Another Sleep Post.

Hmmm, sleep. It always comes up and it's continuously a struggle. I'm not sure why it's such a hard thing to do, consistency is all that it takes and that seems to be the toughest part for each parent I've worked for.

It's funny that I'm trying to relax and not urge my views as much as usual, but it's frustrating too because Ivy is sick all. the. time. Over the twelve years I've nannied I've had quite the spam of families, parenting styles and children. There are universals but there are a lot of varieties. The majority of my kiddos have been pretty healthy though, three to five colds per year. I know the average is 11-13 but I always assume that takes into account daycare and it's a accepted fact that kids in daycare get more colds.

And I've tried imagining what 11-13 colds per year would look like. That is at least one cold per month. That means a week of incubation, a week of actively sick, a week of getting over it then a week off. Every month. And try as I might, I just couldn't imagine how it would look. But now I can. I see it clearly because this cycle has been my world for the last three to four months. Ivy keeps getting sick.

Unfortunately it is so much more than most of the kids I've cared for, but her daily sleep intake is less. I think these two things are directly related. Kids in daycare also sleep less, there's just less time for sleep, does this contribute? It definitely could.

Ivy sleeps from around 9pm until about 6am each night. That is nine hours. During the day she prefers less than three total, bringing her up to a big ol twelve hours of sleep per day - and she's ten months old! I know this is average and far from uncommon, but previously my charges were sleeping twelve full hours at night plus two to four hours during the day. Giving them almost sixteen hours of sleep each day - and only three to five colds per year!

When Ivy is sick, she sleeps even less. She doesn't nap at all for her parents on the weekends and is up a lot of the nights. I'd say this past weekend, over a sixty hour period, she slept 21.5 hours when I would have hoped she'd get at least 38 though the last kiddies would have done forty five.

I know that our society doesn't value sleep. That too much sleep is bad. That people fully believe kids sleep as much as they can. But I've also seen what consistency does. I've seen how during the week she can take a short nap and then an almost four hour nap. That on nights I've been doing the overnight she sleeps all night even if she's not 100%. And anything before 6am just isn't morning!

There isn't a quick solution here. There is a family figuring it out and a nanny offering support. And there is a little girl who is sicker every weekend than she is during the week.

Sleeping on Friday.

This week was filled with sleep drama. Ivy spent her Thanksgiving weekend up late and wasn't sure she wanted to get back to routine. 

Multiple nights found she and her parents up at 3am, listening to screaming and wearing densely packed bags under their eyes the next day - all three of them. Helena admitted that a great deal of it is Ivy testing them and we talked about compromises. Doing things that communicate to Ivy this is how we do things, while still parenting in a way that feels loving and nurturing - never sliding down that road of doing things they don't believe in that can later lead to guilt-parenting. 

With all of my heart I believe that parents should do what they believe in. But with just as much conviction I believe that children are very behavioral in their learning. If you bend one time, they are going to expect you to bend every. single. time. Consistency is key and regular sleep helps babies and children to grow. 

One of the SIDS reports out there states that babies who sleep in the room with their parents until six months old are less likely to die of SIDS. Ivy takes every nap in her crib, in her room. I leave the door open, cover her lightly and she naps - going to sleep and waking up on her own. every time. Every night Ivy sleeps in a travel crib next to Helena & Mitchell's bed. She gets overtired, cries and has a hard time going to sleep. But she does sleep, in the crib,almost every night. At least once or twice each week she "can"t" make it through the night or becomes inconsolable and sleeps in the swing. It isn't a perfect system, but it is a system that is working for everyone.

Until this week.

I think a lot of things have come into play here. The biggest being the return to routine after four days off. Another variable is Ivy's level of health. Now Ivy is a healthy girl, eats well, sleeps well, grows predictably, etc, but after a visit with a lot of extended family she generally gets a stuffy nose. I'm sure it gets worse at night, but during the day, awake or asleep, you can't really tell. So there's that. Then there's another biggie, Ivy is creeping up on six months old. She is an astute girl who generally seems pretty quick. Want an example?

