You are currently browsing the monthly archive for August, 2008.
What do all of these pictures have in common besides the same little boy?
That sweet little boy is sleeping. He used to go to sleep at 10:30 or 11pm and sleep until 6 or 7am when he’d be ready to eat, and then he’d go back to sleep for another 3-4 hours.
Our beautiful dreamer who had slept through the night since he was barely a week old hasn’t done this in nearly 6 weeks.
Sure, he’ll have a night or two that fool us, then he goes back to the following pattern:
1. Down to sleep at 9pm.
2. Wakes up screaming and pulling his legs up and squirming at 12:30 or 1am.
3. Wakes up screaming every hour to 2 hours afterward until about 7-8am when he’s ready to get up for the day.
How are we handling it? Well, normally, I get up and nurse him and put him back to bed just because I know it will put him back to sleep even though he’s not really hungry. We’ve tried teaching him to soothe himself by putting him down for bed before he’s quite asleep. We’ve tried waiting a few minutes before responding to his cries to see if he settles himself back down. I’ve tried not nursing him to get him back to sleep, just rocking and rubbing his tummy.
Finally, after weeks of getting almost no sleep at night (and I’ll remind you all that I work full-time at a VERY physically demanding job) – one 2.5-3 hour stretch per night and then little catnaps between the screams is NOT enough sleep for ANY of us, I called the pediatrician to rule out any possible gas or other physical issue for the sleep disturbance. That’s where Justin and I were this morning before I went to work.
The conclusion? Justin looks/acts/is growing too darn well to have a physical issue going on here. This after the pediatrician palpated his belly and checked his ears and throat and boy-parts and found nothing to suggest a real physical discomfort that could be disturbing his sleep.
So, what did the pediatrician tell me to do? (you won’t believe this)
1. Since we’re stuck sharing our bedroom with our baby (he doesn’t sleep in our bed but in his crib at the end of the bed) she suggested we hang a sheet or curtain around his crib so he can’t see us – essentially making him his own room within ours.
2. I am to sleep in the living room for a day or two and let Matt take care of Justin when he wakes up at night. NO nursing unless it’s a reasonable time to eat!
3. Expect him to have a few rough nights and days, and then start sleeping through the night again.
The philosophy? All recent, well developed and studied research shows that letting babies “cry it out” while it makes them sleep through the night, is really bad for the family relationship. Plus, we live in an apartment complex – not an option. So he’s gonna get soothed, just not in the way he expects. The idea is to help him realize that he doesn’t need to nurse to soothe himself.
We’re giving this project 3-4 days. I’ll update as we progress. Wish this exhausted momma and over-tired baby luck (oh, and a daddy who will now be getting out of bed and dealing with our little Johnny-fuss-pants an estimated gazillion times tonight)!
I’d love to hear your suggestions and comments!
By the way: at the doctor’s office we learned that Justin is now 28 inches long and weighs in at a whopping 18lbs 5oz!
Hello friends!
Sorry for the delay in posting about Justin’s 5-month-birthday – with the trip and all, it has been quite the week trying to get things back to normal around here!
As of Tuesday the 19th, Justin is 5 months old. And a big boy he is! You know how kids kinda fill out and get round, and then shoot up really tall? Yeah, well, Justin is in yet another “tall” phase. His jeans that fit just last week now look like he’s waiting for a flood!
Handsome Boy!
Since we’ve been to/are going to 2 weddings this month, I thought I’d post as Justin’s “official” 5-month photo one of him in his suit. The jacket that comes with it is too big yet, and doesn’t do much for him – we think he looks a whole lot cuter in the slacks, shirt, vest, and tie. 
So what’s Justin up to these days? LOTS!
Our mobile little boy can navigate his way half across the living room floor in seconds using his system of rolling and scooting (which looks pretty much like a “military crawl” where he’s on his belly and pulls himself on his forearms and pushes with his legs). He can easily get his whole body off the ground (up on his extended arms and his knees) but not for long. He’s SO close to crawling!
Justin is still addicted to jumping in pretty much any form, and loves to watch other babies do the things he’s working on. He can sit up almost by himself. He can prop himself up on his arms and lean over, and can actually sit up for very short periods but does even better with a little support.
