Zachary Scott, the love of our lives

[lize566]

Well, I'm going to try to start a baby journal! It's almost feeding time, so I don't know how much time I will have. I know I've already posted most of my birthing story in the pregnancy thread, but I will post it altogether here, mostly for my benefit so I have something to refer back to all in one place.

We went in Sunday night at 11 and started Pitocin right at midnight. I got a few hours of sleep that night, but not a ton. We were both pretty anxious about the next day. I was having really minor contractions-like if I wasn't expecting them I probably wouldn't have felt them. All of my exams that day had me at 2 cm dialated and about 70% effaced, which was more than where I started that night, but still not much. Still very few contractions, though. At my last exam he was in a -1 station. So we decided to stop the pitocin at 8 that night and let me eat and shower and rest a little (I was STARVING) and start again the next morning at 5. Oh and I spent most of the day at 20, which is the highest dose they would give me.

So I ate, walked around a while, and showered, then took an Ambien and went to sleep. I got a good 6 hours of sleep. They started me back on the pit at 5, and then broke my water around 8 that morning (I think). Expecting contractions to pick up quickly, my dr suggested I go ahead and get an epidural so I did around 10. Still wasn't having contractions, though, but was incredibly uncomfortable from sitting in bed (I couldn't move around b/c my BP was being monitored every 30 minutes, even though it was low the whole time) so I was kind of thankful for the epi for that reason. The internal monitors picked up regular strong contractions but I didn't feel any of them.

Finally at about 2, after 30+ hours of pitocin, the dr said she didn't think he was coming vaginally. I had made no progress-in fact, he had even moved back up to a -3 station from the night before! Turns out my pelvic bone was in the way (I think). He kept hitting the bone when trying to move down, so I wasn't dialating b/c there was no pressure on my cervix. I'm still not really sure I understand exactly what happened, but I'm glad I had the c-section. They took me back about 4 or 4:30, I think, and he was born at 5:02. Turns out it took a while longer than it should have b/c he was so far up still that they had to use the vaccuum to get him out even with a c-section!! The dr said there was no possible way he was coming out vaginally.

He came out completely healthy, weighing 7 lbs 7 oz and 19.5 inches long. It was all kind of a blur, which I hate, but I'm glad I didn't have to go through an obscene amount of laboring and pushing and everything to end up in the same place. From there we went to recovery and did skin to skin and breastfed. He did pretty good with that, and seemed really content. His body temp was low, though, so after we got to our room they took him to put him under the warmer. It took 2 hours for his temp to go, even after they tried skin to skin for a while. Once they brought him back they told us he had some amniotic fluid in his lungs and everything b/c he didn't get that final squeeze through the birth canal (apparently it's pretty common) so he was having trouble getting some of it up. She showed us what to do if he quit breathing :whoa:. When she said that, I think both of our faces turned white! At that point we spent a little time with him in the room, then asked if he could go back to the nursery. We were in no way equipped to handle that!! I still couldn't move much from the surgery, not to mention the amount of stress that added to an already stressful first night with a baby!

Wow I got more typed than I thought I would!! I need to go wake him up to feed him, though. I'm not really sure why he doesn't wake up on his own, but with his touch of jaundice they really want me to feed him every 2-3 hours. This has been frustrating since waking a newborn is not easy!! Keeping him awake to feed him a decent amount is even more frustrating!!

To be continued...

[gwenshack]

Looking forward to watching him grow up! :soppy:

[Qtpie]

congratulations. I cant wait to hear more.

[Docsgirl]

Congrats Elizabeth! :D

[FFC]

Thanks for the update and YAY for another journal! Looking forward to hearing more and seeing more pics!!!!

[Brian's Bride]

oh wow! I didn't read your story until you posted it here, but would also have FREAKED about the possibility that my baby would stop breathing! He's six days old! Wow, the time will just fly by! Congratulations!!!

[Nekochanpurr]

Can't wait to hear more! :)

[Heywie]

It looks like we have opposite problems! I am constantly trying to get my kid to sleep and you can't get yours to wake up!

I'm glad you started a journal. It will be fun to follow our little ones together!

[lize566]

Man I didn't think it would take me this long to get back to this lol! Life as mom, though, I guess!

Anyways, so the first night we had him off and on, spent TONS of time with the nurse, and just kind of got acquainted with him. Our nurse was beyond fantastic. She literally spent 2 straight hours in our room! My husband wanted to take her home with us lol. She helped me get up and walking around, breastfeed Zach again, pump when he wouldn't eat, showed Stephen how to change a diaper, pick him up and swaddle him. Seriously, she was a lifesaver. The second night he had to go for some assessments so when he came back it was already like midnight. I tried to feed him, then let them take him back to the nursery so we could get a little more sleep. I felt horrible b/c I really wanted to keep him with us, but he was not going to lay down without us holding him, so they talked me into letting him go. Stephen walked him down there and saw so many babies in there, so apparently I'm not the only mom who sends her baby to the nursery for the night! I felt much better after that. However, it didn't work and as soon as he got back to the nursery, he was hungry again, and thus the cluster feeding began! He would eat for a few minutes, fall asleep, I'd put him down, he would sleep for a few minutes, cry, I'd pick him and start the cycle all over again. Frustrating does not even describe how I was feeling. Finally Stephen came over and set on the bed and promised he would stay awake and watch us both so I could fall asleep while BFing and not smother the poor kid! I don't really remember what happened the third night, but I feel like it went somewhat better, but still not great.

The only issue I had, besides all the night time stuff, was burning up and itching the first day from the medicine and hormones I guess. It was AWFUL! I was sweating through my gown and pillows and any thing I laid on, which made me itch even worse. I didn't want to hold him b/c he just made me hotter and I had already thrown up once holding him b/c I got so hot (I went the entire pregnancy without throwing up and then I finally have the baby and decide to get sick!). That wore off by the next day, though.

[lize566]

We went home Friday afternoon-boy that was surreal! We are just now kind of feeling like this is real life. He sleep a lot and is really content baby for the most part. I've been hormonal, especially at night after all of our visitors leave. That's been hard for Stephen, I think, b/c he's a nervous wreck himself then having to console me when he doesn't alway believe what he's saying has been hard. I'm getting better, though. We've been sleeping with him on the couch, putting him on like a pillow or something on our laps then putting our hands around him so we feel him move, since he won't lay down in his crib or playpen. I don't want to cosleep (nothing against it, tons of people do it and I can completely see why, just not something I wanted to start for various reasons) so we haven't laid in our actual bed, although I know what we are doing is essentially cosleeping, it helps me justify it lol.

Every night we've been trying to get him into his playpen more so he gets used to it. During the day he sleeps there with no problme, but it's like the sun goes down and he wants to be held. It's weird. However, last night he finally slept in his playpen all night!!! He woke up every 3 hours to eat, which is good b/c waking him to eat is darn near impossible. Luckily the doctor said I didn't have to wake him at night, but definitely during the day. I can live with that! I think we are going to try getting into our bed and him in his crib this weekend, if he continues to sleep okay in his playpen. I'm nervous about this step, though. I'm worried I won't hear him or something, and I think it also makes it completely real. I don't know why this is a bad thing, and maybe it's not, idk.

The BFing is going okay. I had a clogged milk duct Tuesday night which turned into mastitis. I felt like I had the flu, it was horrible. They started me on medicine, but I have massage the clogged area to get it out-that isn't fun, either. I'm hoping to keep BFing for at least another month, so I will have done it for 6 weeks, but I don't know if I will be able to after that. If I can do kind of half and half I probably will, but I am going to start working again, and I don't really understand how to nurse and pump without increasing my milf supply a lot. I've talked to a LC, and I have some ideas, so I am going try her suggestions and see how it works. He will sometimes eat every 1 1/2 and only for like 15-20 minutes total. This doesn't seem long enough, but he either falls asleep or just gums at my nipple and won't actually latch on (this might be a result of the mastitis, though, not really sure). I'm also confused on how to know if you have fully emptied your breast...I'll have to research this, or make an appt with an LC.

Our first pediatrician appointment is today, which I'm kind of looking to. I have some questions and I'm anxious to see how much he weighs. It's amazing how fast they grow; my cousin had her baby Monday night so we went up to see them yesterday, and after just a week it's amazing how different Zachary is from her baby boy. I can't think of much else, so I guess I will post a few pictures!

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/7f10935b.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/02d1dcfd.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/7e10bb3a.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/8157b0a1.jpg

[Docsgirl]

Aww, he's such a little cutie! :soppy:

Sorry to hear about the mastitis. One of my friends got that while she was bf and she was pretty sick for a few days from it, but was able to continue bf after it cleared up and the meds were out of her system.

Hope the transition into the crib goes well. I'm sure getting to sleep in your bed will help with some much needed relaxation and rest!

[uptowngirl]

What a handsome little man!! He looks just like you Lize!

I am so sorry about the sleeping and eating problems! It sounds like you are doing everything you can to make it work for you and Zach - I hope the doctor's visit is reassuring for you!

[Heywie]

Sounds like you're starting to get into a bit of a routine, even though it's hard!

I'm sorry to hear you got mastitis. That must be horrible. Breastfeeding is so hard - I had no idea it would be! I am exclusively pumping now because I had issues with my let down and it was so incredibly painful, it is much easier to pump and bottle feed.

As for emptying your breast, it's harder to tell when the baby is eating, but if you feel your breast before you feed, it will feel a bit harder from all the milk in it. Once you empty it, your breast feels fleshy and soft again. If you're not sure, pump a little after he's done eating to see if there's more in there.

Good luck at the doctor! It's fun to see how the little one does the first time! Can't wait to hear!

[savepaws]

He is beautiful! Thanks for sharing your story! It helps to kind of know the different things I might expect to experience after giving birth.

[mj512]

He is beautiful!

[Danielle9608]

I loved reading about your experiences it actually makes me feel less nervous about how I will do once Averi is here. You are doing a great job! And your little man is so adorable! I can't wait to hear more about how things are going!

[lize566]

I'm glad that my experience will help you guys...I know I reread some of the journals of the new moms before I went into labor!

And Haley, thanks for the info...I am going to start paying more attention to how they feel. Right now I am kind of taking the approach of letting him eat off one side and pump off the other. This has worked today, but will work better when the milk duct is unclogged.

The ped appt went great...he already weighs more than his birth weight!! He is 7 lbs 8 oz, so not much more, but it was so reassuring to know that he is getting enough to eat. Everything else was good, too. Well, gotta go, feeding time :)

Lets hope tonight goes as well as last night did!

[lize566]

I had a second and wanted to add a couple things I forgot earlier. Zachary lost his umbilical cord!! I was excited b/c that was just one of those things that totally grossed me out.

Also, since this was one of my biggest stressors towards the end of my pregnancy, I just wanted to say that as nervous as I was about how Stephen would handle everything in delivery and afterwards, you ladies were right he has amazed not only me but my whole family. If it's possible, I think he loves Zachary more than I do! He was there for me every step of the way, and did things I never thought he would (he wouldn't shave my legs, which I find amusing considering he pretty much showered me the day after my section) and has even gotten aggravated with me when he feels like I didn't ask for his help. He is doing his fair share with Zachary and is doing most of the housework without being asked. I have never been so in love with him :luxlove:

Some father-son bonding time watching the NBA finals (I don't really think Zach cares too much, but daddy sure is enjoying it ;))
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/bd9a7c0d.jpg

[Nekochanpurr]

omg that is so cute! I'm glad hes being a good daddy! There ain't enough of those in the world. <3

[Danielle9608]

AWWW Go DADDY!!!

[lize566]

So things are going pretty well in my neck of the woods. Zachary has been sleeping all. the. time! I'm so not complaining, b/c I know some of the other mommies on here would like to have that problem, but I literally have to wake him up every 3 hours or so to feed him during the day. It's only been the last day or two that he has really slept that much, so I'm hoping it just means he's going through a growth spurt.

Last night he wouldn't lay in his crib, so I ended up on the couch with him again. I hate that, b/c I feel like I'm just taking the lazy way out, but we tried for close to 3 hours to get him to lay in his crib-we were all tired, so in order for any of us to get any sleep, that was the only solution I saw. My main issue right now is determining when he's really hungry or just wants to suck. Usually I can do a pretty good job, but sometimes he wants to eat every hour for like 20 minutes a time. I don't think it's cluster feeding, so maybe he's just not getting full, although I'm pretty sure I still have milk left, he just falls asleep or pulls off and won't take it any more. I don't mind feeding him, I just don't want to be used as a pacifier and I'm struggling to tell the difference sometimes.

Otherwise, BF is going really well. He's doing great; there are just so many rules and such that I worry about, such as emptying my breasts, and pumping/storing correctly, etc. It's mostly me being anal about things, I'm sure.

[lize566]

I'm frustrated and I need to vent to someone other than Stephen. I haven't been this frustrated since we were in the hospital and I hate feeling like this. And I know some of you are having a much harder rime than we are and I admire you for being able to so it.

Zachary will not sleep in his crib and he seems to want to eat every hour at least. Maybe he is cluster feeding but how so you know? He won't take a pacifier very long and he almost seems to be fighting sleep. I don't want to just keep feeding him in hopes that he will fall asleep enough to go down in his crib, but I don't know what else to do. As long as we are holding him
he seems to be okay, but we just started getting him to sleep on his crib and I don't want to back track. Sorry if this makes no sense it's late and I'm on my phone so there might be quite a few typos.

[Danielle9608]

Glad things are going easier for you. Hopefully he will get used to his crib soon!

[starsthrumysoul]

Aww, he is such a cutie!!! And I love that picture of him and DH watching football together :)

I'm sorry that it seems to be going a little rough at the moment. Can you call the pediatrician about it? They might have some solutions that you haven't yet thought of. I'm sure it can get pretty frustrating at times, and I admire you for doing what you have to do in that moment to make your little guy happy. Hang in there - I hear it gets easier :flower4u:

[Goin2thechapel]

I'm frustrated and I need to vent to someone other than Stephen. I haven't been this frustrated since we were in the hospital and I hate feeling like this. And I know some of you are having a much harder rime than we are and I admire you for being able to so it.

Zachary will not sleep in his crib and he seems to want to eat every hour at least. Maybe he is cluster feeding but how so you know? He won't take a pacifier very long and he almost seems to be fighting sleep. I don't want to just keep feeding him in hopes that he will fall asleep enough to go down in his crib, but I don't know what else to do. As long as we are holding him
he seems to be okay, but we just started getting him to sleep on his crib and I don't want to back track. Sorry if this makes no sense it's late and I'm on my phone so there might be quite a few typos.

Sounds like he's heading into a growth spurt. They will literally eat and eat and eat. As for the fighting sleep, I can't help you there because Amelia and I are going through the SAME THING and it's sooo frusterating!! I wish I knew the trick.

[Docsgirl]

Unfortunately I can't give any helpful hints or advice because I'm not a mommy, but I just wanted to say that I hope he'll be able to start sleeping in his crib peacefully soon! :flower4u:

[uptowngirl]

From what I have read it sounds like a growth spurt is coming up! I know you are worried about being used as a pacifier, but Zach is still soooo little that it may just be that he needs that. New babies thrive with skin to skin contact, and he just might be needing a little bit extra right now. :luxlove:

[lize566]

Thanks ladies! We tried a pacifier and he sucked on it for a little while, but as soon as we put him down he was crying again. We finally swaddled him b/c we think he was waking himself up when he jumped in his sleep. That worked like a charm and he went to sleep and slept for about 4 or 5 hours. So we are going to try that first off tonight and hopefully it goes better. I agree with you guys, though, I do think he is in a growth spurt b/c his feedings are definitely getting longer!

I also read that some babies feed like that at night to prepare for a longer bout of sleeping, so that could be what he's doing too. Fortunately right now it's okay for us to be up that late b/c we are both home during the day and can sleep later, but Stephen goes back to work after the 4th (which I am so not looking forward to!) and then things are going to get a little more difficult but that's okay I'm trying not to worry about it...it has to happen eventually!

