Toddler This Week: 22 Months, Week 3

It's too soon to sign your toddler up for formal music instruction (experts say it's best to wait until your child is at least 3). But in the meantime, your toddler may enjoy attending an early music program or bopping to music at home. Cheerful, simple songs like "Baa Baa Black Sheep" and "Mary Had a Little Lamb" are easiest for your toddler to sing. You may even catch her making up little ditties herself, especially before dropping off to sleep or when riding in the car.

What's the best way to get your 22-month-old to try new foods? Keep on serving them. Even if he refuses to touch, much less taste, what's on his plate, exposure is the name of the game. It can take ten or 20 or more exposures to a new food before a toddler will consent to try it, nutritionists say.

Keep portions small so they're less intimidating. Try serving refused foods in a different format: A broccoli spear looks very different from, say, broccoli in cheese sauce or a soufflé. Never force your child to taste something or clean his plate. You want him to develop pleasant associations with mealtimes. Besides, nobody likes everything.

Don't expect perfect table manners at this point. Smelling it, handling it, and smearing it are some of the ways your child gets acquainted with a new food.

Hand washing is the number one way to protect your family from illnesses like colds and flu. You can cut down on germs around your home – and make your life a little easier – by giving your child his first lessons in this important skill. Put a step stool in front of the sink so he can reach the faucet and show him how to turn it on and off. A bar of soap may be easier for small hands to manipulate than a pump dispenser. Fine-motor skills are still developing so he'll need your help and supervision for quite some time.

Demonstrate how to get the suds all over his hands and then rinse. It takes 20 seconds of scrubbing to kill the germs that need to be killed. One way to make sure he soaps up for long enough: Have him rub his hands while you sing the ABC song and rinse when you get to the end. Reduce the chance of scalding by setting your hot water heater to no higher than 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

To further banish bugs, start teaching your child to cough or sneeze into his elbow rather than into the open air or his hands – just don't expect him to master it yet.

-BabyCenter.com

Baby This Week: 5 Weeks Old

Your baby is learning that she has hands and fingers and feet and toes. She's also starting to talk more. Not with words, of course, but by cooing — with increasing goos, gurgles, and grunts. This marks the beginning of her language development. Talk to your baby often. You'll be able to keep her attention by shifting from a low to a high pitch — the singsong style that parents in every culture tend to use when speaking to a baby.

Smiling is universal. A baby's first smile happens at about the same time in all cultures, so get ready for your baby to reward all your loving care with a beaming, toothless, just-for-you grin. This will probably make your heart melt, even if you've just had your worst night yet.

- BabyCenter.com

Mila Breastfeeding Dolly

Mila is at the age that she is very aware of what people are doing - especially Mom and Dad - and she wants to do it too - usually with Dolly. So Mommy puts Mila in her high chair to eat, and later Mila puts Dolly in her high chair to eat. Mommy gives Mila her sippy, so Mila gives Dolly her sippy too.

Sometimes she'll shout, "Mee-na!"mispronouncing her own name when she's trying to say she wants to do something herself. (That's how she pronounces her name; she doesn't pronounce the "L" yet. And, yes, she refers to herself in the 3rd person,  LOL!)

Anyway, she's seen something new in the month that Emmy's been home... Mommy's been breastfeeding Emmy. She's funny - she comes and peers down at Emmy to see what she's doing. She even says, "Emmy come booboo." ("Emmy eat boob.")

So I guess it was inevitable that she see me breastfeeding Emmy today and then she tried to do it too... with Dolly.

OMG. I just about died laughing.

She just kept shoving her under shirt! "Doh come booboo!" ("Doh eat boob!") she'd say matter-of-factly, (like I said, she doesn't pronounce the "L" yet so Dolly is "Doh") as she'd continue to shove Dolly's head under her shirt... Some kids give their dolls baby bottles. Mila doesn't see bottles. She sees Mommy nursing. So she breastfeeds! Love it!!

I ran to grab the camera a snap a few shots! I even got a little bit of video...

Sisters!

Mila and Emmy are so sweet together! Mila is so fascinated by her little sister. She's a bit afraid to get too close to her - she'll go in to give her a kiss and then quickly back away. So funny!

Out for a Walk

Took the girls out for a walk in our new set of wheels - the City Mini Double Stroller! It's obviously wider than a front-to-back stroller, but it fits perfectly through doorways. My favorite part is how easy it is  to maneuver. I love that they can both recline for a nap (or a diaper change) and have an unobstructed view while we're on a walk. I'm really happy with it! And the girls seem to be too!

Emmy is One Month!

Dear Emmy,

You are one month old today and you are just beautiful.

You love to cuddle, sleep and nurse. You still sleep most of the time but you're figuring out the difference between daytime and nighttime pretty quickly and we're happy about that!

You're starting to coo and make sweet noises. It's just adorable.

We can't help but compare what you look like to your sister Mila. At first we thought you guys were so alike, and now we can see the differences. You're your own little person! You have a lot of hair just like Mila's, but while her's was more dense, yours is longer and lighter. You almost look like a little red head or a strawberry blond! I love how you've got the signature bed head look! Your hair sticks up in all different directions! It's so cute!

