Oscar is two months old! (as of the 5th...poor neglected third child...). We went in for his 2-month checkup and all looks good. He still has quite a bit of congestion and coughing, but nothing to be concerned about at this point according to the good doctor.
The stats:
Height: 23.25" (58%) although even the doc thinks this might not be accurate because he seems so tall
Weight: 13 lbs 5 oz (69%)
HC: 15.24" (35%)
Poor kid got lots of shots but we all survived. Now, we'll feel a little better taking him out in public and exposing him to all the germy people.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
growing independence
As part of Rafa's lifelong quest to wean himself from his parents' (and Sylvia's?) oversight and supervision and become an independent being, he is continually testing his borders. The latest frustration, I mean example, occurs when I pick him up from school. He doesn't want to leave. He loves watching the people come and go and just doesn't want to get in the car. I guess that's a good sign about school, right? And then, when we pull into the garage, after I release the kids from their harnesses, he buckles himself back in and doesn't want to leave the car, at least not until HE's ready.
There's no mommy separation anxiety here!
There's no mommy separation anxiety here!
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
fun times
Sylvia and Rafa are a blast to talk to. It's wonderful to get a glimpse of their experiences in our world. It's also mostly fun to hear them talk to each other. Mostly because their talking to each other generally takes the form of commands and refusals. I don't know if it's patience or persistence but they can 'argue' for-e-ver. "Rafa, your milk!" "I don't want it!" "Rafa, your milk!" "I don't want it!" "Rafa, your milk!" "I don't want it!" And on. They still believe that the art of persuasion lies in volume. Fun times.
One particularly sweet moment happened when I was pretty much livid. They didn't want to nap and wouldn't listen to me telling them to rest, so D removed Sylvia to the crib in the nursery. Which made her cry, naturally. Rafa, from his crib in the other room shouted, "Sylvia, don't cry!! Sing!!" We love that they sing. We love that they sing together. We don't love when it keeps them from napping.
Rafa has also recently decided that socks should be worn as gloves. It's hilarious. A little gross at mealtimes, but so is digging in the dirt at the playground that animals use as their litter box.
One particularly sweet moment happened when I was pretty much livid. They didn't want to nap and wouldn't listen to me telling them to rest, so D removed Sylvia to the crib in the nursery. Which made her cry, naturally. Rafa, from his crib in the other room shouted, "Sylvia, don't cry!! Sing!!" We love that they sing. We love that they sing together. We don't love when it keeps them from napping.
Rafa has also recently decided that socks should be worn as gloves. It's hilarious. A little gross at mealtimes, but so is digging in the dirt at the playground that animals use as their litter box.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
welcome to school
Things seem to be getting better for Oscar's tummy and for a couple days now, we're just getting up for nighttime feedings. Every once in awhile he'll still wake up and fuss, but he has started resolving the tummy problems on his own and we don't have to get up. Way to go, Oscar!!
Of course, that means another shoe must drop... Everyone has been dueling colds for a few days. And then Saturday morning I checked my email and we received emails from two moms that their kids woke up with a stomach bug. I sent out my concern and hope they feel better email and somewhat smugly thought to myself, thank goodness my kids are so healthy! (Ignoring the fact that they have colds.). Maybe there is something to this theory that people keep telling me that mix kids are healthier.
We went through our day and had a blast playing outside, brunching with the family for Oma's birthday, going to the pool, etc. the kids napped great and were wiped out by dinner time. Fantastic! We can put them down, then enjoy a relaxing dinner with my sister's family.
Just as we settled down to eat, Sylvia started screaming. And not just her, I don't want to sleep cry, but really screaming. D went to check, and discovered that she caught the stomach bug. I checked my email and, sure enough, it hit every classmate except the other little girl, although her mommy has been sick for two days.
D was amazing and took over most of the comforting, caring for and cleaning up after Sylvia to try to keep me (and therefore Oscar since I have to handle him more) from catching the terrible virus. So much for the relaxing dinner. A few hours, a couple clothes changes, and sprints to the bathroom later, all the children were sleeping soundly and we could get some rest. Oscar blessed us with a great night of sleep--possibly due in part to fighting the cold, but we'll take it!
