Our Mini Winnie: 17.5 Months Old // 4.5 Months Old

Cutting back on caffeine hasn't helped with Owen's sleeping habits. Quitting his naps in the swing and transitioning to a crib hasn't seemed to help much, either. I called his pediatrician in Madison for advice, and she pointed out something interesting - his height has been consistent on his growth charts, but his weight has dropped a few percentiles. This is a sign that he isn't getting enough milk from me, and it would make sense that he's constantly waking up in the middle of the night to eat. The poor guy is so hungry! Brad and I decided it would make sense to continue nursing but to also start supplementing with formula to make sure he's getting enough to eat. I tried introducing a bottle for the first time and it did not go well. Owen was not happy! He kept turning his head and screaming, refusing to take a bottle. I tried feeding him bottles of breastmilk, formula, and breastmilk mixed with formula, and he refused it every time. I realized it was the bottle he didn't like - not what was in it - and after 3 days of refusing bottles and insisting on nursing, I decided to stop nursing completely until he had no choice but to eat from a bottle. It only took 2 hours of him being hungry before he gave in and drank about 3 ounces from the bottle. We worked on it constantly for the next few days and he finally became a pro. I made the tough decision to stop nursing and only offered breastmilk from the bottle because he'd have a difficult time accepting a bottle after each nursing session. That definitely helped. Offering bottles, I was able to keep track of how much he was eating per day. The first full day of bottle feeding, he ate 45 ounces! I was shocked - that's SO MUCH FOOD for a 4-month-old! His sleep started to steadily improve, and he is now waking up every 3 hours to eat at night with an occasional 4-hour stretch. That doesn't sound like a lot, but after a month of waking up every 1.5-2 hours, it feels like a lot more sleep!

Owen has also gotten better about taking naps in the crib. When he was napping in the swing, I used to be able to put him in the swing while he was awake, turn it on, and he'd fall asleep quickly and sleep for 3 hours. Now I'm putting him in his crib, but I have the added responsibility of watching Laney, so I can't spend 30 minutes quietly rocking him to sleep in his bedroom every time he needs to take a nap. I decided we need to jump right into sleep training for his daytime naps, and I'll rock him to sleep only at bedtime and in the middle of the night. The first time I put him in his crib awake, he screamed so loudly that it sounded like he was being tortured, but he fell asleep after 15 minutes. The second time, he cried slightly less vigorously and fell asleep after 7 minutes. Not bad… The third time, he literally played with his hands quietly for 2 minutes and fell asleep without crying. I was shocked and so pleasantly surprised! What a champ! I never could have imagined him doing so well, so quickly. Since then, he has figured out the routine and either falls right asleep or gently cries for up to 5 or 6 minutes.

Laney and Owen are two peas in a pod. They make each other smile, but they also make each other cry. As soon as one of them starts crying, the other one's chin starts to quiver and the tears start rolling. I think they're concerned about each other. It's very sweet! It can also be unnerving at times. For example, if I'm driving somewhere and Owen starts crying in his carseat, Laney starts crying too. The louder he gets, the louder she gets (and vice versa). If he lets out a scream cry, she follows with her own scream cry until they're both belting out crying screams at the top of their lungs. Before you know it, they're both having complete meltdowns in their carseats and I'm just racing to get them home so they can both settle down. I keep telling myself that driving with both kids will get better in time!

So excited to be playing outside!