Acid Reflux Sux

Around the time that Mason was 3 weeks old, I noticed he was becoming MUCH more fussy than he had been since he was born. The kid would cry (ear piercing cries) almost all day long. He was irritable when I would feed him and he would arch his back as if he was in pain. He was spitting up quite a bit and was always congested. He wanted to be held all of the time. His sleeping habits were extremely poor too. He was up almost every 2 1/2 to 3 hours at night. I felt bad for him, but he was making me crazy. Something had to be wrong. This couldn't be his 'normal,' could it? He was the complete opposite of how Leah was when she was a baby.

We decided it was time to call the doctor. We had tried a few things at home (i.e. using gripe water, putting a humidifier in his room, changing formula, etc.) but nothing was really working. I brought him into the doctor last week and explained to her what was going on. After listening to what I had to say and examining Mason she could tell he had a pretty bad case of acid reflux and heart burn. He most likely was crying and not sleeping well because he was in pain. She prescribed him 'Zantac' and recommended having him sleep in his car seat (so he would be elevated). I was so relieved to learn there was something we could do to help him! The doctor said she wanted to see him back in a week to see how he was doing. If there was no improvement, she would look into changing his prescription to 'Prevacid' which is a bit stronger.

We went and picked up his prescription and I gave it to him right away. After the first couple of days, I didn't really notice much of a difference and I was pretty disappointed. However by day 4, Mason was a brand NEW baby. The medicine was starting to work. He was content and was no longer crying. Of course, he would still cry on occasion, but it was NOTHING like it was before. Mason's sleep also improved drastically. He started giving me 6 - 7 1/2 hour stretches at night. (He's getting better every night). He'll take a bottle and go right back to bed until 7:30 am or so. This momma certainly appreciates not being woken up every 2 1/2 hours like before. Now if I can get him to sleep all the way through the night by the time I go back to work (in 3 weeks - yikes), I will be extremely happy!

We went back to the doctor for a follow-up appointment earlier this week. He is doing better (but still has his moments) so the doctor recommended increasing his dosage (slightly) of the medicine. I swear, Mason is just such a little angel now and much happier. I am so glad we took him into the doctor and got this figured out. It was stressing me out and I can't imagine how poor Mason was feeling.

Motley Crue and KISS Concert

Months ago Rob told me he was going to get us tickets to go see Motley Crue and KISS. I thought he was joking, but when the tickets showed up in the mail a few weeks later, I knew he was serious. Does my husband know me at all? Does this sound like something I would want to do? It's not often that we get out and is this how I would want to spend my time? A nice dinner would have been more up my alley. Motley Crue is 'ok' but I can't say I like them enough to go see them in concert. I am not a fan of KISS at all....the only song I know is 'I Wanna Rock and Roll.'  I was not exactly thrilled but agreed to go.

The day of the concert, it was rainy and yucky outside. I was secretly hoping that it would get canceled! My luck, the weather cleared up so I knew we would be going to the concert. What does one wear to see Motley Crue and KISS? I am definitely not feeling it in my post-baby body and am not happy with the way anything fits. I had a feeling I'd see lots of girls in skimpy clothing (and I did). We also saw lots of people with their faces painted and other questionable clothing choices. I opted for jeans (which I was surprised that I was able to fit into) and a cute black tank. It was pretty cold outside that I needed a sweater. As soon as Rob got home from work, we hit the road. The concert was at the First Midwest Ampitheater. Rob also had passes to the VIP club (which sounds cooler than it actually was). It was a large outdoor bar area that served food and drinks. It was nice to sit down and enjoy a cocktail before the concert (even if beers were $11 each).

We had seats in the pavillion (thank god). I've sat in the lawn for many concerts but this is one I was thankful we had actual seats for. Motley Crue came on first. I will admit, they put on a pretty good damn show. I was pleasantly surprised. They were very entertaining and I knew at least 5 or 6 of the songs they played. I actually had a lot of fun! I was happy that Motley Crue came on first so we didn't have to sit all through KISS to see them. After Motley Crue finished up, KISS took the stage. We only stayed for their opening and the first two songs. By leaving early, we avoided the congestion of the parking lot and missed all of the traffic getting out. Overall, it was fun getting out with my husband and it was something a little out of the norm of what we would typically do!

