Low Moments in Parenting: Poop Edition

The title should have sufficiently warned you.

Low Moment #1:

Over the weekend, I noticed thatboth Sebastian and Collette hadn't pooped in a couple days.  This is typical (but still not good) for Collette but very odd for Sebas.  I gave them both some Miralax in their milk - Collette stole most of Sebastian's and, shocker, pooped the next day.  However, as of yesterday night, Sebastian still hadn't pooped and I could tell he was trying to and couldn't.  A lovely chat with a friend who is a former nurse (hi Megan!) pointed me in the direction of suppositories.  I hoped it wouldn't come to that but more Miralax did nothing.  So, after school today, I got to give my son some medicine up his bum.  Why don't any parenting books EVER mention this as a possibility?

Low Moment #2:

Matteo puts everything in his mouth.  Dog food, bark mulch, crayons, whatever.  I try not to spend too much time worrying about it.  Whatever he swallows will probably just come out the other end, no problem.  My theory was confirmed when I changed his diaper to see the poop staring back at me - the unlucky googly eye untouched by the digestive process.  Ew.

Ma

Sympathy Pregnancy

As Sebastian and Collette get older and understand more, I try to be as honest with them as possible.  It can be hard to talk about grown up things at a level they can understand but they often surprise by how much they understand.

I told them about the coming baby, that it's in my belly and all that.  They seem to understand and remember when I ask them about it.  And because the first trimester always kicks my ass, I have told them that the baby can make mommy feel sick and tired sometimes. 

In light of this, Collette has developed a sympathy pregnancy.  She, too, has a baby in her belly - a baby girl, at that - and her baby is making her tummy "ouchy" and also making her sleepy.  I guess she is also in her first trimester.

It's things like this that make me really love the stage they are in right now.  Too darn cute!

I guess it was meant to be

A week ago, I had a feeling something wasn't right.  In the lady department.  One of those "I'm sure everything is fine but I should just check, you know, to be sure" type of things.  A quick trip to CVS and then to the bathroom and three minutes later, I am faced with this:

If your first thought after seeing this was HOLY F*CK!!! then we are on the same page.  I called Billy, crying hysterically, apologizing and basically just being crazy.  Typical pregnant person stuff.  He talked me down and I was able to keep my head out the oven.

You see, this wasn't supposed to happen.  We had a DOCTOR - a specialist, no less! - tell us that this was not supposed to happen.  Or at least, it would probably take a long, long time.  And I know this happens all the time.  Couple struggles with IF for X years, does treatments, has a one (or two or three...) babies with some help and them BOOM - surprise pregnancy.  But I thought, based our our IF circumstances, that this would not be our case.  It wasn't some hormonal thing, or some unexplained thing that could change whenever.  It was just a very, very small chance of it happening "naturally" for us.  So, you can imagine my surprise to see that stick telling me I'm pregnant after just three short months of returned fertility (breast feeding moms know what I'm talking about).

As a friend of mine put it, I should buy lottery tickets.  And Lord knows we'll need those winnings to send four kids to college.  Oy.

Now that a week has passed, I'm feeling much better and I'm getting really excited about adding a new little one to our family.  It will be crazy, for sure, but I know we can handle it.  The baby is due sometime in June so it will be a LONG summer home alone with four kids but at least we can play outside.  Visitors will be welcome!  And your morale-boosting comments are much appreciated, as well.

What a way to get back to blogging, huh?? :)

As I suspected, they love school

I'll end the suspense for you - Sebastian and Collette did great at school today. It turns out that the hardest thing about the first day of preschool was trying to get them to pose for a picture. I see all my twin mom friend's FB pages with their kids standing still, or even hugging!, for their picture. Not mine. Here are my photo-keepsakes from today:

Pretty pathetic. 

Collette is posing but refuses to smile or hold still.  Sebastian refused to stand in front of the door with Collette because he wanted to go in the car but then hurt himself once he was inside the car and cried hysterically for a couple minutes.  He found some matchbox cars to put in his backpack which cheered him up enough for me to get a decent shot (that last one) but, again, no smile.  He is saying "cheese," for what it's worth.

Drop off went well - the director gets them out of the car and Sebastian was fine with it.  Collette was a bit scared and then started to cry but at pick up they told me she calmed down after 5 or so minutes.  And neither of them wanted to leave and go home so I will take that as a good sign.

Now, how long do you think they'll nap??

Better late than never

In case you didn't get your fill of back-to-school blog posts, here is one more.

Yes, the fateful day has finally arrived. Sebastian and Collette start preschool tomorrow. Weeks after everyone else has started school. But its cool. Preschool is serious business and its not to be rushed. We wouldn't want them to burnout on coloring and circle time by Thanksgiving.

And actually, our preschool doesn't technically start tomorrow.  Tomorrow is an hour long orientation for students and parents.  Then Tuesday, Sebastian and Collette will join half of their classmates for 2 hours (instead of 2.5 hours) and skip Thursday so the other half of the class can have their "first" day.  Next week  begins our real first proper week of school.  Oy.  Talk about taking it slow.

