Happy Labor Day

Well, here we are - yet another holiday home alone with the kids - and I'm sure we're not the only ones - but just for fun let's discuss how we got here...

The week before last was rough...J worked late Thursday getting home around 9 then Friday he got stuck on another case and got home just after 8 - then he was on call Saturday worked regular days getting home between 5-6 Monday and Tuesday then call again Wednesday - and we were SOO looking forward to post-call Thursday and J had taken Friday off - so J was going to have 5 days off in a row - and we needed it after the last week! 

Then - guess what?! - an email went out Wednesday afternoon saying that - due to some scheduling snafus - the "junior" fellow needed backup support and wasn't ready to work completely alone and there was a big case Friday that need a more senior fellow - so the guy post-call would need to stay and do it...the wording of the email didn't exactly ask J to come in, but it sort of made it clear that he was really needed! So, of course, since we weren't planning on leaving town, we decided that J should go in to help and be available as backup for the weekend. 

We offered for him to work Friday so the post-call fellow could go home - then, and I'm not sure how this happened in the conversation, but the schedule for the whole weekend was reworked and J ended up on call today. Whatever, stinks, but we are used to it, not that big of a deal, and we were promised a different long weekend for helping out - great! 

So, we were a little bummed, but we had a normal weekend and J kissed me goodbye and was off to work this morning like normal and I went back to sleep - only unlike normal - this morning I got a call at 5:40 - J had stopped at 7-11 for an energy drink and the car key had broken off in the door! Are you kidding me? So, he needed me to come get him and bring him to work - now this was no easy feat with a two year old and a three month old. 

I lumbered out of bed and got dressed - changed diapers and dressed the boys and headed out. By the time we got to daddy at about 6 - both boys were thoroughly awake and crying. Then Noah decided he was hungry and proceeded to cry the entire 20 minute drive to take daddy to work - we were able to nurse in the parking garage before heading home - so Noah fell asleep full and happy, but by that point there was no getting Owen back to sleep. Now, here we are 3 hours later - on the day that feels like it may never end - and naptime just may happen by 10am - although Noah has been asleep for two hours - so I'm sure he'll be up as soon as Owen is down - no naps for Mama! It's going to be a couple of cups of coffee morning!

Such is life as a doctor's wife - hope everyone else is having a better holiday than I am! With or without your other halves!

2 years and 2 months: 2 updates

I can't believe I have a two month old and a two YEAR old! It is just absolutely crazy! I have a lovey sappy birthday post I'm working on for Owen that I plan to post next week along with pictures from our celebration this weekend, but I thought I'd do some stats and photos for both boys in one post this month since we're pretty busy around here these days!

I'm taking both boys to the doc for their check-ups on 8/5 - so I'll update with percentiles and exact measurements then inside the parentheses, but for now my attempts at home:

 
Noah at 2mo:
Weight: 13.6lbs (13lb 8oz - 90th %ile)    
Length: 24" (22 3/4" - 50th %ile)

If I'm at all close, he's gained almost 2 pounds this month and grown 3" - but we were a pound high and an inch off on our measurements at home last month - so we'll see!


Owen at 2yo:
Weight: 32.6lbs (32lb 3oz - 95th %ile)    
Height: 36-37" (35 1/2" - 80th %ile)

They say that by the time you are 2 that you are 1/2 of your adult height - so if that's true we're looking at this guy being between 6' and 6'2" - crazy to think that my "baby" could get so big!


There are about 1/2 as many pictures of Owen as there are of Noah - simply because Noah can't escape me! Owen was done with picture taking in about 1.2 seconds! I managed to get one good smile once I told him he was done! Err! Toddlers! So, with that said, we'll start with Owen.

What mom?! I'm watching my show!