Everything belongs in his mouth. Or so he thinks. Most of this is just exploration of his world, but some of it is teething. The skin of his gums over his lower left tooth is white with the pressure of the little tooth beneath it and I expect to see a little tooth in there in the next few days.
Sleep is getting better. If you’ve been reading my blogs, you may have noticed that Justin, our great sleeper, suddenly stopped sleeping through the night shortly after I returned to work. Finally, with some adjustments to feeding technique and some very helpful tips from the “Baby Whisperer”, we’re getting closer to sleeping through the night again.
As far as sounds go, I’m VERY excited to report that Justin said his first word the other day (August 20): “momma”! I was packing my lunch for work and he was playing on the floor at the entrance to the kitchen when he started to fuss, then stopped, looked up at me with reaching arms and said, “mommammaa”. It was awesome! And it wasn’t a fluke either – he doesn’t say it to daddy, but as soon as I get home these last few days, or when I’m changing his diaper, he very clearly is saying “momma”. 
After much debate, we’ve started very limited solid food. Justin gets a couple of tablespoons of rice cereal mixed with breastmilk every few days (or when he expresses special interest in eating solids). I imagine in the next few weeks we’ll start working on him having solids a little more regularly. We’ve also introduced a sippy cup, which he pretty much just plays with at this point, but occasionally gets water out of.
So that’s what our little boy is up to these days! Keeping us on our toes and always entertaining us with his endeavors.
Hello, everyone! It has been a wild week! Thursday we packed our bags and headed for Seattle. After a late night (2am) of finishing the dress I’ve been making (pictures to follow once I have one that isn’t horrible – probably tomorrow), we got up at 3:30am to head for the airport for our trip to the Bay area, California, for Justin’s Godparents’ wedding.
With lofty plans for fun in San Francisco upon our arrival, I was happy that Justin slept for most of the plane ride. We picked up our car (Justin hamming it up on the rental car shuttle, of course), and headed for a local Target to pick up a cheapie umbrella stroller and the sunblock I’d forgotten to pack. Next we battled crazy traffic and getting seriously lost after missing an exit (couldn’t get over into the right lane when I needed to) we finally made it to the San Francisco Zoo.
Are you ready to see the Zoo, Justin?
We saw lots of animals but Justin had just one love at the zoo:
Penguins!
This was the scene for the next like 25 minutes:
Seriously. He’d fuss if we turned as though we weren’t going to look at the penguins anymore.
Eventually though, we made our way from the Zoo to another San Francisco attraction for us: the Russian Orthodox Cathedral, where St. John Maximovich is laid to rest. Unfortunately, the Chapel was closed when we arrived, but we got to spend a good amount of time in its bookstore both browsing their expansive selection of Icons and books, but also having a great conversation with the monk running the bookstore.
Next, we were VERY ready to head for our hotel in San Rafael – it had been VERY warm and muggy and we all needed a shower. After being trapped in crazy traffic leading up to and through the Golden Gate Bridge (let me tell you, being stuck in traffic with no exit in sight with a screaming infant in the back seat out of reach is a real joy), we finally arrived at our air-conditioned hotel and got cleaned up (Justin even got a bath in our little hotel sink). As soon as we freshened up, our friends Michael and Sara arrived to go to dinner with us. We had a great time – Justin enjoyed throwing a plastic cup on the floor from his highchair, and we loved getting to catch up with our friends. Needless to say, however, we were exhausted by the time we got home to the hotel. Justin was fast asleep in his crib not 5 minutes after we got in, and after a quick call to my folks, we were all crashed out by 9:15.
Yes, Justin slept through the night, thank God! We were exhausted!
Bright and early Saturday morning, we got up and headed out for some food and to do my quest to find a pair of shoes to wear with the dress I made (it’s ultimately for my best friend, Kate’s wedding in two weeks, but it was good to get a trial run). I’ve looked at several shoe stores, box stores, etc. and just hadn’t found what I was looking for at a decent price. Lucky me, though! There aren’t any clearance-scavengers in Novato, CA! I got just the shoes I wanted for only $4.81! Oot! Oot! (and a great parking spot too!) Anyway, my shoe quest completed earlier than we thought, we took Justin around the outdoor shopping center we were at (in dry 99 degree heat – it felt AWESOME compared the the hot, sticky armpit that is Bellingham in the summer). They had a PetSmart, so naturally we took Justin in to look at the fish. If you haven’t heard yet, our son is Aquaman. Seriously, the kid will skip a feeding to watch fish. Justin’s favorites: Goldfish and turtles -
Swimming turtles!
