Year 1, Week 3

Well, the diaper rash just wouldn't stop so we ended up at the pediatrician.  Luckily the nurse didn't laugh me off the phone this time, particularly when I explained there were open sores and bleeding involved.  Here's what we think happened, based on the doctor's thoughts and our ideas.  We all had some questionable Mexican food one night.  Jim and I both had upset stomachs the next day, as did the boys.  While we recovered easily, their diaper rash sprouted a yeast infection.  No amount of butt paste, cream, or salve will get rid of that.  Once we started the anti-fungal treatments (per the doctor's recommendation) and got them on probiotics, there was an immediate improvement.  Today there's barely even a red mark on Alex and Zach is totally back to normal.

The boys have discovered the kitchen cabinets.  For the first couple of days they were happy just opening and closing the doors, but today Zach decided emptying it was also fun.  We moved all of our cleaning supplies to an upper cabinet, so there's nothing that could hurt them.  It's just a big mess if they pull out everything.  We'll have locks on the doors by the end of the week.  hehe  We bought them some little pots and pans, so they sit on the floor banging those while I prepare their food.  Alex likes to lick the mini spatula.

The boys have gone for a week without nursing at all.  I expected to be sore the first few days but really didn't have a problem.  Until now.  It's taken 6 days but OUCH!  Really body, you didn't get the message? I thought I was pretty clear on the whole milk production thing...  I tried the widely touted cabbage leaves remedy.  Other than smelling like cabbage, it hasn't done anything.  A hot shower message just made it worse.  I tried relieving a little of the pressure myself but failed miserably.  Desperate, I asked the boys for some help.  Zach was closest, so I grabbed him and put him in the nursing position.  He looked at me like "You've got to be kidding.  I don't know how to work this." and struggled to escape my clutches.  Meanwhile Alex saw what was up and was yelling, as if to say "PICK ME!!!  PICK ME!!!"  So I did.  He'd probably still be nursing if it was up to him.  There were many tears once he realized it was just a little snack.  It helped, though, at least for a little while.

Since they've been 99.99% breast feeding free for a week, I decided to go the next step and have them start sleeping in their cribs for naps.  Saying they were not happy would be an understatement.  There was much screaming and kicking the walls in anger.  They normally sleep anywhere from 2-4hrs a day in naps.  Today it was about 1hr total.  It's something they're going to have to get used to, and it's not going to be a happy transition.

Their food tastes are shifting again I think.  They will eat most any green veggie, including spinach and collard greens, but chicken is spit out after a few bites.  Fruit is evil, except for the banana in their Cheerios for breakfast (Alex likes blueberries, too).  They won't eat anything in a pouch now.  I might need to try ham or something to be sure they're getting enough iron.  Beef seems like it's still too hard to chew.  They also seem to love pizza, which isn't surprising if you know their daddy.  They each ate a piece and a half, plus black olives and crackers.

They really like sandwiches, especially peanut butter/banana and grilled cheese.  They'll also chomp tuna or chicken salad ones.  I make the sandwich like normal then pinch off bites for them.  Mashed up potato salad gets eaten, too.  They used to like quesadillas but hate flour tortillas now.  Any fork-smashed beans are accepted.  Any whole beans, whole peas, or too lumpy mashed potatoes are rejected.

Both boys have started playing Marco Polo with me.  One will make a sort of grunt and I'll grunt back.  They'll experiment with different sounds and I'll mimic them in response.  They think it's hilarious, like the funniest conversation they've ever heard.  Sometimes I can have them both going at the same time.  I'm hoping eventually they'll start grunting at each other.

I got Zach to take a few steps by himself this week.  He's used to holding onto his school bus or other push toy, so I had him hold a stick with both hands.  I think it made it less scary and he was laughing the whole time. I tried to make it a game.

Alex has no interest in trying to walk by himself right now.  It seems like to me that he's afraid of falling. If he's cruising, he'll ask me to help him sit down, rather than just plopping down like Zach.  If he at all feels unsteady, he cries.  Alex also will only try something once before deciding it's too hard and wanting you to help him.  If you don't help, he bursts into tears.  I don't want to enable him, but I also don't know how you explain to him that he needs to try again.  I've tried, and he'll do like a half-hearted, feeble attempt then look at me like "I told you so."

The boys are so mobile now that it's hard separating them.  They're like magnets, if magnets had teeth and liked to bite each other.  Zach has a long red scratch on his forehead where Alex scraped him with his front teeth while I was putting the laundry in the dryer.  There are few days where one boy doesn't end up with bite marks on his fingers.  They're really curious about teeth and want to touch their brother's.  They understand "No bite!" but I still get stealth bit sometimes.

The bouncy chairs are nearing the end of their usefulness.  Zach's big enough he can tip his over, so I've had to start sticking one end under the door.  He's going to have to rip it off in order to fall now.  Long term we need to baby proof the bathroom then have one on the floor with some toys while the other is in the play yard.  Mesh netting between them should keep the bloodshed to a minimum while I get a shower.

Don't misunderstand me, though.  They don't hate each other, or wish the other boy harm.  It's the exact opposite.  They are really, really into each other and find their brother fascinating.  They just don't have the skill set to express their affection.  If I'm holding them and they see each other, they do the cutest coo/laugh back and forth.  It's really obvious how much they love each other.