During the day it's generally just Ivy and I here. If she's feeling challenging or fussy she whines or complains mildly in her crib. It almost always passes. Now, occasionally Helena stays home from work or leaves later in the day. On days when she is here, even if Ivy doesn't see her, if she is feeling challenging or fussy she coughs. Now if Mitchell is home, late day, working from home, etc, when Ivy feels challenging she cries. A lot. And - if this doesn't illustrate enough, I have one more. Twice each week the housekeeper is here. How Ivy knows this from her bed I don't know, but on these days, when she feels challenging or fussy she talks and laughs. Not kidding. Every. time. 

So, at night time, when she wants to play or have someone put her to sleep or snack or get a ride in the swing or just feels challenging or fussy she screams. She screams and screams and screams. And she stays up until after 9pm every night. Otherwise she'll scream. 

She's working it. Helena knows it. Mitchell knows it. Norah isn't even here and Norah knows it. 

Within the next two weeks Ivy is going to sleep overnight in her crib.

She's never done that.

We've never asked her to do that.

I wonder what she'll think about that?

Frustrating Ideas

Four days off work leaves plenty of time for surfing the web, relaxing at home and loads and loads of time to think, contemplate and assess my beliefs. This morning I've found focus and fuel for my thinking. A blogpost from a blog that my wife reads really caught my attention.

I'm sure you can guess the topic of conversation. One of my favorites, sleep. And there's not much surprise coming here - I completely disagree with the woman. She talks of the dangers of Ferber and sleep training because children are only children once. But I think that she's missing the point.

In an ideal situation no one would ever need to ferberize their kids. But using a cry-it-out method is the fastest and easiest way to correct negative habits that have been formed.

We've had one child in the past decade who slept perfectly and grew faster than a weed. She was massive and happy and unbelievably healthy. The day her mother returned from the hospital she handed her over and said, "I'm [40] too old for this." And that was it. The work day went from ten hours to twenty-two during that interaction. The two hours off were from 7am until 9am to sleep uninterrupted. But you know what? Feisty little Eleanor made known what she needed. Each little cue was met and responded to from day one. Around six weeks old her schedule seemed to take form and by three months old Eleanor was sleeping regularly, eating like a pack of wild mustangs and her growth was off the charts. She was happy, sociable and healthy. She slept all night long her her own bed every night and twice each day. She never cried it out one minute that entire time.

Now I hear the skeptics out there. I can quote them,
"Temperaments are different."
"Children are different."
"She was a unique case."

And my response?
THAT'S TRUE.
Temperaments ARE different.
Children ARE different.
Eleanor IS unique.

But you know what? There are consistencies across the differences. That is why a person who is good with children is generally good with EVERY child they meet. Despite their differences. Because along with differences come similarities. These same ideas work with potty-learning as well.

That's what I have today. Now back to work. I need to get things done!

210th post!

Tomatoes are doing well.

Jackson is having sleep issues that we are working on. He's waking in the night, not every night but 4 out of 7. He doesn't cry, just plays then goes back to sleep. The problem is, it's breaking his deep sleep and shortening his sleep cycles. This is shortening the amount of time his growth hormone releases or cutting it off almost entirely. Very bad news for our little Jacky. Luckily Sara is the one leading the crusade for better nighttime sleep. I'm very, very happy about this as many days I feel like the Sleep-Obsessor. She's been reading the Ferber book and thinks that he is in bed too long at night. I'm not sure that I agree with this theory but respect the work Ferber has done, one of my previous employers actually worked with Ferber for a few years in his sleep clinic, many of my previous parents have used his book as a guide to establishing consistent and healthy sleep habits, and I am willing to endorse Sara's suggestion based on Ferber's work for the greater good.

