Amelia is smiling and cooing the last few weeks and it has really brightened up my entire life. She doesn't smile as easily as her older sisters did, so when she does, it is like the best gift. Sometimes, she'll be fussy and I won't know exactly what is wrong, and all it ends up being is that she needs face time. Audrey did this too. Josie was always finding anything else to look at besides her boring parents.
Just today, I caught Amelia smiling at a toy on a bouncer. It was so adorable watching her light up with glee, even if she started fussing 30 seconds after the picture was taken because she was still hungry. More and more personality is coming, though, and we are all eating it up.
Speaking of exercise, yesterday (when it was beautiful outside) I put the big girls in the double stroller and wore Amelia in my Beco Butterfly II. I won this in a giveaway and hadn't worn it yet, so it took a while to actually get out the door. Amelia was not too happy about all of the commotion while I tried to figure out how to best wear her, but once we got going she fell asleep and slept hard. I need to remember that for the days when she won't take good naps (every other day it seems like lately). So, I walked for about 35 minutes total (adjusting Millie, pointing out objects, stopping at Grandma's for a bit, but I used the Map my Walk app so I had an idea of my actual walking time), which was only 1.35 miles, but I burned over 400 calories! How is this possible? I will tell you. The stroller is not a jogging stroller so it is a lot heavier and harder to push. The girls in it weigh at least 70 lbs between them. Amelia is a solid 12 or so on my chest. That is a lot of resistance! It definitely felt like a workout but was also enjoyable and the girls loved it (all three). I love being able to exercise while being with the girls, not trying to work around them. Our jogging stroller has flat tires, but I could also use that in the future. It would be a lot easier to push so would work great for longer distances.
That afternoon, while they napped hard, I got in another 20 minutes of Body Pump (can't wait for the next level which is longer and harder. The intro level is boring since I'm familiar with the program having done it at the Y years ago). All in all, a great day of exercise. Tonight, I did Body Flow, which was also only 20 minutes. I loved the stretching but it needs to be combined with something else. I only burned 95 calories and didn't feel physically fatigued at all.
We brought Amelia to the chiro again today, just as a follow up, but she definitely needed the adjustment again. Yesterday and today before the appointment, she was doing the same things like curling up more and resisting laying flat on her back. She also squirmed more and was way more fussy. After she was adjusted, she slept hard which was definitely needed since she hadn't slept great the last two days. I wouldn't say she's done a 180 since the appointment, but she's definitely more comfortable. It's so hard to know if she is truly feeling uncomfortable or in pain or if it is just the bewitching time of night when a lot of babies are fussy before bed. Hopefully it will be more obvious tomorrow. I'm not wishing away her newborn days, but it will be nice when she is a bit older and doesn't have these issues so common with babies under 12 weeks.
For those of you that have met Josie, you know how strong willed she can be. I was recommended the book the (New) Strong Willed Child by Dr. James Dobson and have been slowly working my way through it. I am so relieved to not feel crazy about this anymore. I always felt like she was strong willed, even as an infant, but felt like others thought I was just being over critical of her since she was our oldest. Let me assure you, she is strong willed! She's not the extreme, but she definitely challenges us and has her moments of extreme defiance (way more than Audrey ever has, who is much more compliant than strong willed).
After reading some of the suggestions, I put it to the test last Saturday and "went to battle" with her when she openly defied me by misbehaving at naptime. It wasn't fun (who wants to battle a 3 1/2 year old?) but I "won" the battle that day. I put "won" in quotes because that is the attitude I have to take to not give in or feel horrible guilt. She confirmed that I had done the right thing by her attitude and actions after she woke up and the next four days. She was so much more pleasant to be around, listened great, helped out whenever she could, and just generally acted sweetly to me and the rest of the family.
Then, today, she was back in the challenge mode and was pushing buttons all day long. I tried to figure out if it was something I did or something that was different, and the only thing I can think of is that with Millie fussing more and needing my attention, she saw an opportunity for shenanigans. Obviously that's not okay, and I had to crack down harder and stay diligent with her all day. Even at bedtime, she didn't fall asleep until almost 10:00, meaning she stayed up two hours later than bed time. Of course this means that Audrey also did, so tomorrow will be interesting. Great, all three girls are questionable tomorrow. Pray for me! :)
We are doing an Easter egg hunt and it is supposed to be pretty chilly. I'm hoping the kids will burn off energy, nap great, and wake up refreshed and happy. All three of them. My bets are on this not happening the way I'm hoping... but one can hope!
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