Three Years and Three Months

Drew had his three year check-up yesterday. He was definitely not excited about going to the doctor, which didn't surprise me in the least. He said many times, "Mater, going to the doctor is NOT fun!" He asked about shots, which I assured him he wouldn't be getting. Before we went to the appointment, we got out our little doctor's kit and Drew and I practiced on both Drew and Birdduck (his doll, in case you didn't remember) the things that the doctor might do to him at the appointment. I think that helped a little because then he had an idea of what to expect. I had told Drew he could play a game on my iPhone once we were back in the exam room. Well, when the nurse called us back to the exam area, she started right away with checking his temp, getting his weight, etc., and he was mad that he didn't get to play a game, so he was being kind of a pill. The nurse was saying, "Andrew, I'm just going to put this in your ear... Andrew, I just need _____... Andrew, etc." I was just waiting for Drew to freak out on her and very meanly say, "My name is NOT ANDREW!" even though that is his name. Thankfully, she heard me call him Drew and caught on, and I assured Drew he'd get to play a game while we waited for the doctor to come in, and that all helped.

After my promises of no shots, the nurse informed me that the vaccine for pneumonia and meningitis has changed from protecting against 7 strands to protecting against 13, and the AAP is recommending that kids between ages 2 and 5 who've had all four of their PVC-7 vaccinations get one PVC-13 vaccine. Well, I'd already promised Drew he wouldn't be getting any shots, so I asked about putting that one off until he gets a flu shot in the fall/winter, and they said that would be fine. Whew! I feel a little like I dodged a bullet, but at the same time, it makes me think a little of putting off something like a colonoscopy (ahem, you know who you are) or some other uncomfortable procedure- you know it's going to suck, but it's something the doctors, the experts, think you should do. But, I suppose you just have to do it and get it over with, and maybe it's worse in your mind than it really will be. I don't know. My hope is that in the fall/winter, Drew will be that much more mature and able to handle the shot. I'm probably delusional, though.

So after seeing the nurse, a nurse practitioner student, and the actual nurse practitioner (with lots of waiting in between each of them), we were finally ready to leave. We'd been there for an hour and a half, and we were cutting it seriously close to being late to pick Zach up from school. Thank goodness Jake was relaxing at Grandma's house and not stuck at the doctor's office with us! Drew actually did quite well. It helped that the student who came in was really sweet and knew something about Lightning McQueen and the Cars movie- that'll win you points with Drew anytime. As we finally left the exam room, Drew said, "Well that wasn't so bad!" It was pretty funny. And then he got his stickers and cookies, just like he wanted.

Anyway, Drew's stats- he grew almost 2 inches in the last year to put him at 36.8 inches tall, which is only the 33rd percentile. He's short like his big brother, although Zach was almost an inch taller at age 3. He has gained over 4 pounds in the last year, putting him at 30 pounds 10 oz., the 39th percentile. Zach weighed exactly a pound more at the same age. It surprises me a little that Drew is smaller than Zach, but I don't know why, exactly.

So, in addition to yesterday being Drew's 3 year check-up, it was Jake's 3 month birthday. I don't know what he weighs, but I am definitely curious about it, so I might take him to the nearest hospital, where I can use the scale in their baby boutique to weigh him. I think he might be in a growth spurt, because he seems to be sleeping lots lately. Jake started sleeping in his crib a few weeks ago, and he's been doing a pretty good job with it. In the last week I have started following a bedtime routine, which includes a bath (a couple of times a week, anyway, but not every night), getting his jammies on, reading the same book (My Animals by Xavier Deneux, a great black and white board book), nursing him, swaddling, rocking with a song and his pacifier, and then laying him down in his crib drowsy but not quite asleep. And, knock on wood, it seems to be working! He has done so well with it, going to sleep on his own. Some nights we have to go back in and plug him back in (reinsert his binky), but not most nights.

Just like when Drew was a baby, I checked out a couple of books from the library on babies and their sleeping habits. Funny thing- one of the books that I checked out a few times when Drew was little (he was a terrible sleeper for a long time, and I think a big part of that is that we didn't use those swaddle wrap things) actually has a piece of paper in it with my handwriting on it from almost 3 years ago! Anyway, both of these books say that it's easier to get daytime sleep worked out before nighttime sleep, but I think these so called experts are crazy! Anyway, I'm trying to get Jake to start napping in his crib, because otherwise I have to hold him the whole time he sleeps, and I just don't get a darn thing done. So I'm following the same basic routine as at bedtime, except for the nursing (I only do that if he's actually hungry), and he has napped in his crib for the last 3 days in a row! Does he do all his daytime sleeping in his crib? Heck, no. But, today he took one 30 minute nap there, then a little later an hour nap in his crib, and then later a 40 minute nap in his crib, so I got a little over 2 hours of him sleeping with me not holding him, and it was great! Don't get me wrong- I love to hold him and snuggle him, and sometimes it's nice to have that as an excuse to just sit and do nothing. But today I was able to fold a load of laundry that had only been in the dryer since last night (rather than 2 or 3 days), wash some dishes, and play some games with Zach and Drew. And yesterday while he napped I was able to sweep the floor and do some other general cleaning. So I'll take it. And soon we'll start reading other books, too, and at some point we'll stop swaddling, but for now we're going to stick with the exact same routine just so he starts to recognize it. He's not sleeping all night yet, which is the next thing I'm hoping for. Last night I think I got up once to give him his pacifier (it's such a blur), and I know I was up for about 40-45 minutes in the 3 o'clock hour to feed him, change him (he pooped; otherwise I wouldn't change his diaper in the middle of the night), and get him back to a drowsy state. But then he slept until 7-ish this morning. We (and by we, I mainly mean I) were getting up often to give him his pacifier, but a couple of nights ago Mike decided we should shut his door and our door tight so that we (I) don't hear so much, and that seems to be the right decision. I think I was getting up and plugging him in every time I heard a peep, and maybe I didn't need to do that.

As far as other milestones go, about all I can think of is that he seems to have discovered his hands. He'll lay there on his back and hold his little fists out and just stare at them. I imagine he's thinking, "Hmm, I think I can make that thing move..." He is definitely sucking on his fingers more and more, and it seems more deliberate than it used to be. He also has appeared to purposely touch one of the little birds that hangs down from his activity gym. I can't find my What to Expect The First Year book that I've had for a long time, so I'm not really sure what else to expect at this point. Hopefully I'll find the book soon.

Jake still lights up when Zach talks to him. He likes Drew, too, but Zach is so much more interested in him and makes much more of an effort to talk to him, so naturally they have a stronger connection. The novelty of Jake hasn't worn off for Zach, except maybe at night. That new bedtime routine includes an actual bedtime, which pretty much falls about the same time as Zach and Drew's bedtime. That means that Zach and Drew have been reading with Mike lately as a threesome, and they're used to individually getting Dad one night and Mom the next. Zach was pretty upset tonight that he didn't get to read just with me, and that he had to read with Mike and Drew again. It doesn't matter that both Zach and Drew read with me individually before their quiet time/nap time every day; there's just something about bedtime, I guess. I feel bad, like I'm letting Zach and Drew down, but I also have to remind myself that when Zach and Drew were babies, they got the special bedtime routine that Jake is now getting, so he deserves it, too. Aaah, three kids, one mom. I'm not that great, but it seems there's just never enough of me to go around.

Here's a really cute picture of Jake from today. I just love him more each day!