Big Changes Ahead

A few weeks ago, everyone in my office was summoned into the main conference room for a quick meeting.  As we all settled in our seats, looks of nervousness could be seen.  Was our office closing?  Were we about to receive bad news?

I sat there trying to crunch numbers in my head.  Could we make it work if I had to be a SAHM?

Thankfully, the announcement was to tell us that our office is relocating.  Phew!
Closer to my house.  Double Phew!

The bad news is that I'll have to switch the kids' daycare. 

I chose their current daycare for several reasons. 

• First, my niece and a co-worker's daughter go there so I knew it was reputable and the teachers were good. 
• Second, they offer a 20% sibling discount.  We knew the cost of daycare would be big so every dollar off is a help!
• And, lastly it's close to my office.  I work about 25 miles from home and I decided it was more important for the kids to be close to me if something happened.

I knew we'd have to move the kids eventually because their current daycare isn't in the same county that we live in.  Even though kindergarten is still several years away, I want them to transition and be comfortable in the daycare close to the elementary school.  My plan was to move them next year.

And, with the beginning of potty training, the 35-40 minute commute home (in traffic) isn't very conducive to success. 

My office will be moving approximately 10 miles closer to my house.  I would have to pass my office to drop off/pick up the kids, which isn't very convenient.

So, we're searching for a new daycare and my plan is to move the kids for the fall semester in September.  I'm surprisingly torn about the whole thing.  The twins love their teachers and they've made friends.  I love their teachers and all of the kids know me too.

And, the thought of making the kids go through the transition of a new school breaks my heart. 

But, the move has some pros too.  It means Daddy can drop off the kids in the mornings.  Which means Mommy can ride to and from work with some much needed peace & quiet.

You don't know insanity until you are sitting in traffic for 40 minutes with 2 toddlers having a temper tantrum. 

Oh. My. God.

It will also save me some significant money in gas. 

And, the best part?  It appears the 20% discount wasn't really that much of a discount after all.  I've spoken with 3 different (and reputable) daycares near our house and all of them are cheaper than what we're paying now.  

We were able to tour one of them during an Open House this past Saturday and I was really impressed.  It is a national chain but known as a more "upscale" school.  I won't drop names because honestly, I'm not interested in hearing "I know someone who" stories.  I'm quite capable of making a decision on my own, thank you.   :)

When we arrived, one of the teachers greeted us at the door and began to chat with the twins.  She knelt down and asked for a hug and both kids went to her without hesitation.  A good sign!

She walked us from room to room and explained each room's curriculum and schedule.  The twins had a blast playing with all of the new toys and looking around.  They were very comfortable.  Another good sign.

While I am happy with their current daycare, seeing this school made me realize some flaws it has.  The new daycare seemed more like a school.  Each room looked and felt like a classroom.  They also provide much more communication to the parents with boards posted inside and outside the classroom as well as weekly folders with typed letters detailing the child's progress for the week and month.  I like that because I truly believe learning needs to continue at home.  I want to be able to emphasize and review the same material with them at home to continue to build on their learning.  When we walked out,  DH and I agreed that we really liked it.

There is another daycare located within walking distance to our house and literally right across the street from the twins' future elementary school.  I want to tour that facility as well before making any decisions.

And, in case anyone is wondering about the current sleep re-training we have going on with Chris -  last night was awesome!  He went right to bed and didn't get out of bed once!  YES!

Better

Friday night, I was determined to get a good night's sleep so we did a little sleep training again.  If you've followed my blog for awhile, you might remember that we had to do it with Christopher before.  http://conceptiondeception.blogspot.com/2010/07/zzzzzzzzzz.html

I had suspicions that he was having separation anxiety again and I think I was right.  We followed our normal routine except I didn't turn on the lullaby music like I normally do.  I have a playlist loaded on an iPod that plays for about an hour.  It's really nice and soothing and the sole reason that I fall asleep in that darn rocking chair when I do stay in their room!

