Overnight success!!

M stayed at Nana's last night so D & I could attend a wedding and the report we got when we grabbed him today was that he put himself to sleep without so much as a peep (or a paci).  Good boy!!! 

Took a LONG (6 miles+) walk in Valley Forge Park this afternoon and it was just what we needed.  We were able to spend some wonderful quality time together before we begin our first week of both Mommy & Daddy working.  I know that M will do great with Grammy and we have a fun trip to the zoo planned for Thursday which will be fun. 

Watching M grow and develop every day is really remarkable.  I cannot believe that it is almost 10 months since M was born.  Time has really flown.  It seems impossible that we are starting to plan his 1st birthday party.  Unreal!!! 

Looking forward to seeing what our routine turn out to be as we start this new phase of life and feeling so grateful to have had so much time with my boy before heading back to work. 

Returning to Work tomorrow

Here I sit on the evening before I return to work full-time (4 days/week). M is sleeping peacefully after a fun play-day with family, D is cleaning up the kitchen after special take-out sushi to "celebrate" this final night of maternity leave, and I am in a funk.


I am in this weird middle-place between being sad to leave Michael and exhausted from no break with time to myself since ??.  I feel tired and unmotivated when the evening comes.  During the day, I am like a hurricane - playing with M or going to fun places with him and then tackling a million organizational tasks during his naps.  While times like this make me feel accomplished, I think that I am realizing that they also take away from "me" time because I spend so much time DOING and no time just relaxing.  To that end, my poor just got washed for the first time since SATURDAY MORNING!!!!!  That is disgusting!  (and sad...I am home all day long, every day). 
 
I feel so proud of M (and of D & I) because we persevered through this sleep-training and it worked.  M is putting himself to be beautifully at naps and at bedtime.  The last frontier, if you will, is to help M to resettle himself during wakes from naps.  He is able to do so at night but not during naps.  Maybe someday . . .
 
I packed a big box of supplies for Grammy's house and D dropped it off tonight so I wouldn't have to wrestle with it tomorrow morning.  I am just going to put together some sample "menus" of what M's meals have been like and a new daily routine so that she has it for reference, if she wants it.  I am guilt-ridden about this, even though I know that she is very excited and he will be great.  I just feel badly for taking her freedom away from her days and I feel jealous of their time together.  I know that it will be wonderful for both of them (and, frankly, for me) but the transition time is hard. 
 
I said to a friend this morning on our walk - it is hard knowing that the next time that I am not working full-time will be the next time I am on maternity leave.  That is bizarre to think about.  Who knows when that will be??
 
Onward I go ... wish me luck, universe. 

Sleep Training & Emotions

I am feeling a lot of different emotions about this sleep training thing. 

Last night, M did awesome.  David finished the bedtime routine and he put M in his crib.  M didn't cry once - he "talked" to himself for 15-20 minutes and went to sleep.  Today was a different story.  Had a great morning and walk and then I laid him down.  He didn't cry .... until 10 minutes later.  Then he wailed for 25 minutes before falling asleep. 

30 minutes later ... he was awake.  This is his "nap routine".  I can't figure out why he isn't staying asleep for his naps.  We have tried letting him cry and now we are following the advice to soothe him back to sleep.  I am not sure what our next step is. 

I was hoping to get him napping well (on his own) before heading back to work but I am not sure that is going to happen. If I can be honest, I don't think that it matters that much as Grammy & M will do their thing but it's like I needed a project to occupy me (us) before I head back to work.

Feeling sad about leaving him...I know that he will be fine but, to be frank, I am jealous that someone else will get to spend the days with him while I am with other people's kids. He is just so much fun and all I want to do is play with him and watch him figure things out. It just makes me sad.

Sleep Training Nights #5 and #6

M is getting better and better at putting himself to sleep. 

Yesterday, I laid him down awake for both of his naps and the morning took 40 minutes (not crying, just making noise) and the afternoon took 20 minutes (same as morning).  Last night, he was asleep after 20 minutes of talking to himself, including laughing at who knows what! 

