It's been too long...

Well, everyone, it's been a while, so I thought I'd make a post. Mike is so good about his blog and I hope to one day catch up to him. Lol...he's had his for less time than I have and has posted many more times than me. I just can't seem to get it done, but I promise I will try harder.

So, let's see.....something new....Michael has been sleeping all the way through the night for the last few nights and has gone to bed with no more than 5 minutes of crying. Sometimes, he just goes right to sleep. It's nice. I guess the Dr. was right. It's easier to get it over with early than to have to fight bedtime for the rest of my life. Lol.

He is doing well on cereal sometimes eating more than his 1 tablespoon, sometimes only eating 3 bites....just depends on how sleepy he is. But I am glad he lets us know when he is full and doesn't just eat it because it's in front of him. We are going to try really hard to develop healthy eating habits for him and encourage healthy options as opposed to sweets.....although we won't deprive him because that can lead to binging later on in life. It's such a fine line.

So, I was reading the other day, and it got me to thinking (sometimes this can be a bad thing..haha). I read this article about baby foods and was wondering if any of you have tried to feed your baby different kinds of foods than the normal bland purees? I got to wondering what do people in Asia or the Middle East, or people in Mexico feed their babies? They eat heavily spiced food, so do they feed their baby the same? Maybe it's better for baby to get a variety of flavors when they are young so they will like those when they are older? So many things to ponder. I will have to ask the doctor about this maybe....although, he will probably think I am a crazy person for even considering such a thing....or maybe he will just say if I am up for the crazy diapers, he's ok with it. lol. Who knows...

One other thing....it's kind of sad actually, but still funny. I have been recording Michael's tummy time so that Mike won't miss out on his first roll or whatever. So, this morning, I did what I normally do....put Michael on his tummy, move out of the way, turn to get the camera, and when I turned back around, I found my baby on his BACK! I totally missed his first rollover and so did the camera for Mike! Sneaky little man. So I tried to recreate it, and he wouldn't do it for me again. :( Sooo, sad.

Here's another pic...cereal face...so cute!

Results....dun, dun, duuuuunnnn

So, last night, as I told you in my last post, Michael finally went to sleep after about 30 minutes of crying.....AND.....slept straight through for 11 hours!!! Now, I am not sure if this is because of the shots or because I didn't jump up at every whimper, but whatever the reason I am happy. Thank you Dr. Wheeler. Now, we'll just pray it continues. :)

4 month check up - this is a LONG one!

Today was Michael's 4 month check up. It went really well, and I was so proud. He only cried during the 2nd shot and once he got a snuggle from mama, he was fine. That's my big boy!! He is 15lbs 2oz and 25 1/2 inches long.

So, the dr asked me how he was sleeping and I answered "Fine until about 3 weeks ago". So, he went on to tell me that Michael apparently had developed a habit of waking up to be fed....he did it once and liked it, so decided to keep doing it. I had no idea. I thought he was legitimately hungry, after all, he eats for a good while every time he wakes up. So, the dr said, put him down to bed awake (this means no feeding him until he falls asleep and laying him down immediately after that, which is what I thought I was supposed to do....mistake #1 I guess), and if he wakes up, let him put himself back to sleep. So I asked, what about when I lay him down? What do I do if he cries then? He told me to let him cry. So, of course, I asked how long and he said "Initially, as long as it takes....let him cry until he goes to sleep. Then after that just don't rush to get him....give him a little bit to go back to sleep and then if he gets upset, check him to see if he spit up or if he has a dirty diaper, but don't pick him up (mistake #2...after I heard him make a peep, I would go to him so that he wouldn't get upset and not go back to sleep). The most important thing for a baby is to let them get a good nights sleep and that can only be done if they aren't waking up all throughout the night. I am not concerned about you (meaning me, the mom) getting sleep, I am concerned about HIM getting sleep. His brain and his little body need to grow and develop and the only way to do that is with a good night's sleep. Plus, good behavior starts with good sleep, and I don't want to see you on an episode of the Super Nanny". Then he laughed and said he was kidding about the super nanny thing.