I'm 80% excited for them to start and 20% sad.  Well, maybe 90/10.  The fact that there is any sadness surprises me - I was sure I would be one of those moms just barely slowing down and kicking the kids out the minivan sliding door.  But it looks like I won't be because they tried on their little backpacks today (a marketers dream - Thomas and Dora...) and I almost started to cry.  It just seemed so real!

As for the kids, they are confused, mostly.  The thing is, we call their EI playgroup "school" because they have teachers and I leave the room.  So when I tell them they will start school soon, they answer back with all the names of their current EI teachers.  Try as I might to drive home the point that this is a new school with new teachers, it doesn't seem to be sinking in.  But, I guess that's what tomorrow is for.  Funny side note - I asked the twins what they will say to their new teacher and Collette responded with "Happy Birthday!"  I think she'll make a good impression.

I know that they'll love it - its basically a room full of kids and toys.  And snacks.  Really, what's not to love?  But I'm a mom now which means I have a special "worry" hormone going in full force just for instances like these.  I worry that the teachers won't understand them.  I worry they won't make friends.  I worry they'll cry and hate school (despite aforementioned toys and snacks).  I worry that Sebastian will poop every time and I'll have to go change him.  I worry that the teachers will like one twin more than the other.  Or, even worse, dislike them both.  It's weird for me to just leave them in the care of complete strangers, especially after rarely leaving them with sitters - and even then its usually a family member. 

Hopefully, they won't smell my fear.

Worst First Birthday Present Ever

After one too many people mistook Matteo for a girl, I decided it was finally time to cut his hair. At his age, I figured it was pointless to take him to a hairdresser and that I should just do it myself. I guess I forgot about the part where I have no idea how to cut hair.

Poor guy.

Somebody turned ONE!

On Wednesday, at 12:30am while we were all fast asleep, Matteo officially became a one year old!

Cliched as it may be, this year has flown by!  Life with three (very young!) kids is busy, fun, frustrating, difficult and joyful all at the same time.  And it provides lots of fodder but not enough time for blogging as evidenced by my lack of posts and updates during my littlest one's first year.

As if he knew he would be turning one and wanted to celebrate with a big achievement, he started walking just a few days before his birthday.  He has been taking steps for a while but still favored crawling for the most part.  Not so much anymore.  He is a man on a mission!  Usually that mission involves a ball, the dog's water bowl or Mommy.  Or the stairs.  Yes, he is a pro at climbing (crawl climbing) the stairs and I need to be extra vigilant about keeping the doggie gate up because he will be upstairs faster than Sebastian and Collette can yell "Noooo, Teooooo!!!!!!!!!!!"

And he is talking so much, it amazes me.  He tries to repeat so much of what we say and seems to be adding words to his vocabulary at a pretty good pace.  He definitely says "ball" and I think he has been trying to say Lola, which is a hard one to say.  He signs "all done" and tries to say it but isn't quite there.  He even tries to sing and you'll hear a little tune come out of his mouth that sounds a heck of a lot like the melody to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

I know that this coming year will be full of fun now that we have the "baby" phase behind us as a family but I am so grateful for this past year.  Matteo showed me that maybe I am a baby person - I almost didn't mind those midnight feedings, all snuggled up with him watching him drift back into his warm milk drunkenness.  He has brought out the sweet side of his brother and sister (usually) who try to take care of him and cheer him up when he's sad and play with him when he's happy.

Here's to another terrific year with a most terrific boy.  Happy (belated) Birthday, Matteo!

We put the p-o-o in pool

Saturday was Auntie Kim's annual summer cookout and Wiffle ball tournament for which we made the trek out to Grafton, about an hour's drive. (For us, that's a lot.) We were expecting record heat that day (over 100 F) so my sister's neighbors were kind enough to offer up their pool to those of us bringing little ones. They have 4 kids of their own so adding a few more to the mix is no big deal.

After having some snacks and playing a bit inside, Auntie Stacey and I got the kids dressed in their suits and headed over to the pool. None of the kids know how to swim so we have to hold them the whole time we are in the water, even with their life vests on. After being in the pool for about half an hour, Collette said the P-word. Normally, this would not be alarming. She is potty trained and gives ample warning when she needs to use the bathroom, especially where poop is concerned.  However...she has been on a potty strike, of sorts.  She now refuses to go to the bathroom anywhere outside of home.  Even if a I have a potty ring (just like the one at home) and put it on someone else's toilet, she screams and cries and kicks and just. won't. go.

So, when she said "poo poo," I bolted out of that pool, knowing that she must be pretty desperate if she's willing to go when we're not at home.  As I was running upstairs, cradling Collette, to the bathroom, I realized there was already a bulge in Collette's bathing suit.  I was too late!  Once we were in the bathroom, it didn't take me long to realize that she was done pooping and it was now trapped in her bathing suit.  This was a low moment in parenting for me, to date.  Getting the poop into the toilet and trying my damnedest to not get any on my hands or all over my sister's bathroom was nearly impossible.  Meanwhile, Collette was crying that she wanted to go home to poop (a little late for that!!) and fighting my every move to get her de-pooped.

