Happy Birthday, Mason!

Who's the pinata anyway?
We went to cousin Mason's 1st birthday party this weekend. He is the 2nd of the 5 boys all born to the family in the last year or so. We all had a buggy time (bugs was the theme) featuring "bug juice" limeade, ants on a log (celery, cream cheese and raisins), and a caterpillar cake. The girls had a blast plating with cousin Jake (6-months their senior) and others and got high on way too-much candy from the pinata. This resulted in no one sleeping during the 1.5 hour ride home, including Baby Brother who continues to refuse to embrace the carseat, crying the whole way back. Poor little man had a sweaty head once finally "rescued" when we got home. Will he ever learn?

The "Man of the Hour"

Saturday Morning Cartoons

This is how Saturdays should start out, right? Cartoons and cuddling for kids and coffee for mom...

Some Days You Have to Have a Sense of Humor

Indeed this day has to be recorded as does every first smile, cute sentence or ballet recital. And all for the sake of granting a wish for a train ride.

Most days, we drive along the freeway to school or Grandma's house right along the BART train track. Occasionally, the girls will ask if they can ride the train. Well, with not much of a schedule or agenda today, it was the perfect opportunity to do just that. I figured we could walk to the BART station an take a ride out to Grandma's house and a stroll through the local street faire as well. Daddy would come pick us up on his way to Mason's birthday party so it would be only a one-way trip. I figured the whole affair would take about an hour and a half.

So, we start out walking, with the girls in the double stroller and brother in the Ergo carrier, toward downtown to catch BART. Mid-way through the walk, it starts to drizzle so heavily that everyone was getting drenched. Fearing stuffy noses, we opted to take the street car the rest of the way - bonus train ride for the girls! The double stroller barely fits and it proves awkward to park the darned thing since they don't have a spaced carved out for strollers or wheelchairs. The elevator system also proved a hurdle. We were on the middle floor and each time the car came to our floor, it was full of bicycles or strollers either going to or from the BART platform. I finally resolved to get in going the other direction and wait it out when it came for us with only one stroller and enough room.

Since 9/11, BART has decided to close their bathrooms. Quite unfortunate when traveling with two pre-schoolers. Not 3-minutes into our 12-minute wait for the train, Ava needed to go pee-pee. I delve through the depths of the stroller and find a swimmy-diaper from last year and squeeze it on her. "Try to hold it, but if you can't wait, this will help," I assure her, unsure myself to trust the absorbency of a swim diaper. Note to self: stock pull-ups in the stroller, just in case. "Wow! That's quite an entourage you roll with," says a collegian approaching in a group of guys wearing UC Berkeley Rugby uniforms. I guess one woman juggling 2 chatty and constantly moving pre-schoolers and a baby strapped to her chest is quite a novel sight for someone who's primary concern is how to get to 9 o'clock classes after late night partying. I remember the days with envy...

Just after the doors close on our train, and in a voice loud enough for all to hear, Bettina notes that her "pee-pee is coming." Hurriedly, I get her off the upholstered seat and search for another swim diaper. Bonanza! Found a real Pull-up! One I can trust! I strip her, apologizing to the rugby team for the show, and feel relief that at least Tina's safe from wetting herself and the BART car. "OK, Tina, now you can let the pee-pee go. You're wearing a Pull-up and you won't get yourself wet. We will find a pee-pee chair when we get to Grandma's." I mistakenly believe that she is assured and try to make the train trip exciting for the girls again. About 3-stops later, Bettina starts dancing and begins to cry. "The pee-pee's coming, Mommy!" Although I assure her (and the other passengers nearby) she can go pee-pee in the Pull-up, she refuses and tries so darned hard to hold it until she can get to a bathroom. I know we have about 20-minutes left of the trip and it pains me to see her try to hold out since I know she's already in pain. The rest of the trip both girls can no longer be distracted by any thought other than the pee-pee chair and the pain they're in. Both are crying, Bettina on the ground at times, and I can do nothing. It's awful. Because I am powerless, the only thing I can think to do is laugh.

