Good Days Ahead

  The last 2 nights have been a struggle to get Adam to bed, but I think it is because he must be so tired as he has slept 7 hours each night then 2 hours right after that.  He slept a great deal today and on and off since 9 PM.  I am hoping he can sleep through the night again, but I am waiting to see.  I am so sore as I finally got to exercise today, on top of my pre-existing muscle tightness from feeding Adam and being in a car for about 30 hours ~10 days ago.  So I am biding my time until I can get help through some appointments.  Sweet boy started throwing toys out of fun and frustration or anger.  He gets spitting mad when you do not guess right what he wants.  He has gained personality and intelligence by leaps and bounds this last 2 weeks.  It is scary.  How amazing and smart this boy is.  He is such an old soul like he is rushing through these stages to get on with what purpose he has here in this life.

  I want to go into State Wide so badly, but I do not want to drive in the slick snowy weather and I do not want to go during his nap time.  I feel the time is coming, but it will be a little while longer.  The time that is also coming near is when we will fly on a plane to Arizona with a 6 month old!  Not a fun thought to me.  I am just trying to prepare myself.  I want to make the experience the best for all of us as possible, but I know that the time will be on Adam's schedule.  I have a goal of being able to go clothes shopping by myself with having had lost all my baby weight.  Ah, dare to dream I know.

Looks like my cousin Mark in this picture

Snowy Day

Wow blowing snow today!

  Such blowing snow today! We did not want to go out so Tony went to the store for groceries. I hope to make it to the tax appointment tomorrow.

Practicing pushing himself up after falling from a sitting position

  The last 2 days we have been holding his hands and pulling him into a sitting position.  I will sit in a chair and hold his hands while he sits on his own accord.  He likes to lean forward until his face is almost in his feet before he protests and yet he does not want to lay back, but wants to still sit up.  He is pushing his heals into the padded floor and lifting his back side off of the floor.  He will hike up his legs and turn to the side but not quite make the roll.  He'll get there.  We are going to set him in a seat for eating everyday just to get him used to the idea of sitting.  Then I want to try working with a spoon and see if he'll take cereal "watered down" when he turns 4 months.  So excited. He's so active with toys and talking these days I find it amazing he has months to go before he will say his first word.

 For weeks he's been saying, "Mam" when requesting me.  This is when he wants to eat or needs a diaper change.  What a smart boy.  He is drooling like he is teething too and I know it will be months before they poke through the gums.  What a fun time.  I wanted to establish a nap schedule, but he was already on a schedule. Now I just need to set a bedtime routine and we are set.

Another Milestone

  Oh happy day.  Oh the things parents get excited about.  Adam falling asleep in his crib on his own last night.  How fantastic!  He woke up every 3 hours after that, but I think longer sleep will come through time.  Now I am going to work on naps in the crib.  So good.  He is sleeping in the swing for his mid-morning nap right now.  We adjusted the swing to lay more backwards so he lays more flat as in the sitting position he is almost falling out of it now.  He needs to be harnessed into everything from here on out.

  He is loving the 12-18 month clothes.  There are some 12 month clothes that are snug- like most pants, but overall he can fit into them.  They usually do not accommodate the cloth diaper though.  For that I have to go up a size.  Love the cute pants he gets to wear.  He is such a big boy.  I took a picture from across the room yesterday and realized how small he is still.

  The shea butter does well for his chafing dry winter skin that gets almost constantly wet from him using his bib as a toy and sucking on his fingers all day.  The cream for his eczema works great also as the skin was peeling on his eye lids and under his eyes.  He needs daily combing of his hair, but he likes getting his hair washed every day.  He smiles and smiles.  Love it.

3.5 months old! Strong enough to hold his head up and sit up against the couch for minutes at a time

Adam talking to me in his 12 month old outfit.  Big boy.

  Today filing and trying to visit a friend.  For now, I am going to nap while he does.

