A few days ago, Jaelyn was walking around my sister's house looking for me. Sometimes I'm sitting on curled up on the arm chair and she'd walk right past the living room without seeing me. She was calling out, "Mommy." then out of nowhere she said, "Mommy, where are you?" My sister was near her and I asked, "Did you hear her? What did she say?" and she said, "I think she said 'where are you'." And then right after that Jaelyn said, "Where Mommy?".
I couldn't believe it! She hasn't said either phrase since, but it was clear as a bell and my sister wasn't the only one besides me to hear her. Well, even if she doesn't say it again for a while, that says a lot about how much she understands and what she can say in her head that hasn't come out of her mouth yet. I aleady knew she understood a lot, but it's nice to get a little confirmation!
Ha! Well, to update on the last entry, I have to say that Jaelyn got increasingly worse as the day and evening progressed. Even while on Tylenol or with the teething gel she was miserable. She rarely ate and just drank all day and didn't want anything in her mouth. I tried a wet washcloth, a hard cold carrot, an ice pack - nothing was working. She screamed all day, she was not a popular child around here. I just didn't know what to do anymore. While here I've been sleeping with my mom on her bed with Jaelyn. Leila is sleeping on the floor beside us. That evening I made an executive decision and took Jaelyn down to the living room to sleep. I just had a feeling she was going to wake up screaming throughout the night and since the bedrooms are all upstairs, I didn't want to wake everyone.
I was right. At about 2:30am, Jaelyn burst out screaming in her sleep. It didn't even start out gradually, she just snapped out of unconsciousness and screeched at the top of her lungs. I jumped up with ehr in my arms and tried to calm her down and paced the living room. I was rattled, I just didn't know how to help her. She was arching her back and shoving her hands in her mouth. I finally just laid her on the floorr and sat over her trying to calm her, I was afraid she'd wake everyone up. I jumped up to the kitchen and felt for the teething gel in the dark, ran back to her and took advantage of her wide open mouth to rub some of the gel on her gums. My hands were shaking. I picked her up again and after a few seconds she settled down. I rocked her for a little bit, and then I laid down with her and she fell asleep. I stood awake for about an hour. I prayed hard for her. I wanted her pain to end. I've just never heard of a child go through this much pain over teething. It was almost manic. My heart was racing and then I started crying because I was tired, stressed and I felt so sorry for Jaelyn. I felt like people must think she is such a brat and she's just having a rough week. Plus, she's naturally clingy, I don't think I've spoiled her that much. I don't feel like I've treated her much differently than Leila, except that I nursed her longer and stopped working by the time she was 10 months. But, she was already clingy before that, so I really don't think I did this. *sigh*
Anyway, the crazy thing is, it's over! Or seems to be. The very next day, she was another person. She made up for not eating by pigging out all day. She was happy and even kept herself busy at different times throughout the day. I think the worst is over, because those bottom two molars have finally cut the gum! That's probably what they were doing all that day making her crazy. Oh, and my monthly visitor arrived last night so I was right about PMS-ing!
So, we're all fine now. Leila's still keeping busy with her cousins. she's having fun and actually doesn't want to come home. Jaelyn has learned how to go up and down stairs on her own, so we're not freaking out so much about her falling. My sister babysits an 18 month old little girl and she and Jaelyn are so cute together. They love each other! Jaelyn is a little bit taller than her and she is a little but chunkier than Jaelyn. She has a ton more hair than my little peanut. It stinks that my kid looks so much like a little boy, I'm dying for her hair to grow already.
Well, I guess that's alll for now. Oh! I better update Jaelyns tooth chart, she has about 5 more teeth now!
***EDIT --- I just wanted to throw in, that Jaelyn is officially weaned! It's been more than a week, probably two weeks since her last drink! Woot-woot!!!***
Jaelyn's driving me crazy. Her molars are finally cutting, the two top molars have already cut and are only halfway out, but the bottom ones are beginning to push through and she is so miserable. She's getting high fevers at night, I worry thinking it can't be the teeth, but she has no other symptoms. She screams ALL day, even though we are here in Michigan with family. I'm thankful that Daniel suggested I visit family, because if she behaved like this while I was home alone with them, I don't know how I would have escaped. At least here Leila is busy playing with her cousin and is preoccupied with everything and everyone else and doesn't really need me. Everyone is happy to get her food and drinks and take her to the potty, so it's not like I have both of them on top of me wanting this and that. But man, with Jaelyn like this I think it's like handling three kids in one right now! And it's not so much the clinginess, it's how she screeches, she actually makes me nervous! Her screams are the kind the get under your skin.
*sigh* - Anyway, this is what I wanted right? I wanted to be a SAHM and enjoy all the blessings that come with it. That's what Daniel tells me everytime I vent to him. Right now Jaelyn is walking around saying "Mommy, mommy, mommy..." over and over again. You'd think that's the only word she knows!
