I really feel like every story about Phoebe, should now end with the hashtag, #OhPhoebe. She just never ceases to amaze.
Phoebe has now been in a big girl bed for a week. We made the transition in a hurry after my parents were watching the girls while we went on vacation and woke up to her screaming in the middle of the night (She was dangling off the side of the crib). It started out okay, albeit with some mishaps. Last Saturday, she refused to take a nap and instead grabbed books from the closet, some of which she shredded page by page. As a book lover, these acts really disturb me. As for Phoebe, she'll see a book that she destroyed and say: "I tore that." (But aren't you upset that you tore that?! GAH!)
The first night, it took her a few tries to stay in bed. She wanted to have her shutters open, so we'd go in each time we could see light streaming out of the room. I had also put a brand new bedside lamp by her bed, but she turned it on so much that first night that we took it out. Finally, we let her keep the shutters open and after she was actually asleep, we'd go in and shut them.
The next couple of nights were okay. I was beginning to think things were going pretty smoothly. Silly Stephanie! Fast forward to Thursday night. At around 4 AM, I woke up to find her next to the bed, staring at me, her face inches from my head. I yelped with fright, and pulled her into bed with me. She was quiet and not fidgeting, but I don't sleep when my children sleep with me, so after about 20 minutes, I nudged Chris and told him to put her back in bed. He said, "You're talking in your sleep again." He was seriously shocked to see her in bed with us. Chris took her back to bed and about 30 seconds later, she was out of her room and headed back to ours. So Chris had to continue putting her back in her room for about an hour. Awesome.
Friday night, I went out with friends to an 80s cover band called Tainted Love. It was super fun, but even though I didn't stay for the entire show, I still got back at around 12:30, which is really late for me. At 3 AM, we woke up to Phoebe screaming. Chris turned on the hallway light, went in and comforted her, and then left. As soon as he turned off the light, the screaming started up again. This happened several times. Finally, I decided to go in and sleep with her (she has a double bed, so at least there was room for me).
We went to the mountains on Saturday morning to visit with my aunt and uncle and grandparents, who had rented a cabin for a few nights near Donner Lake. The cabin owners are members of this homeowners association that allows access to a huge community pool. The weather was really hot for Tahoe, so we all enjoyed ourselves at the pool and got back to the cabin around 2 or 2:30. It was definitely past Phoebe's naptime. I put her in the room where the four of us would be sleeping. It took a few times of me gently reminding her to take a nap before the room was quiet. My aunt and uncle took my cousins and Charlotte to Truckee for some ice cream. Chris and I watched a movie on the third level (well, he watched all of it, and I napped for a good chunk of the time). Finally, at around 5:15, I decided I'd better wake Phoebe up or she wouldn't want to go to sleep later.
I found her passed out on the bed with the bedside light on. It was a hurricane style type lamp, you know, the type with glass surrounding the bulb. She had somehow taken the hurricane glass off so that now the paper lampshade was touching the bulb. I don't know how long it was like that, but the hot bulb was burning a hole in the lampshade! She could have seriously started a fire! And she was sleeping only a couple feet away. I shudder to think what could have happened to her had I waited much longer to get her up. (We immediately put the lamp up high on a shelf in the closet).
When we got home yesterday afternoon, we decided to do something drastic, which we hope will only be temporary. We changed the handle on her door so that it locks from the outside. And it's clear we needed to because shortly after midnight we woke up to hear her screaming, "Mommy? Mommy!" She had woken up and had tried to get out of her room. Chris put her back in her bed and luckily we did't hear any more from her after that.
Overall, Phoebe's a quick learner, so I'm hopeful we won't have to do this for much longer. But we can't have her roaming all over the house in the middle of the night either. We have too many stairs and too many lamps that can be turned off and on.
