To Pacify, Or Not To Pacify

Webster's dictionary defines pacify as
1. to allay the anger or agitation of and
2. to restore to a tranquil state.
(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pacify)

TB hits a state of anger and agitation when he is tired. He will have finished his meal, played for a while and will suddenly find himself thinking it is the end of the world (at least he cries like he thinks it's the end of the world). This is when I wish he would utilize one of the many pacifiers I have tried for him. One of the pacifiers that is not ME that is...

I have once again become a pacifier.

When DTE was a baby, I knew so little about breastfeeding that I didn't even realize I was her pacifier. DTY was never interested in a pacifier (me or otherwise) as soon as she was done eating she would pop off the breast and didn't care that there was nothing in her mouth. TB- always wants something in his mouth!
Let me just say, I love breastfeeding. I love being able to provide my child with nourishment, comfort, love and security. I am very grateful that I am able to breastfeed. Grateful that none of my children have had issues with latching on, or difficulties with breastfeeding. I breastfeed on demand for the first couple months of my baby's life. I want them to understand that I will meet their needs, I will take care of them, I will listen when they cry. I don't, however, like being used 24/7 as a pacifier.

So, the search for the perfect pacifier began.
We started with Soothies (because he gladly took one at the hospital).
We lost his for a few days after he came home,
now he refuses to even let me put one NEAR his mouth.
Next we tried NUK. He thinks its a great chew toy.
A friend suggested Gerber's pacifier.
Thus far, this is the most successful.
He allows it to be put into his mouth.
He thinks about sucking on it.
He waits a few minutes before he spits it across the room.

Last night I held and bounced him with this pacifier in his mouth. I even made up a binkie song to go along with our dance. Eventually, he fell asleep with a pacifier (not a breast) in his mouth. Today he used it without the song (but still required the dance). For the most part, it is still just a toy, and I am still the preferred pacifier. *sigh*

Any advice on getting a baby to take a pacifier? I really wonder if I am just not a pacifier type mommy.

Uncomfortable

My girls have recently decided that their beds are uncomfortable (could be due to the rocks they have dumped in their beds). Every night I hear how they can not possibly go to bed in an uncomfortable bed. Every night I make them go to bed anyways! This is the more comfortable location DTY moved to last night.
Yes, that is a towel on the floor in my bedroom.
I am beginning to question the need for beds in my house.

Time Flies... And Then It Crawls

Just a couple weeks ago I had one of those moments, where you sit and wonder where did all the time go? How could so many years already passed? DTE turned 5 (five!!!) this May. I can't help looking at the others and thinking, DTE was JUST this age (how can it be five years since she was born?).
I want (as most parents do) to make my kids deliriously happy and create memories that will last them a lifetime. Birthdays should be on the top of the list. To start the day off, TLOML and I decided the kids should have balloons, lots and lots of balloons.

This year I wanted to try something new for DTE, five balloons for her fifth birthday. I put them on the shelf of her bed (knowing they would be the first thing she saw in the morning). Right away, she woke DTY up saying it was her birthday and she got balloons. She counted her balloons, then declared they were her eggs and she was the mom of her eggs. She let DTY have the pink egg. She again counted her five balloons and with sincere conviction told her sister, "I feel in my heart that I am five." She wanted to start her morning with a birthday bath- complete with her egg babies.The little things are what make a birthday not just another day. Like bathing with balloons.

That night we had pizza and orange shakes (think homemade orange julius) for dinner. I began making her pink cupcakes and let her lick the batter off the mixer. We sang to her. And the girls ate while riding DTE's toy jeep (I hid it in the backyard protecting it from being spotted from the house- but forgot to hide it from above- she looked out her bedroom window and saw it a couple days before her birthday).

She declared that day "the best day EVER!" Little did she know what was to come...

Thanks to the encouragement and help of some great friends, we threw together a quick surprise party for DTE. I was able to drop the girls off at a friend's so I could "go shopping". Then we set up for the party at another friend's house. I did forget that my car being in the driveway might give it away- so when she was brought to the friend's house she commented on me being there, but she was still surprised as she walked in to her friends all in animal masks.
The masks we made at home before the party.



The cupcakes I made for her party. The elephants were the number one choice for most of the kids.

Since then, we have tried to be patient waiting for Daddy to come home. It's been hard since the last milestone. (We have had a milestone every 2-3 months since he left; leave, DTY b-day, Christmas, birth of TB, DTE b-day). Time is now crawling, creeping by. Days feel like weeks and it feels like it will be forever before our daddy comes home. We are doing all we can to stay busy until that time. I know he is ready to get home too. HURRY UP DADDY!!!!