First Day of Dance Class

For weeks Leah has been telling us how bad she wanted to go to dance class. Now that I am home on maternity leave, I figured it would be the perfect time to sign her up for a daytime dance class. (I never get to bring her to any daytime activities so I was excited to do so). We went and bought her some new leotards, dance skirts and ballet shoes. She loved he new 'costumes' as she called them and would often ask to wear them around the house.

The class we signed her up for is called "Express Start 2" and is geared towards 2 and 3 year olds. It teaches beginning tap, jazz and ballet and helps improve basic motor skills, agility and rhythm. In the days leading up to the class, it was all Leah could talk about. She couldn't wait to go to dance class. We told her that I would be dropping her off and she would have to listen to her teacher. She seemed to get it. (This is a class that the parents don't stay with the child. There is a back waiting room the parents can sit and watch through a small window). I was a little nervous how Leah would do without me there and just dropping her off.

On the day of her class, she was so happy and wanted to put on her dance clothes. She even let me put her hair in a ponytail (which she NEVER lets me do). We hopped in the car and were on our way. Once we got to dance class, she seemed excited and was dancing around. She asked where her teacher was (we were 15 minutes early).

Shortly after, other little girls started showing up for the class and then the teacher, Miss Amber arrived. She gathered the girls in the dance studio. I walked Leah in there and as soon as I started walking away, everything went downhill from there. She immediately followed me. I walked her back to the girls and she started getting upset and said she didn't want to be at dance class. Miss Amber tried to get her to come back and was really good with her. Each time I tried to leave to go back to the waiting room, she was freaking out. (I also had Mason with me which made it a bit more difficult - luckily he slept the whole time, otherwise it would have been a bigger disaster). The teacher recommended we stand in the back and let Leah watch for a bit and maybe she would eventually want to join the girls. Leah made me hold her and she was clinging to me like no tomorrow. It was not good.

At one point during the class, the teacher brought out these cute butterfly wings and magic wands for all of the girls to wear. When Leah saw this, she was definitely interested. She did leave my side to go get some wings and a wand. I thought maybe we were making progress. Nope. As soon as she got it, she ran right back over to me and just wouldn't participate. Two of the other little girls in the class even tried to get her to come over by them. Leah just kept telling me how much she wanted to go home. Some of the girls in the class were way younger than Leah and they all had their acts together. They were having fun and listening to Miss Amber. I kept telling Leah to watch how much fun they were having and asked her if she wanted to join them. She didn't budge. After 45 minutes, the class was over. I was a bit disappointed at how Leah reacted. I thought for sure she was going to have a great time. All I can do is take her back next week and try again. I don't want to give up just yet. This is Leah's very first dance class, so maybe she just needs to get used to how things work. I'll give it a few more classes to see if we can make progress. If not, we are signed up for a parent/tot gymnastics class in November that hopefully she will enjoy better with us there.

Date Night

It has been forever since Rob and I have had a date night! When I say forever, it literally has been forever. It has been well over a year since it has been just the two of us for a night out together! Anytime we go out, Leah (and now Mason too) is always with us. So, I was thrilled when we had the opportunity to get out! Rob's sister Amy came over on Saturday night to watch the kids for us. This is the first time we were leaving Mason. It was tough, but I was so excited to get out. She brought her son Carter with her so I knew Leah would have a blast playing with him.

We left the house around 6:00 pm and headed downtown. We had 8:00 pm dinner reservations at Carmichael's. By the time we got downtown we had well over an hour to spare before dinner. We stopped at a bar close to the restaurant and had some drinks. This was the first time in a long time that we got to sit at the bar (let alone in the bar area)! It was so nice to have an adult conversation and not constantly get interrupted by our kids! I can't deny that we didn't talk about our kids though during our night out! Ha. After a few drinks, we walked over to the restaurant. It was nice to be at a nice restaurant versus our typical Chili's or somewhere in our area. I had filet mignon and it was pretty good! After dinner we went and had one more drink before heading home. We were home before 11:00. It was definitely nice to have a night out with my husband!!

