2 Kids in Diapers

Dominic helping Daddy push Blake in the swing :)

Our “family of four” has officially existed - and functioned -  for over 4 months now!  I think I’m pretty used to juggling both boys and having 2 kids in diapers at the same time. I definitely look forward to weekends because I’m not outnumbered with Brian home to help.  Plus it's fun to go on various outings together as a family. I love having help and most of all being able to experience with Brian the fun that Dominic and Blake bring.


For one Brian took a day off work for his belated birthday, and we took the boys to the zoo. This was Blake's first trip ever and right now Dominic is very interested in animals and loves telling us their names and what sounds they make (i.e, a lion says roar). Dominic seemed to like this trip more even more than previous trips as he actually could identify most of the animals. His favorite one this time was probably the tigers (which say "grrrr" in case you were wondering.). He also liked riding the train, which we had never done before. We bought a zoo annual membership, so we're planning on making many return trips over the next several months.

The boys on the zoo train (Blake is hidden behind Brian in the baby carrier)

an attempt at a family shot but once again Blake is hidden 

checking out the tigers! 

Showing Dominic the tigers

Both  boys looking at the Red Panda...Blake was especially fascinated (obviously).

Our little tiger :)

With the weather being so nice, Brian and I recently made a big purchase for the boys - a new playset for our backyard!  Now the question is how long will it take for Brian to assemble it.  Thankfully, his dad aka Grandpa Jim is helping because it’s a pretty big undertaking.  Letting Dominic run play on that instead of having to take both boys to a playground will be so much easier for me and will allow Blake to be able to nap since he naps so much longer in his crib than in the car seat.  I can’t wait for both boys to be able to play out there on the play set together!  

4 months old and so happy! 

Still far from being capable of playing on a playset at this point, Blake is now 4 months old but continues to be as happy and sweet as can be and SO interactive these days!  I love this age as he is beginning to develop a personality. Blake loves to laugh when people talk to and smile at him, but his favorite things are when people play with his nose, tickle his belly, give him Eskimo kisses, and play peek-a-boo with him.  He has a new found discovery of his feet and in the last month or so has begun drooling a lot.  We don’t see any teeth popping through yet.  Despite what most people say, drooling isn’t necessarily indicative of teething as we discovered when Dominic started massively drooling 24/7 at 2 months and didn’t get a tooth until he was 8 ½ months old.  Blake continues to utterly despise tummy time, and therefore hasn’t flipped over from stomach to back or back to stomach (unless he’s on his side which apparently is all that matters for milestone purposes at this point).  I’m trying to keep him from laying on his back too much because the back of his head is a bit flat.  This hasn’t helped in the turning over department either.  Blake loves sitting in his bumbo, and his neck continues get stronger by the day.  

Already such a big boy!

“Blaker” is huge!  He weighed in at 16 lbs 15 oz (90th percentile) and measured at 26 ½ inches (97th percentile) in length at his 4 month checkup.  Brian and I are a little worried that Dominic may end up getting beaten up by his “little” brother in the near future...and people will probably start thinking they’re twins since Blake will be soon as big as Dominic at this rate.  Oh how I don’t look forward to refereeing fights between my 2 boys!  Blake wears 9 month clothes (6 months if they are big) and is in Size 2 diapers.  I’ve had to return some 1-2 diapers that we were given because he flew through that size so quickly!  

So sweet

The little angel sleeps for about 11 hours a night, wakes up wanting to play around 8-8:30 and then doesn’t get hungry until 9:00 on the dot.  This is a big change from Dominic who would wake up starving when he was this age.  Blake continues to be on a nap schedule of 10:30 till around 11:30 (or 12:00pm) in the morning, a 2nd nap around 1:00 or 1:30, and then a late afternoon/evening nap around 6:00 till 7:00pm before his bedtime of around 9:00 or 9:30.  He eats 8 to 9 oz of breastmilk 4 times a day although he’s become a very inattentive eater ever since his appetite decrease a couple of weeks ago.  

Look Mom, I can move the rings with my hands!

Exersaucer.  Then he started moving the rings from the bottom of one side of his swing’s tray, but now he's pulling the hanging toys and rings with his hands very well and very intentionally. It's been a big progression in his motor skills, coordinator, and strength in just the last couple of weeks!

Just before his swim

His first moments in the water

1 Fish, 2 Fish...and me! 

Last week, my mom and I took Dominic AND Blake to the indoor pool.  This was Blake’s first time going swimming, and he truly loved it!  He smiled and enjoyed himself, never acting timid at all in the water.  I was very impressed.  My goal is to create a relay team consisting of my children. ;)  Dominic enjoyed having his brother in the pool too.  I’m not sure how I’ll end up possibly bringing both boys to the pool with me in the summer alone, but I hope that we’ll spend a good number of afternoons there.  

Running around the house!  So much energy!

