Adam

Adam is an amazing dad. The kids just adore him. Now that they are talking more, I often get asked when Daddy is coming home. Or if I say "maybe later" to something, the next thing out of Eden's mouth is "When Daddy comes home." (Which I think, besides Adam being awesome, the phenomenon is compounded by the fact that I am somewhat limited in my ability to do a lot of physical play with them these days.)

He is also a fabulous husband. It is not easy to have a very pregnant, overdue wife who has been experiencing labor symptoms for 3 weeks now. But yet, he is constantly telling me to sit down, to rest, to put my feet up. He is always offering to do house work (or just going ahead and doing it.) All of this on top of his full time job and having to commute to work 45-minute each way.

I can't express how thankful I am for him, and still don't know how I got so lucky and so blessed to be able to spend my life with him.

Addendum...

Of course the night after I sit down to tell you all of the whoa's of bedtime, things go totally differently.

Last night the kids pretty much got themselves to sleep. They were able to co-exist in their room while they wound down. Granted, we put them to bed late, and it still took an hour. But I only went in once! When we went in to check on them before bed, this is how we found them:

We had figured it would only be a matter of time before they fell asleep in the same bed. But with all of Eden's fussing about not wanting her brother in her bed, I started to wonder if we were wrong. Notice, of course, that it is Eden who has tucked herself nicely into her brother's bed, leaving Sebastien to curl up in a corner.

But seriously - how adorable is this?!

Big Kid Beds

We had such a nice thing going. Not even a month ago, Sebastien and Eden were still in cribs. We had an awesome bedtime routine. Naps and bedtime were a breeze. Seriously, so low maintenance. And bedtime was 7:00. So by 7:30, Adam and I could have an evening.

Around the 10th of July (right before the kids' second birthday) we moved them to big kid beds and a new room. In some ways it went better than we expected. For example, from night one, once they fell asleep they were asleep all night. (Except the night before their birthday when Sebastien fell out of bed and got a fat lip.)

I had been putting off writing this blog because I expected that, like with most of their transitions, if I waited just a week or two, I would be able to write this update with some perspective. A happy ending, if you will. "Yeah, it was tough in the beginning, but now..."

Unfortunately we have not reached our "...but now."

Here's the issue. They are two years old. And there are two of them in one room. So of course, you can go through the routine, do the stuff they need to settle into bed, but then you leave. The door shuts, they pop up and they have this whole room and they have access to each other. So they play and they run around and they go bonkers. So, when things seem to be getting out of control, we go back in, settle them back down. But again, that door closes behind us and up they pop.

Ok, fine, right? Just let them run off their steam and eventually they'll fall asleep. Even if it's on the floor. I would agree.

Except.

Except that usually one of them (Eden) is ready to sleep before the other (Bash.) And that one (Eden) likes her space and her quiet. So inevitably when the other (Bash) does what had been previously acceptable to the one (Eden) - jump in her bed, talk to her, play with her toys - the one (Eden) has a fit. ("Noooo Bashy" "Daddy/Mommy HELP Bashy!" "Bashy get DOWN!" etc. with some hitting probably. Face it, she's two, and we're still learning not to hit and push.) Then the other (Bash) is hurt (not as much physically as emotionally) and he has a fit too. (A nonverbal fit in his case, just crying hard.)

So we have two very unhappy, sleepy children.

Solution? Once we reach the point where we can tell one is ready to actually sleep, we sit in the room. Yes, we sit in between their beds to keep them apart so that they can fall asleep.

Do you have a better solution? Because if you do, we are all ears. Bedtime has become very time consuming. We've had a few good nights, where they have been able to fall asleep without us physically present. But most nights and most naps, we sit there.

I have a feeling that the better solution is "give it time." We will. It's really fine, and I know they will learn. I just don't want them to unlearn all of the good self-soothing sleep stuff that they used to do like pro's because now they have mom and dad right there while they drift off to sleep.

Dedicated to Baby Girl - AKA Baby C

This pregnancy is so different from my last one. One of the biggest differences is the amount of spare time and energy I have. Eden and Sebastien were my first pregnancy, and they were a miracle pregnancy that came after a very long wait. Not only that, but I spent almost 13 weeks on bed rest and in the hospital. I was ordered to do nothing but sit and try to keep those babies in me as long as possible.

So I thought about them a lot. I read books and articles about twins, about pregnancy and childbirth, about newborns, about bed rest...anything you can think of. I registered for baby stuff, I was thrown showers, I spent endless hours online (mostly on Etsy) looking for cute little things for their room. I blogged. :)

Now here I am, another miracle pregnancy (not such a long wait.) But no bed rest (thankfully!) and with two 2-year-olds who have continued to take up a lot of my time and energy. Oh, I've faithfully kept my "What to Expect" book on my night stand. And I've even picked it up here and there. I've taken my favorite newborn guide book "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer" off the shelf... but I haven't cracked it open yet. I've perused Etsy once or twice...

Just this past weekend, having finally moved Sebastien's stuff to his new dresser in his new room, I began to fill Baby C's drawers with newborn clothes. I found myself tearing up. I was looking at all this tiny little stuff, and honestly, I can't describe the feeling other than that my heart was completely full. She was moving around like crazy inside of me (as usual) and it was like this little private moment that we were sharing.

So, no, I have not spent hours on end dreaming and thinking and planning. But I know her. And wow, do I love this little girl. I cannot wait to meet her, to introduce her to her daddy and her brother and her sister, not to mention her grandparents and aunts, uncles and cousins - all the people who are anxiously awaiting her arrival along with us. So they can all know what I can already feel - this is one amazing little girl who will have a special and unique place in our family. A perfect gift from God.

Here's a picture from the ultrasound we had last week. They estimated that she weighed about 6 lbs 5 oz. They also estimate that babies gain about 1/2 a pound per week at the end, so potentially she could put on two more pounds before she makes her appearance.