#OhPhoebe
Showing posts with label toddler wrangling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label toddler wrangling. Show all posts
Monday, July 14, 2014
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
PTSD Part One: San Diego Edition
Post-travel Stress Syndrome
I guess I can start writing this post now that it's been about 10 days since we got home. Still, it's been rough. [I was going to write one long post, but I figured it would just be too long to cover both San Diego and Walt Disney World, so here's the First Post]
Phoebe is horrible on planes. We figured that out when we went to San Diego over Labor Day Weekend. She screamed and writhed in our arms the entire way through the security line. And when I say "scream," I don't mean whimper or whine, I mean scream so loud your ears hurt (Charlotte always covers her ears when Phoebe screams). She didn't want to be in the stroller and she sure didn't want us holding her. She wanted to run, and for obvious reasons, we couldn't let her.
I had a moment of serious panic when the TSA agent was checking my boarding pass, which the Southwest ticketing agent had printed out along with one for Phoebe, and I realized that it was not my boarding pass. The Southwest agent had printed out a boarding pass for someone named Sarah Barry! I screamed: "That's not me!" Luckily, I had already printed out my boarding pass ahead of time so the TSA agent was able to pull of Sarah Barry's boarding pass, which was stapled to Phoebe's and attach mine instead. Phew. The thought of having to go all the way back to the main terminal was not a good thought. And then we waited to put all of our stuff through security. That's when Phoebe screamed and screamed and screamed some more.
She was okay when we were waiting at the gate because we let her run around. When it was time to line up to board, and I had to hold on to her, the screaming started up again. The plane ride itself was okay, apart from some screaming on takeoff because one of us had to hold her.
Still, we managed to have a pretty okay time in San Diego.
The girls absolutely loved the beach. They loved it so much we went two days in a row.
Mimi and Papi bought a bunch of sand toys, so the girls had fun filling buckets with sand and water and building castles. Phoebe mostly destroyed the castles, but no one minded.
Bucket Head.
On the second beach day, Chris decided to try his hand at wakeboarding on this wave machine. See that cute little girl next to him? It was her fifth birthday that day. She made it on the boogie board one time and then cried every time she was up after that.
My mom hosted a little birthday party for her cat, Binky, who's 18 years old. Charlotte and Phoebe helped make cupcakes, and had a great time. Some of my parents' friends came over to celebrate (mostly to see the girls).
Phoebe and Binky
Mimi and Phoebe saying goodbye to their guests (I think they look a lot alike, no?).
On Labor Day afternoon, my parents watched the girls while we went out for dinner at this wine place. The wine selection was good, but the food (which could have been great) was overly salty. Unfortunately, within an hour or two of getting back home, Chris started getting stomach cramps and then so did I. Around 1AM, after whimpering in my sleep, Chris convinced me to get up and go to the bathroom. Hooray for second round of food poisoning/stomach flu!
I felt so awful in the morning that my parents took the girls to the zoo, so we could stay back and rest (Chris never got sick, lucky guy). So, our flight was that afternoon. I still felt terrible, but we had to get home. This time, Phoebe did fine while we went through security, but did start screaming as we were getting close to boarding. Some lady (with only one child) made a comment, within earshot: "Now, {baby's name} don't be naughty like those other babies." As if there were anything we could have done beyond letting her run wherever she wanted! And then the Southwest guy announced over the PA, as they were beginning boarding, "And remember, this is a no screaming flight." So yeah, that was fun. Also, I looked really great what with my post-vomiting broken blood vessels all around my face and neck. Everyone probably thought I was some alcoholic mother, unfit to be parenting such an unruly child. I was totally judged. Phoebe screamed the last twenty minutes of our flight (it was only a little over an hour flight total), and Chris and I turned to each other and said, "We have to do this again in a week?"
I guess I can start writing this post now that it's been about 10 days since we got home. Still, it's been rough. [I was going to write one long post, but I figured it would just be too long to cover both San Diego and Walt Disney World, so here's the First Post]
Phoebe is horrible on planes. We figured that out when we went to San Diego over Labor Day Weekend. She screamed and writhed in our arms the entire way through the security line. And when I say "scream," I don't mean whimper or whine, I mean scream so loud your ears hurt (Charlotte always covers her ears when Phoebe screams). She didn't want to be in the stroller and she sure didn't want us holding her. She wanted to run, and for obvious reasons, we couldn't let her.