After this little deep-sea excursion, our little boy was ready to eat and take a nap. One thing I noticed pretty quickly after we got into California: no one breastfeeds in public there. Seriously. In Bellingham, if you think to look, it’s pretty common to see a woman breastfeeding in the mall, on a park bench, in a carrier walking through the grocery store, etc. I may have gotten a little too used to the hippie-dom here. On the one hand, in California, it made me self conscious, on the other, it sorta made me proud about doing it. So there I was with Matt with my little “Hooter-Hider” on, nursing Justin on a little bench at this outdoor shopping center. I got a couple of questioning looks (like these people have never seen anyone nurse), but most people made an effort “not” to look – which I’ll admit can be pretty entertaining. Then there was the one lady who noticed, and made sort of a knowing smile and nod as if to say, “welcome to the secret club…”
Anyway, with Justin tuckered out, I found yet a new use for my nursing cover:
Sunshade!
We browsed around a little longer then hit the road back to the hotel to get ready for Niko and Stella’s wedding. Naturally, we ended up running a little late since Justin decided to throw a fit just as we were heading out the door, but fortunately, it was a Greek wedding, so the wedding didn’t start for another 15 minutes anyway. YAY Greeks! I’ll link pictures of the wedding when I have a link. Their photographer wouldn’t let anyone take pictures during the wedding, and it’s kinda rude to do so anyway. It was a gorgeous wedding! And we got to see some friends we haven’t seen in a long time: Greg and Angie DiLoreto! We also got to hang out with them and catch up at the reception. Of course as soon as we got in the car to head for the reception, Justin had a blowout in his new suit. Nice, I know. Where we could have taken pictures of our little boy in his adorable little khaki suit, he couldn’t wear it. 
His official 5-months-old picture will be taken with him wearing it though! Either way, we all had a great time. Sorry for catching a goofy face, Stella! You looked BEAUTIFUL!! Justin, by the way, LOVED the dancing. While being held, he kicked his little legs in excitement watching everyone dance! It was awesome. Matt kept saying that Justin was saying, “I Greek, Momma! I Greek!”
His official 5-months-old picture will be taken with him wearing it though! Either way, we all had a great time. Sorry for catching a goofy face, Stella! You looked BEAUTIFUL!! Justin, by the way, LOVED the dancing. While being held, he kicked his little legs in excitement watching everyone dance! It was awesome. Matt kept saying that Justin was saying, “I Greek, Momma! I Greek!”
Justin and Stella!
That night, we all slept like logs, and begrudged having to get up at 5am to head for the airport. The flight went fine and soon we were back in Seattle with my folks. Justin, after the good nap on the plane and in the car was in great spirits to play with Nanna, Poppa, and his cousin Madysen.
Playing with Poppa!
Justin with Madysen!
Ahh, to be home. The three of us took a little nap there at Nanna and Poppa’s that afternoon and then had some dinner and hit the road. Quite happily, we all went to bed early, and Justin, while only waking for a quite 4:30 am feeding, and to get a little energy out for maybe 30 minutes at 7am, slept basically until 12:30pm on Monday. Sweet mercy! Was it awesome!
A great weekend!
Long day. Long week. I’m exhausted.
Tomorrow we head for Seattle to spend the day with family before flying (myself, Matt, and Justin) to the Bay Area early Friday morning. We’re going to Justin’s Godparents’ wedding on Saturday (the primary reason for our trip), and Friday we’re planning to play around in San Francisco (the Zoo, Pier 39, etc). I’m SO EXCITED for this trip! We’re gonna have a lot of fun, but getting there has been pretty tiring.
My best friend is getting married on August 31. I’m making my bridesmaid dress for that wedding, but, not wanting to buy yet another dress for this weekends’ wedding, I decided to make it a little earlier. Let me tell you, it’s not easy to make a dress with one eye on an energetic 4-month-old so I’ve been doing a lot of the work at night after he goes to sleep. Meaning late nights on top of Justin not sleeping through the night and working full time. Seriously burning the candle at both ends.
Finally though, tonight, I’m not touching the dress, even though it’s not done because my mom and sister are going to help me with the hem tomorrow. It feels great. That and a belly full of warm potstickers and a moment to sit and watch the news.
