Greater Than Two

3 Day Potty Training - One week later

2012-01-23T17:06:00.000-08:00

Here is an update on how the week has gone, after our 3 Day Potty Training weekend (affectionately called "Potty-Palooza" - we had music, dancing, food, drink, portable toilets, and lots of mess - just like the real thing :))

Day Four (Tues): This day started out with so much promise. Felix woke up in the morning with only a slight leak in his training pants - it could hardly be called an accident. We had no accidents that morning, including on the way to daycare. Then, he stayed dry ALL DAY at daycare. I couldn't believe it. I picked him up, he stayed dry on the way home, and then peed in the potty around 5PM. I guess I got overly confident then, because I left him in the living room playing while I did some cooking. During that span of 45 minutes, he had two wet accidents. He just didn't want to stop playing I guess, but he didn't try to get my attention (in the other room) or go to the potty himself. I tried not to let it show, but man, I was discouraged. I also realized it was fully my fault for leaving him alone so I couldn't read his cues. But, to make matters worse, he then had two more accidents before bed - one poop before bath, and one wet pair of training pants after bath. And I was with him then. Sigh. I will admit, this was more than a little discouraging. It made me break down in tears - I hate to admit that I can be brought to tears by some pee, but apparently I can. The weekend was so much work, and then it felt like it was all for nothing - all in the span of 2 hours. But, we had come too far to quit, and I just had to concentrate on the good, and renew my efforts to watch his cues and encourage him to stay dry and use the potty.

Day Five (Wed): This was by far the best day yet. Felix woke up dry (albeit WAY too early - 4:30 am), stayed dry during nap, and for the entire afternoon and evening! He had only one wet accident in the morning at daycare - frankly I'm surprised this didn't happen the day before, since the teachers have 6 other kids to watch and he is not yet telling adults when he needs to go - you just have to read his body language and/or time his trips. I have to admit, I concentrated more on that myself after yesterday, especially in the evening. So, thanks to everyone's efforts, it was a VERY successful day!

Day Six (Thurs): This was generally a good day. Felix woke up dry (and at the late hour of 5:08 am!) and stayed dry while walking to my room and climbing into bed with me. So much better than an alarm clock! He had no accidents all day long...that is until I was cooking dinner at around 5:30 pm. Even though he had just gone, he had just had a cup of milk, so I guess I need to either keep an eagle eye on him or plan to sit him on the potty every 10 minutes during the dinner hour. The 3 Day method frowns upon "trips" to the potty (i.e., asking your child to "try") since you are not teaching him to listen to his own body. But, the author does say that once a child is trained, you can make trips to the potty. I know Felix is not yet trained, but he is getting there, and sometimes sitting him on the potty to "try" saves some time and accidents! After bath, he had a "leak" in his training pants, but he went the rest of the way in the potty. Then, at about 11 pm, I was awoken yet again by a little Felix climbing into bed with me, whining and grabbing his pants. I took that to mean that he needed to use the potty, and so we went, and he did! Even though I was disoriented and tired, I was thrilled that he got up to "tell" me he needed to go. All in all, a good day - with room for improvement from mommy!

Day Seven (Fri): This was a great day, and was much like day five - we woke up way too early (4 am - thank you to my annoying dog who needed to go outside and felt the need to wake the entire house), but Felix woke up dry and was dry all day, with the exception of one accident at daycare. I did a lot of "trips" to the potty, both in the morning and night. He is very easy going about using the potty, even when he doesn't need to go - he will follow me there, pull down his pants, sit down, then pop up and say "All done!" He is also recognizing our routine potty times - like right when they wake up or right before bath - and is going there on his own and starting to remove his underpants. Now to go to the potty on his own all the time...

Day Eight (Sat): We all woke up super early again (4:45 am) but...there were NO ACCIDENTS ALL DAY! However, there were a few sleeping issues - he has figured out that if he says, "Potty!" he gets out of bed, no matter what time it is (he uses this especially at bedtime). Hm. Not sure how to curb this new habit, because I really do want him to feel like he can use the potty whenever he needs to, or to wake up to use the potty, but he obviously does not need to go the majority of the time he does this. Also, he has decided it is fun to sleep with mommy, so he will wake up sometime during the night and crawl into bed with me. But, despite my lack of sleep, this was a great potty day - hard to believe that only one week ago we started Potty-Palooza!

Day Nine (Sun): Today was a great potty day! The boys had a sitter for a few hours today (hi Casey!) and she said that he leaked a little at one point, but then went fully in the potty a few minutes later. No accidents besides that. Not bad!

Day Ten (Mon): Good day again today, with only one accident at daycare...I didn't get the full story because his teacher assistant's English is not great, but from what I gather he had an accident between the time that he got up from nap and made it to the bathroom. But, still a good day. Tonight before bed, he said, "Potty!" independently twice - once to get out of going to bed, and then again a few minutes later to actually go. Hooray! He got a sticker and a gummy bear for that one.

I can say that, one week after completing Potty-Palooza, Felix is well on his way to being completely trained. He is consistently dry at night and nap, and is now having about 1 wet accident per day (with one day of no accidents)! We have shifted into a combination of "trip-training" and the 3 Day Method, but it works for us. The good news is that I can now easily cook dinner or do something else, and know that he will stay dry as long as I keep an eye on his body language and/or the clock to know when he needs to go. And, he is now telling me when he needs/wants to go at night, so hopefully that will translate soon to all the time. I could not be more proud of my little man!

Now, someone tell Asher to wait a little while longer until I am ready to start this process over again...

3 Day Potty Training: Day Three

2012-01-16T16:46:00.000-08:00

Spolier alert - he is not yet potty trained!

Day three...finally. This was by far the hardest day for me. I think it was partly because we have been cooped up in the house for three days straight...partly because the boys still have this lovely stomach bug...partly because my three wonderful dogs could not have been more annoying...and partly because I am just exhausted!!

Today was just more difficult in many ways though. To start, one of the above annoying dogs woke me up at 1:30 am to go outside, and I found a present in the dining room from one of the other above annoying dogs. (Seriously, can I not get a break from the bodily functions, even in the middle of the night??) Then, the boys woke up WAY too early this morning (5:00 am), so I had to get up too to make sure Felix went right to the potty - but I was too late. He went sometime during the night or early morning, because he was wet, and so were the sheets. So, I had a load of laundry going by 5:30 am, which should not be allowed. By 6:00 am, Felix had two extremely messy accidents, thanks to the stomach bug.

(Can you see now why this day was not the greatest?)

All else went well during the morning though. Felix had only one #1 accident, which unfortunately took out about 10 of our precious washable crayons which happened to be on the floor under him (although those things are the best invention ever, it was NOT worth it to me to wash them).

I was soooo ready to sleep while the boys took a nap, but stupidly spent about 30 minutes doing dishes, sweeping, and cleaning up the tornado in the living room, and by the time I laid down to try to sleep, Felix woke up very unhappy with a very wet pair of training pants. This is apparently the worst thing that can happen to this child - to have a nap cut short. He had a 30 minute tantrum, and then I finally gave in and brought him downstairs. He was happy as a clam for the rest of the afternoon, although strangely full of energy for having a lack of sleep. I am proud to say there were NO #1 accidents in the afternoon, and only one small #2 accident (again, courtesy of the stomach bug).

So, as you can see, Day Three was plagued with stomach bug accidents and sleeping accidents. As for the stomach bug, I can't decide whether this was the best or worst thing to happen to a potty training weekend - on the one hand, he had plenty of opportunities to practice going in the potty! For instance, although we had three accidents today, we also had three successes. On the other hand, some of those bouts came on so quickly it would have been impossible for him to get to a potty in time, and so it meant a LOT of clean up for me.

As for the sleeping situation, I am not sure what is going on. We started out with four nights of complete dryness, so I know it is possible. And four seems like a lot to be a fluke, right? So, the only thing I can figure is that he has had a LOT of fluids over this weekend, so accidents aren't out of the question. He had a bit less to drink today than over the past two days, so we'll see how tonight works out. I was extremely tempted to put a diaper on him for bedtime tonight, but I resisted. I just made sure he went to the potty right before bed (which he did), and that's the best I can do. He seems to get the underwear thing, maybe the training pants are confusing now? I don't know.

Here are the stats for today:
#1 Successes - 13
#2 Successes - 3

#1 Accidents (awake) - 1
#1 Accidents (asleep) - 2
#2 Accidents - 3

All in all, it was a successful day. I found that I could trust Felix enough by this afternoon to sit across the room playing with Asher, or to make dinner in the other room, without feeling that he would be standing in a puddle when I looked again. I do feel as though he gets it - because he is able to hold it pretty well and goes very consistently when he sits on the potty - but he is still not choosing to go to the potty by himself, or asking to go (except for those instances yesterday). So, did the 3 Day Method work for us? Not in the way it proposes to, but it was successful in that we are much closer to being trained now. So, I do recommend this method, but keep in mind that it might take longer than three days!

3 Day Potty Training: Day Two

2012-01-15T16:27:00.000-08:00

Day Two started out at 12:30 am, when I was awoken by a sleepy Felix walking into my room, whining and saying, "Mommy! Wet!" Ugh. Judging by the fact that his sheets were bone dry, I can only assume that he woke up feeling like he had to go, so got up to get me, but didn't make it. Poor guy. I felt so bad for him - he was so sleepy, and so uncomfortable. We were both able to get back to sleep, eventually, and I heard him stirring this morning but stupidly did not get up too, and so the same thing happened again. Double ugh. It wasn't fun, but it was nice to know that he was getting up each time, so not only did I not have to change sheets, but he is recognizing that he can't go in his bed.