The Potty Training Game

The other day I was at Target in the baby section getting formula for Mason. I had Leah with me and she took great interest in the 'potty' section. She was drawn to one little potty in particular. This potty was a princess potty that played music. She kept pressing the button for it to play music and asked if we could get it. (We already had a little potty at home, but the potty training hasn't been going so well and I am starting to feel hopeless). If Leah is interested in this pink princess toilet, I would be willing to get it for her. I asked her if she would go peepee on the potty if I bought it for her. She said yes and we put it in our cart.

We came home and opened up the box. She was more interested in pushing the button that made the music play. I asked her if I should go set it up in the bathroom. She said no and told me to put it in the family room. I wasn't going to argue with her. If she wants the potty in the living room where she is comfortable and she actually uses the bathroom - I'll take it! I asked her if she wanted to try the potty, she told me "No, I am too tired. Let's do it later." I was beginning to think I just wasted $30 on this new potty.

Rob has been telling Leah for weeks now that if she goes peepee on the potty, we would take her to Chuck E. Cheese. She sees the commercial every day and always gets so excited and tells us she wants to go there as a family. I reminded her that if she went pee, we would take her to Chuck E. Cheese. She got excited, but still told me she was tired and didn't want to do it now. I didn't force the issue and we all went on with our evening. Awhile later, Leah told me that she wanted to play with her Play-Doh and I thought this might be an opportunity to try to get her to go. I said, "Leah if you go peepee on the potty, Mommy will play Play-Doh with you." She got excited and said okay. She took off her shorts and asked me to take off her diaper. She sat down on her pink potty and she sat, and she sat. She said it wouldn't come out. I was sitting right by her, encouraging her to go. She then asked me if I could 'go away.' Maybe Leah just needed her privacy. I stepped away into the other room and a few minutes later, I heard the sound of the music coming from her potty. (When you pee in the potty, the music automatically plays). Leah came running into the room and was SO excited and very proud of herself. She said, "Momma, I went peepee!!" We were all so happy! We danced around and told Leah how proud we were of her. (If someone was looking in at us, they probably would have thought we were nuts at how excited we got). Before, Leah wouldn't even go near the other potty we have in our upstairs bathroom.

The next morning, I wanted to continue with the momentum and see if she would go on the potty again. This time she was more reluctant and said she didn't want to. I'd ask her every 20 minutes or so if she had to use the bathroom and each time she said no. Eventually, I asked her if we could just try. She agreed and we took of her pants and her diaper. After a short while, nothing was coming out and she started to get upset and cried a bit asking me to put her pants back on. She agreed that we could leave the diaper off though and just put on her shorts. Ten minutes later, she came running out of her playroom crying. She had an accident and she was upset about it. I didn't want her to feel bad so I made sure she knew it was okay. I cleaned her up and put on a fresh pair of shorts. I continued to ask her if she had to go potty. I told her to tell me when she had to go. A short while later, she had another accident again and she got just as upset. I took off her pants and told her we should just leave them off for awhile. She was a little resistant, but finally agreed. She ran around the house playing with a bare butt. After about an hour I asked her to come into the living room and see if she could try going potty. She was fighting me on it and told me she didn't want to. There was some back and forth of me trying to get her to sit down and the next thing I know, pee is dripping down her leg. By now, I wasn't feeling very confident that this was going to work out. Maybe now was just not her time. She was visibly upset and I didn't want to push it any further. We put a diaper back on and got a new pair of pants. I didn't bring up the potty the rest of the day.

Later in the afternoon, Leah and I were sitting on the couch watching cartoons. Out of no where, she said, "Mom, I think I should try to go potty." I was ecstatic and said okay and we marched into the family room. She took off her pants and sat down. She sat there for a minute and then asked me if I could leave her alone. I agreed and left the room. Within a minute, I heard the music coming from her potty. My little girl did it again! She was so happy and we once again danced around the house. We called her dad at work and gave him the good news. She was proud of herself. Her dad told her she did a good job and that we were going to take her to Chuck E. Cheese that night. She just about lost it, she was SOOO excited. She had been waiting weeks (if not months) to go there. We've never taken her there before.

