Teething and nursing OR Why no one is getting any sleep.

Teething continues. And this time around it's no picnic. Not like teething was a picnic with Penelope, but it wasn't quite the clusterf**k it is this time around.

Maybe clusterf**k isn't the right word. But I can't think of anything better right now.

Griffin's sleep is crap. He's constantly got something in his mouth. I've been bitten four times already tonight (and not on my hand, he likes to use milk-producing parts of me as a teether). Last night Bryan took him so I could get some sleep, I've been waking up with monster headaches in the morning and I needed to get at least a solid six hours. The boys stayed up until G fell asleep at 11:20 and he thankfully slept until almost 5. The night before G was up at least 4 times to nurse and was very restless, it wasn't fun for either one of us.

I think that part of it is my supply. While I've been lucky to nurse this long I think my supply is starting to dry up. I still have milk, but we need to supplement more and more with formula. Part of this is also that G is getting bigger and just needs more food, but my supply can't keep up either way. It's a little sad, but not unexpected. I really hope that at the very least I'll still be able to nurse him overnight. But then again I really hope he starts sleeping through the night soon. Like tonight.

I'm pumping while at work - on my prep period - and it sucks. I hate it. I have 1,000 other things I would really like to use my prep period for, one of which is observations of other classrooms. It's part of what student teaching is all about - observing more teachers will only help me improve my own teaching practice. But when I have to take 15 minutes out of prep to pump it makes observations difficult. I also have grading and planning I could use the time for, but those I can do outside of school so they're less of a priority.

There is one good thing about pumping. It guarantees that at least once a day I get time completely to myself. I can read a little, I can listen to music, I can (sort of) relax. And while I think of my kids all the time, it gives me an opportunity to really stop and think about what they're doing.

Because while I love teaching, I love my kids more - and I miss them during the day.

But my student teaching gig is going well. There are frustrating days and moments, but those just happen anyway. And the more proficient I become at classroom management and planning the less frustrating things get. I haven't yet taught a lesson I think is 'perfect', everything could use a little tweaking and improvement. Not to say that I haven't had some great days, because I have. But I learn a lot about how to improve even from the great days. The day I stop trying to improve my teaching practice is the day I need to stop teaching.

It is time consuming though. We're constantly busy. Between my student teaching, my coursework, Bryan's job, and Bryan's school (plus everything else kid-related) we don't have a lot of downtime. We juggle so much that a fair amount has been put on the back burner. Things like vacuuming and laundry... and date night. Since G is still breastfed at night we haven't had a kid sleepover at my parents in quite awhile. So Bryan and I haven't been out together since... well, I can't remember when. November is our next scheduled date, for the opening of Harry Potter. Although since that falls on a Wednesday night we may not be able to make the midnight showing - I have to teach the next day. We'll see.

I also neglected to blog about turning 29, but since it's just a warm-up to 30 we really didn't do a whole lot to celebrate it. I'm more excited about the kids' birthdays than mine. 29, big whoop.

I do have other things that I've been meaning to blog about, like parenting decisions (we've decided not to circumcise Griffin for a variety of reasons), thoughts on my credentialing program, lawyers (and why we've decided not to sue my former employers), and the fact that we're contemplating moving out of CA once I have my credential (anyone in other states know of a school district that's hiring English teachers?).

I will try to blog soon. The operative word is try. I have a couple of TPAs due, lesson plans to write, papers to grade, and babies to parent. This list is obviously not in order of importance :)

Oh! Penelope got her first black eye today. She was trying to grab something out of reach and smacked her head into the "table" (i.e. TV tray) we have next to the couch. It's not super dark, but it's noticeable. I will attempt to locate our camera to document this latest "first".

AND Griffin is sitting up on his own. Only for 10 seconds or so, but still.

5 month birthday

So Griffin turned 5 months old last week and I neglected to post about it on the day. Oops!

But better late than never, right?

At 5 months G is 28.5 inches and ?? lbs. We haven't gotten him weighed yet this month. Hopefully I'll be able to schedule his first pediatric appointment in the next week or two. He needs to get started on his shots.

Here's his length chart:


And his weight chart from last month:


In other news, tooth #2 made its appearance today! Hopefully we get a bit of a break before the next set, I'd like to get some sleep!!

He's stating to sit up now, not on his own just yet, but close. I think by 6 months he'll be sitting up all by himself!

We also started some solids, avocado mixed with breastmilk. In a few days we'll intro green beans, and go through the veggies before starting with fruits. No cereal this time around. Maybe later.

Here's a recent picture:

Sleep... and teething

Griffin's sleep is wacky. His napping is inconsistent and lately he's been waking up 4-5 times during the night to nurse. This is not cool.

