This Week in Mommyhood

If I had to pick one word to describe the past few weeks it would be overwhelmed. I'm going through a period of feeling overwhelmed and feeling like there is too much to do and not enough time. It all started when I forgot about a test and only had about an hour to properly study for it. Then, Cati with her toddler coping skills called the babysitter "ugly." I felt like a huge fail; I sucked at school and I sucked at being a mom. I have tried my hardest to tell Cati that people are not ugly, instead they do ugly things and she still called someone ugly. Then, I started internalizing all the crankiness in the house and felt that it was all because of me and not giving the girls enough attention. It was a whole set of issues that led to me deciding that I need to work harder at taking a day off from everything so that I could just be with the girls.

Here are Elina's fun developments over the last two weeks:

Baby Crawler. Gone are the days of the drag-and-crawl. Elina is full-on crawl mode and girl gets around. It still strikes me as weird having two mobile kids in the house. When did Elina get big enough for crawling? The best part of the crawling is that now Elina comes to me when she wants cuddles and comfort. I also love to see her follow me around the house and the big smile she gives when she's reached me.

Pulling Up. Of course, crawling isn't enough for Elina and she has begun to pull up. She will try to pull up on everything which means there have been lots of extra tears around here as things fall when they can't handle her weight. Between the crawling and this I am back in paranoid mommy mode with all the stairs in our house.

Bye Bye Bottle. Elina has dropped to four bottles a day, four hours apart. I dropped the bottle because she was becoming really fussy with her bottles and wouldn't finish whole bottles. So in an effort to save milk and make feeding time a little more enjoyable, I decided to drop one of her bottles. I tried increasing her intake in the four bottles to make up for the lost bottle but she seems perfectly content with drinking her 5-ounce bottles.

Toothy. One of Elina's top teeth came in. Thank God for that too because I was starting to wonder who switched out my sweet, mellow baby for the cranky one that's been in our house this week.

Here are Cati's fun developments over the last two weeks:

Still Adjusting. Cati is still adjusting to school. I did not expect that, four weeks in, Cati would still be crying each morning at drop off. Luckily, she gets over it quickly and seems to enjoy herself but it still makes the mornings stressful because I know the car ride will be filled with "I don't want to go to school" and separation will be marked by crying. What makes things even harder for me is picking her up from school and having her tell me she cried because I left her.

Molars! Cati is the slowest teether on the planet. Her two bottom molars finally broke through after weeks of us being able to see them under the gum.

Emotions. Proud mommy moment here...Cati is able to label some of her emotions! I work hard on naming emotions so that Cati can "use her words" instead of reacting physically. Well, one day Elina took one of Cati's toys and instead of yanking the toy back or pushing Elina away from the toy she said (in Spanish), "Mami, I'm mad because Elina took my toy."

The girls are growing and developing and it's simply been hard for me to keep up. I just hope things change a little bit or that I at least find a way to let go some more so that I can feel a little more in control of things around here.

This Week in Mommyhood

Every day over the past two weeks I have had to give myself a pep talk.  "You can do this." "Feeling overwhelmed is normal and temporary." "You will sleep in again...eventually." "One day, sooner than you think, you are going to miss the things you complain about." Having two kids isn't necessarily harder, it just requires more balance, patience, and feeling ok with letting go. It also requires coming to terms with never eating or using the bathroom alone again.

Here are Elina's fun developments over the last two weeks:

Crawling & Sitting. Elina is getting better and better at crawling each day. Now she can go from a crawling position to a sitting position and vice versa. I'm still blown away by the fact that we have two mobile children in the house.

Baby-Led Feeding. It's official. Elina does not like purees. I've tried offering her different kinds of purees over several days and she does not like them. Put small pieces of food in front of her and she is a happy eater. It's hard for me to remember what she's tried exactly because she goes after almost everything that's on my plate, but she definitely is a big fan of whole wheat pancakes, banana, and beans.

Here are Cati's fun developments over the last two weeks:

School. The biggest thing going on with Cati is that she started school. Considering how much she liked school last year and how much she talked about school over the summer, I thought she would have a smooth adjustment to school. The truth is that Cati has had a hard time adjusting and it has left me wondering on a daily basis whether school is the right thing. Granted, things have gotten a lot better and we're at the point where she's happy when I pick her up, but every morning is a battle with her. I never want to push her to do something she doesn't want to do but school is good for all of us: I get some time to do schoolwork, Elina gets one-on-one time with me, and Cati gets to play with other kids her age. She's only going a couple of hours a day but I still feel incredibly guilty. I don't know what I'm going to do when both girls needs to be in school so I can do my internships.