Our world it is a-changin'.

Starting this week bedtime will begin to move later. Ten continuous hours of sleep are better than twelve broken ones or two chunk of 5-6 hours. We will slowly move both tomatoes to an eight o'clock bedtime, from their current bedtime of 6:45-7:15 pm. In addition Sara and Roger will move the bedtime bottle earlier, something we've been talking about for awhile and they've been occasionally working on, giving Jackson his bottle before bath opposed to after. To make this entire transition easier and better for everyone we will begin FAMILY DINNERS.

Family dinners are an important part of childhood and family development. Taking time each day to sit together and socialize has an infinite amount of benefits, most of which are beyond what I can cover here. Sara, Roger and I have been talking about the benefits of family dinners since my interview before the babies left the NICU. Because they return from work later in the evening the exact date we began family dinners has been up in the air. With the institution of a later bedtime there is no reason not to begin immediately.

So, I'm giving up my desire to have a nice twelve hours in bed every night for the betterment of their family bonding, growth and better quality sleep, we hope. I don't do this lightly but Sara and I talked together and we both see the other's perspective and best needs of the tomatoes being at the forefront.

I have much more to tell, maybe later today or tomorrow.
Happy Tuesday bloggers and readers.

Snowy Springtime?

It is amazing how fast things can snowball in a babies' world. Yesterday we enjoyed the beautiful Spring weather for nearly two hours, went down for a slightly later nap and ended up with only 45 minutes each. I waited a bit to go in, as I always do, and when things had quieted down I took my opportunity. Unfortunately Tabitha may have been about to go back to sleep, but I didn't know this before going in. Had she snoozed some more Jackson may have followed her lead and gotten a bit too.

They were tired, obviously, having only slept 45 the entire afternoon. We kept it low-key and I informed Sara of the details stressing that they'd probably be ready for bed sooner rather than later. Generally Roger and Sara have about an hour window during which the time they put the tomatoes down varies. I was suggesting that after so much fresh air and so little afternoon napping they'd enjoy the earlier time.

Of course what do I know.

Roger and sara kept them up later than usual and surprisingly enough they woke up earlier than usual, crying. Jackson and Tabitha never wake in the morning crying, not since they were a couple months old. They had very little sleep on Sunday and have gradually been inching closer to normal as the week has gone on. Maybe catching up a bit, but still behind on what keeps them at their best.

You see where this is going?
They are clingy and exhausted today. Jackson doesn't want to eat. Tabitha only wants to be held. It isn't pretty or fun to listen to. Thankfully during the day I set the schedule and they took a nice morning nap. Not too long ago I put them down early for their afternoon nap and they fell asleep right away.

I'm hoping to stop this snowball before it becomes Frosty.

Back to Your Regularly Scheduled Programming

Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate each of your comments. 

Norah says; 

okay, so the question really is... what part does SHE not like? I'm sure I know what part you don't like... but you can only offer advice if there's part that she doesn't like... know what I mean?

My answer has come in the form of my day. A real post and solution rolled into one. 

We've had a horrible napping day today. Two 45ers, yep, do the math, that's four over tired naps. Today they tag-teamed the short, over-tired naps. I know I've said it before 

here, here and here. But it's worth mentioning again, babies that wake at 45 minutes are overtired. It's hard to believe, after today, good gravy, I know. They seem to have too much energy but it's that last ditch effort, the need to give it your all.

I guess a positive spin would be, the more of a fight they put up the more gumption, determination and endurance they possess. If I were a parent and my baby were putting me through the 45-minute-ringer that's what I'd tell myself. 

Anyhow, it has been a very long day. I wanted to go out for a walk after the first short-nap, but it was snowing. After the second one I knew they were so tired we'd all make each other crazy if we stayed in. Of course at this point I wanted to just wait it out, it was almost the end of my day, I'd remembered what I was wearing, light-summer-weight pants, big heavy boots and a tee shirt, and really didn't want to wrestle them into their snowsuits and the stroller.