At two years old, you: 

- speak in sentences almost all the time - at least 3 words, but sometimes more
- are sort of TV obsessed and love Mickey Mouse, Cars 1 & 2, Despicable Me, Toy Story 1-3
- are super compassionate and caring - you worry so much about the characters in your shows and about your friends - you hate to see anyone sad or upset
- still take one nap a day ranging from 1-3 hours
- only use your binky in bed and in the car - we transitioned you about a month ago and you are doing really well with it
- go to bed between 8:30-9:30 and sleep until about 8 each morning
- wake up and come to my bed to cuddle and watch cartoons for an hour or so before we get up and go downstairs
- love naming all your (and everyone else's) body parts and naming everyone and everything you see around you
- are CRAZY about fruit snacks - which you call "gummies"
- love your baby brother soo much and always want to make sure that he is with us - unless you are hungry/thirsty, then you want me to put him away and help you instead
- have started RUNNING away as fast as you can in stores and in public - we have had to use a little bumblebee backpack leash that my friend, L, gave us - you are starting to listen when I tell you to freeze, etc.
- have had a lot of timeouts lately, but unlike most kids your age, when I tell you to go to timeout - you listen (90% of the time) and go right to time out! You also immediately start saying you are sorry over and over!
- love construction vehicles, emergency vehicles, motorcycles - pretty much anything that goes "zoom, fast!"
- would rather drink a million cups of chocolate milk and juice than actually eat food - although you do still eat a lot
- say please, thank you, sorry, you're welcome, bless you, and I love you - without prompting - you are super polite and considerate!
- still love to be worn in the Ergo, mei tei, or the wrap
- still love to sing This Little Light of Mine, but now also love singing Old McDonald Had a Farm
- repeat the letters to spell your name but it almost always goes: 
    M: O O: O  
    M: W O: W
    M: E O: E   
    M: N O: Owen!
- started putting yourself to bed, I tell you to go to sleep and you walk upstairs and lay down - I come check on you and tuck you in, kiss, and leave - and you go to sleep
- LOVE sitting in the crack in the middle of the couch - you've decided it's your spot and tell us "sit here" pointing to the sides and will push anyone out of the middle
- call Grandma F "Grampa" and call my mom "Jessi" so you ask all the time for  Grampa and Grampa far away and Poppy and Jessi in car!
 
Owen, overall, you may be developing your own opinions and testing every boundary that you reach, but you are an amazing kid! I love you soo much and I am so proud to be your mommy! I can't wait to start you TERRIFIC TWOS! Love you, Mama

Fine, I kissed him...are we done here?

 Noah - my newest baby - oh how I love you! Owen made me a mommy, but you get to enjoy a pre-broken-in Mom - it's so much easier to enjoy everything you do this time, because I'm not so worried I'll break you like I was with your brother - and I don't have to go back to work and leave you both! It still amazes me every day that you are here and that you are mine - and I marvel at all the ways that you are so different from and so similar to your brother! I can't wait to see how those similarities and differences change as you grow! Love you - Mama

At two months old, you:

- seem to be even stronger than your brother was at this age, you roll over all the time and do super awesome pushups during tummy time
- are a happy-go-lucky guy most of the time, but when you get mad/hungry/sad/etc - you go from 0 to 60 (more like 120) in no time flat!
- love to be held and cuddled all the time and seem to dislike naps this week unless mommy is holding you, but you...
- sleep like a champ at night, you vary with when you decide night begins (somewhere between 10pm-2am) but you sleep for a solid 5 hours, nurse and go right back to sleep, followed by another 4 hours of sleep before you wake to nurse again - then you sleep for another 2-3 before you are up for the day
- have totally figured out nursing and nurse like a champ now! It seems like our overactive letdown issues have settled out and you latch right on and chow - I stopped worrying about charting when you eat, because you are growing so well and let me know what you need
- nurse every 1-3 hours, except at night - this early on it seems like every time you settle into a feeding schedule, you have another growth spurt and eat every hour again - so we'll wait a little longer to see where you settle with that
- have been more and more awake and aware during the day, you love watching us and looking all around and actually don't hate tummy time nearly as much as your brother did
- have started losing your hair - sorry buddy, probably not the last time
- LOVE Mommy most of all - makes Daddy a little sad, but I think it's just because I supply the food
- LOVE being held or carried, so I'm very glad we have all the various carriers to wear you, since I have to take care of your brother too (as I write this, you are asleep on my back in one of the woven wraps! I love that I can wear you on my back with a woven, while you are still little - it is so much easier to get things done!)
- are starting to figure out the binky but still prefer Mom - you only seem to like the NUK ones, and not the little baby ones - those are too small for you - only the big baby size for you!
- still sleep in the Rock-n-Play next to our bed (we'll probably keep you there until you stop with your middle of the night nursing session - since you'll share a room with your brother and we don't want you both awake in the middle of the night!)
- still have dark gray eyes, but they are getting bluer - a really bright vibrant blue
- seem to grow and change each and every day! It seems like as soon as I think I have you figured out, you can do something else or change things up on me! It is so exciting knowing that I won't miss out on all the little day to day things you do like I did with Owen while I was at work!

