Three Months

Three months into this and I still absolutely love having three kiddos in my life. I don't think I've ever been busier, but at the same time I've never been happier to be a mom. How couldn't I be when my days are full of this For the first time in my life I have absolutely zero desire to do anything other than be a full time mom. Unfortunately my 12 week maternity leave ended last week and even more unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond my control, I had to go back full time (3 shifts a week) rather than the 1 shift a week I was planning on. I am heartbroken about it. I guess it just makes every laugh from Miles, every silly outfit of Brynn's, and every project with Mason that much more special to me. These last three months of full-time motherhood with all my kiddos at home will be one of the most cherished times in my life.

Unplugged

Scott and I have gone three whole days without any cell phones and it has been surprisingly refreshing. It all started when Scott decided to sell his iphone and just get a basic phone. Within minutes of posting it on KSL, he was receiving nonstop texts and phone calls inquiring about it. Less than a half hour later he sold his iphone along with the old one I used as an itouch. When Mason saw the guy leave with our phones he was crushed we weren't going to have iphones anymore because he won't be able to play motorcross. I guess we didn't really take into consideration that it would affect him, too, and didn't give him fair warning. That, followed by some other steps along the way, has left us both without phones. We have our landline so our family can reach us, but other than that we have pretty much been off the map. Neither one of us has missed them at all. Mason on the other hand had a couple small meltdowns today that included, "but I don't have an iphone!" Kind of pathetic that our 4 year old is addicted to iphones. This is part of the reason we wanted to get rid of them, our kids are obsessed with the games on them. We will be getting our new phones in the next day or two and will be plugged back into the world, but until then, we are enjoying every second free of ringtones and text alerts.

Binky vs Thumb

My first two children are evidence that I am a HUGE fan of binkies. I just love having that magical something that quites and soothes my baby when he is upset, pacifies when he's hungry, and helps him fall asleep at night. Mason was a binky addict from the day he was born, but gave it up easily when he was 2 1/2. Brynn despised binkies as a baby, but I continued to force them on her until she finally accepted them around 7 weeks (her hospitalization with meningitis did it). Apparently I created a monster because she is still totally and completely attached despite several failed attempts to get rid of them. But even that hasn't stopped me from once again encouraging my baby to love binkies. Miles really had not shown any need or desire for a binky until a couple weeks ago when he found his thumb. He started finding it more and more frequently and now requires the soothing it provides. At first I liked the possibility of him self soothing, but I'm not sure if I wanted a thumb sucker. I've watched as one of Mason's 5 year old buddies has struggled to give up thumb sucking and often catch him doing it in social situations. I don't want to have to deal with that. I like having the power to take it away when I don't want them to have it. So I've been forcing the binky on Miles in place of his thumb. He will now take a binky just fine, but as soon as it pops out he starts searching for his chubby little thumb to take it's place. At this point I'm still not sure if he will end up another binky boy or thumb sucker, and I'm not really sure which one I prefer, either. Whatever makes him happy, I guess. One thing I do know, though, is Miles is a very good natured baby, and I'm glad he's mine.

*UPDATE 3/25*

Brynn went to the dentist for the first time a few days ago. He took one look in her mouth and immediately asked if she sucked on her thumb or a binky. He said no more binkies as of that moment. Her front four teeth are all pushing out because of her binky and will probably require a retainer when she's five so she doesn't have buck teeth. It's been a rough transition, to say the least. Bedtime, naptime (or lack of naptime), and when she wakes up during the night have consisted of an hour plus of her sobbing for her binky. But it seems to be getting easier...slowly. Maybe we should try to avoid both the thumb and the binky with Miles.