Tag Archives: Oliver

Griffin, Maggie, Oliver

Bedtime Routine

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Sarah wrote this up for our first non-family babysitter for Oliver. It sums up where our bedtime routine stands now. We’re loving it–short, simply, and successful.

Oliver

Oliver’s bedtime is anywhere between 6-7:30pm, depending on how tired he seems. Signs that he’s ready for bed include crankiness, rubbing his eyes, heavy eyelids, general discontent, arching his back, etc. Once it’s clear he’s ready for bed, here’s what we do:

  • Make a bottle to take upstairs. We usually make a 6 oz bottle, which is 6 oz of water mixed with 3 scoops of formula.
  • Change diaper
  • Get into PJs (we’ve left some out for you)
  • Read him a book (I Like It When is my standby) and give him the bottle, if he’ll take it. We usually lay together on our big bed. If he’s really eating a lot, you can read him more stories. I’m sure Griffin and Maggie can find some to read. Sometimes we skip this part if it’s clear he’s ready and doesn’t need any milk.
  • Once he’s done eating and you’re done reading a story, we say goodnight to Maggie and Griffin, and enter their room. We say goodnight to objects in the room (“Night night, clock! Night night closet! Night night, alphabet! Night night, Maggie’s bed! Night night, Griffin’s bed!”)
  • Lay him down and give him his lovie.
  • Say, “Night night, sleep tight! I’m right outside! I love you!”
  • Leave the room, closing the door.
  • If he cries, please set a timer for 5 minutes. Crying is continuous crying, not whimpers, moments of silence, whimper for a bit, silence for a bit. If he cries hard for 5 minutes, enter the room again, give him his lovie if it’s out of reach, and repeat, “Night night, sleep tight! I’m right outside! I love you!” Please don’t pick him up. He’s used to this routine now, and we’ve only had one or two times of really hard crying. He’s learning to soothe himself to sleep, and he’s gotten very good at it!

Maggie & Griffin

Bedtime for these guys is 7:30pm, unless Oliver is still falling asleep. We try to put Oliver down before they’re ready for bed, but sometimes it doesn’t work that way. We start them getting ready for bed around 7 or 7:15pm. Their jobs are:

  • Get into PJs
  • Put dirty clothes down the chute
  • Brush teeth for 2 minutes
  • Go to bed

Their routine sometimes includes time for read aloud, but if you are busy putting Oliver to bed, I would encourage them to get into their PJs, brush their teeth, and take a little quiet reading time on our bed, if it’s available, or the back bedroom. They are sometimes really amped before bed and goof off in their beds, which sometimes wakes Oliver. Please remind them that it’s silent time once they’re in their room!

Oliver

That was so last week…

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This morning, at 4:44 AM, after giving up on the whole sleeping thing.

Oliver must have read last week’s post about how we would just put him in his crib and he would magically sleep through the night.

Boring!

This week he’s trying out a new thing: having a harder time falling asleep and waking up crying every 30-minutes or so starting at 3-ish. Fun times.

Oliver, Photo

Beds, Bikes, & Bottles

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Change is afoot in Oliver’s world.

Beds

Oliver is falling asleep in his crib (foreground) while Andrew reads “The Hobbit” to the kids under the loft.

First, as mentioned on Monday, Oliver is now sleeping in his new crib in the kids’ bedroom. We were planning on a more gradual transition, but Griffin and Maggie were so excited to have him move in that we went for it. It’s been pretty miraculous so far. Every night this week, they’ve all gone to bed at the same time, with no special rituals for Oliver. We generally hang out near the crib for a little bit while he falls asleep, but it’s pretty quick. Honestly, the whole thing is a bit spooky; he just lies down and falls asleep. Crazy!

Bikes

Our newest cyclist.

Oliver has been out on a couple of bike rides now in the iBert seat on Sarah’s bike. He loves it, and we love the fact that we have a new way of getting around town with him. The older kids enjoy riding their bikes, too, so this increases the whole family’s range of car-free transit. It’s hard to believe that this little guy will be riding his own bike in a few years.

Bottles

Hands in action.

This one might be better titled “Grasping” or “Manual Dexterity,” but they don’t have the same alliterative pizazz. Oliver has been getting better at using his little hands over the past month. He reaches for things intentionally, grasps objects we put in his hands, and likes to touch things within reach. (I like to walk around with him and let him touch different things—the bark of a tree, a smooth stone, a fuzzy towel—and watch him react to the different textures. On a more practical note, he can hold his bottle when he’s in his bouncy chair. He drops it frequently, but he loves trying to hold it and it gives us just a bit more leeway when we’re prepping a meal or trying to accomplish other tasks that require our hands.

Griffin, Maggie, Oliver, Photo

Happy Third Day on Earth

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Jeff and Pam suggested to the kids that they might want to make a welcome home banner for us when we returned from the hospital. Griffin immediately took charge, finding all the necessary art supplies and making, with Maggie’s help, multiple banners.

The first one was across the doorway when we entered:

Welcome home Mom and Dad!
Welcome home Mom and Dad!

The second, my favorite, was across the sideboard in the dining room:

20161127_161202_003_edited-1
Happy Third Day on Earth Oliver!

The third, not pictured, was an “I Spy” picture with a list of things to find, including 15 goldbugs (à la Richard Scarry). It was especially challenging due to the fact that many items on the list had been subsequently scribbled over. Maggie thought that this was especially clever, “Under here is a tree!”

As indicated by these banners, Maggie and Griffin are, thus far, extremely excited about Oliver’s arrival. We had a lovely afternoon, playing games, letting them hold Oliver, and eating Thanksgiving leftovers. (Sarah and I have been jonesing at the hospital for the past few days. Though we did have the pies delivered. Duh.)

Below are a few more pictures from our first day at home.

Griffin reading Dora
Tucking Oliver in
Making him more comfy
Bliss
Holding the baby
Love
Andrew, Griffin, Maggie, Oliver, Photo, Sarah

Oliver Louis Stocco Roy

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Sarah’s water broke at 7:15 AM on November 25, 2016, and Oliver Louis Stocco Roy was born twelve and a half hours later, at 7:44 PM. He was 9 lbs 1 oz and 21 inches long. We’ll post more about his name later, but it should be noted that “Louis” is pronounced LOUee after his great grandfather, Louis Stocco.

Sarah’s labor was complicated by the fact that Oliver’s umbilical cord was both wrapped around his neck and fully knotted, cutting off oxygen during contractions. It was an emotionally intense experience for all of us, including the medical staff. Because of the urgency to get the baby out, it was also far more painful and physically traumatic for Sarah than we had anticipated.

Fortunately, moments after his rather dicey arrival, little Oliver loudly proclaimed his health and hunger. He was a rock star overnight, dividing his time between eating and sleeping. Today he got to meet two of his grandparents (the other two, we hope, in January), and his older sister and brother. They were very excited to meet and hold him.

Below are some pictures from Oliver’s first 24 hours. Click on any picture for a larger version.