Don't eat my nose! No, don't eat my nose! Aughhh!"
You know, I've always heard that with this second baby moms worry that they won't bond with the second one as much as the first, or even that they won't love them as much. Of course, being the second child, I know this is a myth seeing as how I'm the favorite. Let's be honest here. ;)
But before Tillman was born, I knew that I would love him just as much as I love Turner.
And then after he was born, I only worried that I wouldn't be able to bond as well because so much of my focus and attention goes to Turner. He's 2 and he's in my face and climbing on my head, that boy knows how to get and keep my attention!
But Troy is great, my parents are great, Troy's mom is great, and they all have given me a break at one point or another so that I could focus on Tillman more. And Turner plays more independently now and has given me one on one time with Tillman. He loves his brother and does not show signs of jealousy...also a surprise since I've heard some horror stories about jealous toddlers over the years!
And most importantly, I've done this before, so it all comes more naturally to me this time around. So I think it all evens out. With the first one you have to learn how to bond with a baby, with the second one, you have less time for them because you're chasing after the toddler. But in the end, it comes quicker because you know that you have the confidence to be a good mom and to take care of them well.
I remember telling Turner "I love you" at around three months without even thinking about it. Before that point I had of course told him I loved him and meant it, but it felt good for it to just pour off my lips without a second thought. And I had the same experience yesterday where I told Tillman I loved him so much and felt so overwhelmed by that love that I thought I might squeeze him till his eyeballs popped out (don't worry...I restrained myself). So, while it does take time to get to know our kids, and while we will continue to fall in love with them more and more over the years, it will come. Remember this, it will come. That overwhelming love and like will come, you just have to give it time!
Friday, June 15, 2012
Potty Training
It seems that Turner potty trained himself this week. I can't believe it! After all of the horror stories I've heard over the years, I just assumed that this would be a really tough experience.
But, as usual, I am going to blog this post for my future self and for my friends when they asked me what we did to get our kids potty trained. When I've asked other moms what they did, they either give me a vague answer because they don't remember, or they tell me how hard it was and that they weren't trained until they were 12 or something crazy like that! Okay, maybe not 12, but definitely not 2 years and 3 months old. So this kind of caught me by surprise.
So...what we've done was mostly by accident and they've just happened to encourage Turner to go to the bathroom on the toilet.
He's never been a big fan of clothes, so he's mostly naked at home. For a while (around 18 months) he had fun peeing on the potty every once in a while but would mostly wear "naked diapers" as he called it. So we let him take off his diaper when he wanted to and if he wanted to run around naked, he got to do that too. He never peed when he was naked and I think that taught him bladder control early on. But I knew he wasn't ready mainly because he couldn't get his own pants off by himself, so I couldn't see how that could work. Plus, he would pee in the toilet and then poop behind a chair or couch for some reason, and I didn't want to keep doing that for too much longer!
Also, I was hesitant to potty train before Tillman was born because I've heard so many people say that the big kid will revert once the baby comes and I didn't want to go through the process twice.
But we never pushed it and we always made a big celebration out of it when he would go. So it was "Come see, mommy. Show you!" and we would clap and high five and make a big production and that helped to build his confidence.
And we would also celebrate when mommy and daddy went to the bathroom on the potty. He would say, "Good job, mommy. Mommy went pee pee." and we would clap together. You gotta do what you gotta do!
Also, Troy's been very supportive of Turner learning and I think there's a key there to dad playing a role too, especially for boys. Dad pees, I pee. Plus, anything dad does is cool, and if dad tells me I'm amazing (mommy thinks I'm amazing when I sneeze and blink) then it must be really cool!
And then this week I knew it had clicked because he ran to the potty and said "I gotta poo poo!" and he went all by himself. So we tried our first outing going to the grocery store and he did great. Then he went to the Y twice and didn't pee. He's doing so great! No accidents and no diapers for the last four days! So from now on if he does pee in his underwear, I will know it was a fluke or an accident. He's definitely ready!
So, in short, I think that we did a lot to support and encourage Turner potty training, but he ultimately made the decision that he was ready. And I don't think we're going back to diapers...pretty exciting and I'm very proud of my boy!
But, as usual, I am going to blog this post for my future self and for my friends when they asked me what we did to get our kids potty trained. When I've asked other moms what they did, they either give me a vague answer because they don't remember, or they tell me how hard it was and that they weren't trained until they were 12 or something crazy like that! Okay, maybe not 12, but definitely not 2 years and 3 months old. So this kind of caught me by surprise.
So...what we've done was mostly by accident and they've just happened to encourage Turner to go to the bathroom on the toilet.
