This Week

Some weeks we hold steady around here and other weeks are weeks of big change. Well this is one of those weeks. For the last three mornings in a row Owen has climbed out of his crib; this morning at 6:15 he came and got in bed with me. He even went so far as to turn on the light in his room before he walked out which Kathryn just loved. Not. Since my husband isn't here, I was slightly alarmed to feel someone getting in the bed. Ha! Once I woke up enough to realize it was Owen, I thought "how sweet!" I think we're going to go ahead and make the move to toddler beds this weekend.

This is something Bruce and I have gone back and forth on for several months now. (For all the parents-to-be out there, you do not realize now just how much time you will spend thinking about sleep and poop once you become parents. But you will!) Do we do it now? After we move? Before or after we start potty training? I knew I wanted to introduce one big change at a time this year and I didn't want to move to a new house, have them in a brand new bedroom and go "okay, here's your new big kid bed!" Even before Bruce left for his trip I asked him if we should convert the cribs to beds. My line of thinking was he (he is a very light sleeper!) wouldn't be disturbed during the first week or two of transition and when he got back, they would be settled. He wasn't ready for that, but I just knew the time was approaching. Isn't it strange how mothers really can sense this stuff? Anyway, it's time to say good-bye to the cribs and, even though that makes me sad (and nervous!), I think Owen and Kathryn are ready. They are wonderful sleepers and enjoy going to bed at night...I hope they will still love to sleep 11 hours each night even if they can get up and walk around their room or out of their room. Let's keep our fingers crossed for a smooth transition!

Also happening this week, Sullivan and I have started the weaning process. We've dropped from four sessions a day to three. My plan is to drop one session a week until her birthday. But I have also considered nursing her until she's 13 months old for that added protection during the last month of cold and flu season. Bruce doesn't buy that and thinks I'm just not ready for us to quit. Well, I'll be honest - it's both. Sullivan got RSV and pneumonia at the end of March last year, so I know just because it's warmer out (especially down here) doesn't mean germs aren't flying around like crazy. Between all three little ones, we've only had two colds around here since the beginning of fall and I know breastfeeding played a big part in keeping Sullivan well. Also, once I wean her that's all there will be. No more nursing, no more babies; we will have three toddlers in our house and maybe I'm not ready for that! Ultimately I'll follow Sullivan's cues; she's becoming more and more distracted these days when she nurses and she's eating tons of table food now too. It's still easy to get her to nurse three times a day though and I think we're both happy with where we are at. Yay for making it to one year though!! Our original goal was three months!!

I guess that's it for now. I'll try to get a few pics up this weekend. We got a fabulous new camera from my parents at Christmas and I've been slacking lately on the picture taking. Until next time...