For those of you keeping score...

Baby K - 1, Mommy - 0.

Last night I made a few adjustments to Baby K's schedule. We had dinner at 6:15, where I made him sit in his high chair for 30 minutes eating/playing. He ate 1/2 carton of yogurt, 4 Ritz crackers, and 1/3 of a jar of stage 3 greenbeans (which were really mushy--I had said earlier that he wouldn't eat stage 3 foods, but I finally found something he likes which is Beechnuts Green Beans and Potatoes "Homestyle").

After dinner, he was allowed to play for 20 minutes or so while I cleaned things up and got his bath ready. I bathed him, rubbed him down with lotion, and let him play for a little while longer. By this time it is about 7:45, so I gave him a snack of 1/2 a cereal bar and a few more crackers. At 8:15 he was given a bottle and went right to sleep.

We put him in his crib at 8:25.

He woke up at 8:45, where I made him cry for 5 minutes. I rocked him back to sleep.

He woke up at 9:50, where I made him cry for 6 minutes. K went up to change his diaper and rock him back to sleep.

He woke up at 1:15, where I made him cry for 7 minutes and I finally caved and went to change him and give him 8 oz of formula and .8 tylenol. (I'm a sucker, I know...but I am quite certain he would have stood there and cried all night had I let him, and it wasn't just a cry...he was MAD!!!!)

He woke up at 4:50, where I made him cry himself back to sleep. It took about 5-6 minutes.

He woke up at 5:35, where I made him cry for 5 minutes, then I gave him 8 oz of formula, changed his bottom, and gave him more tylenol.

I know his gums are hurting because he finally has a tooth coming in up top. It has broken through the gum and the tooth beside of it isn't far behind. I feel bad about giving him tylenol because I feel like I am medicating him to sleep--because I need him to sleep--but really, it's for his gums, I swear.

Tonight my mom is keeping him so K and I can ring in 2010! I'm sure he'll sleep like an angle for her; he always does. May 2010 bring us restful nights!

Follow Up

I posted this yesterday. Thank you to all of you who left me comments letting me know I wasn't alone in this endevor or advice as to what has worked for your child.

I was quick to say that I felt as if Baby K were waking out of habit, but now, I'm not so sure. Last night, here is what happened:

-we put him to bed at 8:30
-he woke up at 9:15 where I rocked him back to sleep
-he woke up at 11:00 where I changed him and rocked him back to sleep
-he woke up at 1:00 when he needed changing and he took 8 oz of formula
-and lastly, he woke up at 4:45 when he needed changing again and he took another 8 oz of formula

So, do you think he's waking because he's hungry? To be fair, he is also teething, so that could be some of it?!? The kid eats like a bird. He also has some texture issues so he will not eat many foods. We have introduced some table foods that he seems to tolerate well as long as they are pure mush. Mel mentioned stage 3 foods--yeah, he will NOT eat them. Well, he'll eat the fruit, but he won't eat the healthy stuff. It makes him gag. Once he gags, he's finished. You also mentioned the Baby Wise series (which was also recommended to me by a real life friend who swears by its success). I didn't research it at all, so I had no idea it was controversial. I have the series on the way to my mailbox, so we'll wait and see what happens with that.

Amanda you said your boys like the room temp to be 73. This is what our house temp is set to, but his room is upstairs so it tends to be warmer on that level. I have tried dressing him warmer and dressing him cooler. We have a small space heater, so I may just try moving it to his room to see if it helps.

My sister, who is a former pediatric RN, has convinced me to start transitioning him to whole milk to see if that helps. It's suppose to be more filling. She thinks it may help to subside the hunger (if that is indeed the problem). I'm also going to take Janna's advice and have a late night snack of finger foods, fruit, or a cereal bar.

I really appreciate you all brain storming and sharing ideas with me.

Christmas Day 2009

Is Santa coming???


Baby K wasn't really sure what to do with all of these gifts Santa brought him. Isn't this just the best gift?





Spending time with my cousins. Notice he has a cell phone in each hand. He loved, loved, loved the Benny Hill theme song ringer on my cousin Scott's phone. Just look at his face....priceless. Mommy is more like, "Benny who?"



