Bedtime with Two

Darren was away at a work conference last weekend and I had my first full weekend of solo parenting since Ophelia was born. We had a great weekend, a balance of relaxing at home and getting out to have meals and fun with friends.

Sebby got his face painted for the first time!
 He had fun looking at his doggy face in the mirror. 
Right after having it done he fell asleep in the carrier on my back so it was a bit smudged but he still thought it was awesome.

Sebby practiced wearing underwear & using the potty while we were at home.
He decided it was important to teach giraffe about the potty too. 
Wish I got a picture of giraffe in his underwear!

I learned a few things over the weekend but most importantly, I gained confidence at handling bedtime on my own with a toddler and a baby.

I'd had to do bedtime with the two of them a few times in the past but it was usually stressful, often involving both kids crying and waking each other up. Last weekend gave me a chance to have three consecutive nights to work out a strategy for tackling bedtimes solo just in time for Darren's busiest month at work (he'll be out many evenings at bedtime).

As I chatted with my friend about it the other day, we agreed that starting early and with  plenty of time is probably the most important principle when it comes to solo parenting bedtimes. 

Last Friday I did baths at 3pm. After the kids were dressed in pjs we chatted on skype my sister in law then around 5pm we ate a meal I'd previously prepared. It was great! We had time to read books and play and clean up before bed. No one was stressed or rushed or crying. Sebby got to bed by 7pm and Ophelia shortly after. 

Since then, I've noted that bedtime almost always goes smoothly if there is lots of time to spare.

Since it sometimes takes awhile to get Ophelia settled in bed, I find it works best if I get both kids completely ready for bed at the same time then nurse Ophelia while I pray and sing with Sebby. That way she doesn't get overtired and once Sebby is asleep, I can focus on putting her down and not worry about what Sebby is up to or leaving him playing on the iPad for 40 minutes. 

After having done it a few times, I no longer worry about handling bedtime on my own. 

She's A Roller

While Daddy was away at work last weekend, Ophelia was busy learning to roll onto her stomach from her back. It's been about a week and she hasn't looked back.

"Got Sophie!" 
Taken just after she rolled for the first time back to belly.

Now, every time I put her down to change her diaper, over she flips onto her belly. She is so motivated to get those clothes, toys and blankets into her mouth.

This afternoon I put her in bed for a nap on her back and she started teetering on her side but in the end decided to roll back onto her back before going to sleep. Wonder if she'll take  to start sleeping on her belly? She likes it to be as dark as possible before going to sleep (she pulls blankets, her hat or her clothes over her eyes) so I think she may enjoy burying her face in the sheets while she falls asleep.

Ophelia Meets Sophie!

Lately Ophelia has been grabbing for things, usually my food, shirt or earrings, and chewing on everything so we decided it was time to introduce her to Sophie.

They really hit it off!

They are great friends so far.

Ophelia is very motivated to reach for Sophie. When she drops her, she lunges forward, crunching her abs to try to reach her. If she doesn't succeed in getting her back, she lets me know it.

Even Sebby knows how much she loves Sophie. He often gets Sophie for her when she drops. Tonight while lying in bed with his giraffe, he asked if Obia had her giraffe. He probably finds it fun that both he and Ophelia have giraffes now.

And We Scoot...

A little update on our "leaving the house earlier" strategy so that Sebby can walk ....

IT WORKS!

If I leave early and allow Sebby time to walk until he is tired, he happily asks to get into the stroller and arrives a happy camper! On the way home, he asks to get in the stroller a lot sooner (within 5 minutes of leaving usually) and often falls asleep for a half hour nap.

I'm so thankful to have a happier traveler.

So far I have managed to always leave early enough to let him walk when we're going to need to take the stroller. After someone commented on my previous post, I realized that I neglected to explain that we walk far and we walk a lot. We don't have a car so we walk or take transit everywhere.

That strategy was specific to outings that are "far" for Sebby, a half hour walk or more one way. 

For shorter outings, Sebby does great walking or taking his scooter. He always wants to take his scooter when we go out and has gotten really good on it. He hardly falls over and is happy to scoot or get pulled along when he's tired. He can do fifteen to twenty minutes each way on the scooter without a problem.

