Ok, attempt #3 this morning to nap the baby in her crib instead of the swing. I know shes a cat napper but this is crazy! Each time she has slept less than 10 min. in her room. She has got to be tired! UGH. She probably isnt used to the quiet in there lol. I put her down before starting today's entry and she is already awake again. *big sigh* I did happen to get her first real laugh this morning!! It was the cutest thing! She laughed a few times and it just makes me light up. :) She has laughed a few times before, but only in her sleep. Whatever could a newborn be dreaming about, let alone laughing at, in their sleep. I have no idea, but either way, to have it when she was awake and reacting to me trying to get her to laugh, was exciting!! :)
Meanwhile, Julia and Madisen have been playing in her room with her doll house. Surprisingly, with out any arguing, yet. They were so awful yesterday with the fighting that they pretty much had everything taken away. So im thinking this being nice to each other thing is to earn back some their stuff from yesterday. Im still struggling with Julia constantly having to RUN everywhere. "STOP RUNNING!" is all i say to her i swear. And now Madie, as slow as she is eating, is trying to run to everything too. "You are not in a race", is another thing im always saying. Julia has always had this thing about being first. I know im competitive, but seriously, i wasnt at 6! And she really hasnt seen me be competitive with others about anything so i dont know why it drives her every move. Im over exaggerating you say? Nope, im not lol. She NEEDS, wants, and forces herself to be first with brushing teeth, going potty, to the top of the stairs, bottom of the stairs, , getting her silverware, finishing a drink, finishing her food. First to get dressed, first undressed, first to have pj's on, first to the table, first in the car, first out of the car, first to whatever room shes headed to, first for lotion, first to get in the pool, etc.etc..get the point? Am i still over exaggerating? lol i didnt think so :) There are a few advantages to her being fast, like if i need her to get more diapers, or a burp rag very quickly, she will do it in a flash! And im sure when she starts playing competitive sports, it will be great. Otherwise, it is so much work to keep under control. It wouldnt matter so much if when she wasnt first she didnt mind, but she does! I guess she has gotten better from when she used to drop to the floor and cry if she wasnt first. It still bugs her, but she is more sly about it. She will speed up and slip between you and the door to enter before you or she will hold Madisen back just far enough she can get in front of her. But she no longer throws the fits if she isnt first. Which is good! It is so mentally time consuming to be watching for that all the time and to make her NOT first more than letting her, to make sure she learns she cant always be in front, and how to handle it when she isnt.
I cant believe it! Attempt #4 at getting Aubrey to sleep in her crib is finally working! :) She has been in there for about 25 min. now :) The kids all just finished lunch too and Ella is fast asleep in her toddler bed already. She has only been in there for about 10 min. Which means i have both of my nappers, napping at the same time!! Woohoo!! :) Nap is the easiest and quickest time Ella falls asleep, and doesnt try to get out of her bed. She loves to nap. All of mine have at that age, until they are old enough to not really be napping. Its never been a fight. I made sure of that. All the ones i nannied have loved to take naps too. I believe it has something to do with my strategy, that i will now share with you :) First, i never make nap time a punishment, and also never make it a time out spot. I have also always made sure to crib "train" them from an early age, even though i really did want them in the co-sleeper or my bed for much longer, i knew getting them used to the crib early on, is easier than later. Plus i always wanted the evenings for ME time, and not spending forever getting my kid to finally go to sleep. How exhausting! From the time the child is old enough they are on more of a routine for naps, they were in their bed, and they were put to bed sleepy and tired, NOT asleep. At least after the first few months of life. That way they learned their surroundings and got used to them. And most importantly, in my opinion, when the kid wakes up, you go to them when they are happy and talking to be up. I know the whole saying of "well, they arent crying, so just leave them" is out there, BUT i believe that waiting until the child is crying is only teaching them that they have to cry in order to get out of bed. So then they learn to just cry when they wake up so that someone will come get them. I always go in their room with a smile on my face and happy to see that they are awake (even if i wished they had slept longer lol). So anyways, those are my steps i have used for many many years, and not just with my own kids. It has produced all of them running to their rooms to head up for nap at nap time! :) I sure wish i could still get to nap!
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| Napper 1 |
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| Napper 2 |
Well i should be taking this time to clean or something, but i really think i will just rest for a little while. My other girls are home and awake, so i cant take a nap, but oh how i want to! :) But just not having to nurse, or change a diaper for a little while is relaxing :)
It sure is a windy and sunny day today. I LOVE it! Its still weird to walk around and see all the Halloween decorations up and it be sunny and warm out, not overcast and rainy. A little bittersweet i guess :)
Oh yeah, Julia's little pie baking went great. I was the first mom to show up. She said be there at 2, so i was 5 min. early. Then another mom showed up a few after 2, but the other 2 that came showed up at like 2:30. Really? Whatever. And also, barely anyone had given supplies for it. We brought pie crust and capri suns (both on the list to bring) and nobody else brought pie crust. There were a few things for the filling and then just more capri suns. It all worked out but what a close call on the crust, and i almost didnt get it lol. The teacher could have also given more time. We got the flyer for the pie on wed. and they made them friday. Oh well, like i said, it all worked out.
Got my potty training supplies i need to start working on Ella more. Pull-ups and M&M's lol I can just tell she is going to need those candies to get the process going and probably finished haha. She is so much like Julia, so it will be interesting to see how much she changes over the years. I have about a weeks worth of diapers left for her, then its GO TIME! I hope i can keep my track record of having them all done before 2 years old. We'll see though....this one is STUBBORN! She is an awesome big sister already though!!
Until next time...
