Good-bye 2010 - update on the kids's progress

The best news to end 2010 with was that Emma pooed in the toilet! Finally!!! Not once, but now that she has done it four times, I think we can assume we are rid of her nappies! YAY!! We made a huge fuss, took her out to buy a doll I had promised her she would get when she pooed in the toilet, and applauded and cheered (every time!). She even says bye bye poo as she flushes and likes using the toilet brush.

Also, we left the kids' dummies to Santa Claus alongside the cookies on his plate by the Christmas tree. The first few nights were tough for Emma as she would cry and ask for her dummy saying she didn't like Santa and wanted her "lolly" back. But every bed-time got easier and after 5 nights things were pretty much back to normal. William couldn't care less.

Will has been sleeping through his core night and waking around 6am most nights and now has 3,5 teeth out! (2 on the bottom and one and a bit from the top). He puts absolutely everything he can get his hands on in his mouth and loves things that squeak or beep back at him.
He has also become very agile at swinging from sitting to lying on his tummy and back shuffling both on his bum and on his tummy. He swirls and turns on his tummy and swings and sways backwards and forwards when on his knees and hands but no crawling yet. Basically, we better get all cables and wires clear soon as he is moving around quite well and as curious as can be!

That's all for now!

Will and Emma

William is quite hilarious - a part from the fact that he is causing us to sleep about 3-4 hours a night - and so cute! He laughs at his own reflection in the mirror, smiles when he sees Emma or a picture of her, adores being tickled, loves new sounds, has absolutely no stranger anxiety - quite the contrary!

Here William munching on Sophie the giraffe while chuckling at the cow sounds another toy makes.

Emma's current favorites are "I spy with my little eye" and singing "Brown bear brown bear what do you see?"

She has also recently discovered Holly and Ben from < href=""> Little Kingdomwhich she loves and the very useful, fun and educational starfall ABC game.

The latter - and the fact that she has the letters of the alphabet stickers on her bed - means that whenever she is out and about she now spots letters in signs, tables, papers, logos, etc. and exclaims "Mummy! Look! It's Gogo! (meaning G for Gogo)" or "it's E for me (Emma)!" So funny!

Also, Emma now can swing herself on the big girl swing! Yiippeee!

Dear blog reader,

I'm sorry I have been so absent from this space where you visit me, but I'm finding it really hard to blog at the moment. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that I'm finding it really hard to find the time and energy to do so. When I do have some time after all the broken nights and energy voracious days with my two little ones, I prefer to shower, sleep, do Pilates, call my Dad who is ill and in hospital, read someone else's blog, read a magazine, zonk out in front of the telly or be with my husband when he is home.

There. Now you know.

Why so tired you ask?

Well, after 3 weeks of :
-William sleeping in increments of 45-60 minutes and thereafter finding it impossible to settle
-me finding it impossible to rest and to eat enough (yes actually have the time to prepare a nutritious meal and eat it) except when we were on holiday and I enjoyed those cevapcici and kelj and potatoes with lots of garlic and olive oil (so yummy! The day I get stinking rich I will hire a cook just so I can eat great food and only cook when I want to and have the time)
... Now, finally, I think we are gradually getting back on track (and thank-you Baby Whisperer ladies and thank-you my dear husband who can bear crying more than I can!)

Having said that, I still get up at least 3 times a night in between midnight and 7 am so it's not time for Champagne quite yet!

Still, he is the charming one, all smiles when not screaming ;-)

Thanks to the ladies on The Baby Whisperer Forums we realized William was actually pendulum swinging from overtired-to undertired and that is why he was constantly waking and looking like he was basically on coke (the blue circles around his eyes were scary!)
This happened because he had been sleeping in his pram a lot (traveling, holiday, taking Emma to kindergarden and then doing food shopping with Mum) which was fine until it was no longer so and he would only sleep enough to make it through another hour of being awake. Then, sleeping in bed became difficult too and naturally he wanted to be strolled around 24/7.
Not his fault.