I blame teething. He has one tooth and #2 is just below the surface. I'm hoping that it will break through sometime this weekend so we can get back to a somewhat normal night schedule for the week. Things are only going to get busier in our lives, so it would be nice if we were able to get a decent amount of sleep.

So that's really all I have to say on sleep and teething. There's really not much more to it. I want more sleep and teething sucks.

Things have been busy since I started student teaching, but we've gotten into a rhythm and I think we've all adjusted well. Poe is a tad clingier since I stopped spending all day every day with her, but that's to be expected. Both kids love spending time with my Dad so I'm so very thankful that he's available to watch them while I'm teaching and Bryan is working. I do really miss spending time with the kids, and all of our mommy and baby friends, but I also enjoy teaching. Hopefully once my student teaching is over I'll be able to find a (paying) job teaching in the area. Although Bryan and I haven't ruled out moving out of Sac or our of Cali.

I'm at Mira Loma High School right now, and it's great. I have 2 classes of Sophomores and 3 of Freshman. So far I'm teaching full time in 3 of my 5 classes and will soon be teaching full time in all 5. Each class is different and its been interesting to see how a year in grade level, the time of day, and class size all affect student behaviors. I have one class that can be very difficult, but as the semester progresses they're starting to settle down. My classroom management skills have vastly improved since the beginning of the semester but I still have work to do. I honestly don't think a classroom teacher ever stops learning and improving when it comes to both teaching techniques and classroom management. Well, maybe some do, but not the really effective teachers.

Back to School Night is next week and I think I'm more nervous about meeting parents than I was about the first day of school!

This next week should be a good one though. I have some fun stuff planned for my Sophomores (well, stuff I think is fun) and I'm feeling really good about my schedule for my 6th period Freshman. I owe them candy for behaving themselves for an entire week (best $25 I ever spent) and last week was hopefully a turning point for that class. We'll see, but I'm optimistic about the rest of the semester.

Once we start Romeo & Juliet with the Freshman I'll be teaching all 5 classes (plus I have a seminar class, TPAs to complete, and a Thesis to start/finish) so I'll be even busier. In a way I'm glad I'm taking all this on while the kids are young, but it's also sad to miss so much of the little everyday milestones.

Oh well, in the long run finishing my Masters and Credential will be what's best for this family so it's worth it.

And Bryan starts his core coursework soon (no more undergrad stuff!). He's got a 3.8 GPA right now and just finished Math. It will be really nice when we're both done with school and have time to spend it together - we really don't see each other much. We'll have to do something nice for our anniversary - 3 years! We've done quite a lot in three years ;)

Ok, time for bed. Must sleep while I can since I'm sure G-man will be up at least 3 times tonight.

Penny @ 21 months

So Kaiser wanted Poe to come in at 21 months for her 2 year check-up. Weird, but whatever.

She's 37 inches and 31.8 pounds - so about the size of an average 3 year old. Here are her growth charts:

Weight:


Height:


She meets and exceeds all of her milestones. She's got about 150 words and puts them together in two word sentences. She goes up and down stairs and is right on track motor-skills wise. I credit gymnastics with bringing her back to where she needs to be.

She didn't enjoy her appointment at all and clung on B the whole time (I wasn't there and I really missed being able to make all her appointments). We don't have to go back for another year!

Tooth!

Griffin got his first tooth today, the lower front tooth (stage left). I have a feeling its buddy will show up in the next few days.

I really dislike teething... but at least we have one down. Only 19 more to go :/

Sleep, sweet sleep

So Griffin is not really a fantastic sleeper. He power naps, and prefers to do so ON you, which isn't always possible. His nights are getting better though, he now wakes up twice and then nurses from 5am-7:30am (on the weekends). During the week when I get out of bed at 5:30ish he's usually up by 6 or earlier.

Bryan and I are having a bit of a rough time adjusting to the new schedule. It would be oodles easier if G would just sleep until 7, but so far no dice. I'm hoping that eventually he'll learn to take better, longer naps, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

Luckily Pen is still an excellent napper - and night-time sleeper. So we'll count our blessings on that front.

G's sleep has also been wacky because he's so very close to getting his first tooth. The bottom left tooth should be making its grand appearance any day now.

Although since we still cosleep we get just as much sleep as we did with Penelope at this age. Well, Bryan gets more and I get about the same... At 5-ish months Poe was down to one bottle a night which Bryan would handle and then I'd wake up with her at 6:30ish. With G Bryan doesn't have to get up (although he usually wakes up since it's hard to ignore the fussing) and I just have to change him and then nurse. It's really not that bad. It would be wonderful if he went down to on waking a night, but I can handle what we have now.

Gotta go, G just woke up from another mini nap.