Well, we had about 3 weeks of sleep, then Liam decided to teach Ethan how to jump out of the crib! We had a few bad nights and we finally convinced Ethan to sleep on a crib mattress on the floor of his room, but he was still waking up. Then he decided he wanted to sleep in a big bed. So sometimes he sleeps with Liam and sometimes alone with a bed rail but at least he is sleeping better.
Ethan's energy and strong will are making some of our days very long and exhausting. If anyone has any advice I am open for comments or just reassurance that one day I will not be chasing a 2 year old for 10 hours each day.
In a couple of weeks Ethan is going to have a new set of tubes put in his ears. They will hopefully last a year or two. I am hoping that helps with the shouting - which he does a lot!
I also brought Ethan for an appt with the plastic surgeon at Boston Children's last week. They took a 3D image of his face and want us to meet the whole Cleft-Craniofacial team in the spring. He doesn't plan on any surgeries unless we feel it is necessary for his speech and even then it would be just a touch up on his palate to reduce air escaping from his mouth (which makes it more difficult to produce certain sounds). Because his face with change a lot as he grows, they basically feel it is better to wait until 5-7 yrs of age to do some of the procedure he requires (nose, lip, gum line).
Overall, Ethan has come a long way. He is very tall and tough, pretty soon I think we will weigh more than Nyla. He is also very affectionate, giving lots of kisses and hugs. Although he occationally hits when not getting his way or to provoke his siblings, he no longer bites which was a big problem after we brought him home. I think once he starts preschool and gets that structure in his day, he will act out even less.
We had a great time visiting with family and friends over the Thanksgiving break. Warmest wishes to everyone over this holiday season!