Mom, I am DONE with tummy time!

Boys,
I love you both SO, SO much! I was absolutely made to be your Mommy and it is my honor to raise you up to be men of God and to do great things for His glory! May you both always know how incredibly precious you are to us (Mom, Dad, and the Lord)!

Love you forever and for always - 

Momma

Blog Every Day in May: Day 30

Challenge Day 30: React to this term: Letting Go

Each new chapter begins by bringing an end to the one before. Welcoming this new little family of four means saying goodbye to the family of three that we used to be. Tuesday night, when I got the call that they had found protein in my urine I wasn't ready - I wasn't ready to let go and say goodbye to my family of three. I was supposed to have another week - I was supposed to have a plan - and a last date before things changed. I was supposed to have a special weekend with Owen doing all his favorite things and saying goodbye to being just Owen's mom. Then in a moment - that was entirely unexpected - I was packing and making calls and doing all the last minute things to be at the hospital only hours later. I didn't get to have time to say my long, sweet goodbye - my life as I knew it was going to change - and it was going to change fast. And I, I am not good with change. I like plans and order and slow easy transitions that I can prepare for - but thankfully, I am not the one in charge - God is and He knows far better than I do what we need and the right timing for everything. He knew that it was time to let go and it was time to pull the bandaid on our life and what it used to be.

And guys, I'm so glad that He's in charge instead of me, letting go of who we were was the best thing I have ever done - and we have to let go in order to free our hands to embrace all the new, amazing things He has in store for us. I am so in love with being a mom of two, I am so in love with my new little boy, and the big brother that I know Owen will be. This new life that He create for us is so much better than any life I could have created for us - and I'm so glad that I let go of the old to embrace the new.

Quick Update: We are still in the hospital and I am off of the IV meds, but blood pressure is still too high - and went up a little after the IV meds were out of my system, so we are looking to get those under control tonight. Noah is doing fantastic, he's really figuring out nursing (nursed every hour last night - which mommy did not appreciate), and he's looking really good - we've dealt with a few little issues, but strong and healthy and with us - so that's exactly what we were praying for. Owen is loving his time with "Gpa" and doesn't particularly like this new "baby brother thing" we keep showing him and keeps telling us "all done" and "no touch" when we try to show him Noah - he let Noah get a little closer tonight than last night, but we'll get there. Daddy is great, but sleepy - looking forward to all of us spending the next two weeks together building our new little family! Once we're home and settled I'll write up Noah's whole birth story out - I still don't quite believe the way things all played out.

Blog Every Day in May: Day 28

Challenge Day 28: Only pictures - this one is easy - I had a ton of posts I never got around to writing, but that had pictures I really wanted to share so - here you go!

 

 

37 weeks

Baby's size: Winter Melon [about 19.1 inches, 6.3 lb.] - not sure why I still include this :) - if we make it that far, I have another growth ultrasound on Friday and we'll see where we are then!

How far along: 37 Weeks

Sleep: Doing a little better at making bedtime a priority - not as well as I'd like, but actually in bed most nights by around 11 and that's an improvement - J has been on call every other day this week, so that makes falling asleep a little harder, but I'm working on it!

