Last week, Grant woke up in the middle of the night acting like he could hardly breathe. It was awful. Matt and I were seriously considering the E.R., when suddenly Grant coughed up whole bunch of fluid and just like that, poof, sounded totally fine again. So I put him to bed right in his little portable crib right next to me, and we went back to sleep. Well, he went back to sleep. I slept fitfully all night, listening to him breathe smoothly and effortlessly with the occasional sniffle and cough, freaked out that somehow he'd start to not breath. Of course, that didn't happen. He was fine.
Since then, both Cooper and Grant came down with a mild cold followed by a nasty amount of mucus, coughing, and what I think are sore throats (tough to tell). I really just chalked it up to the usual winter sick kid nastiness until I ran into a kid (and his dad) that go to our daycare. Little guy Bob (not his real name) was looking a tad haggard and suddenly started coughing the same disgusting and painful cough that Cooper and Grant have had for about a week. I sort of laughed in mutual parental sympathy and said, "Ugh, that's the same thing I hear in our house" and his dad looked very serious. "Really? Because we spent Friday night in the E.R. with him. Turns out he has RSV- highly contagious- and most likely all the kids at daycare already have it, too. I hear that some of the other guys at daycare are really sick."
Sigh. So that explains the cough, the phlegm, the poor napping, the perennial nose yuck. They both have RSV. And it explains the weird fluid incident with Grant- RSV is famous for making kids breathe poorly because of excess mucus buildup, especially little babies.
As I write this, during naptime, I can hear them coughing. Bleh. At least now I know why. And on that note, I'm gonna go wash my hands.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
1 year and 3 year
We did our tandem well-child checkup today, and it was a success! My plan was to do it all at once, all four of us, and just get it done. So I scheduled both boys with their doctor (we use the same one for both) in adjacent slots halfway between their respective birthdays. Matt and I discussed the plan ahead of time (Cooper first, so that he doesn't have to watch Grant get any shots) and then off we went.
Of course, nobody could have predicted that Grant would sleep the latest he has ever slept in his entire life today. So that made morning nap go from a perfectly planned hour and a half to a counterproductive 20 minutes. That wasn't the greatest start. And I also didn't forsee Cooper getting extremely shy and nervous with the ear-nose-mouth stuff. In the past he's been so good about that, but I probably could have guessed it given his current stranger fears. Him saying things like "I feel nervous and I want to get down please" while struggling vigorously to free himself from my grip as our doctor gently attempted to listen to his lungs was kinda funny, given the earlier question "does he use sentences of 3 words or more in a row?"
And then somehow, poor Cooper thought that he got to play in the waiting room play area afterwards- a preconceived notion that ended very poorly with a remarkable tantrum and severe lashing out. He's actually never hit me that hard before, and it was tough not to put him down in self preservation. But you just can't drop a mad irrational toddler in a dark and dirty parking garage, I suppose, so there's that.
Final stats:
Cooper now has broken the 30lb mark! Big boy! He's just barely 32 lbs. And Grant is no slouch at 24 lbs. That's pretty big for 1, although not enormous. We didn't get accurate heights for either kid, because of nervousness and so forth, but who cares? I know Cooper is tall because he's taller than his peers, and I know Grant is tall for the same reason, so I'll just rest assured they are a nice height.
Of course, nobody could have predicted that Grant would sleep the latest he has ever slept in his entire life today. So that made morning nap go from a perfectly planned hour and a half to a counterproductive 20 minutes. That wasn't the greatest start. And I also didn't forsee Cooper getting extremely shy and nervous with the ear-nose-mouth stuff. In the past he's been so good about that, but I probably could have guessed it given his current stranger fears. Him saying things like "I feel nervous and I want to get down please" while struggling vigorously to free himself from my grip as our doctor gently attempted to listen to his lungs was kinda funny, given the earlier question "does he use sentences of 3 words or more in a row?"
And then somehow, poor Cooper thought that he got to play in the waiting room play area afterwards- a preconceived notion that ended very poorly with a remarkable tantrum and severe lashing out. He's actually never hit me that hard before, and it was tough not to put him down in self preservation. But you just can't drop a mad irrational toddler in a dark and dirty parking garage, I suppose, so there's that.