Your eyes are a darkish gray, similar to how Mila's started out. Who knows what color they'll end up being? You still like to open one eye first and then the other - you are truly Emmy Popeye!

I know it was tough going through the tongue tie and the clipping. It was tough for me too!! But now nursing has been wonderful and you're gaining weight very well and those little legs of yours are starting to plump. I love seeing those little creases get more pronounced. Sometimes I just want to take a bite out of 'em!

I love your little toes and how they curl up and they get all sweaty and stinky. They smell really bad sometimes, LOL! But they smell so bad, it's good. I swear I can't help but take a few whiffs… weird, I know. I can't help it! Your mom is strange... Get used to it. ;)

Many people say you look so much like your Daddy, but a few people say you look like me too, and I can't tell you how happy it makes me. :)

It's really amazing having two kids. We are so happy that you'll grow up with a friend and playmate. Mila is showing to be a caring big sister. I know she's a bit loud sometimes but she just gets excited. :) She really loves having you around.

One of the most common concerns one has when having a second child is - after having the first, how do you find room in your heart to love another child the same? Well, the moment you were born our hearts grew twice as big, that's how!! You're so sweet and tender and cuddly. You look at me and your Daddy with such innocence… I can't help but melt! I just love getting to know your sweet personality.

I can't wait to see what next month will bring. Life has been so generous and kind to us - two precious little ones! How did we get so lucky?

Feeling so very blessed to call you my daughter... I love you!

Your mommy

Toddler This Week: 22 Months, Week 2

"Me do it!" is a frequent refrain among 22-month-olds. As your toddler becomes more self-aware, he'll likely want to do more things for himself. Setting limits is important, but you can let your toddler take the lead sometimes, like choosing which clothes to wear (even if it means a mismatched outfit), wetting the toothbrush, or turning the bathroom light on or off. By encouraging independence now, you'll help your toddler grow into a confident preschooler.

Interruptions are a way for your child to ask for your attention. It's annoying – but effective!

A toddler most often interrupts when her parents seem to disappear (in spirit if not in body) for long periods, such as during telephone conversations or computer sessions. Try to remain present with your child by limiting those kinds of activities unless she's napping or deeply absorbed in play. When you're busy, maintain contact by ruffling her hair and looking over and smiling at her.

Saying "just a minute" is rarely effective because your 22-month-old has little idea of how long a "minute" is. And a minute feels like an eternity, anyway! Do a quick check to make sure she doesn't need anything more than attention – for example, a fresh diaper.

Don't give in right away. It only teaches your child that interrupting is socially acceptable and effective. But keep your expectations realistic. A two-minute phone conversation? Fine. Half an hour? Too long for a toddler to tolerate.

What to do with all those clothes your child seems to outgrow every three months? Consider a clothing swap with neighbors, a playgroup, or another social network. Have everybody bring what no longer fits and trade for new items. You could also turn old clothes over to a consignment shop or donate them to charity.

Of course, if you're planning to enlarge your family, you'll want to hang on to some of them. Store outgrown clothing in boxes labeled by size and season for easy access later.

-BabyCenter.com

Baby This Week: 4 Weeks Old

Your baby can probably focus on and track moving objects now. Try giving his new skills a workout by slowly passing a toy in front of his face or by having a little "staring contest" during which you walk slowly back and forth in front of him. Watch how his eyes lock with yours and follow along with your movement. This skill is a building block for hand-eye coordination, which will come later.

Your baby may gurgle, coo, grunt, and hum to express his feelings. A few babies also begin squealing and laughing. Be sure to coo and gurgle back, and talk to your baby face to face. He'll enjoy holding your gaze now.

If you have things to do, your baby will still enjoy hearing your voice from across the room. And don't feel silly about using baby talk — babies are particularly attuned to this high-pitched, drawn-out way of communicating, which can actually teach your baby about the structure and function of language.

- BabyCenter.com

Family Photo Session

Finally got some family pictures taken! My sister Cathy was wonderful - I helped frame the shots and put the settings on the camera and she helped taking the picture! Kinda like a human tripod! LOL! She did AWESOME and I'm thrilled with our pictures. :)

Mila and Emmy's faces in this one are PRICELESS! 

Family Meets Emmy

Finally got the nerve to drive down to Miami to visit my grandmother and some of my family. It's been a little crazy with the breastfeeding and the pumping I'd been doing, as well as Mila's sleep issues we've been having, to even think about driving an hour in the car with both girls. It's taken us a bit to organize ourselves to make it down there, but today was the day!

A little hectic to pack up to get out of the house - if I thought I was packing tons of stuff with just one kid, now with 2 it's DOUBLE! We planned to get to my grandmother's at 11am and we didn't get there until almost 1pm! It takes FOREVER to leave the house, especially since I want to make sure Emmy has a full tummy before we get into the car, so I'm power-nursing for the hour before we're supposed to leave. It just seems it takes forever to get out!

But we finally made it and it was wonderful. My grandmother, my uncle Ricky, my aunt Martha and my other aunt Martha loooooove to dote all over these kids - Mila and Emmy both have it good!!