But I am tough!

Tabitha cried continuously until she was in the stroller. That doesn't sound too bad, but from her bed to the stroller was awful! First a new diaper, then sweater, hat, mittens, snowsuit, down the stairs, dress Jackson, who was spitting up every three to seven seconds, diaper, sweater, mittens, hat, snowsuit, downstairs, (carrying them both together is such a workout now), my coat, hat and boots, down more stairs, set up stroller (remember Tabitha is crying and Jackson keeps needing his face [hat, snowsuit, mittens, etc] wiped), open bundle-mes, finally, insert Tabitha. Crying stops. Buckle Jackson, down more stairs, (man they are heavy!), my gloves on and we're walking. But I was freezing!

After a short walk we do it all in reverse, have a bottle [x2], burp and try the napping thing again. After a few protests both are sleeping and I'm using my few minutes of peace to eat m&ms and blog. Maybe I should breathe before we head into dinner, although after this nap we should be pretty relaxed for the last hour of my day. Then Roger and Sara will be new faces, arms and cuddles (not to mention evening the odds and giving them a 1:1 ratio) and new energy until Jackson and Tabitha get to go to bed. Tomorrow is a new day.

Reflux Theory.

Alright, I'm not going to make any friends with this post, but so far, despite any efforts on my part, I've made few friends with my opinions. This blog is not for anyone else. It is for me. To chronical my days, help me make better sense of my experiences and if it can help others BONUS. If it make you angry then it is your choice not to read it. 

Reflux.

Over the last five years I've encountered 500x more reflux than I did during my first five years of nannying. This makes sense as reflux cases are on the rise. There are literally more cases of reflux now than there were ten years ago. 

Right now, I'm taking care of twins, Jackson and Tabitha. Both born at 25 weeks, both the same size at birth and both adorable. Only one has reflux. Jackson spits a lot.  Tabitha spits the normal amount but it never affects her eating, attitude or growth. Jackson is smaller because of the amount that comes back out. He has trouble with some feedings and at time refuses to eat at all. 

This was also the case with Madison and Addison. Little Miss Madison is tiny, she spit a lot and ate significantly less. Food was always an issue with her, bottles were a struggle and weight gain was slow.

Before them there were another set of twins, just like Jackson and Tabitha, where the little guy had pretty bad reflux. A set of identical twins that also had tough reflux without the weight gain issues. And a sibling pair, not twins, Ethan and Ava who both seemed to suffer from reflux.

Of course after seven children with reflux issues, all different gestations, locations, different people, I've seen similarities. I see one particular stereotype with Jackson regularly. I've verbalized this to Roger and Sara to be poo-poo'd and have it forgotten/disregarded. Yesterday though, it was pretty blatant.

The more tired Jackson becomes, the more he spits. I've noticed this on many occasions. Roger believes the spitting comes from quantity, position, activity, excitement, many other things, but that it isn't predictable and/or avoidable. Because Roger is Jackson's father, we get to go with his theories first, always. Fine. I'm a rather patient person.

About a month ago, Jackson was spitting quite a bit. He was also overtired and having trouble sleeping regular, long periods. But don't think about that, his numbers were up. For me he was taking 220 - 240 mL. Roger decided, convinced Sara, this was the problem. They told me to cut Jackson off at 200 mL. Above that was just too much for him. I did and the spitting continued. Because my theory was just that, we continued limiting Jackson's bottles to 200 mL. After two weeks he visited the pediatrician who said that he wasn't getting enough total volume for the day. We needed to increase his over-all quantity. Sara thought about it and decided the only way we could do that would be to let him eat as much as he wanted at each bottle. About a week ago I was allowed to increase his per bottle volume again.

Surprisingly enough, his spitting didn't increase. But on the nights it was huge, he was really tired. Now, the original decision to limit his volume was based on this late evening spitting. Just a side note. There were no large spits during the day when he was well-rested. 