I had a moment of serious panic when the TSA agent was checking my boarding pass, which the Southwest ticketing agent had printed out along with one for Phoebe, and I realized that it was not my boarding pass. The Southwest agent had printed out a boarding pass for someone named Sarah Barry! I screamed: "That's not me!" Luckily, I had already printed out my boarding pass ahead of time so the TSA agent was able to pull of Sarah Barry's boarding pass, which was stapled to Phoebe's and attach mine instead. Phew. The thought of having to go all the way back to the main terminal was not a good thought. And then we waited to put all of our stuff through security. That's when Phoebe screamed and screamed and screamed some more.
She was okay when we were waiting at the gate because we let her run around. When it was time to line up to board, and I had to hold on to her, the screaming started up again. The plane ride itself was okay, apart from some screaming on takeoff because one of us had to hold her.
Still, we managed to have a pretty okay time in San Diego.
The girls absolutely loved the beach. They loved it so much we went two days in a row.
Mimi and Papi bought a bunch of sand toys, so the girls had fun filling buckets with sand and water and building castles. Phoebe mostly destroyed the castles, but no one minded.
My mom hosted a little birthday party for her cat, Binky, who's 18 years old. Charlotte and Phoebe helped make cupcakes, and had a great time. Some of my parents' friends came over to celebrate (mostly to see the girls).
On Labor Day afternoon, my parents watched the girls while we went out for dinner at this wine place. The wine selection was good, but the food (which could have been great) was overly salty. Unfortunately, within an hour or two of getting back home, Chris started getting stomach cramps and then so did I. Around 1AM, after whimpering in my sleep, Chris convinced me to get up and go to the bathroom. Hooray for second round of food poisoning/stomach flu!
I felt so awful in the morning that my parents took the girls to the zoo, so we could stay back and rest (Chris never got sick, lucky guy). So, our flight was that afternoon. I still felt terrible, but we had to get home. This time, Phoebe did fine while we went through security, but did start screaming as we were getting close to boarding. Some lady (with only one child) made a comment, within earshot: "Now, {baby's name} don't be naughty like those other babies." As if there were anything we could have done beyond letting her run wherever she wanted! And then the Southwest guy announced over the PA, as they were beginning boarding, "And remember, this is a no screaming flight." So yeah, that was fun. Also, I looked really great what with my post-vomiting broken blood vessels all around my face and neck. Everyone probably thought I was some alcoholic mother, unfit to be parenting such an unruly child. I was totally judged. Phoebe screamed the last twenty minutes of our flight (it was only a little over an hour flight total), and Chris and I turned to each other and said, "We have to do this again in a week?"
Monday, February 13, 2012
Keeping it Real
From the way I write, you'd probably think that Charlotte is an angel. And she is, for the most part. She still has never come out of her room during nap time or at night, and even if she's awake in there, we hear her talking happily to herself. And when any adult is around her, she just turns on the charm, mostly because our friends play with her.
But.
This parenting business is getting hard. Charlotte is deep in the throes of Terrible Two Tantrum Land. She has tantrums daily, and most oftentimes, multiple times a day. It's anyone's guess what it's going to be about, but the tantrums mainly revolve around Charlotte wanting something and not getting it. And it's so easy to set her off. Just tonight, when we arrived home from daycare, she immediately started whining for a snack. I told her that she couldn't have a snack because I'd be making dinner right away in order for her to get to gymnastics on time. She accepted this explanation, mostly. But then she noticed her Playdoh on her table and asked to play with it. I explained that we didn't have time to play with the Playdoh. This, too, set off a tantrum. She continued whining, "But whyyyyy? I want to play with Playdoh!" When she figured out she wasn't going to get what she wanted, Charlotte flung herself on the floor in quite the dramatic fashion.
Hmm. What else sets off tantrums?
Not wanting to get in the bathtub.
Not wanting to get out of the bathtub.
Not getting dessert because she didn't eat enough of her dinner.
Wanting Mommy to take her to daycare.
Wanting Daddy to pick her up from daycare.
The list goes on and on. Sure, it's easy to get her to stop crying, by simply giving her what she wants. But obviously, we can't do that. A child cannot subsist on cookies alone. The newest fun is when she shouts "That's not fair, Mommy!" or "That's not nice, Daddy!" So, I'm not sure what else there is to do but ignore her. It's hard, and the whining and tantrums are definitely getting to us, but then she'll just do something so cute that we forget about the tantrums, at least for a few minutes. :)
But.