Anyhow, now we are doing our best to make his naps longer and help him re-settle when he wakes (I am trying to get him to sleep-in until 7h30 which means that I have a little more time with Emma in the mornings and can get back from kindergarden in time for his nap without him falling asleep on the way back and being woken up as we get home. Fingers crossed and good vibes please!)
Also as a consequence, his night time wakings are briefer and less frequent.

Although now the poor little bear has fever due to teething so that's another hurdle ahead.

Oh the joys of motherhood!

Thankfully Emma is being a darling - sleeping again at kindergarden because she got her dummy back after I decided that I needed her to be functional and happy in the afternoons more that I feared an extra hour of dummy dependence (especially as she already uses it to settle in the evenings).

I try to get to the park every day and see a friend of hers at least once a week.

It was fascinating to watch them roll out the grass as they re-did the park. In fact Emma did not want to leave until they were done! Luckily for me, they had not brought enough rolls with them that day to finish off!

Also, we have been doing some creative things which we have hung up in our art-room/guest room and the children's bathroom:

Emma's colourful hand-prints

Hama bead duck, dog and heart

Emma really likes making pics with Hama beads but her current favorite is making cakes (and lots of other stuff) out of play-do (or the sand if we are at the park).
Another favorite game of hers since our holiday (as Tata-yéyé well knows!) is "I am the Mummy and you are the little girl" then she'll say: "Say something to me!" meaning she wants you to ask her for something as she asks me.
Initially, I had a lot of laughs with this as I would imitate her whining and saying "no!" to me and saying I wanted something "now!" as she tends to do - ah! petty revenge!- but I have to say it can get a bit tedious because she can play it 20 times a day every day!
Still, it is very sweet to see how she cups my cheek in her hand telling me she will be back to pick me up and strokes my hair or kisses my "awa" (where it hurts) in her Mummy role or how she reads me a story (singing). In playing this with her I got very good insights as to what she takes away from our behaviour towards her and also her preferences. A very instructive game indeed.

And I have actually managed to buy Emma winter boots, hat & scarf & coat this year before there are no goods left in the shops (last year I thought October was early enough and I barely managed to find anything her size!)

Here Emma grudgingly trying on her new clothes before dinner time! I give you, the Purple Princess! (five year old sizes fit, if you please!)

And finally, my list of things is getting shorter as I managed to:

• give away clothes that were too small (mine, Wills and Emma's)
• take other clothes to the second hand shop
• sort through most of the summer things and start putting them away for the winter

and my mini-successes:

• got back to Pilates class (Yippee!)
• made an appointment with the eye doctor (mid-October!)
• got William's first two shots done
• managed to stop Emma's and my cold in it's tracks thanks to Propolis spray (Spray de Popoleo) which is absolutely worthy of a medal and so important that we remain healthy right now!

And just to finish off thi spost "en beauté!" William, my sweet bear, has slept in his bed without needing re-settling all by himself for nearly 2 hours in a go! Yes!!!!
Happy Mummy!!!!

Emma update

Emma on the mend after knocking her head

(such a drama queen I tell you! she likes to have a "bussi" a "flaster" or some ice to feel better!)

Emma also went to see her beloved Dr. G (for her 3 year old check-up), insisted on seeing him first (before William) even though she was due to have a booster shot.

Emma in Dr. G.'s waiting room (he loves antiques!)

Dr. G found that Emma weighs 18kg and measures 99cm. She is healthy but has flat feet (recommended to walk barefoot as much as possible) and slightly in-turned knees.

Unfortunately, Emma and her gang of girlfriends at kindergarden are not napping at the moment so she tends to want to go to bed at 6h30 pm! and worst of all can be cranky as of 5... hopefully this is a summer-phase that will pass. (On the week-ends Emma naps for 90-120 minutes!)

Because of Emma wanting to go to bed so early, I often have to feed her before us or she will skip dinner entirely... So recently the two of us even managed a couple of early alfresco dinners (while William had his 5 o'clock pre-bath cat-nap) at our local market's Tuesday buffet which is right opposite a little parc which was nice!

