After a week-plus of Zoe’s sleep issues (first discussed here), Q and I decided to nip the problem in the bud. Adopting the “silent-return-to-sleep” approach advocated in one of our sleep books, we stopped trying to cuddle, rock or sing Zoe back to sleep when she got up in the middle of night. (This is what we did when she was little, but the approach no longer seemed effective.) Instead, when she entered our room, we simply scooped her up and returned her to her bed without a word. And we did this until she stayed in bed – no matter how many times it took. (“If you are not silent and you discuss getting out of bed with it is occurring, your social behavior reinfoces getting out of the bed,” the book advised.)

Zoe wasn’t initially fond of our new approach, of course, and the first night we tried it, she got out of her bed – and shed a fair amount of tears – a whopping 90 times before finally staying put. (Poor Q! He was the one escorting her back to bed each time.) This number got smaller and smaller as the week progressed, until finally she just slept through the night. (She hasn’t gotten up before 6 AM for the past three.) I’m not sure if this is the end of our sleep problems, but it’s a good feeling to have found something that works – at least for now.

-M

Today was snake day at Little Learners at the zoo and Zoe had a lot of fun. As soon as we got back she had to call Uncle Dan to tell him all about it. This is how it went:

“I pet a snake”

“I saw the peacock feathers”

“I went on a horsie ride”

“I saw Mommy and Daddy giraffe”

All in all a pretty nice little morning.

Jon Q

I’ve mentioned it before, but Zoe is a big fan of the laundry – and of, more specifically, our laundry basket. I asked her to help sort clothes and throw whites into the basket this morning; instead she grabbed Big Dog and climbed right inside. I, of course, had to snap a pic or two.

-M

A good friend of mine, Zander’s mom, just had a baby and called yesterday to give me the good news. (It’s a boy.) We’ve been almost exactly three months apart in our pregnancies, and the appearance of her little one makes my pregnancy feel that much more real… (Suddenly, three month seems like a very short period of time!) I also can’t help but feel excited about Poppy, like Zoe, having a little boy friend to grow up with!

-M

When summarizing life with Zoe on this blog, I’ve often reported that “this is such a fun age” or this particular phase is “the best one yet.” Sadly, I can’t say those things about the two-year-(almost)-four-month phase. Though we still have our bright moments, life with Zoe has been a bit less rosy these past few weeks: my once almost-always-happy child is sometimes sassy, tempermental and irrational. Things that once posed no problems for us (getting dressed in the morning, going to bed at night, for example) are sometimes now major productions – with Zoe often wiggling around, running away, crying, yelling “no,” refusing to cooperate. I’ve read enough books and talked to enough parents to know that this is all “normal” (they don’t call them the “terrible twos” for nothing, right??), but I still find Zoe’s behavior somewhat challenging. And what’s expecially frustrating is that the things that used to work to calm her down or get her to cooperate don’t always do the trick now. In a way, I feel like I have to learn how to parent all over again.

After a long night (with Q out of town and Zoe not wanting to stay in her bed again), I was feeling somewhat down about things yesterday morning. Then, as we drove to Elena’s, Zoe asked for a song, and the two of us wound up singing a lovely duet of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” As I listened to her raspy little voice mimic mine and caught a glimpse of her little face in the rear-view mirror, it suddenly occured to me that moments like this are what I should be focusing on. Zoe might be going through a challenging phase, but it’s those little, sweet moments that (excuse the cliche) make it all worth it. (Now I just have to keep this in mind the next time Zoe says, “no, Mommy!” ten times in a row!)

-M

Zoe had another “Little Learners” class at the zoo over the weekend, and the theme was the meerkat. Q reports that Zoe was a big fan of the petite African animals, which live in underground tunnels – and she even got to pretend she was one herself. Here she is in her little burrow.

-M

… and it involves sleeping. (This time, though, it’s a good thing!) Last night, Zoe slept in a real bed for the first time. (She moved out of her crib about a month ago, but she’s been sleeping on a twin mattress on the floor.) We picked up the frame yesterday afternoon, and she was excited about it from the get-go – running and jumping around as it was assembled. (Thanks for the help, Dan and Jenny!) Q was there with the camera to capture her (and her friends’) first moments in the new bed.