Crib Sleeping

OK, it is time to set a nap routine and a sleep schedule.  I also want to establish a going to bed routine.  This is the time to get this straight.  Right now he sleeps in his swing for everything, unless at night when I can get him to fall asleep and transfer him to the pack n play.  Tonight I got him some serious tummy time and playing on a flat surface.  He is on the verge of turning over.  He almost turned over by "accident" tonight.  So fun.  He is such a talker adding spit talking to his repertoire of Kchhh, babble and mam for mom.  He uses his big boy voice when he wakes up and lets me know most of the time without crying anymore.  He cries most when he is really tired or wakes up and neither one of his parents are in sight or he is hungry or needs an immediate diaper change.

He is doing well with cloth diapers during the day.  I plan to ween him from disposables completely unless traveling.  He is tolerating the difference well.  It helps him have limited sleep during the day also.  He has reverted back the last 2 days from waking every 3 hours to eat or every 1-3 hours last night! No sleep at all.  He only napped a total of 3 hours today and they were in 30 minute to 1 hour stents.  I hope he sleeps tonight.

I rocked him, put on soft music, changed him into his pajamas and laid him into his crib awake tonight.  He fell asleep on his own after sucking on his fingers for a while while staring at the stickers and quilt hanging on the wall next to his crib by the light of the Monkey lamp night light.  This is the first time he has soothed himself to sleep by himself and in his crib!  I am beyond excited.  It starts with one time and then a pattern I hope.  He ate crazy many times today.  I am hoping he will stay asleep and not be hungry as he ate twice within 2 hours just before laying down.  He is so big it is scary.

I am happy to report I am using my portion plates and have the desire to exercise and watch what I eat now that I have the time and energy, sleep dependent that is.  I need to get back to the masseuse and acupuncturist soon, but one is busy and one is on maternity leave.  There really is not substitute for someone who knows your needs and can make you feel better after an appointment.  The chiropractor has helped me so much that I have delayed seeking immediate help from another practitioner, but the time is nigh.  My wrists gave out and were sharply painful today when I tried to support my weight on it when playing with Adam.  Also, my numbness is extending the period of time when it occurs now, lasting many more minutes at a time.  Not a good sign.  My muscles spasms on my back in my rib area are more frequent daily as well.  Ah, cannot imagine as he gets bigger how I am going to pick him up, even from the pack n play.  He will be trained early to walk if I can help it.

Time for bed with visions of my sister's visit dancing in my head.  What a great time.  I know I need to treasure it as I do not know when, if ever, it will happen again.  Ah, the sound of a happy baby sleeping. What I like better is the sound of a happy mommy sleeping :)

Back From Iowa

Chillaxin'

Charity getting some Adam time

Charity and I enjoying a beautiful day by the Lift Bridge

Florence

  Thoroughly enjoyed the visit with my sister.  Very fun and enlightening.  We have much in common, but have had very different experiences in life.  She can give me a kick in the butt when I need it and is honest to me always.  I love she is diplomatic, but reasonable.  She came to visit me when no one else has.  I am so glad.  I want both of us to be happy.  I wanted to be neighbors with her when I grew up.  That would be fun grilling, hanging out at the lake, etc.  That ship has sailed, but that is life.

  Great trip to Iowa.  Adam and I only got to be at Florence's 100th birthday party for a sum total of 20 minutes.  He was inconsolable and crying himself to sleep.  Then when waking he cried some more.  Then Tony got some Tylenol for him and Adam slept for 6 hours.  He woke the next day refreshed and better.   He was still upset and over stimulated from all the people trying to hold him.  He did much better for breakfast the next day that Florence attended.  I did not get to say my goodbye and hug her, but she knows we were there and came all that way just for her.

  The trip did teach Adam to fall asleep in his car seat.  He soothed himself and played for hours.  He has grown up so much.  His face is changing and he is looking like a big boy.  He did learn that not all trips in the car seat are that long and that he can calm himself.  It also taught me the same thing.  He is much easier to pack up in a hurry now.

