16 month / 3 month update

Well another month has flown by and my babies are getting bigger by the day. I feel like I just did this for 15 months and 2 months and here we are another month older. They are doing so well and I love every moment (well almost every moment, I am human).

So here is the round up:

Sleeping

• Calan - Overall Calan is still a great sleeper. He was still taking 2 great naps of about 1.5 to 2 hours each everyday, but he was waking in the middle of the night and playing or rocking for long extended periods of time. I think that he was getting too much sleep during the day and it was effecting his nighttime sleep. This week, I have started to transition him to one nap. Out of 4 days of doing it, 2 were great, 1 he didn't nap well and ended up going to bed early, and 1 he needed 2 naps. So it is just the beginning and we are taking it on a day-by-day basis. If he seems like he needs 2, he gets 2; if he needs 1, then he gets 1. It is making it a little hard to plan things right now, but overall, I think he is ready to go to 1 nap, so I don't think we will be in limbo for too long.
• Maisie -  She is still a sleeping champ once I get her to sleep. She is very particular and if something isn't quite right, it can take awhile to get her to sleep. She still sleeps with a blanket over her head. I am sure I am setting up some bad habits that won't be easy to break her off, but she naps so well when everything is done right. It is the difference between a 20-minute catnap and a 2-hour glorious nap. At night, she is still waking up once or twice. This past week she went through a crazy growth spurt and woke up a ton, but that seems to have settled down and we are back to the regular once or twice. Hoping that my night waking days are numbered. I hope she is getting close to sleeping through the night.

Eating

• Calan - He is still eating a ton. I actually had to increase our grocery bill to keep up. He loves most foods, but he is still particular about how they are cooked or seasoned. He is a carbohydrate addict, so I try to give his other foods first. We are also eating out more and more with him. He behaves really well for the most part. It is nice to know that we can go out to eat and not worry how he is going to act. Since he eats so many things, there is always something we can give him when we are out and about.
• Maisie - She is still nursing really well. With the growth spurt, I could barely keep up with her. She was eating basically every 2 hours. She also has had a little bit of formula to fill in when I wasn't around. She took it just fine. When I was nursing Calan, I tried to keep up an extra supply for when I was gone, and it was horrible having to figure out when he might sleep well and I would be able to wake up and pump some. This time I decided that I wasn't going to drive myself crazy. If I need to, she will have formula if I don't have extra breast milk around. This past week was the first time we had to and she did fine.

Milestones

• Calan - He is doing a lot of the same things he did last month, just better. He is saying please for everything and not just in sign language. He says please for everything from getting out of his pack-and-play to opening the gate to more food. It is great that he is doing it, but he doesn't quite understand why sometimes please doesn't get him what he wants when he wants it. However for the most part, "please" has cut down on tantrums.
  The last of Calan's incisor teeth came through this month. Thank goodness! We should be done with teething till his 2-year-molars. Kind of crazy to think that last Halloween Calan's first teeth popped through and now we are finally done for awhile.
  He is picking up on so many things so quickly now. For example, Bob taught him how to show the touchdown hand signal in one day. That would have taken me a month to teach before.
  He is climbing up on furniture pretty easily now and for the most part doesn't roll off. He understands that he has to climb down carefully. 
• Maisie -  She isn't rolling over as much as she was last month. She gets her arms in the way and can't figure out how to get over them. She is blowing raspberries, batting at some close toys and pulling blankets up to her mouth.

Activities

• Calan - Calan is still doing pack-and-play time in the morning and he is up to 15-minutes of blanket time each day. We are working on matching colors and focusing on red, blue, and green. He is doing pretty well with it and says blue. We have also started coloring. We are attending playgroup on Thursdays and he does well sitting on the rug for story time and listening to the instructor. 
• Maisie - Her activities are about the same. Cooing, smiling and floor time. I hope to be a little more specific in my activities with her. I should be doing more floor time than I am. 

