My little girl is officially sleeping in her crib. I am amazed that my little girl made the transition so well. I had kept her sleeping in her swing for the entire summer that we were away because I just did not feel she was ready. She would cry and cry in her crib but when we returned home to her beautiful room with her big white crib, she cried just a little and then fell asleep. I am also amazed because she is teething and still she was able to get to sleep. She woke up twice during the first night but went back to sleep and last night I did give her a bottle because I knew her teeth must have been hurting her-you know that cry that just sounds like something is wrong. I am giving her tylenol right now and Belladonna, a homeopathic remedy for teething.

So she is growing up so fast. She is crawling everywhere and she is damn fast too.

The other day I realized that maybe Sam would prefer eating food by feeding herself. First I bought a food that Max loves, plum and banana and brown rice. So I tried giving her the food-she refused then I gave her the spoon in her hand and she opened her mouth and ate all the food. WOW! Then she ate more and more. Then today she ate more and some yogurt mixed in with the food. WOW. My little girl is growing up.

As for Max, he is still sleeping with one of us. My mom made some comment about how it may be a good idea to get him in his own bed but there is a huge part of me that feels that Max needs the security of sleeping with one of us. At first I felt she was right but then after talking with some friends and my husband, I feel different. One of the things I have always done is listened to my children and well I am listening. Max needs to sleep with one of us or both of us. I am confident he will still grow up to be an independent boy/man.

One of my biggest anxieties with having two kids was timing the damn nap. Max was never a great sleeper so nap meant laying down with him until he went to sleep or driving in the car and letting him sleep in our driveway in his car seat. So when Sam arrived he got better but it still meant lying down with him. Some days it would work and others it would not. I know I am not alone because tons of my friends had the same situation. I just never felt comfortable letting Sam cry in a swing while I was laying down with Max.

But now Max is rarely napping and I love it. It takes all of 2 minutes for him to fall asleep at night and so by 7 pm the night is mine. Sam sleeps for about 40 mins in the am and about 1.5 to 2.5 hours in the afternoon but typically 2 hours. I just feel so much less stress around this issue.

Sometimes Max is so tired and I let him nap for about 40 minutes but that means he goes to sleep by 7 30pm so the NO NAP actually gives him a better night sleep and he is more rested then when he naps and sleeps at night. I also noticed that it gives me time with my husband. Since my kids get up early, I was always tired by the time my husband got him down but now we hang out and chat and then I either watch my own shows or go to bed.

It feels so good just to have it figured out for today but of course of motherhood has taught me anything-this too will change!! hahahahaha

So Samantha is sleeping through the night except for an the occasional waking because of teething or tummy. She wakes up early in the am and either sleeps in the running stroller or around 8:30 am and then she goes back for a nap around 1:30 pm. She is ready to go down by 6:30 or 7 pm, which is great because then I or my husband can get Max down easily and have a night to ourselves to unwind.

BUT she sometimes wakes anywhere between 5 am and 6 am. I can deal with 5:30 even but 5 am is tough for me. I guess I wanted to know if you let your baby stay in their room even if they are crying. I feel at this point she has had a good night sleep. Should I delay bed but the that means letting her an afternoon nap and then bed time is later? Am I trying to have it both ways meaning early bed and late wake up? Should I just keep my mouth shut? LOL

I don’t mind getting up early but 5 am is a little too early for me. I just hate the thought of her crying in her room after sleeping good through the night but I am still curious on what people have done in this situation. When do you put your children to sleep and when do they wake up and what is your nap schedule like?

I feel like the kids are growing daily. It amazes me that we came to the beach with a small little baby and now she looks like a plump little girl. She pulled herself up the other day and I am anxiously awaiting for it to happen again. She wants to crawl so bad. I guess I should cherish the moments before crawling because once that happens all the gates need to be closed and she needs to be watched constantly. 

I am enjoying the beach a lot but I do miss my friends and our routine at home. I know it sound crazy. I LOVE the beach and  I am having such a great time as a family but some days I just miss the known.

