Mommy Mondays: 23 Months

Weight: 30 lbs (+ 21 lbs, 12 oz) 

Height: 36" (+ 14") 
Head: 19" (from 18 months)

Sleep: Things started out so well this month!  Thatbaby started consistently sleeping through the night, or waking for moments and then going back to sleep.  And then things got REALLY bad.  Like waking up and screaming for 2 hours straight at night bad.  Like taking 2 hours to go to sleep at night, while screaming, bad.   We brought him into the doctor and discovered a double ear infection.  Which was probably the cause of the screaming.  And once he was on medication, the sleep went back to normal..for a week..before it started again.  Another trip to the doctor revealed that the ear infection had cleared up, and there was no good reason for the screaming at night, except maybe as a residual effect from the swollen and draining ear tubes.  And maybe bad dreams.  I was looking at the 23 month update from Thatkid (see - this blog is a really great resource...for me) and noticed we had a similar issue with him at the time, waking in the middle of the night crying and saying ow, having trouble getting back to sleep.   I thought he was having bad dreams back then too, because Thatkid is a sleep talker, and before he started crying he would usually yell out things like "stop" and "no wannie."  I'm hoping this is a short lived phase.

Eating: Thatbaby is still putting it away.  He developed a taste for mushrooms this month, which involves him running to the fridge yelling "sooms!" and looking for them.  He's also still a huge fan of fruit.

Best Moment: I was entertaining Thatbaby at baseball practice this month.  While the boys were playing in the outfield, we found a lonely tee sitting around, and Thatbaby decided to practice his swing.

Monthly Wisdom: I feel like this is my constant monthly wisdom, but you know your kid best.  You know what they need, and you know what is and isn't an appropriate way of dealing with them.  When Thatbaby first started the screaming at night, I was complaining to a friend who told me he was just doing it for attention, and we were giving him that attention.  I got really frustrated.  Because I knew this wasn't manipulation.  And while people are trying to help you with their unsolicited advice, they don't really know what your situation is without living it.  So if advice doesn't feel right, then don't take it.

Goals for the Upcoming Month:
- Work on Thatbaby's birthday party!
- Get the kids passports.  I keep saying we need to do this, but I keep not doing it.

Things Thatbaby is doing:
-  His current favorite phrase is "go away" (as in "go away mommmy!"  "go away snail!"  "go away napkin!")  He does it when he's mad at us, during those middle of the night screamfests, when he gets frustrated with something not going his way.
- He's still asking a million questions - "what's that?" "where going?"  "Where's dada?"  but once you answer him, he does the cutest, shortest "Oh."
- He's having real conversations with/about friends.  Conversations might not be the right word, but he's asking for them by name, telling them to do things like sit down, or come with him, etc.
- We've started doing yoga with him, and he follows really well!
- He sings along with songs on the radio.
- He demands to pick out his own clothes.  Mostly his tie-dye shirt.  He would wear that every day if he could.
- He started swim lessons again.  So far they're going better than last year.  Less crying at least.
- He's into the stacking toys and shape sorter.
- He's been playing pretend with anything that's cup shaped and calling it 'hot chocolate."  He blows on it and everything.  He will only share his hot chocolate with me.
- His favorite color is orange.