Schedule 

• 7 a.m. - Maisie wakes up and eats.
• 7:30 a.m. - Calan wakes up 
• 8:00 a.m. - Calan eats breakfast has milk. 
• 8:30 a.m. - Calan  playtime in his pack and play. Maisie starts her nap.
• 9 a.m. - Calan playtime/reading time
• 10 a.m. - Maisie eats, we play together
• 11 a.m. - Maisie naps
• 11:30 a.m. - Calan eats lunch
• 12 p.m. - Calan blanket time (15 min.) / devotionals
• 1 p.m. - Calan nap; Maisie eats
• 2 p.m. - Maisie naps
• 3:30 / 4 p.m. -  Calan wakes up / Maisie eats 
• 5 p.m. - free time or errands
• 6 p.m. - dinner
• 6:20 p.m. - bath time
• 6:40 p.m. - Calan gets ready for bed; drinks milk
• 7 p.m. - Calan bedtime/Maisie eats
• 7:30 p.m. - Maise bedtime
• 10:30 p.m. - Maisie eats
• 3 a.m. - Middle of the night feeding for Maisie

Overall

• Calan - He is definitely transitioning into a full blown toddler. He is learning new things everyday and starting to really interact and play. He is a handful, but he is such a blessing and I love watching him grow and evolve into a little boy. 
• Maisie - She is so smiley and happy. She loves watching Calan play around her. She never seems to care when he is poking at her. She does get frustrated quickly and has little patience. She loves

Blanket time revisited and in action

Before Maisie was born, I had started doing "blanket time" with Calan, but basically abandoned it when I got a little too pregnant and Maisie was too young to institute it correctly. I am so glad we took a break. At the time Calan and I were pretty frustrated with each other, and doing blanket time was not working for either of us. This has completely changed. Calan is just that much older and I have more patience and both of us are on the same page (for the most part) now.

Blanket time is basically exactly what it sounds like. It is a specific amount of time that he spends playing on a blanket. The idea is that it sets up a limited area with out a physical parameter and helps develop the ability to stay put within a boundary.

The pack-and-play is great, but blanket time is different because there is no physical parameter that stops him from running off.

This is not an overnight event. Calan didn't just one day think, well I think I will stay on this blanket and just play. We are working step by step, minute by minute to get him to stay and happily play. Blanket time is not a time out. It is not a punishment. It should be just like independent play time and be a happy play time that they focus on just a few toys.

I have been doing blanket time, again, with Calan for about a month and we have worked our way up to 8 minutes that he sits on the blanket and plays with a few of his favorite toys. It is not perfect and I usually still have to tell him once or twice to stay on the blanket, but he does usually stay there for the whole time. Once we get to the point that he stays on the blanket for 8 minutes without me saying anything we will add a minute and work our way up to about 30 minutes.

Right now, I stay right by Calan reading blogs, books, or Bible study. I do something other than hoover over him. I am right there to correct him, but I am not engaging with him.

I start blanket time by telling him that we are going to do blanket time and that I want him to play on his blanket for 8 minutes. I lay out a blanket and set up a few toys on it as he sits down on the blanket. He loves sitting on blankets, so he usually jumps on before a single toy is on it for him. I then set a timer and say that blanket time has begun. I won't lie, he usually just looks at me with a blank stare, but somehow he does seem to understand because when I get up to sit on the couch, he stays on the blanket and usually grabs for a toy.

Here is how yesterday's blanket time went:

Blanket time has begun. He had to take his socks off first.

Just sitting here playing with his Mrs. Noah figurine and
wiggling his toes.

Hmmm ... realized I was taking photos with my cell phone.
He crawls toward me off the blanket at about 5 minutes.

I put him back on and tell him that he has 3 minutes left of
blanket time and that my phone is a no touch.

Literally 2 seconds later, he stopped crying and went right
back playing with his toys.

Playing away.

Time flies when you are having fun.

Timer goes off. I tell him blanket time is over with.

After cheers and claps from me, he gets up and grabs
his lamb.

Calan and lamb are out of there.
He actually just came over and sat next to me and we
then read a book.

His time on the blanket is not traumatic or cruel. It is a tool that will come in handy for me as his parent when I need him to first obey me and secondly to stay in one spot when I ask him to. He doesn't understand that but I do.