"This is a disaster!" he cried , as we all watched the milk run off the table onto his shoe. I laughed and laughed, breaking a spell of despair I'd been under all day. Dinner tonight was a spectacle, more than usual. But let's rewind to the start of the day... Kaitlyn woke up.
She first woke at 5:45 (a warning for our day to come?), but I rocked her back to sleep in a couple minutes. Then we started the day at our usual 9am. It wasn't a bad start, both girls finished breakfast by 10am. Then I dressed the girls, nursed Lilly, and we bundled up for a walk around the block in today's cool morning temps. We played fetch with Casey the dog up the street, picked up rocks, and sat on the curb while Lilly watched from her stroller seat. When we got home, I picked up around the house while the girls played. Around this time, Kate got a little bit physical with Lilly, hitting her, and taking whatever toy she played with away from her. Lilly fussed, but it was time for her nap anyway.
I took her in our room to nurse her, and let Kaitlyn on the bed, too. It doesn't usually work, but I decided to give her a chance today. Immediately, she pushed Lilly off of me, pulled her hair and started hitting her on the top of her head. Kate knows Lilly nurses, but I'm sure she does not know why. No chance for understanding there, though I've explained "lilly's eating" a thousand times to her. She'll even pull up my shirt and say "Lilly's" while pointing at my chest. That doesn't mean she likes it, though. I can't pretend to understand her thought process on the matter, except maybe that Lilly's getting one on one time with me, taking me away from her? Jeremy theorizes it's the one thing Lilly gets that Kaitlyn does not, so she resents it. Anyway, I put Kate out of the room and shut the door, while she threw a minor fit on the other side. After a while, she wandered off to play and I could hear her talking in the living room.
Now it's about 12:15, so Kate and I play and clean a little while before her nap at 1:00. This is the point where our day goes downhill fast. I rocked her while she named all the parts of my face, then laid her in her crib and covered her up. She stayed down and watched me leave her room. About 30 minutes later, I hear her fussing a little bit, so I go in and tell her it's naptime, please take a nap, laid her back down, covered her up, and this time she cried a little bit. 30 minutes later, she cries again, I go in, change her diaper, lay her back down and she throws a total fit, crying hysterically. I gave her some juice while I rocked her again, then laid her down as she cried again.
At this point, doting grandparents may ask "Why does she have to take a nap?" Parents of high-energy, very intelligent toddlers would agree that a nap in the middle of the day is a requirement for this child's well-being. A tired baby is more short-tempered and clumsier than normal. Naps make the rest of the day a quality day, as opposed to... a disaster.
Usually, all that rigamarole suffices, and Kate sleeps for 90-120 minutes. But today she continued crying until I sprung her from the bars of her crib, 2 hours after we started "naptime." We ate lunch and played a little while outside before Lilly woke up from her nap. I said, "Let's go check on Lilly," and Kate gets so excited, "Illy? Illy?" and runs to our room and bangs on the door. We go inside and she runs to the bassinet where Lilly is poking her head up looking for us, and they grin at each other and Kate babbles to her, like they are the best of friends. Lilly, the eternal optimist in my opinion, has eyes only for her sister as she grins and coos at her. We play on the bed for a few minutes, but Kate again gets rough with her, I get frustrated, and we get up. I took a shower at this point and trusted they would be okay for a few minutes. I have noticed, however, that Kaitlyn usually hits Lilly and takes her toys when she can see me. When I walk into a room where they are playing, it's a sweet scene I see where they play together without the violence I sometimes see from Kate. It all seems so complicated, but we're talking about babies here.
After my shower, Jeremy gets home and Kaitlyn throws another fit because I leave for a minute. Then I take Kate to the grocery store, and I bring home the wrong child. From the moment we come inside, she is in a state of meltdown that lasts through dinner and into her bath. She went to a time-out for throwing a heavy toy at Lilly's head, she went to time-out for throwing a tantrum over crackers, she went to time-out for throwing a fit during dinner...
So, we have our plates ready to eat, and Jeremy walks into the dining room and Lilly had knocked over her carrots with her feet (sitting on the table in her Bumbo seat). Kaitlyn is crying about wanting to eat Lilly's carrots. The fish is not cooked through (my fault). Lilly throws a cup into Jeremy's plate. Jeremy throws said cup. Kate goes to time out for throwing a tantrum during dinner over Lilly's pureed carrots. Lilly is eating all the napkins. Kate comes back to the table and eats her dinner while sitting in Jeremy's lap. I lift Lilly out of her Bumbo seat and her toes catch my glass of milk, which tips over, and runs all over Jeremy's shoes. A disaster indeed.
