"So this is our problem"

First something that has nothing to do with the boys: I was just on a mom's website (there are literally zillions of them) and I saw a post from a woman writing about her son in high school. She used "kinda" at least two times - maybe more, but I stopped reading at the second "kinda" - please, if you're reading this (which means mom, Gladys, Gisela, or Gaby) and I use "kinda" feel free to yell at me.

OK... so the boys - that's why you're here, right? Jack's latest is that he had his 18 month check up last Wednesday (Declan's is tomorrow, but I already know what Dr. Cambria is going to say - he's a giant, and too bad he doesn't sleep well) - oh, but back to Jack - Jack is 33 inches in length, 70th percentile, and 24 lbs 4 oz, 25th percentile. He's a long, lean kid. For this visit I was really feeling the pressure for Jack to have some words since he wasn't knocking our socks off at the 15 month check up. The conversation went something like this:

DR. CAMBRIA: Does Jack have any words?
ME: Yeah... he says things like "ball"
JACK: Baw!
ME: ... and "up"
JACK: Ub!
ME: ... and he can say dog, and cat, and he knows all his animal sounds.
DR. CAMBRIA: What does the duck say?
JACK: woof woof!
ME: (sheepish grin) Duck, honey, not "dog"
DR. CAMBRIA: What does the cow say?
JACK: eee-ow!
ME (almost panicking): Ha, ha, Cow, honey, not "cat"

Jack redeemed himself when he got this Dora the Explorer sticker. "DOW-WA!"

Declan can do lots of things:
- blow raspberries so forcefully that milky slime ends up on top of his head
- hold onto a rattle and put it in his mouth
- sit in the bumbo
- jump in the jumper
- almost sit up on his own - like, really on his own, no support

Declan can't:
- sleep for long periods of time.

So this is our problem: Declan likes to roll over onto his tummy in his sleep, but he doesn't turn his head to the side to clear his airway. Instead, he pushes his nose straight down onto the mattress and puts his arms up along his head to block out any fresh air. This pushes all sorts of SIDS panic buttons throughout my body that I didn't even know I had until about a week ago. (Which would be right about the time I received my Parenting magazine that had an absolutely heartbreaking - and terrifying - article about SIDS) We've tried sleep positioners to stop him from rolling over, but when Declan tries to roll over and can't, he wakes up and cries (every hour or so). Our temporary solution, with the blessing of Dr. Cambria: Declan is in bed with us, sometimes in the positioner and sometimes not, but Javier and I are aware of his head position throughout the night. (Translation: neither of us are sleeping very well...) - our goal is to "train" Declan to turn his head when he rolls onto his stomach. So far, Declan has proved remarkably resistant to changing his favorite sleeping position.

With that said, I should be off to bed while the boy is sleeping...

To all the family in Chicago: We'll see you soon!