I think I'll go for a ride on my new dump truck...



Nah, maybe not!


I'll let Daddy play with it instead!


He finally saw the wagon....Bingo!

Seeking advice

I'll skip the chit chat and just get strait to the point: HOW ON EARTH DO YOU GET YOUR CHILD TO SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT?????

Baby K is soon-to-be eleven months old, and he continues to wake multiple times through out the night. We did go through a phase where he only got up once, but that has long since been replaced by at least 3 or 4 wake-ups. Now, I mostly think it's out of habit. Things I have tried:

-putting cereal in his last bottle
-putting oatmeal in his last bottle
-using calming baby bath/lotion
-music
-nightlight
-keeping him up later


I am at the point where I really need to let him cry it out, but I'll confess: it breaks my heart to hear him cry, especially between babbles of ma-ma and da-da. Heartbreaking! And, when he is physically standing up in his crib while he is crying with his eyes closed, you can't help but give in. Sometimes he needs to be changed. Sometimes he wants another bottle. And, sometimes he just wants to be rocked for all of 5 minutes and he drifts back off to sleep.

Christmas was exhausting. I will have pics up soon. I'm also very excited (yet, sad) that I had to order Baby K's first birthday party invitations. February will be here before I know it, so I'm trying to get that under control.

Hope you all had a wonderful, restful holiday!

What do I do? What do you do? What works for your family?

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

Two years ago, I wrote this on Christmas Eve.

I was at a breaking point in my life. I was stuck in a valley. My patience had been long gone; my hope had been stretched too thin. I think I felt more defeated than I've ever felt in my entire life.

Then, I did something which I thought I would have never done. I left the doctor's office I had been a patient of for 10ish years and sought a second opinion. (Well, it would actually be a third if you include the IVF doctors who told me that the only way I would ever have kids is to use donor eggs.) I didn't know anything about this new doctor. I literally picked him out of the phone book and scheduled an appt. That is one of the best decisions I have made in my entire life. It was Dr. R who gave me the hope I had lost. With that hope, I felt all the stress and pressure (and shame) of being "infertile" lifted off of my shoulders. I began to enjoy life again. I enjoyed my husband more. I enjoyed our time together. It was only then that God chose to finally answer our prayers. And, it wasn't immediately that he answered. After changing doctors, we still waited for six months or so, but finally, for whatever reason, after 5 years of tears, heartache, emptiness, shame, and many, many prayers He gave us our son.

I use to hate the Christmas season before Baby K was conceived. It is the most difficult time of year for those who are waiting, and I believe despite how selfish that may sound that God gets that. He knows our hearts; He knows our hurt. This year I get to celebrate the season without having all the emotions to cloud the reason for the season. I don't say that as "Look at me! Look at me! I have a baby this year." I say that as "My son is a wonderful gift, yes, but God gave me a better gift. He gave me His love, His forgiveness, His blood for my salvation. He gave me back Christmas spirit and the desire to celebrate His birth."

I also want to say to those of you who are still waiting: I will be covering you in prayers this weekend. I hope that God pours out his love, peace, and blessings upon you and your family. I pray for Him to give you your every hearts desire. And I pray that He will lead you to a doctor who will give you back the hope that some other doctor may have stolen from you. I pray that next year, each and every one of you will know the joy from being a parent. I pray for patience as you wait and for God to remove any shame you may be feeling--because you were wonderfully made, no matter how broken you may feel right now.

Merry Christmas sweet friends! I love you all!

Prayer Request...

My sweet bloggy friend Jen is feeling down today. Will you all hop over and give her some love and support? We've all been where she is today; some of us are still there; some of us are going back there. That's why I love blogging--people come out of nowhere to pray for you and give you the encouragement that you so long to hear.

Eight Maids a milking...

It is eight days until Christmas. EIGHT DAYS! Fortunately, I am finished with the Christmas shopping mayhem, but I have tons and tons of gifts to wrap. I.hate.wrapping.presents. Have I ever told you that I am a little Obsessive Compulsive? Okay, a lot. I strive to be a perfectionist (which is both a blessing and a curse). It's a blessing because I always try my best, but it's also a curse because I am never quite satisfied with my results. I'm not a great wrapper, and it drives me crazy. I want the paper edges folded perfectly; I want the bows fluffy. Sounds easy enough, huh?

