Just a Typical Trip to Mass

Dear Woman who sat in front of us tonight during Mass,

I would like to apologize for our 20-month-old daughter.

You see, we went to a different church tonight.  We do go to Mass every week, even though I am sure it looked like our little girl had never seen the inside of a church or been told to sit more for more than 5 minutes at a time.  As I am sure you noticed...she doesn't do that.  Ever.  But we do go to church.  Every week.  And we go through this, every week.  

We really really tried, again, to keep her quite and sitting down.  I packed her favorite book.  "Brown Bear, Brown Bear."  She LOVES it at home and will sit and look at it ON HER OWN, completely in to it.  Not at church.  She didn't care what Brown Bear saw.  I am sorry, that it ended up in your pew.  She tossed it there.  I tried to catch it.  I missed.

I am really sorry that she smacked you on your back as you sat, quietly listening to the reading.  She has NEVER done that one before.  I tried to stop her.  I missed.  

(On a positive note, she did try to pick off the loose hair sticking to the back of your shirt before she slapped you on the back.) 

I am also very, truly sorry for any little bits of cracker that you might shake out of your coat tonight when you get home.  You see, we don't normally go to church at this time.  It is dinner time.  She didn't get a snack after her nap this afternoon because all she wanted to do was sit in her high chair attempting to buckle and unbuckle the strap on her seat.  So she was hungry.  I pulled out the little peanut butter sandwich crackers in an attempt to stop her from screaming because she couldn't hold her new baby sister.  She did stop screaming.  However, that came at the cost of her pulling apart the sandwich to lick the peanut butter out of the middle and then shove the rest of the cracker in her mouth.  That resulted in little bits of cracker falling in the pew in front of us.  Where you were sitting.  Again, I tried to catch it.  I missed.  Sorry.

I would also like to apologize for the gurgling noises during the homily.  She was drinking her juice nice and quietly and then all of a sudden she throws her head back and starts to gurgle.  I know, that sound should only ever be heard when brushing teeth, and never by a toddler...in church.  All I can say is at least it stayed in her mouth...

I promise you we that we really do try to work with her on staying quiet.  She just doesn't get it, and she isn't old enough to understand bribes, such as "if you stay quiet during mass you can have some fruit snacks, or ice cream, or ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS!"  

I promise we try.  

God Bless You and your quietly sitting boys,

The noisy family behind you

I have read article after article, blog post after blog post on how to keep a toddler quiet and attentive during mass, and how even though they are moving and crying and trying to escape up the aisle and trying to dip their entire arm in the holy water, they really are absorbing the information.  I just keep reminding myself that this stage of life will pass, she will eventually sit and listen, until then, I will continue to pack "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" and write apology letters to the people sitting in front of us. 

A New Bag of Tricks

We were blessed to welcome another beautiful, healthy little baby girl into our family on November 2nd.

Her name is Katerina.

Not that I will ever boldly attempt to say that I have things figured out as a mother, but the second time around brings about more feelings of confidence.  Kind of like teaching.  The first year, you're barely hanging on, figuring out things to do with your students sometimes hours before the come waltzing into your classroom.  The second year, brings new challenges, but you at least have a "bag of tricks" you developed that first time.

I have my bag of tricks.

Problem.

Katerina is not Jackie.

My bag of tricks was for Jackie.

Sure there are general tips that are pretty much the same for every baby.  Have the new diaper ready to put down before getting old diaper off, how to get a good latch for nursing babies, teething rings, bibs, timeline of when to take baby to doctor check ups, and so on...

However, I am quickly learning how two sisters may look very similar (despite one having GOBS more hair than the other) but be two completely different babies, and how even small differences and send that "bag of tricks" out the window.

As it just so happens, the two biggest differences between the girls is also the biggest issues parents of newborns face right off the bat.  Sleeping and eating.  Although, to be fair, that is about all a newborn does.  That an poop.  But doin' just fine there...lots of poop.

When it came to sleeping, other than being a very LOUD sleeper, we pretty much hit the sleeping baby jackpot with Jackie.  When she was a week old, we could no longer handle the grunting and squeaking that came from our little princess.  She was swaddled nice and tight and put to bed across the house in her crib.  Best. Move. Ever.  From that point on everyone in the house was getting four-hour chunks of sleep at a time.  Every single transition we have made with Jackie that involved sleep has been a breeze.  She now goes to bed (or takes a nap) in her "big girl bed" without a fight or fuss.

Katerina a sleep is a different story.  She likes to sleep, and sleeps very quietly.  She is just picky about where she sleeps.  We started off right away trying the crib.  No dice.  Tried the swing.  Nope.  The longest stretch of sleep in either of those two places is about two hours.  Kat likes to be where the action is.  She doesn't want to be off by herself.  I want her off by herself.  I want her sleeping in her crib.  I can be stubborn.  However, the other issue of eating has caused me to bend in my stubbornness and for right now, Kat sleeps soundly in her car seat on the floor of our room.  We start off the night with anywhere from 4-6 hours of sleep and from that point on, we get up about every two hours.  It is still a work in progress, while I try to update my bag of tricks to include things for miss Katerina, she will eventually sleep in her crib...

I thought Jackie was a good eater, and compared to my other mommy friends she was very typical.  The nurses at the breastfeeding clinic were impressed the first time I took her in when they discovered she was eating 2-3 ounces in about a total hour feeding.  This continued for 2-3 months before she was finally efficient enough to cut that time in half.  We struggled big time in the beginning to get just the right latch and position so she wasn't making me want to cry every time she latched on.  It was a very long process.

Now here is where my bag of tricks first came in handy.  I knew how to get Katerina to latch on correctly and the best way to hold her.  Within a couple days the soreness was gone and she was eating like a champ.  The first trip to the breastfeeding clinic to get weighed shocked everyone.  She was eating 2.5-3 ounces in half an hour!  Wow!  We have ourselves a super eater.

Having a super eater should be great, and it is because I know she's getting what she needs.  However, this has provided a new set of problems.  My milk has come in faster and in greater supply, Katerina is super-efficient.  This means she is eating too much too fast.  Causing our little one to spit up in great quantities multiple times a day.  It has been a crazy, milk-soaked week trying to figure out how long to feed her, how long to prop her up, how often to burp her, and guessing how much she is eating.  Tomorrow we are heading back to the clinic to see what advice they may have for this problem. Until it is solved, I just don't feel comfortable having her sleep across the house in the crib.  I don't want to have to change crib sheets as often as I'm having to chance Kat's clothes!  :)

I know as time goes and Katerina shows us more of her sweet little personality, I will add many new tricks to my bag.  I just hope the love that Jackie shows her little sissy stays around for a long, long time!