[lize566]

We had a great night last night! Zachary went down about 7 (This wasn't our intention, but he was knocked out after his feeding around 6:30, so we just put him in his crib and he wouldn't wake up for a 9 feeding) and slept until almost 1 (minus about an hour where we were trying to keep him awake to feed him at 9) then went back down at 2ish and was up again at 6:30. We are now up for a few hours probably, which is fine since we both got plenty of sleep! The last few nights haven't been bad, either, but he wouldn't go down until midnight or so. He slept a while, the night just started late.

Othewise, there are a few new things that have started this past week. When asleep, he jumps as if something has scared him, but there is nothing going on or moving that could have scared him. This in and of itself isn't new, but recently he has been doing so bad he wakes himself up. He doesn't just wake up, though, he like jerks awake, eyes wide open, and crying like someone is hurting him. It's only happened a couple of times, but it's strange. The only way we have gotten him to stay asleep at night is by swaddling him so he can't jerk so badly. I'm guessing it's pretty normal, though, it's just new for us.

Also new is spit up. He's only done this a few times as well, and it's never been a lot. I'm not worried or anything about it, except that when I went in his room this morning there was a big wet spot behind/next to his head and the back of his sleeper around his neck was wet. It wasn't hot enough for it to have been sweat, so I'm assuming it was spit up. My concern with this is what happens if he spits up and chokes on it or something? He doesn't fuss or anything when it happens, and I can't run in his room everytime I hear a sound, so how am I suppose to know? I don't like the fact that he spit up all over himself and just laid in it...Poor thing!

[ikkin510]

The jerking is totally normal for newborns. It doesn't last too long though.

Don't worry too much about him spitting up. Most babies instintively turn their head when the spit and they are on their back. My only suggestion is to make sure he burps good before laying him down. Even keep him sitting up for a little bit after feeding him. Not nessasarly awake, but cuddle with him sleeping on your chest. For the most part, babies will spit up within 30 minutes of eating. That is what worked best with Carter and might work for Zachary

[lize566]

The jerking is totally normal for newborns. It doesn't last too long though.

Don't worry too much about him spitting up. Most babies instintively turn their head when the spit and they are on their back. My only suggestion is to make sure he burps good before laying him down. Even keep him sitting up for a little bit after feeding him. Not nessasarly awake, but cuddle with him sleeping on your chest. For the most part, babies will spit up within 30 minutes of eating. That is what worked best with Carter and might work for Zachary

That's what I thought about the jerking, but I just hadn't seen him do it so drastically. I'm glad it doesn't last too long, though!

And thanks for the tips on spitting up! I had awful thoughts of my little baby laying there with spit up all over his face! Other than the middle of the night feeding (of course, this would be when he spit up) I usually do keep him laying on my chest semi upright for a while, but I will make sure to do that after the night time feedings, too.

[lize566]

Zachary is changing so much these days!! He's already beginning to outgrow some of his newborn outfits so he's definitely getting bigger. Just by looking at him I can see his little cheeks and belly filling out. I can't wait for his appt next week to see what he weighs and how long he is, even though I think he's going to be getting some shots that day, too.

We are also getting his one month pictures taken next week, which I CANNOT wait for! I can't believe he was 3 weeks old yesterday! It feels like he has been forever.

I'm going to be honest, though, and it might make me sound a little selfish. As much as I love Zach, which I am reminded of everytime I look at him, I'd be lying if I said I haven't had any moments were I thought "I don't really want to do this for the rest of my life...I miss it just being the two of us." I mean, I knew our life would never be the same, I just didn't expect to miss it so much sometimes. It's always a fleeting thought, and then I remember how much I love him and how it won't always be like this, with the feedings every 3 hours (if not more often) and not knowing what is wrong when he's upset. It would be different if I really knew what to do with him when he's awake, which is happening more often these days. I love him being awake, and seeing his eyes look into mine, and seeing how he finds new things to look at, but right now, he doesn't really do a lot and I feel like I don't know how to occupy him. Does that make me a horrible mother?

On another, lighter note (although I didn't think it was so funny when it happened, but now, an hour later, I can laugh at it) guess what happened while I was typing this post? My first diaper explosion! And of course, Stephen just left to go to the movies and he was the one who changed the last diaper and forgot to pull out the ruffles so when Zach pooped, it shot out the side and went eve-ry-where!! All over him, all over me, all over the pillow I had my arm propped up on, all over the keyboard of the laptop sitting on my lap. It was fantastic. As annoyed as I was with Stephen, he didn't do it on purpose and it's not his fault it happened when he was gone, and I can't help but laugh now!

[Danielle9608]

LOL I am glad you are laughing about the poop explosion now! :laugh2: You are doing a great job, and no you aren't a bad mom! It's new to you and you are learning as you go and I think you are doing a great job at it too!

[NOTKT]

Doh! :laugh2:

He's getting so big, we need new pictures!

[WBandMe]

LOL at the poop explosion--I'm sure I'd have been horrified had it happened to me, but you're right that it's pretty funny in retrospect! It'll be a nice story to tell his new girlfriend someday :laugh2:

I don't think it's wrong of you to feel a twinge of nostalgia for just being a family of two. Babies are a HUGE adjustment and so much work and care, and while you love them to pieces, that doesn't mean it's *always* easy or fun to have one. It's only human to think that way--what really matters is that they're just fleeting thoughts and in your heart of hearts we all know that you love that little guy with all you are, and you're a wonderful mommy to him!

[lize566]

Okay, you asked for more pictures, so here you go!!

Sleeping on Daddy
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/4769a0bf.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/9103445d.jpg

And I look awful b/c I am trying to get him back to sleep at like 1 am, but he looks so happy! Not really sure what was going on, but it's not an actual smile in response to anything.
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/dc34f590.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/ba94256d.jpg

Here he is with Grandpa, practicing his version of "tummy time." My dad was just holding his chest and letting Zach practice holding his own head up. He was doing good for a while, then he got tired lol.
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/438e95b4.jpg

This is the best picture of him, but it shows how big he is getting pretty well. His cheeks are so chubby :)
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/5fb105b9.jpg

[dizy1j62881]

I absolutely LOVE the 1am picture!!! Its so darn cute!!!! And you are looking great Liz!!!

[Danielle9608]

Aww he is so sweet and cute!

[Heywie]

So adorable! I love his little cheeks!

[WBandMe]

What a cutie! I love his little duck outfit.

[Nekochanpurr]

Oh my goodness.. How cute!! I just wanna pinch those cheeks! lol

[uptowngirl]

Oh my gosh Lize he is so cute!! I can't tell if he looks more like you or like Stephen...I think it depends on the picture - in the first two (I LOVE that first picture!) I think he looks like you, but in the last ones more like Stephen!

[FFC]

I think he looks a lot like his mama.... but then again, it depends on the picture LOL! Thanks for sharing! He's suuuuuch a cutie pie!

[savepaws]

He is sooooo cute!!!

[lize566]

So all I've done today is feed Zachary. Well at least that's how I feel. He has eaten every hour since 11 for an average of like 21 minutes. Normally he only eats every 3 hours and I even usually have to wake him. His average has steadily gone up the last few days. This has to be a growth spurt, right?

If not, he is becoming increasingly dependent upon me to pacify him, so I think we are going to introduce a bottle tomorrow. I'm a little worried about it bc I still don't know how I'm going to work our the logistics of pumping and everything. Oh well. Otherwise we've had a pretty good day-went out to lunch with my inlaws and went to old navy to get flag t shirts for this weekend.

[ikkin510]

Yep, sounds like a growth spurt. It's about the time when he would have one!!

[FutureKelley]

Yup, right on time for a growth spurt. Oh I so do not miss those days of feeding every single hour!

[lize566]

I think we are starting the hourly feedings again, which I am not excited about b/c we are supposed to go to my cousins for his birthday. Everyone is looking forward to seeing him and when he gets like this I am apparently the only one who can soothe him, even between feedings. I hate that b/c it makes Stephen feel like Zachary doesn't like him. He knows that's not true, but he is still frustrated. Well, time to feed him.

[lize566]

So to solve Stephen's issues of feeling inadequate, we tried giving Zach a bottle. We started with 1 oz of milk I pumped this morning and I warmed it under the tap. So far he's not taking it, but I'm not positive he's hungry. He was rooting, but he ate for 19 minutes at 12:45 and then had a snack for 6 minutes at 1:45. I don't think he was hungry then b/c he feel asleep quickly. I'm really struggling with knowing when he's really hungry. I'm going to talk to a LC hopefully today when I go to rent a pump.

[Heywie]

I feel for you! It's the worst when the only thing that soothes your baby is your breast! I hope this growth spurt doesn't last long and you can get back to a more regular schedule!

[lize566]

We had a pretty rough day yesterday, but had a great night!! I'll have a couple of pictures in a little bit; I'm having trouble getting them from Stephen's phone to mine.

Zachary was SOOOO fussy yesterday, hopefully b/c of a growth spurt and not something else. We went to my parents for a 4th of July party and there was quite a few people there so I think he may have been over stimulated, which led to him wanting to eat often (I think, although it could still be the growth spurt, but he didn't start wanting to eat that often until later in the day). Either way he was pretty unhappy. I know that he is at a stage where they are just fussy sometimes, but apparently other people, even mothers, don't get it. My mom and grandma kept asking me what was wrong with him, in this incredibly desperate tone of voice, like it was just killing them that he was crying. I mean, I didn't want him to be upset either, but I'm not a mind reader and I didn't know what was wrong! Anyhow, it annoyed me b/c there was nothing I could do about it except feed him, which would require me to be isolated in another room and I didn't feel like being in there by myself all day. I was already feeding him every hour anyway, so as long as he wasn't screaming and whoever was holding him was okay, I let him stay there.

On a positive note, though, we had the best night we've had yet! He went down after a feeding at 10:30 or so, slept until 4:30, then went back down until 8:30. It was wonderful!! The last few nights he had been up every 2-3 hours, so this was a welcome change. I really hope it lasts, but I'm not holding my breathe. We also got to se my cousin who had a little boy a week after I did. He made Zachary look so big, even though he's not that much older! It's amazing how much they change it such a short period of time! Oh and we took him to this place called babyology and rented an electric pump and weighed him while we there. He weighed 9 lbs 8 oz!! That's over 2 lbs since birth! His monthly pediatrician appt is Friday, and I'm anxious to see how long he has gotten. We are also getting his pictures taken Thursday, so we have an exciting week!

[Danielle9608]

Well sorry to hear about the rough day but YAHOO for the awesome night! I hope it lasts!

[lize566]

Apparently after every good night, we have to have a bad night. He didn't go down again like 1, but he slept ALL day! I'm guessing he was just exhausted from this weekend. He woke up at 8:30, though and has been up since, so I'm hoping for a better night tonight.

Anyhow, I'm trying not to be "that" mom that calls the pediatrician and worries to death over every little thing. My mom is like that, and it drives me insane. I'm not saying she shouldn't worry, b/c I know that's not possible and she only worries b/c she loves us, but she worries so much it's unhealthy. And I don't want to be like that, and never was until I had Zachary. Even now, though, I probably wouldn't be like that if it weren't for my mom constantly in my ear about everything. I mean, I'm not sitting up at night worrying, but it is on my mind. So what do I have to worry about? Well here's the list (most, if not all, is probably perfectly normal, but I can't find concrete information on the internet, so I can't be sure) Oh and none of these things seem to be bothering him and I'm going to bring them all up at our dr appt Friday.

-He has a bump/lump/raised area on his head. It's not from laying one side too much, b/c it's not flat. If you are looking at him, it's on the top leftside towards the back. It's not so noticeable, but when you run your hand over it, there is a pretty deep indention right underneath it where the next bone starts. It's not getting bigger and I've called the ped and they said to wait until our appt Friday.

-He has a red spot/rash at his hairline on the back of his neck. I'm 99% sure it's a stork bite, so I'm not as worried about this. It just appeared in the last couple of days, and it's not changing.

-He has a hard lump under his right nipple. We found it yesterday, and it seems smaller today. I'm sure it's something from the hormones he's getting from my breastmilk. The nipple isn't secreting anything and it's not red or getting bigger. He doesn't have one under his other nipple.

-Lastly, contrary to the previous three days where he ate for 3-4 hours total each day, he didn't even eat a total of 2 hours yesterday. I would've thought that he would be eating more since I'm pretty sure those three days of constant eating was a growth spurt. Maybe he was just exhausted, since he did sleep all day, and was more tired than hungry? I'm going to see how today goes. He did have the appropriate amount of diapers though.

Okay I think that's it. In other news I'm going to a pumping class today. I'm really excited about that b/c I can't figure out how to pump with dramatically increasing my milk supply. It's probably inevitable to increase my milk supply, and it's selfish for me to worry about that, but I'm already large breasted and have trouble finding bras that are comfortable, so I really don't want my breasts to get much larger! Especially with volleyball starting soon since I would prefer to wear a sports bra, which are kind of difficult to find in my size.

Wow, okay, that was a really long post! Thanks to anybody who made it through!! I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining or being negative or anything, things are actually going pretty well.

ETA: My baby is 1 month old today!! Gosh time flies!!

[lize566]

Here are the 4th of July pics I promised!

Our first actual family photo (we took one in the hospital, but it's not very good) Aren't we cute in our matching old navy shirts lol! There is a running joke in our family about people in matching shirts. My aunts and cousins LOVE to wear matching clothes...so much so that sometimes I thin they do it subconciously, like on Saturday night my mom and her 2 sisters all showed up wearing the exact same shirt on accident. It's funny.

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/b7357887.jpg

He wasn't the happiest baby that day, so he wasn't real enthused about getting photographed!

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/4ae08a01.jpg

And this is me and my cousin, who had her little boy a week after I had Zachary. This is the first time our boys met. He has a head full of hair!

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/e9125373.jpg

[FFC]

YAY for pics!!!! You guys look great... and I love the family portrait!

[starsthrumysoul]

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/b7357887.jpg



My god he's SOOO cute - I can see both you and DH in him :flower4u:

The matching outfits are just too cute :luxlove:

[ikkin510]

I wouldn't worry too much. As for the lump on his head, Carter had/has something similar. The doctor said it's just from the skull forming. Since it is in peices when they are born and it takes a few months for it to all fuss together. It is starting to get smaller on him now.
The lump, I would point it out at the appointment, just to be on the safe side. It's most likely nothing though. Ryan had a lump on his knee when he was a baby and the dr ordered an U/S just to be on the safe side. It ended up just being a lump from hormones and such and it has since disappear.

As for the eating less. I always found that a day or two after a growth spurt my kids had a day where they ate less then usual. Plus, IDK how the weather is in your area, but if it is really warm he may just not want to eat cause of how hot it is. As long as he is eating some, still having regular diapers, etc, it should be nothing to worry about.
THe pictures are so cute! Love the matching shirts for the family!

[dizy1j62881]

awe liz the pics are too cute!!! All 3 of you look adorable!!! I know when its hot out and being on the go I don't like to eat and my tummy is alot bigger than little ones :)

[lize566]

We've had a busy but good couple of days! Yesterday we went and got his one month pictures taken...and don't worry I am going to post them ;) We made a day out of it and walked around the mall for a bit then got lunch and then went to JCPenny's. I know one thing, all this laying around I've been doing has got to stop!! I was exhausting and after just a few hours of being out and about! If I don't start getting out more I'm going to die when I go back to work. Stephen goes back to work Sunday amd I start volleyball Monday, so we are getting to go back to reality! I've decided that I'm going to start going on a walk, even if it's just around the block, 3-4 times a week in the morning. I figured that would help start get him on a schedule, too, if we stay awake after his 7 am-ish feeding. That was a bit of tangent, sorry! The point of that was to say that he slept great last night! He went down around 8, woke up around midnight, ate, went right back to sleep, same thing at 5:30, then I woke him up at 8:30 (he was stirring, so he was getting up soon anyway). Hopefully we don't have a late night tonight, which is typically what he does after he had a good nights sleep.