Maternity Clothes: we've discussed - clothes no longer fit - even my maternity wardrobe is dwindling dangerously - pretty soon I'll have to switch over to J's clothes! LOL!

Food cravings: nope - although this Whole Foods Chocolate Decadence cake is pretty flipping fantastic, but I'm fairly certain that's true pregnant or not!

Food aversions: nada

Symptoms I HAVE: Lotsa heartburn happening here! Also, my hips feel like they are going to break in half when I get up in the middle of the night - during the day I'm fine, but I get super stiff at night, like a brittle old lady, and I feel like my bones might crumble! More Braxton Hicks all the time - hopefully they're being productive, but I was still only dialated to a 1 on Friday at the OB and still at a 1 on Monday at the hospital! Getting nervous/anxious about Noah's arrival and an impending induction!! I'm still really hoping to go into labor naturally, and trying not to get discouraged that things aren't progressing more quickly!

Doctor’s Appointment: Went to the doc on Friday, BP still moderately high, but stable - so she decided we should schedule my induction for 6/5 (going in the night of 6/4 for cerdavil since cervix isn't favorable yet) - baby boy has 9 days to get himself ready to get here - I'm really worried about starting an induction and ending up with a c-section because my body wasn't ready - but I need to trust the Lord and my doctor and know that everything will come together the way it is supposed to, even if it is different from what I have in my head - what matters is that Noah is healthy and gets here safely! Then, Monday evening I was feeling a little funny and checked my BP - and it was 158/96 - so I called the OB on call and she of course wanted me to go in to be monitored - brought Owen over to my friend, L's, house by 8 and J did what he had to do to get out of the hospital even though he was on call and it was a holiday! Then we spent 4 hours in triage - Noah was great on the monitors (except that he kept moving out of range) - and my BP was pretty scary high for a while, they made me lay on my left side and it improved a lot - I was also having contractions every 4-5 minutes that started to get pretty painful on my side, but they weren't causing any cervical change and BP lowered enough - so they sent us home! J is beginning to feel like the boy who cried wolf leaving work over and over for trips to L&D that don't end with a baby in our arms - but what can you do? A BP like that needs to be monitored! Anyway, Owen didn't sleep at all at L's house (I picked him up just after midnight) - so today I had a migraine from the lack of sleep and stress of last night and O was a cranky mess - but we made it through! Here's to one more week!

Movement: With the way this kid has been moving in utero - I almost expect him to come out rolling over and crawling around! He is always on the go and super strong!

Belly Button: Innie - long 1/2 flat innie - it's looking weird, peeps!

Gender: Still a boy and he makes sure we know it at every weekly ultrasound - Noah is not shy!

Best moment of the week: Finally having an end date in sight, it's been making me so nervous having 3 different possible induction dates - I'm glad we can finally prepare - like I said, I hope he comes on his own before then so we don't have to deal with all the induction junk, but it's good to be able to plan and prepare! And it's good to know that my BP is/was stable enough to wait for 38 weeks and that she didn't feel like we needed to take him early! (Just turned in another 24 hr urine - so hoping that comes back good and nothing changes here!)

What I’m looking forward to: Holding this little guy on the outside - I know I'm going to miss having him on the inside, because I still miss having Owen on the inside sometimes, but it's getting really real that Noah will be here soon and I can't wait to meet him, but I also want him to grow and be totally strong and healthy - so I don't want to rush him either!

What I miss: This week I miss my mom - I'm getting really sad that she isn't going to be here for this delivery - she was in the room when I had Owen - and I am just starting to worry about how all of the logistics of everything are going to work - and while I know that my MIL is coming to help - it's just not the same - I want my momma! Although she will be here for a while after J goes back to work and that's better than just having her here for a few days earlier! Just a little sad and lonely for her this week! Miss my mom!


UPDATE: So much for 1/2 of this post - I just got a call from the hospital and I'm being induced tonight! Ahh!

