Chaos Defined

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CHAOS

Expected August 2013

13 months

Typical mealtime

The only photo I managed to take before she pulled off the sticker!

Turned 13 months on March 11
Is an expert walker
Tries to run, usually unsuccessfully
Has 12 teeth, four of which popped up simultaneously!
Loves to play with her food
Almost exclusively feeds herself
Wears 12-18 month clothing, but also fits into most 2T clothes
Loves to blow kisses
Wakes up twice per night on average to cuddle with her Papa
Loves her big sister, but knows to stay away from her toys when she is around!

Sharing Rooms

Laughing about something

Playing with her remote controlled car

It proved to be a three day experiment. Initially, this was far more than I had expected...

A few weeks ago, I asked my husband why our now 12-month old was still sleeping in our room...After all, she had a comfortable crib set up in her sister's room...Surely far more comfortable than the play-yard in our room?

So we decided to try room-sharing. The tricky part was waiting for our toddler to fall asleep before placing the baby in her crib, as I was sure that our noisy toddler would wake the baby up.  The first three nights were very similar...Our baby fell asleep with her father in our room. About a half an hour later, our toddler was asleep, allowing us to place the baby in her crib. We had a few hours of peace...then the baby woke up.  My husband rocked her back to sleep, and placed her back in the crib. She woke up once more on average. Our toddler, surprisingly, slept through this. She too woke up about once a night, but quickly fell asleep without disturbing her sister.

After the third relatively successful night, our toddler developed a fever, which I attributed to her 1-year vaccines. And for one week, she was cranky and slept poorly, so we returned her to our room. We have yet to retry our experiment. I suspect it will take up to a week for both girls to adjust to the new living conditions.

My husband is currently in sunny California, attending a work-related conference (or so her says). Perhaps upon his return, we will give it another try...

Surviving March Break

At a local indoor playground

Enjoying March Break

A few weeks ago, I came across a headline in a family-oriented newsletter that I receive. It read: "How to Survive March Break." I did not bother reading the article as I mistakingly thought I did not have to deal with March Break for another few years...

Then, just two weeks ago, I overheard some chatter about March Break at the local YMCA.  I inquired if preschool was off for a week, and was surprised to find out that I would be home all week with my two lovely daughters! Since when do preschoolers need March Break, I thought to myself...In fact the YMCA hosts a March Break camp for older kids that are off school and needed the extra space.

On Monday, we ventured out with the double stroller for the first time in a long time. I timed the outing to coincide with the baby's nap time, and after putting up a bit of a fuss, she slept soundly. My toddler enjoyed the outing, but insisted we pick up some stickers before heading home. The afternoon went by surprisingly quickly, and before I knew it, my husband was home.

On Tuesday, we met my cousin and her two daughters at an indoor park in the West Island. I timed our arrival with the opening of the park, so as to avoid the large March Break crowds. It worked out well as we were the only ones there for almost an hour. And just when it started to get busy, we headed home. The baby slept on the car ride home, and once again, the afternoon went by quickly. After dinner, I took our toddler for a swim at a local indoor pool that I had just discovered. She had a great swim, jumped in about 50 times, and fell asleep quickly that night.

Wednesday went by very quickly. For the fist time since returning from maternity leave, I was working  during the week. My shift started at noon. We went out with the stroller in the morning, and once again, the baby fell asleep. We picked up some stickers on the way home. My mom had come over to help watch the kids, and I left at 11:30. I arrived home shortly after 20h, and both kids were asleep. Exhausted,  our toddler had fallen asleep very early, allowing my husband to easily put the baby to sleep. I should do more of theses 12-20h shifts, I thought to myself.

On Thursday, we headed to another indoor park, this one closer to our home. The girls enjoyed themselves, and once again, we left just as it was getting busy. The baby briefly slept on the way home.  That afternoon, we went out with the stroller, and not surprisingly, both girls fell asleep. Our toddler had woken up at 5:30 that morning, no doubt because of the early night she had had the previous night...

On Friday, I met my cousin and her two daughters at yet another indoor park. This park was much larger than the other two, but I thought that by arriving early, we would once again avoid the crowds. I knew I had been mistaken as we drove up to the parking lot. Even though the amusement centre had just opened, the line-up extended outdoors. Although the girls seemed to enjoy themselves, the park was enormous, making it very easy to lose sight of the girls. Thankfully, I only lost my toddler briefly, and for less than a minute. The place was a veritable zoo, and I could not wait to leave.

Perhaps next year we will plan a family trip during March Break...

3rd Year Goals

Sharing a seat with her sister

Feeding her sister

Unbeknownst to her, we had set out some goals for our toddler's third year. In fact, they were things that we were hoping would be accomplished by her third birthday.

Firstly, we were hoping she would stop drinking from her bottle. This was one goal that she readily accomplished on her own. One morning, when she was around 2 1/2 years old, she refused to drink milk from her bottle. I thought that perhaps she was coming down with something...In fact, she had suddenly decided that she had outgrown her baby bottle!

Secondly, and probably most importantly, we were hoping she would sleep through the night. For several months now, unless she is sick, she wakes up only once. Usually anytime between 3 and 6 in the morning. Thankfully, she goes right back to sleep, and wakes up for good anytime between 7 and 8.

Thirdly, we were hoping she would be potty trained. She had shown some interest at around 18 months, then lost interest for another year. For about six months now, she has consistently been using either the potty or the toilet over 95% of the time. Occasionally she will have accidents during the night, but this is usually after we have forgotten to have her empty her bladder before bed. And occasionally she would refuse to use the potty. One day not too long ago, our stubborn daughter retained her urine for 8 hours until finally relenting!

The other day, I realized to what extent she understood the concept of potty training. She was playing with her dolls. She placed one on a play potty, and told her: "I have a very special surprise for you. But first you have to do a pee in the potty."

Lastly, we were hoping that our toddler would give up her pacifier. This, I think, will prove to be the hardest goal to accomplish. Just prior to turing three, we told our daughter that when she turned three, she would not be able to use her soother, as she would be a big girl. She seemed to understand, exclaiming "I am not three" even after she had turned three. We attempted to remove her pacifier shortly after her birthday. She managed to fall asleep that night, but then woke up countless times, and would simply not go back to sleep. She was so loud that she woke her sister up. Finally, exhausted, we relented, and gave her the dreaded soother. The next morning, I would discover that she had her first ear infection...so perhaps not the best time for the experiment. We are planning on experimenting again very soon, or perhaps even going cold turkey...Then just today, something very interesting occurred. She had been playing with her Mickey Mouse Application on her iPad. She then brought me her soother, saying," I don't need a soother, Mickey Mouse does not have one." So perhaps there is hope after all...