Jinxie

That's what Greta now calls Jinx. She's very affectionate toward him and most of the time he tolerates her muggings.

Better sleeper, better?

So nice to know I'm not alone… except for Sylvie’s surreal sleep habits. (Dan, you failed to share your secret! What is her “routine”? Is she in a crib yet? Will Melissa share some of her magic mojo with us?)

It really is the darnedest thing... Linc was doing GREAT (falling asleep around 9 p.m. and sleeping until 5ish, with a quick nurse and back to sleep until 7:30 a.m.) until we went home to N.Y. for Christmas. Then, with all four of us sleeping in the same room for a week, I jumped up at every fuss he made so as not to wake up everyone, and we returned to Jersey with him thinking a middle-of-the-night-nurse was a good thing.

Initially, I didn't mind, since The Wonder Weeks talked about this period of growth being accompanied by such behavior, and also since we found out at his 6-month visit that he was only in the 5th percentile for weight (even adjusting a month for his early arrival, he was 15-20 percentile). I figured he really WAS hungry and needed some sustenance. But in the last three weeks, he added a 10:30 feed, bumped to a 1:30 feed, and wants it again at 5. It feels like he is 2 months old again! The "good" thing is that he goes right back to sleep, and if I can stay awake, it's only a 20-minute nursing session. Then he usually awakens for the day around 7:30.

Trying to get to the root causes, though, I think we have a true trifecta: mom-enabling, 6-7-8 month “milestones,” and bona fide teething...his mouth is full of “bumps” and you can tell some of his cries are due to pain. Unfortunately, Hyland’s isn’t helping, and I try to be judicious with our use of Tylenol.

So what are we doing? I've been trying to follow Marc Wiessbluth's Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child sleep schedule guidance (worked great with Greta and most of my former co-workers’ kids), but, again, the Greta-Factor is the biggest impediment to both naps and bedtime routine. I’ve read the chapter titled Months Four To Twelve, about a dozen times. (Dani, I recommend it… it will make you feel good about your decision to let Kate “cry it out.” If you want "professional advice", you can reach Dr. Weissbluth at DrDad@dadmag.com) The other thing we’re trying is putting him to bed without being swaddled. (Anyone else follow The Happiest Baby On the Block? The 5 S's worked for Greta and Lincoln like magic for their first six months.) Lincoln is old enough to not be swaddled, but he just started kicking free from my burrito wraps...maybe he has been waking himself up trying to roll over? And since his room can get chilly, we added a space heater, so maybe the “white noise” will help, too. Who knows?

Today was a good day, though (maybe Linc knew we were blogging about him?!). He went down for a nap at 11:30 (in a nursing-induced sleep), and promptly opened his eyes the minute I put him in his crib. I darted out of the room and left him to babble and moan, which he did until noon. But then he slept until 2:30! And I put him to bed awake, post-bath after a brief (10-minute) nurse, at 7. He put himself to sleep, again with a few minutes of babble and moaning. Of course, he’ll probably be up in an hour...but how can you hold a grudge against this most adorable kid?!

Bad sleeper, bad!

I must direct your attention to our Friend's Blogroll. Read Alicia's post about her son Jack and his sleep habits, then come back here.

Her honesty inspires to me to share our dirty little secret.

Lincoln David Merrill is a lousy sleeper.

Carey mentioned the other day that he has only slept through the night twice since Christmas. All the way through the night, to us, means we fall asleep and aren't woken up until one of the kids stirs at a decent hour. Decent means 0630 or later, preferrably 7.

I'll admit that Lincoln's nocturnal habits aren't so bad for yours truly. With Carey still breast-feeding and staying at home, I generally just roll over and dream about happier things. When I'm feeling sympathetic, I sometimes change a diaper and then hand him off to her. She's become very adept and nursing him for no longer than 15 mins, then settling him back down. And before you all comment with advice, we know that eventually it probably comes down to ignoring his nighttime cries until he figures out that the milk truck isn't coming every time he opens his mouth. But that's hard with two kids. 10 minutes of Lincoln wailing wakes Greta up every time. And at 2 years, almost 10 months, she doesn't comfort as easily or quickly as her brother. She's more likely to wake right up and want to talk about why her cousin Max left his blue hat at our house this weekend. But to her credit, she's been sleeping like a champion ever since we decided we didn't particularly care if she slept on her bed or on the floor. She picks the one she prefers on any given night, and sleeps a sound 12 hours.

So there you have it. Lincoln's not perfect, despite photographic evidence to the contrary. We'd love to hear from readers (OK, relatives) who went through the same thing with their spawn. I mean, kids.

Easter dress, 1 month early

Costco had Laura Ashley dresses at the front of the store this weekend, so of course we picked up a dozen. Greta insisted on wearing this one as soon as we got home. Ignore the shoes and it's quite lovely.

Snow play

Cousins Max & Esme came over on Saturday for some snow sculpting. Max and Sara took top honors with this stegosaurus.

Greta and Esme received the People's Choice award for Snowman with Fruit Loop eyes and carrot nose and ears. Well, the Fruit Loops that Esme didn't eat.

Rainbow coalition

Remember the painting Dad and Greta blocked out together? Dad sent a photo of the finished product today. Greta saw it and exclaimed, "I'm in a rainbow!"

