Sleeping and Eating Issues

All last week, Meghan was not eating or sleeping very well. She refused almost everything I offered her except milk and little bites of crackers, rice cake and a few other things, and was not getting to bed until 0100 and sometimes 0200! Yes, that is military time for one and two in the morning.

This started to come to a head on Sunday morning when she awoke at 0430 despite a 0100 bedtime. She didn't go back to sleep and we went to church, the playground, etc. She seemed fine. My husband, father and I went to a concert and my grandmother babysat. Meghan had fallen asleep on the couch at twenty past seven and slept the whole time we were out plus through the night. So I thought everything was fine.

But she drank too much milk the next morning. I tried to give her something to eat, she refused it. I don't believe in forcing a kid to eat. She got sick and threw up on the couch. After that, she was fine and her appetite was vastly improved. She has been eating really well since.

We are still ironing out the sleeping issues, but it will probably take some time for that. She slept late today so I can't imagine what tonight will be like.

Because she still likes to drink a lot of milk and would fill up on it if I let her I've made what I feel is a reasonable milk compromise. I've switched her to 1%. Don't worry about her getting enough fats or dairy, she gets it in solid foods. The kind of milk she drinks isn't gonna affect her development. She's plenty smart, believe me. Second is that she gets her "bigger" servings at breakfast and after bath (but not right before bed). She can have it whenever she wants during the day but she only gets about 1-2 ounces at a time. Because she drinks frequent servings, at the end of the day, I bet she's getting close to 16 ounces, which is within the recommended daily amount. I know a lot of people say that toddlers this age don't need milk, but she likes it and I see no reason to take it from her. I just think giving her the lowfat kind is what is the best solution.

I'd also like to point out that my daughter cannot digest whole milk properly. It aggravates her GERD. She can have either 2% or 1%.

Favorite Foods

Just a list of what my kid likes to put in her belly these days

1. Milk
2. Fresh fruit
3. Unsweetened applesauce with a hint of cinnamon
4. PBJ on whole wheat bread
5. Hot dogs
6. Pasta
7. Rice cakes
8. Mixed nuts
9. Goldfish crackers
10. Raw veggies
11. String cheese
12. Chicken
13. Whole wheat toast with margarine
14. Dried Cheerios

Not bad for a two-year-old.

Goals for Meghan

I've set two goals for Meghan and I have no time frame for them, but the aim is over a period of a few months.

The first goal is to change her bedtime and waking routines. We want her in bed earlier and up earlier for a variety of reasons. It will take some time, but we've decided that if we start out by just waking her up earlier in the morning and put her to bed at her usual time and eventually just have her naturally get tired earlier instead of forcing her into bed when she's not ready. I want to start this tomorrow because there is a kid-friendly event at the Colonial Plantation that starts at noon but it would be good to have her up a couple hours ahead of that. Plus, I want to go to church on Sunday.

The second goal and this one will probably take the longest is to wean her off the cup of milk before bed. She doesn't get a lot, so I think we'll just gradually decrease it a little each night until it's gone. It's just become habit that I keep perpetuating. I know she can sleep without it because she's done it before.

So that's what we're going to start working on soon.

Meghan's First SCA event

We took Meghan to her first-ever SCA event today, and our first in a few years. We went to a family-friendly event down in East Fairmount Park called "It Takes My Child To Raze A Village. There were lots of different events but she was more interested in just running around. She did make beads with lots of help and was in the "Marching" band parade, playing the Recorder. She didn't eat anything, either. I think she was just overwhelmed and still out of sorts from being up late last night, too.

It was a nice day out, though.

Food changes

I've decided to take Meghan off all foods that contain HFCS and Red Dye #40 and to limit treats to things that are homemade, so that I can monitor exactly how much sugar is going into the recipe. I think once a week is reasonable, if I get around to baking that often. I like baking, though, and I really want to get back to it as I find it relaxing. I just need to remember to get some parchment paper so my cookies don't stick to the pan like last time (The ones that came unstuck were very yummy)

I didn't realize it fully until yesterday how much what she ate was contributing to her mood swings. I made the effort to give her healthy food, but HFCS and Red Dye #40 is in more things than you might think they'd be. Now we're reading labels much more carefully. She was totally different today without eating that stuff. Of course, there's the possibility that the food has nothing to do with the mood swings, but we really don't need to eat that stuff as it is.

I don't think it's necessary to go all Organic to be healthy, and it certainly is not within our financial means to do so. Just want to keep it to natural ingredients. Another thing that is important to me is low-salt.

The wonderful twos! <--at least I hope it's just because she's two.

Meghan has taken to these random outbursts of intense crying, out of absolutely nowhere. She will literally be fine one minute and then overtaken by Chucky the next. I am not sure if I should class them as tantrums as I tend to associate a tantrum with anger or frustration over a specific thing or event-such as not being able to figure out how a toy works, having something taken away from her, things of that nature. These come out of nowhere. She can be walking around, playing with a toy, watching TV, or just sitting on the couch or floor and bam! She loses it!

We had an awful time with her last night, and it's largely my fault. I tried to have her go to bed without her cup of milk and she's not ready to give it up. So she wound up having some, anyway. She always has milk and a snack before bed. She drinks out of a cup with a straw so it's not like she has any bottle dependency.

She also woke up shrieking in the middle of the night and I brought her into bed with me but after while, was easily able to put her back to her own bed and she's been fine since. I don't know what's going on with her. The day before yesterday she was an absolute angel. I also don't recall if she woke up in the night, maybe just for a minute or two. Usually in those instances, she's actually still asleep and will settle very quickly-I don't think one of these episodes has ever lasted more than three minutes and it never requires us rushing in there. I'm certain those are night terrors which there is nothing you can do for, anyway.

I don't know what goes on in her little head sometime. I wish she could talk more. I just want her to tell me what's up so I know what I can do to help her! Because nothing makes me feel more like a failure as a mother when I can't help my own child! I like a complete jerk. Like I'm not living up to my expectations.

In the meantime, I've shelved the potty for now because I don't know...maybe I should wait and see what is going on in terms to the crying and waking up before I try her on it again.

Beginning Potty-training

I've begun Meghan on potty-training. At this point, we're really just introducing her to the potty and are not pushing her to go on it. I've been having her run around naked and keeping the potty available to her. I do sit her on it at random intervals to give her the feel for sitting on it. So far, she has wee-weed once on it, not pooped at all and we've had accidents on the floor, of course. I have plenty of Wet Jet Solution for just this very purpose, and so far she's only had her accidents on the hardwood and tile floors.