Kaitlyn: "Mom, I don't need a sister. I just need a kitty."
Quite a change from last week when I was explaining to Kaitlyn that I have 3 sisters which she thought was pretty neat and said: "I need another sister Mom! When can I have another sister?"
The reason for the quick depreciation in posting? I have excuses. I have reasons. But mostly, it's just real life.
First, meal planning Mondays. It hasn't happened in a few weeks but I did make a point of it this week because I miss it. I miss being organized when Ryan walks in the door and not having to pack up Meagan (she's a real Mommy's girl and it's just easier to take her with than hear she cried the entire time I was gone) and head to the grocery store. But I did have a change of heart this morning, which still backfired on me.
I made my meal plan, I made my grocery list, and then last night had another lousy night of sleep. I'm starting to refuse certain feeds at night if it's been less than 3 hours between feeds, but Meagan still wakes up and I have to get up and put her soother back in. I no longer know what deep sleep is like. I nap all night but at least I'm getting some sleep.
So after a doctor's appointment this morning and dropping Kaitlyn off at school, I decided to visit my parents for lunch. Backfire. Mom was out and Dad was with a client. With a sigh and a shrug, I headed out the door and realized I still had my detailed grocery list in my purse. So I headed to Superstore and it really wasn't that bad. It wasn't too busy and I managed to motor through the store rather quickly with a sleeping baby. And now I have a fridge and cupboard full of groceries which I'm happy about.
And weight loss? I'm stalled. Probably due to lack of energy due to lack of sleep but at least I'm not gaining. I've cheated here and there with snack foods and easy meals but this week we are back on track. Snacking at night is still a weakness for me and celery and ranch dip were no longer appealing to me. So I found a couple new recipes for dips and blended them up for snacking tonight. After I bake some whole grain tortilla chips, I should be good to go and at least not feel too guilty while doing it.
Anyway, real life is calling in the form of a crying 4 month old...
The crib is set up! She was the same size as her bassinet and is 4 months old - it was past due. We decided to put the crib in the dining room for now until Meagan eliminates her night waking and then once she's sleeping well, the girls will be sharing a room. Kaitlyn was quite disappointed that we set up the crib in the dining room and not her room, but we told her to patient and pretty soon they will share a room. What I love most about the crib so far? If we lay Meagan down when she's cranky, turn on the aquarium, she will put herself to sleep quickly. Ahhh. I love it.
Meagan has been super cranky since her shots. Not sure if she's actually coming down with something, going through a growth spurt, or if it's still from the shots, but she's been a real challenge to deal with this week. Last night the poor thing woke up around midnight and just cried and cried. She wouldn't nurse or take a bottle, didn't want to be cuddled or held or put down or put in the swing - nothing would make this child stop crying. We finally gave her Tylenol and a dose of gripe water and she eventually sobbed herself to sleep. It was such an accomplishment, I had to take a picture of her to prove she did finally get to sleep.
Today was Kaitlyn's fieldtrip to the Firehall! She was pretty uncooperative at the beginning (she does not like going places first thing in the morning) but eventually warmed up and wanted lots of pictures in the big firetrucks. I'm so thankful I'm able to go to these things with her and will definitely make it a priority to continue accompanying her on as many fieldtrips as I can when I return to work.
I sometimes have to sit back and remind myself of certain things. Today was one of those days.
First, babies will be cranky and need extra cuddles after shots. It is better to enjoy those cuddles than be annoyed by the neediness. I enjoyed lots of cuddles today.
Second, Tuesdays are a bit nuts and Kaitlyn does not like to cooperate on crazy days. Whenever I have a ton of things to do, I can bet Kaitlyn won't want to cooperate with any of it. It is better to take a deep breath, come down to her level, and remind her that good things happen when you're good, bad things happen when you don't listen (we use timeouts which work great).
Which brings me to third, Kaitlyn is only 3. I cannot expect when she tries something new to just give it to her and she will figure it out on her own. She wants me to show her and walk her through it. Case in point - new set of play-doh tools. The mess in my kitchen had to wait. It eventually did get done, but after an hour of playing play-doh with my eldest first.
And fourth, it is important to keep myself sane. Tuesdays are my designated shopping days while Kaitlyn is at school. By the time Kaitlyn was in preschool today, I was feeling worn out and useless. Meagan was sleeping and instead of the usual turn into Superstore today, I continued on and walked in the mall for 2 hours. It was nice. It was calming. I had a healthy lunch in the foodcourt while my baby slept, and browsed at things I usually don't have time for when I have a busy 3-year-old in tow.
And the grocery shopping? No, it didn't get done today. It will get done. Eventually. In the meantime, at least my girls have a sane mother.
Meagan had her 4 month shots today and did fabulous. In total, she cried for about 30 seconds and then was back to her happy self for a while. She got a little crabby when we arrived home so I gave her a dose of Tempra and she's sleeping soundly now.