He's never been a big fan of clothes, so he's mostly naked at home. For a while (around 18 months) he had fun peeing on the potty every once in a while but would mostly wear "naked diapers" as he called it. So we let him take off his diaper when he wanted to and if he wanted to run around naked, he got to do that too. He never peed when he was naked and I think that taught him bladder control early on. But I knew he wasn't ready mainly because he couldn't get his own pants off by himself, so I couldn't see how that could work. Plus, he would pee in the toilet and then poop behind a chair or couch for some reason, and I didn't want to keep doing that for too much longer!
Also, I was hesitant to potty train before Tillman was born because I've heard so many people say that the big kid will revert once the baby comes and I didn't want to go through the process twice.
But we never pushed it and we always made a big celebration out of it when he would go. So it was "Come see, mommy. Show you!" and we would clap and high five and make a big production and that helped to build his confidence.
And we would also celebrate when mommy and daddy went to the bathroom on the potty. He would say, "Good job, mommy. Mommy went pee pee." and we would clap together. You gotta do what you gotta do!
Also, Troy's been very supportive of Turner learning and I think there's a key there to dad playing a role too, especially for boys. Dad pees, I pee. Plus, anything dad does is cool, and if dad tells me I'm amazing (mommy thinks I'm amazing when I sneeze and blink) then it must be really cool!
And then this week I knew it had clicked because he ran to the potty and said "I gotta poo poo!" and he went all by himself. So we tried our first outing going to the grocery store and he did great. Then he went to the Y twice and didn't pee. He's doing so great! No accidents and no diapers for the last four days! So from now on if he does pee in his underwear, I will know it was a fluke or an accident. He's definitely ready!
So, in short, I think that we did a lot to support and encourage Turner potty training, but he ultimately made the decision that he was ready. And I don't think we're going back to diapers...pretty exciting and I'm very proud of my boy!
Monday, June 11, 2012
Uhhh...No?
Turner lied to me for the first time today...
"Turner, did you pee pee on the bathroom floor?"
"Uhhhhm...no?"
At least he's a bad liar like his daddy. ;)
"Turner, did you pee pee on the bathroom floor?"
"Uhhhhm...no?"
At least he's a bad liar like his daddy. ;)
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Rolling Over
Tillman is 3 months old tomorrow...and he's rolling from his back to his tummy. Wow! He's like a robot baby.
Trying to catch up with big brother!
Trying to catch up with big brother!
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Reminder
This is a reminder to my future self if I ever have more babies or if my friends ever ask me questions about what Turner and Tillman did when they were babies. You forget so quickly! So this is meant to encourage me down the road that things get easier with a newborn very quickly.
By 6-8 weeks old Tillman baby will be sleeping on a predictable schedule.
Baby may not love his/her swaddle right away, it takes some getting used to. But after 2 or 3 nights in the swaddle you will see a notable difference in the way they relax and welcome the security of a good swaddle wrap job.
Baby will sleep better in his/her own crib by 5-8 weeks, mom and dad are too noisy for them to sleep in your room after a few weeks (this is just for Troy and I, many people have baby in their room or even in their bed much longer than just a few weeks).
Baby's bedtime won't be set until around 5-6 weeks old. Even then it will probably be a fairly late bedtime. Between 5-9 weeks the bedtime will backup from 11pm to 10pm to 9pm to 8pm very quickly and baby will set his/her own bedtime.
Sidenote: Things get easier around 8 weeks old when baby stops pooping throughout the night. You can put baby back down if the diaper is just a little bit wet. That way you don't wake baby up, you don't wake yourself up, feedings only take about 10 or 15 minutes, and you don't have to swaddle and reswaddle, just feed them while they sleep and put them back down. Definitely no talking or laughing at night, it's not play time, it's just time to fill their bellies!
By 8 weeks baby will go to bed between 8pm and 9pm and wake 6 hours later to nurse and then probably wake every hour or two after that.
By 12 weeks baby will go to bed between 8pm and 9pm and will still wake up 6 or 7 hours later to nurse but will only wake up one other time after, somewhere between 5am and 6:30am and will go back to sleep until 7am or 8am. Yes! I can maintain this schedule pretty easily as long as I'm going to sleep by 11pm. I SO appreciate the predictability of this as well as the time that it gives Troy and I to spend by ourselves and with each other. Then we can pour more of our energy into the boys during the day!
Baby loves swing and napping in swing until about 3 or 4 months old. By that time baby will want to be stationary while napping and will nap for longer stretches.
They say not to let baby be awake for longer than 2 hours. But in the evening I think it helps to keep them up a little longer (whatever they will tolerate, not pushing them into an overtired state) helps them to sleep more through the night and they don't need as much sleep in the evenings as they need in the mornings.
At almost 12 weeks, Tillman is trying to find his thumb but hasn't yet, so that's frustrating him a little bit. So he still tolerates the pacifier. But just like with Turner, I know he'll never take a paci again once he finds that thumb!