This morning, he is in his crib talking up a storm (definitely tired after our walk) but just fighting the sleep a bit.  He is not crying - more talking with a few whimpers mixed in, which I have learned over the past few days means that he is tired and getting close to giving over.

I am going to keep up our routine and hope/pray that we are fairly well established by this time next week when I am scheduled to return to work. 

We shall see . . . .

Sleep Training Night #4

I am getting tired/worried re: sleep training. 

Last night, M did ok with bedtime routine but still cried/fussed for 25 minutes.  He cried harder tonight than last night (overly tired, perhaps?)  and he woke up twice.  One time, we just had to soothe him in the crib quickly and then leave him to cry again (5 minutes) but the other time he needed a poopy diaper changed and he woke up so we had to leave him to cry again (10 minutes or less).  Also - he just seemed mad. 

Maybe that was because we tried to nap train him that morning and let him cry for an hour (as per the book) and then soothed him so he could sleep.  He was so upset when I went in to him and it took 15 minutes of soothing him to get him to sleep and then he only slept for 30 minutes. 

I feel 100% confident that we are doing the right thing at night but I am not sold on the daytime stuff.  Ugh - this is hard. 

He fell asleep on our walk this morning and transferred for about 20 minutes when he woke up crying.  I went in and he just had this look of fear on his face.  I picked him up and he snuggled with me and went back to sleep.  He has now been sleeping for another 30 minutes. 

I just am so nervous about passing him off in a few short days to my mother-in-law without having some type of nap training in place.  I don't want him to be a miserable toddler with no naps but I also cannot ask her to nap train him. 

I am just sending up prayers that this week is the turning point. 

Did I mention that I also think that he is teething for his next set of bottom teeth??  Yeah - pretty sure. 

Good times. 

Sleep Training Night #3

We are making progress. 

After a wonderful day at the zoo AND 2 weird naps, M went down for a the night following our new routine.  He cut his crying/talking time from 40 minutes to 27 and most of it was spent "making noise", not crying. 

He was asleep by 7:30pm - peaceful and quiet.  We heard from him at 8:30ish and were concerned that he had pooped again.  We decided that I would go in and check, change him if necessary, and lay him back down.  I went in, checked him - no poop, so I handed him his pacifier and kissed his head and left.  He cried - hard - but was asleep in 6 minutes. 

Did not hear from him again until 6:20am this morning!!!  WOO HOO!!

D is home with M all day today and is not planning to go anywhere around naptime so he will do some nap training today.  We'll see! 

Sleep Training Night #2

So after a long day at the pool and some weird naps (fell asleep on morning walk and in car on the way home from the pool), we were prepared for another long night of "sleep training".  I felt confident that we could handle it and was prepared for night #2 to be harder, just as most of the books say. 

We did the bedtime routine again, including half the bottle with a story then bath then finish the bottle with prayers and a good night song.  Then hugs & kisses from Mommy & Daddy and wishes for sweet dreams.  Handed him lovey and his paci and laid him down with a blanket. 

He was standing up before we left the room and was quiet for a few minutes.  Then, he started "talking" to for about 8 minutes.  Then, the crying started.  It was intense but there were breaks.  He launched into "Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama" and "Dada, Dada, Dada, Dada". 

I pushed through it, telling myself that I would not abandon my poor hubby to do this again without me until I finished folding the laundry.  My plan was to run one errand to Whole Foods and to pick up a pizza for Friday-Night Movie Night. 

By the time I finished the basket of clothes, he was quiet.  I was a little nervous (did he hit his head, choke on his pacifier, cry himself to the stage of passing out??) but D assured me that he was probably asleep. 

So I ran my errand and at 8pm, D texted me that our baby boy was sleeping peacefully in the center of his crib with his lovey and on his side.  (unlike the first night where he appeared to simply pass out in a puddle of tears on his tummy in the corner of his crib!)

We checked on him after our movie night and lo and behold, he had pooped again.  I was expecting it as he didn't move his bowels at all during the day, which was odd.  We successfully tandem-changed him again in his sleep and put him back to bed. 

