Reading the many blog and articles that I do, I know there is a bit of debate on when the best time is to ditch the bottles. My boys were predominantly bottle fed so I was worried that there would be a significant attachment to them.
A lot of people say on the first birthday, all the bottles go in the bin, or to 'the bottle fairy'. However, some say that their kids are near 4 and still have one for comfort. Now the boys have never been attached in a sense to their bottles as they have always had their donkey and cloth for that, nor have they ever been put to bed with one and left to it. So when my boys were the other side of 2 years and I was sick of making 6 bottles a night in case they woke up hungry, I thought I really needed to make some changes.
So this is what I did; One afternoon I sat them down and said that we are not going to be having bottles any more at bed time because they are big boys. We put their bottles in a carrier bag ready to give to the 'rubbish truck' (a latest obsession) which actually just went into the cupboard in case we need them in the future and that was it. No crying, no asking for bottles – nothing. Every night since they have had either a sippy cup or beaker, which does have its own battles but im so pleased not to be making any more bottles.
I think doing this has also automatically weaned them off bottles during the night as a sippy cup requires more of an effort so they don't bother asking for it. Win!
The next stage will be weaning Sammy off his dummy. He can keep his cloth and Fin can keep his Donkey but the dummy really has to go. I think it will be a gradual thing. He has it for sleeps but never if we are at a club or out and about so I think the key will be distraction initially and then bribery once he can understand. Oh and there is the potty training and the switch from cots to a bed to contend with this year but one thing at a time thanks.
Sunday, 8 March 2015
Saturday, 21 February 2015
The good, the bad and the ugly -2 years on.
There are many preconceptions of the joys of motherhood. From a blooming pregnancy to quietly breastfeeding your darling bundle in the middle of the night whilst you rock peacefully in your highly expensive nursing chair. Fast-forward two years, God knows how many broken nights and body aches later, and the joys have well and truly worn off.
Im not saying that every aspect of motherhood is terrible. Quite the opposite. The joys far outweigh the horrors.
So what is the good stuff? Well there is so much that makes me happy every day. A lot if it would be completely insignificant to those who don’t have children and have no intention to. But its the little things really. It the waking up in the morning after a reasonable nights sleep(feel free to replace reasonable with 'shitty', 'non-existent' or just 'damn awful') and hearing a chirpy happy baby, or in my case, two chirpy babies, chatting and talking to each other. Then the morning cuddles are pretty good too. Sleepy boy cuddles are the best. For one, they are too tired to try and escape so you've got a good chance here of a fairly decent one.
Its also the little piles of creation left around the house that you unsuspectingly find days later. Thing like a pot or a cup stuffed with tissue,or a cuddly toy sat reading a book. We've had a book tower construction, toy cats sat eating dinner from the cat bowls downstairs. Imaginary Christmas trees made from cushions and all sorts. The boys' imagination is really starting to show and some of the things they come up with are pretty cool. But at the moment they mostly revolve around cranes, towers and Christmas trees.
The talking is a real bonus we are starting to notice. Just being able to ask a question and get a 'yes' or 'no' is a major breakthrough as I am nearly able to put my crystal ball away!
Sam and Fin have only recently started to play and talk with each other. Ive seen a glimpse of what the future will be like with twins. They have their own private conversations which I cannot decipher. They will both go though a ritual of a game which I do not know the rules off so im better off staying away. I can just imagine that in a years time, they will be able to play board games together, play cowboys and Indians together. Any two person game, they already have a built in playmate.
So the bad? Well we have numerous trials each day. I think a lot of it is due to the fact that there is always two of them. The most the boys have spent apart from each other is when they are sleeping and even then they are usually right next to each other. We have a lot of fights. Im talking about one every hour. Usually these revolve around toys or which colour cups they want (*mental note to go back to Ikea for another set of the dog cups). To be fair the cup fights usually happen when getting their milk ready for bedtime.