The hubby and I really needed this or I really needed this. I needed to remember why I fell in love with him. We have been laughing and hanging out and smooching-all things that had not happened a lot in the past 7 months. I just did not have any energy at night after the kids went to sleep and basically I just wanted to be alone. So it has been great. We have date night every Tuesday night.

Max’s allergies are better. I am finally realizing what works and what does not. Basically he eats a very plain whole food diet which consists of beef, veal, lamb, rice, fruits, veggies and well that is about it. I have been experimenting making ice cream for him. It is tough but it is tougher when he has rashes on his face and genital, tantrums, and stops talking. I always know when he has a slight reaction because his mood changes instantly. Today I am making vanilla ice cream,  I will let you know how it goes. I made banana but he did not like the texture so I am sticking with basic vanilla. 

Sam is doing great. She is back to sleeping through the night. She sleeps 6:45 pm to 6 or 6:30 am. Not bad. She still refuses to eat and I am trusting her body. I am convinced that if I would have delayed Max’s food then maybe he wold have less allergies. her body just can’t tolerate food. Everything I give her, she has a reaction so for now, just formula.

Max’s speech is so good. he is adding words daily and it is so funny to hear what is on his mind. We are so proud of him. I know the food is directly related to his speech. Thank goodness we realized this.

We had family and then friends for an entire week and i think it was a lot for me. We had a great time with my folks, then my MIL, then friends from Europe but at the end I felt like I was empty. I think it was just having everyone back to back. I was kind of bitchy the last few days and I think I just need a really good run or some quiet time for myself. We have friends coming again this weekend but it is our acupuncturist, also godmother to our kids and her family, and she is bringing needles. YEAH I am going to have acupuncture. I am so damn excited. So next time I will not plan everyone back to back and do a better job taking care of myself. 

So we arrived Monday. It was a little crazy getting here but we arrived. The house is so beautiful. I love it. The kitchen is white and the house is an open layout and we are just a walk to the bay or the beach.

Just in the past 2 days Sam has rolled over from her back to front and I swear is eating pizza late at night cause she looks huge. Max has a crew cut for the summer and not because I chose that. Max had his hair cut the other day and my sitter took him and he cried endlessly and so the cut was not so good so I thought the hubby should shave it since ALL boys know how to cut hair.WRONG!! not my hubby so he shaved a test run from front to back-GO FIGURE. I cursed, he yelled, I cursed, he cursed and I cried. I took Max, who was screaming bloody murder to the kid barber for an emergency shave. I had to hold him down in a wrestling move but he actually looks adorable.  Yeah he is that kid that screams with snot coming out of his nose and mouth. 

Regardless we made it but I did not lock the front door. yes you heard me. It was not locked because my mom had come over and I guess she just closed the door and I never checked it so our alarm went off last night because it just opened with the rains and the wind. I was amazed that the hubby was so sweet and understanding. He is generally very calm with that stuff but come on the front door. he just said that we all make mistakes and it was a crazy day. What a sweetie.

So Sam is not sleeping. I know she is teething really bad and will only sleep after a small dose of tylenol. She also will only sleep in her swing. UGH! She also does not like food at all. Could this all be teeth? I knew over the past 3 weeks that she was getting bad since she was sleeping half the night in her swing and if not, she screamed and screamed bloody murder. Daphne Goldberg, her doctor and I felt that it was more important to have her sleep that to force her to sleep in her crib but do they make swings that can hold a baby past 20 pounds. I know she is in pain and so I just dont have the heart to let her scream. I know she knows how to sleep and I know she is in discomfort. I tried giving her some homeopathy, Chamomilla 30c, and it seemed to work for a little but did not hold. I will probably call the homeopath today. Teething sucks. 

But the beach is awesome and as soon as I get the camera charged I will upload some pics. We will be here for 10 weeks and already I feel relaxed.I found a local moms group that is letting me join for the summer. I am so psyched.