Well, life with a newborn is slightly crazier than it was the first time around. The whole "sleep when they sleep" does not apply when you have a toddler who is anxiously awaiting her time for undivided attention when her little brother sleeps. And as confident as I was going into sleep training Graham, he has managed to reduce me to tears, much like his sister did on several occasions. I just knew I would be tougher this round. Nope, I still cave when he cries! Oh well. He is only 6 wks old. We are working on it slowly. Mainly my motivation in doing it so early is just to allow more time in the day to have with Grace. By the time I nurse, change him, supervise his awake time (while trying to play with Grace too), and get him settled for a nap, it amounts to about 45 min before he is awake again needing help to fall back asleep in the middle of his nap. Which doesn't allow for much other than a quick shower or bite to eat. Anyway, you Babywise moms feel my pain. The 45-min intruder tried to take me down the first time with Grace, I refuse to lose the battle this time! :) I'll let ya know in a few weeks if I'm still crying my way through it! Haha. Besides not being a great napper, Graham is a wonderful newborn. He does great at night eating and going right back to sleep. And other than when his reflux flairs up or the occasional tummy ache, he is generally a happy and content baby. So thankful for this. It has allowed me to feel confident leaving him with Adam and the grandparents to get out for some "me" time. Which I was very hesitant to do with Grace. Perhaps that is a perk of a second child, I am definitely not as possessive this time around. I welcome the help :)
As far as Grace goes, she is still enjoying being a big sister. The new has worn off some, and she has definitely started making all kinds of new and different attempts at getting attention. Mostly when I'm nursing or rocking Graham and she knows I can't jump up and discipline her. She's a smart little squirrel. :) Potty training is right around the corner I'm thinking. She is great about telling us when she needs to #2, and we always make it to the potty for that. (Even in Kohl's when we are on a girls shopping trip-that's a different story though.) She has started telling me a couple times, "Oooppsss....I tee teed in my diaper." So, she is noticing when she goes, which was not happening until this week. I'm hoping in the next few weeks as Graham starts sleeping more at night, I will have the energy to attack the potty training during the day. For now, we are surviving, and I am thankful for a toddler in a diaper that I do not have to run to the potty every 30 minutes.
Not a lot going on in our lives other than baby and toddler-hood. Adam is going on a trip for work in February for 4 days. I'm nervous about having them by myself 24/7 but it will be good for me. And he will probably owe me a mommy day when he returns. I'm thinking massage and shopping with a friend. :) Maybe it will be worth it?? Thank goodness the grandparents aren't far.
I start teaching my classes again in 3 weeks. Also, nervous about this. I'm trying to ease back into running to build up some endurance so I'm not sucking wind for the first month teaching. Haha. Hopefully everyone will be understanding and bare with me for a while. I'm excited to be back though. My life doesn't seem normal not being able to get a good sweat in a couple times a week. And I miss all the members. I'm ready to see them and to challenge each other this year.
Here are the pictures from Graham's BIRTHday. Better late than never, right? :)