Every night I pray that the girls sleep through the night and wake up the next morning in good moods. Each morning I pray for patience to make it through the day and for the ability to stop and simply enjoy being with the girls. Motherhood right now for me is all about survival. Almost seven (!!) months into this mom-of-twoness and I'm still trying to figure it out. Each weeks brings me a little closer and I can't wait for the day I find myself saying, "Wow. I feel so good, comfortable, and confident about being a mom of two!"

This Week in Mommyhood

I think it looks cute when I see kids dressed the same but I don't like it for my girls. One of the first things I said when I found out I was pregnant with another girl was "I'm never going to dress them alike." As with most things in motherhood, you have no control, especially when you have a toddler who (1) you want to grow up feeling like her opinions matter and (2) is known to have killer tantrums. So when Cati picked out polka-dot outfits for her and Elina to wear, I ground my teeth, kept my mouth shut, and let it happen. Cati was so excited about their matching outfits and spent the whole day comparing the shades of the polka-dots on their dresses. Motherhood really is about letting go of what you want so that your child can find her own voice.

Here are Elina's fun developments from the past week:

Crawling. Elina is crawling! This week Elina figured out how to move forward. She hasn't figured out how to move her hands just yet, but she will move her legs forward and then drag the rest of her body. This has been a fun development and everyone is cheering Elina on, especially Cati.

Peek-A-Boo Baby. Playing peek-a-boo with Elina has been more of me covering my face and reappearing. This week, however, playing reached a new level because now Elina can pull things off her face. I love seeing her little hands work to remove things covering her face and the smile that comes across her face when she does so.

Feeding Update. The only new food Elina tried this week was cauliflower. She seemed to like it, but she preferred it when I gave her some with a sweet and chewable piece of banana. Elina is definitely interested in food now and she gets fussy when we sit down to eat because she wants to eat too.

Here are Cati's fun developments from the past week:

Steps. Cati is starting to walk up stairs one leg at a time (versus planting both feet on a step before moving on to the next one). Little things like this make her seem so big.

Pronouns. It's fascinating to me how Cati is learning how to use pronouns. She understands when to use them and will use them properly in every instance except when it comes to I. I wonder why and if I-usage is the last one to be mastered.

Cati starts school tomorrow and I am nervous and excited. Nervous about how she will handle the transition and excited about having some one-on-one time with Elina. Hopefully Elina thinks I'm fun without her goofy sister around!

This Week in Mommyhood

The past two weeks have been full of lots of excitement and changes. I started school last week and, while I was extremely nervous, it went well. Thankfully, my mother-in-law was able to be here with the new babysitter so it made leaving the girls, especially Elina, easier. This week might be a different story but at least the first week back didn't see me crying on the way to school. For as much as I missed being with the girls and giving them kisses goodnight, the time away did wonders for me; being able to miss the girls makes me appreciate my time with them more.

Here are Elina's fun developments from the past two weeks:

Food! This is, by far, the biggest development with Elina. I tried giving her oatmeal cereal the day after she turned six months and she didn't really get it. On the one hand, I didn't think she was ready to start solids and on the other hand, I didn't think she would take to eating solids easily because she has always been a fussy eater. I didn't push the cereal on her (plus, it made her spit up a lot) and I tried a different approach, which was giving her something small to chew on. Elina had no problem with chewing and actually seems to prefer eating things she can chew. I haven't tried giving Elina any purees because I'm focusing on giving her things like cooked rice grains, banana pieces, and avocado pieces to eat.

All Fours. Crawling is near. Elina is starting to do all the things Cati did before she started to crawl. Elina gets on all fours and rocks and thumps her legs when she's on her back. I'm still trying to wrap my head around having two mobile kids.

Name Recognition. Elina responds to her name! I love her name so much and feel it really fits her so it's great to see that she knows it's her name. She's becoming more and more of a little person every day.

Here are Cati's fun developments from the past two weeks:

Potty Update. Cati is doing so well with potty training that I find myself feeling good about waiting to potty train until now. She hasn't had a peeing accident since the first couple of days and she's even peed in public bathrooms. The only area we have issues with is pooping and Cati holding it in until it hurts. She's getting extra fiber in her diet but she still doesn't feel comfortable pooping in the potty. Regardless, I'm so proud of her and so impressed by how well she has handled this transition. Things like this make me realize how much of a little girl Cati is becoming.