Love It

  I love hanging with my sister and we got to have dinner with my dad all by ourselves without any interruptions last night.  What a great time.  Adam did great for the ride down, but is exhausted from all the over-stimulation today.  He's sleeping and just ate.  We missed out on seeing Florence come into the restaurant.  Sad, but necessary.  We need a happy baby or there is not a good time had by anyone.  Especially mommy and the baby.  He needs to sleep until he wakes on his own because he got woken up before in time for 8 new and strange family members wanting to hold him and passing him around.  Too much for him.  He is such a sweet boy and he already gave a different impression to people.  Poor thing.  He'll sleep plenty tomorrow.  I hope.  We are staying for breakfast for sure, then taking off to go home.  Tony has to work and we'll be back in the summer.  He'll be bigger then and hopefully will be better traveling too.  I hope he wakes in an hour before Florence goes home!  We'll see.  Can't wait to see everybody.  Great hotel room too.  Very roomy for all the baby gear.  I have to remember this for next time.

Made It

  Made it to Iowa with only one almost melt down.  Adam is stuffy and sinuses are bad I think.  Poor thing.  He did great on the trip.  Slept a lot.  Not sure if he will sleep tonight now.  Time to find out though.  He did great, what a trooper.  Who knows if he will do the same on the way back home.  Look forward to some sleep if possible. Good hanging with my sister :)

Valentines Day Report

  Well, he slept from 1 AM - 8 AM this morning.  He woke up happy and smiling.  What a great present for Valentines day!  What a sweet boy!  Lots to do today to get ready for our trip.  I hope he's ready for a big travel day.  We figured out that the car seat cover was rubbing on his cheeks and causing rash/irritation on his whole face.  I have now covered any areas that would come in contact with his face with a cotton flannel fabric and laundered it in Dreft.  Today will be the test to see if he does well and goes rash free when traveling.  Poor thing had red cheeks for 2 days after his last contact with the car seat cover.  Hoping this will solve the problem for his travel and sensitive skin.  Yay.

Happy Valentines Day!

Thinking in his dreams

Loves his rings

Tummy time in his cloth diaper

7.5 Hours

Adam has slept 7.5 hours each night the last 2 days, then he slept all day today.  That makes me not confident that he will sleep tonight.  Not sure what that means going into a big trip in 3 days.  I am in complete denial that we are leaving to be in a car for 12-16 hours in one day.  Not really ready.  I could use  someone to pack for me.  I need to hit the grocery store and to make the snacks.  Laundry to do and clean the house.  Sweet business to see everyone.  Can't wait to lose the baby weight.  Slow as it goes, but I know it will come off.  Hoping to get lots done tomorrow.  Fingers crossed.  G'night

Good Night Overall

  Last night Adam slept about 7.5 hours!  Quite a feet.  I woke once when I thought he was getting up, but otherwise I slept too.  So great.  The difficult part was that he was inconsolable tired before falling asleep.  Despite everything I did he cried for almost 30 minutes before finally calming down and falling right to sleep in the swing.  I tried everything in my arsenal of calming techniques with no avail.  He basically cried himself out until he slept which was sad.  To sleep so long after was surprising, but welcome.  He just fell asleep right now, but if he's on his day schedule of eating every 2 hours he'll wake in a minute and want to eat.  If he's in bed for the night, he'll just keep sleeping and therefore I could have gone to bed when he did.  Too bad there is no way to know that ahead of time.  Anyways, I'm off to get ready for bed as he swings happily sleeping.

