Keeping Track of Lauren & Jack » February 2006 Journal Entries » AboutMyBaby - online baby scrapbooks, photo albums, videos, birth and pregnancy announcements

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Mon, Feb 27, 2006 8:36 PM
I don't have much to report. Today was just one of those days. . . all I got accomplished was one load of laundry and paying one bill. Oh well, at least I got dressed today!

Lauren had been refusing almost all food and seems to want only Jack's cereal. I hate refusing her, but indulging her could lead to bigger battles down the road. The doctor says she won't starve herself, but I do worry about her.

Jack's'a good eater, but he does NOT like spinach. I keep telling him he needs it to be strong like Popeye, but he's just not convinced. He makes the funniest face!

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Sat, Feb 25, 2006 9:24 PM
Jack actually crawled FORWARD a little bit today!! He has been creeping around on his belly, and would push up onto all fours, but today he actually moved his legs for the first time. He wasn't nearly as excited about it as I was and was very cranky about being down on the floor. He can also get from his belly up into a sitting position. But he's all about pulling up to standing these days. And he actually stood up by himself for about 3-5 seconds, which may not sound like a long time, but it seemed amazing to me that he could balance himself.

So now comes that phase where you really have to watch them because they start wandering around and putting everything in their mouths and also trying to pull up on things that can't bear their weight. It's a tough stage once they are mobile, but not at all steady. I'm trying not to keep him in his activity center or Jumperoo as much anymore because he seems to feel too constrained. Maybe the pack-n-play would be better.

Lauren is definitely in a jealous phase. It mostly comes out at meal times when she wants to wear his bib and eat his baby cereal. At first I let her, but now I'm thinking it's not a good idea. We also had an accident where she peed all over her chair in front of the TV. I'm little dismayed because I don't think the cover is removable. I think we may need to get rid of that chair now. I think she was trying to tell me she needed to go. I asked her if she needed to go to the potty, and she said no, but then she sat on her chair and a minute later she got up and was all wet. She had a diaper on, but it must have gaped open from the way she was sitting. So I think I need to start having regular potty times whether she says she needs to go or not. I also need to finish reading all my books I got on the subject!

Mike is at a conference so I'm all on my own. Well, not really, I had our part time nanny come for the afternoon/evening and she will tomorrow too. I was so happy to see her today because I didn't have a moment of peace from 6:30AM until 3 PM when she arrived. I just handed over the baby and went to lay down. 3 hours later I woke up and I was so confused! I felt like i could have slept all night. But I really feel for the single Moms out there. I don't know how they do that every day, and I even had a lot of help!

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Wed, Feb 22, 2006 9:47 PM
Lauren took a bad fall at Jack's playroup this morning. She was jumping up and down on the tile and somehow missed landing with her foot and she landed pretty hard on her face. Her nose looked red and I was having a heart attack because I was sure she had broken it. Of course she wouldn't let me put any ice on it. But a few moments later her tears had subsided and she was running around aagin like nothing happened. And it didn't seem red or swollen or anything. I still may call the doctor in the morning, although she seems fine.

She does seem to be a bit jealous of Jack, or at least jelous of the attention he gets. She's been getting into his high chair, wants to wear his bib, and wants to eat nothing but baby oatmeal for the last few days. It's very odd regression behaviour. I guess she just figures that we'll pay more attention to her if she's a baby too. I'm hoping this will pass if we just continue to applaud all her big girl accomplishments, especially now that we're at the start of potty training.

Jack is a little drool monster as those top teeth are definitely breaking through. He will gnaw on any available surafce, including my face!

