Overripe Tomatoes

The tomatoes are feeling rough today. They had a long night and each hit temps over 101 degrees. They are sleepy, full and working on lowering their fevers. Jackson is down to 99, great because he hit 100 before Tabitha yesterday and Tabitha is closing in on 100. They've both had Tylen0l and hopefully sleep well.

Until this morning they were both eating well and taking regular naps, despite the temperatures and shot soreness. Then Jackson decided he was too tired to eat and only took 120mL for breakfast. I hope he wakes hungry and eats a better lunch. Five shots is a lot for any baby to handle. One of their shots was for flu prevention. It is likely the one causing so much trouble. A baby has to have two flu shots the first time, 30 days apart. They won't give a baby under six months old the flu shot. While my kiddies are [just] six months old [actual] they are a lot younger than most six month olds because they missed three months. I'm not sure their little bodies are handling it very well. When we first met with the pediatrician he said he wasn't sure they should have it at six months. I was surprised when he scheduled it for yesterday.

Six Month Pediatrician Visit

Charts!! I made charts because Jackson and Tabitha are doing so well! The dark line that archs across most percentile charts is the 50th percentile. Tabitha is just above it and Jackson is just below.

Jackson and Tabitha had their 6 month well-baby visits this morning. They did great jobs according toRoger and Sara. Jackson was Mr Smiles and Tabitha really enjoyed the glucose her pediatrician shared, lucky Tabitha. They have both grown and each had five shots!! Those poor little thighs!

Above are their weight for length charts based on US babies under three years. We could look at age to weight, age to length, etc, but none o it matters because they were three months early. Thus we're comparing their weight to height ratios. I'll try to pull up a comparison to other kids their age or you can just go here.

Now, specifics; both babies are six months old,
Tabitha is 24 3/4" long & 14lb 10oz.
She gained 13oz in two weeks and grew 3/4" in one month.
Jackson is 24 1/4" long & 12lb 14oz.
He gained 14oz in two weeks and grew 1 1/4" in one month.

28November2007

Today has been a tad exhausting, but good. Jackson and Tabitha are really improving their strength, stamina and enjoyment of/during tummy time. It is very exciting and makes me proud of our effort.

Jackson's eating has really improved for me. Today's bottles were 220mL and 210mL! We still have snack to go, but I'm feeling good about it. And Tabitha seems to have found a balance. She isn't just eating everything she's offered which I think is very good.

Tomorrow morning they are off to be weighed, checked out and vaccinated. Lucky little tomatoes, I hope it isn't too bad.

I'll post tomorrow and let you know about weights, lengths and everything.

Farm Animals, except Tiger

Realized this morning that I have a bit of a nickname problem. Jackson and Tabitha have been nicknamed the tomatoes. Madison and Addison were the chickens, I'm not sure where all of these farm nicknames come from, it's never been the case before that there are such similarities although there have always been nicknames.

Jackson seems to be doing well with the new medicine. He's definitely eating more for his parents but there's still a big discrepancy between their amounts and mine. Yesterday we did 215mL, 210mL and 200mL (I helped with the bedtime bottle and he slept through snack). Today we did 205mL, 200mL and 70mL (snack). Aside from his increase in spit ups, frequency not volume, he's doing great from my perspective. On Thursday he'll go to his pediatrician and be weighed, the real test is weight gain. Pray he's had some.

Tabitha eats like a champ. Today I introduced her to the idea of eating in an upright position. Eating is something she loves and she's less than enthusiastic about sitting upright. She did a pretty good job. She didn't freak out and get annoyed at all. She did get tired quickly though. She lasted about 4-6 minutes, not terrible, actually pretty impressive for her as she tends to be a bit lazy when it comes to gross motor skills, whereas her brother is a lazy eater.

Socially Jackson is amazing. He chats and jabbers like crazy. Tabitha is a bit quieter but will return smiles with huge smiles of her own. Jackson initiates smiles and contemplates you a bit before returning them. They are both great with eye contact, tracking and response to sound.

Since the PT (physical therapist) came I've been trying to increase the frequency of tummy time. We're up to a minimum of three times each, per day. Yesterday we hit five opportunities and today there were for chances for tummy time. Duration s still a huge challenge. A four minute stretch is worth cheering about. More often than not each attempt is 1-3 minutes max. They are both getting stronger and I'm very proud of them.