I can't even say I need a break, because that is why I'm here. I went through a rough patch last month where I couldn't handle the kids and was screaming all day and then Daniel would come home and I was arguing with him and crying all night. I can honestly say I was completely irrational. I just could not control my emotions. I felt crazy. I was also tired all the time and found myself falling asleep on the couch while the girls were awake. Turns out, I was majorly PMS-ing, but I have never felt that way before. I think I may have some kind of hormonal imbalance, so I told Daniel I really need to see a doctor and we are working on that. As soon as my period was gone I was back in control, Daniel thought it was a passing thing and maybe I didn't need a doctor anymore. I kept reminding him, "What if it happens again next month?" - and so that's why we are looking into doctors. At first, I thought I was going to need a shrink, but since it seems to only happen around my period, it must be hormonal.
Anyway, Daniel thought it would be a nice break for me and the girls to come and visit my family here in Michigan. My sister is always happy to have us at a moment's notice, so she said to come on over. Daniel drove us up last week, spent one night and left the next morning bevcause he has to work. He's coming back next week to pick us up and will spend one more night before we leave. Just in time too, because my period is due very soon and even while I'm here I'm feeling short-tempered but thankfully I can keep my emotions in check because I'm not about to blow up in front of everyone - although I know they can see the stress on my face and can understand why I need a break when they hear Miss Jaelyn blow her top.
Wow, this turned into a vent. Well, I'm gonna go help my big sis with dinner now. Hope everyone has a nice weekend!
We're in Michigan visiting my sister's family and my mom, we're here till the end of the month. I wanted to add this update before I forget about. I was putting on an on demand cartoon for Leila, she wanted to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. So I'm looking down the list of episodes and she's shouting out, "I want that one, no, that one!". I ignore her because I'm like, please, how can she know the difference. So I choose one called, "Minnie Mouse's Picnic" and she shouts out, "No! I don't want Mickey Mouse Picnic!"
Took me completely by surprise. As far as I know, she has not watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on my sister's TV yet. Or maybe she did, I don't know. I know I didn't read it outloud and neither did anyone else in the room. Even if she did see it when I was around, how did she know that particular one on the list was the picnic episode? I know she does have photographic memory, so it's possible if she watched it before that she memorized where on the list it was and what the words looked like. One way or another, she read it, either as a picture or words! Somebody's holding out on her Mommy!
I just thought I'd give a little update on the girls and what they are learning these days.
There is a really good sale at the children's store down the street from me, they even had some deals on educational children's books. So I bought Leila a wipe-off alphabet practice book and Jaelyn a baby animal book. They both loved their little gifts. Leila is really good at tracing letters. She's getting better at writing them freehand. She can write an "H" really well, so I told her that our last name starts with "H". She never wants to practice writing her name, however. I tried showing her her initials and she didn't want to try them either, even though she can write "L" and "C" just fine. So then I showed her my initials and she was more than happy to try the "M" and "H". She added a few too many zig-zags to her "M", but I erased the excess and showed her that she did start out with a perfect "M" and that sometimes counting the lines helps, like counting to 4 as she wrote the letter "M" would help her remember where to stop. Daniel told me that the other day when he was sitting with her at bedtime, she came out of nowhere and said, "You know, Daddy, I'm 3, and my name is L-E-I-L-A." If that's true then it's the first time she has spelled her name correctly! She was stuck on spelling it L-E-L-L-A and I had to keep reminding her that it's I not L. This kid amazes me though, because she is understanding so well the use of words and their meanings. Like last night she was asking for warm chocolate milk (she calls it hot cocoa) and I told her that it was time to start drinking water because she was going to bed soon (I'm trying to get them to drink more water as opposed to milk and juice). She tried one more time and when I didn't give in she said, "Fine! Give me some water then." Now, we didn't like her tone, so Daniel and I were telling her not to speak to me that way. She felt the need to explain to me that, "Fine means to forget it", in those exact words! I had to stifle my laugh and continue to remind her that she needs to ask politely. Also, last night while I was reading to her from a Seuss book, she pointed to one of the characters to ask what "that creature" was doing. I've never heard her use the word "creature" before. And she did hesitate, because the Seuss characters really are creatures that don't exist in real life, so it amazed me that since she didn't know what it was, she didn't use the word "thing" to describe it instead.