Finally, we get to Grandma's station. "Is there a pee-pee chair here?" asks Ava. "I don't know... we'll have to ask," I respond. Coming out of the elevator, I can see there are bathrooms as someone is coming out of the men's. The women's is occupied and I don't have the heart to tell them they have to wait, so we go to the men's. The hallway is too narrow for the stroller, so I direct them to go while I straddle the doorway. I have to dart in and out since they can't reach the paper or the soap dispenser and I don't want to leave the stroller unattended. Exasperated, but finally with happy kids, we leave the BART station and walk to Grandma's door. The trip in total takes 2.5 hours - a whole hour longer than I anticipated and they were so focused on their sad need to potty, I fear they didn't even remember the "fun" of the train. Two and a half hours by public transportation or 25-minutes by car? Now we understand why this is a "special" once-in-awhile event. And, I am reminded that you just have to remember to laugh at your circumstances every once and awhile.

Everything's Poopy!

The girls are at the developmental stage were silly is cool. And, nothing says silly better than poop. No matter what the topic, surely it will eventually become "poopy" and will result in true hysterics. This happens nearly every time we get into the car. The game has lost its appeal to me, but the laughter certainly is welcome!

Lullaby Time

The girls decided to play with baby brother while I made dinner. Sort of cute video of it... The little man is almost 3-months old, can you believe it?

Back to Ballet - and Activities..

This was a big week with all planned activities in full swing. Ballet class started this week - the tragedy, however, is that Miss Jenny left to open up her own ballet studio and won't be their teacher. Although the girls asked numerous questions about why she wasn't there, I'm sure they will be just fine with another teacher. The class is much smaller this time - only 2 others so far. Funny to think my kids make up 50% of the class. They are also enrolled in and started Tiny Tumblers (gymnastics) this week, and we're going to the pool at the gym where I attempt to give them swimming lessons. In college, I used to teach swim lessons during the summer. We'll see how far I can go before they refuse or get me in a choke hold screaming for me to let them go back to the stairs. Then I'll make the bold appointment with a "real" instructor. So far, Ava will kick and put her face in the water, but doesn't trust me outside of the safety of the stairs. Bettina will go out with me and kick and even blow bubbles, but if I try to hold away from my body or float her on her back, she flips out and climbs back for the choke-hold.

School is going well for both the girls. I just love their teacher and assistant. They will be making family collages next week and I'm interested in seeing how they turn out.

Little Big-Man Gets Around

Here is the smallest guest at our friends' wedding reception last weekend. This is the second of 4 weddings this year. What do you want to bet he's the smallest at them all??

Cabbage Cups - The Real Culprit...

Well, over the weekend, the tell-tale signs of thrush appeared in Alessandro's mouth. This explains why the cabbage cups weren't working!! Treating thrush is like chasing chickens - it's incredible what needs to happen to ensure it is treating both in the mother and the son!

Some great advise from my cousin's wife who battled this darned thing for 3 months!

1. Nystatin cream for my nipples, oral nystatin for him, and he didn't have the white in his mouth but did have a yeasty diaper rash so we used nystatin butt cream too. This worked the first time and had to be used for no less than 14 days
2. 10-14 days of 200mg of diflucan with a 400mg loading dose the first day. It was ok to take while nursing. I took this in conjunction with the nystatin. I had to ask for it as they don't like to give it unless the infection is really bad.
3. Over the counter Lotramin - you have to wash it off. I used a vinegar and water mix and sprayed it on my nipples and gently wiped it off and then let it air dry. I read to do that and that the vinegar helped to kill the fungus too? ....wether or not it helped I don't know. I did however learn that if I did that before I pumped it would curdle the milk in the bottle.... that was disturbing, I thought I was lactating chunks of stuff before I put the two and two together!
4. Gentian violet - this was my last hope before I gave up. It is supposed to be a really quick fix. You only need to do it once a day and for a max of 3 days. It is a deep purple dye and Rudy looked like the Hambergler from McDonalds for a day or so after I used it. I wish I would have done this from the start. You can get this without a prescription. Just ask at the pharmacy.
5. Sun bathe topless.....this was really hard to do since we live on a corner lot with really close neighbors so I would open a window that the sun was coming through..... a pharmacist told me that this was the best thing to do.... I also read that but again, it was really difficult for me to be topless in the window!
6. Plain yogurt with acadiphilis - I read this, you put it on your nipples...if anything it felt really good when they were burning! They also say to eat yogurt and/or take acadiphilis supplements.
7. All Purpose nipple ointment..... I did not try this but I heard it worked and read about it as well. It has to be made at a pharmacy and prescribed by your doctor.