Now, we're just waiting for Rafa's turn...
Of course, that means another shoe must drop... Everyone has been dueling colds for a few days. And then Saturday morning I checked my email and we received emails from two moms that their kids woke up with a stomach bug. I sent out my concern and hope they feel better email and somewhat smugly thought to myself, thank goodness my kids are so healthy! (Ignoring the fact that they have colds.). Maybe there is something to this theory that people keep telling me that mix kids are healthier.
We went through our day and had a blast playing outside, brunching with the family for Oma's birthday, going to the pool, etc. the kids napped great and were wiped out by dinner time. Fantastic! We can put them down, then enjoy a relaxing dinner with my sister's family.
Just as we settled down to eat, Sylvia started screaming. And not just her, I don't want to sleep cry, but really screaming. D went to check, and discovered that she caught the stomach bug. I checked my email and, sure enough, it hit every classmate except the other little girl, although her mommy has been sick for two days.
D was amazing and took over most of the comforting, caring for and cleaning up after Sylvia to try to keep me (and therefore Oscar since I have to handle him more) from catching the terrible virus. So much for the relaxing dinner. A few hours, a couple clothes changes, and sprints to the bathroom later, all the children were sleeping soundly and we could get some rest. Oscar blessed us with a great night of sleep--possibly due in part to fighting the cold, but we'll take it!
Now, we're just waiting for Rafa's turn...
Friday, September 20, 2013
art
I love watching the kids create. They love drawing on their easel. Both with chalk and with markers. Lately, it's been really fun as they tell me what they're 'drawing'.
I've posted about being nervous that we stifle their creativity, so I'm particularly enjoying seeing them express any and all types. For instance, Rafa decided that his taco had wings. Since I haven't cultivated whatever creativity I have inside, I'm really interested in seeing how a child's eyes see the world and interpret it.
Here is their first art on display! I don't think we can sell it for thousands, yet, but mami loves it.
I've posted about being nervous that we stifle their creativity, so I'm particularly enjoying seeing them express any and all types. For instance, Rafa decided that his taco had wings. Since I haven't cultivated whatever creativity I have inside, I'm really interested in seeing how a child's eyes see the world and interpret it.
Here is their first art on display! I don't think we can sell it for thousands, yet, but mami loves it.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
quick update
Since there's been lots of radiosilence here on familiography, I thought I'd do a quick update.
Sylvia and Rafael are doing well in school. We're already proud parents as the teachers were so excited to tell us that when Mr. Ben came for music time our kids did the motions to the songs AND SANG ALONG! And they were the only ones. [cue beaming, competitive mother] We were talking about school this morning and Rafa started naming all of his classmates! We'll take that as a good sign that he's enjoying his friends enough to remember their names. Our kids have better memories than their parents. Next time we go shopping, I'm just going to dictate the list to the kids and they'll be sure I don't forget anything.
It's a good thing Rafa has had some cute moments like that because he is in a funk these days. He's exerting his independence on just about everything. It seems like it's mostly a transition issue, that he really likes whatever it is he's doing and doesn't want to move to the next thing. Leaving school one day last week, he stood in the doorway for about 5 minutes while parents were coming and going picking up their kids walking around him. He stood there until I just left for the car and after I was a good distance away, he decided to run after me. (For those thinking I'm a negligent parent, I waited until the traffic died down and the security guard, Rafa, and I were the only ones left, so the security guard helped keep an eye on him until he got to me.) Of course, he fought getting into the car. Then, when we got home and I unbuckled him, he buckled himself back in! He used to love singing at night with us, but since he knows that bedtime follows shortly thereafter, he's begun protesting the singing. I won't even talk about the war we wage for diaper changes, brushing teeth, and bedtime. Fortunately, it seems that when one of the kids goes through a difficult phase, the other one lightens up and Sylvia hasn't been quite as challenging lately. That doesn't mean we don't have moments (pretty much every evening) when all three are wailing at the same time. If that doesn't teach us patience, we are lost causes.
