Princess and a Pea Pod

I really had no other ideas for this title :)

Life is settling down in general. Work is evening out and our daily routine is becoming less stressful. In fact, last week, I got my first solid 8 hours of sleep in like 6-7 months. If it wasn't for the time change, I could have hoped I’d get a few more nights like that, but anytime you mess with a routine, sleep is the first thing to get jacked up.

Last week, Tim and I decided that we need to switch daycares. With Tim’s job threatening 12 hour shifts, and my schedule being as late as it is, we were looking at having to supplement childcare with a babysitter. Tim went back in to Kaydriana’s old daycare (which we loved for the most part) and talked with them. He negotiated them down a couple hundred bucks. It’s still not as cheap as what we’re paying for now, but with their expanded hours and ample employees, its just the right choice.

I was on the verge of tears with thinking about telling Candace and Steven (the couple we take the kids to now) that we were switching daycares. That was until Candace called me at work – the same morning that we decided to switch daycares. Apparently, Kaydriana was not listening when it was time to go down for a nap. Candace asked that I speak to, “my daughter”. I didn’t mind this piece. Then when I heard her demanding Kaydriana come to the phone and that, “her mother was not happy that she had to call me at work” and just hearing the tone she was using, absolutely broke my heart! The very first thing I told Kaydriana was that I loved her and then told her she had to lay down and go nigh-night. While I kept my composure, mama bear came out, and I had no qualms with taking my kids out of this daycare. While I might use an impatient and firm tone with my kids, they are my kids. They (of course I only mean Kaydriana right now) know I love them, but they are mis-behaving and need to be corrected. This was the first time in my motherhood that I have experienced this with my children and I did not like it one bit. If she uses that tone around me, what kind of tone do they use when I’m not around to hear it?

We didn’t ever worry about this with the daycare we’re returning Kaydriana to. They have plenty of staff so they don’t get burned out. Don’t get me wrong, Candace and Steven are loving people and I really do enjoy them, but as Tim has witnessed at the end of the day, they seem overwhelmed and impatient. Additionally, when I was excited that Lake was finally able to fit into his overalls, Candace made the comment that overalls and jeans on babies are her least favorite article of clothing because it makes it difficult to change their diapers. Ummm, what?

Anyway, Lake is growing and growing! The other day Steven told me that Lake drank 22oz of milk at daycare. I had been providing 15oz of breast milk, but my supply is dwindling and have only been bringing in 10oz this past week. I don’t have a problem with supplementing with formula, but I decided it was time that Lake needed to eat more food. We had only been feeding him oatmeal with a veggie after his evening milk. So I started brining in oatmeal cereal. When I dropped the kids off this morning, Steven told me that Lake seemed a lot more satisfied and is a very good eater. That’s my boy!! And last night I stopped swaddling him. He didn’t sleep worse or better. He still woke up at 1130, which he has done since the time change.

Trick or treating was fun for Kaydriana this year. While we don’t allow her to eat a lot of sweets, she got a lot of candy! Our neighborhood is a jackpot; so many houses in such a little space. We only went to 30 houses or so, but her bucket got half way full. I carried Lakey (our lil’ pea pod) around until my arm was going to fall off. Kaydriana LOVES being a pretty princess!