{I borrowed the format for these entries from Eight Days a Week - who borrowed it from Finding Beauty in the Ordinary}

Blog Every Day in May: Day 26

Day 26, Sunday: Something you read online. Leave a link and discuss, if you'd like.

*Disclaimer - I am not a doctor or an expert on sleep, sleep safety, or anything else - everything stated here is simply my understanding and my opinion - please research these ideas for yourself and make informed decisions* 

Photo from article - not shared as an opinion or endorsement either way

So, in the world of moms and babies - there are lots of opinions and sides and things to argue about - yet in the end, we all just want what is best for our babies. I was recently linked to this post through Facebook and after reading the article and some of the comments - I have to say it left me more than a little bit frustrated. I'm not here to argue for or against co-sleeping or bedsharing or crib sleeping or any other parenting choice when it comes to getting your kid to sleep - those are your decisions and you need to know the risks and benefits of each option - weigh them accordingly - and make your informed parenting decisions. It's not my place to say what you should or shouldn't do.

There are two things that really, really frustrated me about this article and the responses it was getting. First, this article, and many others like it, uses the terms "bed-sharing" and "co-sleeping" interchangeably. This is soo confusing to many new parents as they hear about all of the "benefits of co-sleeping" from many different places - then read something like this and are completely unsure of what to do. Bed-sharing is the practice that this study actually refers to, that is often linked to SIDS and can be quite dangerous - although many, many families bed-share successfully and safely by following many of the precautions discussed in the article as well as others. The family bed is not a new concept. Co-sleeping is not the same thing as bed-sharing - co-sleeping is having your infant in the same room as you to sleep, but sleeping in a separate sleep structure (bassinet, pack n' play, crib, sidecar crib, etc). This practice is considered much safer by many experts and is said to lower SIDS risk as parents are in close proximity to baby and can hear breathing, etc., to more closely monitor the infant. It drives me crazy that the terms are so often switched and then dangers or benefits linked to studies of one or the other are misinterpreted. Secondly, when reading through the comments it drives me crazy and hurts my heart the way we respond to information like this - on both sides. If you are informed and make educated decisions about how you are raising your children - then there is no reason to have hurt feelings, be defensive, cursing, and attacking in your response to information that disagrees with your stance. Your experience is your own, and while often a minority opinion will feel marginalized, it will never help your case to attack the other side.

What do you think? Why do we get so caught up in attacking those who disagree with us and tearing them down? Why can't we disagree and still get along? Or am I just being naive? This issue in particular is a safety issue, and I understand being passionate about your position and sharing information with others to help keep kids safer - and I'm all for that, but can't we (on both sides) look at that information objectively and make our decisions - instead of blindly following "rules" or calling studies "crap" because they do/don't agree with what you were told?

Blog Every Day in May: Day 20

Day 20, Monday: Get real. Share something you're struggling with right now.

So, this may sound silly to some, but the thing that I'm really struggling with right now, and have been for the last three years forever...is bedtime. 

That's right - bedtime. Now, as most of you around here know J is a surgical fellow - so he is at work by around 6 most mornings, sometimes earlier - and he works hard going all pretty much nonstop all day - so prior to getting married to me - he went to bed pretty early. But I've always been a little bit of a night owl - my ideal sleep time would be from 11 or 12 until 9 or 10 most mornings - which for a while with Owen worked out well for me (he's now getting up around 8, but we snuggle for a whole before we actually get up and go downstairs). So, with Owen sleeping until 8 most mornings (or later) and napping once or twice a day, he doesn't really go to sleep at night before 8:30-9 (sometimes 10) and then there are all of the adult things that need to be done - dishes, straighten up, blog, watch a non-animated television show that doesn't revolve around trucks, spend a little time talking to my hubby, budgeting - you get the idea. Allthethings - they haunt me and they never seem to be done, add in that end of pregnancy nesting symptom - and it seems to be easily midnight before we head upstairs and that just isn't fair to my hubby! And then I just feel like a jerk because even if I'm getting less sleep than I'd like - he's getting less than that. We make plans, I set "get ready for bed" alarms, I try to get things done while he's at work or Owen is still awake - yet it just keeps happening that day after day we stay up later than we should - and we are about to add a newborn into this mix - goodness gracious! 