Emma's favorite: pasta!

Also, sometimes we meet other Mums and we share a prosecco together while the children play.

Last July, as the heat encouraged ladies to show their toes, Emma fell in love with nail polish.
She particularly liked an orange I was wearing at the time but requested a blue one for herself. Since then she received a green one for her birthday (at her request) and has launched a blue/turquoise/green nail polish trend at kindergarden including the teachers!

Pedicure time!
One of Emma's favorite activities (but it's really hard to get her to keep still!)

Family update - nearly 2 months as a foursome

First, William:

• he has the cutest smile, the bluest eyes and the loudest voice

• he is growing very quickly and has already had a number of exhausting growth spurts (i.e going back to feeds every two hours)
• when his tummy is full he can sleep through Emma's singing, prancing and dancing and loud talking
• it takes him a while to find sleep and we have resorted to swaddling him - something Emma hated but he seems to enjoy - to stop him waking himself when he startles as he falls asleep - this seems to help a lot although we only wrap him before putting him down in his bed as he has no trouble falling asleep when carried in the baby björn or when pushed in his buggy
  
• he loves sleeping in his stroller and enjoys baths
• like most babies, he dislikes the wind and hates being cold
  

• his eyes follow me and he can turn and lift his head really well
• his poos are noisy and explosive
• he is not at all good at burping - Emma did this all on her own always twice as soon as she had eaten - Will needs to be burped in the middle of a feed and after which means you really have to pay attention of he'll heave half the milk all over you. I have found that it is more efficient to rock him forward and back from the waist holding him in a sitting position rather using the classic over the shoulder method. If you don't burp him properly, expect a lot of reflux!
• he has started to coo

• I clipped his nails for the first time this week

Now that we have mastered the burping and he seems to be in less pain after every meal (less colicky) and that we are finally learning how to settle him to sleep, all we need is to get some sleep ourselves... (so far day-time naps have proved impossible! and nights are extremely broken and short). Hopefully after this growth spurt is over we can get back to a three hour routine in between feeds and begin to feel more human. Fingers crossed please!


As for Emma, she is doing really well with her potty/toilet training (she uses both) although she sometimes still needs reminding (asking if she needs) to go to the toilet to pee.
She loves her big girl underwear "so wie you Mama" (like you - meaning like yours - Mummy!)

Pooing is a different matter; so far she doesn't use the toilet or potty for that.
Hopefully, we'll get there before her birthday.

Unfortunately, she tends to want to pee (accompanied) just as it's time to put Will down to sleep... Evenings are the hardest with both of them on totally different schedules but both needing attention and to be bathed, fed and put to bed.

Most of the time Emma is really good with William and tries to be gentle and helpful. She has learned to walk with fairy-princess tip-toes (as opposed to dinosaur bear ones) to tell him we are nearly home when he cries or that I (and she) are right there, not to be afraid. When I yawn, she asks me if I am tired.

In the evening as I put her to bed she sometimes forcefully states that I am her Mum and not William's or she tells me that she "needs her Mummy" in the morning when I take her to kindergarden. All things considered, I think it's good that she feels she can freely express such things. I try not to negate or question her feelings but rather repeat a hundred times over my love of her, focus on her when I am with her and avoid comparing her and Will at least vocally (although I inevitably have to explain that Will does not have teeth to brush nor can he speak to apologize when he burps).

At times it is good to reinforce all the great things about being big(ger) but she sometimes still needs to be small and helped and hugged and held even when she says she does not. Although she seems like such a big girl now in so many ways, I try to keep in mind she is not yet 3.

I have been telling her that I love her a lot and so now when asked "who loves you to bits?" (qui t'aime très très fort?) she bellows "Mummy!!!!" (we've now added, Daddy, William, Grand-papa François, Pata, Gogo, Deda, Tata-yéyé, Marta, etc. to this little ritual). We have great hugs and lots of kisses and tickles and still sing and read in the evenings. She also likes being told that I am happy to see her and is now using this expression herself with William too.


