2018 :: 14/52

Monday morning I took both kids to Tova's appointment with Dr Sarumi to see about acid reflux/colic/why she cries so much. I actually got us out the door early so we dropped off some mail, grabbed me some coffee and made it to her appointment. Dr Sarumi thought Tova was just a gassy baby and has to get used to it, and might have some silent acid reflux. so she prescribed some antacid and also some powder to put in her wrinkles that keep chafing: armpits and leg rolls. :) Tova is already 11 pounds! so she's gaining/eating well which puts me at ease since she's been pulling off often and then latching back on while nursing lately.

Tuesday it snowed ALL DAY LONG after also snowing Monday night (april 2 & 3rd) so we stayed put. Tova ended up not napping much between 11a & 4pm after having a couple good days of napping on a schedule, but Trevor napped after not having napped for a couple days. after nap, Trevor and Al went outside to shovel and I finally got Tova to sleep at 4ish.

wednesday Al had to work so he slept in but we had a pretty good morning; tova napped pretty well so trevor and I got some crafting and lego-ing in! Trevor didn't nap so it was an early bedtime.

Thursday morning the kids and I went to the indoor sports center play time with Jodi, graham, Kinsley, jenny, kourtlyn, klare, kayla, liv and jack. :) it was fun and both kids did great; I carried tova in our new ergo almost the whole time and trevor ran around lots. then home for lunch and nap (trevor didn't nap despite being tired out from playing) and I read up some more on the 3 hour cycle schedule I've been trying to do with Tova. I was able to implement what I had read that afternoon and evening and it was amazing! as long as I am aware of her sleepy cues, I swaddle her right after seeing them and put her down then she fell asleep on her own and had good naps! it's a 3 hour cycle of eat,play,sleep so while i'm playing with her (tummy time or floor time/talking usually) I just watch for her sleepy cues (yawning, slow blinks, turning her head away from me) and then it's go time. she also took her first flat on her back, in the pack n play nap and she did great! she put herself to sleep relatively quickly! hopefully this continues. then after 4pm I wake and feed her every 2 hours instead of 3 to fill her up before bed/night time.

Friday and Saturday Tova had nothing to do with the schedule or napping... Al was off Fri-Sunday and mom came down Friday night to Saturday supper time. Friday during naptime, Jodi and I went garage saling for the first time this season even though it was 28 degrees and windy... there were neighborhood sales so we hit a bunch of them but didn't buy anything until the last 2. we both found some good things for our baby girls :) I found a lighter Velcro swaddler which I had been wanting and Jodi found a wrap carrier, and of course we bought some clothes. I got mostly tights, cardigans and a cute dress. we had fish for supper and it was delicious!

Saturday morning, mom, trevor and I went to a rummage sale at a church where trevor got some new books and puzzles, went to one garage sale, and then to the grocery store. then after nap time (T didn't sleep) we all went to matt's parent's retirement party for a bit and then mom left. I gave tova a bath then put her to bed and tried the "dream feed" as they call it where if it's been about 2 hours, I wake her slightly when I am ready for bed and feed her. she slept from 930 to 2ish then so I got just under 4 hours in a row of sleep!! might have to try that more.

sunday Tova had a great day! I tried hard to watch for her tired cues and play lots until they came, and she went down for her first nap without crying (in the swing tho, we're doing most naps in the swing for now.) then only cried a little bit for the other naps and she was such a happy girl for longer during her awake times and was very active (kicking and such) on her playmat! I got a bunch of clothes priced for the garage sale Jodi and I are having in june and felt much less stressed!

 Tova in Al's shirt from when he was a baby

 teaching/learning about legos :)

 so much snow in April... and so cold

 wrestling

 sports center

 first flat nap in pack n play

 sleeping & snuggling with a stuffy :) 

 her little faces are too much!! :)

 playing foosball at the retirement party at the bowling alley

 Tova wouldn't nap at home but would in the busy bowling alley...

 watching legos again :) 

 April 2, 2014 Trevor :: April 2, 2018 Tova

in Al's shirt

Tova. Al. Trevor.

I guess she does look like Al!

2018 :: 13/52 :: Easter :: Tova 4 weeks & 1 month

WARNING: lots of pictures!!!!

cute Trevor moments: when we got in the car just he and me, he looked over and said "aw no Tova? Tova's not coming with us?" and he sounded disappointed. and while Tova was crying, I asked if Al was going to take her to work with him and Trevor said, "NO dadda!!" also, some people have asked if they can take Tova/I've suggested they take her and he always says no right away. he loves to sing songs right now and will burst into song at any moment; current faves: wheels on the bus, easter songs, jingle bells, this old man, mary had a little lamb, where is thumbkin, 

in these comparison photos, i'm trying to make the blocks the same size and I think they're close here & Tova looks so much bigger than Trevor :) but she was 2.5 pounds more than he was at birth so I guess that makes sense.