Oh and I've tried making J just go to bed without me - he won't - he feels too guilty because he knows that I'm lonely and we don't spend enough time together - so it's an all or nothing thing around here - also it's much worse when he's on call and not here - I've developed some lovely pregsomnia and can't sleep when he's gone resulting in staying up even later cleaning/organizing/watching pointless TV or tossing and turning in bed. 

I don't have any answers and I seem to just be digging myself deeper into this struggle instead of out of it. So, I sure could use some help! Any ideas out there? Any grownup bedtime routines or rituals that actually help you get to bed and sleep at a decent hour? Tips? Tricks? I'm sure J would love you forever if someone could actually get me to get things done and get to bed at a decent hour! (Oh, and because I'm feeling convicted after writing this - it's currently 9pm and Owen just went to sleep - I'm posting this and headed up stairs to fold/stuff diapers in bed and go to sleep - hopefully by 10 - maybe I just need to write a post about how I stay up too late every day!)

Blog Every Day in May: Day 8

Day 8, Wednesday: A piece of advice you have for others. Anything at all.

Advice I have for others - hmm...there are so many different directions to go with this one, but since my world revolves around babies and parenting - I'm going to go that way today. You may or may not have heard of the book Babywise. It's one of those things that you either love and swear by or you hear "do anything but Babywise!!"

Anyway, this is not a review of the book/program to promote or reject it - but two of the best pieces of advice I've heard for my parenting came from this book! The first, "begin as you intend to go" - it is soo much easier to stick with a plan, whatever it is, than it is to unlearn habits and retrain yourself or your child in a new direction - it's hard to feel confident and stick with a plan, but it is worth it. The second is to trust your parenting intuition. It isn't about a clock or a rule or one parenting philosophy or another - pick and choose your philosophy - follow your heart and your child's leading - what works for others may or may not work for you and your child and it isn't about them anyway! God gave this child to you - he created him or her expressly to be your child and He will make sure you know what to do (and that is true in the hard and easy times) and it's important to always remember that God never gives us any more than we can handle and we can do all things through Christ! He will be your guide and your strength - trust in Him - and yourself!

18 month sleep regression...

Oh my goodness - this is bad folks - like really really bad - made worse by being 6 months pregnant and J working all the time. Andplusalso - I just read that this bahookie can last 2-6 WEEKS! NOOOoooo!

He did SOO well with the transition to the toddler bed and he would lay right down and go to sleep give him a kiss, binky, his animals, and turn on the music and you were outta there!

Then about 3 weeks ago - he started showing some signs of separation anxiety when going to sleep - both naps and bedtime - and he started to point to the rocking chair and repeat "wr-ock, wr-ock, wr-ock" begging me to stay and rock until he fell asleep, which varied between 5 and 20 minutes - I found if I tried to sneak out and disturbed him it made the whole process last muuch longer. But, he would still fall asleep and stay asleep fairly well until early morning, which was pretty typical that he'd wake up between 4-6 and come to bed with me (think it is usually J's alarm that wakes him, but also habit) - where we'd sleep until about 8. It wasn't perfect and there was lingering guilt about the sleep props (we started out doing Babywise pretty strictly and it worked great until teething and then it just became too much to not do things like give him the binky back or nurse or bring him to our bed - my hubby gets little enough sleep as it is and he was dying - so we loosened up and made something work for our family - but now, nothing is working.

I've googled and googled and read blogs and articles and who knows what else - and pretty much everyone says you just have to suck it up and get through it - and I just don't know how much more I can suck up and get through! And then we evidently get to do this again at 24 months and then with Noah all over again at 4, 9, 13, 18, and 24 months! :'( But like most have said I've pretty much blocked out Owen's earlier sleep regressions and I'm sure I will again - lovely feature of memory that allows us to say "oh yea, we're ready for another baby!"