The big news for today though - I think Tabitha chuckled yesterday! Just once, short, but perfectly adorable and awesome! I was tickling her on her chest, below her chin but not under it. She was so adorable! And - as if this wasn't enough - she passed a toy from her left hand to her right hand!! She was lying on her back and the toy was attached to the gymini above her head but with enough links to hang to the floor, and she put two hands on it then passed it!! Go Tabitha!! She tried to do it the other direction, right to left, but couldn't get it, dropped it on her chest then picked it up with the other hand. This is huge for us!!

Back to Work

Today I'm back to work after a lovely Thanksgiving vacation. It was such a lovely weekend I wasn't sure I wanted to return to work this morning. We had family to our house, saw Irving Berlin's White Christmas, went to church, made our Advent wreath and bought our Christmas tree. Really, really great weekend.

On Friday the GI told Roger and Sara to putJackson on pr.losec 2xday, no more Z@nt@c, and myl@nt@ the bottles that he isn't having pr.losec. They are going back for a follow up next week. This week they'll visit the pediatrician for more shots.

Had the talk this morning with Roger and Sara. They'd finally talked about winter between the two of them and were ready to talk about their ideas with me. Silly, silly conversation, as if I've never taken care of a baby in the New England cold before. Hello! I've been doing it for nearly seven years whereas they've lived here for almost four?! So exhausting! We're on a trial period until Christmas and then we'll see how things are going again.

Tomatoes are hungry - later!

EI & GI

Yesterday we had our first snow of the season. It was dense and beautiful. Sadly it turned to rainy-slush later and we had absolutely no accumulation. I'm hoping for loads of beautiful, dry snow this season. I love it's beautiful white winterness and the way it blankets the city. When it's really packed in and you have to drive very slow I love how it feels like we're all driving on carpet. It's as if we're closer to one-another, sharing this weird inside-like driving experience.

Because it was the tomatoes first ever snow experience I tried to show them what it looked like coming down through the window. Later, while they napped, I made paper snowflakes and we had a photoshoot in the afternoon. Not too bad for a first attempt.

In real news, EI (Early Intervention) came this morning. Our regular gal brought a physical therapist with her to evaluate the babies. Tabitha does this back arch thing that was a bit concerning. She's also strongly against tummy time and trails behind her brother in the gross motor department. PT (Physical Therapist) said that Tabitha looks great. She isn't in the same place as Jackson but there's no need to worry. She's developing along a normal continuum and doing great. She needs more opportunities to play on the floor and as much tummy time as we can give her. We'd started using the jumpy as another form of core conditioning. I thought it could give them a place to work on their core muscles that was different from the floor. But the PT says we should wait because it puts weight on their hips before they are ready for it. So it's floor, floor, floor from here on out!

We talked about specifics, this helps me get an idea. Right now we are doing three minutes of tummy time at least once a day. PT says we should make putting them down on their tummies our default. If they need to turn over, fine, but ALWAYS start on tummy. And I should aim for three 3min tummy time sessions each day. Working up to longer than three minutes as soon as possible. Okay! We can do this! Being on their backs on the floor is helpful as well. So bye-bye babyholders!

As far as feeding is concerned, Jackson is off with Roger and Sara at the GI specialist right now. I'll know more when they return. But the behavioral side, from my perspective, is improving. Yesterday he finished all three bottles I offered him. One was actually offered by Norah and even though it wasn't me, he had no trouble at all. He seems to be doing well for me and okay for Roger and Sara. I'm assuming the GI will put him on another medicine because he won't find anything. So far he's only on Z@nt@c, it is the first course of action for babies with reflux. It also has the least side effects. I think the next step is to add pr.losec, I think. This is stronger and could possibly effect his development. We'll see how it goes. Last time he was in to the GI, a different one, they did an ultrasound and lots of tests. At least they'll have a baseline for comparison.

We're hosting Thanksgiving at our house tomorrow and I'm off Friday. You'll have to wait until Monday for the GI outcome unless I get some bonus free time this afternoon. I'm not imaging that I will because Jackson is going to come home exhausted, with Roger and Sara here he'll need lots of extra help to get any sleep at all once he's home. And I don't think he finished this bottle for them so add hunger and frustration and you've got one busy Samara! Roger and Sara also planned to revisit this going outside in the winter discussion so posting today seems very, very unlikely.

Looking for feedback

Talked with Roger and Sara last night. Stressful and stalemated. Not interested in going into that now. I'm actually looking for some feedback today. Norah thinks I should consider writing a book. She asked me to make a list of twelve topics or chapter headings that I think would be important to include. I've made a list and I'd really appreciate your feedback.
1. sleep
2. play
3. awake periods
4. routines
5. stimulation
6. hygene
7. schedule
8. development
9. photography/documentation
10. germs
11. walks/outdoors
12. eating

Why am I a nanny?