If you do go get the nystatin don't start using the lotramin and then stop and use the nystatin. Only use one or the other...... I learned the hard way and that was one reason mine would not go away.
Here is a website my lactation consultant recommended to me. This page is about the Gentian violet, but if you do a search for nipple yeast on the main page there is a lot of great info. http://www.kellymom.com/newman/06gentian_violet.html

Back To School

Well, the girls are going back to school. We're three-times a week, now, and 5-hours instead of 3 per day. Plus, they have ballet class on Mondays after school and Tiny Tumblers (gymnastics) on Thursdays. We are also contemplating swim lessons, but are watching to see if we're not already over-programmed. The girls, however, are adjusting quite well. I was initially worried that, especially with all the sleep issues we've been having lately (skipping some naps and never ready for bet at a consistent hour - leaving bedtime also inconsistent and usually a battle - probably based on their inconsistent naps), and I thought with the more intense schedule might be disastrous. However, with the "nap/rest time" a part of their school schedule, it's actually helped us out at home.

So, we're dedicated to skipping naps now, and it's helped ensure that everyone is ready for bedtime, which is earlier that it was before. I had been fighting this big move since their nap/quiet time was necessary to ensure Baby Brother had a really good uninterrupted afternoon nap. However, I've found that I can still work one in for him provided the girls remain enthralled by a movie or TV or some other "quiet" activity. I'm sort of feeling guilty about allowing an hour or 90-minutes of more TV (they already get about 45-minutes in the morning while I make breakfast, get dressed and feed Baby Brother), however, if it allows us to run as smoothly as the last two days, I'm sure I'll learn to weave it in as a necessary evil.

So, yea! We've found a way to please everyone....we think.

Another "big girl" move that we're starting is wearing nighttime pull-ups instead of overnight diapers. I'd stuck with the diapers since, frankly, they hold more and we'd hardly ever get a leak. But, we're encouraging the girls to get up themselves in the middle of the night to go pee-pee in the toilet. We'll need to buy more night lights, but hopefully, it will cut down on some of the times Paul and I are awakened at night and will bring home the whole idea of keeping the pull-up dry in the morning. We started first with nap time and, with their consistent success, we're going for nighttime as well.

Cabbage Cups

I'll tell you, there are advantages and disadvantages to this whole messy process of lactation. For example, even though you have to change outfits more often than your toddlers, you can lazily feed your son with very little preparation. Mr. Alessandro has been such a greedy eater lately (growth spurt?) that I'm getting rubbed a bit raw and it's definitley uncomfortable. The advised solution: stuffing my bra with chilled cabbage. Sounds crazy, huh? We'll see how it works. In the meantime, we have a bunch of cabbage cups making the rounds between the fridge and me.

Alessandro - Stats and Development

Stats for Alessandro's Monthly Doctors Visits:
I used to do this every month after the girls' visits. Sort of started falling behind with the Little Man. Long story short, he's growing very well and is the cutest little button ever. He's got excellent neck control and has pretty much been strong in that regard since birth (something both Paul and I noticed right away). His sisters at his age were in the 5th percentile - granted, they were born a month earlier than he. But he's nearly 3/4 of a pound bigger now at 2-months than they were at 3 months. Little Bird (Ava) was only 9 lbs 7 oz at 3-months and Bettina, just over 11 lbs.

One Month Old (4 weeks):
Height: 21 3/4" (59%)
Weight: 9 lbs 11 oz (50%)
Head cir: 36 1/2 cm (30%)

Two Months Old (8-weeks):
Height: 23 1/2" (72%)
Weight: 11 lbs 12 oz (51%)
Head cir: 15 1/4" (50%)