Today we went to his 1 month checkup. Nikki, you were right, none of my worries were anything to worry about!! And man did he go through a growth spurt!! Last Saturday he weighed 9 lbs 8 oz and today, not even a week later, he weighed 10 lbs 8 oz!! He measured 22.25 inches long, and was in the 75% for both his height and weight. His head circumference was like 37 inches or something. I can't remember exactly, but he was in the 50% on that. Everything else looked they said. And I asked about swimming-our doctor said after his 2nd month shots, which is polio, DPT, and something else I think, he would be okay to swim in a chlorinated pool.

Now here's the good stuff-pictures! I'm not going to post all of them, b/c there were 26 shots, but I will post quite a few. We had trouble deciding, needless to say!
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/P18.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/P11.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/P10.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/P7.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/P4.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/P1.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/E6.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/E5.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/E4.jpg

[Danielle9608]

Aww the pictures came out great. He looks just like you Liz!!

[WBandMe]

Beautiful pics! I love the family shots.

[Goin2thechapel]

Beautiful family pictures Liz!!!

He's gorgeous!

[gwenshack]

Fabulous photos!! So glad we get to see him! :)

[ikkin510]

What a sweet baby boy! Love the pics!

[Heywie]

Glad to hear he's sleeping so well! I wish mine liked to sleep so much!!!

Those pics are great! I wish I had thought to do pics at each month. Whoops!

[scarymary48]

What a little cutie! That 1am photo is soooo cute, it looks just like he is smiling for the camera, and your family shots are beautiful!

[FutureKelley]

Awww, love the pictures!!

[lize566]

Well it's been a while! Volleyball started for me a couple weeks ago, so I've been busy with Zach during the day and volleyball at night. Things have been going great-got the all clear from the dr, but was told I still need to work on losing weight, which I knew (baby weight is gone, but I have quite a bit I need to lose anyways)-until a few days ago. All of a sudden BF has become a HUGE challenge.

Just to warn you, this might be a long and confusing post b/c I'm frustrated and just need to get it out. Hopefully one of you moms might have some advice on the what the problem could be.

First let me begin with my evening routine. I feed Zach at 4:45 or so and pump the other one, since he only eats off one side usually. Go to volleyball, come back and feed him around 8:30. While I'm gone, he usually gets about 4 oz. in either one or two sittings. This feeding goes fine. Since he typically eats every hour a few hours before he goes to sleep, I don't pump, but am sometimes engorged. So then when he eats the second time (usually around 9-10 and then he goes down for the night) he will eat for 6-8 minutes then start screaming. Sometimes he hasn't even completely pulled off before he starts crying. So I pick him up and burp him, calm him down, etc. Put him back on the same side (it's mostly been the right side) and he's screaming as soon as I put him down on that side. Won't take the breast at all, even if I squeeze some milk into his mouth.

So this happened last Friday night (oh, and I always take a wash cloth and wipe off my breasts before I feed him), so I talked to the dr, who is also a LC, on Monday. She said it could be an ear infection since it only happens on the one side. It also could be a quick let down, since my right side is the side with more milk when I pump. She suggested I either pump for a minute before or pace him when he's eating. If he still does it, call the ped. If he's still doing it call her back.

Well, he didn't do it all weekend, and was fine all week. Well he did it again last night, a little during the day today, and again tonight. And he's doing it both sides now. To me, he seems frustrated, like the flow is too slow. Last night I felt like that could have been it b/c I was really engorged so I pumped and he ate about an hour and half afterwards, but tonight I've had plenty of milk left.

I don't think it's an ear infection b/c it's both sides and he has no other symptoms. Maybe he's getting used to a bottle, which I'm not going to be happy about, but I don't think its feasible to not give him a bottle, plus I was hoping to continue nursing at night and in the morning once I went back to work, but if one bottle a day does this to him then there's no way he's going to take my breasts after bottles all day long :(

He still acts really hungry, rooting like crazy, crying like he's hungry, sucking, and won't take a pacifier. Tonight he was REALLY upset, like almost couldn't breathe crying. Then when I put him down on the right side, he cried even more and started kicking his legs a lot. However, last night we got him calmed down and Stephen went to make a bottle, but I got him to sleep before the bottle was ready and he slept his usual 4 hours. Tonight has been somewhat the same, although he's still awake, he's just been content for the last hour or so w/o eating.

Could it be reflux? He again doesn't have any other signs, such as spitting up or arching his back. I'm at such a loss right now!! I left a message for the LC to call me Monday and I'm going to call the dr Monday morning as well. I've never heard him cry so hard and I feel so helpless. I really don't want to quit BFing, though. Please pray that we get this figured out soon!

[scarymary48]

I'm sorry you're having trouble, Liz. I don't have any advice, but my Zac went through a stage like this too, and he doesn't have any bottles at all. I went and saw the lactation consultant, and she gave me a few pointers, and after a couple of days he stopped doing it completely. He only very rarely does it now. Hopefully your problem can be easily fixed too. Hang in there :flower:

[ikkin510]

Sorry I don't have any advise for you either. But I hope you can meet with a lactation consultant and get him back to BFing ok again! ((((HUGS))))

[Heywie]

geez, I think there are a number of things that could cause that...

My LC said when Ollie starts crying on the breast, it could be gas, and I should take him off and walk around holding him with his back to my chest, my hand putting pressure on his stomach, and his legs up in the air, like he's sitting. After a bit, he'll relieve his gas and feel better and eat.

It could also be something you're eating that is turning him away. When Kev's cousin was BFing, her baby wouldn't take her breast if she ate spicy food.

I hope the LC gets back to you and fixes this problem asap!

[lize566]

Well I talked to the LC yesterday and it turns out, he's getting lazy b/c of having a bottle. I can't blame him, he's just a lazy baby in general, but he gets it honestly-we can both be pretty lazy lol!

I did take him in to weigh him to make sure he's getting enough and he weighs 12 lbs 4 oz! The LC was like "I can tell you he's fine without even weighing him-he looks like a 3 month old!" Makes sense, though, b/c he is in some 3 month outfits, but it's mostly his length that makes the 0-3 months to short.

Back to the point, though. I need to make sure to keep my supply up so when he eats for those 8 minutes or so he is getting plenty, and just keep switching sides until he's full if one side doesn't do it. She didn't say we needed to stop giving him bottles, but we are going to try to cut back and only give them to him if we absolutely have to. He is doing much better today, and he hasn't had a bottle since Friday night. I had volleyball last night so I was gone for about 3.5 hours and he was pretty hungry when I got home, but he was the rest of the time, according to Stephen, so I think we can make this work.

My biggest worry is that we will have to start supplementing with formula when I go back to work b/c I won't have enough saved up or he stops taking the breast when I'm home since he's going to be getting the bottle while I'm at work and I won't have enough saved up to be able to feed him exclusively breast milk from the bottle while I student teach. Hopefully we are back on track, though!

[firespirit]

If the LC says he's getting lazy with bottles. What about maybe using a nipple with a slower flow rate? Or a wide based one to mimic the natural shape?

Not sure if that would make a difference or not, but maybe getting the milk from a bottle is just too easy for him compared to BFing.

[lize566]

If the LC says he's getting lazy with bottles. What about maybe using a nipple with a slower flow rate? Or a wide based one to mimic the natural shape?

Not sure if that would make a difference or not, but maybe getting the milk from a bottle is just too easy for him compared to BFing.

Well we use the slow flow nipples but we have just been using the medela bottles so we could try a nipple that mimics the breast. Good idea, thanks!

[Heywie]

Ollie stopped taking that Medela nipple early on. We use the Playtex Ventaire slow flow nipples and haven't had any problem with nipple confusion so far!

Good luck!

[ikkin510]

I breast and bottle feed Ryan and also used the playtex ventaire wide nipple. Never had nipple confusion with him

[lize566]

Okay, so I have a lot to update! I feel like everytime I have a few minutes to get on here I have so much to say...things just change so fast with him!

Well the BF is much better. We've been trying to stay away from bottles, but when we HAVE to use one, we've used Tommee Tippee and he's done great. And since we are trying to stay away from the bottle, and since I'm starting work in like 2 weeks (which I am NOT looking forward to :(), I figured it was way past time to get him on some sort of schedule. After reading a bunch of stuff about scheduling and routines, I realized I could've been working on this from the beginning, but everybody kept say that they would create their own schedule, etc, etc. That may be true, but I could still have been doing things to help. Oh well!

My main goals are to stretch his feeding times from 1-2 hours between each one (yes, sometimes he ate every hour. He apparently likes to graze.) to 2-3 hours between and to get him to sleep more consistently at night. He sleeps pretty well, but sometimes he goes down at 9 and sometimes it's midnight. And he sleeps for 5 hours but then wakes every 2-3 hours after that, which is what I'm trying to stop.

Yesterday was our first day, and it went pretty well. We bought this book called Babywise, and I've also read up on E.A.S.Y (thanks Amanda!) and both are pretty similar-both follow the eat, awake, sleep schedule. We were totally backwards on this, b/c he would eat then sleep, then be active, and it wasn't consistent b/c sometimes he would not nap between feedings. So yesterday we went 2.5 hours between almost every feeding! It made for a pretty easy day since he was awake an hour to an hour and a half before he went down for a nap, so the day flew by! He also napped in his crib for most of his naps, which is a first.

These are the places I'm having trouble, though.

1) Some of the activities that should/could be done in the awake time put him to sleep (such as being in the carrier or going for a walk). He also hasn't quite learned how to entertain himself, which I know is our fault b/c if he cries we pretty much pick him up. I'm working on this. I'm also looking into getting a few new toys that I can just put him in and not have to entertain him. We have an activity set, but it's not very exciting (only 3 toys) so I think he gets bored quickly. We also have a bouncer and a swing, but neither really seem to hold his attention. If anybody has any suggestions for stuff that works on an 8 week old, I would really appreciate it!

2) He wants to eat hourly if not more often in the evenings. Last night we got home (we went to church then to dinner, and he feel asleep in the car, so we skipped the awake time. Hopefully this is why he was fussy), fed him, changed his diaper and clothes, rubbed some lotion on him, then read a book. He was yawning and fussing, but wasn't very drowsy. I think he was fighting it. So we put him down about 8:40. 15 or so minutes later he was crying. We let him cry for 5-10 minutes (or as long as Stephen could stand it lol) then picked him to and tried to soothe him. Nothing worked, he seemed hungry, I fed him, he was pretty much asleep, so I put him back down. Same thing happens. After I fed him for the 3rd time in 3 hours he was out. He ate good the first and third time; the second he only ate for like 6 minutes. I know my supply is lower so he doesn't get as full, but I don't want him to depend on eating to go to sleep at night. Then he slept 5 hours, woke up and ate, then was up 2 hours after that, then 3 hours after that. I wish he could skip that middle feeding, so I was just up once in the middle of the night. I could handle that.
So that's the major thing happening in our life right now. He's definitely awake more and beginning to smile. It's so fun!! I will try to post some pics soon if I can catch a good smile. Hope all is well with everyone!

[Danielle9608]

I LOVED babywise! Glad you getting him on a schedule is working out well!

[saltyveruca]

It sounds like you're getting it all worked out! It may not feel like it, but 5 hours at a time is pretty fantastic from what I've heard!

[lize566]

Yeah, I liked Babywise a lot. Definitely wish I'd had a few months ago, though! I bought the second one, as well, for 5 months and up, or something like that.

And don't get me wrong, I love that he sleeps 5 hours! Since it's the first stretch of the night we usually get to have some husband and wife time before we go to bed, but on the other hand, we don't go to bed until 10 or 11 and if he's been asleep since 8 (which is our goal) I'm still only getting 2-3 hours at a time. I'd even be fine with getting up at 1 or 2 or even 3 if he then slept another longer stretch. I'm just so stressed about starting my student teaching again, getting him on a routine and sleeping better at night would be one less stressor I'd have to worry about. We have 2 weeks, and hopefully it clicks by then!

Yesterday went pretty well, but again, last night was a challenge. He didn't go down for good until 11 and we started the whole process at 8ish, so we ended up with almost 1.5 hours of him crying and us soothing then putting him back down, just to do it all again 10 minutes later. It was frustrating, but it will be worth it.

[lize566]

Well, I go back to work today. Not looking forward to it bit at least it's a Friday. I'm so worried that night times are going to be difficult nc he may not get to see me all day (literally all day. Like from 8 am to 8 pm. It's going to suck$ so he's going to want to eat a lot to get that bonding. Im also worried that he will stop wanting to nurse bc of getting the bottle so much and I'm already going to have trouble pumping during the day. Breadtfeeding is by far my biggest worry bc I so badly want to make this work but really feel like it won't.

And our schedule is going good during the day, and we had 2 great nights of 7-8 hours straight, but these last 2 have been back to 4 hours followed by 2-3 hours. I'm a little annoyed by this bc I don't know if the 2 good nights were just flukes or if I could be doing something to help it happen again.

Finally, he had his 2 month check up. Weighs 13 lbs 7 oz which is the 90% and is 23 3/4 inches long, which is the 80%. Everything looked good and he handled his shots really well. I'm excited bc they said he could swimming so we ate taking him this weekend at my parents fir my sisters bday. Bit sure about the sunscreen though so I'll have to call the dr today.

This was all done on my phone so I apologize for all the typos!! Pleaser pray we get our sleeping back up to longer stretches!

[Danielle9608]

I'm sorry you have to go back to work today. I hope you have a good first day back.

[FFC]

Oh I'm NOT looking forward to going back to work and I'm not even on maternity leave yet! Good luck and I hope the BF'ing still works out for you!

[lize566]

Half way through the day and I'm doing pretty good. I got to come home for lunch so I'm pumping. Zachs asleep so I just get to see him for a minute...and I didnt realize how much I missed him until I saw him!! He's doing okay with his daddy, although I think daddy is still pretty nervous lol.

[lize566]

One week down, 7 more to go :)

We all survived the first week with me back at work! I was completely wiped out by Friday, but that's okay. Zach seemed to handle it okay. He's still nursing just fine, thank the Lord, and my supply doesn't seem to have suffered too much. It's definitely gone down, but I've still been able to store about 4 oz a day, which is what he's been using from the stored milk, so basically we are breaking even every day.

Sleeping wise, he slept through the night, like 8 hours or so, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday night, although he wasn't going to bed until 11. The end of the week was a different story, though. He was still up until 11, but woke up around 2:30 and again 5:30, just for me to have to wake up at 6:30 and get him up at 7:30 so we stay on our eating schedule. That's been a little frustrating, but I just keep reminging myself that he's adjusting, too. I know we need a bedtime routine, but it's hard b/c we aren't always home at the same time, and somenights I just don't have the energy to fight with him when he wants to nurse for 30 minutes every hour. I'm sure this is just him wanting to bond, so I've been letting him, and then putting him down when he falls asleep.

That's fine if he won't sleep through the night, but I really want to get him out of waking up at 5:30. I know he's not hungry b/c he just ate and he should be able to go longer, so I am going to try to just soothe him back to sleep. I was going to try that the other night, but as soon as he saw me he just grinned and cooed, so I had to pick him up :doh:

We've had a great weekend, though. I'm not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow, but I really enjoy it once I'm there, so that makes it easier. He's such a happy baby, especially in the mornings, and I miss having time with him since I'm only getting him in the evenings for the most part and he's usually fussy by then. Oh well, this is something I have to do, and we will have a better life one day because of it :)

Oh and I cannot believe he is almost 11 weeks old. Where in the heck does time go??

Here are a few new pictures for you guys!
This is my avatar, but I'm completely in love with it!
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/def55424.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/b0ead901.jpg

This was taken on his 2 month birthday...it's his first "big boy" outift
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/46011_681326714024_38307791_37895820_7657659_n.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/35972_678574873734_38307791_37799205_7342979_n.jpg

[Heywie]

So cute!!! I love the pics!

I'm sorry you have to leave him for work, but it sounds like he's doing well with it. I think it's harder on us moms than it is on our little ones sometimes!

[Nekochanpurr]

He is too cute!!

[Danielle9608]

He is so handsome!

[lize566]

I know that I haven't been around much (I try to stop by and catch up everybody's lives once in a while) but I have to vent and I feel like all my statuses on FB are so negative so I'm trying to be more mindful of what I put there. You don't even have to read, but I sure could use some advice/encouragement.