This parenting business is getting hard. Charlotte is deep in the throes of Terrible Two Tantrum Land. She has tantrums daily, and most oftentimes, multiple times a day. It's anyone's guess what it's going to be about, but the tantrums mainly revolve around Charlotte wanting something and not getting it. And it's so easy to set her off. Just tonight, when we arrived home from daycare, she immediately started whining for a snack. I told her that she couldn't have a snack because I'd be making dinner right away in order for her to get to gymnastics on time. She accepted this explanation, mostly. But then she noticed her Playdoh on her table and asked to play with it. I explained that we didn't have time to play with the Playdoh. This, too, set off a tantrum. She continued whining, "But whyyyyy? I want to play with Playdoh!" When she figured out she wasn't going to get what she wanted, Charlotte flung herself on the floor in quite the dramatic fashion.
Hmm. What else sets off tantrums?
Not wanting to get in the bathtub.
Not wanting to get out of the bathtub.
Not getting dessert because she didn't eat enough of her dinner.
Wanting Mommy to take her to daycare.
Wanting Daddy to pick her up from daycare.
The list goes on and on. Sure, it's easy to get her to stop crying, by simply giving her what she wants. But obviously, we can't do that. A child cannot subsist on cookies alone. The newest fun is when she shouts "That's not fair, Mommy!" or "That's not nice, Daddy!" So, I'm not sure what else there is to do but ignore her. It's hard, and the whining and tantrums are definitely getting to us, but then she'll just do something so cute that we forget about the tantrums, at least for a few minutes. :)
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
She Said What?
It's hard to remember all the funny things Charlotte says, especially as she gets more and more verbal everyday. Our friend said the other day that the sooner kids start talking, the sooner they start talking back. Charlotte definitely is starting to talk back. When we tell her "No," she'll retort (with quite the attitude in her voice, mind you), "Yes!"
Anyway, here is what she said at bedtime the other night. (As background, I get in bed with Charlotte and read about four or five books to her before calling Chris up to say goodnight. This is how Charlotte has learned that Daddy's real name is Chris. She'll usually shout "Daddy-Chris" when it's time for him to come upstairs. Anyway, I was still half-sitting on her bed when Chris came in.)
Chris: Okay, time for hugs and kisses, Charlotte!
[Charlotte gives Chris a hug and a kiss]
Charlotte: Okay, Mommy hug and kiss.
[She gives me a hug and a kiss]
Charlotte: Okay, Mommy. Now get out of my bed!
Silly girl. You make us laugh and smile every day.
Anyway, here is what she said at bedtime the other night. (As background, I get in bed with Charlotte and read about four or five books to her before calling Chris up to say goodnight. This is how Charlotte has learned that Daddy's real name is Chris. She'll usually shout "Daddy-Chris" when it's time for him to come upstairs. Anyway, I was still half-sitting on her bed when Chris came in.)
Chris: Okay, time for hugs and kisses, Charlotte!
[Charlotte gives Chris a hug and a kiss]
Charlotte: Okay, Mommy hug and kiss.
[She gives me a hug and a kiss]
Charlotte: Okay, Mommy. Now get out of my bed!
Silly girl. You make us laugh and smile every day.
She Said What?
It's hard to remember all the funny things Charlotte says, especially as she gets more and more verbal everyday. Our friend said the other day that the sooner kids start talking, the sooner they start talking back. Charlotte definitely is starting to talk back. When we tell her "No," she'll retort (with quite the attitude in her voice, mind you), "Yes!"
Anyway, here is what she said at bedtime the other night. (As background, I get in bed with Charlotte and read about four or five books to her before calling Chris up to say goodnight. This is how Charlotte has learned that Daddy's real name is Chris. She'll usually shout "Daddy-Chris" when it's time for him to come upstairs. Anyway, I was still half-sitting on her bed when Chris came in.)
Chris: Okay, time for hugs and kisses, Charlotte!
