Leah, Scott, Elijah and Keira: Stay at Home Mom Returns

Despite the hot weather, for our family summer is officially over. Scottie went back to work yesterday. Boo hoo! :( But, we've had a great summer. We were so fortunate that he had the summer off with us right after Keira was born. Planning paid off. Even though I'm sad that he had to go back, our new routine will begin. I'll get back into MOMS club activities, story time at the library and playing at the park.

Obviously, now everything's much trickier with two. I think my main concern at the moment is occupying Eli constructively while Keira needs me. Her schedule is still in flux, as I'm sure it'll be for a while now, but there are some patterns. She seems to be outgrowing her witching hour, to a point. She does fairly well as long as I put her down to sleep at about 7:45, but then she doesn't truly settle until almost 10:00. She wakes up and needs to be resettled about four times between 8:00 and 10:00. I think it's the legacy of her witching hour. Then, once she's up in the morning, she seems to want to be up for about an hour and then go to sleep for about an hour. That is the tricky part of her schedule for me at home alone... what do I do with Eli each hour to an hour and a half while I'm putting her down? We have to find him some quiet, independent activities he can do. So far the last few days and when I tried it this summer, with a few exceptions, he's been wonderful. He either plays in his room, or the front room quietly by himself. Or does a quiet activity near us. When he does need me and comes in the room, he whispers.

Of course, I wrote the prior portion yesterday, and today was markedly stickier. I'm sure we'll have our ups and downs as we establish our new routine. Hopefully, I can stay sane through it all. Here are some pictures of some of my coping strategies so far.

Eli loves his books, and loves to look at and "read" his books by himself. His radio has added another dimension to his book enjoyment. Scott added Dr. Seuss recordings to his radio, and he loves them. We found them on iTunes. At first he didn't like the recordings much since they are read so fast and there is no indicator that tells him when to turn the page. But, now he knows all the stories well enough that he loves the recording. Yesterday, he borrowed Daddy's earphones, listened and sat on the bed with Keira and I while I was putting her down. These taped books also come in handy on long walks in the stroller. I get my exercise and Eli gets his books.

Thank God for the Baby Bjorn! It has been my lifesaver every day that I've had the kids for any amount of time by myself. If Keira's getting fussy, she settles down. Additionally, it leaves my hands free. I even cooked most of our dinner the other night while she was in it. For the first two months, she happily snoozed away in the sling. But, now that she's bigger and can keep her head up she seems to prefer the Baby Bjorn. That way she can still look around and be part of the action. It also gives Eli and I more flexibility. She's still taking a TON of naps, between 4-5 each day, and since she sleeps in the Baby Bjorn, we don't have to be house bound. She's slept in it at the book store, in our yard while Eli is playing outside, on countless walks, and even this morning at our playgroup.

Finally, here's some pictures of a possible future coping strategy -- the play place. Eli loved his play place when he was little. Although, I think I may have been a little premature bringing it out for Keira. Interestingly, Eli played with it for a long time the other day, while I was cleaning it off. I think it was a much bigger hit for him, not the intended result, but fun nonetheless.