Teo just got his first tooth on Thursday, and it occurred to me that I've yet to document a comparison of milestones for Sapphie and Teo. I'm always talking about how much bigger he is than she was at this age, but there's lots more fun stuff to compare:
Rolling over Sapphie: 5 months (mother's day); Teo: 5 months (father's day!)
Crawling Sapphie: 10 months; Teo: 8.5 months
First tooth Sapphie: 10 months; Teo: 10 months
Stopped swaddling Sapphie: 3-4 months; Teo: 7-8 months
Falling asleep on their own Sapphie: 13 months; Teo: 3-4 months
Sleeping through the night for real Sapphie: 13 months; Teo: Ha! Yeah right!
Walking Sapphie: 1.5 years; Teo: TBD
Those are just a few things that come to mind. Sapphie continues to be an amazing and maternal big sister. We've been butting heads quite a bit lately, as she asserts her independence. We have a lot in common and that makes arguments pretty interesting sometimes. One of our most recent and difficult struggles has been the transition from a crib into a "big-girl bed." I was not ready to make this switch and was planning to do it once Teo was sleeping better at night. But of course as a parent, things never go as planned. Sapphie learned how to jump out of her crib and we quickly realized she was going to hurt herself if we didn't put her in a real bed. Sure we could have gotten one of those tents that keep her in the crib, but come on - she'll be 3 next month. So we went for it...
What a nightmare. 6 weeks of absolute pure hell. Multiple night-time wake ups (and before she was regularly sleeping 14 hours at a clip), then the most obscene early morning rising we've ever seen, including when she was a newborn! What's worse is that as luck would have it, every single time she came into our room to wake me up, Teo and I were sound asleep and she woke us both up. So then he was either up for good at 5am, or I had to try to get him back to sleep. When you're already waking up 3-6 times a night to snuggle your baby, extra wake-ups from an overtired toddler wanting to have a power struggle are NOT WELCOME. We were exhausted and desperate after two weeks, so we put a gate up in her room. Within an hour she had jumped over it. Then, I started to panic. This child is psychotic. She's trying to ruin my life. She wants me to know who's in charge and I'm telling you, I'm a strict mom but sometimes I wonder who's really calling the shots. So I did it. Something I never thought I would do. Something so cheesy, so not me, so...cliche...
I made a sticker chart.
I'm so embarrassed about this chart, you have no idea. But what was I going to do? I was totally desperate. I made the chart, then bought the most amazing scratch-n-sniff stickers for when she did really well; small stickers for when she did an OK job; and I planned to mark really really bad days with an X. I was pretty generous. For example, if she went through the whole night without waking us up, she got a big sticker. If she took a nap, she got a big sticker., etc. After 4 weeks, we were still feeling like things weren't changing. We were still tired, she was still climbing over the gate, waking up at 5:30(!), and sometimes not taking a nap. Oh and by the way on the days she skipped a nap, she usually used the time to tear her entire room apart so that when I went in, I couldn't see the floor. One time she even took her diaper off, put it in a bag, threw it out into the hallway and slammed the door. I was seeing no end in sight when I got my weekly Baby Center email (there are weekly emails to fill you in on your child's development; help you with any issues you might be having; etc...). Wouldn't you know the topic was transitioning out of a crib, and they said to allow a full 6 weeks! And, now that's it's been 6 weeks, I can say they were right. We are totally out of the nightmare. She goes to bed, doesn't get out, sleeps through the night, and doesn't wake up until 7. If she wakes up and sees our door shut, she knows she has to stay in her room and read, and that's generally what she's been doing. What a good girl! Oh! And how could I forget to mention that after all the effort with the stickers, what I really think did the trick was the T.V. We eliminated all television and told her she could watch nothing until she pulled herself together in the bedroom. Once she finally had a good night and slept until 7, I praised her like crazy and let her watch a show! Within a week she was doing great, and watching one show a day as a reward. Here's a look at the sticker chart all filled out. I think she covered some X's with stickers when I wasn't looking. Still, it doesn't look as bad as it sounds, does it?
Now for the more fun stuff. She's been full of funny sayings lately. Like:
"it's so hard to wait!" When I tell her she needs to be patient and wait for me to do something
"I'm learning him to do it!" When I ask her to leave Teo alone and stop dominating him
"see you in the morning when the sun comes up" When we put her to bed
"they shouldn't be out on their own" When she sees a picture of a child, but no parent
Now, on to Teo. Teo is still a little lover, and is moving all over the place exploring his world. He still adores Sapphie and follows her everywhere. I have to say though, he is nowhere near as docile as I thought. Actually, he has quite a temper and reminds me of myself at times. Here are the triggers I've discovered so far:
1. Biggest trigger: when I stop nursing, he throws a complete fit. He stops breathing, arches his back, and squeals like a pig. He won't take his nuk and gets even angrier when I try to give it to him. He carries on like this for a good minute, while I keep telling him he's all done, then he finally gives in and takes the nuk. He's also got a new thing he does while he's "preparing" to nurse: he smacks his lips together and looks so excited he can hardly contain himself. I don't remember Sapphie doing that.
2. When Sapphie takes a toy away from him, he gets PISSED. It has come on pretty suddenly because until now, he was so easy going. She could give and take, and he just rolled with the punches. But now, when she takes something he's playing with, he squeals with rage and starts flailing his hands all over the place until she gives it back. If she doesn't, he'll crawl over and follow her around everywhere, squealing all the time.
3. Food. This is a big one. Isaac thinks it's because he's such a tank...but when we eat, he wants to eat too and he wants it NOW. He wants everything we are eating, and he's no longer satisfied with me throwing it in the blender. He wants his own chunks to pick up and put in his mouth. He looks around the table during dinner and concentrates on what everyone else is eating. He wants to make sure he's not missing a thing. And when he's done with something, there go the flailing hands again and he makes a huge mess pushing my hand away.
At night, he sometimes loses his nuk and will start crying. If we go in and give it to him, he sticks it in his mouth and does a face plant into the mattress, falling asleep instantly. It's hilarious.
When I start singing and (or) clapping, his face lights up like a ray of sunshine - he loves music! It's so cute.
That's it for now! And here are a few pictures:
First sled ride together
Playing in the snow
At El Gato with Aven
At El Gato with Aven
Teo learning to crawl
Throwing the ball for Cabot
Throwing the ball for Cabot
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