After work, we headed to Chuck E. Cheese and Leah could hardly contain herself. It wasn't very crowded, which was good. I can't say that I was a huge fan of the place and the pizza was terrible, but Leah was having a great time and that is all that mattered. Chuck E. Cheese himself was there and she was happy to see him. She loved putting tokens in the games and watching all of the tickets come out. We had a hard time getting her to leave and she asked if we could come back. We told her if she keeps going potty on the potty, we could come back. I felt like we had made some progress!

When we got home it was almost bedtime. I asked Leah if she wanted to go potty, but she told me that she already did (in her diaper). I asked her if she wanted to wear a pull-up to bed and she got upset and told me no. I didn't want to force her, so we put a diaper on and then her jammies. I told her to come wake me up if she had to go to the bathroom. Of course that didn't happen and she woke up with a wet diaper (which I expected). Leah didn't want anything to do with going to the potty this morning and got pretty upset about it. I texted my daycare and asked her if it would be weird if I brought the potty with me when I dropped Leah off. She thought it was a good idea. When I pulled up this morning and started taking the potty out of the car, Leah got mad and said she didn't want me to bring it. I brought it anyways. My daycare definitely has a special touch with Leah. She told Leah how excited she was she went to the bathroom on the toilet and gave her so many encouraging words. She asked her if it was okay if they put the potty in her bathroom and Leah agreed and seemed to lighten up about the topic in general.

A few hours later, I got a phone call from daycare and Leah had gone to the potty all by herself and she even got her to wear a pull-up! Melissa said all she did was tell Leah she should try to go potty before she went outside to play with the water table and she went and took care of business. However, after Leah's nap it was a completely different experience. Melissa asked Leah if she had to go to the bathroom and Leah got so upset and was crying uncontrollable. She didn't want anything to do with going on the potty. She said it took her quite awhile to calm down. When I picked her up, she did tell me that she went on the potty earlier. I don't get it - one minute she is super excited about going, but then the next minute she is an emotional wreck. 

This potty training business is tough work. I know Leah can go to the bathroom on the potty and she is completely capable, but I just don't know why she gets so upset at times. She flat out does not want to do it. Maybe she just isn't ready or maybe she is just being stubborn. There has been lots of change in her life with me being home and Mason joining out family. I don't want her to force her to use the potty. Maybe I should back off and let her tell me when she is ready (since I know she can do it) and be encouraging. Does anyone have any suggestions or tips on potty training? We've tried sticker boards, books about going potty, having her wear no diaper, Princess underwear, taking her to Chuck E. Cheese and other types of rewards. I bought her a present today (a new play-doh set) and told her if she went on the potty she would get the present. She hasn't bought into it yet. Sigh......I don't want to get mad or frustrated with her because that would be give us an even bigger set back. I guess I have to remember she is only 2 1/2 and we still have some time.

Since we got home today, I did get her to agree to wear a pull-up. I've continued to ask her if she has to go and she tells me she is too tired or she doesn't want to. I guess where we are is a start and all I can do is keep working at it! We'll see what the rest of the weekend holds and maybe I'll have better news to report.

First Solo Mission

It is definitely a lot more work taking care of two kids now and at times it can be a bit challenging. I was not exactly thrilled when Rob told me that he had to go out of town for three days for work. He left the house yesterday morning at 5:00 am to catch his flight to Ohio and my first solo mission officially began. I guess this is gearing me up for the week long business trip he needs to take in September. (Luckily, I will still be on maternity leave. It would have been much harder if I was back at work and needed to do everything on my own).  I will be happy when Rob gets home on Wednesday.

