I have some catching up to do (always, it seems) about B's Christmas program, church program, stuff like that, but I wanted to blog real fast tonight about the huge box I found on our doorstep this afternoon.
It was FULL of presents for both boys. From b's birth mom and his birth mom's grandparents!
I got tears. Especially at the idea that they included B-man.
*sniff sniff*!
b's birth mom gave B-man a monkey about as big as he is, and her grandparents gave him 20 matchbox cars with a launcher. The kid couldn't quit smiling. :)
b's birth mom gave b a CUTE monkey bathrobe and slippers, and a laugh and learn puppy that he loves to giggle at! Her grandparents gave him a soooo soft Carter's outfit.
I'm seriously so touched by their generosity. <3 p="p">
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Saturday, December 08, 2012
five months
We have a five month old! Holy moly!
Length / Weight: Gained a whopping 2 pounds this month (minus one ounce)! I took him to get weighed and figured he was in the 15 pound range. I was off. By a lot. 16 lbs, 6 oz! He's 26.5 inches long.
Eating: We are out of breastmilk now, so he's on Similac Sensitive. More and more bottles are 6 oz now. He eats quite frequently, too. He has oatmeal sometimes, but not regularly. When he does have it, he scrapes the bowl clean!
Sleeping: More and more sleeping through the night! LOVE that! Still loves his sleep sacks. He woke up 3 nights this past week which was weird, and every time when I went in his room he was on his belly. We haven't yet figured out if he rolls over and wakes up mad, but figures while we're up he might as well have a snack, or if he wakes up from hunger and gets mad waiting for us so he flips over.
Wearing: Still in size 2 diapers, but most of his clothes are 6-9 month size. In fact, the outfit he wore the other night to meet Santa was the same outfit Brecken wore for his 1 year old photo shoot. The boy is going to be big. :)
Miscellaneous: He smiles and smiles and smiles! And his laugh - to die for! He's grabbing for EVERYTHING now, and bringing it straight to his mouth. Toys, blankets, his little cool ball he has... He also grabs for the phone while I'm using it, grabs bottles when we're trying to make them, etc. (I left that part in from last month because it's all still true.) We got out the Jumparoo this month and he LOVES it. He thinks it's fantastic that he can jump and jump and jump, as well as play with the toys on it. He is an expert roller now and I was just now watching him go from his floor mat to a spot 3 feet away from it, from rolling. We need a baby gate on the stairs now! Luckily he's quite slow still, meaning we have time to catch him before he gets too close to the stairs, so I have time to order the one I want. He got to meet Santa this past week, at my elementary school Christmas concert! He kept staring at him and playing with his beard. Also this month he had his first Thanksgiving and attended his first Cowboy basketball game! He also attended his first Christmas parade (which he loved - lots of lights!) and hiked to get a Christmas tree for the first time! Lots of fun this month!
Length / Weight: Gained a whopping 2 pounds this month (minus one ounce)! I took him to get weighed and figured he was in the 15 pound range. I was off. By a lot. 16 lbs, 6 oz! He's 26.5 inches long.
Eating: We are out of breastmilk now, so he's on Similac Sensitive. More and more bottles are 6 oz now. He eats quite frequently, too. He has oatmeal sometimes, but not regularly. When he does have it, he scrapes the bowl clean!
Sleeping: More and more sleeping through the night! LOVE that! Still loves his sleep sacks. He woke up 3 nights this past week which was weird, and every time when I went in his room he was on his belly. We haven't yet figured out if he rolls over and wakes up mad, but figures while we're up he might as well have a snack, or if he wakes up from hunger and gets mad waiting for us so he flips over.
Wearing: Still in size 2 diapers, but most of his clothes are 6-9 month size. In fact, the outfit he wore the other night to meet Santa was the same outfit Brecken wore for his 1 year old photo shoot. The boy is going to be big. :)
Miscellaneous: He smiles and smiles and smiles! And his laugh - to die for! He's grabbing for EVERYTHING now, and bringing it straight to his mouth. Toys, blankets, his little cool ball he has... He also grabs for the phone while I'm using it, grabs bottles when we're trying to make them, etc. (I left that part in from last month because it's all still true.) We got out the Jumparoo this month and he LOVES it. He thinks it's fantastic that he can jump and jump and jump, as well as play with the toys on it. He is an expert roller now and I was just now watching him go from his floor mat to a spot 3 feet away from it, from rolling. We need a baby gate on the stairs now! Luckily he's quite slow still, meaning we have time to catch him before he gets too close to the stairs, so I have time to order the one I want. He got to meet Santa this past week, at my elementary school Christmas concert! He kept staring at him and playing with his beard. Also this month he had his first Thanksgiving and attended his first Cowboy basketball game! He also attended his first Christmas parade (which he loved - lots of lights!) and hiked to get a Christmas tree for the first time! Lots of fun this month!
Sunday, December 02, 2012
roommates
B has been soooo good at sleeping lately. We go in his room, tuck him in, read a story, and leave and he goes right to sleep.
Until Thanksgiving.
He turned into this boy who wouldn't go in his room alone for anything. Kind of like 4 years ago when his sensory stuff started showing up, only we didn't know it was sensory stuff. The week of Thanksgiving, he would scream and cry and was utterly terrified at the thought of sleeping in there. He ended up sleeping on his floor, as close as he could to the door, which is as close as he could get to us.