I made our packing list last week – but man, oh man, is there a lot to pack when you’re taking a baby on a plane! Wish me luck on both rounding it all up and making it fit in our luggage!
Oh, that and a good night’s sleep (especially since by virtue of being a mommy, a nap of more than 1 hour is totally out of the question).
Expect a report on our trip upon our return though. Complete with pictures and/or video.
If you don’t already know, my title refers to a line in “Young Frankenstein” where Dr. Frankenst”ee”n (Gene Wilder) gets exasperated trying to do charades to his cohorts (ditzy blonde “assistant” and Igor”) in an attempt to get them to give the “monster” a sedative.
All this to say, that I’ve had some pretty wild thoughts the last few weeks, especially this last week where Justin’s refusal to sleep reached its peak.
Justin has slept through the night since he was about a week old. That is until about 3 weeks ago when, after having started rolling over on a more consistent basis, he stopped. Some nights he’d go to sleep at 9 as usual (this is his one consistency) and then wake up at 1am to be fed (which is rediculous since he was fed just before bed), then awake and fussing at 3:30, 6, and then 8. He normally wakes up between 8-9am, but with his restless nights, rather than waking up and talking to his “friends” on the wall by his crib, he just fusses his very tired fuss. Ghuaa.
One night last week, he refused to take a nap the entire day (no amount of walking, being in the stroller, or bouncing did any good). You’d think he’d crash hard that night. Oh no. Granted, he was out earlier, but he was up literally EVERY 2 HOURS for the ENTIRE night.
After days of thinking, “hmm… maybe a sedative wouldn’t be such a bad idea…”, I started asking around and reading like a mad woman. It looks like this whole thing may well be part of something called the “4 month sleep regression”. Which is what it sounds like. Their bodies are doing so much that their brains are working much harder during sleep time to put it all together – resulting in restless sleep.
But how do we fix it?! We’re at our wits end!
There are two main schools of thought when it comes to getting your baby to sleep through the night: 1. Nursing him back to sleep every time he awakes (championed by co-sleeping families mostly), or 2. Letting him “cry it out” (which not only seems barbaric to me, but Justin just seems to wind up tighter and tighter and never shows any sign of progress toward anything other than the resentful “how could you leave me like this” face). Until now, we’ve been pretty much following the advice of Dr. Harvey Karp, author of “The Happiest Baby On the Block” – this is where we’ve gotten our “three squawk rule”. Justin squawks three times and we’ll go get him and soothe him. Trouble is, the only thing that seems to soothe him in less than 30 minutes is nursing – which is exhausting for a working mom when she’s gotta do it 5-6 times a night.
So I finally dragged out my copy of Tracy Hogg’s “Secrets of the Baby Whisperer” and flipped to the chapter on sleep. She had some ideas that were very middle of the road between the two get-your-baby-to-sleep-through-the-night strategies. Saturday night, we tried her plan: rock him only until his eyes start getting heavy, then put him in his crib and say goodnight. The idea here is to help Justin be relaxed enough when he gets into his crib that he can still look around and see that he’s someplace familiar and learn to fall asleep on his own. He woke up just 2 times that night, and each time, I’d get up and stroke his brow and rub his tummy until he fell back asleep, only one time did I have to nurse him a little bit. Last night, Justin went down at 9 right after nursing, and slept until 4:30am!!! and then didn’t wake up again until 8am!! OOT OOT! Maybe we’re getting somewhere? I hope so. We’ll see how this week goes. Pray for lots of sleep and long naps for our little boy, friends. He’s not the most cheerful little person when he’s tired, trust me.
Next on the agenda: Trip to San Francisco for Nouno Niko and Nouna Stella’s wedding!
UPDATE: Little Justin wants to sleep through the night so badly – he’s just exhausted. Some nights he can, but others, not so much. He lifts his knees to his chest and twists and turns… he seems miserable. Generally though, if he can just relax enough to toot he’s able to go right back to sleep with no intervention from us. So I’m beginning to think that it’s gas that’s waking him up. We’ve tried various things to reduce the amount of air he swallows when he has a bottle, and we’ve even given him baby Gas-X (which seldom helps), and nothing seems to make a consistent difference. Any thoughts or ideas?
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