Anyhow, on to the vent. First, let me just say that he is typically a very easy going baby. Doesn't fuss much and is pretty happy all day. And he was a great sleeper until 4 months. However, now he WILL NOT sleep at night. He goes down okay, between 7-8 and is usually put down awake and does just fine going to sleep. His naps are very inconsistent, like some days he will sleep 1-2 hours, others we struggle to get an hour. Our bedtime routine is pretty simple-nurse around 5:30, eat dinner (usually a vegetable), change diaper and put on PJ's, quiet play for about 30 minutes, then once he seems to be getting tired, we read a book or two and maybe sing a lullaby, depending on how tired he is and what time it is. I feed him again around 10:30, but he doesn't usually wake up, and will eat for 20 minutes or so, which is great for him. He's not a great eater during the day. It's a struggle to get him to nurse and he used to be all about solid food but the last week or two he hasn't eaten much of those either. He is a textbook distracted eater-he hates being still!

So at night he has been waking up sometimes as much as every 1-2 hours!!! He cut two teeth about a month ago, right around the time we started cereal, and his sleeping got better. He would wake up between 2-3 then maybe again around 6, but not usually, and we typically get up around 8.

I'm at a loss. He wakes up crying and won't calm down even with a pacifier until he is fed. I don't know if he is truly hungry since he isn't much during the day, if he is teething again, maybe it's a growth spurt, or maybe he just needs more time with me b/c I'm working a few days a week. I worked Monday and Tuesday, and those nights were by far the worse we've had in a while. I have no idea what's going on with him and I can tell he's tired during the day. I try to let him sleep in, but then our daily schedule is so screwed up that I'm not sure that's the right thing to do.

I've read books and article on the internet and I always feel like I either am stuck b/c he should just grow out of it (but some say this could go on for months!!) or that I am creating all these bad habits. I don't really want to let him cry b/c he gets so worked up that it takes us a while to calm him down (or I'm afriad he might make himself sick, even though he's never done it he's come close.) I just don't know what to do. I'm constantly worried about whether or not I'm making the right decisions for him, and fighting guilty and resentful feelings b/c I have to work.

Okay, vent over.

I'm sorry this is an incredibly disjointed and rambling post. I had to get it out though. I've had all these thoughts floating around in my head for days and I can't concentrate on anything else I need to be doing. If you have made it this far, I am amazed but I really appreciate you reading this!

[KMS]

I truly wish that I had some insight. We will do the exact same thing sleepwise and she will be great for a few nighs and then we have nights like last night. :bbconfused: Last night Chad told her that if she kept up this way, she would not be getting a sibling. Haha

[ikkin510]

It's the same in out house too! Part of your issue may be he isn't eating enough during the day. Try to remove all distractions while he is eating and get him to eat more. Maybe he'll do a little better. Other then that I can't help you. Carter has been doing the same thing for MONTHs. We'll have a good day here and there but for the most part, it's horrible.

[lize566]

Thanks you guys :hearts:

I've wondered that, Nikki, so today I fed him in his room (usually we are in the living room) and gave him a little stuffed animal to rub/play with. I know that sounds like a distraction, but I figured if he had 1 thing to focus on he may not wonder to everything else. He doesn't have any kind of lovey or anything so I'm hoping I can create one to use for bedtime. It seemed a little bit better, so we shall see how tonight goes. I also did a bit more research on feeding him solids, and I had originally read to feed him solids 30-60 min after BF, but then I read that that would encourage snacking, so I started feeding him immediately after BFing. That probably explains why he is no longer interested!

During my research I found something you guys might enjoy (or you might've seen it before, but I thought it was cute). Made me smile a little despite my frustrations.

Sleep Training

OK, here's my situation. My Mommy has had me for almost 7 months. The first few months were great--I cried, she picked me up and fed me, anytime, day or night. Then something happened. Over the last few weeks, she has been trying to STTN (sleep thru the night). At first, I thought it was just a phase, but it is only getting worse. I've talked to other babies, and it seems like it's pretty common after Mommies have had us for around 6 months. Here's the thing: these Mommies don't really need to sleep. It's just a habit. Many of them have had some 30 years to sleep--they just don't need it anymore. So I am implementing a plan. I call it the Crybaby Shuffle. It goes like this: Night 1--cry every 3 hours until you get fed. I know, it's hard. It's hard to see your Mommy upset over your crying. Just keep reminding yourself, it's for her own good.

Night 2--cry every 2 hours until you get fed.

Night 3--every hour.

Most Mommies will start to respond more quickly after about 3 nights. Some Mommies are more alert, and may resist the change longer. These Mommies may stand in your doorway for hours, shhhh-ing. Don't give in. I cannot stress this enough: CONSISTENCY IS KEY!! If you let her STTN (sleep through the night), just once, she will expect it every night. I KNOW IT'S HARD! But she really does not need the sleep, she is just resisting the change. If you have an especially alert Mommy, you can stop crying for about 10 minutes, just long enough for her to go back to bed and start to fall asleep. Then cry again. It WILL eventually work. My Mommy once stayed awake for 10 hours straight, so I know she can do it.

Last night, I cried every hour. You just have to decide to stick to it and just go for it. BE CONSISTENT! I cried for any reason I could come up with.My sleep sack tickled my foot. I felt a wrinkle under the sheet. My mobile made a shadow on the wall. I burped, and it tasted like pears. I hadn't eaten pears since lunch, what's up with that? The cat said "meow". I should know. My Mommy reminds me of this about 20 times a day. LOL. Once I cried just because I liked how it sounded when it echoed on the monitor in the other room. Too hot, too cold, just right--doesn't matter! Keep crying!! It took awhile, but it worked. She fed me at 4am. Tomorrow night, my goal is 3:30am. You need to slowly shorten the interval between feedings in order to reset your Mommies' internal clocks.

P.S. Don't let those rubber things fool you, no matter how long you suck on them, no milk will come out. Trust me

Gaby

[ikkin510]

Too funny and I can just hear our kids thinking these things!

[savepaws]

That was cute. :) Sorry to hear you are having problems. I wish I had advice. It pains me to hear that things don't really get easier like everyone says!!!

[lize566]

That was cute. :) Sorry to hear you are having problems. I wish I had advice. It pains me to hear that things don't really get easier like everyone says!!!

They have to get easier at some point, don't they :unsure:????

I think he got easier from 2-4 months, then we experienced the infamous 4 month sleep regression/teething/developmental leap period that we are still in. Although it's harder sleep wise, it's also more rewarding, which I have to remind myself of often, like making him smile and laugh, and watching him figure things out, and seeing him reach for me when I get home :soppy:

In fact, he slept good last night (from 10:30-5!!). I'm (praying) that he was just cold, even though I feel horrible that he's been so cold at night. The thermostat is in the hallway, and his room is in the corner of the house and our walls practically zero insulations, so even though the thermostat was reading 70, his room wasn't. We put a space heater at his door and that must have done the trick.

And in other news-we went to meet the woman who is going to be watching Zach starting in January. My mom can't do it anymore b/c of work, and I have to start working at least 4 days a week. I did not handle it well!!! I've been in tears pretty much since we left at 7 lol. I'm acting like I'm never going to see him again!!! It's ridiculous, but I am so sad about it. What if I miss a first? What if she knows him better than I do? What happens if he starts preferring her over me? I know these are all absolutely absurd things to think, b/c he's only going to be there 3 days a week. It doesn't matter though, these are my thoughts. And I am so incredibly jealous of stay at home mom's right now. I enjoy what I do, but I just wish it was a choice. But I knew this would be life when I got married b/c of what my husband does. I just didn't know I was going to be so upset about it. Okay, enough of the pity party!

We actually had a good day. Finished Christmas decorations. I love the look on my sons face when he sees something new. He's amazing. I think it's time for some new pictures, actually!

Sorry for the quality of the picture, and I hope they work!

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a0cf08b3127ccefbef1a471b8e00000030O11EZOG7Nq0Zg9 vPgY/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D1/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a0cf08b3127ccefbee9c7c3bba00000030O11EZOG7Nq0Zg9 vPgY/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D1/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a0cf08b3127ccefbeeb774fa0f00000030O11EZOG7Nq0Zg9 vPgY/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D1/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

[KMS]

Aren't those new look faces the best?! Lately, I've been giving Paisley sips of my water and she'll excitedly take a sip and then look up at me so amazed at what she just did. It's the best!!

I'm soooo glad that last night was better. I hope it was just the temperature of the room!! I'm so sorry that you're so torn up about going back to work. :( I feel so blessed to be a SAHM, but I'm scared that we're not going to be able to make that work for much longer.

[lize566]

I hope you guys can find a way to make it work, for you to stay home. I see nothing wrong with being a working mom, and I was okay doing it for my student teaching, but it's so much harder now, I guess b/c its long term. If there was any way at all for me to stay home, I would, or at just work part time. We could make it with me working PT, but we wouldn't be able to pay off our cc debt or my school loan (for a degree that I wouldn't be using if I only work PT, ironically) and I would have find a job for the summer. All in all, it's not realistic. Anyway, I hope you guys have a better night!

[lize566]

We have finally been able to get some sleep these last few weeks! Naps are consistently 1.5 hours, 2x a day, with a a 30-40 minute catnap in the evenings. He is eating better, too, which I'm guessing is related to the sleeping or vice versa. He's getting to meals of solids a day. We are trying to branch out with the solids, but he seems to be having some constipation issues. I don't think he's constipated, but his poop has been really hard, so I'm being pretty picky about what I feed him. And he is so funny. He never likes a food the first time he tries it. I guess it's the new texture? It always takes him a few days, then he seems to warm up to it. Except peas. Still hates peas lol. He will eat them with carrots, though, which I think is weird. I'm trying to figure out how to get him some protein, like chicken or something. THe dr also suggested beans. And I would like to start giving him some finger food, but I'm not sure if he is ready. That's one of my goals after Christmas, to get a bunch of food pureed and frozen and figure out how to get him some meat and beans.

He is trying SOOOO hard to crawl! He can scoot, and he can get on his hands and knees but he he just rocks. Any day now, though! I haven't baby proofed anything yet, so I need to get a move on it!! I suppose that's pretty much it as far as updates, so now it's time for the fun stuff-pictures!! We got his 6 month pictures done along with some Christmas ones, and I love them all so I'm probably going to post a bunch. Hope you guys don't mind ;)

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/10.jpg

He has no neck. He gets that from his dad :laugh:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/6.jpg

Family
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/8.jpg

This snowsuit is WAY to big, but he looked so cute it!
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/1.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/0055.jpg

[Danielle9608]

Oh my gosh he is so adorable!! Averi eats much better when she naps well too. I am so glad he is napping better for you!

[ikkin510]

Adorable pics!!
Most babies poops will get harder as they start to eat solids. So don't worry too much. But if he start acting constipated you can always give him some prune. That should empty him right out!

[NOTKT]

That's a great family picture!

[britTANNY]

The pictures are so cute :)

My Dr. recommended apple or pear juice to help with constipation issues! You are lucky he is a good eater! Glad sleeping is going better. I know how you feel about staying home. I really wish i could but things are hard right now i am actually working 2 jobs :( but i have high hopes that things are going to get better so hopefully they will for you too!!! :yesnod:

[lize566]

Thanks ladies!

So as soon as I posted that, he turned into a screaming crying mess at naptime and bedtime! He was acting like he was starving, so I fed him after 15 minutes of screaming. Nothing would soothe him. Then last night he ate for a really long time before bedtime and at 10:30 for a dreamfeed. He was up at 4, which wasn't a big deal and he ate for like 12 minutes, then again at 6. I wasn't going to feed him at 6, but he wouldn't resettle and he was still tired, so I fed him. Then he got up at 8 and didn't seem overly interested in eating. He was off and on for 5 minutes or so before I gave up. He did the something similar for like 1/2 a day last week, so I thought that was his growth spurt, but now I'm wondering if this is his growth spurt. And he won't take his paci at night anymore, which I'm glad, but now we are having trouble settling him. Not really sure what is going on. I'm okay with feeding on demand if I knew he was really hungry as opposed to just pacifying himself. It's too bad babies don't come with hunger meters, like on video games like the SIMS lol!

[britTANNY]

It's too bad babies don't come with hunger meters, like on video games like the SIMS lol!

Ha i have thought the same thing!!!! Just look over their head and make sure their bar is green! Shows whether they need to play, eat, sleep, everything :lafhard:

[lize566]

Ha i have thought the same thing!!!! Just look over their head and make sure their bar is green! Shows whether they need to play, eat, sleep, everything :lafhard:

Wouldn't it be wonderful :)

In the meantime, though, I think I'm going to start really working on sign language, at least the basics, like hungry/eat, more, full/all done, those types of signs. I'm praying he starts picking up on them soon, b/c the only hunger cues I've ever really noticed is when he actually starts pecking or turning towards me whenever I pick him up.

[britTANNY]

Wouldn't it be wonderful :)

In the meantime, though, I think I'm going to start really working on sign language, at least the basics, like hungry/eat, more, full/all done, those types of signs. I'm praying he starts picking up on them soon, b/c the only hunger cues I've ever really noticed is when he actually starts pecking or turning towards me whenever I pick him up.
YES it really would!
I think Sarah posted a thread about that i saved the website with info http://www.babysignlanguage.com/
hopefully it helps you!
i thought about doing it but my dad bought her my baby can read so we have been doing that for about a week and a half and she has already picked up a few things like open your mouth and clap (we tried teaching this before so i think the video just reinforced it and made her want to try)

[lize566]

YES it really would!
I think Sarah posted a thread about that i saved the website with info http://www.babysignlanguage.com/
hopefully it helps you!
i thought about doing it but my dad bought her my baby can read so we have been doing that for about a week and a half and she has already picked up a few things like open your mouth and clap (we tried teaching this before so i think the video just reinforced it and made her want to try)

Thanks!! I saw that thread, but didn't look into a whole lot b/c I wasn't sure how much I was going to do. Since I work (I teach, so I'm off for christmas) he's not with me all day and I don't think his caregiver knows anything about the sign language. But oh well, I need to do this. Anyway, thanks for the reminder, I'm going to check it out now!

[britTANNY]

Thanks!! I saw that thread, but didn't look into a whole lot b/c I wasn't sure how much I was going to do. Since I work (I teach, so I'm off for christmas) he's not with me all day and I don't think his caregiver knows anything about the sign language. But oh well, I need to do this. Anyway, thanks for the reminder, I'm going to check it out now!
Yea i work too! I know what you mean! I have 2 jobs right now lol... I think that any thing helps there are videos too that do it but im not sure what they are. It wouldnt hurt to ask the caregiver if she would work with him! You never know till you ask! Good luck! :)

[lize566]

We had a great Christmas! We have like 5 million family gatherings throughout the holiday, and for the most part he handled it like a champ. On Wednesday night we went to my mom's for a small Christmas party, then Thursday night we went to MIL's for our Christmas with her, Christmas Eve morning we went to FIL (they are divorced and both remarried) then straight from there we went to my mom's side of the family. Luckily it was a 45 minute drive so Zach slept in the car going to FIL's and to my grandma's. Then we went to church that night at 11, which he slept through mostly. Christmas day we did "Santa" at our house for Zach then went to my mom's for our family Christmas, then to the Stephen's side for the extended family Christmas then back to my mom's. The only time Zach had a meltdown was Christmas Eve and he had not slept hardly at all, so I was kind of expecting it. It's taken us a couple of days but we seem to be getting back on schedule.

Overall we had a good time, though. Everyone talked about how well Zach did with all the festivities, and I'm kind of surprised myself. I'm thankful it's over, but not at all ready to go back to work! I have some updates about our sitter situation, but I'll save that for another day. Picture time!