Leah still goes to daycare on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays which is a big help to me. After I dropped her off yesterday, I came home to get myself and Mason ready. I had my 6 week follow-up doctor's appointment. Usually, Mason is so good when we are out and about (he usually just sleeps), but yesterday was a different story. He cried almost the whole time we were at my appointment. The nurse popped her head in during my time with the doctor and volunteered to walk him around the office to help calm him down while I did what I needed to do with the doctor. I did let her take him and he did stop crying. My doctor said that happens all of the time and not to worry. It stressed me out though. After my appointment, I had made plans to stop into my office to see some coworkers. Luckily, Mason was much better when I went into work. I was there almost 2 1/2 hours and he did pretty good. We had lunch with 2 of my good friends and then spent some time visiting with everyone else. I miss everyone at work, but I can't say I miss the work :) My maternity leave is half over and it sure has gone by fast. Six more weeks and I will be back at work. I am going to try and enjoy the rest of my time and not get too sad about it.

After my work visit, I picked Leah up from daycare. We came home and Mason was in a really good mood. He was a happy little baby. We all spent time playing on the floor. Mason got some tummy time in, which he doesn't seem to mind at all. It was pretty relaxing at home for the time being.

Typically, between 6:00 pm and 8:30 pm things can get a bit hectic around here so I was not looking forward to doing the night time routine by myself. Dinner time, play time, bath time and bed time all occur during this two and a half hour window. Although it may not sound like a lot, it can be tiring. Mason is still little and can be pretty needy. I feel like I am always feeding him, burping him and changing him. Leah is pretty self-sufficient and is a good helper. While I am tending to Mason's needs, she plays great by herself. I felt like I never sat down to breath last night. I was always doing something. The night was a bit challenging. Mason only sleeps for 3 - 3 1/2 hour stretches. I was up with him 3 times for 30 minutes each time to feed him. Leah also woke up twice during the night crying (of course after I had dozed back to sleep after I put Mason down). This is very unusual for her, but I think with her recent transition to her toddler bed she is used to having her Dad in the room with her. Last night, she was a big girl and slept all by herself. The morning came way too quick!

Today has been good so far (besides being tired). I have both kids home with me today. It's noon and we are all still in our jammies having a lazy day. Mason has been good and Leah is being a total goof. She can definitely entertain herself. She put on a magic show, played house and played with her playdoh. I think I might join the kids during nap time today! I could use it! Only two more days to go!

Leah's New Bed

The sleeping arrangements in the Held household have been less than ideal for the past couple of months (and I'm not proud of it). A while back, we moved Leah out of her room into her new 'hot pink' big girl room. We already had a queen size bed in there and decided just to keep it. We went back and forth if we should get her a toddler bed, but decided against and figured we would get some side rails and have her sleep in the big bed. Leah loved her room, but we had trouble getting her to sleep in it. She always wanted to come and sleep with me and Rob. I think the queen size bed is just too big for her and she likes having the comfort of us being there. (She would sleep great when she was in our bed though and I think that is why we tolerated it). Then to add to our sleeping mayhem, Rob started sleeping in the other room (Leah's room). When I was further along in my pregnancy, I started snoring really bad and he couldn't take it. Then after Mason was born, Rob continued to sleep in Leah's room. We have Mason in our room in a bassinet  and since he gets up a few times during the night, Rob has been in the other room (because gets up so early for work). Leah would flop back and forth between sleeping with me or sleeping with Rob.

We figured this had to stop - we can't have Leah sleeping in bed with us. We need to break this habit or else she will always want to sleep with us! We decided to go get Leah her very own toddler bed. We picked out a new Minnie Mouse comforter set and set up her bed in her room. (We pushed the existing queen bed over along the wall and made room for her bed. We didn't want to move the queen bed out since Rob still sleeps in there). Leah was SO excited about her new bed and couldn't wait to sleep in it! I'm happy to report that the toddler bed has been a huge success!! She has slept every night in her new bed and goes down easily for naps! She hasn't asked if she could crawl in with one of us. We should have gotten the toddler bed from the start!

So, for now Rob and Leah have been roommates. She sleeps in her toddler bed and Rob sleeps in the queen bed. Hopefully Mason will start sleeping through the night soon so Rob can finally move back into our room. (Mason has good nights and bad nights, but has been showing improvements). I am looking forward to when we can have 'normal' sleeping arrangements once again!