We're tired

MN had a little trouble getting it together this week.

Thankfully it shaped up this weekend.

Marlo has been keeping us on our toes. Her bad sleep continued into the week. It affected all of us. Kasper wore earmuffs for dinner Monday night because "his baby was crying too much."


She just screamed all evening.


Monday night she was up a couple times crying before we put her out in the sunroom to cry it out. We didn't have to do that with Kasper but she was waking up frequently and it wasn't to eat. She cried less than 30 min but unfortunately only slept another 2 hours before waking up again. I was a zombie Tuesday. I fought staying awake on my commute and just felt exhausted and fuzzy all day. I think somehow Marlo knew I was at a breaking point because Tuesday night she only woke up once at 4 am, ate, went right back to sleep and slept until 7. It was amazing what a good night can do to a person. I really think it had to do with a developmental leap, or the 4-month wakeful or whatever you want to call it. While she wasn't sleeping, she learned to roll back to tummy AND tummy to back.

Tuesday we saw some smiles again.



I got a video of her rolling, Kasper being silly and how he is always giving his baby sister hugs.


Kasper has been staying mostly dry overnight! He got up and asked to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night a couple times. This week he focused on not going potty in his pull-up when he woke up which apparently he had been doing. Tuesday morning he woke up dry with no wake ups and waited until he got to the toilet to go. We are so proud of him. Potty training is tough and I know he's trying hard to stay dry because he wants to wear undies at night. He's also starting to dress himself which I'm surprised hasn't happened earlier. We really celebrate these leaps he's making. I was worried when Marlo came that he'd regress and want to be a baby too but if anything it makes him want to be a big boy. Good for him.

Isn't he so cute?? Man I love that kid. He's been saying "Whoopsie Daisy!" where appropriate. It cracks me up.

And it finally happened, I got caught skipping pages in books. I was hoping that wouldn't be until later. Why does he pick the longest books?? He has started to sound out words and is really interested in rhyming.

I forgot to mention it but one weird thing we learned at daycare is that sometimes Kasper hears Marlo crying down the hall and it upsets him so much he withdraws to a corner to stress out about it for 5-10 minutes. His teachers tell him she's not mad or hurt and that she's hungry or sleepy but can't say it. He is SO tuned in to her. It borders on smothering but it's so nice to know that he loves her so much. In fact, one night Kasper wanted to play instead of take a bath with Marlo. He made the choice but when she was out of the tub and he was going in he sobbed and wanted to get out to go be with her. He missed that time with her! It was so sad, actually! That night he wanted to wear pjs to be just like his baby sister. I hope Marlo knows how lucky she is with a big brother like him.

Wednesday morning we took Marlo in for her 4-month checkup. First up, her stats:

Weight: 14lb 6oz (47%)
Length: 65.4" (89%)
Head: 16" (42%)

She's following all of her curves. It was after 4 months when Kasper fell down the growth chart and almost fell off completely. She weighs less than he did at this age, but she's a girl. It'll be interesting to see. Everything looks good. She has some cradle cap on the back of her head but other than that a clean bill of health. We asked when her fussiness will lessen. Apparently the baby fussiness lasts until 12-16 weeks. At almost 19 weeks, her fussiness is just her personality. Oh boy. She's going to be just like her mother, God help her. We're going to continue the Zantac and dairy free diet another couple months since that could be contributing to her bad attitude. Also, since she's rolling, we have to get her out of the swaddle and Rock and Play.

Marlo got 2 shots which she handled like a total champ. With her 2 month shots she screamed all day. This time she cried a bit, nursed and was perfectly happy! In fact it was the happiest she had been in days.




I put her down for her first nap in her crib after the appointment, unswaddled. Success! She took a 2 hour nap and 2-45 minute naps.


She's been really in to blowing messy raspberries.


Here is a video of raspberries with a tiny taste of bedtime madness thrown in.


Marlo's sleep the rest of the week was ok. 1-2 wake ups a night and for the most part going right back to sleep. She took a nap in her crib at school Friday and slept 30 minutes. At home I swaddled her with one arm out a couple nights. She just can't settle easily with her hands free because she pulls her paci out of her mouth and doesn't know how to put it back in her mouth. It is cute seeing her little arm out.


Saturday morning Marlo out-slept all of us and woke up at 8 am! Ha! Kasper and I even had breakfast before she got up. We had swimming lessons then a bunch of errands to run. After his nap, Kasper and Rob watched a little of Follow That Bird which was a total blast from the past for Rob and me.


We went over to Steph and Tim's house to watch the Kentucky Derby and ended up missing it! Oops. It was still fun to have mint juleps and apps.

Marlo went to bed in her Pack and Play Saturday night. (Side note, why does it seem like a lot of kid gear is Blank and Play? They don't want to be pigeonholed to rocking or packing? They want to leave the option open for playing?) She went down around 8 pm and woke up when we went to bed around 10 and wouldn't go back to sleep. Sigh. She went into her Rock and Play and into the sunroom to cry it out again. This time she cried for about 8 minutes and slept another 4 hours. I don't expect her to sleep all the way through until morning - Kasper woke up about once a night until he was 1 as I remember it - I just know she doesn't need to eat every 2 hours all night long.

Rob did a bike race Sunday morning until after lunch so it was just the kids and me! I remember being terrified of the prospect a couple months ago. Now it's not so bad. We did some playing around the house in the morning, Marlo wanted to take a couple naps.

After she woke up, I decided to haul them both to Walgreens to get passport photos taken. Can you handle it??

We had to wait about 10 minutes so Kasper ended up with a new toy. Oh well, it saved me from some whining.

After Rob got home and the kids woke up (Marlo from her 3.5 hour nap in her Rock and Play) we went down to the lake to ride bikes. It was beautiful outside! Marlo did not have a nice time being worn. Neither kid has particularly enjoyed it which I'm sad about.




So many patterns!

Kasper ended up getting tired and wanted to be carried back. Rob carried Kasper, I was wearing Marlo and carrying the bike. It was time to head home for dinner.


This weekend saw Marlo become even more mobile. She ends up across the room when you turn away for 30 seconds. Or ends up totally in my plant. She's using a branch to pull herself up and on to the flowers. It made me laugh.

Also we looked over and she was pushing up on to her arms! What if she crawls soon?? I don't think I'm ready for that. She's my baaaaaaby!!


I also got a picture of Rob and Kasper's secret handshake. They hit 3 fingers font and back and say "Wood Boys". Something about having hard skulls and liking adventures in the woods. Sometimes they also say "Wood Boys, Whales, Bikes". Who knows.


Both kids were in bed and sound asleep before 7:30 tonight. They were worn out. Rob and I aren't far behind. It was a tough sleep week this week. Marlo is in her Pack and Play and I can't wait to see how the evening goes. Wish her luck!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!