I guess that's it for now. Just remember that things get exponentially easier each week that they get older. Tillman is so much fun right now, he's standing on his own and carrying his full weight if I just give him the balance. And he gets mad when we put him back down. If he had it his way he'd be up and running with his big brother. And I know he will be very soon.
Turner's at a fun age where he's beginning to understand how to behave more appropriately in public and listen to mom. We went to story time at the library and he LOVED it, he stayed very close to me and sat very still for 3 full books and several songs they sang. Compared to last year when he was climbing on the stage, running around the room, and trying to pull down the puppet stage...I'd say this was a marked improvement! One year ago I couldn't imagine Turner ever sitting still and listening, but he is, and he's singing his ABCs perfectly, does the itsy bitsy "piiiiider" and sings Twinkle Twinkle. Wow. So cool to see them both growing and changing and developing their personalities.
I'm so privileged to call myself their mom. Thank you Lord for this blessing that I don't deserve, I hope to listen to You and help You shape them into the incredible men I know you want them to be!
By 6-8 weeks old Tillman baby will be sleeping on a predictable schedule.
Baby may not love his/her swaddle right away, it takes some getting used to. But after 2 or 3 nights in the swaddle you will see a notable difference in the way they relax and welcome the security of a good swaddle wrap job.
Baby will sleep better in his/her own crib by 5-8 weeks, mom and dad are too noisy for them to sleep in your room after a few weeks (this is just for Troy and I, many people have baby in their room or even in their bed much longer than just a few weeks).
Baby's bedtime won't be set until around 5-6 weeks old. Even then it will probably be a fairly late bedtime. Between 5-9 weeks the bedtime will backup from 11pm to 10pm to 9pm to 8pm very quickly and baby will set his/her own bedtime.
Sidenote: Things get easier around 8 weeks old when baby stops pooping throughout the night. You can put baby back down if the diaper is just a little bit wet. That way you don't wake baby up, you don't wake yourself up, feedings only take about 10 or 15 minutes, and you don't have to swaddle and reswaddle, just feed them while they sleep and put them back down. Definitely no talking or laughing at night, it's not play time, it's just time to fill their bellies!
By 8 weeks baby will go to bed between 8pm and 9pm and wake 6 hours later to nurse and then probably wake every hour or two after that.
By 12 weeks baby will go to bed between 8pm and 9pm and will still wake up 6 or 7 hours later to nurse but will only wake up one other time after, somewhere between 5am and 6:30am and will go back to sleep until 7am or 8am. Yes! I can maintain this schedule pretty easily as long as I'm going to sleep by 11pm. I SO appreciate the predictability of this as well as the time that it gives Troy and I to spend by ourselves and with each other. Then we can pour more of our energy into the boys during the day!
Baby loves swing and napping in swing until about 3 or 4 months old. By that time baby will want to be stationary while napping and will nap for longer stretches.
They say not to let baby be awake for longer than 2 hours. But in the evening I think it helps to keep them up a little longer (whatever they will tolerate, not pushing them into an overtired state) helps them to sleep more through the night and they don't need as much sleep in the evenings as they need in the mornings.
At almost 12 weeks, Tillman is trying to find his thumb but hasn't yet, so that's frustrating him a little bit. So he still tolerates the pacifier. But just like with Turner, I know he'll never take a paci again once he finds that thumb!
I guess that's it for now. Just remember that things get exponentially easier each week that they get older. Tillman is so much fun right now, he's standing on his own and carrying his full weight if I just give him the balance. And he gets mad when we put him back down. If he had it his way he'd be up and running with his big brother. And I know he will be very soon.
Turner's at a fun age where he's beginning to understand how to behave more appropriately in public and listen to mom. We went to story time at the library and he LOVED it, he stayed very close to me and sat very still for 3 full books and several songs they sang. Compared to last year when he was climbing on the stage, running around the room, and trying to pull down the puppet stage...I'd say this was a marked improvement! One year ago I couldn't imagine Turner ever sitting still and listening, but he is, and he's singing his ABCs perfectly, does the itsy bitsy "piiiiider" and sings Twinkle Twinkle. Wow. So cool to see them both growing and changing and developing their personalities.
I'm so privileged to call myself their mom. Thank you Lord for this blessing that I don't deserve, I hope to listen to You and help You shape them into the incredible men I know you want them to be!
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Bath Time!
Just a few hours after I had Tillman, the midwives put me in the bath with him. They showed me how to hold him under his armpits and let the rest of his body float. I loved watching his face and his entire body relax as he laid there weightless. I've repeated that experience almost every night since he was born (Troy has done it several times too, but I try to beat him to it).