He wimpered as he woke up this morning at 5:52 and was happy and talking when we went in to get him at 6:10am. 

I am so proud of our boy - we made a HUGE deal out of it, singing a song and clapping when we got him up.   He was all smiles and his tummy was rumbling for his bottle.  We brushed our teeth and are now ready to start our day. 

I must say, I am also so proud of us as parents.  This is a tough nut to crack but we hung together and stuck with it, even forgoing dinner plans for tonight to ensure that we have this mastered by the end of next week.  It just shows me that when we decide what is best for our son and we tackle it together, we can handle it. 

Thank you for the sleep

M did an awesome job.  After weeks (or, let's be honest - months) of supplying pacifiers or giving hugs 1-4x/night my darling boy didn't wake up until 5:45am.  The last 3 weeks it has been a regular 4:30am date but not today!!!

We heard him peacefully & happily wake up, talking and shouting out his normal "HEY!!" in the morning.  I listened to my readings and left him there until after 6am.  When we went in at 6:10am, he was smiling and peaceful. 

So - a success. 

Today will hold a new set of projects - nap time sleeping.  We'll see what that brings but I know that we are at least moving in the right direction. 

My favorite sleep books

      

Sleep Training Night #1

He did it. 

We just got through our first night of the CIO sleep training.  And, it only took an hour!!!!  (I realize that to some people this might be shocking and upsetting but I was prepared for 2 hours of rage and ignorance). 

We switched up the bedtime routine so that he would recognize that we were about to embark on a new bedtime journey.  He responded well and talked for about 20 minutes before screaming his head off for 40 minutes before finally falling asleep in the corner of his crib, damp with his tears. 

Now...before you launch into lectures about trust and abandonment issues, I was SURE that M was ready to go to sleep on his own before we started this process.  AND we tried lots of other less abrupt methods but to no avail.  My little boy just loves to play and laugh so when we tried The Sleep Lady's technique at this age, it just didn't work.  It was wonderful a few months ago but now that he can stand, walk while holding on, crawl, and say Mama & Dada, being next to the crib or in the room just seemed to confuse him. 

I love(d) rocking my boy to sleep but his 20+ lbs didn't seem to want me around anymore.  He would squirm and push against me, almost protesting my existence but seeming to need me to help him turn that corner into dreamland. 

Soooo -- after much debate, lots of conversations with mommies, and one day of procrastination, we did it! 

Of course, I do not have a backbone for these sorts of things so I left D with the monitor and headed to the basement to organize.  God Bless plastic bins - they can occupy me for hours.  D made one visit to escape the monitor for a minute.  My dear hubby - just couldn't listen to screams of "Dada, Dada, Dada" without tears in his eyes. 

The funniest part of all of it was when I checked on him about 15/20 minutes after he fell asleep.  He was in the corner of his crib, curled up on his tummy, peacefully sleeping and .... STINKING OF POO!!!  I thought "seriously??? now what??!!" 

But my amazing husband had faith that we could tackle this so we lifted him out of the crib, changed his diaper in tandem-style, and laid him back down.  He slept through the whole thing. 

We shall see when we hear from him in the morning and how the next few nights go.  It seems hard to believe...so I won't until I know it's for real.

10 Best Foods for Babies

Loved this article: Baby Center's 10 Best Foods for Babies except for the Meat (we are raising M to be a vegetarian) so I took that one out.  If I had to add a 10th to replace "Meat", it would be Tofu which is an excellent source of protein and a great finger food for babies.  Plus - it is so mild in flavor that you can use it to introduce other flavors and spices. 

HERE IS THE ARTICLE:

There are lots of healthy, baby-friendly foods out there, but some stand out from the pack. These ten culinary superheroes are loaded with essential nutrients, reasonably priced, easy to prepare, and delicious.
What's more, now's the perfect time to introduce them. While the very word "nutritious" can start a food strike among older kids, babies' opinions, and palates, are still relatively open. Many parents are surprised to discover that their babies really enjoy these foods, either from the very first bite or after a few exposures.

