Keeping up with the Wears...

Today is day 2 of our 3-day potty training "boot camp." We're really committed to getting Benjamin trained before the long weekend is done...and so far, it's actually going pretty well. He had one accident yesterday and one accident today, which isn't bad - but he's still not telling us when he has to go and he's often resistant when we try to put him on the potty. Now that we've had two days with him in underwear, we really want him to stay in them, but we're not sure how daycare will feel about it when he goes on Tuesday given that I doubt he'll be "fully trained" by that point. Hopefully tomorrow goes well!

Otherwise, though, Benjamin is doing well. Him and I have had some good quality time this week at home as Matthew has been napping much better during the day, and this was a week when Benjamin was only at daycare two days.

Matthew is finally doing much much better! We had two or three pretty rough weeks, not much sleep and he wasn't eating very well, but this week he's been like a completely new baby. We actually ended up taking him to a doctor last week - and he sent us to the children's hospital to be examined - as Matthew was screaming for hours, completely inconsolaby. Eventually we found out it was a throat infection and we just had to let it run its course, but it eased our minds a little to find out what was going on.

He's been eating solids now for a few weeks and I think his tummy has started adjusting to them. He's had rice cereal, carrots, green beans, sweet potatoes, prunes and pears. He likes his cereal and his fruit, but I haven't found a veggie yet that he seems to actually like...though he has been tolerating them.

Not much new on the job front for David, though he is starting to get some interest. He's had one telephone interview for a position and we're hoping he'll hear about a second interview sometime this week. Please, everyone, fingers crossed! Oh, and he is working part-time for a friend's company doing tech support. It keeps him busy enough - but it's not something he wants to make into his career.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Until next time,

The Wears

Honestly, when I started writing on this blog again back at the beginning of August, I had really good intentions to do it on a regular basis. But of course, even the best laid plans sometimes fall by the wayside when there are kids involved - and that's exactly what has happened.

It has been quite a month!

Nana and Grandpa arrived a few days after our last update. It's nice that Benjamin no longer plays strange or shy with our extended families, as it makes the adjustment period go so much smoother when we have visitors. Grandpa and Benjamin quickly became fast friends and Matthew got used to being held by someone other than Mommy!

Unfortunately, the week Nana and Grandpa were here did not end up going as we expected it to. David went to work on the Tuesday morning, August 31, was handed a severance package and told that he was no longer needed by the company. This was a MAJOR blow in so many ways, and though it was not completely out of the blue, David was really shocked that it had come to this after almost 9 years of employment.

It was, however, a really great week for Nana and Grandpa to be around as it meant I could be a little bit more support for David, and Nana and Grandpa could help out a lot with the kids. David and I went out for an early anniversary dinner (thanks Mom and Dad!) as there's no way we'll be able to go out this Friday on our actual anniversary (5 years!).

Since then, David has been pounding the pavement, writing cover letters and resumes, and applying for everything he can. No bites yet, but he will be meeting with a recruiter soon that a friend of ours has introduced him to. Though we all like having him around the house more, we're anxious to have him working again.

One positive that has come out of this, though, is that David has enrolled at Mount Royal University to complete the Business Analysis Extension Certificate and will be working to certify as a professional Business Analyst. He'll be able to complete the first four courses between now and Christmas, and will complete the remaining courses over the next year or two. I know he's really excited about it, and I'm really happy for him.

The following weekend, before Nana and Grandpa went back home, we had Matthew's Baptism. Uncle Chris and Aunt Taryn flew in from Vancouver, great Aunt Carole and Kelley flew in from Ottawa, and Baba, Grandad, Uncle Trevor, Grandma Wear, and Uncle Brian Wear and Aunt Carol Wear all came down from Edmonton. Great Aunt Carole and my cousin Ken served as the godparents. We had a nice get-together at the house afterwards, and despite the poor weather, it was a really nice day and both boys were SO well behaved!

It was hard to see Nana and Grandpa leave at the beginning of September, but we've been keeping pretty busy since then. Matthew has been having a rough time for the past week or  two - we had a few nights in a row where he spent a good portion of the night screaming. He's refusing to eat well and seems pretty miserable. Finally, we've seen a couple of doctors as this has been really out of character for him. Now, he's taking medication for suspected reflux and finally, last night was a little bit better and he nursed/fed MUCH better today.

In the past week, we've also introduced him to some solids. He's had a bit of rice cereal twice, which he seemed to like, but it also bothered his stomach a little. He's also had prunes and last night, he had some carrots. It's so exciting introducing him to new things and watching his face for a reaction. He was weighed on the weekend and is just shy of 15 pounds, so he's still not large - but if the medication takes care of  the reflux then perhaps he'll start eating better and really begin to pack on the pounds (ounces!).

Benjamin is still doing really well. He's taking decent naps at home again and even the nights haven't been bad, though it still takes him a little while to settle down. He's cut two of his 2-year molars and I'm sure it won't be long until we see the molars poking through on top. He is still going to daycare part-time, but if David doesn't find a job fairly quickly there's a chance we'll pull Benjamin out of daycare completely for a few months.