Here's to another week of surviving and, most importantly enjoying having both girls at home.

This Week in Mommyhood

Summer is winding down and not only will Cati be starting school in a few weeks but I'll be starting school next week. Aside from trying to calm jittery nerves, I'm trying my hardest to enjoy the girls while I can. Despite crankiness, this has been a beautiful week. My girls are constantly doing things that leave me in awe and I'm so thankful for all the time I get with them.

Here are Elina's fun developments from this past week:

Squeals. Elina is getting really vocal but it's not the cooing I was expecting. Baby girl is a squealer! I think it's pretty funny but Cati is especially entertained by the squealing and loves to mimic Elina.

Nap Changes. I think it's official: Elina is down to two naps a day. What bothers me is not so much that she's napping less often, but that she's old enough to start dropping naps. Where is my baby going?

Second Tooth. Ahhhhh!!! The second tooth broke through on Thursday, August 9. Elina looks so cute with a tooth and she must think so too because she's been so smiley lately.

Peek-A-Boo. This is the new game in our house and Elina gets it! She starts laughing like it's nobody's business and the best part is when Cati gets involved and she makes Elina laugh. My heart melts every time I see the girls interacting with one another.

Here are Cati's fun developments from the past week:

Liar Liar. Cati told her first lie! At first I couldn't believe it and then I was impressed; she made a statement and then came up with a justification.
It all started when we were at the table having dinner. Elina was sitting in the highchair between Cati and me (Cati loves having Elina next to her) when suddenly Cati pushed the highchair away. This was our conversation:

Cati: Elina time out
Me:  Que hiso? (What did she do?)
Cati: dio Cati golpe. (She hit Cati)
Me: Quando? (When?)
Cati: (nonsensical mumbling)

It just blows me away that her little brain has developed to this point. Sure, she's been doing more and more imaginary play, but this is her experiencing reality in a whole new way. Let's just hope this is the last lie she ever tells!

Bunny Love. Cati's love for her bunny is still going strong. She is so affectionate with her lovey and it's gone beyond "I love you." She actually said, "Bunny, I missed you!"

Potty Training. We have officially begun potty training (Friday, August 10). Cati showed signs a year ago and even went in the potty, but I was pregnant and lazy and feared regression once Elina was born. I was right on the regression thing because after Elina was born Cati had absolutely no interest in the potty. I didn't want to push anything on her after Elina was born and I wanted to wait until Elina was old enough to be capable of entertaining herself while I gave Cati extra attention. We had a box of diapers and I told myself I would start potty training once the box was done. All week I had been preparing Cati by counting down the diapers. The first day of training she only had one accident and was so proud of herself she even invented a little song and dance. The second day wasn't as good and she had three accidents and had a stomachache at the end of the day from holding her poop. The third day was better and there was only one accident and lots of dancing. Cati's treat every time she uses the potty is either an M&M, half a jelly bean, or a Tic Tac. She still wear a cloth diaper for naps and bedtime and right now I just want her to be good with using the bathroom during the day so we can leave the house again. Three days at home with a toddler who is extra cranky when she doesn't leave the house  is dreadful!

Each day gets better and this week is going to be a happy and sad week. Both my girls are reaching milestones with Cati turning 2.5 years old and inching closer to 3 and Elina turning 6 months and inching closer to 1.

This Week in Mommyhood

The past two weeks have been a pretty busy. Nothing has really happened but both girls have been a handful because of developmental spurts; Elina is cranky with teething and Cati isn't sleeping well. I'm hoping they both start feeling better because I feel like I've participated in a triathlon at the end of each day. In the middle of all the craziness there will be a moment of peace and I get to enjoy the beauty of each child and the wonder of sisterhood. I really do love these silly girls.

Here are Elina's big development from the past two weeks:

Tooth! Elina's first tooth broke through on Saturday, July 28th and the second one is just below the gum. I still can't believe that my five-month old has a tooth when it took her older sister ten months for the first tooth to show up. I haven't gotten nearly enough pictures of Elina's gummy smile and I'm sad to see those gummy smiling days come to an end.

Bottle Holder. Elina has been real interested in holding her bottle and over the last couple of weeks she's actually been able to hold it all on her own. This is huge because it makes being out with two so much easier. 