As I've mentioned a few posts before, Jaelyn is at the animal loving stage. So I was sitting with her and looking at her new animal book. I'm trying to get her to talk more, so instead of telling her what each animal was, I would point to it and say, "what's that?". It didn't work because she wouldn't say it, even though they were animals like cat and dog which she is very familiar with (and she knows how to say both "cat" and "doggie". But, she did remember the sounds they made. What she did learn from that is to ask, "what's that?", so she is now pointing to different things and saying "dat". Not a bad thing actually, because she now knows how to ask about the world around her and I can teach her new words that way, even if she is not ready to speak them yet. I keep forgetting to mention that she can now use Leila's old shape sorter. You know that little bucket with the lid that has holes in different shapes and you have to fit the right shaped blocks in? Well, she does great with the circles, which I have heard is usually the first one they figure out (and that was also true for Leila). She gets a little frustrated with the square and triangle, but when I point to the right hole she is able to get them in by herself. Sometimes she does get frustrated, but I just love watching her figure it out and the satisfaction on her face when she finally gets one in. It's adorable when she gets so happy that she applauds herself.
Well, that's all for now. Oh, we will be away for a couple of weeks visiting my mom and sister in Michigan and we're leaving this weekend. It was kind of a last minute trip. Daniel is driving us over and spending one night to rest and then coming back because he has to work. Then he'll pick us up 2 weeks later. So, I'm sure I'll have some updates and plenty of pics. They're always having weddings or something out there because my sister married into a huge Arabic family (and they all live in that same area), so we'll be attending TWO weddings in that short time frame!
Well, we've been doing pretty well without nursing. The engorgement isn't that bad, it's getting better everyday and I'm not really doing anything. I maybe pumped some out the first couple of days but have been fine without doing anything since Saturday. Jaelyn's still sleeping through the night and she is understanding that there's no more leche, even though she still tries sometimes. She is more accepting when I tell her no, rather than screaming she settles for a cuddle. Sometimes she is just thirsty so I will offer her a drink from her sippy instead. Sometimes it's also hunger, so I'll have to get a snack or make sure it's not time for her next meal.
Well, she fell off the wagon briefly this morning, actually a few minutes ago, which is why I was reminded to post an update. It's actually pretty funny. I'm sitting here at Daniel's laptop (mine is being repaired by HP, long boring story) replying to a friend and I was really into the email. Suddenly the laptop shut off because Jaelyn was hanging from my lap and accidentally unplugged it. That is when I realized she had been nursing for at least 5 minutes! I am so used to her just coming up to me and helping herself that I didn't even realize she was doing it. The whole weaning thing just completely slipped my mind because I was so distracted. The little stinker snuck up on me! LOL, well I jumped up after that and said, "Hey! You're not supposed to be nursing! No leche!" She just looked at me with this sly grin, LOL. Sneaky little thing. From now on, no more going braless even in my jammies!
Except for a little while ago, I think we're doing great. It's much easier than I thought. The gradual thing just wasn't working for me, my little girl loves her leche! Funny, when I think about it, I guess I do everything cold turkey with my kids. I did it to Leila with the paci and switching from bottle to sippy and nope, she was not traumatized! It has worked for us everytime and I know it's not the solution for everything in life, but I think for smaller tots and babies because they have a short-term memory, it's easier for them to accept certain things and adjust. As long as it's done with a lot of love, too. Some might thing it's cruel, but for us, it has been easier.
Well, I'm surviving, and she's surviving. From weaning, that is. Yup, I was still nursing Jaelyn! I just didn't know how to do it gradually and found myslf giving in to her, especially at bedtime and in the middle of the night when she'd come into our bed.
Well, guess what? At more than 16 months old, she is finally sleeping through the night even when Leila comes into our room in the middle of the night. Most mornings she comes in at 6am, or whenever Daniel wakes up and starts making noise (because he doesn't know the meaning of "quiet" in the morning when we're all asleep). So, I decided to just cut her off! Complete denial of the breast. No more boobie leche, zip, nilch, NADA! I think I made that final decision when the night before last I decided to try not nursing her to sleep at all and she fell asleep on her own! So, last night I did the normal bedtime routine, read them a story and all, except that I denied Jaelyn breastmilk. I just kept laying her on the pillow and telling her to go to sleep. When that didn't work, I put the gate up in their doorway and walked away and let her cry it out for a little while. I went back a couple of times and the second time she layed down on the pillow and fell asleep! So, this morning when she came in at about 7am, I simply denied her again. She gets really mad at me, but I'm sticking to my guns, no more giving in! She survived the entire day and by bedtime she was more accepting of the fact that she wasn't getting any leche from Mommy and fell asleep on my lap instead.
And now to deal with the joys of engorgement! OUCH! I had to pump after she fell asleep just to release some pressure. Man, it hurts! Well, I'm glad it's almost over. Kind of sad though that my baby is growing up, but oh to be freeeeeeeeeee!!!
Jaelyn got her first successful time out this afternoon. I say first "successful" because I've been trying a few test runs to see how she does. She was learning what they were by watching Leila get in trouble. And sometimes she would be silly and go stand in the corner for no reason and pretend to cry like Leila.