Decorating the tree
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/7d27f4c4.jpg

Christmas Eve at FIL's. Not at all Christmas related, but it was the first time he'd ever seen a horse and I LOVE this picture! He kept wanting to touch the horse, it was cute.
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/353d578e.jpg

Christmas Morning
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/47a6d556.jpg

He finally discovered his presents...they had been under the tree for about a week and he never paid any attention to them
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/789733ab.jpg

Excited at Grandma and Grandpa's!
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/47a990bd.jpg

Playing with his new activity table. He's not quite tall enough to use it sitting down, and can't hold himself up to play with it standing up, but he's loving it so far
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/Zachary/5e555685.jpg

[WBandMe]

Aww, great pics! I love his little green jammies. And the pic with the horse, aww. Can you imagine what a horse looks like to a baby? Sheesh!

[lize566]

Thanks! The PJ's say My First Christmas-I'm a sucker for things that say My First... I feel like I have to have something for every holiday!

So I've really been trying to get back on schedule with him. He hasn't been going to bed well since Christmas, and it wouldn't be an issue if I didn't have to take him to daycare Monday (which, btw, I am dreading), where they will have a fairly structured nap time. He takes a great AM nap, but I think that's part of our problem b/c then he isn't as tired for his PM nap, therefore it's only 45 minutes. Which then dominos into his feeding times being off in comparison to naps, and then we've been a little busier so he hasn't gotten his catnap in the late afternoon, which I think is the main problem. He's either OT and can't settle down, or he is confused and taking his catnap at like 7, which then means he is up until 9 or 10, which then starts the cycle of him not getting enough sleep at night so he sleeps longer at his first nap. Do you see where I am going with this?!?!?

The only solution I have come up with is to not let him nap so long in the AM. Sooooo today I wake him after 1 hr 45 min instead of letting him sleep over 2 hours, which has been his norm. But he still only slept 45 minutes. Even after I tried to get him to go back down. And then we needed to go the grocery, so he missed his catnap AGAIN but fell asleep on the way home. I quietly took him out of the carseat and fed him then but him down. (this was around 7) He slept for 1 hr, and he's been up ever since. And why is that he used to be able to go down awake and fall asleep with no problems, but as of late he has to be practically asleep before we put him down?

I'm praying he does okay at daycare and she's not like "Um, I'm sorry, but your child require way too much work to get to sleep, he can't come back." Okay, I know that's not realistic, but still. Do you all worry about your child not being perfect when other people are watching them? I know that children aren't perfect, but like I feel so guilty if he is difficult when I'm gone, which is stupid, I know, but do you all ever feel like this?

[ikkin510]

I feel like that! I know no kid is perfect, but when someone is watching the boys, I want them to be nice and easy and by the book kids. Although it never seems to happen that way.
Who knows, maybe him going to day care will actually help his schedule! They may have some ideas to help him sleep a little bit better there at least. I'm sure they deal with baby's having different schedules all the time and have a few tricks up their sleeves.

[lize566]

I need a reason to not work on my resume and cover letter, so here I am lol. I had kind of resigned myself to just waiting for the public school system to hire me, since they pay so much better, and just subbing until then, but I am tired of subbing. I enjoy the actual work, but I HATE not knowing where I will be each day, or if I will even be able to find a job. Sooooo I've decided to start looking more seriously into private schools and other childcare services. There are 2 pretty good options right now, I just have to get my resume and cover letter together, which is way more brain power than I feel like using right now. One of them is a director of childcare at the biggest church in town. It's probably way over my head, but I have a management degree and an early childhood, so on paper I've got the ideal degrees. We shall see, though. The biggest plus would be that I could bring Zach with me, and it shouldn't be too expensive. That would be a dream come true for me.

Speaking of childcare, I'm really happy with the childcare provider we ended up going with. At first, I had found a lady through a friends recommendation, but I just didn't feel comfortable. She seemed great, the price was perfect, but she had more kids than what I was comfortable with. So my mom found an ad in the church newsletter for another person who watches kids (b/c my mom has been feeling super guilty b/c she can't watch him anymore and she didn't like the idea of the other lady either lol.) We called her and went to her house to check things out and we loved her. I felt a million times better. She only has 3 other kids, one of which is part-time. All are under 3, but Zach is the only one under 1. And she is an actual certified childcare provider, so she has to follow all the state guidelines, which is a huge plus. She's a bit more expensive, but still cheap in comparison. Things will still be tight unless I work 5 days a week (I was hoping to only work 4, especially since I am going to try to keep BFing and I'm concerned about keeping my supply up) but we both feel good about our decision. I'm anxious to hear how he does with the other kids tomorrow. I hate going back to work, but at least I feel good about where Zach will be!

And I have a question for you ladies who have started finger foods-did you child gag a lot at first? I've been trying to give little pieces of bread and bananas, and he gags, like, everytime. I always think he is choking. It's not fun! And he is quickly losing interest in the purees-he hardly eats them anymore, and I really think it's b/c he wants to be eating stuff like we are eating and feeding himself. Did anybody else have similar experience?

Okay, I can't think of anything else :blink: back to work it is, I guess!

[britTANNY]

And I have a question for you ladies who have started finger foods-did you child gag a lot at first? I've been trying to give little pieces of bread and bananas, and he gags, like, everytime. I always think he is choking. It's not fun! And he is quickly losing interest in the purees-he hardly eats them anymore, and I really think it's b/c he wants to be eating stuff like we are eating and feeding himself. Did anybody else have similar experience?

Okay, I can't think of anything else :blink: back to work it is, I guess!
Lexi didnt gag that much when i fed her, but everytime my mom gave her something she would gag lol it was so weird. Lexi has boycotted anything from a baby spoon, and if it is cereal or baby food she spits it out and closes her lips really tight! So i have been giving her real foods such as beans, mashed potatoes, fries, bananas, oranges, grapes, crackers, green beans, mac n cheese, noodles... everything all sqwished up and in tiny pieces exept for crackers i let her eat those whole and watch her carefully. She does really good, I have to give her either apple or pear juice to help her with going poo. :)

[lize566]

Warning: vent ahead. I don't want to post anything on facebook bc I don't want to initiate anymore CIO debates.

How is it this child can go 4-5 hours if not more during the day without eating but rarely makes it to the 5 hour mark at night?????? I mean Zachary, you just ate for 40 minutes at midnight, and now, barely 3 hours after that, you are sitting here screaming to eat. I say this was as much love as humanly possible, but YOU ARE NOT HUNGRY!!!!! It is not time to eat, please just accept that bc I'm tired of getting up to feed you when you should not be hungry.

Vent over. Thanks. Goodnight.

[lize566]

Sorry for my previous post! I just got so frustrated that he is still waking up practically every 4 hours at night to eat, even though during the day he acts like he could go much longer without eating. I don't understand it, but I am thankful he is only waking up once. I'm afraid he's waking up out of habit, although it's not the same time everynight, and I know he can put himself back to sleep, b/c he's done it before.

In other news, we bought some baby food yesterday. I wanted to try to make my own, but I just can't find the time (or maybe the motivation, it's so much easier to buy it!) to make anything more complicated than fruit or veggie purees. I'm going to try it for lunch. He's not eating much of anything, so we shall see how it goes.

He's been a bit congested the last day or so. Figures the week I start him at childcare he gets cold! I don't think that has anything to do with it though, since he only went on Monday and didn't start coughing until Thursday. Plus, my cousin and I took our boys on a walk Tuesday and it was a little chilly and pretty windy, so I'm guessing he got the cold from that. Either way, I hope his cough goes away soon. It doesn't seem to be bothering him, though, thankfully.

I'll let you guys know how the eating goes! Sorry again about my middle of the night rant!

[ikkin510]

Now that he is starting on baby food he might be bale to go longer at night. What worked best for us was giving carter 4 meals a day. breakfast, lunch early dinner and then he had a fruit and oatmeal mix right before bed along with a bottle.
Some of the suggestions people gave me, when Carter was waking up every 3-4 hour house. Try a pacifier, if he'll take one, instead of feeding him. Or start feeding him but each not, stop him a little sooner (if he nurses 15 minutes, spot him after 12 minutes, then 10 minutes, etc.)
Some people also suggested giving water instead. He may not be hungry but just need a "drink".
I hope you can find something to help him sleep better. I could have written your vent MANY times. But I promise it does get better.

[Nekochanpurr]

No worries about ranting, we all have our moments! No need to be sorry. :) Maybe hes not hungry during the day because hes eating so much at night? Thats just a guess from a non-mommy. Either way, good luck to you, i hope he starts sleeping through the night for you!! I hope his cold gets better, too. Tis the time of year! It seems like everyone is getting them here..

[lize566]

Now that he is starting on baby food he might be bale to go longer at night. What worked best for us was giving carter 4 meals a day. breakfast, lunch early dinner and then he had a fruit and oatmeal mix right before bed along with a bottle.
Some of the suggestions people gave me, when Carter was waking up every 3-4 hour house. Try a pacifier, if he'll take one, instead of feeding him. Or start feeding him but each not, stop him a little sooner (if he nurses 15 minutes, spot him after 12 minutes, then 10 minutes, etc.)
Some people also suggested giving water instead. He may not be hungry but just need a "drink".
I hope you can find something to help him sleep better. I could have written your vent MANY times. But I promise it does get better.

Good suggestion about the 4 meals a day. I may have to start trying that. He seems to eat rice cereal/oatmeal okay, just struggling to find other foods he will eat.

This is how our evening usually goes-nurses around 3, food at 4, catnap from 5-5:40ish, nurse at 6, nurse at 8, down for the night. He nurses well at all of these feedings, usually. If he doesn't nurse at 8, he usually gets up around 9 to eat. If he doesn't get up, I feed him at 10:30ish, without waking him. This has usually gone pretty well-he doesn't wake up but eats pretty well and goes right back down. Then he's up sometime between 3:30-4:30, then back down until 6:30-7:30. If I didn't feed him at 10:30 and he still woke at 4, I would be fine with that b/c he might really be hungry. But he eats so much before bed, I just don't see how he's that hungry. He's always been one to cluster feed before bed, so I've just continued.

He does take a pacifier at night, so when he cries that's the first thing we do. If we go in and just try to put it back in, he will scream until we pick him up, so we usually just pick him up straight away b/c he will go back to sleep faster. If I pick him up, he tries to eat until I give in. Last night I tried the pacifier and just let him cry for at least 15 minutes until I fed him.

I've heard about the bottle of water trick, and we might try that. I've also read about feeding him less and less. He just doesn't eat for a consistent amount of time, and many nights, if I try to pull him off once he's relaxed, he starts crying again and won't take the paci, so I take it as he's not finished, so maybe he is hungry. I just don't know! I'm going to try not feeding him 10:30 tonight and see what happens.

And thanks Stacy! I've wondered the same thing about him eating at night so he doesn't want it during the day, so I've tried to ensure he's eating good during the day. It does seem like all the babies around here are passing a cold around!

[britTANNY]

Sounds like he has his days and nights confused, i think the foods will help him sleep through the night and be able to distinguish between the two...
No need to worry about vents we have all been there :) glad you got to get it off your chest!

[lize566]

But he sleeps appropriately during the days and night, so maybe feeding wise he does, but how in the heck do I fix that?

[ikkin510]

This is exactly what Carter was like when we started food with him. He wouldn't eat any of it. To this day he still won't eat cereal/oatmeal unless it is oatmeal that came in a jar mixed with fruit.
You just have to keep trying. Once or twice a day try the food. If he eats cereal try mixing the fruit or veggies with that. That's what's worked getting Ryan started.
Nights were hard. I tried so much trying to get Carter to sleep. Adding the forth feeding made things a little better, as did cutting out soy (in his case). But eventually I just had to start letting him cry for short periods of time. Rub his back, pat his butt while he was still in his bed.
As for days and nights mixed up, he does seem to have the sleeping figured out. Carter did too. I was just the feeding schedule that was off. He is a growing boy. So hopefully feeding him more during the day will take the edge off at night.

[KMS]

Don't feel bad, I've made plenty of middle of the night venting posts, myself! ;)

[lize566]

Well we are finally getting on a pretty good schedule, at least most days. He is sleeping in a 5-6 hour stretch, with his last feeding at 10:30 until 4ish. Last night I heard him wake up and put himself back to sleep, so I'm sticking with the thought that if he wakes up and contiues crying he really needs something.

He's eating better-like a pig at night, actually!! We've been giving him so chunky baby food (I finally broke down and bought some of the Earth's Best stage 3 chunky stuff and he likes it pretty well. We gave him some bread the other night at dinner and he did so well!! He even chewed his food, which is the first time I've seen him do that, so I think we are going to keep trying to give him stuff like that occassionally.

And he is now soooooo mobile it's exhausting!! His crawling/army crawling/slash rolling, but he is definitely getting places! He recently learned how to go from laying to sitting, and how to pull up, which is now the only thing he wants to do. If I'm in the floor, he wants to climb all over me. I'm afraid we are going to have our hands full b/c he's going to be a climber! :luxlove:

He is just learning so many new things, it's amazing! I hate not being home with now b/c I'm afraid I'm going to miss something new, but oh well, it is what it is. Tuesday I was home with him and we were playing with this toy bus he has. Well, you are supposed to put a ball in the top and it makes noise and all that stuff, and he actually picked the ball up and put it in the hole all by himself. I was so proud

In other news, I have been so grumpy!! Mainly with Stephen, like I have no patience with him. And my mom has been driving me crazy a little. Maybe I'm getting ready to start my period for the first time? Or maybe I'm still PMS'ing even though I'm not having a period? I don't think I understand how that works-if I'm not having a period, am I still ovulating? Anyways.:blink:

Whatever it is I wish I could get out of this funk. It's like, even though I know I'm being completely unreasonable and just picking a fight, I can't help myself. I don't know, but I'm going to really work on not being so short with him this weekend. We have plans tonight with the family, but maybe we can use one of our giftcards for dinner tomorrow night.

[KMS]

I'm glad that you've got a schedule working out well for you! Isn't it exciting when they start chewing? I think it's the cutest thing!

I hope that you start feeling more like yourself soon. I hate when I'm in a funk and I know I'm acting like a brat but can't help it. I think that dinner would be wonderful for y'all...especially with a giftcard! Enjoy your weekend, dear.

[savepaws]

I am glad he's getting on a decent schedule!! The girls are piggies at night too and I don't understand it! It does sound like you will have your hands full, if he's already climbing all over you!!! :D

[smileyone2002]

I just wanted to comment on the being grouchy with everyone....I am totally the same way right now!! Everything Charlie does gets on my nerves and beforeit wouldnt have been like that! I feel all crabby and crampy but no AF yet...I just want her to show up and get the 1st one out of the way! :realmad:

[Chele&Chris]

I just wanted to comment on the being grouchy with everyone....I am totally the same way right now!! Everything Charlie does gets on my nerves and beforeit wouldnt have been like that! I feel all crabby and crampy but no AF yet...I just want her to show up and get the 1st one out of the way! :realmad:
:boggle:you're sooo lucky girl.. I'm already on my second one since Matthew was born

[lize566]

Well, since I always post my complaints I figured I should post about good things once in a while!

First of all, I am feeling much better. Stephen and I talked and we've been going to church every week, and we both are aware that things need to be fixed, and are willing to work on it.

Secondly, Zach is sleeping so well and is becoming quite the mover :) He went to his sitter the last two days, and only napped for a total of 1.5 hours each day while there, so I was fully prepared for a horrible night. Both nights I let him nap when he got home for about an hour, then put him down between 7-7:30, and both nights he only woke up once. I'd been feeding him at 10:30ish every night b/c when he was younger it was helping him sleep longer, but then I started getting the feeling that it was disrupting his sleep, so I didn't do it and he slept! Not sure what made the difference, but I stayed home today and he has taken more naps, so we shall see what happens tonight.

And he is crawling and pulling up and trying to stand up on his own constantly! It's so awesome, and he changes so fast. He is so amazing :hearts:

[Danielle9608]

That is great that the sleep is improving! And yay for all the movement too!

[lize566]

"A whole new world, A new fantastic point of view, No one to tell us no..."

and that's where the song ends for Zach, he hears that word a lot! But this is totally his theme song right now. He has just discovered that he controls (somewhat) where he goes, and that there are so many new things to get into right through the living room door way. And he has gotten SOOO good at crawling. But he still takes a break, like every 5 "steps," it's so funny!