After that fun start, we had a great rest of the morning. We had only three accidents, two of which could have been prevented had I been watching - one time I was out of the room, and another time I was changing Asher's diaper. Other than those accidents, we had 11 successful #1 trips, and 2 successful #2 trips before nap (he still has a bit of that stomach bug from yesterday, which he lovingly passed on to his brother).

The big news of this morning was that he took the initiative to go to the potty BY HIMSELF once! He felt the need, found the potty, sat down, and went! (Luckily I walked back in the room right as he sat down, because he neglected to pull down his underwear!) I definitely count this as a huge victory for Day Two!

Nap time was also a great success - he slept for almost three hours, and was dry when he woke up. I was waiting for him to wake up this time, so I took him right to the potty and he went. We had a total of 7 successful #1 trips after nap, with only one minor accident at the dinner table. I can't blame the kid for not wanting to leave his yummy dinner (yogurt/strawberry/banana/broccoli smoothies; veggie chicken nuggets) to use the potty - but when he started to go on his chair, he looked down and immediately stopped, and I was able to get him on the potty to finish. Not too bad!

The big news of the evening was that he finally said the word "potty" to tell me he had to go! We were about to go to bed, and I thought we'd better try one more time to avoid a repeat of last night, and so I said, "Felix, do you want to try to use the potty again?" He looked at me, said "Potty!" and started heading for the bathroom. He again tried to sit down with his training pants on (we'll work on that next!), but I got them down and he went! He then demanded a Cars sticker for his chart, as well as a piece of candy, so I think he knew it was a big deal :) Hey kid, you can have as many stickers and gummy bears as you want if you keep that up! I am so not above bribery...um, I mean positive reinforcement...

So, to recap, the stats of Day Two are:
Successes - 20
Accidents (day) - 5
Accidents (night) - 1

Of course, I realize that most of those successes just mean that I read his body language better today (which is why I keep saying "we" had success, and "we" had accidents). But, even without those great numbers, I would be flying high today - he showed two great signs that tell me he is well on his way to being potty trained!

Day Three, here we come!

3 Day Potty Training: Day One

2012-01-14T16:25:00.000-08:00

(Sorry there are no pictures with this post - I couldn't risk the camera being soaked in God-knows-what for the sake of a blog :))

The day has gone well, all things considering. It started out very well - Felix was again dry when he woke up, and went in the potty right away. I then started offering drink after drink, which continued until he finished his juice at 11:15am (I wanted to stop in time for him to be able to stay dry during nap) and then continued after nap until 5 PM (again with enough time before bed to stay dry). We both started getting the hang of the pee thing around 9:30am - he would do his pee-pee dance that told me he had to go, and I would sit him on the potty, and he would go. He did this several times. Of course, he also had many accidents, but we ended up with more successes than accidents today, so this was encouraging.

The author of the 3 Day method stresses that your child will tell you he has to go, even if it's not with words. Now, Felix does have a mild speech delay, but he is able to say "potty" and "pee pee" and "poop." He often will tell us he has pooped or needs to poop by using words. But, so far, he has not told me that he needs to pee by using words (although he is quick to say "all done" or "no pee" if I have misread his wiggling and sat him on the potty when he didn't need to go). But, as of 9:30 this morning, as long as I am watching him, I can tell he needs to go so we (mostly) avoid an accident. I am hoping that by doing this for 3 days, he will get it. People who use the 3 Day method use words like, "It just clicked for him all of the sudden!" I am confident we will also get that click. When? I don't know...

Of course, there had to be a wrench thrown into my plans today - Felix had some sort of minor stomach bug, which caused him to have 5 bouts of diarrhea today. I caught two before they went in the underwear, because his posture changed, but the other three came on too quickly for me. So, this was a gross addition to the day. Thank goodness for OxyClean and Clorox wipes. But, on the bright side, he got plenty of fluids and did not seem like he felt sick at all. So, hopefully it is behind us now.

A load of laundry and dishes were done at nap - all from the morning's fun :) And, I took a nap as well - we were all up at 5:30, and keeping constant watch on Felix's underweared bottom and then whisking a 35 pound toddler to the potty dozens of times a day is surprisingly tiring.

I put training pants on him at nap, just in case, and he woke up dry again. This was the first nap that he has woken up dry, as far as I know. The daycare teacher has said that he "does better" at nap than during waking hours in terms of holding it, but she has not mentioned that he has been dry. So, this was a positive thing. After nap, he only had one true accident, where I didn't catch the signs (or there weren't any). Other than that, he did a potty dance and then went in the potty when I sat him down.

I have adapted the 3 Day method a bit. As I have said, I put training pants on him at nap and bedtime. This has not proven to be either useful or detrimental - since he has been dry every time - but it makes me feel more at ease. This is especially true since the boys sleep in the same bed - it would be unfair to Asher to wake up in a wet bed (not to mention make it doubly disturbing to change wet sheets). My only other adaptation is that I have put a potty chair in the living room with us, and have been primarily using that one. The 3 Day method suggests not doing this, and teaching the child to run to the bathroom. I agree that this is a good skill, but I am just trying to work on going in a potty - I frankly don't care where it is. As he gains more control, and is able to even take the initiative to go to the potty on his own when he needs it, then we can work on running to another room.

So, at the end of Day One, I am tired, but not stressed - I feel it was a successful day. I am looking forward to how Day Two turns out!

Preparing for 3 Day Potty Training Extravaganza

2012-01-13T17:30:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, Felix and I are embarking on a fun-filled long weekend devoted to potty training. We officially said bye-bye to diapers on Wednesday, and he has been doing...ok. He has been doing very well at things I would not expect - like he has stayed completely dry for two nights in a row, and then went immediately when I woke him up and put him on the potty. He was obviously able to hold his bladder, control the release, and empty it. That was a huge sign! I thought Wednesday night was a fluke, but then he did the same thing on Thursday night. Let's hope tonight follows suit...

During the day, he has been having more trouble. It seemed that he would be playing, not want to stop, but obviously had to go, so he would let a little bit out. Then, we would rush him to the potty, he might or might not go some more, but then he would inevitably go again in his pants shortly after. It wasn't until this afternoon that I saw evidence of him physically holding it in while awake - he had several things to drink, but wanted to keep playing his "game" (i.e., iPad). He held it for about two hours (through the car ride home from daycare, playing his game, and through dinner) before he had an accident.

So, I now know he can physically hold it, so our next (big) step is to get him to either tell me he has to go, or just to run to the potty and go. Since we have Monday off from work/school, I plan to just devote the whole weekend to potty training. I have decided to use Lora Jensen's 3 Day Potty Training method. I read her ebook (twice) and took notes on the important things (to save on printing out 40 pages!). I have been using the methods for the past two nights (hence the no diaper at night thing), and it obviously works because he has been dry at night, when he has NEVER woken up with a dry diaper. EVER. In fact, we had to buy Huggies Overnights because he would consistently soak through a regular diaper. Also, after using this method for just a few hours over the past few days, he was able to stay dry for a long time today, even though he had a lot to drink.

The premise of this method is that the child spends 3 days at home wearing just a shirt and underwear. No diapers, no training pants, nothing. (I have been cheating here, and will continue to do so probably - I have been putting cloth training pants on at night, just in case. But, it doesn't seem to bother Felix, since he is staying dry). Then, about a thousand times a day, you say to your child, "Remember to tell mommy if you need to pee-pee, ok?" (Or some variation of that phrase.) You also give lots of praise for staying dry, as well as praise for using the potty. The difference with this method as opposed to traditional potty training, is that you don't put the child on the potty to "try" (which is what I have been doing all along). Her theory is that this does not teach the child to recognize his own signals, which I totally agree with. So, anyway, the child is in underwear, drinking lots of fluids, and the parent is sticking like glue to him for 3 days. You have to catch every accident, and whisk him to the potty. The parent stays very relaxed and positive throughout the 3 days - lots of praise for dryness and pottying. Supposedly, most children under the age of 2 1/2 will respond to this method within 3 days. Some even less. Side note - As I was thinking about this method, I realized it is VERY much like how you would house train a puppy! You would keep the puppy close to you at all times, and then whisk him outside right when he has an accident. You would provide lots of praise and treats for going outside. You would avoid using any pee pads in the house, because that would be confusing. Does this not sound like this method? This may sound weird, but this makes me more comfortable and confident with this - I have house-trained several puppies in my life...I can do this!

To prepare for the weekend, I have done the following:
- We already stopped using diapers.
- We have potty books and DVDs, three potty chairs, and two potty seats.
- He knows what the potty is for, and has used it several times.
- I made sure he was showing readiness signs.
- I rolled up all area rugs, and plan to spend most of the weekend on laminate flooring.
- I have stacked towels for quick clean up in the living room and bathroom.
- I covered all of the living room furniture with cheap, plastic paint drop cloths to protect them from accidents. This was only $6, and will save me stress and cleaning, and will allow Felix to sit where he wants.
- I have plenty of stickers, a chart, and semi-healthy candy/treats for rewards.
- I have 21 pairs of underwear, clean and ready.
- I have done the grocery shopping for the weekend, including plenty of drinks, and won't need to leave the house all weekend.
- I have written myself motivational notes like "Don't give up!" and "Be relaxed and positive!" - visible so I can see them on the way out of the bathroom.
- I have plenty of wine and ice cream for mommy's stress relief :)

Day one update to come tomorrow!