Tova has still been crying quite a bit this week but seems to have a better handle on pooping, although still seems gassy. she cries every time before she goes to sleep/when she's tired and takes a long time to be actually "out" to where she could be set down. she wakes up many times crying. but she gives smiles easily when she's content so there's hope that she can be a happy baby :) she eats great (although sometimes pulls off and cries a little, a bunch of times within the feeding), she's great at night (thank goodness!) usually just up twice to eat and some of those times i'm waking her to eat since she's grunting, her baby acne is just about fully gone, she still loves baths but not getting lotion on afterwards/getting dressed afterwards, 3 month clothes even though they're a bit big still, I've been reading "happiest baby on the block" which is so far just about colicky babies and finally got to a part that really made sense with me and seemed to align with Tova so I'm hoping I can have a better mindset about it going forward & I can better help her. 

Al was only off Wednesday and Thursday this week and he had to go to training Thursday night; uffda! Tova was also pretty cry-ie this week, wed & Thursday. Wednesday was all afternoon/evening until she went to bed and she slept her usual (5 hours, then 3 hours) at night. Thursday she would only sleep max 20 minutes before waking up crying unless we were in the car. 

Tuesday morning, T, To and I went up to the cities (our first drive up there, 1 hour 15 min, and it was just me & the kids but went well!) once there, Jodi, luke and Henrik came over to visit, play and see Tova. they left after lunch, Trevor went down for nap, and Tova and I went over to my cousin Aryn's house so Tova could meet her 5 week older cousin, Camden. :) Tova was really sleepy so we didn't stay long but they're pretty cute together, about the same size, but Camden was much more "chill," he didn't cry at all, and he was much more smiley & wiggley (just being older I think.) then we went back to mom's, had a little bit of time. then we all hopped in the car and went to family dinner night at parkway pizza over in st louis park. my uncle tim was in town from Colorado so there was lots of mom's side there. they all got to meet Tova for the first time and Trevor got to play with his cousins. it was a busy day; Tova took a while to get to sleep but then slept pretty well, and Trevor was a little bit of a bear by the end of the night due to no nap, but it was fun to see everyone and let them meet Tova.

Wednesday morning we left pretty early/quick in the morning so we could get back and walk to Jodi's house to play outside since it was so nice out! it got to be 50 something outside by the afternoon! then back home for lunch and to see Al when he woke up. after nap time, Trevor didn't nap, he and I went to the grocery store quick and then picked up an ice cream cone treat. :) we finished them outside once home, then Al and Trevor played outside while I fed Tova, then we went back to the neighb's house for supper and dying easter eggs. it was lots of fun even if Tova cried the whole time once she woke up after we ate supper. 

Thursday morning, all 4 of us went to Jodi's again for the daycare easter party which included a craft, snack, book and easter egg hunt. then tova started getting fussy and it was close to lunch time, so we went home. during nap time, Tova and I ran to drop off the mortgage, take her to the chiropractor (she was pretty tight/twisted), feed her in the parking lot :), then to the grocery store to pick up food for easter weekend! once home, Al had to start getting ready to go to training so he and Trevor showered, ate supper, then Al left. I finally got Tova to sleep in the swing for a bit so Trevor and I could play some legos. then Trevor and I gave Tova a bath, I fed her and put her to bed. then pjs for T, snack, books and bed (he was actually out right away!) These kids have actually been great during the bedtimes that I have to do by myself so far, but I don't expect them all to go this well.

Friday mom came down about 2ish and it was a great weekend with her here (thank goodness for nana!!!) although it was snowy and cold so we didn't get outside. I was able to get some things done that have been nagging on me and Tova loves to nap/fall asleep in nana's arms. I also got some good quality time with trevor.

Saturday we had our Easter meal for lunch so Al could have it before work. then the easter bunny #1 came and hid eggs, and trevor and tova got to open nana's easter baskets for them. trevor loved finding the eggs and seeing what candy was inside. tyler was supposed to come down but because it had snowed Friday night he had to go in and plow.

sunday easter bunny #2 came and left the kid's baskets. we played and ate and cleaned all morning. then mom was on kid duty during nap time while I slept a little bit. then mom left, trevor didn't nap but that's ok cuz it made bedtime easier for me, and Al got up shortly after mom left so he was on Tova duty while I hung out with trevor a bit. sunday night didn't go as smoothly at bedtime as it has but it was awful. Tova didn't sleep during trevor's bedtime routine until the very end. she sat in my arms through one book but then cried through another. I had to put her down for brushing teeth and getting trevor to bed so I put her in the swing expecting her to cry and she fell asleep, so I didn't have to stress about putting trevor to bed quickly. then he was out shortly and I woke her an hour later to feed her and put her to bed. 

 dadda's little hot dog baby :)

 first time in her sit-me-up seat I bought used for her and she clearly loved it! her little faces are so cute (wish she was happy/content more often!)

 scrunchy nose

 her goofy little, lower-lip-missing smile

 fist bump :)

 Trevor's scrunchy nose (this is his "do you smell something" face, which also means he tooted :])

 Trevor and Luke

 Luke loved the baby and kept going over to her (very different from Trevor, although Trevor always wants Tova with us :])

 5 week older cousin Camden

 pizza family dinner

Kayli, Ryan and Charlotte

 uncle Tim and Auntie Judie

 Auntie Polly

 our 1 nice, spring-ish day

family dinner: Trevor, Tula & Ryan

 mother nature's april fools joke = snow

 she's so smiley when she's happy/not crying

 easter painting

 coloring on and dying eggs

playing ball together for the first time :)