What I've Learned (So Far) About Being a Mom #3 (And a Chime in my from "dad")

(And a Chime in my from my husband, AKA: "Dad")

…Continued
What I've Learned (So Far) About Being a Mom #1
What I've Learned (So Far) About Being a Mom #2

29. I've cursed my hips my entire life.  I was always jealous of those "straight" girls who could fit into ANYTHING and look amazing.  My pant sized is based on my hips and what I can fit over them.  These days I find that I am thankful for them, because I can easily rest Blake on a hip and go about my business.  It's like a little God-given seat for babies.  And it relieves a lot of weight from my arms!

30. My house is never going to be as clean as it used to be.  Toys are slowly creeping into my living room, and I'm slowly beginning to be okay with this. Slooooowwwly.

31. I never have enough bibs.  The kid has a drawer full and I'm still constantly running out.

32. I never-ever-ever-ever thought I'd own a van, but it's the BEST! I'll laugh alongside you when you call me a "soccer-mom", but punch you in the face if you make fun of me or say anything beyond that.  I will never buy anything else from now on! I have loads of storage, room for stroller and hundreds of shopping bags, a huge center console, comfy seats, and I can walk around in my own vehicle if I need to get to my kid quickly.  Oh, and it has 11 cup holders!

33. Burt's Bees diaper rash cream is the bees knees. It's not thick and sticky like Desitin tends to be, and it really does dry like a powder.

Buy it on Amazon!

34. It's increasingly difficult to attend Happy Hour with friends, as I used to do after work.  As I sit here writing this I am enjoying a nice glass of red wine, staring at Blake peacefully sleeping on the baby monitor at 8:45PM and thinking "this is my happy hour"…

35. There really is very little time for Michael and I to spend time with one another. Therefore,  we try to Make.Every.MINUTE.Count!

36. I can smell baby throw up the moment I walk into a room.  Gross.

37. While I do capture many photos of Blake using my handy dandy iPhone, being a photographer has not lent its successes in taking professional photos of my own child.  I've slacked in that area, and for that I am very regretful. :(

38. The music I listened to during pregnancy did seem to carry over when he entered the world.  I listened to a lot of country music and it's the music that seems to calm him the most.

39. When I was pregnant I was so worried about not loving Blake as much as I love my dogs.  Seriously. I still love my dogs to pieces, but, you know…..

40. I'm not sure I'll ever successfully juggle everything and be awesome at it all: working, being a mom, maintaining a clean house, being a good wife, photographing, keeping up with friends. How do people do it?  I think I'll die trying. HA.


(And a Chime in my from my husband. AKA "dad")

1. I never thought that I would have very little free time compared to what I had before.  In fact, my free time is nearly non-existent. 

2. No matter how shitty things are (work!), Blake's smile makes it better. I can't help but smile and laugh back at him when I walk through the door.  He's always happy to see me!  And it's totally mutual. 

3. I didn't realize how expensive a baby would be, even based on what everyone told me.  They've turned out to be right! 

4. I never knew how hard having a newborn would be on our marriage. Everything changes. Not necessarily in a bad way--it just becomes…..different.  In a way that you both have to get accustomed to.  Plus, there are a lot of things you have to figure out as new parents.  It's rough. 

5. On the list of most challenging things in life, having a newborn is #1.
6. I never realized how annoying my wife would be when it comes to writing blog nonsense (LOL!) How does she do this and enjoy it so much? 

Back to mom…
Thanks, babe. Thanks!

Sleep Training Continued

I'm happy to report that the sleep training is going well. This makes me very excited, and has allowed me to celebrate one success of parenting.  There are so many times that I feel like such a bad mom, so I'm very thankful when I have a clear answer that I'm doing something right, or well.  I won't lie, it's been hard, but each night it gets better!