The initial "showing off" of William to get attention ("Schau mal! Das ist Mein Bruder William!") has become increasingly authentic and I sometimes think she is already protective of him. Oh and she is still interested to know if he has pooed and likes to help bath him.

Her hair is exactly as I remember my sister's was in the morning: a bird's nest!


There is a lot of joy in parenthood these days but many hours when my brain is mushy, my batteries are flashing low and I feel we are just surviving on some form of auto-pilot. It's really hard coordinating and juggling with two totally different time-tables, ages, needs, kids. More than ever, you need to put yourself last (but I did manage an hour of Pilates today thanks to Steph) and solidarity and cooperation between parents is essential.

Two kids is tough but it can only become better.

... I can't believe I have actually managed to download these pics and write this post all in one sitting! (don't want to jinx things, but it seems things are definitely improving!!! )Time to feed Will one more time before getting some sleep.

Still alive and kicking... albeit sleepily

I've been away from the blogosphere - and from my Mac - for the past three weeks, mainly due to lack of time and when that was available, sleep, food or a peaceful moment in the shower or a caffé latte were my priority... So if you've sent me an email or a text and are still waiting for a reply please forgive me and consider this your update for now and know that we are alive and kicking.

It's been tough and it's not over.

Not that I want to over dramatize, but lack of sleep is a killer. A colicky second child is a killer. Add to that an attention seeker first born and Spring that is more like November than May and you get a flavor of my feeling of tired.

I cannot emphasize how grateful I am to have super hubs around and SO helpful with Emma and Will. As things stand, Steph takes Will after I have given him a last double feed at 8 and 9pm so I can catch some sleep. I take over again at mid-night or whenever Will wakes up. We'll try getting on to a E.A.S.Y routine when Will is over a month old.


Oh, and whether you have a super hubs or not, the single most essential thing to have when you've got a second child is a baby carrier so that your hands are free!!!

My view of Will in his babybjörn baby carrier

Other than that, Will is super cute, if resembling Don Camillo from the Panzani commercials (see below) with his bulging absolutely huge eyes and funny nose.

He seems very "here" for such a young one. His eyes seem to focus and he actually knocks his little bells on his pram.

Unfortunately, he sleeps like log in the night to the point of not wanting to eat for more than 10 minutes a pop and hence wakes me exceedingly often. I am so tired by morning I just want to hide under the covers and tell everyone and everything to just go away. On the positive side, during day time he mostly manages to sleep through Emma's singing, shouting, crying, pouncing, jumping, etc. and manages to sleep between feeds for up to 3,5 hours. If only he would do the same at night...

His first visit to the pediatrician last week went well and we were told he had put on 700gr in two weeks and now measured 57cm (what?! 6 cm in 2 weeks?! well, maybe her just stretches out more).

Emma is being very good, giving him a zillion kisses a day and always asking where he is as soon as she wakes up or comes in from the garden or park. Her absolute favorite is when I tell her Will needs changing and she gleefully shouts "C'mon Mummy, let's change Will!" and that he has (no doubt) made a huge caca!

She also quite enjoys bath time as she pours water over his belly or holds his foot to lessen the Moro reflex.
She does, admittedly ask for more cuddles from me and sometimes looks a bit put out when Will is yet again "eating from boobie" but generally she has grown accustomed to having him around. It will be another thing when he starts moving around and playing with toys.

Having gone through a short spell of finding it really hard to tell Emma I cannot run/jump/draw with her while I am feeding Will, I have found ways to do things with her during this time. A book can be read and a song can be sung (she now knows the ABC song!) and questions can be asked - although Emma's focus on answering them is not great - sort of like when I am driving.
The most annoying moments are when she tries to kiss him or do my hair while I am breastfeeding; Emma is the clumsiest, heaviest dinosaur of a little girl and inevitably hits me in the chin, knocks Will, falls over the both of us, knocks over the bottle of water, falls over her own feet, etc. It can be quite annoying when it happens 20 times a day I can assure you!