Here are Cati's big development from the past two weeks:

Manipulator. Cati has turned into a little manipulator and I love it. It just shows how comfortable she is with us that she knows what to do to get her way. When either of us are upset with her or tell her she can't do something her immediate response is to ask for the other parent. She's already learning that if you can't get your way with one parent then you need to try the other parent.

Left Right. Alex taught Cati how to look left and right before crossing the street and, as a result, Cati now knows her left from her right. This is great because if she had to rely on me for this she wouldn't get it because I am always confused about what's left and what's right.

Playhouse Fun. For the past few months we have been talking about getting Cati a playhouse so that she could play in our backyard instead of always having to walk/drive to the park. We finally got it this past weekend and she has been in heaven. Yesterday morning we all sat outside and enjoyed the weather while Cati played in her house and I hope we have more days like yesterday.

Other than that, my supply has rebounded a bit but it's still not what it was pre-mastitis. I'm still trying to figure out what to do in terms of pumping and right now I'm trying to take it day by day. Either way, I'm trying to focus on how great it's been to even make it this far with two kids. I think my goal is to make it to six months pumping how I am now and then I'll reassess and see how it's all going to work out with me going back to school. Speaking of which, I'm so nervous about starting school and leaving Elina with a sitter. If I thought it was hard leaving a year ago when it was only Cati, this year I will be a sobbing mess leaving both girls.  And with that in mind, I'm trying to enjoy both girls as much as possible.

This Week in Mommyhood

The past 72 hours have been miserable for me. I don't know how but I manged to get clogs in both breasts and then mastitis in the right one. I've been pumping around the clock and started a round of antibiotics but I'm still quite uncomfortable. What's worse is the guilt I feel over feeling so sick I Can't be with my family. Alex was a trooper yesterday and did everything; the only thing I did was rock Cati before bedtime. I don't know how much longer I'm going to pump but I'm going to follow the advice my friend gave me, "Don't decide to quit on a bad day. Doing it on a good day removes some of the regret." Right now I feel so torn because I want to pump but the physical pain of when things are bad and everything that needs to be done to make things better makes me want to stop. I simply don't know and I Just have to remind myself that things will get better.

Here are Elina's fun developments from the past two weeks:

Drool. I forget how much babies drool. Elina's clothes are always soaked from all the drooling.

Reaching for Things. Elina has gotten really good at reaching out for things. Her hand-eye coordination is improving daily and she's even able to swivel her body around if she wants to reach something that's at her side.

Airplane Position. Cati calls this position "avion" (airplane) and that's exactly what Elina looks like when she lifts both her arms and legs off the ground.

Sitting. Elina loves being on her belly and I mean she loves it. It's hard to have her in any other position because she is constantly trying to find a way to get on her belly. She does, however, sit for short amounts of time and she has the trunk strength to sit but she prefers being on her belly.

Hair! Elina's little bald spot is growing in and it's made me more aware of how much her hair has grown in general.

Cranky and Fussy. Elina has been a little cranky and fussy lately. She's been fighting sleep and crying more than usual. At first I thought it was because of the Gential Violet in her milk but I stopped using it and she has still been cranky. One of the weekly newsletters I get said that from now (22 weeks) until about 6 months is another period of crankiness and fussiness due to developmental changes. I hope that's it because I miss my sweet, calm baby.

Here are Cati's fun developments from the past two weeks:

No Quiero. A while back, one of the bloggers I follow mentioned how her daughter (a little older than Cati) told her "I don't like you." I told Alex about this and he couldn't believe a child that young would be capable of saying something like that. Now when Cati's upset she will say she doesn't love you and the most heartbreaking thing she has said was "Papi no quiere Cati. Papi quere trabajo" (Papi doesn't love Cati. Papi loves work). Now when she says she doesn't love us we tell her it's a shame because we still love her and eventually she comes around and says she loves us. We've also made more of an effort to tone down how much we talk about Alex's job.

Paprika & Red Pepper. I bought Alex paprika and red pepper infused oils as a gift. He loved the oils but the best part was having Cati learn the words paprika and red pepper. Cati is learning words at such a rapid pace that we need to be mindful of the things we say around her because we don't know what words will stick.

Paper Boats. My mother-in-love likes to make paper boats for Cati. Cati must love it too because every time she comes across a little piece of paper, she will crumble it up and say it's a boat. I love seeing how her imagination works and how she's able to pretend.