We took Baby K to see Santa last night. I think he left traumatized. I assumed this was the reaction he would have, and I even felt a little guilty after it was over, but he had to see Santa on his first Christmas, right?



Or, we could blame his crying on the fact that he has another ear infection. (Actually, that sounds good, so we'll just go with the ears. Oh, just humor me!) He's had tubes for seven weeks now, and he has had ear infections the entire time. I thought tubes were suppose to fix that problem, but what on earth was I thinking?
*Sigh*

I am officially out of school until Jan 6. I have really enjoyed the past few nights giving my undivided attention to my family. I'm still reading (which surprises even me). Do you have a good suggestion for me? What's your favorite book, and who is its author? It may just end up as my next review over here.

Did I mention that Christmas is only eight days away?

Christmas Preview...

Here is our tree. We cheated this year, as if you can't already tell, and we put it up on the coffee table (out of Baby K's reach).



But just so you know, he doesn't seem to mind.



And, just to be certain, we let him open his first Christmas gift.



He didn't care what was in it at first. He wanted to eat the bow!





Daddy's Little Helper



Baby K in Action:

I need your input...

I'm giving my final presentation next Monday, Dec. 14 on "What is Worth Knowing?" I selected this topic for my term paper in my Foundations of Education class because I could relate to it...I can't count the times that I have been sitting in a desk, gazing at the teacher, wondering, "Why on earth am I learning this?" And, I need your help Blogland...

While I give my presentation, I would like to build a powerpoint presentation with real data to be playing in the background of my presentation. I need your input to add to the answers I have already collected.

It's easy:

When you think back to your experience as a student, what was worth learning? What do you use in your everyday life? What do you wish you had spent more class time studying? (For example, some of my current responses include: grammar, spelling, typing, basic math skills, etc.)

Also, what was NOT worth knowing? What have you never used? It can even be something you hated, as long as you haven't found this information to be relevant. (Some of the current answers I have received include: periodic table, memorizing state capital/birds/flowers, algebra, etc.)

Try to be creative and specific. I received (what I thought was) a funny answer: My friend said she has never, even until this day, had the need to dissect a frog or grow fruit flies in a jar... Maybe we were the only students who had to do that--we are from NC, but it's SO true! So, why on earth did we learn that?

Thank you so much for your help!

Grrrr....

Remember this post?

I am so aggravated. *Insert frustration here* I have been trying to delete my profile from My.Space for over 3 weeks now. The site continues to tell me I will receive an email to finalize my request, but the email never comes! Grrr...guess it's not My.Space...it's Theirs.

Moving on...

I took my final for my statistic's class last night. I have never been so happy to finish a class in my entire life (and when you stop to think about all the classes I've taken--and there have been tons---that's pretty amazing!) I have a presentation tonight for my Adolescent literature class and that course will be over as well. On the other hand, I have really enjoyed this class. I must say, I didn't realize how much I enjoyed reading!?! There was a point at the beginning of the semester when I was completely defeated once I found out I had to read 15 novels by the end of the semester; however, most of them were really, really good. I will even go as far as to say, I have somewhat been inspired. It has led me to create a new blog if any of you are looking for good reads over Christmas vacation. As you can tell, I decided to begin blogging late into the semester, so there are only 2 reviews so far. But, it is slowly coming together, and I hope it keeps me reading.

Wow, books have really changed from when I was a kid!! Some of these books should never, ever be used in the classroom because of content or language. It's sad that many of them have really great life lessons in them, but because of the content/language students' aren't exposed to them. Instead we shove the classics down kids throats and hope it turns them on to reading. So, if you have children in school, especially upper middle grades or high school, I really encourage you to research novels that your children are reading.

The only class I will have left is my Foundations of Education course (this is the class my teacher called me an overachiever in). This semester has been so stressful. Remind me to never commit to 9 credit hours EVER again.

That's about all that is going on my way! I hope you have a great week!