My last entry on sleep training was 2 nights ago.  Last night went VERY well.  I put Blake down as he was awake and he laid in bed entertaining himself for quite some time.  He cried for about 5 minutes then dozed off to sleep without waking himself up at all.  He didn't wake again until 7:30am. (By the way, have I mentioned that he is sleeping 10-12 straight hours?  SUCH A BLESSING!) Tonight I laid him in bed, again, awake, and he started to cry after about 6 minutes.  I laid him down at 8:28, and he cried until 8:35 when I noticed his foot was stuck in the bed railings.  I went upstairs to remove his foot and quietly said "Good night.  I love you."  Then repositioned him in the center of the bed and walked off.  He cried for 8 minutes after that.  He was pretty upset that he couldn't get his foot out so I really think this is why he was crying for such a length of time.  He made himself comfortable in the bed…for him this means rolling over onto his stomach. I seriously cannot break him of this, and it's clearly become his new favorite position.  I'm just letting him.  Starting to wonder though if I should put his bumpers back on the bed because he manages to spin himself around at night and I'm concerned he's going to hit his head.  His bumpers are not breathable.  Though this doesn't concern me too much because he's got really great head control, so I feel he would have enough sense to reposition himself. (Yes? No? Maybe so?) I read online that if infants have good neck control then they are most likely "safe."

It's funny how "sleep training" really is "training", and that "training" does not flow from nighttime to nap time, because we have NOT mastered this for naps.  That seems to be a whole other training in itself.  I need to get on this, but truthfully, I enjoy holding him and cuddling him as he naps.  He's getting so big so fast and it's our time together.  If I were wise then I would use this time to clean my house and get things done, but my little man has taken a priority.  Sometimes I do place him in the Baby Bjorn and do chores, but sometimes I'm too tired and just want to cuddle.

I don't mean to make this sleep training sound like it's a breeze. It's difficult to hear him cry, because every mommy bone in my body wants to rush upstairs, pick him up, and hold him! It was rough going upstairs tonight to remove his foot from the railing then walk away as he was crying.  I just had to tell myself this would be better in the end and take the advice from my friends who said "He won't remember this day.  You're not hurting him by letting him cry it out."  (Remember, my cap is 20 minutes of crying and on the worst night he cried for EXACTLY 20 minutes then went right to sleep.  Since then it's been 10 or less.) It's hard, it's hard, it's hard.  But I'm so glad we are doing it. And he's really being a champ about it!

I really feel that a nightlight has been crucial in this, just so he's not in the dark.  Maybe I'm wrong.  Maybe it has no impact on him whatsoever, but it does give me peace of mind.  For what ever reason.  Currently we are using a nightlight that is normally in the kitchen, which is in the shape of a wine bottle.  Totally inappropriate for a child!  It's all we had.  I've been in so many stores and have searched online attempting to find one that I like. To my surprise, I couldn't find one at Pottery Barn. Finally, I had the bright idea to try Etsy! Why didn't I think of this before?  Etsy is one of my favorite sites!
So, I'm excited to receive this little gem in the mail….

This seller has many cute things if you'd like to check them out here!

To all my fellow sleep training mommies, or sleep-trainers-to-be, hang in there! IF I CAN DO IT, SO CAN YOU! Trust me on that one!

Go Team Mason!

Go Team Mason!  This is something my husband and I say to one another when something awesome happens that we've both worked toward.  Like running a race, painting the house, big saving shopping trip, etc.  We yell "Go Team Mason" then give a big high-five. We are really cheesy like that, yes.
Tonight we celebrated in this way as we had a successful night on our sleep training journey with Blake.
I took a lot of advice given to me by friends when it came to sleep training.  I've also taken a lot of heat.  It continues to amaze me how people have no reserve telling you what they really think about your "parenting".   I remember all the flack I received for not breastfeeding, or when I began putting Blake in his crib at 5 weeks old, and now people have told me that he's too young to sleep train, and that I should let him do this in his own time and not "force it."  I can appreciate that someone wouldn't do the same, but I don't appreciate them putting me down.  I would never think to give such advice unless someone asked. To those people I just want to say "If you don't have anything nice to say or add, then don't say anything at all."  Then I want to stick out my tongue, put my hand on my hip, and walk away.  That's the 5-year old brat in me talking.  My nickname as a kid wasn't BRATney for nothing.  (Can't believe I just admitted that.  Whatever.)