Potty Training

2012-01-11T17:37:00.000-08:00

We are officially beginning the foray into potty training this week. I am not sure whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, but only one twin is actually showing signs of readiness for this - Felix. Asher is interested in the potty, likes to flush, enjoys getting stickers or gummy bears for trying or going, occasionally voids in the toilet, likes reading potty books and watching Elmo's Potty Time, and likes to cheer on his brother when he is successful. But, as of right now, he does not show any control over his bladder or bowels, and does not seem to mind being dirty or wet, and doesn't attempt to tell me when he is. So, Felix is flying solo on this adventure.

The reason potty training only one at a time is good: there is less mess, and one twin is easier to chase after to whisk onto the potty than two. The reason it is bad: I will have to do this all again in the near future. I read somewhere, when deciding whether to train one or both, that you can either have "twice the mess in half the time or half the mess in twice the time." I love that quote. I think, if both boys were truly ready, I would go with the former. But, since Felix is showing signs of being ready, and in an effort to cut down on our disposable diaper consumption a.s.a.p., I am choosing to go ahead and train Felix by himself. Who knows - maybe by the end of this, I will be a potty training pro, and Asher's training will be a breeze...

When the boys were 21 months old, I attempted the "Diaper Free in Three Days" method. This is the method where you just take the child's diaper and pants off for about 3 months (the name is totally a misnomer) and they supposedly learn to use the potty. It was summertime, we had a patio to spend most of our time on, the boys were showing some readiness signs, so I just went for it. It was a disaster. You can read the three posts on it if you want - I will avoid re-living it if it's all the same to you.

Day One
Day Two
Day Three

I know this method works for some kids, but it's just not for us. To me, a boy without pants is a dangerous thing - the pee just shoots out onto whatever is nearby, and so it not only makes a huge mess, but it defeats the purpose - the child never feels uncomfortable because the pee is now running down the wall instead of his leg.

This time around, I read a LOT to determine the best method for me. I talked to any parent I could about what they did and what worked for their child. Of course, everyone tried something different. I still wasn't sure which method I would use, but I knew I wanted to prepare Felix (and myself) and get him interested in the potty. So, about two weeks ago, I bought "Elmo's Potty Time" DVD, and we have been watching that. (It's actually not bad, especially if your child loves Elmo, like mine do.) I gathered up our standing potty chairs and placed one in each bathroom and one in the livingroom. I bought a few potty board books, and put them (along with other board books) into baskets in the bathrooms. I began adding a few extra potty opportunities in our day - before this, the boys would sit on the potty at bath time only. So I added first thing in the morning, and before and after nap (on weekends) or right after daycare (on weekdays). I found some semi-healthy candy for reinforcement (first it was fruit juice jelly beans, now it is gummy bears made with fruit/veggie extracts), and also made a sticker chart for each boy to hang in each bathroom. I bought some interesting stickers to go on the charts - Dora, Thomas, and Cars. To get them to accept the new increased potty routine, I wanted the potty to be a positive thing. So, they get a piece of candy for sitting on the potty, and a sticker for actually voiding in the potty. (Note: Now that they are fully accepting of the potty, I will likely phase out this "candy for trying" and switch it to "candy for going.") Lastly, I purchased 12 waterproof training pants (these) to use instead of going diaper free - so that he could feel when he went, but I wouldn't have a huge mess on my hands every time.

So, for the past few days, I have been alternating between diapers and training pants - when he was at home, he was wearing training pants; except when sleeping, and then he wore diapers. At daycare, he wore diapers. I wasn't honestly sure if this was a smart plan or not - I may have been easing him into the potty training thing, but I may have also been majorly confusing him. Then, yesterday, I picked the boys up from daycare, and in talking about potty training, the teacher told me that she thinks he's ready and that I should just go for it - if I want him to potty train, I need to throw away the diapers and not look back. She said to just send him the next day in underpants, with several changes of clothes, and they will wait for him to wet himself to let him feel that sensation, and then they will bring him to the potty every hour. I hesitated - "Would you rather I send him in training pants?" She said no, she prefers underpants - just dive right in.

So, we did. Today was the first day, and it went about as well as can be expected. He wet through about 8 pairs of underpants/pants this morning, but he also had a lot of successes. She said he would go on the potty, and then would go a little more in his pants about 5 minutes later - like he had just not emptied his bladder fully. She put a diaper on him for nap because he hadn't yet pooped. He didn't poop in his diaper during nap, but after nap he pooped in the potty. He then stayed dry after nap, but peed in his car seat on the way home (it was covered by a piece of mattress protector, on the advice of his teacher). At home this afternoon/evening, he had three accidents, at which point I asked him to stop playing and help me clean up (which he did). I also had him take off his wet underpants himself, and put the dry ones on. I am trying to make this a more active process for him, in the hopes that he will make the connection better.

Even though I sent him to daycare in underpants today, I still wasn't quite sure what method I was going to use. We have a long weekend coming up, and I already marked it on my calendar as "potty training fun." I knew we would do something, I was just not sure what. After talking to a colleague in the same boat, I think I will try a different three-day method. With this method, as far as I can tell (since I am not sure I want to shell out the $24 for the ebook), the only difference between this and the diaper-free method is that child wears underpants for three days, and you praise him for staying dry. You still keep an eagle eye on the child for three days, and whisk him to the potty at the first sign of pee/poop. You still expect a HUGE mess for three days. But, you just simply do not put a diaper on the child again. Not even for sleeping - it's just too confusing. I wasn't sure about this part, but I am actually trying that out tonight - Felix is upstairs right now, sleeping with his Dappi waterproof training pants on. I gave him his requisite sippy cup of milk right after daycare (at about 4:30PM) and that was the last thing he drank (he would usually have it with dinner around 6PM). I put the training pants on him after bath (where I am sure he peed) at 6:30PM. I just went up to check on him, and he is still dry (8:30PM). I have read that most night-time accidents happen first thing in the morning, so I will probably get him up early to sit him on the potty.

So, we will just continue on like we did today for Thursday and Friday, and then our long weekend will be a potty extravaganza! I already wrote myself a note on the fridge - "Don't give up!" I know it will be hard. I know it will be gross. I know I will want to quit. But I also know that he is ready, I am ready, and we can do it.

Right?

Couch to 5K

2011-12-31T14:08:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! I thought this would be a fitting day to begin my new fitness expedition - Couch to 5K. I am quite sad to qualify myself as a person on the "couch" but I think it is more true than not these days! This has not always been the case, however. I played high school sports, enjoyed playing tennis while in college, and loved taking "Body Pump" classes in graduate school. When I met Eric, he was really into road biking, and so I got myself a bike and pedaled along :)

Fall 2005

Eric and I were engaged after a long kayaking trip along the Outer Banks (which ended with the Coast Guard rescuing me, but whatever...)

September 2006 (That's me, on the left)

Once married, Eric and I continued to enjoy biking, as well as back-packing (ie., hiking several miles with several pounds on your back) up in the North Carolina mountains.

October 2007

And, despite my knees not being the best, I had always wanted to run a marathon. Well, I knew that 26.2 miles was not realistic for me, so I settled for 13.1 and signed up for a half marathon. Thanks to three good friends who ran with me, it was actually quite fun! (My knees weren't the same for about a month though!)

March 2008

While pregnant, I took it easy, but I still did a lot of walking and swimming. Then came the babies. A lot of people say that having kids affects their exercise routine - this is definitely true, but I can't totally blame the kids! Two weeks after they were born, we were back on our favorite local trail hiking with them strapped to our chests and we also made good use of our BOB jogging stroller in those early days.

October 2009

January 2010

While in California this summer, we really made use of the plentiful bike trails in Mountain View. We traded in the BOB for a Chariot Cougar 2, which has a bike trailer attachment. I got some great workouts pulling the boys on that!

Comin' through!

So - why, you ask, is this post titled "Couch to 5K"? Well, with the exception of the summer, my exercise regimen has seriously fallen by the wayside. Working full time, Eric being out of town for weeks at a time, twin toddlers...all of this means that I do not make time for exercise anymore. But, I have realized that I am a much happier person when I feel good - and I feel good when I exercise and eat right. So, there you have it. I have decided to do something about it. Big aha moment, huh? :)

Today was my first "Couch to 5K" session. I downloaded the C25K app to my Droid2, and hit the road with my dog, Cody, who helped me train for my half marathon a few years ago. This program is basically a slow progression from doing nothing to being able to run 3.1 miles. So, today, Cody and I warmed up with a 5 minute brisk walk, then alternated between jogging for 60 seconds and brisk walking for 90 seconds, for 20 minutes. It was surprisingly easy considering how little I actually exercise anymore (unless of course you count chasing after the kids, which I sadly do not), which tells me this is the right program for me! The app was great too - it told me exactly what to do, and also has a program to run a playlist (which I do not have yet, but will do). Let's hope this jumpstarts me back to my old, active lifestyle!

This is how you know you had a good run

Happy New Year...and happy exercising!

Speech/Language Update

2011-12-28T12:27:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, the boys have been getting speech therapy since September. They have been getting consistent weekly therapy, with less consistent weekend therapy (from our friend, and speech therapist colleague, Amy). Felix has made incredible growth in such as short period of time. When he started therapy, he had about 10-12 intelligible words (with about 50 or so more that were unintelligible). After his evaluation, I realized that his main obstacle was that he did not imitate - he didn't imitate words or sounds (that were new, or not already in his repertoire), or even motor movements. Since imitation is the first step toward language development, it was no wonder that he was delayed! So, I began to focus on getting him to imitate. I read a lot of books on apraxia and "late talkers" and they had great suggestions for helping children to imitate. For instance, if he made any sort of noise, I would imitate him. This usually got him interested, and then he would make more noise. The point was just to get him to recognize imitation. I also did this in play - for awhile, he was very interested in drums, and so when he banged on his drum, I banged on it too. This delighted him, and so I expanded on it. I began to bang on something else, and then paused. He imitated me. Hooray! After a few days of this, he began to imitate other motor movements, like putting his arms up in the air or clapping or squatting down. Hooray!