Here are ten of our absolute favorites.

Squash


Squash is an excellent source of vitamins A and C, is naturally sweet, and has a pleasing, creamy texture.

Serving idea: Sprinkle parmesan cheese and a little chili seasoning on half a squash, roast it, and scoop out a serving for your baby, suggests pediatrician Susanna Block, owner of World Baby Foods, an ethnic baby food line. "Cooked squash with a little cilantro, mild chiles, and garbanzo beans are another great combination," she says.

Lentils

Crammed with protein and fiber, lentils pack a powerful nutritional punch. They're also one of the cheapest healthy foods you can buy.

Serving idea: Combine cooked lentils with mixed vegetables, rice, and seasonings of your choice. "Try basil and oregano," suggests dietitian Karin Hosenfeld of North Dallas Nutrition. "Or toss in a bay leaf, which works really well with lentils." (Remove the bay leaf before serving.)

Dark green leafy vegetables

Leafy greens boast high amounts of iron and folate. While spinach is perhaps the best known of this group, there are many other varieties, including kale, chard, and collard greens.

Serving idea: Steam and puree a batch of greens, then mix with iron-fortified cereal to give your baby a double dose of iron. Experiment with the proportions to see what your baby likes; Hosenfeld suggests starting with two parts veggie to one part cereal.

Broccoli

Brimming with folate, fiber, and calcium, broccoli is also known for its cancer-fighting properties, says dietitian Kate Geagan, author of Go Green, Get Lean. And thanks to its sulfur compounds, it has a unique flavor that can help expand your baby's tastes.

Serving idea: Steam pieces until soft, then chill. "Steaming takes the bite out of broccoli," says Hosenfeld. "And chilled broccoli is sometimes better accepted by babies. It can also be soothing during teething."

Blueberries

The deep, brilliant blue of these berries comes from flavonoids called anthocyanins, which are good for your baby's eyes, brain, and even urinary tract, says Stephen Gass, co-author of Mix and Mash: Adventures in the Kitchen for Baby and You.

Serving Idea: Gass suggests this easy blueberry soup: Combine 1 cup of blueberries with one-quarter cup of water in a bowl, microwave for one minute, and let cool. Then swirl some plain yogurt on top.

Avocados


"Avocados are a rich source of unsaturated fats," says nutritionist Leanne Cooper, author of What Do I Feed My Baby: A Step-by-Step Guide to Solids. "In fact, the fat composition is somewhat similar to that of breast milk." Concerned about your baby eating fatty food? Don't be. "Unsaturated fat is the good kind of fat, and babies need it for brain development," says pediatrician Ari Brown, co-author of Baby 411: Clear Answers and Smart Advice for Your Baby's First Year.

Serving idea: Try combining mashed avocado with other foods, such as cream cheese, apples, or canned fish, suggests Cooper. And when it's playgroup time, ditch the crackers and take an avocado along instead. "Avocados can travel in your bag at room temperature and you can offer them in slivers or spread on toast fingers while you sip coffee with your friends," she says.

Prunes

Prunes have lots of fiber and can help relieve constipation – which, notes Brown, your baby may experience after you introduce solids.

Serving idea: Puree prunes and serve them straight or mixed with other foods, such as cereal or applesauce, for a naturally sweet treat. If your baby is badly constipated, Brown advises adding a teaspoon or two of prune juice to formula or expressed breast milk.

Garbanzo beans

Like lentils and other beans, garbanzos are rich in protein and fiber, says Geagan. They're also inexpensive and versatile.

Serving idea: Try hummus. You can find it in many grocery stores, or make your own by pureeing cooked garbanzo beans with garlic, lemon, olive oil, and tahini. You can also make a delectable finger food by sautéing or roasting the beans. "I have a 19-month-old daughter who loves chickpeas sautéed in a pan with seasonings and left out for her to munch," says mom Christina DeLuca.
Mandarin oranges

High in vitamin C and antioxidants, mandarin oranges are a supreme finger food. "Babies really love the flavor," says Hosenfeld.