Final stats:
Cooper now has broken the 30lb mark! Big boy! He's just barely 32 lbs. And Grant is no slouch at 24 lbs. That's pretty big for 1, although not enormous. We didn't get accurate heights for either kid, because of nervousness and so forth, but who cares? I know Cooper is tall because he's taller than his peers, and I know Grant is tall for the same reason, so I'll just rest assured they are a nice height.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Good roommates
The room sharing situation has gone from 'rough start' to 'happy roomies' in what I feel like must be record time. Within about three weeks, they totally adjusted to each others sounds and cries and now both of them sleep through anything. Cooper sleeps through Grant waking up to nurse around 2:30am every night, and Grant sleeps through Cooper periodically freaking out in the middle of the night because he peed the bed (about once every 10 days) or because his nose is so stuffed up that he can't breathe (recent issue associated with head cold).
One of the best parts is that they keep each other entertained for a short period of time each morning. Trust me, the difference between two cranky screaming kids at 6:15 and two good natured awake cute kids at 6:30 totally transcends the 15 minute gap.
Most impressively, my month-long campaign to extend Grant's bedtime to 7pm instead of 6:30pm finally paid off, and he's adjusted by sleeping until 6:15/6:45ish instead of regular (jarring) 5:45 wakeups. This is a godsend in so many ways. Having them both naturally wake up at the same time, in the same room, and essentially sleep all night in that room, has totally changed the feel and flow of our lives.
One of the best parts is that they keep each other entertained for a short period of time each morning. Trust me, the difference between two cranky screaming kids at 6:15 and two good natured awake cute kids at 6:30 totally transcends the 15 minute gap.
Most impressively, my month-long campaign to extend Grant's bedtime to 7pm instead of 6:30pm finally paid off, and he's adjusted by sleeping until 6:15/6:45ish instead of regular (jarring) 5:45 wakeups. This is a godsend in so many ways. Having them both naturally wake up at the same time, in the same room, and essentially sleep all night in that room, has totally changed the feel and flow of our lives.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Tired, with trains
Yesterday was a long day for Cooper. And when it was bedtime, he resisted quite furiously with lots of tears and frustration. After he was calm and quiet, I could still hear him behind his bedroom door, near-silently playing with his train set, for another 45 minutes.
Here he is after finally falling asleep. Note the rain boots. He slept like that until roughly 1am, when he got up, took off his boots, used the bathroom all by himself, and then went to back to sleep in his bed.
Here he is after finally falling asleep. Note the rain boots. He slept like that until roughly 1am, when he got up, took off his boots, used the bathroom all by himself, and then went to back to sleep in his bed.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Party!
Grant is ONE! Amazing. We had a lovely birthday brunch for him today, and he giggled hysterically when we lit his tiny birthday candle on his birthday pumpkin muffin. Cooper was nice enough to blow it out for him when we said it was OK (what a good brother).
I'm so proud of Grant for being such a smooth tempered kid. He loved being at his party, ate his pumpkin muffin with gusto, and played with all the big kids like a champ. He's also quite tenacious when another kid takes his toy, which is a critical skill as a little brother, so it was good to see him stand up to the other toddlers and cling to things he wanted to keep for himself.
Grant now uses three words regularly- doggie, dada, and ball. He also has gotten really good at making pretty clear sounds of frustration or desire for various things, and gestures at what he wants. All of these things are very helpful at helping figure out what he's thinking. The baby tantrums are adorable, of course, and he keeps those pretty much to a minimum.
Cooper has added "Holy Cow" as well as "That's terrible" to his list of funny phrases. Amusingly, he pronounces the word Terrible very poorly, which makes Matt and I giggle. He says "Ter-bi-bibble" and also, for the word horrible (which he also says sometimes), "Hor-bi-bibble." The cuteness of this cannot be overstated when it is said by a little guy. "That guy fell down and bonk his head! That's ter-bi-bibble."
