Sunday, November 15, 2009

A rare moment of peace...

I finally have both girls napping at the same time, so I will seize this rare moment of peace (and boredom?) to post a quick blog. Life has been full, busy, but fun since Della arrived. Lydia really has taken to being a big sister, and has been very sweet and careful with our little one with few exceptions. Della is a very good baby. She had a four-week period of nighttime fussiness which was difficult, but she seems to be past that now. Since I don't know how long this entry will be, as Della seems to be making a few grunting noises now, I'll be quick and post some quick observances.

-Before Della arrived, Lydia seemed to be almost ready to stop breastfeeding. In fact, she didn't breastfeed at all on the day of Della's birth. Della's arrival, however, sent her back into breastfeeding mode, and she still tends to request "Nummies" any time she sees Della eating. This means that I end up feeding both girls at once a lot of the time. This has worked wonders for my milk supply, but it leaves me feeling like a big cow or milk goddess or something. It's definitely not a look that can work for me (or anyone, I suspect). I haven't had the heart to argue with Lydia, though. I feel like cutting her off is a bit cruel, and I don't want her to resent Della. I've also come up with a good way to limit Lydia's nursing before naps and bedtime. We do "ABC Nummies", which means that I just slowly sing the ABCs and then stop nursing her. That means that those sessions are only about 1 minute long. I'm hoping that soon she'll stop.

-Lydia remains obsessed with belly buttons. We can see her playing with her own at naptime, and she insists on playing with mine while nursing. Some of the only times that she's at all rough with Della are when she pushes her away so that she can get to my belly button. Weird!

-I still only bathe Della a few times a week (she doesn't get very dirty yet), and Lydia loves being able to take a bath with her. I stick both girls in the baby tub together. It's a little hectic getting them in and out, but they're so cute in there together.

-Breastfed baby poop is so cute and smells so much better than toddler poop. No comparison. However, it can really make a mess of clothes. I still love OxiClean Baby spray.

-I LOVE our Baby Jogger City Mini Double stroller. I never would have thought that I could be so crazy about a stroller, but it's wonderful! I can easily push it and have Otis on leash at the same time. Fortunately, Lydia loves her stroller rides, and it's a great way to corral both girls and get some peace and quiet.

-Peace and quiet is all well and good, but sometimes there's nothing like getting out of the house. In the past 2 weeks, I hauled both girls singlehandedly to Domino's petting farm and Calder Dairy. Lydia loves seeing the animals, and it's fun to have something to do. We went to the dairy last week to see the cows being milked and have some fresh ice cream. Ever since, Lydia continues to talk about how we saw the cows being milked and the baby cows in little houses of their own.

-Lydia and I went to the fire department with my friend Sarah's mom group from her church. It was a young group of kids, so the main thing the firemen did was try to convey that firemen were nice and shouldn't be scary. Lydia was so quiet and shy, but all the way home she kept talking about how much fun she had at the firehouse. She also learned a new word--Scared. Since then, she likes to say, "Lydia scared". When we ask, "What are you scared of?", she quickly replies, "Fireman". Mission not achieved.

-Lydia still loves to read. Her favorite is "monkey stories" AKA A Treasury of Curious George. We discovered this week that she has heard the book so frequently that we can stop mid-sentence and she can tell us the next word almost every time. It's unbelievable. She's just as good with "Make Way for Ducklings". I guess all that repetition really does help.

-Our puppy Otis is doing a great job and getting better and better all the time. He's very gentle with the girls, though he still sometimes can knock Lydia over in his enthusiasm

OK, Lydia is starting to make noise. She's saying, "Poop" and whimpering. Time to go change her.

2 comments:

Tara said...

It's great to hear how things are going with you and your two-under-two. I'm also very impressed--you may be the first person I know who has actually pulled off tandem nursing (of non-twins). :)

I like how their names have the same consonants in them--very cute!

Julie said...

Wow. It makes me tired to just read about what all you are doing. But it certainly sounds like you are pulling it all off with aplomb. I am also very impressed with the tandem nursing!