So Funny

Kate is asleep in her pack n' play right now. (We went out of town for a week, and were so grateful that Kate slept well in her pack n' play. Since we got home, she's had a hard time staying asleep in her crib) I put her pack n' play in her room, and she's sawing logs... Isn't that so funny!? Well, if anyone needs me to watch their newborn or toddler for a night or two, I have a crib they can stay in! haha :)

Traveling

How do you travel with a baby? We brought the pack n' play with us to the motel. We were so hopeful that Kate would just LOVE it and not notice she wasn't in her soft, cozy crib.

The sides are mesh, so she could see us. When she could see us, she cried more. Even when she couldn't see us, b/c we were on the other end of the room, it still took her a long time to fall asleep. When she did fall asleep, she didn't sleep very long (nap:30 minutes, night time: 4 hour stretches).
Since we were in a motel, the walls were kinda thin, and someone pounded on the wall when Kate cried in the middle of the night. It made me feel so bad. I was trying to let her cry a little, so she could fall back to sleep. She cried again about an hour later, and the punched the wall again. :( So then I was so worried people would be upset, so I held her anytime she cried. (Kate sometimes needs to fuss a little bit before she falls asleep.) It was really hard. She was so tired. I felt so bad for her, and I also felt bad that I had become so upset. Any advice?
How could someone ever feel frustrated with this little lamb?

This was our room at the Econo Lodge. Greg slept in one bed, I slept in the other, and Kate's crib was next to me. I feel tired just remembering those 5 nights.

Naps in the Crib

Kate is starting to take longer naps again! She had a 2 hour nap on Tuesday and Thursday! She has not had one of those since her swing. She loves her crib. It's comfy and cozy. Sometimes she still cries for a little while before she goes to sleep, though. The HUGE thing, is that she's waking up from her nap and falling back asleep! That is HUGE! Hooray for Kate and hooray for Sleep Sense. Nights are going well too. She usually only wakes up once. She went 9 hours, the other night! :) I KNOW she'll wake up 4 times tonight, just because I am gloating!

Hooray for Cribs!

Kate is loving her crib. As long as she's fed really well, she doesn't mind being in her crib. I realized that the other day. We read stories, and I fed her some of her bottle, but she didn't want to eat anymore. So I put her in her crib. She got really sad, so after a couple minutes, I actually took her out of the crib and gave her the bottle again. She chugged it down. Then I put her back in the crib (Awake of course - Sleep Sense Theory) and she was just fine. So, that's what I do now when she fusses a lot for naps or bedtime.

We were at my aunts and Kate needed a nap. My aunt had a crib and Kate went to sleep right away. She didn't seem to know that it was someone else's crib. Hooray for cribs! :)

Does sleep sense make sense? We shall see.

Hello Folks!
Well, it's been a week and 2 days since we started the "Sleep Sense" program. I have to say that some nights it seems to be going great and others, not so much. It's funny how much I love the program on the "on" nights and how confused I am on the "off" nights. I also checked out a book at the library called "The No Cry Sleep Solution". I thought sleep sense was gentle, but this other book is soooo gentle. It's so confusing to know what to do in the middle of the night when both of us are sooo tired.

Kate seemed so hungry last night. One time I held her and she still cried (which hardly happens), so I knew she must be hungry. She was almost ravenous when I fed her! She woke up only 2 hours later, still hungry. Then 2 hours later, she woke up but wasn't hungry. She was AWAKE! It was 4:30 am! ahhaah I did the math though, and from start to finish, it had been 10 hours. So tonight, I waited to put her down until 7 pm. We did her cute little routine. She was falling asleep while I fed her. I kept blowing on her face and sniffing my nose to wake her up (she always jumps when I sniff my nose! I found it's the best way to wake her up!) haha :) So anyway, I woke her up and burped her and put her down in her crib and she rubbed her eyes and went right to sleep.

I'm always so hopeful at this point of the evening. 11pm and 4am are the tricky times. Hopefully tonight will be a good night for Kate.