  He's so sweet and I'm so happy to have him.  I cannot get over how big he is already.  One of my favorite outfits I went to put on him today because it has always been roomy when other clothes have been tight, does not fit anymore.  Sad.  I didn't think he was growing that much, but it fit comfortably only 2 weeks ago.  Keeping in perspective is hard until I see someone else holding him.  Then he's still small.  I love that.  Oh, he is stirring. Time to eat after all.  Not bed time yet.  Gotta go.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly 3 Months Old

 Adam has had one of his worst and his best nights since he was born in the last week.  One night up every 2 hours after nursing for 30 minutes and one night sleeping almost 6.5 hours then 3 hours back to back.  He sometimes screams from being overly tired (like we purposely kept him up or something) and then he was quiet, went to sleep easily after being rocked and transferred to bed without waking no problem.  He would wake screaming one night then wake happily sucking on his fingers and talking happily the other.  He would scream and only be soothed by the swing or happily just be rocked and in bed within 10 minutes.  No figuring this guy out yet, but I love the sleep I got yesterday for sure. Yet, he always wakes up in a good mood smiling, talking, laughing, kicking, punching, playing with me.  So sweet.

I was able to exercise yesterday for the first time since he was born.  Yay!  I was so excited.  It was interrupted with feeding him, but something is better than nothing.  As cleaning goes, we hope to have friends over tomorrow so today is filing and cleaning day.  I love the light out, but not the 10 degrees with -3 wind chill.  I was hoping to go into State Wide to visit today, but I will go on Monday instead.  I love a clean house.  It is a rare commodity and will get rarer still once Adam is bigger.  Que serra.

We have been stuffed up lately and trying to stay where the humidifier is.  He has been giving good sinus drainage with the bulb. I wonder what parents did before the bulb?  It is such a wonderful tool.  I also wonder what they did before swings.  Good grief they must have held their baby all the time or let them cry.  Either way, the swing is such a great alternative.  Good for all involved.  He's so big his feet hang over the edge of the swing now.  The instructions say the swing will hold up to 25 pounds, he is about 17 pounds and already rocks the foundation of the swing when he is kicking and moving around.  I cannot imagine 25 pounds of Adam in the swing almost knocking it over.

I am excited and leery about our impending trip to Iowa.  He does not like being in his car seat for long periods of time.  I hope he sleeps a lot and we can stop to let him have some kick punch time.  He does tend to fall asleep in the seat, but all day I think will be a bit much for him.  Any way you slice it, we are going.  The forecast looks good, as in clear warm weather for travel.  I hope it stays that way.  I also hope Charity gets to hold him and play with him on the trip also.  That will be fun.

Packing for a trip like this with an infant, I am glad we have a Suburban.  I am thinking of  portable rocking chair or just bringing the swing.  Very bulky, but proven effective.  I plan to call the hotel today and see if they have a rocking chair we can borrow.  That would make life easier.  We will see.  This trip will be the only time we get to see my dad until the day we visit him in Arizona.  I will get to see him a total of 3 days this year.  It seems like time is passing fast and I do not get to see him.  If he did not have that horrific girlfriend, I feel he would visit us.  He uses the excuse that she cannot come because she is working so he will not visit us.  Anyways, enough lamenting the lack of visitation of my family.

I feel good about our smiling, playful, snugly and smart son.  I do not look forward to his next doctor's visit.  I do want to find out what he weighs "officially," but I want another nurse and different gauge of needle for his shots this time.  I look forward to his crawling and talking.  He is so verbal.  He has starting taking a header when sitting now so he ends up on his face.  He then moves his arms and legs to position his head in a comfortable position.  He stays there for a while, then either gets happy to just lay there or he fights and wants to get back up and do it all over again.  Love that he is trying.  He does baby crunches all the time now and needs to be strapped in to any chair or swing he is in now.  He just is moving right along.  Now if he can only outgrow those daily hiccups.  Ugh, I do not like the hiccups.  He always spits up right before he has the hiccups.  The most he has had them is 5 times in one day.  Poor thing.

Three months old 2 days ago!!

So inquisitive! "Hmm?"

Such a silly Sarazin

Sleepy smiles at 3 months old

Awe

He is so sweet

He is so fun