Problem Solving - Toddler Sleep and Bottle Rejection

This happened a few weeks back, but I wanted to write about it. I had a couple moments of motherhood where I tried something new to fix a problem and it worked!

Problem One- Toddler Fighting Bedtime:
Ever since Harper was about to arrive, Z's sleep has become a problem. He started fussing about going to bed and waking up at night. He hasn't done that since....man, I don't even remember... it's been a long time. We chalked it up to anxiety about the change with the baby and just kept at our usual routine. Then he started to climb out of his crib. Darn. The problem became a little more challenging when we had to physically put him back in bed. Thankfully, John usually handled this since I wasn't in a position to be lifting a toddler (pre and post delivery). So, the problems have continued. Some nights John would have to put him back in bed 6-8 times with Z throwing a major fit the entire time. And that crafty little guy eeked out more and more concessions at bedtime... this book, that light, check the door, doggies barking, drink, etc. Finally, I had the idea that the core of the issue was that he wanted more time with us. Instead of letting him watch some TV while John and I did other things before bedtime, we started sitting down with him and reading books or some other activity BEFORE the bedtime routine starts. Not only is it nice family time, it mellows him out and he is less whiny about starting the bedtime routine. The first night we tried this, it worked like a charm. We put him in bed, said goodnight, and that was it! Of course, now we have to be consistent about doing it, which can be hard at the end of the day when you would rather veg with the TV on. But, dang, I was so excited my idea worked!
P.S. Z is doing great in his toddler bed. We are trying to enforce the stay in bed rule. (I say try because we're struggling with enforcement in the morning when he very quietly gets up and starts to play in his room.) He is doing pretty well with it and hasn't had a lot of get out of bed moments when we put him down at night and at nap time. Overall, he seems really comfortable in his new bed and seems proud of his big-boy-ness. Yeah! And I thought it was going to be a nightmare. (Sheepish grin)

Problem Two- Breastfed Baby Rejecting Bottle:
I started Harper on the bottle when she was about a week old. We had no problems until week 3. There were 5 or 6 days of pretty frustrating feedings, including one my Mom handled like a champ where she screamed A LOT. It did start to get better (we didn't change anything like nipples or bottles or time of day), but Harper is still pretty finicky about it. She isn't screaming full out anymore, but we definitely have to coax and soothe to get her to do it. She'll do the first ounce or so fine, and then she starts to push it around with her tongue and sometimes fuss. So, it takes forever to get her to take it (not even all of it) and then she gets to bed later and then she's fussier, and then she is super tired for her 10pm feeding. So, one night she was fussy and flailing with the bottle, so I decided to swaddle her and then try again. It worked! She calmed down and even got a little sleepy and then finished the rest without a problem. Since this is the bedtime feed, I don't have to worry about her falling asleep right after the feeding. And my swaddle is loose enough around the middle I could sit her up to get a burp. I don't have to use this technique every time, but I'm sure glad I have something when we need it.
P.S. Another thing I tried for this was when she started rolling it around with her tongue like she was confused about what to do with it, I would switch and give her a pacifier. When she started going with that, I would switch to the bottle again. It worked pretty well (although not every time) and sometimes got her going again. I think I haven't used this one as much because I'm not sure if I'm just confusing her more with the different nipples. Anyway, I mention it as just another thing to try.