Actually, I get annoyed at hearing myself repeat "be careful", "gently", etc. over and over again.

Well, that's about it (it's taken me about 4 days to write the above!) - I'm going to attempt a catnap before Will wakes.

Emma update

After a week of asking to be pushed in her buggy instead of walking - sigh, bad timing!- and wanting to climb into the infant car seat now installed next to hers in my car, Emma has finally started to show signs of wanting to do things on her own again. Phew!

It has taken a LOT of patience (tons!) and even more "bravos" and "well dones" but finally Emma seems to be wanting to do things by herself on her own initiative - which, let's be frank, is the ONLY way it's actually ever going to happen. You can't coerce a child into peeing in the toilet, brushing her teeth or removing her own shoes if she has set her mind on not doing it. Sometimes, she even quotes us: "Emma est une grande fille" (Emma is a big girl).


So, last night after we returned from the sandpit, Emma removed her own shoes, her own fireman pants and only requested some help with removing her fleece jacket. She didn't want to put her slippers on, but so be it. No resistance to hand washing either. Then after dinner and before her bath, she actually decided she wanted to pee on the toilet and undressed herself completely, sat herself on the toilet equipped with a Mr. Man book.

I ran the bath and left her to it while I put a load of laundry in (mainly from the sandpit). I must admit I was skeptical.

After five minutes or so I told her reading time was up and we needed to bath before the water was cold. Getting the book from her took some doing, but then she said she wasn't done - and that's when I heard a trickle. Yes! She was peeing! And peeing and peeing! I congratulated her and got the toilet paper ready. She said she wasn't done. More trickling. She then got down from the toilet and got her own toilet paper, wiped and tossed it in the toilet. Then walked around and flushed.

She then decided she wanted to climb into the bath on her own and moved her little stepping stool next to the bath thereby sparing my back and the baby. Yippeee Yay! And she climbed out on her own too, only holding my hand for support. I am sure you didn't require quite so much detail, but this is a BIG deal for me and her - Yay! Yay! especially as we await the arrival of her little Bruder.

I can't help feeling that our weekly gym classes have contributed to Emma's increased confidence in her body. She is now braver at the park, trying out bigger slides, going down on her tummy without being persuaded and climbing up more complex structures. From the start, Emma was really good with her hands and brain (from opening bottles to fitting in shapes and doing puzzles and repeating words and expressions) but has always been a bit slow in the "moving her whole body" department (sometimes quite handily so if I am totally honest staying put while I was in the shower or cooking when she could have been up to mischief), and I am SO happy to see her feel more confident in herself and agile.


Other than that Emma:

• recently stepped in dog poo and is since readily pointing to any brownish thing on the ground telling me it's "caca" even if it's earth or something
  
• often asks me if I am her friend (bist du meine Freundin, Mummy?) - so cute!
  
• is still telling everybody and anybody who will listen that I am her Mum (das ist meine Mama!) and although she is used to kindergarden teachers joking and saying I am their Mummy or me saying she is "meine Emma" back to her and that everybody has a Mama, she got really upset when Deda told her I was his. I think it might be due to the scarier deep voice and fact that they don't spend that much time together.
  
• still often insists it's all for her; "c'est tout pour Emma, pas partager" (it's all for Emma, not share), although she does with friends so it's mainly a power thing with us parents, so I always ask her very politely if I can have one of her almonds or raisins or carrots and she makes a fuss "okay Mummy, only one"
  
• and I have been doing the head, shoulders, knees and toes together and she loves it!
  
• has just taught me a new song rhyme called Round and round the garden (will try to get that on film soon)

Emma update

This week Emma has been a happy bunny most of the time, although more cuddly and attention seeking than usual and often stating that whatever food, drink or thing was "all for Emma" or that Mummy and Emma each have one.

Emma and me at the kid's hairdresser

We've been working on the sharing, applauding her when she gives some raisins or one of her mini bananas to a kindergarden "colleague" who might be eyeing her pick-up snack. She's improving, although she prefers to have complete control of the provisions and it's sometimes complicated for her to understand that you cannot really give someone your half eaten, chewed on, left-over.