Heading out of the living
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/52baec6c.jpg

Found the pantry (which currently has no door, but also no shelves at the bottom, so it's safe for now)
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/c277309a.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/47605bc5.jpg

In the kitchen, trying to get into a cabinet
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/e904dcf5.jpg

Wondering why in the heck mommy is following him around on the floor with her phone
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p210/lize566/0ca7ee77.jpg

You see that sock he is carrying? Yeah, he found that in the laundry I was folding this morning and carried around with him all morning. Who knows.

And when he is in the living room, he is standing up. Anything he can get his hands on, he is pulling up. Thankfully he has gotten a bit more sturdy, so we don't have as many tumbles as we were having, so he can a little bit more free riegn to go between the foot stool and the couch or whatever. It's so cute, b/c he stands and plays on his activity table all the time, but he walks around it and only plays with the toys on the opposite side! I had some really cute pictures of him reaching across it to play the piano, but my stupid phone went haywire this morning and I lost all the pictures (well, everything for that matter, but the pictures were the only thing I was aggravated about).

[Nekochanpurr]

So cute! What a little adventurer.

[KMS]

Hehe The exploring begins. It's about to get a lot more "fun"! I remember when Paisley realized that there was a world past the kitchen. Oh yeah, dangerous stuff. lol Now daddy can't take a shower at night without a baby girl crying at the bathroom door!

[ikkin510]

SO much fun during the stage. And you can't turn your back for a second!

[britTANNY]

hes so stinkin adorable!!! :) he found a pet sock!!

[savepaws]

Haha that's funny about the song. Whenever DH holds the girls up to the window he breaks out into that song.

He is sooo cute! I can't believe how mobile he is already!

[lize566]

Ahhh I'm so frustrated!! I want to be able to stay out past 7 pm and not have to pay for it with a fight to get Zach to bed!

Pre-baby life, we played games. Like card games, board games, etc. Almost every weekend. We would go to my parents or IL house, eat dinner, play a game, be home around 11. Now we are luckily if can even enjoy dinner without having to rush off to get Zach in bed. He is doing fantastic on sleep as long as we are home to do our normal routine at a decent time. For instance, last night, 6:30, put PJ's on, did some quiet play on the floor, 7 pm read a book, nursed, asleep by like 7:30 (he did wake up again at 8:15, but ate for 20 min and was right back asleep) then slept until 5 am, ate, went right back down until I woke him up at 8 am. It was glorious.

Now tonight, on the other hand, we were at MIL's, left at 7:20, he fell asleep almost immediately, woke when we got home at 7:45, ate until 8:15, then woke up when I put him down. He's still in there with Stephen fighting sleep and it's 9. Maybe he gets just enough of a rest in the car or while nursing and thinks he isn't tired anymore? He tends to do the same thing even if he doesn't sleep in the car, but nurses and wakes up when I put him down. Who knows, but I'm over this not being able to do anything at night. Maybe I need to not feed him to sleep. He can go to sleep without it, but it gets me a little bit of a longer stretch at night, so I've been doing it. You would think after 8 months I would have a little bit of a better bedtime routine.

And while I'm on this rant, I don't know why people act like it's such a big deal to come to our house. If they did that, we could play games, b/c we could get him to bed and then he'd be down for the night and I'd be available to play. But everyone acts like it's such a pain. And we only live 3 streets away from my parents, so it's not like they don't want to drive.

Okay, so now that that's out, I have to go back in and attempt to get my child to sleep. So much for the movie we rented :irked:

I will end on a good note, though, and say that I am thankful for a good night last night and being able to watch a movie in bed with my husband!

[KMS]

I feel the same way about our pre-baby late nights. I just keep reminding myself that one day she'll think I'm awesome for wanting to go to Denny's at midnight and then it'll all be worth it! ;) For some kiddos it really is so important to stay on schedule. I guess you got the short end of the stick with that one. :bbconfused: Your vent is totally understandable. Our entire lives change when we have a baby and it's nice if you can still hang onto something so small, but so important to you as a game night like that.

Could you tell everybody that "Hey, we can't take part in game night any longer unless you come to our place!'??

[lize566]

I usually ask if we can do it at our house, and most of the time we do, but nobody stays long and sometimes I get the whole "your dads been gone a lot this week and he just wants to be home" okay well that's fine. But when we are all (by all I mean us, my parents and my brother and his wife usually, and occasionally my sister if she's home from college, so not a ton of people) talking about getting together, it's planned fir moms then I have to ask of we can come to mine, and she seems annoyed. She has trouble understanding our schedule with him anyway. She called me spoil sport when we wouldn't stop by at 7 the other night. I know I wasn't raisedon any type of schedule bur age also talks about how little I slept at night, but she managed so I should do the same. Ugh it just annoys me that she doesn't seem to get it. And im pretty flexible I think for the most part. And I know it's difficult for them to get it when they don't see it bc Zachary is in a good mood even when it's past his bedtime so it's not like he's no fun to be around. Anyway, thanks for letting me know I'm not alone with these feelings!!

[savepaws]

That stinks, especially since your mom doesn't seem to understand. Our family and friends are that way too and don't understand because they aren't the ones up all night because the girls' schedules got thrown all out of whack.

[Danielle9608]

Aww I am sorry. We don't even try to stay out past 7 because I am afraid what will happen if we waver from our bedtime routine.

[KMS]

Ugh, I'm sorry that your mom isn't being understanding and so inconsiderate. Maybe she'll change her tune if you don't come to game night for a few weeks! Why mess with perfection? It would be so much easier to just have it at your place and be able to put him to bed and not have to deal with any more difficult nights than you have to.

Eh, I'm sorry. :bbconfused:

[lize566]

Thanks ladies! I may do that keely, or just have a real honest conversation with her about it.

[lize566]

Not much new going on here. Sleep is still an issue. It was great for a while, like one night waking from 8-8, and even one night without any night wakings. It was amazing! But now we are back to 2-3 wakings, one of which is usually around 5 and lasts for an hour or more. He just doesn't want to sleep. He's not hungry, just awake. I'm thinking it's developmental, b/c he usually babbles the whole time, which is his new thing. Up until recently he's been making noises but not what I would call babbling. Or perhaps it's a result of the crawling and/or pulling up, although he's not usually doing those things when we get him out of bed. Not really sure what's going on, but I'm missing those good long stretches! At least Stephen and I talked about it, and we are going to start going to bed earlier and he promised to help more if Zachary is going to be up for long stretches like that. Hopefully this is just a phase and passes quickly!

Oh and I have a question for you all-Zach cut his first 2 teeth back in early November, but none since. His top gums look really swollen and have for some time, but no sign of teeth. Once your LO started cutting teeth, how spaced out where they? I'm wondering if he could be teething, but doesn't really have extra fussiness at night or even during the day.

[lize566]

So I can't decide if going to daycare just tires him out from all the playing or makes him overtired from not taking very many naps. Either way, he sleeps much better at night, and I'm thankful for that!

He also eats like a horse at daycare!! I'm only giving him 4 oz in the bottles, but he wasn't finishing the 5 oz bottles. He's eating a bunch of solids, though, and he's nursing well at home, so I'm not too worried.

I wish he slept better at daycare, but since he's only going 2-3 days a week so I can't really expect him to get used to it. And yesterday he was fussy all day long, and when I dropped him off, he cried a little. It was the first time he's done that and it about broke my heart! I know that it was just his mood though, b/c today he was back to his normal self. He even wanted to get back down and play longer when I picked him up lol! I'm so glad he likes it there. It certainly makes working soooo much easier.

[savepaws]

I know what you mean! I am glad my girls don't even seem to care when I leave the house. Makes it much easier to go to work!! That sucks he doesn't sleep much at day care...but I can see how its hard to get into a routine when he's not there every day.

[Heywie]

Ollie cut his first two teeth early on and hasn't cut anymore since. I keep thinking his next ones are right around the corner, too, but they just haven't cut through!

I'm glad he's doing so well at daycare! Ollie cries anytime I leave a room so I bet something like that would be good for him!

I hope Zach lets you sleep through the night again soon! I'm right there with you on that!

[Danielle9608]

Averi never sleeps more the 20 minutes at a time at daycare either. Hopefully both Zac and Averi will get better at it soon!

[lize566]

My baby is sick. And he hasn't really been sick before :( it breaks my heart. Stephen took him to the doc today b/c I had to work, and the she at first said it was probably the flu (which I don't understand how he could have if he's had his flu shots, but that's not the point) AND strep. Well, both tests were negative, so apparently it's a virus that he probably picked up from all the things he puts in his mouth. Well no s**t lady. I could've told you that's where he got it, that's pretty much all he does. And sometimes I feel like they just label things viruses when they don't really know what is wrong. That annoys me. Wow, I so did not come here to complain about the doctor, sorry for that tangent!!

But baby boy won't lay down. I can't blame him, he's got that congestion where you can almost breathe so when you try you get all choked up and start coughing. It's no fun, even as an adult, so I can only imagine. Plus he's running a fever, and still feels a bit warm even with tylenol. But of course our baby thermometer is out of batteries and Walgreens doesn't carry the right battery and the thermometers were like $30 to get a new one and we haven't had a chance to go any place to get another battery so we've been trying to use our thermometer, which isn't easy. And I think that may have been the world's longest run-on sentence lol. Oh well, I'm just trying to get it all out before Stephen comes in and tells me it's my turn to try to get Zach down.

He will fall asleep like that while we are holding him, but as soon as we lay him down, he wakes right back up. We've got the mattress propped up as high as we feel comfortable going, but it doesn't seem to be helping. It's looking like we are going to end up holding him all night. It's not that big a deal, I guess, but I would like to watch TV if I'm going to sleep on the couch and I think it would bother him. Stephen can sleep in his rocking chair, but I can't and I don't expect him to hold him all night long. We will take shifts probably if we have to. Luckily we are both off tomorrow, so we can sleep tomorrow if need be.

Otherwise it doesn't really seem to be bothering him. He's in pretty good spirits and he's eating okay. I really hope he starts feeling better soon. I hate this for him!!

Sorry for this complete rambling of a post! It requires more brain power than I have right now to organize my thoughts lol.

[NOTKT]

Aww, I hope he's gets better soon! And I'm sorry you have to stay up with him. Ugh! You're such a great mom to sacrifice yourself and let him sleep in your arms! :hearts:

[Danielle9608]

Liz, have you tried letting him sleep in the carseat? Averi usually hates being in her carseat, but she has a stuffy nose and she fell sleep on the way home from daycare yesterday. I fully expected her to wake up as soon as we got home, nope! She slept for almost 3 hours in there!

[lize566]

We almost tried that yesterday, but I don't think he would stay asleep when we put him in it, and I don't think he could fall asleep unless we were driving. He sleeps in really well if he falls asleep while we are out, and I can usually get him in the house still asleep. That was definitely our next step though, b/c I don't think I could've slept all night holding him. Thankfully, he finally stayed asleep in his crib, and slept for 4 hours straight before waking up every couple the rest of the night. His Tylenol probably wore off, but I didn't give him more right away, but we did give him some the second time he woke up. All in all, it wasn't awful. He seems better today, and his nose is just runny now. His mouth was so dry last night though. I felt terrible every time he woke up he could barely even cry, he sounded so hoarse. If I didn't feed him we gave him water to drink, and he seems better this morning.

[lize566]

Lots of random updates today :)

1) So how do you know when the a string of syllables is actually a word as opposed to an unintentional grouping? I ask b/c yesterday, Zach said mama, clear as day, and not in the middle of a "sentence". We were just sitting on the floor at my grandmas, and he goes "mama" but that was it. He was looking at a toy, and continued to eye it until we started talking. And he hasn't done it again since. My vote it that it wasn't his first word, it just happened to be the syllables that came out. What do you guys think?

2) He is finally getting another tooth!! I'm kind of wondering if his fussiness and everything was a result of the tooth or a virus. Either way, he seemed better over the weekend, but today at his sitters he was really fussy she said. And he wouldn't let her put him down; he'd scream every time. And he's still coughing quite a bit. No fever, though. I'm trying to decide if I want to take him to the dr. again. Lots of kids with RSV around here. That scares me. The teacher I subbed for today, her 10 month old was hospitalized Saturday with RSV and Pneumonia.

I had more to add, but it will have to wait; Zach is fussing and won't stay asleep, so it's my turn to try.

[savepaws]

I don't know about the word. I have wondered that myself if we will just know when they say their first word or not.

I hope the fussiness ends and that its not anything else other than teething.

[Danielle9608]

I don't know about the word either. Do you think the cough could be related to him teething? I heard they can get cold like symptoms when the are getting teeth.

[KMS]

I don't know about the first word issue! I still question if Paisley's first word was really it, but Chad is absolutely convinced so I'm just going with it! I really really hope that all of this is associated with teething. :crossfingers:

[lize566]

I'm wondering if it's teething, as well. We took him back to the doc b/c he's been coughing quite a bit the last few days. I called the doc and explained it to the nurse, and she thought they might want to see him with all the RSV stuff going around, but he is fine, just taking longer than anticipated to get back to normal, probably due to the teething. He was MUCH better today, even. He took 2 naps at daycare today!! I repeat-2 naps!! They were an hour a piece, which ideally they would be longer, but just that he went down and stayed down 2 times is exciting. I'm so glad b/c I was worried after yesterday. He's definitely becoming attached to me, so I'm hoping any separation anxiety we have is short-lived.

In other news, I did our taxes Sunday, and we are getting almost $6000 back!!! That means not only will we be able to pay off our credit cards, but we will have enough to put quite a bit in savings. Maybe even enough for me to only work part-time some place over the summer, which is what I really want to do. Not sure if that's going to be possible, but I don't think I can get away with not working at all. Either way, though, it's a huge relief right now!

[savepaws]

Yay that is awesome about the taxes. I hope it will allow you to have more time at home this summer with Zach!! I can't wait for summer!

[lize566]

So I took a pg test tonight. I just couldn't shake the weird feeling I've had. Thankfully, those feelings are NOT b/c I'm pregnant!! Nope, definitely not pregnant :) The emotional part of me was disappointed, but the logical part of my knows that there is no way we could handle another baby right now. At least now we can both relax since we know for sure!

[KMS]

You described exactly how I felt when I took a preg test last month! I'm glad that you took the test so that you know the feelings weren't pregnancy related.

Oh, we got sooo much less on our taxes than we thought we were going to. I cried, literally cried! lol I'm elated for you though!! :yesnod:

[lize566]

You described exactly how I felt when I took a preg test last month! I'm glad that you took the test so that you know the feelings weren't pregnancy related.

Oh, we got sooo much less on our taxes than we thought we were going to. I cried, literally cried! lol I'm elated for you though!! :yesnod:

I hate having such conflicting feelings about it. Stephen feels a little guilty b/c he definitely didn't want to me to be pregnant, and now that I'm not he feels bad. :blink: Go figure!

And I fought back tears when I saw how much we were getting back as well. I had anticipated more than last year, but not double.

And I've been meaning to add that I gave Zach grilled cheese yesterday! I cut it up into teeny tiny bites and not only did he eat it but he fed himself. He's been feeding himself, but not pieces that small. I've got to start giving him more finger foods!

[KMS]

Paisley has really surprised us with finger foods. Isn't it the cutest thing to see them chomping away on a little piece of food? I love it! Ooooh a grilled cheese and tomato soup sounds so good! I've wanted it since I watched Top Chef last night and now I want it even more. Thanks!! ;)

[Danielle9608]

I am glad to hear it worked out how you wanted :)

[saltyveruca]

I'm glad you took a test to put your mind at ease. I hope it's just the same thing for us!

[lize566]

Is it possible that we are already transitioning to 1 nap a day at 8.5 months old?? I sure hope not, b/c I'm not ready for that, but the last few days he has easily stayed up 3.5-4 hours, and if he's going to go that long between naps, we don't have time for 2 good naps. One will have to be short. And he's been waking up almost exactly 30 minutes after we put him down. I'm guessing this is has something to do with me nursing him to sleep, which I'm trying to stop b/c it seems to cause more problems. But maybe all of these issues are still a result of teething? Ugh, I am soooo having one those difficult mommy days :/

[ikkin510]

Carter transitioned to 1 nap around 7.5 months. Ry was 6 months I believe. So it is possible. Once they moved to one that nap usually lasted anywhere from 2-4 hours.