Yet, here we are and it seems like this phase will never end - and it's amplified by how cranky and tired he is all day - with tantrum after tantrum because he is just plain overtired - yet he continues to fight sleep with everything that he's got - rubbing his eyes and yawning along the way as he begs to "go" pointing downstairs or to rock or read books or do anything but sleep.

In my research this week I found a few tips that I'm starting to implement and hoping will help -

• I'm done worrying about "screwing him up" and I'm going to do what it takes to get him to sleep - not to "win" this battle - when all of this started, it just seemed like his was being defiant and I was not going to let my toddler walk all over me and dictate our lives - I was the parent and he was the child and he was going to lay down and go to sleep goshdarnit because I said so - and not with me sitting there or rocking him or whatever else - he was going to do it MY way...smart mom, real smart...how's that working out winning or not my kid was sad and crying and needed me - not to set boundaries in a moment that he didn't understand, but to just love him and be with him as he figures out this new phase in the whole going to sleep thing. 
• So if I need to lay in his bed or rock in the rocking chair or hang out with him, okay, I will, but not if he yells at me, I'm making him use a nice voice and say please - so that works for me. I started to think today about how we always say that in our marriages we should never go to bed angry - yet here I was being harsh and "yelling" at my toddler to lay down and go to sleep -  and he was sad and didn't know why mommy was mad at him because he didn't want to go to sleep. So, instead - today at naptime I stroked his head and talked sweetly to him and instead of two hours of struggle before his nap it took about 45 minutes - still a pain, but he fell asleep peacefully instead of in tears and I left feeling like I showed him love instead of impatience and frustration.
• Try putting him down for naps and bedtime an hour earlier to avoid him getting overtired and hyper. We did this one too, and I think it helped some...he wasn't quite as fussy and after the LONG time it took to fall asleep at each of his two naps and bedtime...he ended up asleep about at the time that he should have been going down (WIN!) instead of hours later - doesn't feel that great when his nap that was supposed to be at four ends up starting at six and you just know that will further mess up bedtime!
• The last tip/idea that we didn't consider or try yet today, but plan to test out this weekend -  is that maybe...just maybe he's ready to transition to one nap and we're forcing it with two. This article pretty much said he has all the signs of readiness for one nap and pretty much none of the signs that he still needs two naps. So, maybe I'm making this whole sleep regression thing worse by trying to make him keep this routine when he is telling me that he is ready to move on. So, first step we are going to try is to maintain his first nap (usually around 12-2 before all this mess) and to transition the second nap (usually 4:20-5:00) to just a quiet time - where we will stay in his room probably in bed, but he can read books, play with his teddy bear, etc. the things he's doing laying there anyway, but I'm not going to force it if he doesn't go to sleep - if he falls asleep great, if not and after half an hour or so he is saying he is ready to go, then okay, we'll go and play - I'll miss that time because it was great for prepping dinner, but I think it's worth a try to see if that makes our home a more peaceful place. It isn't like if we try this out and he ends up having crazy meltdowns, we can't go back to making that nap happen again. 

Overall, I know that this whole sleep regression - like all the others - we just have to get through, but I think this plan will help me to deal a little better and feel good about myself and our relationship when we come out on the other side. It's funny...I didn't have a problem with CIO when he was little and it was just him crying and falling asleep, but now it just feels different - he has real kid emotions and feelings that are hurt. He is developing his own opinions and wants and desires that he is expressing - and I want to encourage that, not stifle it - while still helping him learn boundaries and helping him to understand that even though he wants something and communicates it - he won't always get it. Which we are working on, and he is getting kind of. This was a lesson for mommy in flexibility...a lesson in choosing my battles...and in this battle I choose my son knowing that I am there and that I love him and I will comfort him as long as he needs me to - because soon enough he'll be telling me to go and that he doesn't need me and in the end I want him to know I love him - sure I want him to respect and obey - but not out of fear - out of love and a desire to please which he has an abundance of and I don't want to take away.

There, there, baby...mama's here...