Then, the big moment came a few weeks later when he imitated a new word for the first time. I will never forget it - we were driving home from daycare, and Eric was in the passenger seat showing the boys some flashcards on the iPad. A card came up for "acorn", which is a word that Felix has heard many times (our cars get pelted with them all the time in our driveway) but had never said. The card came up, and Eric said, "Say 'acorn.'" We had done this a zillion times before with no success - "Say ____" - and if he had never said it before (of his own volition), then he would just remain silent. But this time, I hear a tiny voice from the backseat - "Atorn!" Tears came to my eyes, and I had to pull the van over. Poor Eric was so confused - "Isn't that a good thing?" It was a breakthrough though - I knew as soon as he was able to imitate, that his language would just take off. And it did! He is now consistently speaking in two-word phrases, and his therapist and daycare provider have also reported a few three-word phrases. Plus, he is able to verbally string several numbers and letters together to count or say parts of the alphabet (such as "W, X, Y, Z!"). His articulation of longer words has gotten a lot better, and he can now intelligibly say a three-syllable word (such as "everywhere"). I am beyond pleased with his progress, and credit his wonderful speech therapist, Ginny, and his daycare provider, Deborah, for helping us to encourage his speech development.

When Asher began therapy, his therapist thought that he was less affected than Felix, and that he was just a "late talker". She predicted that he would need just a jump start to his development, and then would take off on his own. Well, that has not exactly been the case. Asher started out therapy with about the same number of intelligible words as Felix, but he was also trying to put two words together earlier, and had much better imitation. He would imitate any motor movement, and would try to imitate words - the problem was that he was only able to imitate the first part of the word, so that a word like "bus" might come out as "buh" or a word like "swing" might come out as "ssss". As therapy has gone on, Asher articulation has improved a great deal, but he still has trouble with multi-syllabic words. He is also not as apt to speak in two-word phrases as Felix is, although he will attempt to imitate them if you prompt him. In general, his progress has just been quite slow. So, instead of discontinuing therapy like we had planned, we will instead likely increase it to twice/week after the holidays.

In addition to therapy, I have also been giving the boys Omega 3 fatty acids (in vitamin form) daily. I do believe that these have helped their language progress, since the timing coincided with Felix's big breakthrough. Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but I do think that they have helped. At first, we gave them a chewable gel cap (ProEFA Junior), which was advertised as great tasting for children, but that in reality was very fishy - a lemon flavored gelatin exterior filled with fish oil. The boys ate it pretty well when I called it "candy" but after a few weeks the novelty began to wear off and they didn't take it as easily. I found much more sugary Omega 3 gummies at Target, and have been giving them those instead. I haven't compared the EFA (essential fatty acid) amount in each yet, but I am pretty sure they are getting less now. I will compare the amount, and may go back to trying the ProEFA Juniors if the difference is drastic. I do feel as though the biggest change in their speech/language happened when on the ProEFA Juniors, but who knows. Regardless, I believe that EFAs are worth trying for children with speech/language delays - they do a lot of many parts of our body, but in this case they work to improve the myelination between brain cells, which we can all use!

Two big brains working together!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-28T11:48:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve 2011
(From left: Asher, Daddy, Mommy, Felix)

Gosh, I don't know how these mommy-bloggers keep up with writing so frequently! I am getting the chance to write now only because I am out of town away from my kids (taking care of my mother-in-law after a minor surgery)! But, I do still cherish this blog, and being able to relive memories, so I do my best to update it every once in awhile.

The boys are now 26 months old, and they enjoyed Christmas this year, but still do not quite understand it. They are able to say "open presents" and "tree" and "Santa" (thank you speech therapy!) but they don't grasp the concept of why they are opening presents, or why there is a lighted tree in the house. They don't know about Santa and his elves, or the true meaning of Christmas - whatever you may think that is - to us, it is about giving and spending time with family and friends.

Last year, we realized that Christmas was sort of frustrating for the boys - they would open a present, see it was a cool toy, and then it would be taken away so they could open another present. That must be so confusing for a child! We tried this year to space out the gift giving - we had them open just a few presents every day for about a week leading up to Christmas. I think this worked well - to not overwhelm them, but also to allow them to enjoy each gift to its fullest. Plus, who doesn't like to extend Christmas? They received a bunch of lovely gifts from family, including several new books (we love books in our house!), art supplies (Felix's interest), and cars (Asher's interest). Thank you everyone for your gifts and generosity!

We spent the holiday weekend with Eric's family this year (we switch off every year between Eric's family and mine), which was lovely. I was in charge of making my grandmother's sauce and meatball recipe for Christmas Eve dinner, which turned out well (thank goodness)! The boys did very well with the big crowd of family this time - when they were a bit younger, they had trouble with a large crowd of strangers, but they have been little flirts lately and danced and showed off for everyone. It is so nice to see them develop their own little personalities!

We also got the chance to walk through McAdenville, which is a nearby town that is always very decorated for Christmas - people drive through it in a parade-like fashion just to see the lights. We decided we needed to work off the Christmas calories, and walked through instead. It was beautiful, and we all enjoyed it!

Not the best picture of the boys, but hey - it's real!

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone!

We are still here!

2011-10-31T08:53:00.000-07:00

Oops...it has been awhile! I think my last post was in July, and it is now almost November! My only excuse is that life has been crazy busy, and any spare moment I have isn't put into writing a blog. But, here I am with an update from the last few months...

1) We thoroughly enjoyed our last few weeks in California! We did not find new tenants to take over our lease, despite showing it almost every night, so we had to eat a big fee to break the lease. Ugh. But, we did sell most of our furniture, thanks to craigslist, so it wasn't a total wash!

2) Our car trip home started on a Saturday evening at 5PM, and we arrived home exactly one week later. It was an uneventful trip, full of fast food, Elmo, hotel rooms, and more Elmo. Our kids were in a video coma by the end of the week, but thanks to videos and games on the iPad/iPod, we were able to drive 10-12 hours per day with no complaints!

We also got to spend 2 nights with our good friends and their adorable baby girl in lovely (hot) Oklahoma, which was so nice and was a great way to break up the trip (their house is exactly halfway between San Francisco and our house in North Carolina)! While there, we visited the zoo in Oklahoma City, which only cost $1 per person (a special promotion day), and was a wonderful zoo!

3) About a week after returning home, Eric and I were in a car accident which totaled our beloved Prius. It was about 4 am, and I was driving him to the airport so he could return to California for 3 weeks to continue his internship. We were on the interstate, traveling about 70mph, when out of nowhere we were hit from behind. We did not know what was going on because we didn't see any other car - it turns out the guy who hit us did not have his headlights on, and was going about 100mph when he slammed into us. It was a really scary thing, but it helped when we finally saw the car pulled out of the woods (he spun out after the collision) - at least we knew what actually hit us! We were not impressed with the police officers who were on the scene, and were even less so when we finally got the police report. It stated "the driver of vehicle 2 claimed she did not see vehicle 1 approaching" - CLAIMED? We even asked the officers if the car's headlights were on when they found the car, and they said no. It also stated that "the driver of vehicle 1 stated he was merging lanes." Um, no, when a passerby found him in the woods, he did not know how he ended up there and had no idea he had even hit another car. The report also told us that they did not test his blood alcohol level, and only gave him a speeding ticket!

4) We mourned the loss of our Prius, but I took the opportunity to buy the car I have wanted since the kids were born - a minivan! Much to Eric's chagrin, we are now the proud owners of a 2005 Honda Odyssey. I don't know how I ever survived without power sliding doors!

5) Despite my last post about the subject (about a year ago) where I claimed I was "no longer worried" about the boys' language development, I got worried again! So, I contacted our local early intervention program this summer, had the boys' evaluated, and since they indeed found a language delay, they started speech therapy in October. Since I work in the field of special education, I know some wonderful speech therapists, and have two of the best working with the boys every week. Right now they are seen one time per week at daycare (by one therapist) and one time per week on the weekend (by another therapist). We are thinking of increasing Felix's therapy to two times per week at daycare to give him an extra boost since he's a little behind Asher. But, after only a month of therapy, both boys are making a lot of progress and are well on their way to becoming big talkers! I have been reading a lot about the subject of "late talkers" and came upon some research about giving essential fatty acid supplements to improve speech. Since there doesn't seem to be a negative to trying this (we all need Omega-3's!) I bought a bottle of kid-friendly chewables and they should arrive this week. Now to see if we see a big change!

and last but not least...

6) The boys turned 2!! We had a great party with family and friends at Grandma and Papa's house, with a very "boy" theme of cars and trucks. It was a blast, and hard to believe they have been around for 2 years already!

I will try to update more frequently, thanks for sticking around!

Summer fun

2011-07-31T14:08:00.000-07:00

We somehow only have 2 weeks left here in CA, and thinking back on the summer I realized that we have had the opportunity to experience a lot of what this area has to offer while we have been here. And then I realized I haven't blogged about most of these experiences! So, here we go:

1) Hanging out at Google

The little Googlers sporting their Android tees

Normally, spending time at one's work would not qualify as a fun summer activity. That is, unless you are a Googler! Not only does Eric enjoy working there (as an intern), but the boys and I have felt so welcomed by his team, and have had a lot of fun at various social events on the campus. At an intern gathering, Felix enjoyed playing frisbee with a group of young Googlers; we enjoyed many a breakfast picnic with daddy before work; I had the chance to ride a "conference bike" with Eric's team (which means 7 people ride one 7-seater bike together - crazy, but fun!) while Eric followed behind pulling the boys in their bike trailer; we enjoyed some beers and watched fellow Googlers attempt to surf on the rented "flow rider" wave pool at a social gathering. Of course, Eric has also had his own experiences, including going white water rafting with a huge group of Googlers, and this week he will go on a cruise around San Francisco. Not too bad for a summer internship, eh?