Nannying is something I generally enjoy. I love babies and children. Working with parents can be challenging. Keeping busy, time management, daytime flexibility, independent thought, guidence, direction, getting a lot done in a short period, these are all enjoyable for me and things my job includes on a daily basis. It also includes meltdowns, making formula and changing dirty diapers. The good with the bad I really, really like being a nanny. I have been doing this for nearly a decade, I have met wonderful people and learned something from nearly every family I've worked with. During this decade there have been ups and downs and more than sixty children between Noarh and me. Of those sixty we had a dozen in our wedding two years ago, that was one of the major highs of being a nanny. Leaving a position because mom had gotten so used to my being there that when I was gone the baby nearly suffocated was one of the extreme lows.

In every position there are good days and bad days. This is true with life. Not every day can be fun, easy and great. But it seems that with my current position I'm having more bad days, with Roger and Sara, than good. I'm wondering if this is a good fit. I find it very frustrating to be questioned at every turn, on the other hand I'm glad to see involved parents that think about what is going on with their children. Generally, I'm a tolerant and patient person. I've been very flexible with my ideas and willing to try theirs, despite their lack of experience, knowledge or forethought. In the end my ideas are the ones that work, but with each new situation comes this compromise period that is exhausting me on a regular basis it seems.

Today I feel like a teapot that just needs to whistle incessantly. I'm so frustrated.
I live in New England. It is November. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that it is probably cold outside. And likely going to get colder. It is only November. Traditionally November gets chilly but January, February and March are cold. It is 35 degrees outside. Chilly but not freezing. I was outside for forty minutes this morning for my commute.
Roger and Sara come from a warm climate. They have been here for four years. They know it gets cold here, their house it a bit ovenlike. Fine. I adapt. I had them buy nice warm fleece snowsuits for the tomatoes. They have hats and bundle-me's. So when Roger calls because he has been outside for ten minutes to say,
"Don't take the tomatoes out today."
My response is less than positive.*
*How about a little background here. These tomatoes are little, almost three months adjusted or actually almost six months. They enjoy their sleep and get cranky whe they don't get enough. During the day they can generally handle 1-1.5 hour awake times. While they can snooze in their stroller for 20 minutes they generally don't sleep longer than that in it. In the car they complain, not sleep. An average day they take three naps, #1:1.5-3hrs, #2: 2-3hrs, #3: 45m-1.5hrs. Yesterday Roger and Sara took them out for six hours! They broke it up; car, stroller, car, store. Maybe Jackson and Tabitha slept two hours total. Maybe. Meaning today they are going to be tired, cranky and have very low tolerance. Being here for ten hours I need the option to get out of the house. I say,
"Roger, that makes me very uncomfortable."
"I don't understand your response. I said don't take them out. That's it. End of story."
"Bye Roger."

It isn't as if I decided this summer, hey I think I'll try being a nanny. I have a brain, I make good decisions and my judgement is pretty sound. Micro-managing me is the last thing I want from Roger and Sara and I'm feeling very, very frustrated this morning.

TGIF

Synergis shots went fine this morning. Sadly Jackson has not gained any weight. Luckily he hasn't lost any either. According to the doctor [idiot] this can't possibly be behavioral and they need to take him to a GI doctor, again. He's been before and had lots of tests, x-rays and the works with no reported problems. It doesn't make sense that it can't possibly be behavioral yet it is worse depending on the feeder.

I think the doctor wanted to make Roger and Sara feel better. His job is more than measuring and weighing and giving kids shots, it's reassuring parents and helping them feel effective and nurtured when they need it. I took his remark personally and I shouldn't have. Because I did I found loads of studies, research and findings to support my opinion. I'm validated but I don't need to tell Roger and Sara, we'll get through this as we've gotten through each thing in the past.

Prematurity Awareness Month

November is Prematurity Awareness Month, the time of year when the March of Dimes brings special attention to the fight against premature births and other serious threats to infant health. Prematurity is the number one killer of newborns.

My tomatoes were especially premature and especially lucky. Most babies born as early as Jackson and Tabitha lead different lives, not lesser lives, different. They are just as special as the tomatoes and possibly more amazing. Here are a couple of my favorite preemies to watch grow and develop, aren't they most darling girls? And their parents are tough and adorable - a winning combination!

I blog to share with people my experiences as a nanny, not to represent preemies everywhere. All babies, families and situations are different. I blogged about Prematurity Awareness for that reason - to raise awareness.

LateNight and SnuggleNaps

Yesterday was a VERY long day.
It started with such possibility. The tomatoes slept until 10:45am, when I finally woke them. I seriously hate waking anyone, especially babies, I think sleep is so important. But they needed to wake up with enough hours left in the day to fit four more bottles in.

Jackson, with his feeding frustrations, does best when the bottles are evenly spaced. But with waking up so late they ate later, this put their next two bottles pretty close together. Let's add Sara being there hovering to take in every aspect of how I feed Jackson (she just wants it to get better and if she can learn something that might work, she's willing to put in the effort), both Jackson and Tabitha being exhausted because after sleeping in so late their morning nap was tiny equals Jackson's tolerance being very low and him eating a bit less than usual. But pretty good.

Then the housekeepers came late. Sara was home to take a nap and we were pretty much shoved out the door to take a walk. I'm not complaining about the walk, I LOVE walking. Our location lends to visual interest and diversity. But my babies were tired before we started. They snoozed on the walk but nothing more than a fifteen minute stretch each. By the time our evening snuggle-nap* rolled around they were toast!

Exhaustion and feeding Jackson do not mix. Given the choice this tomoato would choose sleep over food in a heartbeat. So his evening bottle, with Roger and Sara both hovering over my every breath (what can I say? They are trying.), didn't go as well as I would have liked. An ideal bottle for Jackson is 200mL/cc. In the evening he takes between 30-60mL/cc for Roger and Sara. Last night for me he took around 160mL/cc. So he did alright. I wish I could say that I'm steadfast and what I do always works, but I'm can't. I do my best and sometimes it's just not as good as I'd like.

I believe in sleep and encourage it like crazy, but babies need to eat. Jackson needs to eat. Tomorrow Jackson and Tabitha go to get their 1st RSV shots. They will weigh them and as long as Jackson is growing we don't need to worry.

*Snuggle-nap; evenings are tough for many babies. Some call this period the 'witching hour' and it generally falls between 4-9pm. No matter what they do during the day my babies are tired around 4:30pm but have a tough time falling asleep. Because Roger and Sara won't regularly put them to bed in the evening we cannot establish a catnap. Our compromise/balance for this is a sling-nap when I'm there and when Roger and Sara are home one holds Jackson while he naps and they let Tabitha fall asleep in the swing for a short nap. I put on the sling, add one baby at a time then rock in the rocking chair for 30 minutes to an hour. Ideally they both sleep, if not they benefit from the body contact, being close to each other, navigating tight space with their twin and calm relaxation. On really great days they both fall asleep early on and as I rock I doze with them. But it is just as nice when one of them just looks around and touches the other during sleep. There's no crying during this time and we all enjoy the snuggle.

Early to Bed

Tonight I'm staying late so that Roger and Sara can meet with some like-minded folks and do some filming. In preparation for my long day today I planned to get to bed early last night, really early. Norah and I rushed home and immediately started dinner.
As we were finishing I received a call from Roger, Jackson was refusing to eat again.
Sara was exhausted from trying.
Jackson and Tabitha were already in bed.
Roger's reason for calling was to see if anything, anything was different during Jackson's feeds during the day.
As I had told him before I left his house an hour earlier, Jackson had a great day. Ate wonderfully. He possibly had an even better time eating than previously. I didn't know what the problem was.
Roger continued, pushed, rephrased the same question, asked multiple times.
I repeated myself, tried to remain calm and not push, although he was pushing like crazy.
Finally, I told him that although I couldn't offer any insight into Jackson's feed, I suggested they not start the 9pm feeding cycle again. If Jackson didn't want to eat, then don't keep offering him food all night.
Of course this frustrated Roger and he basically said that they'd feed him if he wanted to eat.
I told him that if Jackson thinks he can make it until the next feed why would he invest himself in this bottle?
Roger tells me, for the second time in a month,
"Samara, I don't believe Jackson 'thinks' about anything. He's smart but not that smart."
Norah reminds me to breathe.
I star again,
"Roger, you can choose what you'd like to do, I'm not telling you that you need to starve Jackson. But I think this is behavioral and feeding him again tonight will encourage him t repeat this routine tomorrow night."
"Samara, I doubt this is behavioral. You and I both know all those behavioral ideas are good in theory but when it comes down to it we need to follow our baby."
"We do follow the babies. When Tabitha needs to eat, we feed her. We adjust what we offer them, but I believe it IS behavioral because he doesn't do it during the day. You've given him the option to eat, now let him sleep."
"I know he doesn't do it during the day. That suggests we are doing something wrong..."

Okay, stop. This was where I reassured him, told him that didn't have to be the case and that it could be a habit they've all formed together. Parents have such a tough time, there is so much uncertaintity and doubt. It is not my job to add to this. I want to guide them and build their confidence. Parenting isn't easy and I never lie to my parents, but telling them they are the problem, true or not, when they are feeling terrible, out of control and like they are losing hope, Never helped anyone. I will continue to encourage them in the direction that I know works. they will continue to hear my perspective and choose. In this we will find a balance that best benefits these babies.

After all of this Jackson decided to sleep all night. Roger and Sara would have rested and started over today but Miss Tabitha decided 1am was playtime. She, Roger and Sara were up until 4am. I'm not sure what all of this is about but my gut tells me both Jackson and Tabitha are very smart and they are testing Roger and Sara. We'll see how this all plays out. Tonight I'm putting them to bed.

Today's Public Blog-o-vision

Yesterday was a rather perfect day, as far as days go. The tomatoes napped beautifully, ate ideally and playtime was relaxed but fun. We took a nice long walk and met this wonderful older lady who told me all about her two adult sons. One's a surgon and the other a lawyer. She raised them alone and was very proud to talk about them. The especially nice part was that although she knew I wasn't their mother, she asked, she asked about their mother, remarked on how beautiful the babies were and told me that it is important work I'm doing. It was very kind of her and I appreciated it.

Today has been a little choppier as far as naps go but with such awesome naps yesterday they likely have extra energy today. I'm glad the rain has stopped and we'll get another nice walk later this afternoon.

In other news, I can't stop thinking about getting pregnant. I'm dying to get started and be on that road. I love kids, parenting and Norah so much. We make a great team and I want us to have our family for Christmas. Maybe by next Thanksgiving.

Today's post is brought to you by the number 5, the letter B, for baby of course!

Hooray!!! Back at work!

I couldn't help myself, I had to dress them extra matchy-matchy today. Aren't they sweet? You can't see them, but they really are.

I'm back at work today! I'm so happy!

Last night I was dancing around singing, I'm go-ing to work to-morrow. I'm go-ing to work to-morrow.

It is a good day. It is sunny and crisp and beautiful. I'm so glad to be back to work.

The tomatoes are good. Their hands and feet have really grown. I hope that means they will be tall and not be held back because they were so premature. Starting life at less than two pounds each, you continually wonder how they will grow and develop. How long will they play catch up. I know that they should be caught up by three years old, but they missed and entire trimester in the womb. That is a lot to miss.

Of course, being back to work after missing five days, two were the weekend, comes with consequences. Jackson is having a tough time eating and feels thinner. Very worrisome. And Sara says Tabitha isn't napping for very long at once. I'm not sure if Sara thinks this is a good thing or not. I'm definitely a supporter of longer deeper sleeps over shorter, lighter ones. I'll keep you posted as the week progresses. Right now Jackson is having trouble turning over at the 45 minute mark, tired little tomato!

Worth a thousand words...

Since I'm not working, groan, I have a bit of free time on my hands. I've used this [opportunity] to add to my blog. While I can't go back and remember exactly what I was feeling on each day, I do have dated photos to remind me. As they say, a photo is worth a thousand words, too bad I can't post pictures. You'd definitely enjoy them, everyone does!

Home Again

Tomorrow I'm staying home - AGAIN! I'm so bored and ready to be back at work! They want to play it safe though and wait until Monday. Oh my goodness!! I miss those tomatoes! Basel is cute, see above, and I love Norah, but working is what I do! I'm busy. I'm efficient. I get more done in two hours than most people get done all day, when I'm at work. But when I'm at home, forget it! Tomorrow I will be productive, even though I'm not headed to work. I'll go and get my flu shot. No choice on this one. Pediatrician says we all have to have flu shots for the tomatoes' sake. I'm the last one. Sara doesn't believe in them either but she went first, then Norah, then Roger and tomorrow me. Yick.

Hope everyone else's weeks have been better than mine. Enjoy Friday.

Home sick today

Yep, today I'm at home, sleeping like I'm being paid for it. Oh wait, I AM being paid for it! The tough part of that is "what if I'm not sick?" I have some early sickness symptoms but nothing big and full-fledged. On the other hand, what if I am sick and I have to miss more work? As much as I love to sleep in, I hate missing work. Honestly. I get really bored at home and I seriously miss those babies!

Preemies make it extra tough on parents as far as sick/not sik caregivers go. They have to make the call, should we risk my tiny bit of symptoms so that the parents can go to work or should we play it safe so that we know the babies stay healthy. Add to that twins infants that most parents aren't sure they could actually handle for the entire day by themselves and you have a definite conundrum. My last family ALWAYS risked it. Unless I was really sick, I came to work so Clover could go to work. [Stephen wouldn't consider staying home, are you kidding?!] Today is the first time this has been an issue. I called this morning and after some debate, seriously, Sara decided I should stay home and rest. Maybe it's nothing but let's be safe. Sara's babies were also born six weeks earlier than my last twins and were on the cusp of life or death at birth because they were so, so early. That also mean that they are older now than Madison and Addison were for their first winter. This means they have better immune systems. And they are much more hearty too. Madison and Addison were always smaller and more tender little chickens.

Speaking of my hearty little tomatoess, I miss them. But I'm exhausted so I'm going back to bed!

Old & New

The end of September brought our farewells to visiting family. Grandmommie had been here for three weeks and as a means of saying goodbye and capturing the moment I set up our first real photoshoot. There are a few great shots, three generational photos, Tabitha photos and Jackson photos. Out of the batch the favorite is a photo of Jackson and Tabitha together. They are cuddled close and relaxed just being babies.

On Friday of last week, the very beginning of November, I thought we'd try to get another shot of the two of them with a similar feel. There are a few cute shots but nothing truly outstanding. I'd love to show you these two photos compared to one another but as I've had some bad press (read: UPDATE) I can't share with you our sweet tomatoes cuddled together. But take my word - they are adorable!

Activity on the baby front continues as usual. Tummy time is still a battle as is getting Jackson to eat. I'm not sure whether he's formed a negative habit, acting out to get the extra attention it always brings or just really frustrated. If indeed it were the last we'd want to do whatever possible to help him figure this out. Although it is hard to believe that he's having an actual problem when his issues are terrible with his parents and not so bad with me. It could be that my experience feeding babies gives me more confidence, persistance, patience or ways of feeding him that allow us to have more successful bottles thus increasing our likelihood of having having better feeds more often creating a pattern of success. But maybe not. I really can't give you the hard and fast answer, this isn't a precise science. It would be nice if is were though.

The only other news around here is that Tabitha needs the next size of diapers. She's leaking frequently and has gotten a very random rash. It is along the legs and waist holes of the back of her diaper area. Not anywhere in the middle but where the elastic is too close against her skin. So missy Tabitha will be moving up to size three diapers - a far cry from the teeny premie diaper she had falling off of her bottom in the NICU. Grow baby grow!

As far as our world goes I'd say life is plugging along quite well. We'll get past this feeding issue and come into something new, and it will continue, us moving from one thing to the next until I'm reporting new words, steps and more adorable personalities, at which point it will continue still!

This week

Jackson is still having lots of trouble eating for Roger and Sara. He took about half his normal amount each day, if not less. It is very defeating for them and I'm not sure how to make it better. He doesn't seem to be having the same issues with me. During the day he eats whatever I offer him, no problem. But in the mornings and evenings he eats 1/3 or less of his bottle for Roger and Sara. I suggested to Roger that maybe Jackson prefers the snuggle and being put to sleep that they do. Which looks like this; he eats enough to take the edge off then he fusses/refuses to eat, they snuggle him, sing to him, rock him, do whatever it takes to calm him, which ends in him asleep on them nearly every time, and then the bottle is over. If he fusses/cries a little while later they will start the process completely over which means instead of a 7pm bedtime he's been going to sleep in his bed around 9-9:30pm lately. When I suggested this to dad he looked me square in the eyes and said, "Samara, he's smart, but he isn't THAT smart."

Yeah. Okay.

Tabitha is doing wonderfully. Eating at mealtimes, burping at the end of her bottle, and sleeping, for the most part, during naptimes. She's getting more demanding though which I find exhausting. Roger and Sara say they want the kids to be patient yet never give them any opportunities to learn patience. They themselves aren't exactly models of patient-people.

This week EI is coming with a Gross Motor Consultant. I'm not expecting that to go very well. These tomatoes don't do much. We play on the floor during the week as much as we can but during the evenings, their biggest awake stretch, and weekends they don't do much playing on the floor. Tabitha would much rather be held. But we'll get there eventually. I hope.

Exhausting weekend.