One Whole Month?????

Are you kidding me? Libby is already a month old? I cannot believe it! Where in the world does time go? You always hear about how fast kids grow up, but never really understand how true it is until it is your own kids.

This past month with Libby has been so great. As I said in the past, I was a little worried about how I would juggle having three children, but I think that it has not been anywhere near as hard as I thought! Not that I have it all down pat or anything, but it really isn't that much different - for now! Haha - ask me that again when Libby starts crawling and walking! I may change my tune then!

Actually, one reason I think that it has been a bit easier than expected is because I am a "Schedule Mom." (hehe - I just made that term up myself!) I am a FIRM believer in schedules - pretty much from one week old and on. I believe that children should basically get up, nap, eat, bath, and have bedtime at pretty much the same time every day. I believe that for several reasons, really.

One reason is for the child. There is security in the fact that they will know what to expect. For instance, my kids know that after their bath, Leila drinks her cup of milk, then we brush their teeth, and then it is bedtime. They go through this routine, no questions asked. Actually, Matt and I made up the "phrase" "bath bum bottle brush bed" as the 5 "b's" of bedtime! (FYI - the "bum" stands for getting dressed after their bath - in case you wondered!). But this helps them in not having any surprises which can lead to a tantrum or something.

Another reason I believe in schedules has nothing to do with the children, but with mommy! I don't know of any mommy who is superwoman - who has endless amounts of energy and patience! So a schedule helps her stay sane - not always having to drop everything she is doing in order to have lunch whenever the child wants it - for example. A schedule helps mommy know that, on a hard day, she just needs to make it until 8 p.m. that night, and then the kids will be in bed and the house will be quiet. I will admit that some days 8 cannot come soon enough!

But schedules also allow planning trips and outings and appointments much easier. So there you have it. My reasons for why I get my kids on a schedule as soon as possible. Some of you may be thinking about the book Babywise right now. That is the base for how I get my kids on their schedules, but I do not follow it to a "t". I change some stuff that I find works for us. But, it really works and because of that - the kids sleeping habits are very good. Liam was sleeping through the night by the time he was 9 weeks old. Leila was a little harder to get on a schedule because she is a bit stubborn, but we had her sleeping through the night (by this I mean 8-10 hours!) at 3 months. And now it seems Libby is looking to follow in the footsteps of her brother. She consistently sleep 5 1/2 hours at night (from about 11:00 - 4:30a.m.) which is just great. So I am hoping that she continues this and keeps adding on.

Libby seems like she is growing like a weed. We weighed her the other day, and she was just about 9 lbs. She has grown at least 1/2 an inch (as of two weeks ago at the dr.) which bring her to 22 inches. She looks all around now that he eyesight is getting clearer, and she loves to look at her Daddy. She smiled for real while Matt was chatting with her last week. She gives the biggest smiles - so cute! So far, she seems to be MUCH calmer than Leila - which is good news for us. ;-) She doesn't cry too much, and her "fussy time" is maybe only 5 mins in the the evening. She is such a sweetheart! Liam and Leila just really love her!

Leila is a regular fireball. She is learning that she can express her will, and express it she is! We are definitely entering the "terrible twos" and she is learning to obey, to not scream, and to not be a pest to her brother, which she loves to do. Liam tends to be a loner when he plays. He is quite content to lay on the floor in his room and play with his cars or trains. But she loves to come terrorize him. Silly girl! She definitely tries our patience! When she is doing something wrong, and I look at her to correct her, she will look back at me with her cutest face and say in her sweetest voice, "Hi, mommy. Hi!" It is too cute, but doesn't get her out of trouble!

Liam is in the question stage. He is asking questions about EVERYTHING! Like, when we are in the car, he will point at stuff and ask, "Mommy, whats that?" He asks me to read the titles of books and such to him. He loves to play Mario Kart on the Wii, and is actually getting quite good at it! He still loves to sing and will often be singing songs he makes up himself. He adores his little sister, and is always wanting to hold her, hug her, kiss her, and hold her hand. He always needs to know where she is, and for some reason always wants to know where both her hands are (as if they can get misplaced!). :-)

So here we are, one month in to being a family of 5 and are loving it. Libby is such a sweet baby and it is hard to remember what it was like before we had her with us. WE love her so much and am enjoying out kids at this young, fun age.