Well, lately she has been using ear-piercing screaming as a way to get what she wants. She will scream, I mean SCREAM until your ears feel like they are plugging and you want to scream back. VERY nerve wracking! Now she is doing it for any little thing, from getting my attention to asking for a drink. It has gotten out of hand, so I decided to give her a real time out today for the full minute. Well, she stood there the entire time, and when she was done, I told her "No crying, no screaming". She knows what crying means, so I wanted her to know that was why she got time out. Then I asked her if she was sorry while signing the word sorry. I swear I thought she said it, only it sounded like "ya-yee", and then she gave me a hug! Little stinker. I had to call Daniel at work to tell him, LOL.
Her molars are still trying to come in, poor thing. They are killing her, she has been so miserable. I still wish I could find Leila's old amber necklace, because I'm dying to know if it would work. I honestly can't remember Leila being in this much pain.
Anyway, I know I'm forgetting something. I'm pretty sure I had more than just the time outs and teething to update on, but I'm drawing a blank here. Have a wonderful weekend!
Wow, my baby is growing up! Leila is 3 1/2 and getting smarter everyday it seems. She's also coppin' an attitude. She is getting so demanding and snooty, I'll have to start putting my foot down harder and taking away more of the marbles she's been earning in her jar. She is almost to the top of the jar and I feel like she doesn't deserve a reward. But, I must stick to the system. I'm sure it's a phase. She can be both super sweet to us and her baby sister, and then just turn evil on us. She is horrible with sharing with Jaelyn, I've really been trying to work with her on that. But, then there are times when those two are just inseparable. Ah, the joys of sisterhood, I know it all too well! Interestingly, and of course I would notice this, she is doing awesome with coloring inside the lines in coloring books! And she is so creative with her colors. I have to wonder if she will be artistic like me. If so, I hope she doesn't waste her talent. I intend to encourage her to keep at it.
Jaelyn is now 16 months old and still my little terror and sweetie pie at the same time. She seems to be picking up so much all of a sudden. She's such a messy eater, but has gotten way better with the spoon. So, I decided to remove the tray from her booster and have her eat with us at the dinner table. She loves it, and I found that her spoon skills have improved even more. She still tosses her bowl off the table when she's done, so I'm trying to teach her to hand it to me and she has been doing that, but only if I'm around. So, even though I'm done eating, I have to sit with her until she is or the bowl goes flying. Something cute I have to share... Last night we let the girls stay up late with us to watch a family movie. After the movie, I took them to brush their teeth for bed and then Leila followed her daddy into our room and started playing with him. She likes to get all dramatic and scream really loud when they play together. I took Jaelyn to their room and put on the low lamp and snuggled on the bed with her to read her a bedtime story. After a little while, she got up and walked to the door and closed it to shut out the sound of Leila's screams and then she came back to the bed to cuddle with me. It was too cute!
Oh and Daniel put some new sticky tiles (that look like wood) down in their room. It looks pretty nice. So since I had to sort of rearrange the room when we put things back, Jaelyn rediscovered Leila's old baby blocks. I haven't taken them out since Jaelyn was smaller because they have been playing with the wooden ones lately. But these are all cubes and easier for her to handle, so I opened them up for her. She can stack up to 5 blocks now! She loves them too, they keep her busy for a while.
I guess that's all for now. There are a few more random pictures in the photo album. Enjoy!
I love how 1-year-olds go through the stage when they just love animals. I think it's so important to introduce them at a young age. But, I'm a nature-lover, so I would think that.
Leila and our cat Skittles are really close. Skittles comes when she calls and you'll always find them cuddling together. Skittles even sleeps with them instead of us at night now.
Well, Jaelyn tries to call Skittles now. She calls her, "Dah-doh", and she holds out her hand to her and clacks her tongue. That's how we call Skittles, so it's kind of cute to see her imitating us.
She loves dogs, she can now say doggie, but it sounds like "doh-dee". She gets so excited when she hears a dog barking. She can also say cat, sometimes when Skittles passes by she will point to her and say "cah", and then she tries to call her as I mentioned above.
She is trying now to make other animal sounds. Yesterday we saw birds at the park and she pointed to them, so I asked her what birds say and she said, "eeh-eeh" (tweet-tweet). That was a first. I've been trying to teach her that one for a while, but I always test her to see if she'll answer me. I guess seeing the birds for real inspired her, LOL.
And this morning there was a cow on Word World (one of their favorite TV shows). It kept mooing and Jaelyn kept repeating it. But, her moos sound more like "vvvooorr". Well, that's the best way for me to describe the sound in writing, she says it with her mouth only slightly open, almost humming, so it's more like a vibrating sound, if that makes any sense.