Teething. I can't wait until Cati is done teething. The past few weeks have been tough with her because she's having trouble sleeping and has been sick to her stomach. Her bottom right molar is coming in and I wish I could do something to will all her molars to come out so that she can go back to being a happy toddler.

Yo, Tu, Mi, Nosotros. Cati is getting really good at using the Spanish equivalents of I, you, me, and us. She still talks about herself in the third person, but it's about 50-50 now where she'll say either Cati or Mi/Yo. She's also gotten really good at changing what I say about her (example, "tu quieres cookie") to apply to herself ("yo quiero cookie"). Again, language development is simply amazing. I like that she's learning how to talk properly but I'm going to miss how she refers to herself in the third person; I love hearing her say her own name!

I pray more than anything that today is the day I return to normal. I don't know how much I can take. 

This Week in Mommyhood

The past few weeks have been busy. Other than Cati starting her swimming lessons and Elina fighting off her first cold, nothing new has happened. Even still, I feel as if I am constantly having to relearn how to let go and not feel the need to do it all. At least I can say that I am truly enjoying my girls and I am loving all the extra time we are all getting with Alex. I am also loving that Alex and I are working out together (one week of Insanity done!) and keeping each other motivated.

Here are Elina's development from the last two weeks:

Discovery of Feet. Elina has discovered her feet! I love seeing how she contorts her little body to get a hold of those yummy feet of hers.

Diapering. I'm trying to be a little greener and efficient with our money and, as a result, we are exploring cloth diapers. I don't know if we'll be able to do it full-time, but my goal is to at least use both and spread out how often we buy disposable diapers. I have some bumgenius diapers and some gdiapers.  I especially like the gdiapers because they are a hybrid between disposable and reusable.

 

Here are Cati's development from the last two weeks:

Feeling Guilty. Pumping is still going strong and the only thing that makes it hard is Cati. When I'm pumping Cati likes to put her chair next to mine and play with the pump's tubing. One day she did this and tried to touch my nipples after I finished pumping and I lost it. I yelled and instantly felt horrible but then I felt even more horrible because she kept asking Alex, "Que hizo Cati?" ("what did Cati do?"). I felt so guilty about yelling and having her know that she did something to upset me that I couldn't even bring myself to talk to her. I know it's all part of life, but I wish I could control my reactions better so that she never has to worry about me being mad at her. I just want her to know love and I need to stop underestimating how well she's able to understand emotion and the roll she plays in causing certain emotional reactions.


Shopping. Cati understands more and more about our lives every day. If you ask her where I shop she'll tell you Publix and if you ask her where Alex shops she'll tell you Home Depot. She knows we get deli meats at Publix and eggs at Walgreens. What really amazes us is that she knows this simply by seeing who goes where. These are just little tidbits of our everyday lives that she's picked up on and sorted in her head.

Little Driver. I don't like driving. I only do it because I need to drive. Most of the time I get annoyed with people on the road and end up saying, "Come on people!" It never occurred to me that Cati was paying attention until one day when we were parked in front of our house and Alex put Cati in his lap (he was driving). Cati immediately went for the steering wheel and said, "Come on people! Beep beep!" We couldn't stop laughing. She's a mini me in training!

Here's to more surviving. By the way, have I mentioned how much I hate the terrible twos!?

This Week in Mommyhood

I reached a peak (or is it a low?) in my exhaustion. There cannot possibly be another level of exhaustion. I love my girls and I love being with them but I couldn't stop myself from fantasizing about taking a trip completely alone. To be somewhere without anyone knowing me. To not have to respond to anyone's needs or worrying about anyone's schedule. To have a real break and able to recharge. To carry a small purse for once and to be able to choose when to be awake and when to fall asleep. To have a break from being a mother and to have the chance to miss it. That won't be happening anytime soon so for now I simply wish to sleep in and miss out on the morning bustle of getting two kids fed and dressed for the day. Surely, that one's easier to do. Now if I could just have coordinate this with Alex's job we'd be set.


Here are the fun developments from the past week:

Circles. Cati draws circles now. Or in her beautiful imaginary world, she draws flowers.

Four-Month Appointment. Elina had her four-month appointment this past week and she's growing beautifully. Leading up to her appointment I was saying that she was going to measure smaller than Cati at four months. Compared to Cati's pictures, Elina doesn't look as chunky and she doesn't feel as big. I was right and Elina measured 1.5-inches and 1.5lbs smaller than Cati. Elina is healthy and developing right on target and it's things like this that serve to remind me that Elina is very different from Cati.