[Charlotte gives Chris a hug and a kiss]
Charlotte: Okay, Mommy hug and kiss.
[She gives me a hug and a kiss]
Charlotte: Okay, Mommy. Now get out of my bed!
Silly girl. You make us laugh and smile every day.
Anyway, here is what she said at bedtime the other night. (As background, I get in bed with Charlotte and read about four or five books to her before calling Chris up to say goodnight. This is how Charlotte has learned that Daddy's real name is Chris. She'll usually shout "Daddy-Chris" when it's time for him to come upstairs. Anyway, I was still half-sitting on her bed when Chris came in.)
Chris: Okay, time for hugs and kisses, Charlotte!
[Charlotte gives Chris a hug and a kiss]
Charlotte: Okay, Mommy hug and kiss.
[She gives me a hug and a kiss]
Charlotte: Okay, Mommy. Now get out of my bed!
Silly girl. You make us laugh and smile every day.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
And Now with Pictures!
The drama-free bedtime continues, thankfully, and Charlotte still hasn't figured out that she's able to leave her bed when unsupervised, which is fine by us!
Here are some pictures of the little girl in her big girl bed.
I bought the bed rails from a fellow mom in the Moms' Club I belong to - they attach underneath the mattress, and the sides can pop down for getting in and out more easily.
The quilt and sheets are from Pottery Barn Kids. We have another set of sheets that my mom got Charlotte for her birthday, which have a French theme (French poodle, Eiffel Tower, and a French café). They go really well with this quilt as well.
Here are some pictures of the little girl in her big girl bed.
 |
| I snapped this photo as soon as I walked in the door, so it's a little blurry. |
 |
| And this one was later in the day with her baby doll, whom Charlotte named "Bao." |
The quilt and sheets are from Pottery Barn Kids. We have another set of sheets that my mom got Charlotte for her birthday, which have a French theme (French poodle, Eiffel Tower, and a French café). They go really well with this quilt as well.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Finally, on the Sixth Night...
So we made the big transition to Charlotte's big girl bed. It started on Friday when the twin mattress was delivered. We put it in the future nursery since we didn't have the headboard and footboard assembled yet. I made the mistake of showing Charlotte the mattress, and that was it. She was obsessed. Charlotte made me pretend to be sleeping so that she'd run out of the room, close the door, open it and say "Wake up Mommy!" Then she grabbed a handful of books, and we read stories.
It shouldn't have been a surprise that putting her in the crib that night was not going to fly with her. Charlotte started having a fit, but not saying why. I pulled her out of the crib, took her downstairs with me to calm her down, and then tried again. Same thing. So I took her with my to our bed, turned off the lights, and we lay there for awhile. She was still upset. Finally, I tried a new tactic. I said, "Charlotte, your friends from playgroup are coming over tomorrow. If you go to sleep, you'll see them in the morning." To which she replied, "I show Elissa my big bed?" The lightbulb went off, "Oh, is that what you want? To sleep in your new bed?" "Yeah, Mommy! I do!" So Chris and I pulled the twin mattress into Charlotte's room, placed it on the floor next to her crib, and hurriedly put the new sheets on it. Charlotte immediately went to sleep, and we didn't hear a word from her until 7:30 the next morning. Naptime was equally easy. We were astounded. Surely, it can't be this easy.
Saturday night: more crying ensues. I give Charlotte the option of sleeping in her new big girl bed or going in the crib. Neither seemed to be the right choice. I tried lying down next to her, but she just wouldn't go to sleep. I was starting to nod off, while she was making duck signs with her hands. When I tried to get up to go, the sobbing started up again. Chris tried his hand at it and made his escape just as she was falling asleep. Five minutes later she wakes up because she can't find her paci. Hysterics start up again, so we wind up just putting her in her crib. It's 10:30. She's never stayed up this late, ever.
Sunday night: still more crying. We try to make our escape, thinking for sure she'll get up and run after us. This is the crazy part. Despite the mattress being on the floor, Charlotte never once gets up and comes out the door. She cries for about twenty minutes. When I check on her later, her head is at the foot of the mattress, but she's still on it. She must have it in her head that she can't leave the bed once she's in it. It's cute but hilarious at the same time.