Serving idea: This is a particularly easy one to prepare – just cut the segments into bite-size pieces and serve. You can buy mandarin oranges fresh or canned, but make sure the canned version is packed in water, not syrup, which contains added sugar.

Can't believe it's been soooo long

I cannot believe that it has been so long since I have written.  Life, or more accurately, life events have taken over.  It has been a whirlwind in our house since May with weddings, parties, trips, work, and of course, Michael-dom.  Our little prince has been developing new skills faster than I can type and it has been so incredible to watch. 

In the past 6 weeks, he has sprouted 4 teeth, mastered finger foods, started pulling up, started crawling, swims with Mommy & Daddy, and is doing some serious babbling.  It is really a sight to see!!!

What brings me to the blog today -- a few things. 

1) our beautiful sleeping patterns have gone completely haywire, much to my dismay
2) I am sensing that we may be entering the world of weaning

So- first thing's first...the sleeping.  M was doing an awesome job sleeping.  He took 2 beautiful naps, am & pm, and went to bed at 7pm every night.  He would sleep until about 6/6:30am and would wake up happy (and hungry).  For the past 3 weeks, that has all changed.  He now wakes up at 4:45am every day and has to join us in bed (after a long rocking session) to go back to sleep.  And he has to go back to sleep because he is a cranky terror if we leave him up (we tried - not pretty!).  Plus - he now is super hyper before bed and wants to play, not sleep.  We haven't done the sleep training mostly because his last bottle would put him out but I am definitely ready to start. 

Here is what some research turned up about 9-month-old's and waking:

The average nine-month-old sleeps 14 hours per 24 hours. This is usually divided into a through-the-night sleep of 10 to 11 hours and two naps of at least one hour each during the day. But research shows that 20 to 30 percent of infants at this age are waking at least once per night. 

An understanding of your infant's stage of development and an organized game plan usually help this messy situation. Because while she can babble, sit up, and certainly cry to express some of her wants and needs, your nine-month-old is far from efficient at expressing complicated thought. And sleep disturbance seems complicated. Understanding your baby's stage of development is step one in understanding the problem.
An infant at nine months of age has achieved two developmental milestones which may interfere with independent sleep:

• First, babies have developed object permanence by now. If you take a pen and hide it under a piece of paper, a four-month-old thinks you have made it disappear! A nine-month-old knows to lift up the paper and find the pen underneath. Similarly, a nine-month-old who sees you leave the room during your bedtime routine knows that you are somewhere behind that door. And she knows that there are things that she can do to get you back in the room. Crying is an infant tried-and-true mode of attack.
• Second, infants at nine months of age are often going through a major stage of separation anxiety. Infants can be quite clingy and need lots of reassurance at this age. Many a parent has complained that going to the bathroom without his or her baby glued to the hip is impossible. The intense separation fear that can bubble up at bedtime, then, is understandable.

A Pediatrician says:

When I discuss this issue with parents in the office, the first thing I do is to walk through their bedtime routine with them: "What do you do? And don't spare the details." It turns out that at this age, the last part of the bedtime routine is critical. Infants at nine months can make strong associations with their environment at the time they fall asleep. So an infant who falls asleep rocked and cuddled, can grow to need that rocking and cuddling to fall asleep. Because infants wake and return to sleep many times each night, your bedtime routine can result in an extra effort on your part (rocking and cuddling, in this example) many times each night as your infant wakes up and doesn't know what to do with himself.


Feeding, like motion, is another example of a parent-provided stimulation. For infants who bottlefeed or breastfeed as they fall asleep every night, I encourage parents to move the feeding to an earlier part of the bedtime routine. Instead of bath, tooth brushing, reading, feeding, then bed, I suggest feeding, bath, tooth brushing, reading, then bed. Pacifier use, white noise, or bright light in the room during sleep initiation can cause a similar problem. This issue of "cleaning up the bedtime routine" teaches your infant self-settling—a developmental task that all babies must learn.