She first woke at 5:45 (a warning for our day to come?), but I rocked her back to sleep in a couple minutes. Then we started the day at our usual 9am. It wasn't a bad start, both girls finished breakfast by 10am. Then I dressed the girls, nursed Lilly, and we bundled up for a walk around the block in today's cool morning temps. We played fetch with Casey the dog up the street, picked up rocks, and sat on the curb while Lilly watched from her stroller seat. When we got home, I picked up around the house while the girls played. Around this time, Kate got a little bit physical with Lilly, hitting her, and taking whatever toy she played with away from her. Lilly fussed, but it was time for her nap anyway.
I took her in our room to nurse her, and let Kaitlyn on the bed, too. It doesn't usually work, but I decided to give her a chance today. Immediately, she pushed Lilly off of me, pulled her hair and started hitting her on the top of her head. Kate knows Lilly nurses, but I'm sure she does not know why. No chance for understanding there, though I've explained "lilly's eating" a thousand times to her. She'll even pull up my shirt and say "Lilly's" while pointing at my chest. That doesn't mean she likes it, though. I can't pretend to understand her thought process on the matter, except maybe that Lilly's getting one on one time with me, taking me away from her? Jeremy theorizes it's the one thing Lilly gets that Kaitlyn does not, so she resents it. Anyway, I put Kate out of the room and shut the door, while she threw a minor fit on the other side. After a while, she wandered off to play and I could hear her talking in the living room.
Now it's about 12:15, so Kate and I play and clean a little while before her nap at 1:00. This is the point where our day goes downhill fast. I rocked her while she named all the parts of my face, then laid her in her crib and covered her up. She stayed down and watched me leave her room. About 30 minutes later, I hear her fussing a little bit, so I go in and tell her it's naptime, please take a nap, laid her back down, covered her up, and this time she cried a little bit. 30 minutes later, she cries again, I go in, change her diaper, lay her back down and she throws a total fit, crying hysterically. I gave her some juice while I rocked her again, then laid her down as she cried again.
At this point, doting grandparents may ask "Why does she have to take a nap?" Parents of high-energy, very intelligent toddlers would agree that a nap in the middle of the day is a requirement for this child's well-being. A tired baby is more short-tempered and clumsier than normal. Naps make the rest of the day a quality day, as opposed to... a disaster.
Usually, all that rigamarole suffices, and Kate sleeps for 90-120 minutes. But today she continued crying until I sprung her from the bars of her crib, 2 hours after we started "naptime." We ate lunch and played a little while outside before Lilly woke up from her nap. I said, "Let's go check on Lilly," and Kate gets so excited, "Illy? Illy?" and runs to our room and bangs on the door. We go inside and she runs to the bassinet where Lilly is poking her head up looking for us, and they grin at each other and Kate babbles to her, like they are the best of friends. Lilly, the eternal optimist in my opinion, has eyes only for her sister as she grins and coos at her. We play on the bed for a few minutes, but Kate again gets rough with her, I get frustrated, and we get up. I took a shower at this point and trusted they would be okay for a few minutes. I have noticed, however, that Kaitlyn usually hits Lilly and takes her toys when she can see me. When I walk into a room where they are playing, it's a sweet scene I see where they play together without the violence I sometimes see from Kate. It all seems so complicated, but we're talking about babies here.
After my shower, Jeremy gets home and Kaitlyn throws another fit because I leave for a minute. Then I take Kate to the grocery store, and I bring home the wrong child. From the moment we come inside, she is in a state of meltdown that lasts through dinner and into her bath. She went to a time-out for throwing a heavy toy at Lilly's head, she went to time-out for throwing a tantrum over crackers, she went to time-out for throwing a fit during dinner...
So, we have our plates ready to eat, and Jeremy walks into the dining room and Lilly had knocked over her carrots with her feet (sitting on the table in her Bumbo seat). Kaitlyn is crying about wanting to eat Lilly's carrots. The fish is not cooked through (my fault). Lilly throws a cup into Jeremy's plate. Jeremy throws said cup. Kate goes to time out for throwing a tantrum during dinner over Lilly's pureed carrots. Lilly is eating all the napkins. Kate comes back to the table and eats her dinner while sitting in Jeremy's lap. I lift Lilly out of her Bumbo seat and her toes catch my glass of milk, which tips over, and runs all over Jeremy's shoes. A disaster indeed.
1 comment:
Boy, do you ever have your hands full! I laugh as I read the blog and want to cry, too, as I know how frustrating it can be to have things go wrong and messes made.
I still think you are the BEST!!
Keep it up as you have two wonderful babies!
Gigi
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