We have a lot of 'mine, mine, mine'. Which turns to head wrestling (Uncle Gary would be pleased), which if left turns to biting. I have been letting a lot of the fights ride out recently though. I kind of figure that as long as it doesn’t get too violent, they need to learn to figure things out for themselves and get over it. Of course I will step in if the screaming gets too loud or I see biting. But anything other than that I will keep away.
One thing that I am really struggling with at the moment is indecisiveness. I really cannot keep patient when they cant make up their minds what they want. A general conversation goes along like this:
Fin: Uh Uh blanket blanket
Me: Oh you want your blanket?
Fin: Okay
Me: *Puts blanket on his lap
Fin: No no no blanket!!
Me: Okay *takes blanket off.
Fin: NO BBLLLAAANNNKKKET!!
Me: Okay, here you go
Fin: NO!
Me: What do you want?
Fin: ARRGGGGHHHHHHHH
Me: Do you want your blanket on or off?
Fin: BBBLLLAAANKKEETTTT!!
Me: * Walks away
Fin: NO BBLLLAAANNNKKKET!! ARRGGGGHHHHHHHH
I know in this game that I cannot win. If I walk away he feels abandoned and screams but if I stay, the argument will continue. This is a lose lose situation. In the end, the boys are probably past the capability of making their own decisions so I have to make it for them regardless of the screaming I will get back. Im getting screaming as it is so I may as well put a stop to hassle.
I could go on and on but it don't want this to drag out too much as I am sure across the whole world, everyone who is currently raising a toddler is going through the exact same thing, so to finish, I will leave you with this, and Im sure you will agree, its pretty spot on!
Im not saying that every aspect of motherhood is terrible. Quite the opposite. The joys far outweigh the horrors.
So what is the good stuff? Well there is so much that makes me happy every day. A lot if it would be completely insignificant to those who don’t have children and have no intention to. But its the little things really. It the waking up in the morning after a reasonable nights sleep(feel free to replace reasonable with 'shitty', 'non-existent' or just 'damn awful') and hearing a chirpy happy baby, or in my case, two chirpy babies, chatting and talking to each other. Then the morning cuddles are pretty good too. Sleepy boy cuddles are the best. For one, they are too tired to try and escape so you've got a good chance here of a fairly decent one.
Its also the little piles of creation left around the house that you unsuspectingly find days later. Thing like a pot or a cup stuffed with tissue,or a cuddly toy sat reading a book. We've had a book tower construction, toy cats sat eating dinner from the cat bowls downstairs. Imaginary Christmas trees made from cushions and all sorts. The boys' imagination is really starting to show and some of the things they come up with are pretty cool. But at the moment they mostly revolve around cranes, towers and Christmas trees.
The talking is a real bonus we are starting to notice. Just being able to ask a question and get a 'yes' or 'no' is a major breakthrough as I am nearly able to put my crystal ball away!
Sam and Fin have only recently started to play and talk with each other. Ive seen a glimpse of what the future will be like with twins. They have their own private conversations which I cannot decipher. They will both go though a ritual of a game which I do not know the rules off so im better off staying away. I can just imagine that in a years time, they will be able to play board games together, play cowboys and Indians together. Any two person game, they already have a built in playmate.
So the bad? Well we have numerous trials each day. I think a lot of it is due to the fact that there is always two of them. The most the boys have spent apart from each other is when they are sleeping and even then they are usually right next to each other. We have a lot of fights. Im talking about one every hour. Usually these revolve around toys or which colour cups they want (*mental note to go back to Ikea for another set of the dog cups). To be fair the cup fights usually happen when getting their milk ready for bedtime.
We have a lot of 'mine, mine, mine'. Which turns to head wrestling (Uncle Gary would be pleased), which if left turns to biting. I have been letting a lot of the fights ride out recently though. I kind of figure that as long as it doesn’t get too violent, they need to learn to figure things out for themselves and get over it. Of course I will step in if the screaming gets too loud or I see biting. But anything other than that I will keep away.