As for weaning, we have recently dropped M's mid-morning bottle so he is now getting 4 bottles/day for a total of 27 oz/day. 

• 6am/waking: 7 oz
• 1pm/before nap: 7 oz
• 4:30 or 5pm: 6 oz
• 7pm/before bed: 7 oz

I am highly considering dropping the 4:30pm bottle and giving him a snack instead and then moving dinner to 5:30pm and his final bottle a little earlier to help with his sleep routine.  It is hard to decide because so much of what I am reading says that a baby's main nutrition is still coming from formula but M prefers solids.  Some of my research is telling me that it is ok to drop him to 3 bottles (7 oz each) per day.  I think that we might try it this week and then attempt to start sleep training this weekend so that we can (hopefully) have that mastered by the time I go back to work.  AAAGGGHHHH!!!!!

Summer Fun

We've entered a brand new phase of life/awareness with M as he is sitting up, eating solids, and rolling over both directions (and sometimes over and over again).  He is scooting/pulling/pushing himself around and is so anxious to crawl/walk/be grown, it is palpable. 

So, in honor of this new phase for M, D & I ordered some new toys for him.  Just in case you are interested in ordering some fun new things for your darling child, here are our recommendations for summer:

The "real" cry

So, it has arrived.  Gone are the days of the somewhat-cute whimpering cry of my little baby boy and here are the days of a real, honest-to-goodness cry.  He wasn't screaming or anything but last night, he started to really cry.  It was so sad.  He had wet through his onesie and when we went in to change and resettle him, he was really crying.  It broke my heart.  He had been producing tears since birth but these tears had real meaning.  He was upset and that was obvious.  He had been sleeping comfortably and then was awakened by that terrible wet/cold sensation.  And, Mommy & Daddy were not right there. 

I fear that we are entered a new phase of attachment to us and worry that we are about to embark on this new journey of helping M to learn how to settle himself.  I am NOT looking forward to it. 

Could M really want to go to bed EARLIER???

So, we have been trying to put M down between 7:30-8pm.  With his eating schedule, it just made sense.  I couldn't imagine that the boy would want to eat sooner than 2 1/2 hours since his last bottle and less than 90 minutes since his last solid foods.  The last few nights have been ridiculous in our household because M has been wired and rammy when we try to put him to bed at his "normal" time.  I couldn't figure it out.  He would drink and then push it away.  He would cuddle and then squirm and push me away.  It was getting on my NERVES!  Last night, I looked at D after an hour of this bedtime-nonsense with a look that was probably a bit shocking but I was spent! 

Thought about some advice I got from a girlfriend on Tuesday --- perhaps M was over-tired and he just wouldn't be able to turn the corner to go to sleep if his was already in this sleep-deprived-rant with his eyes bugging out of his head. 

So, tonight was a GREAT NIGHT. 

Picked up M after work to learn that he didn't nap (oh no - here we go).  But, he held it together and didn't fall asleep after his 5pm bottle.  We played and then we sat down to have dinner at 6pm.  M joined us for the first time at the table in his booster seat and had some yogurt while we had our dinner.  He had a great time.  He started to get fussy at 6:30 so D took him out and I had this epiphany .... time for bed. 

So, made his bottle and took him up.  Changed him into a nighttime diaper, gave him his Hyland's and a bit of generic Tylenol to help with this incessant teething, and gave him his bottle.  He was relaxed and eating like a champ.  Got to 1/2 oz remaining and he pulled the bottle out, smacked his lips (seriously) and then closed his eyes.  I put him on my shoulder to burp and there he rested for 8 minutes before I laid him down. 

He went right to sleep.  I even stayed in his room by the window to read for a bit (which has been my nightly position during the past 3 nights) and watched him reposition himself a few time before settling into that mouth-gaping-open sleep.  The kind I envy and think about doing every time I see him in that gorgeous place. 

So - my boy was TIRED!!!  Who knew???!!!! 

