Update: weeks 6 & 7

We've hit a few milestones, some big and some small, this week.

Zari stopped wearing diapers and has been accident-free in her new underwear for the past two weeks. She could probably have gone into underwear a while ago, but I never got around to buying it until now. We've been working with her to tell us before she needs to go to the bathroom. For the past several months, she's been really good at telling us immediately after she went, but not before! I think we've got that down now. She gets a potty treat--either a sticker or small pieces of chocolate or candy--whenever she goes. Works like a charm. I'm not one to allow sugar normally, but she is very motivated by the promise of a chocolate chip or an M&M.

Dio switched diaper sizes, from newborn (6-12 lbs) to small (10-20 lbs). He probably could go another week or two in the newborns, but since we'll be out of town much of the summer, I had to switch over before we leave. I've been doing elimination communication with Dio, like I did with Zari, and he is so good about going when I cue him. I usually sit backwards on the toilet and cradle is body in one arm and support his feet with the other. When I cue him with the poop sound (little grunting noises) he'll look at me and grunt back and, more often than not, poop.

Dio is still quite grumpy, but I think it's getting somewhat better. I'm not sure if we're just getting used to it or if he's growing out of it. Probably a little bit of both. We've figured out that swaddling really helps calm him down. That, in combination with him sucking on my upside-down index finger, is usually a surefire combination for getting him calmed down. Of course, it doesn't leave any hands free! He's most happy in the morning and gets progressively fussier throughout the day. So evenings often find us holding a "Dio burrito" with our finger stuck in his mouth. He doesn't care for the pacifier much and will only take it once he's sucked on our fingers for a while.

I've started exercising again two weeks ago. I go in the morning around 8 am. Right now Eric isn't teaching, but when school starts again in the fall he'll be going up to campus at 9, so I can keep the same schedule for the most part. I do ellipticals 3x/week for 30-40 minutes and weight training 2x/week. We're lucky to live only a 5-minute walk away from the campus athletic facilities, which I can use for free. I'll probably start running while we're gone this summer, since I won't have access to a gym. I've got to fine a good sports bra first, though. My current exercise top is fine for the elliptical machine, but there's way too much bouncing going on when I run!

Nights are so-so. Dio usually sleeps 4 hours (from about 9 pm-1 am), then 3 hours (1 am-4 am). Then, around 4 am, he often has avery restless period where he's either half-awake and grunting and stirring, or fully awake. Often he won't really go back down to a deep sleep until 6 am or later. So that makes me a bit tired. He and Zari both wake up for the morning around 8 am.

Our typical summer day looks like this:

• 8 am: wake up, exercise, shower, eat breakfast, get dressed, etc
• 10 am: Eric leaves to write in his office, the rest of us play together
• noon: lunch, then get both kids down for naps by 1 pm
• 1-3 pm: naptime, which means writing/blogging/email checking time for me. Or sling sewing time. Or house cleaning time time. etc.
• 3 pm: kids wake up, Eric comes home, we play together
• 5 pm: make dinner, eat
• evenings until 7:30 or 8 pm: do thing together--take walks, go to the park, watch movies, etc
• 8-9 pm (or later): get kids to bed
• 9-10 pm: check email, read books, write in my journal, or watch movies. Around 10-10:30 pm I usually go to bed and Eric stays up a few more hours reading or writing