Alright, now you have the background.

Yesterday Jackson decided that I needed to know when he was ready for bed. Apparently I hadn't been responsive enough on his schedule. After his breakfast he played for a few minutes then let out this terrible screaming-cry. It was awful! I told him it was too early for bed and tried to distract him. He wasn't having it. After almost five minutes of trying, I gave up. This cry was truly awful. I took him to bed. He was asleep within seconds and slept for almost two hours, rather unheard of for this morning nap. 

He woke up, hung out, played, got annoyed, but didn't use that painful cry again. He ate his lunch, played more and BAM! there it was again! So, so awful. I looked at the clock, figured this was late enough and put him to bed. Exactly as before, he snuggled in and went to sleep immediately without complaint. 

He slept another two hors and forty five minutes! While a long nap isn't out of the ordinary for my tomatoes, two long naps, right after each other, are. Jackson woke up happy, relaxed and calm. We had a great time playing. He ate and played for another fifty minutes. 

Of course after two amazing naps he was hungry. He took 240 mL twice, also unheard of for our little dude. But no spits. Even dry burps. I'm not sure if you know anyone with reflux, but dry burps and spit-free post bottle sessions are pretty rare. Then, at five o'clock, he did the screamy-cry. It was so bad! But it was five, too late for a nap. I told him, apologized, but I couldn't put him to bed, it was too late. 

Then, it happened. And happened. And happened. He spit and spit and spit. He'd eaten an hour before and hadn't spit at all, but as soon as he'd become over tired, he started spitting. The spitting continued the rest of the night, well, it had lessened just before I left, but it's likely it continued after I left. He took a bath and fell asleep almost immediately. He was so tired.

Ethan, my other little guy with terrible reflux, never slept. Seriously. This little boy broke his leg as a young toddler and spends most of his life sick. He never sleeps. His diet was outstanding but his growth slow and stunted. He was breastfed well into his first year, actually he was closer to two when his mom weaned him, and fed on demand. But he had the worst case of reflux. Then his sister, also breastfed, had trouble with reflux too. 

From my experience, reflux increases as sleep decreases. As the number of average reflux cases has increased the average amount of sleep has decreased. 

Obviously just having a good sleeper doesn't keep your kid from having reflux, but my best sleepers have had the least trouble with reflux. Sleep increases their growth potential, increases mental health and stability, improves their appetites, refreshes and rejuvenates their bodies, improves and increases their attention spans and brain power plus allows their bodies time to just be, what's wrong with just trying?

Monday, oh yes, it was Monday.

Monday for sure. Morning naps were crap but both tomatoes were ADORABLE today. They grew over the weekend, you can't imagine how long they both are, how agile Tabitha is, social Jackson has become or how huge her cheeks are! Roger wasn't feeling well so he didn't go to work. Norah had the day off because of MLK day (another blogger's excellent post here) so she joined me. And the five of us spent the day closed inside against the frigid New England weather. 

Big news in our world is Tabitha's rolling over. She now does it as soon as you put her to bed and then cannot get to sleep, although over the weekend she napped 45 minutes and then literally turned over and couldn't get back to sleep. Once she's over she can't get back, but, as Roger and Sara have learned the hard way, turning her back just annoys her and starts the screaming frustration. Sara actually asked for the bumpers to be extended from two-sided to three-sided and Norah offered to make it happen. The top of each crib faces the other so that they can see each other. This end was kept open while the other three sides are now bumper protected, before the two sides along the walls were bumped but no others.

Having Norah at work with me affects things differently then one would expect. She actually avoids coming as much as she can because of the way it affects me. I am terrible but I jump on the opportunity to get as much done as possible. I love the extra set of hands and don't stop during the entire time she's there. Every few hours she gets me to sit and eat, because she cooks, but other than that she barely sees me.

Thus no daytime blogging. None. Too busy.