Monday night: about 15 minutes of crying. Charlotte still never gets up off her mattress. Chris goes in the next morning to see her reading in bed and smiling.
Tuesday: we finally get around to disassembling the crib and assembling the new bed and the toddler rails I scored for $10. Charlotte is so excited that she jumps around the room, calling "my bed, my bed!" We read stories in bed, she cries for a few minutes, and goes to sleep shortly thereafter. We find her sitting up at the foot of her bed. She immediately gets off the bed, but it's clear she hasn't left the bed yet.
Tonight - night six: Charlotte and I read stories in bed. Chris chases Tandy out of the room for the fifth time in ten minutes, we each give Charlotte a hug and a kiss, we tuck her in, Chris chases Tandy out of the room, one more time Charlotte giggles, and says "nigh-nigh." And that's it. Silence. We shut the door, Chris does a silent dance and fist bump into the air, and we head downstairs.
Success!
(By the way, we have a baby gate set up to prevent Charlotte from going down the stairs in the middle of the night. We close it each night,, but like I said, she doesn't leave her bed once she's in it. Crazy girl. I wonder how long it will last until she figures out that she has complete freedom to roam around).
It shouldn't have been a surprise that putting her in the crib that night was not going to fly with her. Charlotte started having a fit, but not saying why. I pulled her out of the crib, took her downstairs with me to calm her down, and then tried again. Same thing. So I took her with my to our bed, turned off the lights, and we lay there for awhile. She was still upset. Finally, I tried a new tactic. I said, "Charlotte, your friends from playgroup are coming over tomorrow. If you go to sleep, you'll see them in the morning." To which she replied, "I show Elissa my big bed?" The lightbulb went off, "Oh, is that what you want? To sleep in your new bed?" "Yeah, Mommy! I do!" So Chris and I pulled the twin mattress into Charlotte's room, placed it on the floor next to her crib, and hurriedly put the new sheets on it. Charlotte immediately went to sleep, and we didn't hear a word from her until 7:30 the next morning. Naptime was equally easy. We were astounded. Surely, it can't be this easy.
Saturday night: more crying ensues. I give Charlotte the option of sleeping in her new big girl bed or going in the crib. Neither seemed to be the right choice. I tried lying down next to her, but she just wouldn't go to sleep. I was starting to nod off, while she was making duck signs with her hands. When I tried to get up to go, the sobbing started up again. Chris tried his hand at it and made his escape just as she was falling asleep. Five minutes later she wakes up because she can't find her paci. Hysterics start up again, so we wind up just putting her in her crib. It's 10:30. She's never stayed up this late, ever.
Sunday night: still more crying. We try to make our escape, thinking for sure she'll get up and run after us. This is the crazy part. Despite the mattress being on the floor, Charlotte never once gets up and comes out the door. She cries for about twenty minutes. When I check on her later, her head is at the foot of the mattress, but she's still on it. She must have it in her head that she can't leave the bed once she's in it. It's cute but hilarious at the same time.
Monday night: about 15 minutes of crying. Charlotte still never gets up off her mattress. Chris goes in the next morning to see her reading in bed and smiling.
Tuesday: we finally get around to disassembling the crib and assembling the new bed and the toddler rails I scored for $10. Charlotte is so excited that she jumps around the room, calling "my bed, my bed!" We read stories in bed, she cries for a few minutes, and goes to sleep shortly thereafter. We find her sitting up at the foot of her bed. She immediately gets off the bed, but it's clear she hasn't left the bed yet.
Tonight - night six: Charlotte and I read stories in bed. Chris chases Tandy out of the room for the fifth time in ten minutes, we each give Charlotte a hug and a kiss, we tuck her in, Chris chases Tandy out of the room, one more time Charlotte giggles, and says "nigh-nigh." And that's it. Silence. We shut the door, Chris does a silent dance and fist bump into the air, and we head downstairs.
Success!
(By the way, we have a baby gate set up to prevent Charlotte from going down the stairs in the middle of the night. We close it each night,, but like I said, she doesn't leave her bed once she's in it. Crazy girl. I wonder how long it will last until she figures out that she has complete freedom to roam around).
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