Anyway, I found a website that said if kids are used to falling asleep to music, they might not be able to go back to sleep without it.  As I was tucking Chris in bed, he said, "Mommy chair"?  I told him no, gave him a kiss goodnight and left the room.  He immediately went into hysterics.

It was almost like he knew what we were doing.  Daddy and I sat in our bedroom watching the monitor and sure enough, within 1 minute, he was at the gate crying.

We waited 2 minutes and then Daddy went in, took him back to bed by holding his hand, placed the blanket on him and left the room.  No speaking.  

Christopher layed in bed crying for about 5 minutes and then came back to the door again.  I waited  5 minutes and then I went in the room and did the same thing as Daddy.  More crying.

We had to do that 4 times but, he fell asleep on his own within 30 minutes.

AND, he slept until 7:30 am!

Last night went a little better.  He only got out of bed once.  He did wake up this morning at 5:00 am but I'm pretty sure it's because he was cold.  I had their window cracked and at some point, he felt the need to take off his PJ pants.  Typical guy.

We'll continue the re-training this week and hopefully we can get back on track.  I did speak with his daycare teacher and she said it's not uncommon for kids to have sleep disturbances and separation anxiety when they are going through a development phase (i.e. potty training).

NEED ADVICE - Getting No Sleep

OK, I need some advice.  I just had my 4th night of 5 or less hours of sleep.  Christopher has started waking up and I can't figure out the trigger.  There haven't been any significant changes to our routine.

6:00                             Dinner
6:30-6:45                     Bath
7:00 - 7:30                   They get to watch a video and/or we read
7:30-8:00                     Bedtime

Things started last month with Christopher where he would wake up around midnight.  We have a baby gate in their doorway since they transitioned to toddler beds last fall.  He'll come to the gate and call for me.  I get up because I'm always afraid something is wrong like a fever or he's sick.  Sometimes, I can sit in the rocker with him and he'll go right back to sleep.  Other times, he insists on going downstairs.  At a minimum, I'm usually up for at least an hour with him.   Sometimes Daddy and I will take turns with who gets up but typically, if Chris calls for me and Daddy shows up, he's starts crying for me anyway and then it turns into a full blown tantrum that will wake up Kendall.

When we put the kids to bed, Daddy and I both take them up.  Daddy does hugs/kisses and leaves and then I stay to get them settled.  We still have issues with both of them getting out of bed so I started sitting in the rocking chair until they started settling down and got drowsy.  When Chris started waking up last month, my theory was that he was waking up and not seeing me in the rocking chair and called for me to make sure I was still "there".  I started leaving the room and if either of them got out of bed, I would just walk in, put them back in bed and leave. 

And then he stopped waking up so I thought I had it figured out.  Now, here we are again. 

My only other theory is that he's well on his way to being potty trained.  He stays dry at daycare all day.  Maybe he's waking up because he's peeing in his diaper at night?  Although, when he wakes up, he doesn't mention the diaper or pee pee.

I know that going to him every time he wakes up is only perpetuating the cycle.  He still shares a room with his sister and that's part of my dilemma.  It's a fine line between letting him cry and/or put himself back to sleep and not waking her up.  Thankfully she's a pretty heavy sleeper but having one kid awake is always better than two.

We do have an office that could easily be transitioned into a room for him but I don't know if that's the answer.  If he's waking up because of separation anxiety or something else, being in his own room won't matter.  Plus, he and Kendall have really gotten attached and Christopher is definitely the "clingier" one.  I don't know if he would do well in a dark room by himself right now.

Last night, he woke up at 12:11 am and said he wanted to go downstairs.  I told him "no" and took him back to bed and left the room.  He immediately got back out of bed and came to the gate.  I went back in and sat with him in the rocking chair and he seemed like he was trying to go back to sleep but couldn't get comfortable.  I kept asking if he was ready to get back in bed.  After 30 minutes, I tucked him in and said "Mommy needs to go night night and so does Christopher.  It's time to go to sleep".   He would toss and turn in bed for a few minutes and then come right back to the gate.  At one point, he asked for some juice.  Finally, at 1:30 am, I woke up Daddy.  DH put him back in bed around 2:00 am and then Chris was back up at 3:00.  DH sat in the chair with him and got him back to sleep in about 20 minutes and Chris slept until 7:15 am. 