[savepaws]

I am sorry you had a rough mommy day! I hope that his naps get back on track!

[Qtpie]

Katie just recently dropped that second nap. And she is almost 14 months now.

[lize566]

He woke up 2 times last night, and I fed him both times b/c he wasn't calming down with just the paci. I know I shouldn't feed him, but I am limiting how long he eats. Usually he will nurse for like 30-40 minutes, even though I know he gets a full feed in about 10, b/c that's what he does during day, but he fusses a lot if I pull him off before. So last night I pulled him off as soon as his sucking slowed down and put in the paci. If that didn't work still I let him eat more (basically the Pantley Pull Off method). That seemed to work well and he was never up longer then 30 minutes and his longest feed was 20 minutes, which was a HUGE improvement over 1-2 hour wakings the previous few nights.

I'm kind of thinking the night wakings and rough naps are a result of the Wonder Week. He's right on schedule for the 36 week one, and I think that coupled with him being sick last week and teething has just made it really difficult to sleep. Some nights you can just tell he is so tired and wants to sleep but can't. Poor thing!

There is a mom with a LO the same age as Zach on another thread I look at occasionally, and they are dealing with the same kind of thing regarding longer awake times. I think I am going to try to keep him on 2 naps a little longer, mainly b/c I can't put him to bed any earlier so he's going to have to have a catnap in the afternoons. Right now I'm thinking we are going to shoot for one nap from 11-1 ish, then another short nap around 3:30 or 4. The last nap will work out well for us picking him up at daycare. This also means I'm going to have to start getting him up between 7-7:30 every morning, but hopefully after a few weeks of that we will be able to get a consistent bedtime as well. It just sucks b/c Stephen and I aren't off on the same days, so I NEVER get to sleep in unless Zach does. I will say though, that the last couple of mornings he has quietly played in his crib until I got up about half an hour later, so that's nice.

I also am thinking about going to down to 4 feeds a day. Right now he is getting 5, which means 2 bottles at daycare, one of which is like 3:30, then I feed him again around 5 as soon as I get home. He's not always finishing his bottles, and he's pretty well established on solids, especially at daycare, so I think it will work. That also means I should have no problem BFing for a year, since I won't even have to use frozen milk at daycare, b/c I've been pumping 4-5 oz for each day anyway. This also means that if I don't need the frozen milk for daycare then we might be able to actually go out at night b/c someone else can feed him pumped milk (or Stephen can start feeding him some at night :yesnod:)!! Until now, I haven't wanted to use the milk unless I HAD to.

So apparently I had a lot more to say than I thought lol. Thanks for reading, if you made it through all my rambling!!!

[lize566]

I'm being lazy and trying to put off cleaning up my house, plus I always seem to post negative updates, so I decided to post a positive one-I just put Zach down in his crib completely awake, like playing and everything, and 10 minutes later I went and checked on him and he is sound asleep! No fussing or anything :) And I totally just jinxed it b/c he'll probably wake up now!
And I'm pretty sure he is actually giving me kisses :soppy: This morning he opened his mouth and put it against my cheek like 5 times, so I then I gave him some kisses and said "give mama a kiss" and he did the same thing again! Then he wouldn't do it, but this afternoon he did it again.

He's getting so much better at feeding himself, too. I try to give him finger foods at every meal, even if it's just toast, and he's done great. I've had 2 scares where he's kind of gagged or choked, but he's managed to get it up by himself. The problem is that he is taking too big of a bite, which he will eventually get the hang of. Scared the you know what out of me though!

I can tell he is definitely going through some major developmental changes, and I love it! Every stage he reaches is just more and more exciting and I am loving every minute of it. It's funny how easily I forget the frustrating nights and short naps, b/c I already want another baby, and to be honest, I think I'm going to want many more!

Okay, DH will be home soon and I haven't done anything, so I better get a move on it. I need some of Danielle (Lily's mom) cleaning magic cleaning power :yesnod:.

[scarymary48]

Awwwwwwwww, baby kisses are the best :heart:! Isn't this age great? They are so curious and sweet!

That's awesome that you were able to put him in his crib too. Did you do anything different?

[lize566]

I do love this age, despite the many difficult days we've been having!

He usually sleeps in his crib, but he usually needs to be rocked to sleep, otherwise he screams until someone picks him up. But I have no idea what changed yesterday when I laid him down awake! I'm guessing I just put him down at the exact right time. Who knows, so far nap 1 today wasn't as easy, so we shall see how long it lasts and how nap 2 goes!

[britTANNY]

This age really is the best!! I am loving it, except lexi has been getting lots of ear infecitons :(

Its a wonderful feeling when they go to sleep on their own~

[lize566]

Hallelujah, I think we might have a break in the teething finally. He's been so grumpy and irritable and not sleeping for weeks now, and his second top tooth finally broke through. I know we have tons more teething to do, but Lord, we needed a brief break. Extended night wakings and generally grouchy baby was getting old! He's napping much better these days, even at daycare, and is putting himself to sleep 90% of the time. Nights are occasionally still a challenge (such as tonight) where he fights going down. I don't understand why he can go down for naps so easily but not bedtime. And I'm wondering if some of it is separation, b/c he usually calms right down as soon as we walk in the room, and is fine until we step out the door. I don't want to create more habits, especially b/c Stephen is going to 3rd shift soon, so night time will be all up to me (although thankfully he will be here for bedtime) and we are finally making some headway on the frequent night feeding. On the other hand, though, if he is experiencing separation anxiety at night, I don't want to add to his anxiety.

He is learning so many new things, which I'm sure also makes it difficult to sleep. He is so close to waving, but just does it randomly still. He started clapping, but he doesn't make any noise when he does, at least not usually lol. He has gotten really good at feeding himself, and even had some of out pasta dish we had for dinner last night. And he will raise his arms above his head when he is laying down and I ask him how big he is, then I always say "soooo big" when he raises his arms up. It's really cute. And he's developing such a bond with his daddy :soppy:My favorite part of the day is right after we all get home from work and Stephen plays with him while I pump (I hate that part!) and Zach just laughs and laughs. It just makes my heart melt. It has to be the best sound in the world.

I suppose that's about it in Zachary's little world :)

[savepaws]

I am so happy he's getting a break from the teething! Hopefully the next ones that come through won't be so bad. (Wishful thinking, I'm sure!) It's crazy how much they learn and develop in the first year. I'm amazed by my girls daily and they are just starting out!

[lize566]

I swear, if it's not teeth it's an illness messing with us right now! If you are friends with me on Facebook, you already know, but those of you who aren't, my poor baby has a double ear infection (not eat infection, like it said on facebook lol)! He has been so lethargic the last two days, so I'm glad that he finally seems better today. He still didn't sleep great last night, but I have a feeling there are other factors affecting this. He has been crawling and cruising all around this morning, though, and is still down for a good nap. Hopefully he's on the mend, and we can keep him healthy for a while!

He is still practicing all the new things he has learned lately, like clapping and waving. He's slowly but surely getting the hang of them both! And eating has been improving, too. We've finally been brave enough to try new things. We went to Qdoba the other night and it was spur of the moment, so I didn't have food. We gave him tiny pieces of chicken and black beans. He fed himself for the most part and didn't have any trouble eating it. It took him forever to get the chicken down b/c he just kept gumming it, but he swallowed with no trouble so whatever works! I think our biggest issue with food is that we don't cook enough, or at least we don't cook stuff he can often enough for him to just eat what we eat. We are working on this though. We've been couponing so we have been going to the grocery more often, which will help. We also are trying to budget our money better since we paid off our credit cards we don't want to start piling them up again.

[gwenshack]

Awww I'm so sorry the poor little guy has been sick! :( I hope he's back to 100% healthy really soon. :soppy:

[scarymary48]

Awww, sorry he has been sick, poor little mite! Hope he feels better very soon :hearts:.

[lize566]

His 9 month (I still can't believe I have a 9 month old!!) check-up a few days ago, and everything went well for the most part. His ears look better but still have some fluid on them, which is normal. But his medicine says to take for 10 days, and we are going to finish it after 8, so I'm going to have to call the doctor. He also got a shot and had a finger prick. He barely cried, and when he did it was mostly b/c they took for-ev-er to get enough blood from his finger. He weighs 20 lbs (50%) and is 29 in long (75%). The slow down in weight gain is normal since he's so active now.

But for the first time I had to say no to some milestone questions (like does he play patty-cake, or does he imitate speech). I know all these milestones have a window in which they should occur and we are on the early side of that window, but it is still kind of frustrating, especially when it seems that all the others kids his age I know are already doing these things. He doesn't really do much "talking" and he's no where close to actual words. He doesn't imitate our talking, either, so there is very little "conversing" going on. He babbles, but it seems pointless most of the time and he doesn't usually respond after we respond (does that make sense?) And he doesn't imitate anything, so if we play patty-cake, he just watches. He's clapped, but nothing close to patty-cake. I mean, I'm not really worried b/c he is so close to standing on his own and walking, which is pretty early. And he's always been pretty laid back. Most of the time, like if we are in a new place, he just watches everything and takes it all in. Also, I've seen him do a pincer grasp, but he rarely uses it. I mean, I don't really think anything is wrong, and I don't expect him to be an early developer in every aspect (or any aspect, really), but it's frustrating when you feel like you do all the "right" things and you have to say no to milestone questions, which by the way, I thought I would be able to be realistic, since I've studied child development and I know that being honest is important and that it doesn't mean something is wrong, but man I had trouble not making excuses and trying to beat around the bush lol!

Nothing else is really going on, I guess. Stephen started 3rd shift Friday night, so that's been an adjustment. Hopefully we can get on a schedule that works well for all of us!

[savepaws]

I got used to saying no to milestones really quickly but I know how badly sometimes I wanted to say they were doing stuff just so I could say they were doing something. lol It's getting better now though, the older they get, the more things they are doing...but they are still behind. Try not to worry - he'll get it!! He's probably too busy movin and a shakin to think about silly things like talking!! ;)

[britTANNY]

His 9 month (I still can't believe I have a 9 month old!!) check-up a few days ago, and everything went well for the most part. His ears look better but still have some fluid on them, which is normal. But his medicine says to take for 10 days, and we are going to finish it after 8, so I'm going to have to call the doctor. He also got a shot and had a finger prick. He barely cried, and when he did it was mostly b/c they took for-ev-er to get enough blood from his finger. He weighs 20 lbs (50%) and is 29 in long (75%). The slow down in weight gain is normal since he's so active now.

But for the first time I had to say no to some milestone questions (like does he play patty-cake, or does he imitate speech). I know all these milestones have a window in which they should occur and we are on the early side of that window, but it is still kind of frustrating, especially when it seems that all the others kids his age I know are already doing these things. He doesn't really do much "talking" and he's no where close to actual words. He doesn't imitate our talking, either, so there is very little "conversing" going on. He babbles, but it seems pointless most of the time and he doesn't usually respond after we respond (does that make sense?) And he doesn't imitate anything, so if we play patty-cake, he just watches. He's clapped, but nothing close to patty-cake. I mean, I'm not really worried b/c he is so close to standing on his own and walking, which is pretty early. And he's always been pretty laid back. Most of the time, like if we are in a new place, he just watches everything and takes it all in. Also, I've seen him do a pincer grasp, but he rarely uses it. I mean, I don't really think anything is wrong, and I don't expect him to be an early developer in every aspect (or any aspect, really), but it's frustrating when you feel like you do all the "right" things and you have to say no to milestone questions, which by the way, I thought I would be able to be realistic, since I've studied child development and I know that being honest is important and that it doesn't mean something is wrong, but man I had trouble not making excuses and trying to beat around the bush lol!

Nothing else is really going on, I guess. Stephen started 3rd shift Friday night, so that's been an adjustment. Hopefully we can get on a schedule that works well for all of us!

Did they say those are things he should be doing or the things he should be doing by his next appointment?
My doctor usually does a she should be doing this this this and we talk about it and then we talk about what she should be doing soon and what she will be doing a little later up until our next appointment...
I wouldnt be too discouraged, he will get to doing the most amazing things :) lexi was slow on the crawling but once she got it lol she hasnt slowed down ...

[ikkin510]

Don't worry hon. All kids grow at different rates. The age they say is an average. Carter is 13 months. Still doesn't play patty cake and first started to say words (h,i dada, yes) about a week ago. But he was walking, crawling and climbing way early. He can do the pincher to pick things up, but rarely does.
I don't think Ryan ever did patty cake. And while he said mama and dada around 10 months, he didn't say much of anything else until 15 months or so.
How are things going with hubby on 3rd shift?

[lize566]

Thanks girls :)

Brittany, they just basically just say "is he...." and that's it. Not really any of the stuff you mentioned. And I know they are asking on the early side of the window. He just seriously has no interest in imitating! It's funny, but annoying lol. He just looks at me like I'm goofy when I try to get him to do things, and he usually starts giggling. I don't get it lol.

Nikki, Zach sounds exactly like Carter. He's already climbing all over stuff, even though he can't walk. He's been standing up on his own a little today, and I know he will be walking before I know it, all of which is on the early side of the average.

Third shift is going okay. Luckily Zach has been sleeping pretty good. He can't seem to stay healthy (It's like he constantly has a cold) so he's been waking up once or twice a night due to coughing and stuffy nose, but he goes back down really easily, even for me usually. The biggest issue is that he wakes up at 5 or 6, and I've been feeding him. I mean, it's been 10+ hours usually so he eats really well, and I'd rather feed him and get him back down quickly than fight for an hour when it's about time for my alarm to go off. I know that if I just sucked it up and dealt with for a few days, he would probably sleep through until 7, but I just don't have it in me right now.

I think our schedule is going to work out pretty good, with Stephen sleeping when he gets home and getting up when I get home from work (so from like 9-4) then maybe taking a short nap before he goes in at 11:30. Unfortunately, though, his off days got switched, so that messes up our sitter's days b/c she watched another little boy on Zach's off days, and she doesn't have room for both. Luckily the other little boy is only temporary.

We are both applying for jobs, so hopefully something works out for one or both of us pretty soon. I'm ready for a consistent salary and he's just ready for a new job. Thanks for asking Nikki :)

[ikkin510]

Good luck with the job search. Night shifts when you have kids is hard. Heck, I thought they were hard when it was just me and Steve. I don't sleep well when he isn't home. I think the boys could always tell when he was on nights because I swear they always woke up more and were crankier those nights.
Hopefully Zach will start dropping that last feeding at night so you can get a full nights sleep.

[savepaws]

I really hope you can figure out how to get him to just go that one extra hour or so! The girls usually wake up at that time and are ready to start their day and I hate it. I'm already awake with our stupid schedule but at some point I'm going to want to sleep in past 5 am!

[Danielle9608]

Liz I can empathize. Averi is behind on so many milestones and I have a real hard time not getting focused on what other kids her age are doing. But I know she is progressing at her own rate and she will get them eventually and I am sure Zack will too.

[lize566]

Okay this is going to be a total hodge podge of a post. And it will be long. And not all baby related. I have so much on my mind I haven't been sleeping good, so I've got to get it out! I'll even put it in bullets so you can only read posts that interest you (if any :laugh2:)

-I got a month long sub position at the school I did my student teaching at and sub for often. It's a collaborative Kindergarten classroom, I will be the ECE (special needs, in this case mostly learning disorders) teacher. I'm fairly close to the regular teacher, all my lesson plans will be done, it should be pretty easy. I'm pretty excited about it. It starts after spring break, so April 10 or something like that.