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Tue, Feb 21, 2006 10:32 AM
Potty success at last!! Yesterday we took a walk in the morning, and upon our return I thought I smelled a dirty diaper. I asked Lauren if she had gone poo poo and she said an emphatic YES. But when I checked her diaper it was just a little wet. So I asked her, do you want to go poo poo on the potty? And she said YES. So I sat her on the potty and she happily read her books for a quite a while. I didn't think anything had happened, so I asked her if she would rather sit up on the tolilet. She said YES. But when she got up I saw that she had peed in the potty! I was waiting for a BM, so I was so surprised! YAY! We did a celebration dance and waved the pee pee bye-bye as we flushed it down the toilet. It may have just been coincidence that she peed while on there, but it's a start anyway!

Jack's naps have finally improved a bit. He woke up from his afternon nap actually SMILING. Now that's the sign of a well rested child! Last night he seemed drowsy and calm, so I put him in his crib with his eyes wide open. And for maybe the first or second time ever, he didn't cry and went off to sleep. Will wonders never cease? Sometimes a miracle happens and you time it just right. Once in a blue moon : )

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Sun, Feb 19, 2006 4:36 PM
Yesterday we all took a long walk, all four of us and the dog too! It was such a beautiful day, we had to take advantage of it. Before too long it will be entirely too hot to walk in the middle of the day. While we were out we decided to walk over to a nearby shopping area and have lunch. We went to an Italian place that had pasta for sale, and Lauren kept asking for it. I think she thought it was either chips or cookies! I don't think she really understood when I tried to explain that it was pasta. Then she walked almost the entire way home, which I thought would tire her out, but not really! That 2 year old boundless energy is wearing ME out!

And Jack continues to be fussy and unwilling to nap. But today I discovered that he's teething, so that explains some of his fussiness and reduced appetite. I think I feel his two front middle top teeth starting to come through!

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Thu, Feb 16, 2006 5:51 PM
Jack has been standing and cruising and even bent his knees into a sqaut and picked something up (while holding my hand). I don't remember Lauren squatting at all until long after she was already walking independently. He's got some strong little legs there. (But still no crawling!) He's also been babbling a lot these past few days. A lot of GA GA and even a few DA DA's. No MA-MA's yet, no matter how much I encourage him!

Yesterday Lauren had a play date with Taylor at a local park, and I was amazed at how much better she is at climbing and swinging now. She can go on a regular swing by herself now, and she stays on for a long time, holding on well and everything. I tried to get a picture of the two of them, but it's just impossible, like trying to catch lightning in a bottle!

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Tue, Feb 14, 2006 5:19 PM
In potty news, Lauren sat on the big toilet (with her padded Dora the Explorer insert so she won't fall in!) She didn't produce anything, but she seemed very pleased to sit there! It's a first tiny step.

Jack's napping has been abysmal, but he continues to go to sleep very early at night and sleep 12 hours, so I guess I shouldn't be complaining. I'm just under the impression that he should be sleeping up to 3 more hours total a day, and I'm lucky if he gets half of that. It's so frustrating because I try to watch him very carefully and put him down at the first sign of tiredness, but he just screams and wails. And I don't get a break either!

On a happier note, we took a great walk today with the new double stroller. It was clear and sunny and about 65-70 degrees, just perfect weather for playing! And no hair pulling! The new stroller is so much easier to push. I can't believe I'm so excited about a piece of baby gear, but this is what gets me going these days!

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Sun, Feb 12, 2006 7:43 PM
Wow, I really fell off the wagon of keeping up with this blog! Well, here are some highlights of the last few days.

Thursday I took Lauren to get her blood drawn at the lab. I've been procrastinating ever since her 2 yr check up, and finally could not put if off any longer. She did very well. They have a seat especially designed for it, and I sat there with her in my lap. I said "This is going to hurt, but you'll be fine and it will be over soon." The lab tech was surprised I told her the truth. She said most people say it's not going to hurt! I think the only thing worse than putting them through all that is LYING to them about it! No wonder kids hate needles so much. The reward for being so good was lunch with Daddy since we were near the Unviersity. I had left Jack home with the babysitter, so it was really strange having lunch without him. It feels like I'm mising my right arm or something!