That's pretty typical for what happens when he wakes up.  It's a lot of back and forth, up and down.

I definitely don't think it's teething.  He is getting over a cold but I haven't heard him coughing at night and he hasn't complained about his ears hurting. 

So, what's your opinion?  What do you think it is?  And, more importantly.... how we stop it?

Wordless Wednesday - Giggles

(I know, 2 posts in 2 days.  Don't faint!) 

Updates

I just realized that it's been almost 2 weeks since I last posted.  What the heck have I been doing?

Eh, you guys don't care about me.  So, I thought I'd give some updates on the kiddos. 

I can't believe they will be 2 1/2 years old in a few weeks. 

Kendall

• She has become a very, very independent little girl.  She insists on putting on and taking off her own clothes.  If I try to help, she says, "NO!  I do it!  ME"!  While I am happy that she wants to do things on her own and I know it's an important developmental milestone, I sometimes wonder if she's a little too independent.
• She has been sitting on the potty for about a month now but we still don't have any "action".  I recently purchased "big kid" underwear for both of them and she wants to wear them but we have to put them on over her diaper.  Oh well.  In due time, I guess.
• She absolutely loves art and doing crafts.  I think she takes after me.  :)
• She is speaking very clearly and surprises me with new words every day.   She still loves for me to draw letters and numbers so she can practice them.   Her verbal skills are still ahead of Christopher but our pediatrician assured me it's normal for boys/girls.

Christopher

• The boy is obsessed with balls.  Footballs, mostly.  But, any ball in general.  I am really hoping to parlait that into some sort of college scholarship.  Ha!
• He is my snuggle bear.  He loves hugs and kisses.  When the "I Love You" Barney song comes on, he acts out the words with me.
• He is on his way with potty training.  I'm still surprised that he has mastered it before Kendall.  He wore underwear at school for the first time yesterday and only had 1 accident. 
• An acquaintance gave us some hand-me-down clothes from her boys and it included a pair of fireman rain boots.  Christopher insists on wearing them ALL OF THE TIME.  It got so bad that I had to hide them for a few days.  It wouldn't be so bad except they are too big so he keeps walking out of them or practically turning his ankle. 

I LOVE these kids!  <3

The Grossest Thing. Ever.

My husband has started studying for his CPA exam and has class every Monday and Wednesday night.  So, I was on "solo mom" patrol last night.

We all ate dinner and proceeded to get ready for bath time.  Christopher and I went up the steps at the same time.  Kendall is my "dawdler" and took a few more minutes.

I turned on the water and poured in some bubble bath.  Christopher climbed in and I stepped into the doorway to watch for Kendall.

She arrived seconds later and got in the tub.

The kids were playing - filling up empty shampoo bottles and dumping them out.  I was sitting beside the tub watching.

Then, the bubbles parted.  And, the water looked like it had a "yellowish" tint to it.  I thought to myself, "My gosh.  Is the tub really that dirty"?

And, then I saw something floating. 

Oh yes, ladies and gentlemen!  We had a FLOATER.

What ensued next can only be compared to the beach scene from Jaws. 

I yelled (literally), "Everyone out of the tub"!  I'm sure the look of horror on my face was priceless.
I was grasping each kid and pulling them out of the tub, trying to avoid any contact with....

THE POOP. 

I drained the tub, which took forever by the way, with each kid standing beside me. Shivering.

And then the water stopped draining. 

THE POOP was resisting.  Holding on for dear life in the drain. 

Oh, yes.  I had to grab some toilet paper and pry it out.  Muttering the entire time, "This is so gross.  This is so gross".

Christopher added his sympathy, "Is gross, Mommy".

Yes. Thanks son.

The water started draining again and I cleaned the hell outta that tub.  Started the water again.  Poured in more bubbles and Bath #2 started.

I love being a mother.  But, c'mon!