Things I will remember if/when #2 comes along

#2 is barely even a topic of conversation as a possibility for us but this morning, a few things dawned on me that I want to remember when #2 comes along:

1. Nap when the baby naps.  (will be tough if M is a toddler at home)
2. Get help with nursing from Day 1 and advocate until I get the answer that I need/want so that I can continue to nurse
3. Start to lay the baby down awake to go to sleep.  Then rocking will be a little treat instead of necessity.
4. Let people help me.  With everything. 
5. Don't feel guilty or ashamed to get a family member to watch the baby so that D & I can have some marriage time.
6. Save up enough money to pay someone to clean the house.
7. Get in the habit of using a cloth diaper system. 
8. Get 2-3 glass Dr. Bronner's bottles.  The plastic ones don't get nearly as clean as I would like them to (although I am sure that I am a bit obsessive)
9. Get in an exercise, eating, & showering routine right away so that I always remember to take those minutes for myself to make ME feel good. 
10. Don't be afraid to let others know when I am feeling lonely or when I am needing some time to myself. 

Seriously -- he wet through again???

M is doing it again....he is sleeping through the night minus the nights that he wets through his diaper, pajamas, and sheet.  He did this several months ago before we switched him to #3 diapers but he is doing it again.  It is incredible how much this boy pees!!

My amazing mama bought him some #4 diapers, but they are just longer.  They don't seem like they will hold any "extra" liquid.  So, now I am in the market for either overnight jobs and/or diapers made for boys.  I have read that they make overnight diapers in size 3 so I will try them.  My MIL told me about diapers for boys but I cannot seem to find them . . . yet. 

The craziest part about it is that I have managed (not yet mastered, but on my way) to change M, change the crib sheet, replace the crib sheet, rediaper & re-pajama M all while he remains sleeping.  One night, my darling hubby got up to "help" me but frankly, it was easier to do on my own.  The first thing he wanted to do was turn on the light.  Good thing he is thick-skinned because the look that accompanied my hushed "NO" was a doozy!! 

Ah, the skills that are acquired by mothers are incredibly impressive and hardly recognized.

Last Night was one of those nights . . .

I should have known.  When M skipped his afternoon nap, I should have known that we were in for an interesting night.  He had a great morning nap and even zonked out on me for a quick catnap while visiting some relatives for lunch.  I thought ... what a great day he's having.  I'll go to bed when he goes to bed tonight and tomorrow we will be so refreshed and awake. 

Then, everything changed.  He had lunch about an hour later than usual which altered his normal nap time.  I tried to get him to nap even for 45 minutes before his bottle around 5ish but no dice.  And, he wasn't really hungry so we got him showered and then gave him his bottle, of which he consumed about 3/4 before passing out on D's arm for 40 minutes.  He woke up and finished his bottle but then was so fussy and sleepy that I took him upstairs and he was asleep in a few minutes.  He fussed a few times before we went to bed around 10:30 but he never fully woke up.

Until 1:30am. 

Good morning, mama & dada.  Wide awake and fussing so we made him a bottle and he drank the whole thing down and passed out before we could even lay him down.  But, then when we tried to lay him down he wasn't having it.  After an hour of attempting to settle him we both knew that this was ridiculous so at 3:30am he joined us in bed. 

Needless to say, that whole notion of refreshed and awake went out the window.  I am now going with conscious and zombie-like.  Come on, coffee!

A Great Website - EcoMom™ Community

EcoMom™ Community

I love this website for advice and products. 

A New World has opened up . . .

M has been working on a new skill and I am proud to say that he has figured out how to sit up unsupported.  He has been sitting supported for a while and has been "practicing" sitting up on his own but today, he figured it out.  He even started to topple over a few times and caught himself. 

He now can observe life and participate in a whole new set of activities and he is loving it!!!  He is also VERY close to rolling back to front but I am convinced that he CAN do it but that he CHOOSES not to.  For example, if I tickle him on his back, he rolls over.  He just doesn't propel himself without the motivation (to get away from the tickle torture!). 

It is AWESOME watching my little man learn all sorts of new things.