One thing that I am really struggling with at the moment is indecisiveness. I really cannot keep patient when they cant make up their minds what they want. A general conversation goes along like this:
Fin: Uh Uh blanket blanket
Me: Oh you want your blanket?
Fin: Okay
Me: *Puts blanket on his lap
Fin: No no no blanket!!
Me: Okay *takes blanket off.
Fin: NO BBLLLAAANNNKKKET!!
Me: Okay, here you go
Fin: NO!
Me: What do you want?
Fin: ARRGGGGHHHHHHHH
Me: Do you want your blanket on or off?
Fin: BBBLLLAAANKKEETTTT!!
Me: * Walks away
Fin: NO BBLLLAAANNNKKKET!! ARRGGGGHHHHHHHH
I know in this game that I cannot win. If I walk away he feels abandoned and screams but if I stay, the argument will continue. This is a lose lose situation. In the end, the boys are probably past the capability of making their own decisions so I have to make it for them regardless of the screaming I will get back. Im getting screaming as it is so I may as well put a stop to hassle.
I could go on and on but it don't want this to drag out too much as I am sure across the whole world, everyone who is currently raising a toddler is going through the exact same thing, so to finish, I will leave you with this, and Im sure you will agree, its pretty spot on!
Thursday, 4 December 2014
According to the experts.
Okay, let's get real here. For any of you reading this who have been pregnant and had kids, I'm sure you would have all done your fair share of homework before your kids were born. You read the baby books, googled EVERYTHING and make plans for your little perfect bundle so they remain healthy and fed and happy and content. You start coming out with "well Gina says" and "According to Tracy Hogg". However . . . When the sleep deprevation kicks in, how many of you can honestly say you did everything by the book???? Let's take a look.
Experts say: always prepare your milk freshly each time the baby needs it.
What you did: Baby wakes up screaming for milk, you cannot for the life you be bothered to go downstairs to make a fresh one so you find a bottle that has the dregs in from the last feed an give them that! Crossing fingers they don't get tummy bugs later and don't scream for more.
Experts say: sterilize dummies that have dropped on the floor before giving back your baby.
What you did: picked up dummy, sucked it, whacked it back in babies mouth.
Experts say: change your childrens bed linen at least once a week.
What you did: changed it when it really started to smell of wee and milk and it is no longer white.
Experts say: keep your baby from putting dirty objects in their mouths when in the exploration stage.
What you did: as long as it's not cat poo, go for it. Build that immune system!
Experts say: do not let your children eat food that's fallen on the floor.
What you did: as long as it didn't land it cat poo, go for it! It's a 2 hour rule in this house. (I'm sure there's been times when the 2 week rule came out too!)
Experts say: don't let your kids have too much tv time. Limit it per day.
What you did: let your kids have Cbeebies on when ever they scream for it, when you need a wee, when you need to check Facebook or emails, when you want a cup of tea or when you just want some freakin peace!
Experts say: sterilize babies bottles each time before making up a feed.
What you did: forgot to sterilise bottles, swilled a dirty one under the tap and hoped for the best.
Experts say: teach your baby to learn to fall asleep on their own from an early age.
What you did: sang twinkle twinkle over and over whilst walking round the room, rocking baby, patting baby, and swaying from side to side in an attempt to get your precious baby to fall asleep. Then once certain they must be out cold, attempt to make "the transfer". Tip toe out of the room, feel pleased with your self you can go and watch eastenders then put one foot on the stairs . . . . And no! Babies' awake again (they must have built in movement sensors) then repeat above as needed.
Experts say: sleep when the baby sleeps.
What you did: Facebook, Twitter and catfish the TV show.
With all the above doubled, it's a wonder how I'm still fairly sane. I'm amazing that the boys are still thriving little things. But, in the words of a highly popular right now and starting-to-get-a-little-annoying, completely overdone and parodied song . . . . . . Let It Go fellow mammas, Let It Go!! X
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