I'm so proud of Grant for being such a smooth tempered kid. He loved being at his party, ate his pumpkin muffin with gusto, and played with all the big kids like a champ. He's also quite tenacious when another kid takes his toy, which is a critical skill as a little brother, so it was good to see him stand up to the other toddlers and cling to things he wanted to keep for himself.
Grant now uses three words regularly- doggie, dada, and ball. He also has gotten really good at making pretty clear sounds of frustration or desire for various things, and gestures at what he wants. All of these things are very helpful at helping figure out what he's thinking. The baby tantrums are adorable, of course, and he keeps those pretty much to a minimum.
Cooper has added "Holy Cow" as well as "That's terrible" to his list of funny phrases. Amusingly, he pronounces the word Terrible very poorly, which makes Matt and I giggle. He says "Ter-bi-bibble" and also, for the word horrible (which he also says sometimes), "Hor-bi-bibble." The cuteness of this cannot be overstated when it is said by a little guy. "That guy fell down and bonk his head! That's ter-bi-bibble."
Monday, February 7, 2011
These are my bins
Grant and Cooper are starting the transition into sharing a room. This is a terrible week to try it, because both of them are recovering from being pretty sick and thus not sleeping well, but we are just rolling with it and seeing what happens.
Last night was pretty awful, with both kids awake at least 5 or 6 times to pee, cough, freak out, cry, nurse, etc etc. But after the fog of the morning lifted, I remembered a nearly hallucinatory moment in the middle of the night. I woke up listening to what seemed at first like classic Cooper monologue, but was actually dialogue between the new roommates.
Cooper: These are my bins. My pants are in this one. And you can use the changing table, but not the bins. They are MINE and you don't get to have my pants.
Grant: Squeak!
Cooper: NO GRANT these are my bins. No touchin' them while I use the potty, 'k? 'K?
Grant: Squeak!
Cooper: 'K. I go pee now.
Then I hear Cooper run off to use the potty. I come downstairs to make sure everything is OK to find that Cooper has turned on all the lights. Great. So much for letting Grant sleep. Grant is standing up in his crib, bouncing up and down with glee, and babbling non-stop, presumably about how cool his big brother is to share his room and talk to him at around 1:30am. Cooper runs back into the room, and tosses himself back onto his bed. I remind him that Grant needs the light off to sleep, and either I can turn it off, or Cooper can turn it off. Cooper opts to turn it off himself like a big boy (excellent) and pops back into bed and flips over, his butt waving in the air, to fall back asleep.
Delirious from being sick and woken up for around the 4th time, I wandered back upstairs without so much as picking up Grant, let alone reassuring or nursing him. And somehow the next time I woke up it was at least 3 hours later. The lights were all still off, Cooper was still in bed, and Grant was just on his usual schedule of 4am nursing session. So that gives me hope that these guys will share a room just fine, eventually.
Last night was pretty awful, with both kids awake at least 5 or 6 times to pee, cough, freak out, cry, nurse, etc etc. But after the fog of the morning lifted, I remembered a nearly hallucinatory moment in the middle of the night. I woke up listening to what seemed at first like classic Cooper monologue, but was actually dialogue between the new roommates.
Cooper: These are my bins. My pants are in this one. And you can use the changing table, but not the bins. They are MINE and you don't get to have my pants.
Grant: Squeak!
Cooper: NO GRANT these are my bins. No touchin' them while I use the potty, 'k? 'K?
Grant: Squeak!
Cooper: 'K. I go pee now.
Then I hear Cooper run off to use the potty. I come downstairs to make sure everything is OK to find that Cooper has turned on all the lights. Great. So much for letting Grant sleep. Grant is standing up in his crib, bouncing up and down with glee, and babbling non-stop, presumably about how cool his big brother is to share his room and talk to him at around 1:30am. Cooper runs back into the room, and tosses himself back onto his bed. I remind him that Grant needs the light off to sleep, and either I can turn it off, or Cooper can turn it off. Cooper opts to turn it off himself like a big boy (excellent) and pops back into bed and flips over, his butt waving in the air, to fall back asleep.