Cheesey Chesney

So I have this swanky new MacBook Pro with Final Cut Studio installed on it courtesy of work. Which means I can make videos with relative ease, depending on the raw material. In this case, the song came immediately to Carey's mind and I tried to have a little fun with the four photos we took of Greta & Jay this weekend playing on the tractors at Frying Pan Farm Park in Herndon, Va. It's not much, but it's a start. More to come, promise.

"Pushy face"

That's what we called this expression when Greta made it. Of course, she usually made it when potty training for No. 2. Lincoln just makes it when he's feeling quizzical. Just started making it on Tuesday and now does it all the time. It probably helps that his parents whoop and holler every time he does it.

First Raisinets

Much to our surprise, our vegetarian, farmer's market frequenting, Seventh Generation stockholder friends Allison and Gardner were the first to introduce Greta to the chocolate-covered goodness of Raisinets this weekend. In their defense, the treats were really put out for adult consumption, along with a bowl of pistachios. Jay was in the middle of a 2+ hour nap and Kay Taylor Winthrop has yet to set her sights beyond mother's milk.

Mommy let Greta munch about 3, then told her no more. So she went into what she calls "sneak mode," walking her fingers slowly across the coffee table and stopping just short of the bowl, soliciting gentle rebukes from her parents each time.

Back in the nation's capital

We had a lovely 3-day weekend catching up with friends Gardner and Allison and Dudley and Jen. Just saw Jay a month ago, and he already seems bigger and stronger. The kid has one speed -- fast. He runs everywhere -- on the playground or in the kitchen. And he has really good form; legs spinning like the Flintstones and arms pumping up and down. Greta better hope that when they're older he wants to be caught, she doesn't have a chance when chasing him.

We also had the opportunity to meet that elusive starlet, Kay Taylor Winthrop. She spent the first hour or so hiding from the media, but when she woke up and discovered there were flashbulbs present, she flashed that megawatt smile already so familiar from red carpet events.

A couple pics to sum up the weekend; more, perhaps, as stories trickle out in the days ahead.

V-Day photos

Here are some more pics of the kids on Valentine's Day. I picked up their cute outfits at this great neighborhood consignment shop, Other Mothers. Greta's 3-piece ensemble, which features a fuzzy heart that Lincoln was very into, was $3.99 and Lincoln's was $1.99!

Valentine's Day, observed

I was too busy to post yesterday, so here's a belated photo of the Valentine's Day party Greta hosted for Emma, Emma, Jeremy, Duncan, Sasha, Jack and Charlotte -- all local urchins she's met at Music Together or the public library or the local playgrounds. A good time was had by all.

Apprentice

Finally! A Merrill has inherited Grandpa's interest in painting! Of course, it helps that Grandpa was wise and brought three canvases with him this week. Yesterday, he and Greta broad-brushed the first painting for her walls -- a portrait of Greta the Ballerina. I was at work when it happened, but looking at these photos, seeing the pride in my Dad's eyes, makes me feel very happy and blessed.

Grandpa Jerry!

Grandpa is visiting this week, playing multiple "episodes" of bird's nest when he's not painting Greta's bedroom -- a lovely hue Behr calls "chilled lemonade."

Tasty toes

We have scores of photos showing Lincoln sucking his fingers (always the pointer and middle of his right hand), but now he's starting to indulge his foot fetish. For those of you keeping track, Greta also discovered her toes at about 7 months old. I'm trying to find the photo of that, but not having any luck. Perhaps Carey can add it later in the comments section.

Happy almost Valentine's Day!

We had my boss and his two kids over on Sunday for a make-your-own pizza and cookie decorating party. Both were big hits. His kids are 5 and 7, but they play great with Greta and Lincoln just enjoyed watching it all. The cookies, as you can see, were made with a lot of love -- and frosting.

T is for teething

With a capital T. Our darling son is waiting for something to happen with his gums, but if he's anything like his sister, it could be a long wait. (Greta's first pearly white didn't show up until 15 months!) But we're pretty sure something's happening, even if it's at a geological pace. As you can see, his cheeks blossom every night and last night he exhibited the textbook symptom of "extreme wakefulness" from 2-4 a.m. Just wide awake and gurgling at the ceiling.

Lincoln obeys

This is for the grandparents, so they can brag about what a great grandson they have.



Rob didn't think this video was blog-worthy because it's so long and over-narrated. Truth be told, it was the nicest 3:00 of my time with Lincoln today.

Bestest sticker ever

That's what Greta called the snail on her chest. She got it at the pediatrician's office Tuesday, when her brother was getting his flu shot. She remembered she got a sticker the last time she was there. So she told the nurse Lincoln was too little for a sticker, and the nurse thought that was funny rather than rude, so she gave her the shiny gastropod you see here. Greta slapped it on her shirt and loudly declared, "this is the bestest sticker ever!"

Heavy is the head...

Greta got a few crowns for Christmas, but her favorite is definitely the pink and sparkly Dora edition. It has these nifty combs on the side to pull back her hair, but she refuses to use them. Instead, she pulls the crown down over her eyes, peering out through the plastic at us, her minions.