Fingers & Hand. My doctor asked me if I had any concerns about Elina and I mentioned how it's so hard not to compare siblings (I went into the appointment knowing Cati's measurements). He told me the best analogy and it's one I have been telling everyone who will listen all week. Children are like the fingers on your hand: they all come from the same hand, but each finger is completely different. Never heard truer words...

Brush Brush Comb Comb. Cati let me brush her hair! Twice! This is huge for me because the child doesn't let me come near her hair with the comb. I would always be jealous of the people at her school because she would let them brush and style her hair. Bows still don't last long but at least she lets me do a proper ponytail.

Here's to another week of finding a way to survive and laugh along the way.

These Weeks in Mommyhood

The stress, drama, and exhaustion of the past few weeks finally caught up with me this weekend. Unfortunately, it caught up with me in the form of what was surely mastitis. Father's Day was spent with me pumping as often as I could. Thankfully, things are better but it's a reminder that I need to do a better job at taking care of myself. The girls are both growing and developing spectacularly and I won't be able to enjoy it if I'm not feeling well. I won't be able to spend as much time taking care of myself as I do taking care of them, but at the very least I need to try to rest more. I think I might just make that my daily goal and challenge. We'll see how it goes!

Here are Cati's developments from the past two weeks:

Peak Into My Brain. My favorite development is definitely language because I get to see how Cati processes and understands the world. I am also constantly impressed by the things that come out of her mouth. She likes to ask, "Mommy in Spanish?" when she wants to know what things are called in Spanish; thanks to that she knows her colors and numbers in both languages. Or one day, after me saying Elina needed to eat, Cati said, "Elina no tiene hambre. Porque? No esta llorando" ("Elina's not hungry. Why? Because she isn't crying"). Or another day when she was trying to show Elina something and she said, "Enseña la. Elina no sabe" ("Show her. Elina doesn't know"). She's just such a little sponge right now and making connections left and right. It's pretty amazing!


Imagination Expansion. Cati now pretends to be playing with things. She will pretend to change the diapers and, all weekend long, her and Alex would pretend to play with cats and bikes. Cati would come up to me to hand me a cat and then she would come back to take the cat back.


My Name is Pepito. File this under funny. Apparently, Cati's bunny's name is "Pepito." I have no clue where that name came from but I think it's great she is starting to give her toys real names.

Winnie the Pooh Obsessed. Cati had never seen Winnie the Pooh on TV but she did have Winnie the Pooh and Piglet stuffed animals. She recently discovered them and has since become obsessed with all things Winnie the Pooh. After the dogs ate Piglet, I took Cati to the Disney Store and she came home with a new Piglet, Roo, Eeyore, and Tigger. Now Cati spends the days at home with a Little Mermaid bag at her side filled with all her stuffed animals.

Here are Elina's developments from the past to weeks:

Wakeful Period? Elina had a few days of waking up at night. The first day she woke up and ate an entire bottle. The following few nights she didn't and eventually she stopped waking up at night. Even though it was only a few nights, I was amazed at the body's ability to get used to sleeping straight through the night. I felt like a zombie during the day after those night wakings. She's lucky she's so cute...

Oh the Horror. Elina's cries have changed. They have been changing over the past few weeks but the most significant change is the screaming. Whereas before it was a high-pitched shriek, now she sounds like someone screaming out of a scary movie.

Grab, Hold, Mouth. Elina has been working on her hand-eye coordination. First, it started with her grabbing on to my hand when I was feeding her. Then, it progressed to her holding on to the bottle. Now she's taken to pulling the bottle in and out of her mouth. She also reaches out for things now and brings them to her mouth.  is  things and bringing to mouth

Raspberries. Over the past week Elina has started blowing spit bubbles and raspberries. As if she didn't have enough drool coming out of that beautiful mouth of hers!

Sleeping Unswaddled. Elina is sleeping without the swaddle. It started when Elina fell asleep in my mother-in-law's arms and I decided to see if we could lay her down in the crib and have her stay asleep. She did and ever since she has been sleeping without the swaddle. This reminds me that changes are easier for the kids to accept when they are ready for them.

I think that just about sums up all the fun that's been had over the past two weeks. As always, I'm sure I've forgotten things. Here's to another week of surviving and living in the moment.