-M

A more timely e-mail has never been received. “It’s 3 a.m., and you’re sound asleep,” the weekly note from BabyCenter.com read. “Suddenly, you feel a poke, a tap, then another poke. Try as you might to ignore it, the nocturnal assault continues. Eventually, you have no choice but to open your eyes. Before you stands your forlorn-looking child, uttering those all-too-familiar words: ‘Mommy, I need you…'”

The e-mail arrived in my In-box following a few very rough nights in our house. On Wed., Zoe showed up at our bedside at 1:30 AM and had a difficult time getting back to sleep (poor Q was up with her most of the night); the next night, she refused to go to bed at all – crying and screaming and not settling down for a good two hours after her normal bedtime. I’ve been scratching my head trying to figure out what was going on – Zoe has always been a great sleeper; why the problems now? – but this e-mail, directed towards parents of 27-month-olds, shed real insight. “Not even the most competent snoozers are immune to sleep disturbances,” it read, going on to explain that this is the age that kids, thanks to nightmares and common preschool fears, have the occasional sleepless night. And now that they’re mobile (i.e. not in a crib), children are likely to come straight to their parents’ room for some TLC.

Zoe slept through the night last night, thank goodness, but that didn’t stop me from waking up with a jolt in the middle of the night. (I was expecting to see Zoe’s little face next to mine, I guess.) I got back to sleep eventually, but I suspect we’ve got more long, “Mommy/Daddy-I need-you” nights ahead of us…

-M

Michelle’s Dr recently informed her that her more accurate due date is June 20th. That means today is another milestone as we are down to double-digits and Michelle has only 99 days until Poppy is due! Next Friday is exactly 3 months until the baby is due and the start of her third trimester. Coming down the home stretch!

Jon Q

When I was in high-school, there was a funny TV commercial (probably for Weight Watchers or the like) that featured a mom who kept eating food from her child’s plate. (“Mommy, that’s my food!” her child would say, as the mom looked on in shame.) Because I was a big eater, and not much of a sharer, my friends would joke that I would be like the mom in the commercial someday…

Fast forward to Tues. night, when the three of us were enjoying some pizza at a party. I took a slice and Zoe promptly snatched it out of my hands; a few minutes later, she did the same thing with a new piece. There wasn’t that much pizza left, and I felt myself becoming agitated. “Zoe, that’s Mommy’s!” I told her, as I took the slice out of her greasy little hands. And as I took a bite, I couldn’t help but wonder what my high-school friends would think if they could see me…

I like to think I’m a fairly giving and kind mom under normal circumstances – and I just don’t feel shame over this incident. After all, no one should mess with a pregnant woman’s pizza!

-M

Purim began on Tues. evening, so the three of us headed to a little party. Dressed up (once again) as a princess, Zoe got to run around, play games, eat pizza and get her face painted – and she’s still talking about the little red hearts on her face. Here are some pics.

-M

We’re not completely unfamilar with temper tantrums (we commented about them just a few months ago), but Zoe has taken them to a whole new level lately. Almost daily now, she throws little fits – complete with foot stomps and major tears – over the smallest of things, and she recently started using the phrase, “no way!” when upset. (I’m not sure where she picked that up!) Monday morning, before our fun zoo adventure, she also displayed her stubbon side: after throwing a fit and being sat in her “you-sit-here-until-you’re-ready-to-say-sorry” chair, she refused to apologize for lashing out and swiping at me. For a good 20 minutes, she sat and cried and yelled “no way” when asked if she was ready to say she was sorry; both Q and I were surprised at her resistance. Finally, of course, Zoe approached me with a hug and a sniffly “Sorry, Mommy,” and all was normal again. But for a few minutes there I couldn’t help but think: what happened to my sweet baby??

-M

Since I had to work on Friday, I took yesterday off – and Zoe and I spent the morning at the zoo. (Zoe usually goes there with her dad, so I think she was a bit confused as to why he wasn’t with us.) We went early enough that it felt like we had the entire place to ourselves, and it was very relaxing strolling underneath the cypress trees, looking at the penguins, koalas, giraffes and other Zoe faves. The only negative: it was a bit chilly when we first arrived. But Zoe didn’t seem to mind having to bundle up!

-M

One of Zoe’s most faithful companions is her panda; she likes to take him (her?) or Big Dog wherever she goes. Yesterday she hosted a little (Play-Doh) ice-cream social in the kitchen, and of course Panda was there. Luckily, so was Q with the camera.

-M

It’s always gratifying (and fun) to hear Zoe repeat things that Q and I say to her. As mentioned before, she frequently tells her stuffed animals that she misses them – probably because I often tell her, “I missed you today,” when picking her up from Elena’s. And the other day, when she got in the car and saw “Big Dog” waiting for her, she greeted him with an enthusiastic, “Hi, sweetie!” It’s the first time I’ve heard Zoe use this term of endearment (one that we use all the time) on her stuffed friends, and it made me smile.

-M