Today Norah took pictures of he tomatoes (although I did get at least a hundred this morning while she changed the crib bumpers).  She helped me with each feeding and switched the laundry, not to mention all of the playing, singing and fun she had with the babies. I have to tell you, I warned Roger and Sara that it could happen, it's happened. Jackson is smitten with Norah. I don't know what it is, all of my boys adore her. Addison was the same. we'd take out the kids and he was glued to Norah. They love her and now Jackson does too.

Despite the tiny morning nap, damn 45 minutes anyway, playtime, feedings and afternoon naps were beautiful. Plus I organized and accomplished so much! Aside from regular Monday activities, laundry, sheets, formula, bottles, etc, I made squash! Sara thought she'd get to it over the weekend, but I wasn't holding my breathe. No big deal, but I've made most of their food o far. It's hard for new parents to make time for each other, themselves,  snuggling, playing, interacting, feeding, napping and making food. Not to mention a food you've never cooked for yourself. Right? Not an issue. Tomorrow, squash day 1. I also made apples, carrots, avocado, peas and a few vegetable mixes. My babies eat well!

It was a very, very good and productive day (which is most of what made it SO good!). This week we have our next round of RSV shots and weigh ins, fingers crossed we're doing as well as we think we are. 

_______________________________________________

Okay, whether or not you've noticed, I try to blog each day that I work, but not more than once. And today I was tagged. So this post is a bit longer than expected. Tagging follows... 

_______________________________________________

I have been tagged by Carolyn at Ramblings of the Other Mother. So here it goes....


First, The Rules:

1) Link to the person that tagged you.
2) Post the rules on your blog.
3) Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4) Tag at least three people at the end of your post and link to their blogs.
5) Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6) Let the fun begin!

1. I love, Love, LOVE to be busy and productive (surprising I know).
2. Working with a single, first-born baby is so much harder than taking care of infant twins.
3. I've worked for four doctors, my wife has worked for five.
4. (this might ruffle a few feathers) Having a puppy was so much tougher than taking care of babies; a) babies wear diapers, b) babies don't have teeth right away - especially not sharp puppy-teeth, c) babies can't hurt other people when you first get them, d) you can bring a baby anywhere and carrying it makes things better, e) babies don't need endless amount of exercise and biscuits to get them to listen.
5. (if you didn't like four, you won't like five either) Puppies and babies are so similar; a) both need more sleep than people think they do, b) limits benefit both in building relationships and developing their senses of self, trust and comfort, c) they both need constant supervision, d) neither know what they need so you need to be confident and consistent in what you do, e) both are smarter than they look, f) babies and puppies learn really fast - this is good and bad for us as caregivers
6. I love my dog but nothing can compare to time spent with a baby. I'm so glad we got him well before we considered having a baby (we're not close yet, but considering it).

I will tag...
1. This Melbourne Nanny
2. BabyBlueprint
3. uterus x 2

 pic 

Walking & Talking

It was beautiful here today, all the way in the mid-forties! We had to get out for a walk! Despite Jackson's lack of nap and the amazing tummy-time that was occurring I hauled both of them downstairs, folded them into their coats, grabbed their hats and my coat, and headed outside. Mr Sleepy protested his hat venomously. He wanted me to get the stroller in motion and continue until he'd had his fill of stroller sleep. With warm ears we all enjoyed our walk.

Aside from the weather today's best news focused on laughter. This evening, instead of our regular sling-nap, I was helping an evening babysitter get them to bed and didn't see keeping them up late for her, for their parents is fine, but for a babysitter? nope. As I was saying, this evening I was playing with them, talking, reading, just enjoying some social time together, and I had them both laughing! They don't really laugh much, chuckle and smile but not laugh, unless you tickle them. Then on the rare occasion they have each giggled. But tonight, without ticking or actually touching them, I had them each laughing! It was AWESOME!