2) Exploring San Francisco
Since we are staying only about 40 minutes south of this beautiful city, we have had the chance to spend a lot of time there. We enjoyed seeing Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf during our first weekend here and marveled at the beauty of the Golden Gate bridge (and its ever present fog). Eric took the boys to the Golden Gate park and to the San Francisco Zoo just yesterday. We also decided one day to just take a Caltrain ride into SF so the boys could experience it - we ended up just eating lunch and then hopping back onto the train. But, it was fun!

Here are some videos of some of our SF fun:
Golden Gate Bridge
SF Hills

3) Lake Tahoe

Look at that water!!

We took the 4 hour drive to see gorgeous Lake Tahoe over 4th of July weekend. It was funny - I expected Tahoe to be super hippie, and Eric expected it to be super yuppie - we were both mistaken! At least during this particular weekend, Tahoe resembled a spring break destination more than anything. It was crowded with tourists, families, and drunk college students. We stayed in a local motel that looked cute and quaint on their website, but that ended up being dingy and gross in actuality. But, despite all that, what a beautiful place!!! We took a lovely hike to see the amazing view of the lake, and we spent some time playing in the freezing surf as well! Unlike last summer, when the boys cried every time their toes touched the water, this year they were running straight in! We will definitely be back to stay again, but definitely NOT on a holiday weekend!

4) Museum reciprocity
Thanks to our membership at The Museum of Life and Science in Durham, we have been able to enjoy several other museums here in the bay area for free. So far, we have checked out CuriOdyssey, Exploratorium, and Happy Hollow Park and Zoo. While a lot of museums are geared toward older children, we can usually find something fun for the boys to do. However, we still do sometimes overestimate what they can do, such as when we put them on some kiddie rides at Happy Hollow! Felix enjoyed the first ride, but Asher cried throughout it. We thought Felix would like another ride, but we were mistaken! Luckily, the operator of that ride stopped it so we could rescue him! Oh well, I'm sure the time will come when we can't get them off the rides at an amusement park!

Here are some pictures pre-tears:

Felix

Asher

5) Monteray Bay Aquarium
Last week we had the chance to visit this famous aquarium for free, thanks to a friend's membership card and the babies' young age. It was a bit of a whirlwind visit - who knew 1-year-olds wouldn't want to stop at each exhibit and enjoy each species to its fullest? But, the babies had fun pointing out all of the fish and their colors, feeling the cool designs on all of the walls (which are well placed right at toddler level), and exploring the Splash Zone, which is the toddler area. I don't know that I would have wanted to spend $30 for an adult admission ticket to basically run through the place with the babies, but $0 is always a good price! Here is a video and some pictures from the day:

Aquarium Fun

Asher was not happy about having to hold mommy's hand!

The boys are working together to overtake this fake penguin

Asher contemplating life as a fish

Whoa...trippy...

Felix enjoying the toddler play structure

Asher at the water table

Felix working the large puzzle

Felix obviously thinks this is a water fountain...

We have had a lot of fun so far this summer, and still have 2 more weeks to go! Next up is a trip to the Bay Area Kids Museum for free admission day and another trip to the San Francisco Zoo.

Operation Diaper-free: Day Three and FAIL!

2011-07-27T21:33:00.000-07:00

It was all going so well. But, by 4:30 PM on Day Three, I officially threw in the towel. While they were showing some signs of readiness, it just wasn't enough. Maybe if there was just one of them I could have powered through, but they outnumbered me. And all I kept reading was "Be absolutely sure your child is ready!" and I just wasn't. The main sign they were missing was the ability to tell when they had to pee, in order to get themselves to the potty. That is sort of an important one :)

Day Three was just hard altogether. They went diaper free from the time they woke up, and there was not a single potty success for the first several hours. Eventually, I just pumped them full of juice and sat them on the potty with a video for like 30 minutes, and of course they each went like 10 times. I reinforced them every time they went, but it was a very passive thing - they didn't have to run to the potty or really do anything but go.

So, while they were napping I did some reading, and saw that some folks suggested getting some interesting big kid underwear to try to entice them to stay dry. So, after nap, we headed out (sans diapers) to Target to buy some Cars underwear. They were very excited, but I'm sure they had no idea what in the world we were buying. Anyway, they did stay dry on our outing, which I took to be a good sign. I put the underwear on them, and Felix almost immediately pooped in them! Yikes. After about his third pair in an hour, I said enough. It just wasn't worth all the stress it was causing me! I was sick of staying in the house, sick of cleaning up messes, and sick of being stressed! I decided that when they are truly ready, potty training should be MUCH easier than this...right?

So, my new plan is to just be relaxed about it. Yeah, it sucks to have to use diapers, but it is easier than carting around a potty everywhere. So, when we are hanging out on the patio, I take their diapers and shorts off, and have two potties and treats available. They get a yogurt-covered raisin whenever they sit on the potty, whether or not they go. They get more if they go. Felix is actually going pretty frequently this way. Then, they also get to sit on the big potty before their bath each night. Felix also goes pretty frequently at this time. I figure this way they are staying exposed to the concept of the potty, but I am staying sane. It is more important to have a sane mother than to be potty trained at age 21 months! :)

Operation Diaper-free: Day Two

2011-07-27T21:24:00.000-07:00

I went into Day Two with a good attitude because of our relative success on Day One. I even got going on the program before my morning cup of coffee! Amazing. It helps that I LOVE not having to change so many diapers - the boys need some serious distractions to keep them at all still for a change. I have mastered the art of the standing/running diaper change, but it's not always the best plan (i.e., for a diaper filled with #2). So, even though going "diaper-free" means some floor cleaning, I am lovin' it :)

Day Two stats: Diapers=4 (just for sleep)
Potty successes=8 for Felix, 4 for Asher
Accidents=Many, but seemingly less than yesterday

I noticed a significant improvement in their awareness of bodily functions today as compared to yesterday - whereas on Day One, they would sometimes pee without noticing, that didn't seem to happen at all today. Further, they showed many more signs of having to go - such as Felix grabbing his genitals and whining when he had to pee (he doesn't have a word for pee yet), or saying "Poop" when he had to poop.

I generally kept them pants-free today, mostly because they kept taking off their shorts :) I guess I understand the purpose of the pants-free thing while they are learning - so they get used to only going when naked instead of using clothing as a diaper. But, I do feel more comfortable letting them roam the apartment when they are wearing shorts - today Asher literally sprayed the wall!

We had a lot more successes today, which can probably be attributed to the fact that I kept them on the potty a LOT! I figured if they were willing to sit there a lot, great - at least then they would get used to eliminating in the potty and not want to go in their pants. I read to them, showed them YouTube videos on my phone, then eventually brought out the iPad - with their favorite apps, and even videos of Elmo or Blue's Clues. This is great for keeping them in one place, but always incites a tantrum when it gets turned off, so this will definitely be used sparingly from now on!

We even ventured out today. After they both went potty, I packed up some towels (for their car seats) and extra shorts and we hit the road. It was a short errand - to return library books - but I thought for sure they would be wet before we got back. It wasn't so! They were both dry when we returned and then immediately went in the potty when we got back (I sat them on it right when we walked through the door).

Of course, we still had several accidents, but I am using their favorite exclamation ("Oh no!") to express that we need to go in the potty, not on the floor. They seem to get that - when Felix pooped out on the patio while I was inside for a minute, I came out and he pointed at it and said, "Poop! Oh no!" That was worth having to clean it up :)

On to Day Three!

Operation Diaper-free: Day One

2011-07-27T21:23:00.000-07:00

The boys are 21 months old, and I have been sick of diapers for exactly 21 months. For the first 15 months, we used cloth diapers almost exclusively, but I hated washing them, especially once the boys started eating primarily solid foods - yuck! When they were 15 months old, they both caught a nasty stomach bug, which included diarrhea and vomiting, and so we switched over to disposables temporarily to cut down on laundry and the gross-factor. Well. We had forgotten how quick and easy disposables were! One thing after another kept coming up - a weekend trip, Felix's lactose intolerance, etc - that made it easy for us to justify continuing to use disposables. It has now been 6 months, and we haven't used a single cloth diaper. They are sitting, sadly, on the shelf in the nursery right where we left them. I am proud of us for using them, with twins, for 15 months - but I am also disgusted by how many disposable diapers we have put in the landfill in only the last 6 months! I figure, on average, we use 10-12 diapers per day - multiply that by 180 days, and we have used around 2000 diapers in a half a year! Yikes. And gross.

Thus explains my motivation for attempting to begin potty training at age 21 months. This is certainly not unheard of, but it is a bit earlier than the average age (2 years). Boys are usually even later than that - it is really common for me to see 3 year old boys who are not even close to being potty trained at my job. But, here are the reasons I think it will work for us - 1) My boys are geniuses (of course); 2) They have each other as reinforcement and models; and 3) They are showing some classic signs of readiness, such as enjoying sitting on the potty, using a word for potty and pee/poop, recognizing when they have gone, and being able to pull down their pants.