Dominic continues to truck through his “terrible twos,” dragging me along with him.  I personally still think the “whiny ones” were much more excruciating (for me).  He even put HIMSELF in time-out recently (after a tantrum).  I didn’t know if I should praise him for knowing to go to timeout or scold him for the tantrum.  It was very sweet and pretty encouraging that the behavior stuff is clicking for him.  These days he has the most difficult time - and the most tantrums - when we’re out in public and/or in big groups where he feels uncomfortable.  Dominic is super shy and uneasy around strange adults he doesn’t know especially men (probably a good thing in this day and age) and becomes very clingy to me in those situations.  Once he warms up to the people and the situation (after about half an hour), he’s fine but until then, it’s pretty rough.  

I think most of his behavior improvement has been due to his language progression.  He’s using sentences and pronouns now, telling us things like, “I stuck,” “It fall,” and “It fun!” and asking questions like, “Where is you?”  We’re still working on verb tenses obviously :)  but this is a huge progression from even a month ago!  He has also started saying his friends’ names all of the time. Dominic has also begun using the word “mine” in relation to his toys and when I let Blake use them.  Hopefully, I can nip that issue in the bud early on before Blake starts taking the toys on his own.  Anyway, I love this “language explosion” which Dominic is experiencing.  I adore hearing Dominic telling me what he thinks and what he wants (finally) instead of having to guess.  I think, for him to be able to communicate what he wants and needs to me has dramatically helped his level of frustration - as well as mine!  

Love!

Speaking of frustration, we had our “Potty Training Weekend,” which turned into 4 ½ days of complete and total hell!  Brian and I started this potty training experience off with a positive attitude and high hopes for success.  We had read and been told that the “3 Day Method” was foolproof.  However, apparently the author had never met Dominic, the most stubborn child on the face of the planet.  As Brian says, in the future Dominic’s persistence will be a beneficial characteristic for him; however, during those several days, this “spirited” nature has driven me completely and totally crazy.  The first day went okay...there were accidents but he did tell us that he needed pee - a big success - and walked into the bathroom on his own when he needed to pee.  Day 2 was exhausting and more of the same.  Stir craziness began to set in.  Brian and I became very used to checking Dominic’s underwear to see if they were dry and reminding him to tell us if he needed to pee - over and over and over again.  By Monday, all of us wanted out of the house after being stuck inside - on absolutely beautiful days.  Around that point, instead of improving with potty training, Dominic began regressing (not a good sign).  

Since Dominic still wasn’t potty trained in 3 days using the so-called “3 Day Method,” I decided to continue on for another day (Day 4) in hopes that it would finally “click” then.  The problem was that Brian had to go back to work, leaving me alone to potty train and take care of BOTH boys.  It would be hard enough to do this method with just Dominic around, but on top of caring of Blake was virtually impossible.  Feeding Blake, pumping, and having to check and take Dominic to the bathroom every few minutes became literally impossible for me.  On top of all of that, Dominic had decided that he wanted to hold his pee - for hours and hours!  A good sign in some ways that he had good bladder control but that control created a power struggle.  He started peeing in random places (behind tables and inside his play tent but couch cushions became his favorite “spot”).  The worst part was that he would laugh about it.  He obviously didn’t WANT to pee in the toilet.  I tried giving him “choices” so he would feel like he had more control in the situation.  I put his little potty next to the big potty so he could choose which one he wanted to pee in.  There was a little progress as he seemed to prefer the little potty, but then he just ended up doing the same thing of holding it and then peeing in the floor or on furniture purposely.  This was when I hit my breaking point.  I’ve never been so frustrated and discouraged in my entire life.  Never.  I would have been pulling my hair out, but luckily it’s already falling out thanks to these wonderful postpartum hormone changes. :/



So when Day 5 came I gave it one last shot...I could be stubborn too after all.  But then Dominic decided (yes, decided - completely and totally intentionally) to pee next to the coffee table - with a huge smile on his face - after I had just reminded him to pee in the potty every 30 seconds for the last 10 minutes (no exaggeration), I couldn’t take it anymore.  I took the diapers back out - no, I didn’t actually throw them out like the Method recommended but hey, diapers are expensive and I have another little boy who will be in Size 5’s soon enough!  At that moment of Dominic peeing next to the coffee table, I thought, “Screw this!  Let the kid go to college wearing diapers.”  I was just utterly and completely exhausted and exasperated.  I hadn’t slept well in days because I was so anxious over this and I had become so discouraged and negative with my boys that I just wasn’t being a good mom.  Poor Blake, who I already often feel gets “lost in the shuffle” at times as the 2nd child, was not getting enough attention at all due to this potty training fiasco.  So, I’m not sure how I will proceed as far as potty training goes.  At this point, I think I’ll wait till at least the end of the summer to try again - if he seems to be more able to be bribed reasoned with.  I want to take advantage of the diapers while I can - for our summer beach trip drive down to Florida, outdoor outings where bathrooms aren’t easily accessible, etc.  Although expensive and a pain in the...bottom, diapers are so much easier than having to take your kid to the (public) bathroom - hourly.  So yes, this round of potty training was an epic failure but now I can say that I’ve never loved changing a diaper more - rather than cleaning a puddle on the floor!  I guess I’ll be sticking to having 2 kids in diapers for the time being...