A Friend's Question...Brushing Toddler's Teeth

This time I'm asking a question for my friend, Stasha. She was wondering all the ins and outs of brushing toddler's teeth (do you use toothpaste? how much? how often do you brush their teeth? how in the would do you keep their mouths open?). Her baby boy is 11 months old and has 6 or more teeth. Thanks :)

Postpardom Preeclampsia

Have any of you, or someone you know, been diagnosed with preeclampsia (pregnancy induced hypertension) and that it didn't go away for a few months after delivering? I was at week 38 or 39 of my pregnancy when I was diagnosed. They induced me that day (I didn't have high blood pressure my whole pregnancy) and expected it to go away within a couple of days. It didn't, so they put me on blood pressure medication (30mg). That brought it down after a few days and worked so well that I got off of it after 2 months. Then my bp went back up again, and stayed up for about 7 weeks. They put me back on the medication, but it wasn't helping, so they upped my mgs to 60mg. It is working again.

Everyone seems to misunderstand what preeclampsia is. They tell me to eat certain things, avoid others, and exercise. I TOTALLY understand that this is the best advice for the average person with high blood pressure, but this is different. Mine was not brought on by doing or not doing. It just happened. There is no known cause to preeclampsia, so my eating won't make it get better. Blood pressure meds are the only thing working. SOOOO, I was wondering if you've known anyone who had preeclampsia that lasted a few months after pregnancy and if so, what they did about it. Did it ever go away?

Baby Proofing

This is the look Kate gave me when I told her she'll be crawling soon! :) She's not crawling yet, (she's 5 months old), but I wanted to know some good tips on "baby-proofing" a house. My sister in law told me, it's never done. (example: You come home from the grocery store, and put the bags on the floor...etc...) But could you please give me some tips on how to keep things safe for a little one? Maybe something you hadn't realzied until your baby started crawling. Thanks so much. Oh, if you don't have a blogspot account, you can always email me at talkbaby@live.com. Thanks a bunch! :)

I Love Pedicures

I know this blog is about babies, but I just have to say that I love getting pedicures. I got one yesterday and it was HEAVEN. It's just one hour, but that one hour is 100% mental vacation time. I love to read all those stupid Hollywood magazines. Hair appointments and pedicures are the only time I ever look at them (but I end up getting grossed out quickly and closing them). Anyway, I think everyone needs an hour here and there to pamper themselves! I love pedicures!

Baby Food

OK, I have to pick your brains again...my babe had her 4 month doctor's appointment a couple weeks ago, and the doc said that I could start her on rice cereal or baby oatmeal. What the heck is this stuff? Do you put it in a bottle? Is it best to mix it with: breast milk, formula, or water? What's the ratio??? When during the day and night do you give the rice cereal or milk? Do some of you think I shouldn't give it at all? Right now I give her breast milk and formula... you thoughts?

Right Now

I took everyone's advice and put her back in her crib last night. I still swaddled her, but surprisingly, she slept the same amount she does in her swing! This is Kate RIGHT NOW! :) She is taking a nap. She slept for about 40 minutes, woke up and cried a little bit. Before I went to get her she got quiet...she fell BACK asleep! (She has always been really good about falling asleep right away in her crib) but hasn't been able to fall right back to sleep like that! Thanks everyone, for your support in this. It has given me some courage as well as a little reality check. I haven't gotten to the "crying it out" yet, but at least I got her back in her crib.

Thank you!

Thank you so much for your advice. It's already making me consider changing what I'm doing. I'm so grateful to get different perspectives! Just curious, when is it too early to let them cry it out (for those who voted "not before a certain age")?

Baby Sleeping

My baby girl is 4 1/2 months old. She has been sleeping swaddled, in her swing. It's been perfect, because if she wakes up from a little noise, the swing will rock her right back to sleep. I know she can't stay in the swing forever, so I'd like her to get used to her crib. I put her in the crib for about three weeks, but I got NO sleep! It was like she was a newborn again. When she is in her crib she wakes up and cannot get back to sleep. I let her cry 30 minutes one night and 45 the next. My Dr. said I could let her cry for 1 hr. at the most. I just felt too bad to let her cry any longer than 45 minutes. It was too much! I couldn't do it! What would you do at this point?