For half an hour each night, it's our time to slow down, take a breather, have a chat, and catch up with one another.
During the hustle and bustle of the day, I don't always have a chance to slow down and just observe all of the new little things Tillman is doing. This is a time when I discover all of his little idiosyncrasies. How he kicks his legs as if he's in training. How he has developed his neck strength so quickly. His big toothless smile, his deep genuine laugh (yes, even at 9 weeks old), his desire to be able to stand up and sit up (he gets mad if you lay him back down (and he's rolling over from his tummy to his back...on land, not in the tub, ha ha)), his ticklishness behind his knees and under his chin. He also thinks it's also hilarious when I touch his nose or his chin and when I say "tee-he-he-he-he".
Most nights I don't want to get out. I wait until he decides he's done. But it's such a special time for us. It's something original to our relationship, something I never knew to do with Turner, and it's something I know I will always remember.
At the end of his bath, he eats one last big "meal" and then I hand him off to Troy. Then they get to have their bonding time as Troy gets his diaper and pajamas on, has a few more minutes of wiggle time, and then goes down to bed wrapped warmly in his swaddle.
Sweet baby. I can't wait to get to know him even better and to learn who he is, though I already know he is someone very special!
Almost forgot the second most important part of the bath! It WEARS him out. If he's fussing and almost tired, the bath will hold him off and he stays in a good mood. After we get him out, we let him kick around a bit, and then it's off to bed. Once his head hits that crib mattress, he's out like a light and we almost never have to go back in to comfort him or reset his mobile. Just like when we were little and went to the pool and it wiped us out, it's the same principal minus the sunburn. ;)
For half an hour each night, it's our time to slow down, take a breather, have a chat, and catch up with one another.
During the hustle and bustle of the day, I don't always have a chance to slow down and just observe all of the new little things Tillman is doing. This is a time when I discover all of his little idiosyncrasies. How he kicks his legs as if he's in training. How he has developed his neck strength so quickly. His big toothless smile, his deep genuine laugh (yes, even at 9 weeks old), his desire to be able to stand up and sit up (he gets mad if you lay him back down (and he's rolling over from his tummy to his back...on land, not in the tub, ha ha)), his ticklishness behind his knees and under his chin. He also thinks it's also hilarious when I touch his nose or his chin and when I say "tee-he-he-he-he".
Most nights I don't want to get out. I wait until he decides he's done. But it's such a special time for us. It's something original to our relationship, something I never knew to do with Turner, and it's something I know I will always remember.
At the end of his bath, he eats one last big "meal" and then I hand him off to Troy. Then they get to have their bonding time as Troy gets his diaper and pajamas on, has a few more minutes of wiggle time, and then goes down to bed wrapped warmly in his swaddle.
Sweet baby. I can't wait to get to know him even better and to learn who he is, though I already know he is someone very special!
Almost forgot the second most important part of the bath! It WEARS him out. If he's fussing and almost tired, the bath will hold him off and he stays in a good mood. After we get him out, we let him kick around a bit, and then it's off to bed. Once his head hits that crib mattress, he's out like a light and we almost never have to go back in to comfort him or reset his mobile. Just like when we were little and went to the pool and it wiped us out, it's the same principal minus the sunburn. ;)
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Pirates
The critics (aka Troy) have recently said that my blogs have been too long and "boring". But I said from the beginning that this is my blog, I'll write what I want, I don't take requests or suggestions. But this is a quick and fun one.
A friend of mine who has a little boy the same age as Turner told me that when she goes to nurse her baby and she pulls out her nursing pads (even in public), her toddler grabs the nursing pad, waves it around and says "Boobies boobies boobies!"
So I figured I could get ahead of the game and just have Turner call everything "privates" for now. He knows his pee-pee is a pee-pee (he's going to hate me for this one day if he ever reads this...ha ha), but everything else is privates.
Like everything else I do, it kind of backfired. He now gets a mischievous expression on his face (the one that I used to get and mom would say that she could see my horns coming out of my head) points at everyone in our family's "privates" (even Tillman's) and says,
"PIRATES! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
Love that kid.
A friend of mine who has a little boy the same age as Turner told me that when she goes to nurse her baby and she pulls out her nursing pads (even in public), her toddler grabs the nursing pad, waves it around and says "Boobies boobies boobies!"
So I figured I could get ahead of the game and just have Turner call everything "privates" for now. He knows his pee-pee is a pee-pee (he's going to hate me for this one day if he ever reads this...ha ha), but everything else is privates.
Like everything else I do, it kind of backfired. He now gets a mischievous expression on his face (the one that I used to get and mom would say that she could see my horns coming out of my head) points at everyone in our family's "privates" (even Tillman's) and says,
"PIRATES! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
Love that kid.
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