Friday we went to Lauren's playgroup and they exchanged valentines which was very cute. Lauren's favorite part of that whole thing was the little lollipop that came with one of them. She's turning into a real little sugar fiend despite our efforts to NOT give her sugar. Just say no Lisa!

Saturday we went out to lunch with both kids, something we haven't done in quite a while. It went pretty well. Lauren ate a lot of different things, the biggest surprise being the broccoli, whichseems to be her chosen vegetable of the moment. She pretty much shuns everything else (which she used to happily shovel in there). It's hard to know when these phases are over and she's ready for something new. I just keep offering her a wide selection of foods and see what works. We also had date nite that evening, which felt fairly civilized by comparison!

Today we finally bought the Maclaren double umbrella stroller! I'm so excited! It's side by side, and SOOOOO much lighter than the Graco tandem we've been using until now. It also folds up much smaller and doesn't take up the entire cargo space in the car. But the best thing about it is that Jack won't be able to lean forward and pull Lauren's hair! I bet she'll be very glad about that. Can't wait to try it out.

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Wed, Feb 8, 2006 9:00 PM
Today we went to the Library for Story Time. It was only partly successful. Lauren was just starting to get into it and focus when Jack got fussy, so . . . we left early. We got bunch of non-fiction books on toddlers/potty training for me, and some board books for Lauren. And she picked out a Telly Tubbies DVD, so we got that as well.

This "cying it out to sleep" thing is killing me! I told myself I wouldn't let Jack cry more than an hour. While sitting outside his room during nap time, trying to silently WILL him to sleep, I heard some knocking around in Lauren's room. I open the door to find her sitting at her little vanity table flicking the lights on and off! That means she climbed OUT of her crib for the first time! I looked over at ther crib, and realized that her little chair happened to be positioned nearby, so she obviously used that to aid her escape. I put her back in her crib and took the chair away, and that seemed to do the trick for nap time. But I had purchased a crib tent in anticipation of this very thing, so I put it up before bedtime. I had rehearsal, so Mike put her down to sleep. According to his reports, at first she was very interested in it, but once actually caged in by the thing, she was NOT happy. Oh well. We can only use it until she's potty trained anyway, because then she needs to be able to get up and pee if she needs to. Ugh. The possibility of her wandering the house in the middle of the night fills me with dread!

OK, back to Jack. So for his nap he cries for about 58 minutes. I was about to get him when he fell into a sound sleep and slept for an hour and a half, which is a big imorovement over the measly 30 minute power naps of late! But one of the books I got was the No-Cry Sleep Solution,so we'll se what they have to say. I'd really like it if he didn't have to cry!

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Tue, Feb 7, 2006 8:49 PM
Jack was doing a little cruising along our coffee table/trunk today! He also pulled himself up onto his knees earlier, so I'm thinking the days where he'll stay put are definitely numbered. His naps continue to be problematic(no more than half an hour), but he has been sleeping through the night (almost 12 hours), so that's something at least!

Lauren constantly amazes me with her new words, one of which is "wet", which is not just a word, but a concept, and she gets it! She ate much better today too. Since she's so interested in letters and numbers, the alphabet spagetti and mini meat-balls was a big hit. She would say the letter and then stuff it in her mouth! She even ate her vegetables, so I'm wondering if she's going through a growth spurt. She does seem a little bit taller every day. Her waist remains tiny though. I have to use a belt or her jeans just fall down!

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Sun, Feb 5, 2006 8:00 PM
Jack pushed himself up onto all fours today and did a little rocking, so I'm hoping that crawling is not far away! Well,. . . maybe. I remember waiting so anxiously for Lauren to crawl, but once she was mobile, it was so much more stressful, having to watch her every second. I guess I'll just be relieved that Jack has reached another developmental stage (even though technically crawling is not really considered a stage because some babies never do.) I just constantly am convinced I'm doing something wrong, not giving him enough belly time etc. So if he crawls, it will feel like some sort of progress, I suppose.

