My goodness! It’s been almost two months since my last post. Things have been really chaotic in our lives for the past little while. I’ve missed being on here and sharing ideas and support with all of you, and hope that I get some time to post more regularly again. The trouble is that whenever Dumplin’ sees me on the phone, he immediately grabs it and tries to Facetime people on my contact list. It’s kinda awkward.
Anyways, we survived our epic two-week-long trip to the west coast for my sister’s wedding.
The flight there was rough with two babies under 1 years old, but the flight back to Toronto was a bit better. Things we learned about flying with our babies: we shouldn’t bother packing toys or books because they’re not interested in them at all (plastic cups and the seat neighbour’s magazines and legs are much more appealing), bring Lysol wipes because our babies will try to lick and chew the entertainment consoles, arrive waaay earlier to the airport because poopsplosions happen, and you don’t want to be rushed when you’re elbows deep in baby poo.
Dumplin’ had a REALLY HARD TIME adjusting to the 3 hour time difference. He basically cried the ENTIRE first night we were there plus part of the next day. It took him about 4 nights to fully adjust to Pacific Time. Mochi adjusted much quicker, I’m not sure if it’s because he was only 4 months old and not yet set in his routine or his own circadian rhythm. Dumplin’ falls apart when his days stray from his routine- being even 15 mins late for his bedtime bath results in huge sobs and meltdowns.
Too bad he’s had to sleep in 3 different and unfamiliar beds (and cities) in the past month and a half…. because yeah, we’ve pretty much been living like nomads since my last post.
While we were away on the westcoast, my in-laws did something really sweet and offered to rip up our carpet and finish our hardwood floors that were hiding underneath. Except that when they lifted the carpet up, the undermat was so melted and the wood was so water damaged (from the previous owners) that they couldn’t do much more than scrape off the undermat and call some professionals to sand it down and re-seal it. It ended up being a HUGE and expensive job. The company wouldn’t even guarantee that they could make it look right, commenting that this was the “worst condition that they had ever seen”. Anyways, a gigantic headache later, and our house is unliveable because of the toxic polyurethane fumes and the floors needing 3 weeks to harden. We basically couldn’t live in our house and had to squat in my in-laws house in Peterborough (2 hours away). Luckily, they left on a road trip and left us the house to ourselves. The babies adjusted well to staying there, and we did lots of calming things like walks around the neighbourhood and respecting their napping schedule. We had to go home for a bit to paint the walls so that we could install new trim around the house. Basically, every night since we have been back has been busy with getting the house back in order. All I want to do is sit my ass down on a couch and watch some Netflix. Oh- and Dumplin’ turns one in a week and we’re hosting a birthday party for him in our house that feels like a construction site because everything is out of place and there’s power tools and painting stuff everywhere. And the dust… ugh. Thankfully, I had the sense to keep the guest list as only family and super close friends, so it won’t be a big “to do”. On the bright side, our living room looks so much brighter with the new floors, painted walls, and trim. Freshly painted walls and refinished floors, sans trim:
Okay, enough complaining. Onto the babies…
They’re doing well. Dumplin’ is totally a toddler now. He’s his own person and is communicating that very well these days. He is able to sign some words (mostly relating to food) and he wants to do everything himself. He’s been throwing little tantrums when he doesn’t get what he wants or when we take something away from him for safety reasons. He suddenly hates his convertible car seat, and eats adult sized portions of protein at every meal. He points at what food items he wants after signing “more”, and loves playing with other kids. I wish we knew more people in our area with kids around his age because he seriously loves socializing.
Please ignore my rainy-day fashion and hungry bum:
Mochi is less of a blob now. He continues to be very vocal about what he wants (he is much more demanding than Dumplin’ ever was), and seems to want to do things that his brother does. We used to sit him in a high chair at the kitchen table to just be with us as the three of us ate, with toys on the tray in front of him. He used to sit quietly, but recently, he has started screaming in protest because everyone else is eating… except him. So on (Canadian) Thanksgiving night, I joked around that maybe he was hungry for prime rib, and so we gave him a bone to lick… and holy!!! A special kind of ravenous was unleashed! The little one is clearly ready for food:
So at two weeks short of six months old, Mochi has started eating a little bit of rice cereal at dinner time. Dumplin’s high chair is right beside Mochi’s, and keeps passing him his food off of his tray in an attempt to share. It’s super cute. Mochi pretty much idolizes his big bro, and wants to do everything he does. It’s painfully cute to watch.
Mochi’s first time in a swing:
In our new (to us) BOB stroller out for a crisp walk:
Oh, and Mochi’s been sleep trained now, though by the crying the past couple of nights, you wouldn’t think so.
The boys are sick right now, with Dumplin’ dripping snot out his nose and Mochi leaking gobs of gunk out of his eyes. It’s gross but interesting how the same illness is presenting in each baby. Last night they both were waking up and crying almost every hour. Nobody got any sleep, and we’re barely clinging on to our sanity today.
I’m also having major molar problems, and have been in agonizing pain for the past month or so, and have had a CT scan, consulted with my family doctor, three dentists, a periodontist, and tomorrow, an endodontist, and still no one can give me answers or relief. I’m basically on a liquid diet right now because chewing hurts so much. Imagine feeling like this PLUS being sleep deprived PLUS dealing with two babies under one years old…. pretty much hell. Thank goodness for their amazing snuggles.
There’s so much more to update you on, but I’m dying here, so I’ll save it for another post.
I hope you all are doing well.
Mama et Maman 