This Week in Mommyhood

This past week has been busy. I don't know if it's nightmares or teething or the little cold Cati had but she hasn't been sleeping well. There were nights she woke up more than Elina and the worst part is that she wakes up crying hysterically. I feel so bad for her. On top of that she's been really attached to me, which can obviously be problematic when I have Elina to care for also. I keep trying to tell myself that in a few years she won't want me as much and to take advantage of how easy it is to comfort her but sometimes I just really need a break.

Here are the other fun developments from this past week:

Baby Laughs. Elina started laughing! It sounds more like "hah" and it's one of the best sounds in the world.

Rolling Expert. Elina has become an expert roller. She will roll onto her belly whenever she gets a chance. This kind of freaked me out a bit because she has started to sleep on her belly in the swaddle. I tried to take the swaddle away cold turkey but she still needs to be swaddled in order to go to sleep.

Nails. I'm on the side not minding if Cati paints her nails while Alex is on the side of not liking it at all. Cati likes to see my nails painted and, most of the time, I indulge her in "pinta uñas" with a clear coat of nail polish. Well, last week I got my nails done and Cati was fascinated by the color and she sat in my lap in hopes of getting her nails painted. I let her get her nails painted because I figured the polish wouldn't last more than a few hours between her picking at the color and Alex wanting to remove it right away. Now, I will admit the color is too much for a little girl but she looked so cute.

Baptism. We baptized Elina this past week. I wanted to do it while Alex was on vacation and I also wanted to do absolutely nothing for it. Cati's baptism was such a production; the baptism was private, over 70 people were invited, there were flowers, cupcakes, a decorated cake and mementos. I didn't want any of that so Elina's baptism was the complete opposite. She was baptized along with four other kids, there were only 13 of us, and we had a no-fuss lunch. All I did for this baptism was make a menu and it was wonderful!

 

Favorite Moment of the Week: Cati doing Alex's hair.

I hope Cati feels better this week because Alex is home. I hate when she gets really attached to me because I hate how she rejects those who want to spend time with her.

This Week in Mommyhood

Aside from turning three months old, the big event last week was Elina rolling from back to belly! My little baby is on the move. I was like a cheerleader every time she rolled and I even got Cati excited about it. It's so crazy to think that she's on her way to becoming mobile. I can't imagine having two moving children. Each week I say that Elina is becoming more and more of a baby and it's things like this that remind me that each week she is getting closer and closer to being a toddler. We look at Cati and she looks like such a little girl that we wonder when the heck that happened. I'm going to blink and we'll be saying the same about Elina. Here's one of many videos:

Here are the other fun developments this week:

Baby. Everyone around here has multiple names. To Cati, Alex is daddy, papi, and babe when he doesn't respond to the first two. In addition to being called hermanita and Elina, Cati calls Elina "baby."

Spanish. I'm trying really hard to keep up with the Spanish speaking in our house. For the most part, Cati only gets spoken to in Spanish and whenever she says something in English that I know she knows the word for in Spanish I'll ask her to say the word in Spanish. One day this week she reversed things on me and when I said the word "green" Cati asked me how to say it in Spanish. 

What's That? I love Cati's inquisitiveness and how she asks "What's that Mami?" for almost everything.

Little Ham. Cati finally likes the camera and she actually smiles for the camera! What cracks me up the most are the faces she makes. She's such a goofy kid.

Hairdresser. My favorite moment of the week came when Cati told me to sit on the floor so she could do my hair. Before this she asked for the blue comb. I sit down, take my hair out of its bun, and Cati proceeds to comb my hair. "Mami tienes mucho nudos" is what she says and as she tries to comb them out she constantly checks in with "Mami estas bien?" and "Mami you ok?" Then she starts making a shhh sound like she's spraying my hair and she starts talking gibberish.

Here's to surviving another week in mommyhood!

This Week in Mommyhood

I got sick this past week and that totally messed with me. I had little energy or motivation to do anything and, worst of all, I had little patience with the girls. I thought I was going to lose my mind out of sheer exhaustion. Getting sick is one of the worst things that can happen to me because it makes it really hard for me to keep up with just about everything. Thankfully my mother-in-law was there to help and I got to rest over the weekend. Other than that, I don't even know where to start. Elina is cute as ever but it's Cati that's blowing our minds away. The things that come out of that girl's mouth leave us asking, "Where did she learn that from?" It's so interesting to see the then-and-now with the girls. Elina is where Cati used to be and Cati is where Elina's going; it's hard to remember Cati ever being as small as Elina but it's also hard to imagine Elina ever getting as big as Cati.