In less exciting news, I talked with Roger and Sara about Mondays and Tuesdays. It wasn't a planned thing and I didn't expect to do so. But when I arrived and Tabitha was having a terrible time getting back to sleep I just couldn't help myself. Par for the course, Sara was attentive and open to my suggestions. Roger was defensive and tried to convince me that they need less sleep and maybe they aren't sleeping because they aren't tired. Not long into the conversation he excused himself to get ready for work. I explained to Sara that this is as east as it gets for setting routines and expectations. They sleep through the night and can't really do anything yet. No rolling over. No pulling up. No words. Offering that I'm cognizant of how hard it is to hear them fuss and/or cry and that it must be 100x harder as their parents. But letting her know that in a few months typical cries can turn into pleading with specific names or titles. It will get so much tougher.

She mulled this over, paraphrased what I was getting at and asked,
"It gets harder if we don't figure this out. But if we can figure it out, it will get easier?"
She was so hopeful. And right on target.
"Absolutely."
It can and will get easier, if we can be consistent and show them what we expect, enjoy and love.

Solids

This past weekend brought Jackson and Tabitha's introduction to solid foods. Both the pediatrician and the GI encouraged Roger and Sara to begin solids. Being new parents with that new-parent-need-for-firsts, kind of like that new-car-smell but it lasts longer, they were jumping out of their pants to get started. Okay, not really but pretty close.

They asked me about which cereal to buy. Personally I think it's all pretty much the same and parents choose based on availability, cost or organic content. I told them this, told them which fell under each category and waited for more questions. None followed. They returned from work with a large box of rice cereal, the kind that falls under the easiest to find or availability category.

Before I left on Friday, they asked about actually giving the babies the cereal. I explained that there is a recipe on the box for their first time. For time of day I suggested earlier in the day because they tend to be more tolerant, have more energy and there's more time left in the day if they do it for the 10am or breakfast feeding. When to do it in regards to the bottle also came up. As with time of day and type of cereal, this is an individual choice, based on babies preferences as well as parents or caregivers. Some infants eat their solids and then refuse their 'milk.' Caregivers for these children switch the solids to after the milk to keep their milk intake constant, later their can be another switch when families are ready to wean off bottles. I suggested they do half the bottle, offer some food because Tabitha can get very demanding and cranky when she's hungry, then offer the remainder of the bottle. Kind of a gentle introduction/best of both worlds suggestion.

On Saturday Roger and Sara put together the highchairs. Then Jackson and Tabitha had their first taste of cereal from a spoon. Roger and Sara took pictures and sent one of each to me just after the tomatoes ate. Aren't they thoughtful?!

Both tomatoes were interested but didn't take very much. Again on Sunday they had cereal before the 10am bottle. Roger and Sara said their quantities weren't affected at all because they ate such a small amount of cereal. Although they both seemed to enjoy it.

After packing this morning Auntie Laverne and Auntie Shirley were thrilled to be the ones to feed Jackson and Tabitha their cereal. I probably made it just a tiny bit thicker than Roger and Sara had, based on the positive response they said there had been. Auntie Laverne seemed to be having a much easier time with Jackson than Auntie Shirley was having with Tabitha. I encouraged them to trade, for pictures of course, and was able to reinforce Auntie Shirley at the appropriate moments until she and Jackson reached a rhythm that worked for both of them. Both babies (and aunties!) finished the two tablespoons I offered them. It was nicely done and the aunties took the tomatoes upstairs for bottles. Neither ate as much as usual but both did fine. I'm looking forward to my opportunity to feed them tomorrow.

Their sleep is still off, but I didn't hear of Tabitha starting any late night parties over the weekend. I'll ask specifically this evening when I reinforce and compliment Roger and Sara on taking their big outing of the weekend AFTER Jackson and Tabitha's big nap - rather than DURING. If this could be the norm you'd hear from a much happier Samara on Mondays and Tuesdays!