I am still sick! Head cold, viral pink eye and exhaustion- a perfect
combination to have me horizontal under blankets all week long. Another week of
sickness (Kai last week, and me this week) has not allowed me to establish any
routines other than lots of sleeping and drinking to hydrate. It's certainly
hard on your household when mom is down and out. I've still managed meals, and
today I started the mounds of laundry but as far as getting anything exciting,
creative or new done - forget it!
So instead of feeling down, overwhelmed and useless, I've honed my focus to
enjoy my infant. Here are the things we've been doing this week:
1. Connor's chin tuck: by 3 months of age he should be able to tuck his chin
to his chest when raised up from a lying position. On Oct 28th he'll be 3
months old already. Time flies!
2. Seeking out Connor's smiles, laugh and cooing- lots of stop in the moment
and coo back and talk to him.
3. Giving lots of love kisses, attention and continuing to understand his
cries. He's the baby who gives an "ow ow" cry when tired, the "eh eh" cry when
hungry and the occassional "aire aire" cry when he's got some GI discomfort.
What a relief it's been to figure this out. He's responding way better to me
and we have improved our attachment so much more since I learned to read his
cries.
4. Connor's 2 month immunizations: this week we had his 2 month shots. It
was way harder on me then him. He did very well- crying out but quickly calming
down after it was done. What a trooper!
I can tell Connor loves me and he follows my voice and my image whenever I'm
in the room but when he hears or sees Kai ( his big brother), the world spins
for him. I can just tell that they are going to be best buds and that Connor is
already so in love with Kai. I am excited to learn more about brotherly love.
I have a sister but she's 6 years older and I do think it's quite different from
having a sibling 2.5 years apart. I am already watching this relationship grow
and fostering it daily.
This week we've also been trying to get Kai back onto his schedule. We've
encountered some resistance - surprised? Two year olds are wonderful. I've
resorted to acting on some of my limits such as hitting others or "booming" as
Kai calls it, yelling with his outdoor voice at the dinner table and throwing
items usually from the dinner table. I look to his father to act on these
limits too but let's be honest that's a whole other post as Dad learns to be
more forceful and engage Kai during these challenging moments. So Kai and I
have spent some time on the front door step in the freezing cold discussing
using an indoor voice, we've spent some time sitting on the bottom step talking
about throwing and we've also sat their talking or thinking about who it's
appropriate to "boom". It's always an adventure, but if we can empower and
teach Kai about self awareness and self-regulation then I think we'll serve him
well down the road. He learns these lessons so the teachable moments must be
working for him. Out of no where he'll say, "Mommy, no booming baby" or " no
booming when we go to a party" - yes that's right Kai *smile*.
So because I've been sick this week, I'm hoping that it leaves our house
tomorrow and that we can do some fun family things this weekend. I want to get
pumpkins, fit Kai's halloween costume and continue to price out kitchen options.
Here's hoping sickness leaves the house of Q asap!!
combination to have me horizontal under blankets all week long. Another week of
sickness (Kai last week, and me this week) has not allowed me to establish any
routines other than lots of sleeping and drinking to hydrate. It's certainly
hard on your household when mom is down and out. I've still managed meals, and
today I started the mounds of laundry but as far as getting anything exciting,
creative or new done - forget it!
So instead of feeling down, overwhelmed and useless, I've honed my focus to
enjoy my infant. Here are the things we've been doing this week:
1. Connor's chin tuck: by 3 months of age he should be able to tuck his chin
to his chest when raised up from a lying position. On Oct 28th he'll be 3
months old already. Time flies!
2. Seeking out Connor's smiles, laugh and cooing- lots of stop in the moment
and coo back and talk to him.
3. Giving lots of love kisses, attention and continuing to understand his
cries. He's the baby who gives an "ow ow" cry when tired, the "eh eh" cry when
hungry and the occassional "aire aire" cry when he's got some GI discomfort.
What a relief it's been to figure this out. He's responding way better to me
and we have improved our attachment so much more since I learned to read his
cries.
4. Connor's 2 month immunizations: this week we had his 2 month shots. It
was way harder on me then him. He did very well- crying out but quickly calming
down after it was done. What a trooper!
I can tell Connor loves me and he follows my voice and my image whenever I'm
in the room but when he hears or sees Kai ( his big brother), the world spins
for him. I can just tell that they are going to be best buds and that Connor is
already so in love with Kai. I am excited to learn more about brotherly love.
I have a sister but she's 6 years older and I do think it's quite different from
having a sibling 2.5 years apart. I am already watching this relationship grow
and fostering it daily.
This week we've also been trying to get Kai back onto his schedule. We've
encountered some resistance - surprised? Two year olds are wonderful. I've
resorted to acting on some of my limits such as hitting others or "booming" as
Kai calls it, yelling with his outdoor voice at the dinner table and throwing
items usually from the dinner table. I look to his father to act on these
limits too but let's be honest that's a whole other post as Dad learns to be
more forceful and engage Kai during these challenging moments. So Kai and I
have spent some time on the front door step in the freezing cold discussing
using an indoor voice, we've spent some time sitting on the bottom step talking
about throwing and we've also sat their talking or thinking about who it's
appropriate to "boom". It's always an adventure, but if we can empower and
teach Kai about self awareness and self-regulation then I think we'll serve him
well down the road. He learns these lessons so the teachable moments must be
working for him. Out of no where he'll say, "Mommy, no booming baby" or " no
booming when we go to a party" - yes that's right Kai *smile*.
So because I've been sick this week, I'm hoping that it leaves our house
tomorrow and that we can do some fun family things this weekend. I want to get
pumpkins, fit Kai's halloween costume and continue to price out kitchen options.
Here's hoping sickness leaves the house of Q asap!!