Here are the other fun developments this past week:

Mama Preview. Elina's cries are starting to change from that screeching newborn cry to a robust baby cry. The best part of this change is that there's also a change in the sounds she makes while crying and she's started to cry out "mama." I can't wait until she learns how to say that. It's going to be weird to have two girls out in the world who know me as their mom.


Sisterly Love. Another moment to lock up and treasure forever: May 7, 2012 Cati looked at Elina and said, "I love you Hermana" completely unprompted.

 

Baby Smiles. Elina smiles every time she sees me! I love being a mom for this very reason; my kids light up just at the sight of me.

 

Explanations. I think the annoying why? why? why? stage is going to be upon us soon. This past week she used "porque" (because) to explain why the dog wasn't allowed to eat something and when I told her to stop being mean she asked, "que es mean?" (what is mean?).

Story of Us. Cati noticed the picture books I have of our wedding, her first year of life, and maternity pictures on our coffee table and she likes to look through them and "read" them. There's a whole story of how her parents met and fell in love and how that love led to her and her sister and I can't wait until she's old enough to really get it.

I hate being sick because I don't enjoy the girls as much as I want to but at least they forgive me. With mother's day yesterday and me having a chance to reflect on the type of mother I am and the type of mother I want to be, all I know for sure is that I want my girls to know how in love I am with them. I feel so lucky that these beautiful girls were entrusted to me.

This Week in Mommyhood

What a week. It's bittersweet. For the past two months Alex was on a rotation where he worked nights. I was afraid of how it would work out but I got really lucky with Elina so it wasn't too bad. The perk of the rotation was getting to spend more daytime hours with Alex. He got to spend more time with Elina at this age than he ever did with Cati when she was that small. For what's will probably be the only time in his life (aside from vacation) he got to take Cati to school. Tomorrow things go back to normal with Alex working long days and hoping to get home in time to see the girls awake. So it's bittersweet; I'm happy this tantrum-filled week is over but I'm sad that we won't be seeing as much of Alex anymore. He's one rotation away from being done with this God-forsaken third year and then hopefully things will lighten up as he gets ready to apply for fellowship placement.

 

Here are the fun developments from this past week:

Like Daughter Like Mother. Cati gave me a scrunchy so I could have one to match hers. At one point I took it off my wrist and put it in my hair. Once she saw it wasn't on my wrist she asked where it was and was happy when she saw I still had it even though it was in my hair. She wanted to make sure mommy still matched her. I don't know why but I found this to be such a sweet thing. She actually wants us to wear the same things. It's as if she's saying "you belong to me mommy."

Miss Manners. How do you teach manners or politeness? That's the struggle we've had with Cati this past week. Tantrums are at a high (they are 10x worse with me) and she's started hitting again. She tells you to "stop it" when she doesn't want to be touched. That's my fight because I am constsantly telling the dogs to stop doing something (bark, jump, snatch food, rummage the trash). We've made small steps and if corrected in time she will say "por favor no" with no hitting or finger pointing. She's also started to ask "you ok?" It's such a battle because patience runs low when you get nothing but nasty behavior. I love this age but I hate the "terrible twos." I also hate that I never know what to attribute tantrums to: age or having a new sibling.

 Esta Loca. One day I said our dogs were "loca" and it caught on. Now every time the dogs do something weird or bad Cati says "Rosie/Gracie esta loca." It's funny every time.

Time Out. One day Cati placed herself in time out. We have no clue what she did but she put her chair in the corner, sat down, and then said, "cati time out." After she got out of time out she put her bunny in time out. I don't know if this works for or against all our discipline attempts.

Pillow Talk. I don't know why but pillows and blankets freak me out. Cati's never had either up until this week. She asked for a pillow and I thought she wouldn't actually want to sleep with it but she did. She doesn't really use it to sleep but it has become a sort of toy where she takes off and puts on the cover.

Yummy Hands. Elina has officially discovered her hands and she can't get enough of them. If she's awake chances are good there will be a hand in her mouth. What makes this even funnier is that Cati tells her "Elina la mano esta yucky."

 

First Bath. The girls got their first bath together. It was so cute! Cati was protective (possessive?) and didn't want to let me give Elina a bath. I can't wait until Elina's big so she can play with Cati in the bath. 

Here's to surviving another week. For as much as I talk about surviving, I can't believe we're already in May and that Elina will be three-months old next week.