Sunny 9 for 2007 April 14 (entry 0)

(2) Sat Apr 14 2007 18:16 The chid'rens: I love this phase Gunnar is at right now. He has figured out how to play with his toys! Yay, less crying in the car! He can entertain himself for longer than 5 minutes. What freedom. He has also found his thumb and so putting him down for naps has been so much easier. He falls asleep in less than 10 minutes with minimal crying.

He is also getting cuter and less of that alien baby look (sorry, I know a mother shouldn't be admitting that their baby looks like an alien) and growing more into his own personality. It really amazes me how different Gunnar and Lily are. They really do come down with their own disposition. Gunnar is the nicest baby. He is always talking to you even if you are not looking at him and once you do look at him he will unleash his flirtations. He is the biggest coo'er and ahh'er and giggler. You can get him to laugh one fingertip away even mid-cry. And did I mention the most adorable dimples? Well, one obvious one and the other cheek is very slight and sometimes noticeable. He will just sit and smile at you on your lap, and he loves getting his diaper changed because that means more face time! He is just an all around happy guy. Very sweet, and he loves his mama.

We also introduced rice cereal a couple days ago. Success! He loves the stuff. He has finished off every bowl so far. He is not great at it but manages to keep most of it in his mouth, much more than Lily did. I think he takes after me loving food. I was talking with my friend and Jenni the other day on when to introduce rice cereal and I have come to this conclusion. With Lily I wanted to wait the full 6 months I guess because a lot of places say they have a lesser chance of getting food allergies, etc. Plus, I admit, I didn't want my baby growing up too fast and becoming less dependent on me for food. I loved the bond of nursing even if I had to force it upon Lily in the beginning. We started Lily on rice cereal at 5 1/2 months only because Aaron pushed me to. He is good at getting me to let loose for example getting Lily into a twin bed. She would have been in a crib until she could climb out if it were up to me. Gunnar though, up until this week has been eating every 2 hours. And now it is 2 1/2 hours because I am trying to put my foot down and not feed him as much as he would like because if it were up to him, he could suck all day. That's why I gave him rice cereal because I think he needs the extra calories, and plus I know it won't hurt him. So when they say 4-6 months I really do believe 4-6 months. Some babies begin at 4 months (Caden) because they are starving and want more, while others may not need it until later. This just proves to me once again that all babies are different. I don't know if one person can ever mold a baby into sleeping through the night by 8 weeks-4 months either. I just don't believe the books that say you can. Because if you can, tell me what I am doing wrong?!

Poor Lily has been acting out a little more lately. This past week she has been STUBBORN! She just tested the limits 24/7. I felt like I was in a constant struggle with her. She has also been doing baby talk for the past couple weeks. All this I assume to get more attention. One of Lily's quirks is lately she wants to see her poops when we change her diaper. She says, "I want to see my brown poopies." And then she will say, "Gunnar has yellow poop." She is very observant, that one. Closer to being potty trained, they say, when they are interested in their own poop. Hopefully soon she can potty train herself. Or better yet, Aaron can step in once again for me and do it. Maybe when he is done with school in about a month. Ha!

Comments:

Posted by Sumana at Sun Apr 15 2007 07:09

Yay for food and happiness in the Kristen house!

I have absolutely no idea whether you can always mold a child into sleeping through the night within a set period of time. But I thought that these diary entries (by a psychologist who's a mother of a toddler) might be interesting for you for the bits about the child learning the rules and being told not to do stuff.

http://rivka.livejournal.com/342737.html

http://rivka.livejournal.com/319772.html

Posted by Kristen at Mon Apr 16 2007 09:31

Thanks Sumana. Pretty interesting stuff. I like reading about other people's kids and then thinking about how Lily is similar or different and how neat toddlers are. It makes me wish I got a degree in that just so I can figure out their complex world. They really say the funniest things. I really wish I had more patience because Lily deserves that. There is always an excuse and the one for me is juggling her and Gunnar, and I admit I get so frustrated sometimes. It's a work in progress. I'll tell you what, the next baby is coming well after the terrible two's, you can count on that.