I finally got out of him one morning that he was so afraid someone was going to break in the house and steal him. The thought of him thinking that breaks my heart. We talked about how it wouldn't be easy to break in. Our doors lock, our windows are all locked, our dogs sleep in the hallway where the bedrooms are and there's no way they'd let anyone through, etc. And for every one of those reasons why a break in wouldn't happen, he had a reason why that might not be true. "They could be so quiete the dogs don't hear." "They could use a hammer to break the window." "We might not hear someone use a hammer if they tapped on it light, but for a long time."
I asked him if they had talked about strangers at school before Thanksgiving, and he replied no, but that he heard about a girl on the computer. He could explain enough to me that I knew he was talking about when that girl from Colorado and the girl from 4 hours from us in the other direction were both kidnapped. We had talked to him at that time about strangers and what to do if someone asked him to help find their puppy in their car, or took him, or whatever. He seemed fine at the time, but I guess he was internalizing it and just couldn't keep it in anymore, and it came out full force.
That's when he asked if he could sleep on the floor in b's room. Not to protect his baby brother, but we really think he needs that companionship. He's a boy that was made for companionship. So they became roommates.
I feel awful. It got bad enough for him that the Monday we all went back to school, J contacted the school counselor to get advice, mentioning the fact that B's fears are 10-fold to other kids because of his SPD. The counselor helped us by letting us know what we were doing was spot on - letting him sleep in b's room if that is what makes him feel better, not making him feel his fears are silly (because they aren't - they're very, very real, and by no means a stall tactic), and if he needs US, that's OK. Because he'll feel safer that way, and that will help him get over his fears. If we don't make him feel safe, he'll never get over this. He also pulled B out of kindergarten that afternoon to talk to him and help him feel better about things.
Bedtime has been better since then - he's on the floor in b's room, with all his blankets, (and if you've seen the nursery, you're probably wondering where we are fitting everything... we are still wondering the same thing, ha!) with some soft music playing to keep his mind off the dark, the lamp on, me staying for a few minutes so he knows I'm still here... and we've gone from screaming and crying for over an hour to asleep in 10 minutes again. We'll see how long the roommate thing lasts - perhaps until little b is ready to convert to bunkbeds. :) But that's OK. He's safe. He FEELS safer. And he needs that companionship. He and little b are soulmates, I'm sure of it.
But I still wish I could take away his awful fears. :(
Until Thanksgiving.
He turned into this boy who wouldn't go in his room alone for anything. Kind of like 4 years ago when his sensory stuff started showing up, only we didn't know it was sensory stuff. The week of Thanksgiving, he would scream and cry and was utterly terrified at the thought of sleeping in there. He ended up sleeping on his floor, as close as he could to the door, which is as close as he could get to us.
I finally got out of him one morning that he was so afraid someone was going to break in the house and steal him. The thought of him thinking that breaks my heart. We talked about how it wouldn't be easy to break in. Our doors lock, our windows are all locked, our dogs sleep in the hallway where the bedrooms are and there's no way they'd let anyone through, etc. And for every one of those reasons why a break in wouldn't happen, he had a reason why that might not be true. "They could be so quiete the dogs don't hear." "They could use a hammer to break the window." "We might not hear someone use a hammer if they tapped on it light, but for a long time."
I asked him if they had talked about strangers at school before Thanksgiving, and he replied no, but that he heard about a girl on the computer. He could explain enough to me that I knew he was talking about when that girl from Colorado and the girl from 4 hours from us in the other direction were both kidnapped. We had talked to him at that time about strangers and what to do if someone asked him to help find their puppy in their car, or took him, or whatever. He seemed fine at the time, but I guess he was internalizing it and just couldn't keep it in anymore, and it came out full force.
That's when he asked if he could sleep on the floor in b's room. Not to protect his baby brother, but we really think he needs that companionship. He's a boy that was made for companionship. So they became roommates.
I feel awful. It got bad enough for him that the Monday we all went back to school, J contacted the school counselor to get advice, mentioning the fact that B's fears are 10-fold to other kids because of his SPD. The counselor helped us by letting us know what we were doing was spot on - letting him sleep in b's room if that is what makes him feel better, not making him feel his fears are silly (because they aren't - they're very, very real, and by no means a stall tactic), and if he needs US, that's OK. Because he'll feel safer that way, and that will help him get over his fears. If we don't make him feel safe, he'll never get over this. He also pulled B out of kindergarten that afternoon to talk to him and help him feel better about things.
Bedtime has been better since then - he's on the floor in b's room, with all his blankets, (and if you've seen the nursery, you're probably wondering where we are fitting everything... we are still wondering the same thing, ha!) with some soft music playing to keep his mind off the dark, the lamp on, me staying for a few minutes so he knows I'm still here... and we've gone from screaming and crying for over an hour to asleep in 10 minutes again. We'll see how long the roommate thing lasts - perhaps until little b is ready to convert to bunkbeds. :) But that's OK. He's safe. He FEELS safer. And he needs that companionship. He and little b are soulmates, I'm sure of it.
But I still wish I could take away his awful fears. :(
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