Oscar, well, where to begin with Oscar. We got him on a new medicine that seems to be helping. It's not perfect, but he mostly seems to be better related to the reflux. He still spits up, but doesn't seem to be in as much pain. He just is not a very happy baby. Which makes his parents not particularly happy, either. He did hang out awake and content for about an hour this morning, which was so wonderful that I told D to take another look before going off to work. There's just always something making him uncomfortable: gas, reflux, hiccups, poop, hunger, fatigue, dirty diaper, boredom, you name it. I think he's called a high needs baby. He's only quiet when he's sleeping (and even then there's lots of grunting and moaning) or in my arms while being rocked and bounced and sung to. We finally got him to take a pacifier sometimes, which helps. He has stayed asleep for naps a couple times in the swing, but other than that, he's social and wants people, particularly mami. Looks like we'll have another active one on our hands! He has started sleeping better with the new medicine and we usually get him to sleep well for the first two feeds of the night, but lately he really wants to be up starting at 2am. We are going to try REALLY hard to keep him awake as much as possible during the day today and hope that we can shift his idea of nighttime a little to align a little better with ours.
OK, so not particularly quick, but there's a lot going on here.
Sylvia and Rafael are doing well in school. We're already proud parents as the teachers were so excited to tell us that when Mr. Ben came for music time our kids did the motions to the songs AND SANG ALONG! And they were the only ones. [cue beaming, competitive mother] We were talking about school this morning and Rafa started naming all of his classmates! We'll take that as a good sign that he's enjoying his friends enough to remember their names. Our kids have better memories than their parents. Next time we go shopping, I'm just going to dictate the list to the kids and they'll be sure I don't forget anything.
It's a good thing Rafa has had some cute moments like that because he is in a funk these days. He's exerting his independence on just about everything. It seems like it's mostly a transition issue, that he really likes whatever it is he's doing and doesn't want to move to the next thing. Leaving school one day last week, he stood in the doorway for about 5 minutes while parents were coming and going picking up their kids walking around him. He stood there until I just left for the car and after I was a good distance away, he decided to run after me. (For those thinking I'm a negligent parent, I waited until the traffic died down and the security guard, Rafa, and I were the only ones left, so the security guard helped keep an eye on him until he got to me.) Of course, he fought getting into the car. Then, when we got home and I unbuckled him, he buckled himself back in! He used to love singing at night with us, but since he knows that bedtime follows shortly thereafter, he's begun protesting the singing. I won't even talk about the war we wage for diaper changes, brushing teeth, and bedtime. Fortunately, it seems that when one of the kids goes through a difficult phase, the other one lightens up and Sylvia hasn't been quite as challenging lately. That doesn't mean we don't have moments (pretty much every evening) when all three are wailing at the same time. If that doesn't teach us patience, we are lost causes.
Oscar, well, where to begin with Oscar. We got him on a new medicine that seems to be helping. It's not perfect, but he mostly seems to be better related to the reflux. He still spits up, but doesn't seem to be in as much pain. He just is not a very happy baby. Which makes his parents not particularly happy, either. He did hang out awake and content for about an hour this morning, which was so wonderful that I told D to take another look before going off to work. There's just always something making him uncomfortable: gas, reflux, hiccups, poop, hunger, fatigue, dirty diaper, boredom, you name it. I think he's called a high needs baby. He's only quiet when he's sleeping (and even then there's lots of grunting and moaning) or in my arms while being rocked and bounced and sung to. We finally got him to take a pacifier sometimes, which helps. He has stayed asleep for naps a couple times in the swing, but other than that, he's social and wants people, particularly mami. Looks like we'll have another active one on our hands! He has started sleeping better with the new medicine and we usually get him to sleep well for the first two feeds of the night, but lately he really wants to be up starting at 2am. We are going to try REALLY hard to keep him awake as much as possible during the day today and hope that we can shift his idea of nighttime a little to align a little better with ours.
OK, so not particularly quick, but there's a lot going on here.
Friday, September 13, 2013
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