She's 14 lb, 5 oz now which puts her at about 75 percentile. She is also 27 inches long which puts her around 95 percentile. Not sure where she gets that from since Ryan and I are both short! All in all, she is happy and healthy which is what counts :)
At his boss's urging, Ryan took a 3 day weekend this week to spend some time with his girls and to work on the yard. He usually works 6 days a week, so this was quite welcome. Friday we spent the day at the zoo, enjoyed a birthday celebration at my sister's in the evening, and just spent time being a family. Saturday, Ryan and Kaitlyn worked outdoors the entire day, taking down cedars and making multiple trips to the green dump. The yard is still not done, but hopefully one more day will do it. Slowly our yard is getting bigger and we're hoping to get some good use out of it this summer.
Here are some pictures from our trip to the zoo. There are no pictures of Meagan because she slept almost the entire time.
A little hesitant of the scary animals:
The giraffes:
Her favourite - the lemurs:
Picking flowers for me:
Enjoying her Happy Meal after the zoo:
Well, my baby is 4 months old already today. Time is definitely flying by and we enjoy each and every day. No, not every moment, but most days are pretty good around here.
At 4 months Meagan:
- can roll from tummy to back
- can almost roll from back to tummy
- will smile at anyone, anytime
- is starting to giggle but it has to be really funny :)
- has a few gas issues that have come up the last few weeks but nothing gripe water can't seem to fix so far
- can sleep a 9 hour stretch but that doesn't mean it happens every night
- will only nurse and will not take a bottle
- has a cute little mohawk
- loves her sister
- loves her soother and cannot go anywhere without it (not looking forward to getting her off that in the future)
- will not sleep with anything on her feet which means no footed pjs and no socks at naptimes
- loves her stroller and going out and seeing new things
- is overall a wonderful baby and we are very blessed :)
*Note: We are having her weighed and measured on Monday at her 4 month shots so those stats will come on Monday
I've backed off from blogging this week for a few reasons. Not much new to report, I never did meal plan, and although I still want to lose a few more pounds and get rid of some flab, I'm not going to obsess about it since I'm content with how my clothes are fitting and how I look in the mirror.
Kaitlyn finished her swimming lessons and passed Preschool 1! She is definitely not ready for Preschool 2 yet but we're hoping by summertime she will be. On the last class, the teacher even took the kids off the diving board. The boy in the class jumped with no fear, Kaitlyn would not let go of the teacher's hand and was petrified so he held her in his arms and jumped in with her. I was surprised she even went for that! Now she keeps begging for dancing lessons but we'll see... I'm just not sure I see the value in it. Swimming lessons is one thing because she's learning a lifeskill but dancing? Again, we'll see. I might do some phoning around this week and just see if there's a class that's not too costly and not too great a commitment.
Anyway, it's time to take Kaitlyn to preschool so I'll quickly post this and hopefully be back later this week with another post.
I love this first picture because you can see the instructor is really having fun with the kids. Boy, she is going to miss swimming lessons.
Ready, set:
Jump!
Yes, yes, I still haven't done my menu planning. Quite honestly, I'm not sure it will get done today. I usually do my shopping on Tuesdays when Kaitlyn is at preschool but there is no preschool this week because of spring break. Does this mean I take both kids shopping (= disaster!!) or do it in the evening? It will have to get done at some point, but I'm not going to stress over it right now.
Here are a couple more pictures I took at the park last week.
The extent Kaitlyn will use the big kid swing:
First tried Meagan in the infant carrier and she HATED it:
So we went home and got the stroller which she LOVED!:
We managed to get out and enjoy some of the sunshine yesterday at the park near our house. Kaitlyn is still very cautious and does not like the idea of using the big kids' swing so she insists on using the baby swing still. So if the picture looks familiar, that's because it is :)
Age 1:
Last year (facing the opposite direction):
And yesterday:
Down one more pound! Yesterday I was doing laundry and my favourite jeans were in the wash. I put on another pair that was in my drawer and didn't realize it until I zipped them up that they were my tiny jeans that never really fit me, size 6. And they fit! And I wore them all day :) I think I have a new favourite pair.
So the fish dish that was scaring me was really finicky and too much work for the taste. It turned out rather bland, but was very healthy. I knew Ryan wouldn't eat the leftovers the way they were, so I ended up using the leftovers and made it into a soup which we had for dinner last night - which was really good! Funny how those things happen.
Here is this week's meal plan:
Monday: Fillets parmesan
Tuesday: Leftover veggie lasagne from freezer
Wednesday: Best Chicken Dish, rice (new recipe)
Thursday: Beef Barley Soup (different one than last time, this one using leftover roast beef from the freezer)
Friday: Tomato sherry chicken, tangy roasted veggies (yes, we liked it so much we're having it again!)
Saturday: Pizza deluxe (new recipe - can you believe I have never made pizza from scratch?!)
Sunday: Out for dinner (it's either Sat or Sun we're going out to visit so whichever night it isn't, we'll have the pizza)
Monday: Easy Beef Teriyaki (another new recipe)