Yesterday he really wanted to take the scooter to church. I knew that was probably "too far" because it is a half hour walk each way but I agreed to let him try. We made it over half way then he started crying and asking for me to pick him up. 

I didn't pick him up because carrying Sebby and Ophelia both is just too heavy for me so I told him he could either walk or stand on the scooter. He alternated between the two and I was happy that we made it to church in plenty of time for my Mums Bible Group although there were a few tears and quite a bit of whining. I was very thankful that a friend was able to drive us on the way back because it would have been a long, slow walk home.

Next week we'll take the stroller. He's making excellent progress on his scooter but the church is still too far away.

Fun In The Sun!

We went to Spain for a work conference. 

It was such a refreshing time! We got to enjoy the sun, hang out with old friends and learn from great speakers and teaching sessions.

It wasn't quite warm enough to swim but really enjoyed hanging out by the pool...

...and on the beach

We also enjoyed strolling along the the ocean front sidewalks in the afternoons.

Since it was low season, the conference got an AMAZING deal on beachfront apartments for the families.

Sebby & Darren SO happy to be hanging out on our beachfront patio.

Ophelia liked it too!

Feeling refreshed now that we're back in Glasgow and the days are already seeming much longer.

We Walked...

Today was day one of trailing a new strategy for outings with Sebby. I left very early (an hour and a half early!) in order to allow Sebby to walk all the way there.

I know leaving that early won't always be realistic but I wanted to give it a try. As I wrote about in my last post about Sebby, over the past two weeks, putting him in the stroller has become increasingly difficult. He really likes walking a lot of the time and so if I make him get in, he gets very upset. I don't mind him crying a bit but he cries, tries to get out and it takes him up to a half an hour after being let out upon arrival at our destination. 

I felt like I didn't want to continuing forcing the issue with the stroller if he would continue to be so upset about it, especially when being upset so long after arriving somewhere really put a damper on how much fun any of us were having.

I asked a friend who has a similar lifestyle to ours and a little boy around Sebby's age. They rarely use their stroller and her three year old walks, bikes or scoots to school and back every day, about a half hour walk from home. She said when he was smaller, as much as possible, she tried to allow her little guy to walk if he wanted to and brought the stroller along in case he got tired. She suggested we try leaving earlier.

Here's what we did today...

 We got up an hour earlier and left the house (messy!) an hour and a half before my Bible Read Through began. I had told Sebby that he could walk and we would take the stroller in case he got tried. It was a beautiful, crisp morning and Sebby was excited to be free to walk. He held my hand and only stopped a few times to watch construction sites, big trucks and very interesting pieces of litter.  He made it over half way there before stopping and asking to get into the stroller. 

I was amazed! He didn't whine or scream, he just happily got in himself and happily snacked on some crackers for the rest of the walk. We arrived early (yay! the past few weeks we were quite late) and we were all in a pleasant mood.

On the way home, I asked Sebby if he wanted to walk or get into the stroller. He asked to get into the stroller.

Really?

I was so surprised until I realized five minutes later that he was asleep. He must have been tired! We don't generally have Sebby nap anymore but I do let him have short naps in the stroller if he is falling asleep on our way home. I tried to wake him up when we got home but he was so tired that he wasn't waking up easily. I stood outside our door for ten minutes or so until he woke up on his own. Ophelia was sleeping in the carrier too. She slept for three hours, she was tired too!

We went inside and Sebby was pleasant and revived after his little nap. He played by himself pleasantly for an hour or so while I tidied up the flat.

I know that even if I continue this strategy of leaving earlier when ever possible and allowing Sebby to choose walking or the stroller, it won't always go so smoothly. However, I do want to try to be intentional to get up and leave the house earlier if possible.

Jumping in the puddles on Queen Margaret Drive

Running in the Botanics

Baby Feet

Baby Feet are so adorable...

 

especially in these wee leggings! 

* Thanks to our amazingly talented and stylish friend, Andrea, for gifting them to us. 

PS: She designed these. 

PPS: She designs other great stuff for Toto Knits. 

Ophelia's favourie hat is another one of hers...