Onto the positive, sleep training is going well! Michael and I sort of took advice from others and adapted it a bit.  For a whole week I would put him in his crib when he was on the verge of going to sleep himself.  I did the normal routine: Bath, book, bottle/bounce, bed.  When I would lay him down he would be drowsy and drifting in and out.  I'd put him down and after a few minutes he would fall asleep no problem.  But he would always wake up about 5 minutes later and start wailing.  On the first night I stared at the clock and decided I was going to give him 20 minutes to cry it out, then I would go in and rescue him.  He didn't cry for 20 minutes straight. Instead, he would cry for 3 minutes, fall asleep for 1 minute, cry for 5 minutes, fall asleep for 3 minutes. He was all over the place.  But after 20 minutes (EXACTLY) he drifted off for good.  This went on for 5 days, and each night the amount of time became shorter.  I'm glad we chose to do it this way because it's been a nice segway into how we did things tonight. I gave him his bottle, but was sure to keep him awake during the feeding.  I talked to him so that he wouldn't go to sleep. (I don't want him to get used to falling asleep with the bottle.) I laid him in his bed as he was wide awake, said good night, told him I loved him, put on the sound machine, then walked out of the room.  From the baby monitor Michael and I watched him entertain himself for 15 minutes.  No crying whatsoever.  He drifted in and out of sleep, never once crying.  I noticed a big spot on the baby monitor suddenly, and I immediately knew he had thrown up.  That's when he began to stir.  Michael and I both went upstairs so we could make the process of changing the sheets and him go as efficiently as possible.  There was throw up everywhere! Poor guy.  Michael changed the sheets and wiped the mattress pad down with Lysol while I changed him and cleaned him up.  We only turned on the hall light so it wouldn't wake Blake up too much.  We also didn't speak at all…this is important, so you don't wake them up anymore than they already are.  We swaddled him back and had him in his crib again in no time.  Again I told Blake good night, said I love you, and walked away.  He continued to entertain himself for quite some time!  He began to get fussy after about 10 minutes and was thrashing around-ending up on his stomach. (He's been sleeping more on his stomach. I find him like this when I get up in the morning.  A few times I went upstairs to put him on his back again, but he would always roll back over. I've finally just given in.  I think he's okay, right?)  I went upstairs to take his arms out of the swaddle, as I think this is best if he's sleeping on his stomach.  He cried and thrashed around for about 5 minutes, then went to sleep and has been out ever since.
I'd say this was pretty successful for our first time putting him to sleep when he's wide awake.  I'll take it!  Go Team Mason!

So here's my quick, in a nutshell sleep training advice for anyone who wants to try it this way.

• Start yourself off slow.  I've heard some say just dive right in and put them to bed and cry it fully out.  This may be totally okay for you.  The crying was hard, so it worked for us to begin putting him in his crib when he was on the verge of sleep.  
• As soon as he/she goes down, look at your clock and give yourself a time that you will then go in to "rescue" them. Otherwise, you'll be running in there after only 2 minutes!  We did 20, but you do whatever you are comfortable with.  
• If you do have to go in to rescue them, at first try just patting their stomach/back and "shhhh'ing". Sometimes the comfort of knowing someone is there can help. If this doesn't work then pick them up and do what you normally do to calm them.  Don't turn on any lights, or talk.  Wait until they are calmed (not fully asleep), to put them back down again.  Repeat however many times, again, you are comfortable with.
• We did this for 5 days, but you may choose more or less.  
• On the day you decide to go to the next step, place them in the bed awake.  Get a routine going where you will say something to them that signifies it's THAT time. (i.e.: good night, night-night.)  
• Again, give yourself a timeframe.  How long will you let them cry it out?  I bet that it won't be as long this time since you've kind of transitioned them.  

I'm not an expert by any means.  And every baby is different.  This is just what worked for us.  We are also in the early stages of this, so anything could happen!  I really need to implement this during nap times, too.

Thanks to everyone for all the help and advice. You know who you are! (Thank You Baby Wise book, too.) 

