Monkey Bean-Sprouts: April 2012

Oh the things that have been going on around here these days! Eowyn is now 6 weeks old. I find that pretty incredible and definitely hard to believe. There's so much to try and remember these days, with both her and Liam, and I'm finding it hard to have the time to make note of the precious little moments, which is disappointing. I guess I should be grateful to get anything down at this time.

Eowyn had her 1 month check up 2 weeks ago and had gained an impressive 1.010kg! Dr Bucher was suitably impressed and of course it explains how chunky she has become. Somehow with Liam he never went through the really chubby stage that most infants go through - Eowyn is definitely not missing out! Although she is happily growing she is still a rather challenged sleeper. There was the suggestion that she might have some reflux issues, but besides the grunting noises we have found she just isn't a fan of being asleep for too long. Mostly we end up with her on our chests and James has spent many hours sleeping with her on the couch as I have had her on me in the bed. We have found it almost impossible to get to her sleep for any significant length of time on her back, and so, despite the doctors warnings we have ended up putting her down on her belly, but not until she has slept at least 20 mins on us, so that she might stay asleep through the transfer. Otherwise, even though we have every chair, swing and bassinet available for her use, we end up being the mattress most times.

The sleep thing is definitely a challenge, but my goodness is she a sweet thing! We have been seeing a lot more smiles this past week even though she can come across as a really serious little girl. She loves to look intensely into your eyes and more often than not, that's when we get the biggest smiles. Unlike Liam, she also seems to be able to go for ages without pooping. We were certainly concerned for a few days, but it seems like this happens to some babies. So far the longest she's gone is about 5 days, which sounds just dreadful to me, but hopefully isn't too troublesome for her. Pacifiers are our friends with her - we'll deal with the repercussions later! And at least the spit up has reduced to some extent.

As for Liam, he has been so very amusing in his speech lately. I'm so glad for Shirin's visit, because having outside perspective made us more aware of how comical he can be, and also because she managed to capture him in videos, audio recordings and photos more than we normally get a chance to. He is also a very loving and curious big brother whose first interest in the morning now is seeing Eowyn. He loves giving her kisses, eskimo kisses and chatting to her. We often hear him saying "hey sweetie girl, hey fwoppy head!" and other such endearing greetings. I see all the signs of a great big brother in the making. The challenges of no longer being the only baby in the house have come out in other ways - mostly a greater sensitivity to things. We see a lot more tears over little and big things than in the past, and he's sometimes more resistant to requests from us. Sharing with his friends has become a bit more challenging at times too, though it does seem to depend which friend it is. Stirling seems to be just fine, but Drake and him have had a few more run-ins than normal.

I've loved discovering how many words he really knows and how bold he is in trying out new language. Recently he's been all about singing with us. He knows "blessed is the spot" by heart, and every bed time sings it with me along with twinkle twinkle and "Oh God, make me a hollow reed". Shirin managed to get a recording of him even singing some of James' favorites with him like sandman and rockin' robin. He is as active as can be and I'm just thankful that the naps have continued, though there were a few hairy days when he pretty much refused to nap. Sarah, our au pair/babysitter, has been helping out more now that Eowyn is here, and it has been a real Godsend. I imagine if Eowyn was a little more independent a baby, or slept longer and better on her own, that things might be ok with just me, but since those things aren't happening it has basically just allowed me to make sure that both kids are getting what they need. Sarah plays so well with Liam and he really enjoys her, and I like that I can still be around and in and out of what's happening and still handle Eowyn. It has also allowed me to get back to teaching a couple of private yoga classes a week, and doing a few massages here and there. I'm not giving up my maternity leave this time, but doing a small amount has been good just for the earning of some money as well as a reminder that I exist outside of the house.

The other ongoing excitement is Liam's interest in the potty. His use of it has increased in the last month and it is an every evening/night occurrence for him to pee in the potty. It's funny to me that it only happens at night or around bath time, but I guess it makes sense since it's a time when other games and activities are not there to distract him the same way. He now wakes up in the night just to pee, which is less fun for us, but I guess really great in the long term project of potty training. Oh, and I totally forgot that we also took him to the barber for the first time ever. He wasn't too happy in the chair and I was sad to see how much older he looked when the hair was cut, but I guess it was going to happen at some point...

Many thanks to Shirin for most of the photos before. As I said before, she's the only reason a whole lot of stuff has been recorded.