Life with two kids is very different than life with one. I won't lie, at first it was hard. I have always needed a good amount of sleep, and when my sleep is broken up by a newborn, and I don't get naps because I also have a toddler, life seems hard. I felt like that stage would never end. I found myself almost wishing away Hayden's newborn stage just so I could feel normal and get some sleep again. Thankfully, we have settled into a comfortable routine, and I am loving being a Mommy of 2! Although having them 15 months apart probably made the first few weeks with Hayden even harder, I am so glad they are this close in age now. Don't hear me wrong - Lord-willing, we won't have babies this close together again! Haha! But I am so glad the Lord planned Tenley and Hayden with his perfect timing, because these kids are just great.
Hayden took longer to sleep through the night than Tenley did. I think it had to do with his belly issues. He was pretty gassy for awhile, and it seemed to upset him quite a bit. Thankfully, he is past that now, and sleeps through the night like an angel. Around 3 months old, he was sleeping 9-10 hours at night. He had a couple weeks where he stretched out his nighttime sleep to 14 hours each night, but now, just past 4 months old, he has settled into a nice 12 hour sleep. He and Tenley are on the same night sleep schedule: 8-9pm to 8-9am. Love it. Hayden is still napping so much right now that I don't even count the naps. He is on a good eat-wake-sleep-repeat routine throughout the day, and eats about every 2 1/2- 3 hours.
When Hayden was 3 months old, I decided to start running. The weather outside was unseasonably awesome, and the baby weight was just not coming off so easily like it did with Tenley. I have always hated - no - loathed running. Well, the day before I started running I got mastitis. I am so glad I caught it early and was only sick and good for nothing for 1 day, and that day happened to be one of Stephen's normal days off work. So I started antibiotics and started running on the same day. My milk supply dropped noticeably, and I assumed it was because of the antibiotics. We suffered through those 10 days, and I figured my milk would come right back within a week after finishing the meds. I drank Mother's Milk tea to give myself a boost and noticed a slight increase, but still not enough. After struggling through this for awhile, I asked some of my friends for advice and some of them thought the drop in supply could have to do with me exercising. I was really bummed. It had taken me 3 full weeks to work up to running a mile without stopping, and then I had to stop. So I quit working out, except I decided to continue going to Zumba class once a week. I noticed a very good increase in my milk. But it still wasn't where it had always been. Another friend suggested I work on trying to drink more water. So I decided I would make sure I drank 100+ ounces each day. I actually drank like 130 the first day. My milk came back with a force immediately!!! I was so happy!! After over a month and a half of feeling like I could never have enough milk to satisfy my baby boy, this was an awesome day. So now I am drinking water like crazy and peeing every 15 minutes. Ugh. But I guess that is a really small price to pay!! I am still pretty bummed that I did all that work running and I might have to start all over again later. Man, it felt SO good to be able to run a mile and not hate it. I actually found myself wanting to run. That is craziness for me. I am afraid to start back up again with all the problems I've had with milk supply in the last 2 months, but I will try to start up slowly again soon.
When Tenley was almost 18 months old, we decided to have a go at the potty training thing. I was potty trained by 18 months, and I have quite a few friends who have potty trained their children this young or even younger, so we decided to try. We did one solid day, and that evening I got sick with mastitis. So we stopped. I haven't had the motivation to clean up more pee from the floor yet, so we are waiting for awhile longer!! We did get some cute pictures, though. For now, we are just talking a lot about the potty, I take her with me, she says bye-bye when I flush, and she knows to wash your hands after you go. Sometimes she will sit on her potty or the big potty, but she will rarely actually go. She now like to take her baby to the potty and pretend with her. The first time she did this, I played along and pretended with her, and after the baby was done on the potty, she took her baby to the pile of diapers and wanted to put a diaper on baby. I
told her no, baby pee-pees in the potty, baby doesn't have a diaper. I think she understands what pottys are for, but doesn't understand yet that when you go on the potty, you don't get to go in your diaper too - only the potty. When we do start again, I think she will get it quickly, but I think I will wait another couple months to make sure she is ready.
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| everything you need for potty training (take 1) |
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| princess underwear |
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| reading on the potty |
At the kids' checkups last week, Hayden was 25" long and weighed 15lbs (both 50th percentile), and head circ 42.5cm (75th percentile). That is all steady with his growth pattern from birth. (Yes, how lucky was I to push out a 8lb 5oz baby with a big head!?) Tenley measured 31.5" and weighed 27.6lbs, with head circ 48cm. Her height is 50th percentile, which is short for her. But this was the first time they had measured her standing up. Weight and head is 75-85th percentile, which has always been normal for her.
Tenley is learning new words every day. I don't keep count anymore. It seemed like for a very long time, her only word was, "Hi!" Oh, but she was a pro at saying hi. Anyone who had ever seen her before knew that. Ha! She is now saying and repeating all kinds of words, which also means we have to be very careful about what words we say around her, because she very well might repeat them - a lot! Her first phrase was "more cheese." She is so much my child. I think that is still the favorite phrase for almost every Roehr family member. Tenley eats great - lots of fruits and veggies. I'm proud to say she is not the picky eater I was when I was a kid. Good for her. And she has finally started to enjoy holding my hand when we walk. I love it. It used to be impossible to get her to hold my hand, but last week at the hospital, she got to walk through the parking lot and the building all by herself because she would hold my hand like a good big girl. She is such a good girl. Sure, she has her moments, but if you ignore her fussing/"tantrum," she stops. She loves to help me dust, put away dishes, sweep, fold laundry, take care of Hayden, vacuum, organize, etc. If something is out of place, she quickly corrects it or lets me know and we cannot move on until it has been put in the correct place. I'm not sure where she got this cleaning gene from, but I like it!! Hopefully she will still love all of this when she is actually old enough to really help out.
Hayden is finally getting good control of that big ole head of his, and he is such a happy baby. He laughs and smiles and loves to talk to people. He loves to kick and punch and grab toys. He is also trying to roll over from back to belly, but Lord help him when he finally does, because he HATES to be on his tummy! He will have to learn quick to flip back, or to just stay where he is, or else we could have some interesting nap/nighttimes.
Every day, I am amazed at Tenley and Hayden. I am amazed at everything they learn. Not because I think they're not smart, but because I am amazed at how God created them so wonderfully. Having the two of them around all day constantly reminds me to stop and praise my Creator and Savior for his good work and his grace. They are both such great gifts from Him. I am so, so thankful that God chose me to be their Mommy.
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| Hayden 4 months - he loves baths |
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| Tenley 19 months - playing with her favorite baby doll |
Hayden 3mo pics/ Tenley 18mo pics - by Jessie Mason