Otherwise, we finally hung his curtains in his room, which will help darken the room considerably with the blackout curtain liners, since we're putting him to bed earlier and earlier these days. His room is slowly but surely coming together.

Lauren actually helped me clean up a little this evening. She picked up her crayons and all the little pieces from her Mr Potato Head. We got distracted by a few puzzles, but I was encouraged that she seems to know a lot of her colors, at least to point to. So, we cleaned up a few things and messed up a few things. I don't think that playroom ever gets completely clean, it's just not a possibility with a 2 year old!

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Fri, Feb 3, 2006 8:00 PM
Today we had a huge storm and it was raining on and off all day, with thunder and lightning which shook the house. Luckly we didn't have to go anywhere becuase we had Lauren's playgroup here at the house. Our group split in two recently, so it was a small group. Though I will miss the other moms, I prefer it when it's small becuase it's less hectic and you can actually have a conversation with each other. Lauren is learning about sharing and taking turns, but most of the time she has a hard time with other kids usung all her toys. We had a few episodes of screaming/tug of war. I can tell this sharing thing is going to take YEARS.

When she had a poopy diaper we took it into the bathroom, waved bye bye and flushed the poop down the toilet. Auntie Tati suggested this, and Lauren was into it, so maybe this is a tiny first step on the road to potty traindom!

Jack was pretty good today with all the action happening around him. He's eating and napping pretty well, so no complaints there. He doesn't like belly time at all, but loves to stand leaning up against our coffe table which is actually a very heavy chest. He even did some "finger walking" today, some little prancing steps with him hanging on to a few of my fingers with each of his hands. I've been re-reading my sleep habits book,so I'm going to try to stick to more of a schedule. The hardest thing is letting him cry, but hopefully it will be short lived, and the result will be a child that is well rested!

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Thu, Feb 2, 2006 7:27 PM
This latest story is not for the faint of heart. Today Lauren woke up crying from her nap, which happens sometimes when she's pooped. I walk in to find that she's taken off her pants, taken off her diaper, there's a pile of poop in the corner of the crib, and she's rolled in it so it's all over her, and she's got her hands in it too. And it was wet too. It was so disgusting! I was especially alarmed because she sucks her thumb, and as soon as I had wiped it off, she wanted to put it in her mouth. So I had to hold her hands down while trying not to get poop all over me while I carried her into the bathtub to hose her down! And of course Jack woke up from his nap screaming while I was changing the bed. And guess what? He had pooped too, but at least it was IN his diaper! Well, I suppose when it rains it pours. . . So now I'm going high gear into potty training mode. I think this is a pretty clear sign that she's ready.

On a lighter note, Lauren continues with her ladybug fixation, so today I went ahead and put her in her whole Halloween costume. Well, minus the headband/antennae thingy. Might as well get some wear out of the thing before she grows out of it. She was so excited, she kept playing with the skirt, pointing out the black polka dots etc. Luckily I had changed her out of the costume BEFORE her nap because I thought it wouldn't be comfortable to sleep in.

Jack went to sleep at 6:15PM, so I have a feeling he'll be up at the crack of dawn. . .

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Wed, Feb 1, 2006 8:47 PM
Today we went to Jack's playgroup, which was challenging becuase of course Lauren was wandering around and getting into trouble. Every time I tried to "put out a fire" so to speak with her, Jack would shriek if I was out of his eyesight. I got officially overwhelmed more than a few times. Somehow this isn't as much an issue with Lauren's playgroup which is Fridays, I think partly because she's used to those kids and partly because those kids are her age or older. She's actually very interested in all the babies. But there's not a lot for her to do except try to play with them, with mixed results! Some are crawling, some walking, and there's one who isn't even sitting up yet. Maybe next time I'll try to bring an activity that can keep her busy. I'll have to figure out what that might be!

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