Emma and her friend Nadia nursing their wounds

after an accidental collision at Kindergarden.

We're also making a conscious effort to encourage her to play on her own more and to shorten the bedtime reading/singing routine to two stories or a song. Not the easiest of things considering she currently wants more attention not less.

Her kindergarden teacher L. tells me she often talks about her "Bruder" (brother) in my tummy. I have explained to her that doctors will help Mummy get the baby out of her tummy. I plan on visiting the clinic with her; hopefully this will help familiarize her with the place and maybe there will be some baby pics or some real live babies there too.

I wish we had a name so that the baby were more like a real person to her - and probably us too. Still, Bruder at least gives him a connection to Emma that she seems to understand and be quite happy with.

I definitely think she feels something is up though; she's interested in toys that are quite obviously meant for babies taking them from the baby's room or insisting that they are hers even when they never were. I think if she "lives" with the toys a bit, she will feel less "deprived" of them should someone else be interested in them later.

The Zopf is back!

New favorite words/expressions:

• it's too "viticult" (difficult)
• Come on Mummy! Let's play!

The temperatures are more spring-like and so we sat in the garden for the first time this year and decorated an Easter bouquet.

(I look the size of Perry Mason!!!)

Emma has made progress in taking off her coat and shoes nearly all by herself when we come home.

She's still not very enthusiastic about using the toilet but at least now she will tell me when she is peeing and pooing so hopefully by the time the weather becomes warmer, we will have moved forward on that one...

Picture update

Well, it's been a while so what's new?

Emma was mysteriously ill with intermittent fever but no other symptoms for 8 days until we got her on antibiotics due to
a) the pediatrician not finding anything wrong with her on the 3rd day and figuring it was a virus he recommended that we let it pass
b) Emma and I failing miserably at getting a urine sample (with one of those charming stick on baggies since she is not potty/toilet trained and me not wanting her to stop peeing forever -she would not pee with this on-)

After resolving to Emma's first blood test during which the whole of Vienna heard her yell, we were informed that there was in fact a bacterial infection of some sort (not strep) probably urinary (or ear infection) according to the aforementioned pediatrician. The only reassuring thing is that during the whole time Emma always said it did not hurt anywhere.

Pheew! Well, she is now much better and finishes the antibiotics tomorrow. Her mood has improved as has her appetite although she is still a tad pale.

In the meantime, she has learned all the basic colors in all three languages thanks to lots of colorful balloons, questions & answers, different colored cars and books and some rhymes. She'll even ask you "Mummy what's your favorite color?" and then hand you a felt shape in the color of your choice.


Spring seems to be on its way and although temperatures have dropped again today (6°) at least the grey ceiling has lifted! Hurray!!!
Below, fresh cabbage soup and bread; this year's first terrace lunch at our favorite market.


At just over 16kg, Emma has graduated to a big girl car seat (until she reaches 36kg or 150cm or 12 years old whatever happens first).

Emma reading in her up-to-15kg car seat in the entrance hall.

Emma in her new big girl car seat

An apple a day keeps the doctor away!

Emma at kindergarden pretending to call Daddy at work.

Emma now seems to notice my belly. Perhaps it's because recently I have had to tell her that Mummy cannot jump or roll on to her tummy because of the belly with the baby inside.

Here's Emma with a ball under her top.

The still-to-be-named baby is kicking away as if he were on football practice 24/7. Surely he is now so big that moving around should be difficult?
Emma now recognizes when I yelp due to a kick in the ribs or ovaries and asks me if it is the "garçon" (boy).
I definitely think he has hiccups after dinner like Emma used to.
I think he is still head down but more to the right now.
More info next Monday at our week 34 ultra-sound.

I'm really starting to look forward to his arrival now that his bedroom is ready and I have passed the 70kg mark! (that means I have now put on 9kg!!!)

Less than 50 days to go! (it sounds shorter in days than in weeks...)