Soooooo, I tried this at nap time. I am still nursing (although I think I am going to stop soon), so I fed Michael, he was still awake, but sleepy, and I walked him up to his room and laid him down. No rocking, no nothing. I just rubbed his forehead and told him to sleep good. I shut the door and not 2 seconds later, he is crying. So, I go downstairs and clean up a bit...still crying....I vacuum....still crying.....40 minutes later, he is still crying, so I go check on him, clam him down, and lay him back down. He is smiling and I think he is just fine. I walk out of site, and instantly he is crying. So, I listen to him a bit and realize that is his hungry cry. So, feeling terrible (he obviously didn't get enough to eat when I nursed him earlier) I made him a bottle and decided to stop with the breastfeeding on Monday (I've got some plans on friday and saturday and don't want to be miserable). I can't track how much he is eating and he is hungry all the time....it is a little sad though....and formula is expensive, so I might change my mind.....but that's the new plan....my original plan was to continue until he was 6 months......we'll see....my resolve is wavering as I type this. He ate 2 oz and then took a nice long nap in the swing. We'll try the nap in the crib again tomorrow.....he won't be able to fit in that swing forever....

Then tonight, it was a little better. He ate cereal, changed into jammies, ate a bottle, fell asleep and wouldn't eat any more, changed his diaper so that he wouldn't be asleep when I laid him down and Mike and I proceeded to put him down for the night. We prayed together, and then left the room. About a minute later he was crying. I really was not prepared for this one! I thought he would go down to bed for the night just fine. He usually does, and then it hit me....I was nursing him to sleep....I was doing it all wrong. I remember having read somewhere that you should not nurse your child to sleep because it would be a difficult habit to break when they get older, but I guess I didn't realize that I was doing that or something.....or maybe I just blocked it until just now while I am writing this, I don't know. Anyway, finally after 27 minutes of crying off and on (mostly on), he quieted down a little, and then at 32 minutes he was asleep.

Thank you Lord for letting Michael go to sleep. Please don't let him hate me in the morning and please don't let him be traumatized and never want to sleep in his bed again (these are silly things I worry about)

Yay! We followed the Dr's orders and will hopefully begin to sleep easy soon.

This is probably what he looked like when he first fell asleep....he was definitely not happy about being asleep in these pics.

Happy 4 month birthday Michael!!!

So, today Michael is 4 months old!! My, how time does fly!! Seems like just yesterday I was still pregnant and now he is starting his first solid foods. My tiny baby is growing up. He is starting to show his personality now too. We knew from early on that he will have to work on his patience as he gets older, which has not changed, but he is becoming a happy baby who loves to smile and laugh more than anything. And he LOOOOVES his dad and especially loves to sit next to him on the couch and watch football (or really any tv....I think he likes the colors). It's really cute! I will have to be sure and get a picture of this next time so I can post it.

Poor thing....he got his first ouchie today. He was playing in his activities center (or whatever those things are called...some call them walkers, but it can't move, so I am not sure what to call it...lol) and next thing I know he is crying and crying. So I check him out and he has a little scrape/bump on his head right at his hair line. I am not sure how he did it, but he bumped his head. The redness has faded and there is no bruise, so he is fine. :)

Here's another picture of him. This was taken about 2 weeks ago.

We Took The Plunge

Well, Michael is 4 days away from being 4 months old and he was up every 1-2 hours last night. So, for my sanity's sake, we started him on Rice Cereal this evening. He did great and was so cute! He probably had as much on his face as he did in his little tummy, but he ate the whole amount (it was 1 tablespoon, mixed with 4 tablespoons of formula). We are praying he will begin to sleep all night again more consistently.

An end to another wonderful week

Well, it's Friday night and I am sitting at home enjoying a relaxing evening with my boys, so I thought I'd take a minute and update you all on what's been going on.

I have a new sewing machine that does embroidery. It's so much fun and sews really easy! I love it! So, hopefully, I will become crafty and maybe will be able to make a little extra income for my family. Once I get some stuff I will post more info.

I have also become involved with the mom's group at church. Today was our first bible study/get to know you time and I loved it! There are a lot of really sweet ladies that are part of the group and I know I can make some really great friends. We will be starting a bible study on October 2 that is called Apples to Gold. It's kind of like a mentor thing.....there are 6 older women who have grown kids that will lead the group in their home each week. We will be having a bible study, a meal, and a time for service. I know I will be learning so much from these experienced wives and mom's. I am so excited!

My sweet baby is growing so fast!! Here's a pic! He loves sticking out that tongue...haha.

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Click on "free samples" above to go to the website.

Have fun!