I somehow managed to get her clean and not ruin my sister's bathroom in the process.  She was still crying, though.  Traumatized, no doubt.  Then, I looked out the window, which faces the aforementioned pool.  And I see everyone evacuating.  And I know it can only mean one thing.  Poop in the pool.  To say I was mortified is an understatement.  I wanted to curl up into a little ball and just die of embarrassment.  Alas, I am a grown up and we grown ups have to face these things.  I changed Collette into her dry clothes and headed over to the neighbor's yard, my head hung in shame.

I climbed up to the pool deck to assess the damage.  And there, right in the middle of the pool, was a fairly large poop.  And it wasn't a floater, because that would be too easy.  No, it was a sinker and it was sitting at the bottom of the pool, mocking me.  My brother was there, laughing at me and disgusted with me, simultaneously.  I asked him where Kerry (the owner of the pool) was and what the "plan" was.  Do pool owners have special equipment for such things?  No, they don't.  The plan was to use a pail and the pool cleaner net thingy to dive down to the bottom of the pool and scoop out the poop.  So, Kerry and I put on some kid goggles, each got a pail and net thingy, and took turns diving for poop.  Ya...that really happened. 

Where was this guy when I needed him?!

How was YOUR weekend?!

Oh ya, Matteo is 11 months old now.

I think its clear that Matteo is definitely neglected.  At least when it comes to my dedication to chronicling his infancy.  Let's hope he doesn't hold it against me.

I missed his 10 month old post altogether - mostly because I was in Montreal celebrating my 30th birthday but is that really an excuse?  :)  What I would have said in that post is that is got two teeth and has only bitten me a few times.  That he is saying "mama" and "dada/papa" and waving.  But all that's old news now.

His 11th month has been even more fun than his 10th.  He is taking baby steps, literally.  He knows how to "do" the hat song - those of you in EI know what I'm talking about.  I'm pretty sure he is signing "all done."  He has added "hi" and "uh-oh" to his vocab.  "Uh oh" is his favorite because he gets to drop something on the floor and then say "uh oh" over and over and over and over again.  He's learning to climb the stairs which is not so fun because he hasn't mastered the not-falling-down-once-you're-a-few-steps-up part.

He still loves to eat shoes, paper and chalk.  He has taken to attacking Sebastian when Sebastian is getting a diaper change.  Or he tries to grab the dirty diaper.  In other news, I really need to potty train Sebastian.  Let's just say I was right when I said it would be hell on earth training him.

Eating and sleeping are still great.  Of the three, Matteo is my best eater.  I'm enjoying it while it lasts because that toddler-picky phase will be here before I can say "just one bite, for god-frickin'-sake!!"  While two naps a day are going very well, I am planning to switch him one nap by the start of school.  I know that way early but it will make school drop off much easier.  Not to mention I don't want to be stuck at home now that I'll finally have some time to get stuff done without the twins in tow.  We'll see.

One other thing I notice with Matteo is just how much he learns from Sebastian and Collette.  The Hat song is one example.  He also plays with cars (like, actually pushes them along the floor just like Sebastian and Collette do), tries to do puzzles, uses drum sticks on the drum, etc.  It makes me grateful that they get all this time together.  Not to mention the fact that Sebastian and Matteo have become like peas and carrots.  Watching them play together is just too cute.  The stuff us parents live for.

And here my littlest man in his chair.  Filling it up too quickly.

Boy, does he look like his Daddy. :)

The Big Hit of the Garden

My tiny little garden has been giving us its all for the past couple months. We had a rainy go of it in May but June has been nice and with our sprinkler system on, I don't even need to water the plants. Gardening has proven to be a pretty low-key, rewarding hobby thus far.

To date, I have harvested strawberries (which are just now coming to an end), arugula (done since late May/early June), spinach (same story as the arugula), cilantro (one batch done, more sprouts coming up), basil (still growing), shallots (which are curing as we speak), snap peas (just finished) and carrots. With the exception of the strawberries, the kids have been most excited about the carrots. Collette sank her teeth into one before I could even get it inside to wash off. They are a small variety so make great snacks for little 2-year old bellies. And the kids seem to enjoy our garden carrots more than the ones I get from store. I doubt its the taste as much as it is the novelty of it being from our garden and being small. But who knows - maybe they taste something better in those little treats. The carrots are also one of my favorite things to harvest. It just amazes me that the treasure is hiding under that soil, waiting for me to pull it up and eat it. Next year (and late this season, I'm sure) I will definitely plant more carrots.

For our summer veggies and herbs, we'll have more basil and cilantro, sweet and hot peppers (Billy forced me to grow habaneros and I'm scared to harvest them when the times comes!), green onions, tomatoes and more strawberries.  I also have swiss chard and parsley seeds that I may sow this week, which would be ready by the end of summer if all goes well.

I'll be sharing some of my garden recipes thus far over at How Does Your Garden Grow so be sure to pop over and see what I did with all that veggie goodness.  I'm making a ratatouille tonight that I posted a while ago over there.  Too bad the kids won't eat it...more for me, though!!