I tried the Diaper Free in Three Days or Less (heretofore referred to as DFITD) method last week for a few hours with just Felix and I was exhausted afterwards. I decided then that I wasn't ready, even if he was. But, I had a change of heart last night and decided to just modify the program so that I can keep my sanity, but yet still be effective (hopefully). That program just wasn't feasible for me, by myself, with two boys. So, I created one that would work for us.

Day One:

Total number of diapers used=6 (I put diapers on them first thing in the morning when we all woke up - frankly because I was incapable of starting the potty training thing without my coffee. Again, we need sanity here. Then, they wore a diaper for naptime, and again at bedtime.)

Successful potty events=3 for Felix, 2 for Asher.

Accidents=Too many to count.

The DFITD method stresses that the child should be completely naked from the waist down while at home for the first 3 months. However, I found that with my boys, completely naked meant they could pee straight out onto the floor. This meant that they did not feel uncomfortable at all (i.e., no pee running down the leg). Plus, it was a crazy amount of cleaning for me. On the other hand, completely naked means you can easily whisk the child onto the potty seat without having to pull down pants. So, I compromised. When we were in the house, I put them in just shorts (no diaper). When we were outside on the patio (which was most of the day), they could be pants-free as well. I started with them in shorts outside too, but after 8 accidents between breakfast and lunch (i.e., 8 pairs of shorts to wash), I decided they could just pee on the patio.

I tried to sit them on the potty at regular intervals - day one was every 15 minutes. This seemed to be my best chance of catching them peeing so that I could reinforce it. It worked a few times actually. I decided not to stress about whisking them mid-pee to the potty. That was just impossible with one adult and two kids. I did it if they were close to the potty, and I did it for poop, but otherwise I just said something like, "Uh oh, you had an accident. See? Next time, go to the potty please." And then I usually sat them on the potty.

For reinforcements, I reinforced like crazy if they actually went in the potty, of course. They got treats and a big song and dance. I also reinforced for going to sit on the potty independently, even if it was unsuccessful. I want to be sure they WANT to sit there. Some people use M&Ms, but I used some healthier treats - yogurt covered raisins, dried cherries, organic gummy bears - that were still very motivating.

The DFITD method suggests pushing salty snacks and tons of liquids in the first three days to ensure that you have plenty of opportunities to reinforce potty behavior. Well, I tried this last week, and Felix was peeing just a little bit at a time every few minutes. This was impossible to keep up with. I gave them a bit more fluids than normal on day one, and it was even too much. Tomorrow I am going to give the normal amount of fluids so that I can time our potty sessions and not run around every second trying to catch urine.

I also had to make a mid-day change - I only had one stand-alone potty seat, which wasn't enough for two kids! One of them would be going on the seat, and the other would come over next to his brother, squat on the floor, and go! Eric picked up another potty seat at IKEA (only $5!) for me, and it was much easier.

Although there were some rough patches, it wasn't nearly as stressful as my few hours last week (and really the only rough patch was when they were being silly and playing together and I couldn't corral them to sit on the potty - not too rough :)). And we even had some success. By the end of the day, Asher stayed dry for awhile before dinner, all through dinner, and then went in the potty before bath. That signals a good end to the day to me :)

Grocery shopping with toddlers

2011-07-09T08:19:00.000-07:00

Before this summer, I avoided grocery shopping with my twin toddlers as much as possible - I would often just stop at the store on my way home from work, or go during their nap time on the weekends if my husband was home. But, since I am home with them all week long now, and too exhausted most evenings to go shopping when Eric gets home, I had to figure out how to survive shopping alone with twin toddlers. I have decided to pass on my wisdom to you, grasshopper.

Step 1: Make a complete shopping list, separated by store if you need to venture to more than one place. We use this app to keep track of everything we need at various stores, and it updates in real time so Eric can add something to the list while I'm at the store and I will see it on my phone. (You can type anything on these lists, such as the time I saw that I needed to buy "The boys are destroying things in their room right now." I couldn't find any.)

Step 2: Before leaving the house, pack plenty of snacks for the kids to eat while you are shopping. I love to put snacks in this. I have found that the smaller the snack food, the longer your child will stay occupied. We have begun to make a "baby mix" which includes Cheerios, some other small cereal, dried cranberries, and yogurt covered raisins. The boys will stay occupied eating a cup of that for much longer than they would if I just gave them some graham crackers. Also, I always carry this lumbar pack as a diaper bag/purse which allows me to be completely hands-free while I'm out and about. It also has two water bottle pockets for our favorite water bottles.

Step 3: Make sure you have your reusable grocery bags!

Step 4: When you arrive at the store, park near the grocery cart drop-off. This will make transfer from car to cart easiest.

Step 5: Put the toddlers in the main basket of the cart. I know there are signs all over the cart telling you not to do this, but hey - you don't have a choice, right? Unless the store offers a double seater cart (like Sam's Club, some Targets, and some wonderful grocery stores do), you have to improvise. I have tried to put one in the seat and one in the main part, but they inevitably want to switch places, so now I just put both together and make sure they sit down. Give them their snack cup right away to keep them occupied.

Step 6: When you enter the store, grab a hand basket and place it underneath the main compartment of the cart. This will be where you place your groceries. If your kids are like mine, if you tried to put items in the cart within their reach, they would inevitably end up on the floor. Now, you will notice that there is not much room for a ton of groceries in that basket - you can sometimes place some heavier items in the cart with the kids (i.e., that they cannot lift to throw onto the floor).

Step 7: While you're shopping, talk to your children about what you see, what you are buying, what is for dinner, etc. Ask them to find things, like a banana or the color blue. That will keep them from getting bored, and thus cranky and loud.

Step 8: Don't dilly-dally! The goal is to get in, get what you need, and get out without a tantrum! This is why a good list is essential.

Happy shopping!

Our CA apartment

2011-07-06T06:42:00.000-07:00

Felix loves the new apartment!

Once we found out that Eric was accepted at Google for the summer, we immediately began searching for adequate housing. This was not easy, to say the least, to do from across the country. But, it was made a bit easier by websites like vrbo.com - which lists vacation rentals all over the country. We actually found a place in San Francisco through this site, had our friend scope it out for us, and agreed to rent it for the summer. Well, the best laid plans...

Eric arrived at the new apartment (after spending a week in a hotel because it wasn't ready yet) and immediately knew that it was not going to be suitable for two toddlers. The whole apartment was heated with space heaters, there were breakables everywhere, a large wood-burning stove in the middle of the living room, and exposed rusty pipes on the deck. Not to mention the fact that the land lady entered the apartment when Eric was at work. Anyway, after a bit of drama to get out of that situation, he found a small, 1 bedroom apartment in Mountain View (about 30 miles south of SF, but only 2 miles from Google). The place was unfurnished, so he had to buy the necessities at IKEA, but overall it works well for us - it's cheaper, it's closer to Eric's work, it's warmer and sunnier, and the boys certainly have plenty of space to play without fear of breaking anyone's belongings! Plus, they have an enclosed patio with sand to play in. You wouldn't believe all of the little things you have to buy for a summer in an unfurnished apartment (like a coffee pot, colander, can opener, etc), but all in all, it is a good situation for the summer!

A video tour of our apartment

Our favorite iPad apps for toddlers

2011-06-30T07:29:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to share this list for awhile now, and since I am in blogging-mode, I figured this was as good a time as any! Like any 21st century child, our boys LOVE technology - in the form of colorful, noisy, annoying characters of course :) A sure-fire way to get them to sit still for a long time is to ask, "Do you want to play a game?" "Game" means iPad in our house, isn't that sad? Anyway, they say, "Game!" and run to the couch to wait for me to bring the iPad over. They know how to turn it on, navigate from screen to screen, choose their favorite games, and to play them. Crazy kids! Anyway, here are some that we enjoy playing! (By the way, for those that don't know, our boys are almost 21 months, so these are all good for toddlers.) In cost order:

BabySafari (free) - This has good picture quality and is cute, but is quite boring (even for a toddler). This would be better suited for a younger toddler or baby. Basically, you just drive through the safari and different animals jump out and the program labels them. Spanish is available, and if your baby accidentally hits "Spanish" good luck getting out of it!

I Hear Ewe (free) - This is one of my kids' favorites! They absolutely love flashcards for some reason, and that is what this is - they have farm animals, jungle animals, and vehicles, and when you touch the card, a very Canadian man tells you what sound the animal/object makes. Definitely worth the price :)

Doodle Buddy (free) - Although my kids don't care much for it, I think it is worth having. You can save your "paintings" and can even record and play back how you drew them!

Color Dots (free) - Felix liked this one for awhile, but he's over it now. This is well-suited for babies who love popping bubbles, because that is all this is! It is cute though.

Monkey Preschool Lunchbox ($.99) - While the music and voice on this are quite annoying to me, the kids love it. It has a dancing monkey, who can resist? It works on preschool concepts like shapes, counting, puzzles, etc.

Animal Hide and Seek ($.99) - This is a cute app, and the boys like this more and more as they get older. Basically, the child just finds and touches the hidden animals, and then they dance and play music when they are found. At first this was hard for them, because sometimes it is hard to see the hidden animals, but it is well-suited to toddlers.

Peekaboo Barn ($1.99) - This is a VERY cute app, and the boys often choose this one to play first. There is a free version, but that one only has three or four animals, while this one has ten. The pictures are cute, and the sound is good - although I sort of hate when games use an actual child to label things, because then I feel like my children are learning to say words with a speech impairment...such as on this app, the child says "woosta" for "rooster."