And so, that's the kind of month it's been. Between David losing his job and the difficulties Matthew has been having eating and sleeping, we could really use some good news and good times for a change. Hopefully, the good times are just around the corner!

Until next time,

The Wears 

It's only Wednesday and I gotta say, it feels like it should be time for a weekend!

Matthew's appointment with our family doctor on the weekend was fine. She isn't necessarily worried about his weight as he looks quite healthy, but he has fallen a little bit below the 25th percentile for weight and at birth, he was just above it, so she wants to make sure we keep an eye on it.

Matthew is now getting three bottles a day and five (approx.) nursing sessions, so he is well on his way to being weaned completely. Benjamin wasn't fully weaned until he was nine months old, but Matthew doesn't seem to enjoy it nearly as much as his older brother did and I'm finding it completely exhausting trying to force him to nurse when he clearly isn't interested. It doesn't help that when his older brother is around, he is way too distracted to nurse efficiently or effectively. I figure by 6 months old (one month from today!), he'll likely be fully weaned, except maybe one nursing session first thing in the morning. He is still feeding every three hours around the clock...I'm pretty tired from continuing to feed him every night at 10 pm., 1 am, 4 am and then up for the day around 6 am with Benjamin.

Benjamin was home with us yesterday and refused to take a nap again. They say he's napping fine at daycare, so it's just at home with us that's proving difficult. If he could skip his nap and be happy and awake the rest of the day, it'd be fine - but when he doesn't nap, by 4 pm, he is miserable and it makes the dinner/bath/bed routine so much harder. He's at home tomorrow and Friday and I'll keep my fingers crossed that he naps, at least a little bit, both days  (but I'm not holding my breath!).

Nana and Grandpa arrive on Sunday night and will be here for just over a week - it'll be so nice for David and I to have some extra help around here, especially when David is at work and I've got Benjamin and Matthew. I'm sure Grandpa and Benjamin will tire each other out!

Until next time,

The Wears

So, Matthew had his four-month immunizations yesterday afternoon and he was a real trooper! The first needle didn't bother him at all, but he was definitely worked up about needles #2 and #3. But, he only cried for 30 seconds or so and wouldn't even nurse for comfort after they were done. He was a little fussier throughout the night, but all in all, they went pretty well. He was warm, though, this morning when he woke up so we've given him some baby Advil and will continue to do so as long as he seems warm or bothered by the needles.

The nurse weighed him as being 14 pounds 1 ounce and about 25 inches. He's stayed on the same growth curve since birth (between 10th and 25th percentile), which is good, but he still seems so small to me and he's such an erratic eater. He sees his regular doctor later today just for a little check up and we'll see what she has to say.

This morning we took the boys to a family event commemorating 125 years of the Calgary Fire Department. They had a bunch of fire engines and apparatus on display. Benjamin really seemed to enjoy seeing all the "big fire trucks."

Funny story about Benjamin...last weekend David did a few groceries. He told me he bought ice cream sandwiches. Well, when I looked at the box, I quickly realized he actually bought frozen "tofu" sandwiches - non-dairy dessert! Thankfully, Benjamin doesn't know the difference and has been enjoying his "Tofutti Cuties" as a treat all week. Ignorance is bliss.

Until next time,

The Wears

I'm afraid I'm going to be a bit of a Debbie Downer tonight as it has been a couple of very long, largely frustrating, days around here.

It was just Matthew and I yesterday, but his teeth seem to be bothering him again (or still?) and he was pretty fussy all day yesterday and didn't have a great night last night. Today, it was Matthew, Benjamin and I, and neither child was particularly cooperative.

Matthew cried and screamed for an hour this morning as I tried to put him down for his morning nap, which isn't usually a problem. I almost had him down at about the half-hour mark when Benjamin barged into the room demanding a hug. Cute, but I still wasn't impressed. I finally got Matthew down for a nap, but even then, it was only for 30 minutes and he woke up pretty unhappy and still tired.

Benjamin wouldn't nap this afternoon either. He was in his room for about an hour and a half, but still no nap. Eventually I took all of his stuffed animals away as a sort of punishment for misbehaving (he was moving his furniture around and playing instead of napping), but even that didn't convince him to lay down and go to sleep. During this process I was, however, able to get Matthew down, but again, it was just for 30 minutes.

Overall by the end of the day, both boys were pretty overtired and miserable. David is upstairs right now trying to get Matthew down for the night (I hear lots of whining), but Benjamin has been down for about a half hour (thank God!).

Benjamin is at daycare tomorrow and Matthew has an appointment for his four-month immunizations tomorrow afternoon. We also have a doctor's appointment for Matthew on Saturday afternoon with our regular family doctor, who is back from mat leave, to discuss some feeding difficulties I'm having with Matthew. Some days I swear he barely eats anything and I definitely don't think he has enough wet diapers a lot of days. I'm really interested to hear how much weight he's gained in the past few weeks - or, how little.

Until next time,

The Wears