**Bragging not intended.  We are just excited to celebrate the successes. :)

Stop This Train

Happy 4 months to my big boy, Blake! Where does the time go?  Is this the point where I blink my eyes and he's suddenly in kindergarten, then graduating from college? (Becoming a doctor, of course) Time is flying, just as everyone said it would.  Though, if you asked me 2 months ago I would've told you time had completely stopped and I was stuck in a dark hole.

We revisited the doctor the other day to see what was going on with his fits of screaming that had resurfaced.  I had a suspicion it was the GERD again.  Sure enough.  Dr. S said the back of his throat was really red where it was clear his reflux was acting up again. Blake is now on 1.10 mL of Zantac 3 times a day.  He said that was the highest dosage he felt comfortable going to, and if this doesn't seem to help then we are going to explore other "options", including possibly changing his food again to something even more gentle.  With "more gentle" also comes an added expense. As if Nutramigen isn't expensive enough! Agh!  We're supposed to give the new dosage two weeks to kick in.  Hopefully it doesn't take that long.  He threw up about 3 ounces yesterday after a meal, and spit-up 5 times today after a meal.  He was also very fussy during his dinner bottle, and spit up several more times.  I hate it when I know he's so uncomfortable.  I could hear the liquid traveling back up his throat.

Additionally, he also has eczema.  We are doing our best to control it at home by using Aveeno and Aquaphor, but the flare ups come and go.  His skin hasn't gotten swollen yet, so that's good. Dr. S. said if the areas begin to look inflamed then we can try something with a steroid in it. Really hoping we don't get to that point!
It's clear to me at this time that our little man has sensitive skin, and a sensitive stomach.  I can only hope he grows out of these things for his sake.  And maybe our wallets sake too.
He weights 15.5 pounds, and is about 26 inches long.  He's eating 6 oz. every 3 hours, though once  a day or so he'll go up to 7 or 8 oz.  He's also in size 2 diapers. The size 1 phase didn't last very long!

He's sleeping through the night most days of the week.  Some days he wakes up at 3:30 ready to eat.  His usualwake up time is about 5:30, but there are rare occasions when he'll sleep until 7:30! Michael has the early morning shift, as he's much more of a morning person than I am.

I'm not sure the self soothing phase of sleeping is going very well.  What I hate most about allowing him to cry it out for a few minutes (10 is our limit), is that it wakes him completely up when he's crying and makes it even harder to go back to sleep. If I pick him up when he first starts then returning to sleep isn't such a big deal.  He usually falls asleep during his last bottle, which makes putting him down very easy.  But there are always nights when he doesn't and my husband and I "discuss" putting him down or not. (By "discuss" I mean he wants me to put him down and I'd like to keep bouncing him to sleep.)
A good article.
How Do I Teach My Baby so Soothe Himself to Sleep?
Our bedtime routine is:
Bath
Swaddle
Bottle
Bounce
Bed

We still swaddle him at 4 months, yes.  Our doctor swaddled his kids (all 8 of them) until they were 6-8 months. I don't see any harm in this so I think we will continue doing so for now.

Tomorrow I am running my first 5k race since I found out I was pregnant. I actually ran a 5k the DAY I discovered I was pregnant.  I'm really not back into shape like I want to be, so this 5k is going to be difficult for me, but I'm going to keep training. Still need to lose some baby weight! The pounds don't shave off as easily as they used to, and I'm not quite fitting into my old clothes just yet.  Wondering if my body is ever going to go back to the way it was?  I feel like my whole shape has changed, and that my hips are forever doomed to their new wide-size.  I don't consider myself to be a "large" person, but I am definitely wearing size large in everything these days. What the heck?  I was once a small/medium.  And I don't get it because I don't feel or think I look far off from what I was before.  It's a little mind boggling to me.  I just seem…wider, and so nothing in my closet fits.  Even many of the elastic skirts I have dot n't over my hips! New clothes are in order soon I think. Not that I need an EXCUSE to go shopping or anything...

My most favorite thing about Blake right now is how much he smiles.  I love coming home from work and seeing his face light up when I talk to him after not seeing him all day. He just warms my heart!  Despite all the difficulties, being a mom is amazing.  My heart is full.