-I'm afraid I'm going to have to quit BFing sooner than I wanted. Since I will be working FT after spring break, we will be going through my milk supply quickly, especially since I am getting next to nothing when I pump. Not sure why, b/c Zach seems satisfied after he nurses, I just can't seem to get a let down or something. Either way, I'm over it. It's frustrating to pump for 30-45 minutes and get maybe an ounce, or two if I'm really lucky. But I was almost in tears thinking about not BFing anymore. It's silly b/c I'm just jumping to conclusions like I always do. There is no reason I won't be able to just nurse in the AM and PM, since I only nurse 3, sometimes 4 times a day anyhow. And we have cans of formula that I should use (if I don't, I will be giving them away (if they are still good...how long do they last?)). But it's going to break my heart for him to try to nurse and there not be anything there to give him. I'm praying that he weans himself in a month or two, but I don't see that happening.

-Stephen is most likely going to be quitting his job and getting a job at a place here that will pay for school. The hours suck (12-4 am M-F) and the pay is even worse (8.5, 9.5 after 1 month) but school is completely paid for. Can we afford to live with him that big of a pay cut (not that he gets paid well, but it's more than that!!)? No. He carries us all on insurance. Can we afford insurance that will be any where near as good as what we have now? No. So why is he doing this, you might be wondering. Well, he's been wanting to finish school for a few years now, and I keep delaying it (I needed to get a job, then we had Zach, which delayed me getting a job) and the company doesn't hire for this position all that often, so we don't know when he will get another chance. We've been praying like crazy for God to show us that this is the right choice for us right now, and I think we will make it work, but I'm still not sure it's the right move.

-We might be getting a new to us car soon!! We are SOOOOO over taking his carseat in and out of our 2 door sports cars. Plus, he's really too big for his infant carrier (I know, I can't believe we still have him it either) but the other carseat won't fit in our cars. So, my dad bought a Chevy Blazer from a guy he works with for like $800. It didn't run, but that's okay, b/c my dad is amazing and thought he could get it to work. He's a mechanical engineer, so it's right up his alley, but he's not formally trained. Anyway, we were going to swap cars-he'd take my honda civic, I'd take the blazer. Well, months go by, still not fixed, but we kinda need it, so Stephen and Dad have been working on it ALL. WEEKEND. LONG. I feel bad, but I'm so excited to have another car, even if it's going to drink the gas compared to my Honda. Shelling out that kind of money for gas may get old even faster than getting a 20 lb child plus an infant carrier in and out of the backseat of a 2 door car, now that I think about it!

-We are in the beginning stages of planning his first b-day party. It's unbelievable. We are having a joint party with my cousin's son, who was born 1 week after Zach. It's going to be a swim party and I can't wait.

-We are planning a trip to Orlando over July 4th week b/c another cousin is getting married in Atlanta and we have a special deal from a friend of mine for a hotel stay for really cheap. I can't wait, but I'm so overwhelmed with the planning of it all. I know it's far away, which is part of the anxiety, b/c I can't imagine Zach at 13 months old, and we have 0 clothes for the warm months. I need new clothes, too, for the trip and wedding, which is a whole other issue, b/c I'm hating my body right now but all I want to do is eat. I feel like I did when I first had him and was nursing so often-just constantly hungry.

-Zach is clapping, like really clapping. He does it a lot and I love it. And he loves swinging. Actually, just being outside. He's all boy!! He loves climbing, too, so we are going to try to get him in some of those little tyke gym class things. Sleeping is still a work in progress, but we are getting there. Oh and Stephen swears he said mama the other day, but I haven't heard it so I don't believe him. He's such a good baby, though. I mean, we have a difficulties, but overall, he's so good. He's been fighting this ear infection for the last 3 weeks, and ear infections suck, but he hasn't been fussy hardly at all. Although lately, he's developed an attitude with a capital A. If we take something away, or don't let him have something, boy he lets us know he's not happy about it! It's funny, but really frustrating at times.

I'm sure there is more, but I'm tired of typing and if any of you even made it this far, I'm sure you are tired of reading! If anybody is still reading, you deserve a pat on the back for listening to my rambling :yesnod:

As a reward, I'll post some pictures :) I don't feel like doing everything I have to do to get them photobucket, and I can't figure out how to share from shutterfly (if anybody wants to tell me, I'd love to know) so let hopefully these work.

He got in here all by himself. The oven was not on, just FYI!http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1dd37b3127ccefcf40a03464200000030O01EZOG7Nq0Zg9 vPgY/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D720/ry%3D480/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1dd37b3127ccefcf4137d06a800000040O01EZOG7Nq0Zg9 vPgY/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D720/ry%3D480/


http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1dd37b3127ccefcf59745269e00000050O11EZOG7Nq0Zg9 vPgY/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D1/rx%3D720/ry%3D480/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1dd37b3127ccefcf53487e7a500000050O11EZOG7Nq0Zg9 vPgY/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D1/rx%3D720/ry%3D480/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1dd37b3127ccefcf52fcaa77d00000030O01EZOG7Nq0Zg9 vPgY/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D720/ry%3D480/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1dd37b3127ccefcf4cf6687ed00000050O11EZOG7Nq0Zg9 vPgY/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D1/rx%3D720/ry%3D480/

I know some of these are on facebook, and since I could post pictures all day, I'll stop now.

[Danielle9608]

Liz, I read this last night but had a baby in my arms so I didn't get a chance to comment until now. First GREAT news about the job! And I am sure things will fall into place with Steven's job and school. The unknown is always scary. I'm sorry that you may have to stop breastfeeding, but you may not too, hopefully you will be able to keep doing it. I hope your car gets fixed up soon. I used to have a honda element, which is a 4 door, but they are suicide doors and were a major pain with a car seat. I just recently traded it in for a Kia Sorrento. YAY for clapping! Zach is getting so big and doing so many new things!

[NOTKT]

He is such a cutie pie! :D The swim party will be really neat, its nice he can celebrate his birthday with his second cousin! I have a feeling things will fall into place as far as your jobs go, no worries. :D

[savepaws]

That's awesome about the month long sub job! A full month of not worrying or trying to scrounge up work! :) Yay!

Sorry you are stressing over possibly stopping to breastfeed soon. Whatever happens will work out ok and you've done amazing so far. I can get why it'd be emotional just to think about stopping though!!

That is really scary about DH and the new job. I mean it sounds like a great opportunity but you guys are totally taking a leap of faith and I know how scary that is! Sometimes you just gotta do that and from my experience, it always seems to work out in the end! Whatever you guys do, you'll make it work. I don't know if you are on any kind of assistance now or if you would qualify once your hubby starts the new job, but it might be worth applying for food assistance & medicaid or some other type of gov't funded insurance program. Just a thought!


Loved the adorable pics! He looked like he was having so much fun outside! I just can't believe how fast he is growing up!

[saltyveruca]

I hope you guys can continue to make breastfeeding work. I've heard that after the 6 month mark, your supply gets pretty flexible, but you never know! Good luck with all of the changes!

[lize566]

Thanks ladies! It means a lot that you all took time out of your busy lives to not just read my blabbering, but also to comment :hearts:

[Heywie]

Whew! I just finally caught up on everything!

First, about the 9 month milestones. I'd just like to say, that our doctor didn't mention most of those things as milestones and if she had, we would have said no, too! Don't worry about any of that progress! I know it's hard to feel like your kid is being left behind, but it's really not the case!

On to BFing. I am still BFing Ollie, and I have the same issues as you do. He eats a ton when he nurses, but when I pump, I hardly get anything. The other day, I got 2 ounces and not a squirt more would come out. But when he eats, he eats for a good amount of time and keeps swallowing so I know he's getting enough while he's latched on. I think maybe I need some new parts for my pump. I know they can get old or dirty and not work properly. It feels like it hardly sucks anymore! I hope this is the case for you too, and you just need to update your pump!

Awesome about the new to you car! I can't imagine dealing with a 2-door and a carseat. That sounds awful! I can't believe you've made it this far! I wouldn't take the baby anywhere! lol

A trip to Orlando sounds wonderful right about now. We're maybe going to have to fly to Brazil this summer and it's freaking me out, too. I can't imagine bringing a 1 year old on a plane for that many hours and me being pregnant on top of it! I think it's the same fears you have about it being so far away and having to plan everything and buy new things on a budget! It will be great for you all to get away though!

LOVE all the pics! He is so sweet! I love all the ones of him sitting places he shouldn't be. So busted!

[amisteratwisterandme]

He is such a beautiful little guy.

I can understand why you are worried about the job, but having school paid for has to be a huge plus. I think you will find ways to make the money stretch!

[lize566]

On to BFing. I am still BFing Ollie, and I have the same issues as you do. He eats a ton when he nurses, but when I pump, I hardly get anything. The other day, I got 2 ounces and not a squirt more would come out. But when he eats, he eats for a good amount of time and keeps swallowing so I know he's getting enough while he's latched on. I think maybe I need some new parts for my pump. I know they can get old or dirty and not work properly. It feels like it hardly sucks anymore! I hope this is the case for you too, and you just need to update your pump!

I never even thought about that. I might look into it, but on the other hand, I might just ask my doctor about starting him on regular milk at 11 months instead of 12, b/c I should have enough frozen to get us to 11 months. Isn't it SOOO frustrating though to do all that work and get such a small amount?!?!

Awesome about the new to you car! I can't imagine dealing with a 2-door and a carseat. That sounds awful! I can't believe you've made it this far! I wouldn't take the baby anywhere! lol

Oh for the first few months, and even now to some extent, I thought REAL hard about going anywhere!! Now, though, since I work and take him daycare every day almost, I've gotten used to it. Unfortunately he needs to be in the bigger carseat, and it's just not feasible with my car, so that's the biggest concern right now. And the blazer has become more work than we first thought, so it may not get fixed. Either way, I forsee a new car in our near future.

A trip to Orlando sounds wonderful right about now. We're maybe going to have to fly to Brazil this summer and it's freaking me out, too. I can't imagine bringing a 1 year old on a plane for that many hours and me being pregnant on top of it! I think it's the same fears you have about it being so far away and having to plan everything and buy new things on a budget! It will be great for you all to get away though!

Brazil will be fun! My old boss is from there, so they go once a year usually, and the pictures always look so pretty. I can't imagine taking a little one a plane, though. I'm excited about going to Orlando, though. It would be easier to plan I think if Stephen would talk with me about it. He's always just like, we have plenty of time, why do we need to talk about this now? SOOO frustrating lol!

LOVE all the pics! He is so sweet! I love all the ones of him sitting places he shouldn't be. So busted!

Thanks! He's a mess :)!

[lize566]

A bit of a rough day for us. He's just SO active that I think he gets bored around here. I try to switch his toys out, but they still don't hold his interest. I need to take him outside more, but I'm scared to death he is going to eat something he shouldn't lol. My mom just gave us a sandbox from when I was younger, so I need to fill it up with water or sand so we can sit out and play in it, although the weather hasn't been warm enough for water. And most of our house is nearly impossible to baby proof, so he's limited on where he can go.

On a positive note, though, he has been standing so much more on his own, that I really feel like walking is right around the corner. I'm not sure I should by excited about this, but I am lol. And we are starting to talk about his b-day party. It seems so close, yet so far away still! There are so many exciting things coming, I can't wait :)

[gwenshack]

He'll definitely be walking before you know it! How exciting. Sure, he'll get into everything, but it'll be so entertaining to watch. ;)

[scarymary48]

Yay, go Zach! My Zac has gotten a lot better at entertaining himself since he started walking, so hopefully that issue will be solved for you when he starts taking those steps!
I can't believe Zach is almost one! It seems like just yesterday I was reading your pregnancy journal.

[lize566]

I hate pumping. Keely, if you read this, just know that you are my hero :yesnod: that is all.

[scarymary48]

I hate pumping. Keely, if you read this, just know that you are my hero :yesnod: that is all.

LOL I agree with every word.

[Danielle9608]

I hate pumping. Keely, if you read this, just know that you are my hero :yesnod: that is all.

HAHA I agree!!

[savepaws]

I feel the same way about Keely!! Pumping effing SUCKS!! And I only did it for 6 weeks.

I don't think its too soon to start planning his bday - its only TWO months away and now that its spring, I think time is FLYING by. I totally understand about him getting bored easily. Our girls are super bored too! Nothing holds their interest for long but they sure are happy when we leave the house!

[lize566]

So I want to update, but there really isn't much going on with him! Walking is right around the corner, I just know it, b/c he is standing by himself more and more every day. He has just got to get more confident and I think he will take off! And he has GOT to be teething something awful, b/c he is drooling like crazy! I can't wait for him to get more teeth so he can finally eat some real food. We are both over this baby food stuff, but he just can't handle a lot of the other foods (and I'm too lazy do go to the store often enough keep fresh fruit, etc. constantly).

Speaking of being lazy (hahaha) I have been lately. I've given up on keeping the house straight. Between a husband that doesn't clean up after himself and a very active 10 month old, I can't keep up. So I quit. It will just be messy until I have company (sad, but true :rofl:) or I finally find the motivation. You know what else I'm over? Telling this child no. I mean, shouldn't he somewhat understand things like NO by now? Or maybe he is just that stubborn, b/c he sure doesn't listen lol. I've always said I wouldn't be that mother, the one who is too lazy to discipline their child, but lord, he is trying my patience!! And there are also some things I'm not convinces is worth the battle. For instance, our TV stand is the perfect height for him to pull up on and cruise along, but we haven't been letting him b/c we don't want him playing with the TV. Well, a lot of times he just uses it to walk from one side of the room to the other, so I'm not sure I need/want to prevent for doing this, but we've been telling him no so long, I feel like I need to, KWIM? And to make matter worse, half the time we discipline him, verbally or removing him from the situation by redirecting his attention, or squeezing his hand, 90% of the time he laughs!! OMG it's so frustrating, yet he's so flippin cute, it just makes me so mad lol!

Oh and I'm still pumping but not very often, but I think we will make it with the frozen until the long term job is over, so I'm glad that I will get to keep BFing! That's all for now, and the b-day planning will be going into full force soon, so details will be coming :)

[Danielle9608]

LOL your post mad laugh a lot Liz. Sorry he is trying your patience so much!!

[savepaws]

I hear ya on the housework. I can't just give up because we would drown in clutter cuz our house is so small. But I am tired of cleaning every day just to have it all pile back up again.

I am not looking forward to the stage where the girls are constantly getting into things but won't understand the meaning of no. I mean what else can you do when they don't understand? I guess the only thing I can say (as if I'm some kind of expert! haha!) is just be consistent and either let him use the tv stand or don't. And if he laughs when you redirect him or whatever, thats better than crying. Guaranteed, the girls will scream and cry when I try and redirect them. So I say if he's happy just be glad for that! Maybe one of these days it'll stick but I think he's too young to fully understand that he can or can't do something. Maybe I'm wrong though...what do I know?! LOL

[ikkin510]

I know what you mean about the house cleaning. My house is never messier then when Steve is home. He leaves everything lying around. And the boys, I clean up one thing while they mess up 3 more. I find the only time I can get anything accomplished is when Steve is working and the boys are in bed.
This age is tough for trying to teach kids not to do something. Carter is the same way. He knows he isn't allowed to do something but does it anyway since he thinks it's a game each time you move him and tell him no. I try to distract him with something different, but that doesn't usually work.

[lize566]

LOL your post mad laugh a lot Liz. Sorry he is trying your patience so much!!

I'm glad I made you laugh! He really is such a good baby, just apparently one that likes to be active!

Danielle, he cries sometimes, too, like after the 3rd time I've removed him from the tv stand. And it's a pathetic cry, too. I mean he sticks that bottom lip out, puts his hands on the floor like he's gonna crawl but then just hangs his head and start bawling. It's truly dramatic! Sometimes I feel bad, but then I remember the times he gets up there, looks back at me and grins, and then I don't feel so bad. And Nikki, that's exactly what he thinks it is-a game. And I've done everything I can to NOT make it a game, but oh well. One day he will understand (I mean he has to, right?)

He's much better at other people's houses, I guess b/c there is plenty to explore so he doesn't need to do things to get our attention or keep himself entertained. He's just a monkey!! We will definitely be taking him to a gymboree type class this summer and/or to his sitters 1 a week so he isn't bored to death at home!! He was so calm in utero, I still can't believe he is as active as he is. He's my baby, though, and I wouldn't change a thing :hearts: