Baby C: 7 weeks

Baby C is 7 weeks old today. I can hardly believe it. The last month and half is a complete blur. My brain is still foggy from lack of sleep. I just can't believe so much time has passed!

Baby C is a sweetheart. She is my first baby who has not mixed up her days and nights. I REALLY appreciate this! haha! She isn't in a strict routine, but I've noticed she does tend to do some things at the same time of day. For example, she is awake every evening for about 3 hours, usually from 7 pm to 10 pm. She falls asleep between 10 and 11 pm and wakes up around 3 am to eat...then sleeps until 6 or 7. Not bad...not bad at all! I'm looking forward to when she sleeps longer (and goes to bed earlier), but I really can't complain because she has NEVER kept me up past midnight. I feel so lucky!

The girls have adjusted fairly well to having a new baby sister. Miss L loves to hold her. Miss A likes to get in her face and show her toys. Miss R likes to get on top of her and say "HI" in a really high-pitched voice. :) Miss R has started getting in to everything to get attention. It has been pretty tough. I've said it before, but I'll say it again. I really was insane for planning to have two kids 17 months apart. I don't know what I was thinking!!!! :)

That said, we are so glad to have Baby C in our home. She is a sweetie! She is starting to smile (sort of a half-way smile) and I can't wait to see her face light up with a big one!

P.S. As a side note, I was chosen as a product tester for a new baby bathtub. It looks awesome. I'll be posting a review on this blog, so keep an eye out for it! :)

Consequences

Ugh. The older my kids get, the harder it is to parent. I've been struggling lately with giving my kids appropriate consequences for their inappropriate behavior. Generally speaking, I try to give consequences that makes sense. For example, if the kid spills something, they clean it up. But it's not always that cut and dry.

The consequences I've given have varied greatly. Here are some we've tried:

1. time out in the corner

2. time out in their room

3. spankings

4. hot sauce in their mouth

5. chores (cleaning the living room, etc)

6. taking away toys

The problem is that I'm a softy--at times. I mean, you have to pick your battles. Otherwise I would be reprimanding ALL DAY LONG! Plus punishing your kids often means you are punishing yourself because if you take away something they like, you have taken away their entertainment. That means you have to not only listen to the whining, but find something else to entertain them. I swear it's more agonizing for me than for them.

Don't get me wrong. I have good kids. They are just your typical kids. They get sassy at times. They whine. They even hit and push each other. They're just kids. Is it really possible to get rid of this behavior, or is this just part of growing up? I feel like a broken record. I mean, how many times will I have to say, "Don't jump on the couch" before they finally GET IT????

So what have you found as an effective means of punishment? Because so far, I pretty much stink at this part of parenting.

For the Grandparents

I've had some requests for more pictures of C...from grandparents of course! Here are some recent pictures. Isn't she cute? We love her, love her, love her!!!

She LOVES her baths, especially with the running water on her head. :) She completely relaxes in her baby bathtub. So cute!

Arizona

I am so excited about this post. G was recently offered a fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, AZ! He'll be specializing in Musculoskeletal Radiology. We won't be going there until June/July 2011, but I am so excited to know the final piece of our medical training puzzle!!! :)

I have heard great things about Arizona. I'm not worried about the heat. I grew up in the Central Valley of CA, so I know how to live in 100+ heat. I am a little worried about snakes and scorpions, but I guess it's no different than dealing with black widows here in Sacramento. :) I'm told Scottsdale is a great place to live. I have never been to Arizona, so I'm a little nervous about going somewhere new. But I know it will work out. After all, it's only for a year. I can do anything for a year. :)

We still don't know where we want to settle after fellowship (when G is finally a "real" radiologist). But at least we have 7.5 years done, only 2.5 years left, and we know the ending point. YEAH!!!!

Happy Halloween

The Balancing Act

C is 2 weeks old today. I have had help of some kind since the day she was born, so I still don't feel like I've started "real life" with four kids. But I have noticed that it is going to be quite the balancing act...I'm not quite sure how I'm going to do it. My biggest concern is making sure that each of my children feel loved and important. I've noticed that has become more difficult as they've gotten older, because each child wants to be loved in a different way and has different needs.

I have had a pretty easy recovery this time around. I feel pretty good...actually, I feel a little energetic. Is there such thing as post-pardum nesting? :) I feel the need to tackle all of the organizing and cleaning projects that have been shoved aside for the last 9 months. Today I re-arranged the furniture. Yesterday I sorted through G's desk (it took almost the entire day). Next on the list--clean out the fridge. :) Of course, I'm only able to get all of this done because my Mom took L and A home with her for three days. :) I'm sure once I have all four girls on my own, my outlook and energy level will be quite different.

But for now, things are looking good. :)

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