Delirious from being sick and woken up for around the 4th time, I wandered back upstairs without so much as picking up Grant, let alone reassuring or nursing him. And somehow the next time I woke up it was at least 3 hours later. The lights were all still off, Cooper was still in bed, and Grant was just on his usual schedule of 4am nursing session. So that gives me hope that these guys will share a room just fine, eventually.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Jello?
Me: Hey Cooper, do you want some jello?
Cooper: Hey Mom! I love it! I want some of it pleeeease! That looks so great, and I will love it.... Mom, what is this stuff?
Me: Jello. It is kinda like juice, but you eat it with a spoon.
Cooper: I can't eat that. It's yuck.
Ah, toddlers.
Cooper: Hey Mom! I love it! I want some of it pleeeease! That looks so great, and I will love it.... Mom, what is this stuff?
Me: Jello. It is kinda like juice, but you eat it with a spoon.
Cooper: I can't eat that. It's yuck.
Ah, toddlers.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Snowboarder!
You know those little green plastic army guys? The ones with guns, bayonets, and hand grenades? These guys?
Well, a while back I found one in the garden. A regular fellow bearing what appears to be a rifle with a bayonet, positioned in a pretty upright stance with gun held vertically from the hip. I stashed him in the junk drawer (god knows why) and Cooper found him yesterday.
But Cooper has NO idea what the little fellow is. And I wasn't about to tell him. So the discovery went like this;
Cooper: WOW!
Me: Whatcha got?
Cooper: WOW! A TINY GUY!
Me: Oh, yeah, that is a tiny guy.
Cooper: He's a snowboarder! With a ski pole! And he wears a ski helmet.
Me: (stifling the urge to giggle) That does look like a snowboard, Cooper. So, what is your tiny guy gonna do?
Cooper: He's gonna go slide down the mountain on his snowboard!
So, my question is this; Did you ever notice that the blob of plastic below the little green army guys, if appropriately blobby, looks like a snowboard? I did not. And the little guy that Cooper has is situated on a blob that is much more symmetrical than the ones in this image I just grabbed off the web- it is actually quite nearly snowboard looking. So the whole thing is funny to me. He's never seen any of the Toy Story movies, nor any other gun or army stuff, so I love the immediate conclusion of what the tiny guy was doing... snowboarding! With a ski pole! And of course he was wearing his ski helmet, I mean, c'mon- you gotta wear that.
Well, a while back I found one in the garden. A regular fellow bearing what appears to be a rifle with a bayonet, positioned in a pretty upright stance with gun held vertically from the hip. I stashed him in the junk drawer (god knows why) and Cooper found him yesterday.
But Cooper has NO idea what the little fellow is. And I wasn't about to tell him. So the discovery went like this;
Cooper: WOW!
Me: Whatcha got?
Cooper: WOW! A TINY GUY!
Me: Oh, yeah, that is a tiny guy.
Cooper: He's a snowboarder! With a ski pole! And he wears a ski helmet.
Me: (stifling the urge to giggle) That does look like a snowboard, Cooper. So, what is your tiny guy gonna do?
Cooper: He's gonna go slide down the mountain on his snowboard!
So, my question is this; Did you ever notice that the blob of plastic below the little green army guys, if appropriately blobby, looks like a snowboard? I did not. And the little guy that Cooper has is situated on a blob that is much more symmetrical than the ones in this image I just grabbed off the web- it is actually quite nearly snowboard looking. So the whole thing is funny to me. He's never seen any of the Toy Story movies, nor any other gun or army stuff, so I love the immediate conclusion of what the tiny guy was doing... snowboarding! With a ski pole! And of course he was wearing his ski helmet, I mean, c'mon- you gotta wear that.
Exact quote
Cooper: Hey Momma, where's Grant?
Me: He's in your room, hon.
Cooper: Oh, that's great! I love him. He's my FAVORITE brother.
Me: He's in your room, hon.
Cooper: Oh, that's great! I love him. He's my FAVORITE brother.
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