Peekaboo Forest ($1.99) - I bought this one without trying it (they don't have a free version) because it is made by the Peekaboo Barn people, but it is definitely not as good as its farmland brother. It is not as bright and cheery (I guess I should have guessed since it's set in a forest, huh?), and let's face it - the sound of a squirrel or a fox is not as enticing or adorable as the sound of a cow or pig, right?

Itsy Bitsy Spider HD ($1.99) - This is adorable, but my kids don't love it as much as I thought they would. They love this song when I sing it, probably because I tickle them, but they aren't into this app. The premise is cute though - you touch any picture on the screen and it comes to life and goes through the song.

Old MacDonald HD ($1.99) - Same publisher as Itsy Bitsy, and same general idea. The kids like this one more though - who can understand toddler logic?

Fish School HD ($1.99) - This is a cute app, although it's not super interactive. The fish arrange themselves to spell out letters and numbers, and arrange themselves into shapes and colors.

Baby Flashcards 2 HD ($1.99) - These are great flashcards if your kid is into them like mine are. You can see all of the cards, or you can set what categories you want (animals, colors, food, letters, etc). You can also record your own voice saying the word, which I haven't had time to do yet, but I think it's a neat idea.

First Words Deluxe ($4.99) - This is one of the most expensive apps I have bought, but we tried the free version for a long time and the boys loved it, so I went for it (with a gift card). I would suggest trying the free version first since this one is $5. It is a spelling game, and don't ask me why my kids like this, but they do! You just match the letters to spell out a word, and then that object flies to life. The boys obviously can't spell yet, and can't yet accurately drag the letter to the box to match it, but they will sit and watch me spell the words for a surprisingly long time, and will even choose this app themselves. It should be good as they get older too!

Elmo Loves ABCs ($4.99) - This is the motherload of all apps. Not only is it Elmo, but it has a ton of content which is sure to keep your child entertained for as long as you can possibly stand listening to this app (I have not yet made it through the whole thing). There is a free version, which I frankly just got too sick of to not buy the full version. The free version includes access to 3 letters (A, B, C), while obviously you get the whole shebang in the $5 version. For each letter, you trace the upper and lower case letter, then you get to choose between three videos about objects that start with that letter. There are also different games to play, like picking letters from a group, or playing hide and seek with letters. There is a cute song/video to watch too, that goes through the whole alphabet. This is, by far, the most favorite-ist app in our house :)

I hope this is helpful for those with little ones! Happy gaming!

Hiking

2011-06-28T06:35:00.000-07:00

Eric and I have always enjoyed hiking, and we have done our best to incorporate the boys into that activity. When they were tiny, it was easy to carry them in one of our carriers (Ergo, Bjorn, or backpack), but as they have gotten bigger (i.e., heavier), it is a bit more challenging. They are in a bit of an in-between stage right now - they are getting almost too heavy for the carriers, but still can't quite hike on their own. Some trails are wide and flat enough to bring the mega stroller, but most are not. So, we just play it by ear, and try to be flexible - while we might enjoy a 4 mile hike, we know that it just won't be possible at this stage!

The bay area has so many lovely trails to hike, and many of the forests have beautiful, huge redwoods. A few weekends ago, on Father's Day in fact, we visited Muir Woods, which features coastal redwoods (still huge, but not has large as Sequoias). We started out with the boys on our backs (me with Felix in my trusty Ergo, and Asher with daddy in the backpack), but we realized that the trails were easy enough for the stroller so we switched. Well, it turns out that not all of the trails were stroller-worthy, so it cut our walk short a bit. It was still gorgeous, and we got some fun photos and videos. Here is one video:

Muir Woods

Last weekend, we went to the Portola Redwoods State Park and saw some very large Sequoia trees (including one which, when it was burned down by campers in 1989, was 2000 years old and 54 feet in circumference!). Although this park is only 17 miles from our apartment, it took us an hour to get there because the trail head is up a steep and extremely winding road (which is also frequented by insane bikers). We put the boys in their carriers (Felix again with mommy, Asher with daddy and the backpack), and they did quite well like that for most of the trail. We always stop at trees to let them feel the rough bark, and we love to look up up up in the sky at the tall trees. I love it when Felix sees trees blowing in the wind, and he begins blowing with his mouth too! We let them out to walk a bit near the end when the trail became easier, and it was so cute to see them hiking along! It made us realize how big they are getting! They love to gather pine cones and sticks in the woods, and this was the perfect place. Unfortunately, we forgot the camera for this trip though :( But, here are some good ones from the Muir Woods trip!

Parks

2011-06-20T06:44:00.000-07:00

I never realized how rare a good park is before last week. There is a large playground right near our apartment, and it looked nice, so I took the boys there on my first day with them here. Ha! I spent the entire time chasing one child and bringing him back to the vicinity of the other child so that I could supervise both at once. So, now a nice-looking, large playground means nothing without some key aspects for twin toddlers and one adult.

1) It has to be fenced in! This is the only way that I can even slightly relax and concentrate on the important things - playing with my kids! Otherwise I am literally staying up at night visualizing all of the terrible things that can happen in an open playground - the boys running into the street, being abducted, etc. (Yes, I really did stay up at night worrying about this last week.) If the playground is not fenced in, it at least has to be set WAY back from the street or parking lot, but even this is not ideal.

2) It has to be geared to toddlers! Not only does this mean baby swings and sand areas, but it means safer play structures. My kids LOVE to climb, and they don't yet have an awareness or fear of heights, so they will climb and climb until they can't climb anymore - which means up to the top of the "big kid" play structure. Many playgrounds have both a structure for 2-5 year olds, and a structure for 6-12 year olds. This is fine, as long as they are separated by a great distance - otherwise one child will inevitably run to the opposite area as his brother! (This is why key aspect #1 is so important!) However, I have noticed that even on the toddler structures, there is usually a drop-off of some sort, which makes no sense to me.

Less important features, but still nice: shade, grassy areas, and a walking path.

Felix on a sand mission

Ready, set, go!

Felix swinging

Asher swinging

California Summer

2011-06-20T06:13:00.000-07:00

We are officially Californians! Well, that's not entirely true. Eric got an internship at Google for the summer (!) so we are here until mid-August. But, that's gotta make us more than tourists, right? Can we claim to be 1/6th Californian or something?

We have only been here for a week and a half (the boys and I, that is - Eric has been here for several by himself already), and I have been in official stay-at-home-mom (or SAHM) mode. And let me tell you - this is the hardest job I have ever had! I know people say that, but man, it's true. I was thinking back to last summer, because I was also home with the boys then, and wondering why it seems so much harder now. It comes down to one thing - mobility! Last summer the boys were just learning to crawl and pull up; this summer they are running in opposite directions and climbing on anything they see. This makes any outing highly anxiety-provoking for me. But, we would go crazy stuck in our tiny one bedroom apartment, so out we go. My mission has become finding toddler-friendly, twin-friendly, and wallet-friendly activities in the Bay Area. Google and Yelp have been very helpful, but so have other moms! I find myself in a repeated flashback of the first day in the high school cafeteria - scoping out the other SAHMs on the playground, and approaching anyone who looks friendly. But instead of asking, "Is this seat taken?" I ask, "How old is your little one?" or something like that - and then, voila, a conversation begins. And, after they inevitably remark about how hard it must be with twins, especially in a strange town, they have been really helpful in giving me suggestions of other places to go with the boys. (The funny thing is that I have never been what you would call a social butterfly - in the past, approaching complete strangers (repeatedly, several times a day, everyday) would have been a personal nightmare! I don't know what has changed - is it the California air? No, I would venture a guess that the threat of extreme boredom with two 20-month-olds is outweighing the possible uncomfortable moment of starting a conversation with a stranger.)

Anyway, I hope to have plenty of time to blog this summer (ha!) and keep everyone back home up to date on what we're doing on the left coast. We miss you all!

California Boys

Sick toddlers

2011-04-26T05:47:00.000-07:00

It is the law of nature - once you think "Oh wow, my kids are so healthy!" they inevitably get sick. We had had a string of colds (with accompanying ear infections) and stomach bugs this winter. It seemed that any germ that was out there, my boys picked up. But, they had been healthy for several weeks going into spring. As soon as that thought popped into my head, the first sniffle happened. Then the cough. Then the fever. All times two, of course. Once they started pulling on their ears, we whisked them to the pediatrician, who looked in their ears and said, "Oh yeah!" Never a good sign. After the first antibiotic didn't work, we had to bring them back to get a shot and a stronger oral antibiotic. Great fun.

I know kids have to get sick - unless you never bring them out into the world, of course. The problem I have is that when my kids are sick, no one will do except mommy. While this warms my heart (c'mon, everyone wants to be needed, right?), it is actually pretty impossible. They BOTH want to be held. They BOTH want to sit or lay with mommy, but not with their brother too. They BOTH have the right to whine and cry because they are in pain, and they BOTH have the right to have alone time with mommy. See - impossible. So, I have found some things that help them feel a bit better, and also help to keep my sanity - see if you notice a pattern:

1) Relax your TV rules. Full disclosure - we go down a slippery slope when the boys are sick, and TV is used quite a bit. It is most often used for distraction from meltdowns-induced-from-mommy-having-to-put-me-down, which happens quite a bit. Like most toddlers, our boys are almost always suitably distracted by a moving screen, particularly if the screen contains images of Elmo.

2) Relax your schedule. I am a bit of a schedule Nazi, actually, but when they are sick I try to let go of that. I basically want them to eat when they're hungry, and sleep when they need sleep. They haven't taken a scheduled morning nap in months, but this weekend they both crawled back into bed after breakfast, and rather than try to keep them up until their "scheduled" nap, I just coveted the time to shower and drink two cups of coffee. (By the way, they also put themselves to sleep for the scheduled nap at 1:00, so it all worked out anyway.)

3) Relax your diet restrictions. Most kids don't have a great appetite when they are sick, so it is my feeling that I just need to get them to eat anything at all to keep up their strength. One night last week, I think dinner consisted of a whole milk yogurt and fruit smoothie, peanut butter/cheese crackers, string cheese, and pineapple. Not a traditional dinner, but at least they got some nutrition and calories. Oh, and they may have also gotten a cookie.

So, as you can see, the pattern here is to just RELAX! Do whatever you need to do to help your kids feel better, but keep yourself sane too. You can go back to your enriching educational activities, strict schedule, and balanced diet once everyone is feeling better.

PS - So sorry for the lack of posts lately! No excuses, but I will try harder to post more often!

Language development

2011-03-09T08:23:00.000-08:00

I generally don't try to hide my neuroses...Most people who know me know that I like things to be clean, organized, and "just so" - if there is a mess, I have to clean it up before I can relax. A more recent neurotic tendency has also developed since I had the kids - like many people who work in the area of disabilities and early intervention, I worry incessantly about my kids' development, particularly their language. It has been difficult for me to just relax and assume everything will be OK - even though that was the advice given to me after each of my near-weekly visits to my wonderful and brilliant speech therapist colleague. I have heard it all - they're boys, they were low birth weight/preemies, they're twins. I know that all of these factors can contribute to a language delay, and to have all three - well, it's like the trifecta for a language delay. I know all this, and I even share this information to calm the fears of other parents of twins I see at work (which is funny to my colleagues since they know my own fears)!

But, for a few months, I was genuinely concerned. Around age 11-13 months, the boys would babble, but their sounds were limited. They said "dada" and "mama" but it wasn't consistently attached to Eric or I. They did not consistently imitate our words. So, we began to really focus on language. We tried to spend more individual time with the boys - which honestly never happened before. We taught them signs. We asked the nanny to take them to group situations, such as storytime and Gymboree, to increase their exposure. We read. And read. And read some more. We started to withhold desired items until they used a vocalization, sign, or word. After all of this, we started to see a slow increase in language between 13-15 months. And from 15-17 months (which is now), it has really taken off. We keep a tally of all of the words each boy has now, and we add to it every week. As of today, Asher uses 25 words and 6 signs, and Felix uses 20 words and 5 signs. They are also starting to put words together, such as "Night night mama." We have also randomly heard sentences like "It's hot," "Stop it," and "What's that?" I am officially not worried anymore...well, that may be a stretch, but at least I am not worried about their language!

Window?

2011-02-16T05:25:00.000-08:00

We have been thinking a lot about developmental transitions at our house lately, and noticed that we have been exceptionally lucky when it comes to many of the typically tricky transitions (I am feeling alliterative today :)) in infancy and toddlerhood. This led us to wonder - are we really just blessed with easy-going kids, or have we just happened upon some sort of "window" of time when it is easier for kids to make these transitions? Allow me to elaborate...

1) Schedules - Although we were basically flailing about for the first 8 weeks or so, once we realized that we needed a schedule, we implemented it and magically the boys were napping regularly and sleeping through the night by the time they were 10-12 weeks old. Of course, I totally credit the book "Babywise" for this.

2) Weaning - This was an exceptionally easy transition for the boys...they weaned themselves at 7 months! I actually would have preferred to continue nursing, but I was obviously not in charge of that decision.

3) Solid food - The boys have enjoyed finger feeding from the first Puff they were given at 4-6 months, and they continue to enjoy all sorts of flavors and textures.

4) Sippy cup - We started with the Munchkin sippy cups with the soft silicone tops (at around 6 months) which are very similar to bottle nipples, so this was a smooth transition as well. We transitioned over time - replacing one feeding per day with a sippy cup rather than a bottle, then two feedings, then three, etc. They now enjoy any kind of sippy cup, as well as straws, and of course the ever-fun open cup!

5) Toddler bed - I was nervous to make this transition in particular, but with the exception of one night where they fell out of bed and woke themselves up, this transition has been amazingly smooth at 15 1/2 months (thanks to the Bed Bug Bumper!).

6) Time out - I think most experts suggest starting "time out" as a consequence at around 18 months to 2 years, but I started it at 15 months, and they do understand it and respect it. It is amazing that you can just say the words "time out" and they go right to the corner and stay there. What's even better, it has been effective in deterring negative behaviors, such as biting and hitting.

7) Potty - You always hear about older toddlers resisting even sitting on the potty, or being scared of the flushing noise. To avoid this, when the boys turned 15 months, we bought a stand-alone potty as well as a potty seat for our toilet for the boys to be familiar with them and to even sit on the potty themselves. Before bath each night, each boy undresses (as much by himself as possible) and then they take turns sitting on the potty (for as long as they want, ranging from 10-60 seconds) before going in the bath. They really enjoy it, and we of course are not expecting them to actually go in the potty (although it does happen by accident sometimes). Felix in particular also enjoys flushing.

So, have we just happened upon the correct "windows" for each of these transitions, or do we just have easy kids? Either way, I hope it continues!

Easy, huh? :)

Product Review - BinkiGrip pacifier holder

2011-01-26T22:55:00.000-08:00

Although my guys don't really use a pacifier anymore - in fact they were never really pacifier kids, except to chew on firm Soothies when bored in the car or during teething - I really wanted to add this product to my reviews because it's so awesome compared to other clips.

BinkiGrip Pacifier Holder by Booginhead:

We had several normal plastic pacifier clips before we discovered this one, and inevitably the clip was promptly removed and the whole shebang was thrown onto the floor or the clip itself was placed directly into the mouth (imagine pinching your tongue with one of those clips!). These clips are not only insanely cute - we have the orange/grey stripes and the blue/green stripes - but they are inexpensive (about $5) and most importantly they really work! The clip is metal and is impossible for little hands to unclip, but it is still gentle enough to not damage clothes - I don't know how they did it, but it works! Also, the clip attaches to any pacifier, even my beloved Soothies, which don't have a handle but only have a small hole. All-in-all, a highly recommended product!

Toddler beds

2011-01-23T22:41:00.000-08:00

Yes, the boys are only 15 1/2 months, but we already made the switch to toddler beds. We had recently begun talking about it, but only hypothetically (as in, "These cribs are convertible, right?"). We thought we had a few more months before it was an issue. Then, on Wednesday morning, Asher put his little foot up on the rail of his crib and lifted himself up. He didn't make it over, but he kept trying. This was our cue - it was time to convert our lovely IKEA crib into a toddler bed. This crib is soooo simple (it took Eric only 10 minutes to assemble them in the first place), so it was easy to remove the front panel and attach the front piece of wood. We did it that morning so that they would have a chance to nap in their new beds before nighttime. Of course, this first experience fell on our nanny, Becky. When I checked in by text that afternoon, she reported that Asher was napping in the nursery that day (they take turns napping in a Pack N' Play in our bedroom because they need to be separated for naps) and that she had to remove the toys from the room and put him back in the bed twice, but that he eventually got it and was sound asleep right where she left him. This seemed like a success, but we were still nervous about how the nighttime routine would go, especially since Felix had not napped in the bed.

Nighttime came, and we followed our normal routine - dinner, brush teeth, bath, books, daddy play time that gets everyone riled up again, song, say goodnight (to the monkeys, brother, mommy, and daddy). Felix actually went to sleep just fine, while Asher needed a little reassurance that everything was OK. Felix even immediately rolled out of the bed, but stayed asleep! Once we got Asher calmed, he went to sleep just fine. All was amazingly quiet until 9:30 - I think I jinxed myself because at about 9:29 I was thinking, "Wow, this is going really smoothly, we are so lucky!" Then, we heard a THUMP and "Wahhhhhh!" Asher had rolled out of bed, and woken himself up. This caused Felix to also wake up, and then they were both wailing. (Although this was heartbreaking, it also led to the sweetest twin scene I have had yet - I walked in to check on them, and I found both boys crying, but Felix climbing into Asher's bed to be with his brother. Tug on the heart strings!!) Anyway, I had just ordered some bed bug bumpers to keep them from falling out of bed, but because we made this switch with very little planning (not smart!), they wouldn't arrive for a couple of days. So, my problem-solver husband rolled up a few towels and placed them at the edge of the beds under the sheets to serve as a temporary replacement. We read their favorite story ("Your Personal Penguin" by Sandra Boynton) to calm them back down, and lay with each baby for a few minutes. Asher went right back to sleep, but Felix seemed to realize the implication of this new turn of events - wait, you mean mommy can lay with me in my bed?? So, he calmed easily and started nodding off while I was there, but then went ballistic as soon as I left. I tried giving him a few minutes alone to calm down and realize he's OK and get to sleep on his own, but it did not work. We went back and forth like this for a long time - cry, cry, cry...mommy comes back in, almost fall asleep, mommy leaves...cry, cry, cry... So, by about 11:00, I decided to just settle in for a nap on the floor. He of course fell right to sleep since I was there, and I guess I was exhausted too, because I woke up around 1:30 am and finally went to bed. All was quiet (no more falling out of bed!) until 5:30 when Felix again woke up. And then started the marathon coffee day for mommy.

But, from then on, it was smooth sailing! The rolled-up towels worked like a charm until the bed bug bumpers arrived, and so we have not had any more THUMP situations! The boys seem to really enjoy their new beds - they climb in on their own at nap/bedtime, and they settle right in and sleep very well. I have heard horror stories of making the transition to toddler beds, but it seems that we are just very lucky - either our kids are super flexible, or it worked out in our favor to switch them when they were so young. Either way, I will take it!