teeth

18 Week Development & Lexie Development

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Mister has completed his 18th week of life.  We have to make his 4 month dr apt … I sorta haven’t done that yet.  =/

 

He is on a nursing strike … not fun!  He really isn’t eating well at all, from the spoon or bottle.  I am attributing this to his teeth, since they are so close to breaking through, but this is also a normal thing for the 4 month growth spurt, and wonder week 19 development.  The last few days have not been good sleeping days, and I am assuming this is because he isn’t eating well due to his teeth, and just overall probably doesn’t feel good.  He is more snuggly and clingy right now, too.

 


He has started back rolling around a lot; he spins in complete circles in his crib and on the floor.  Of course, he thinks this is great!  On the floor, he will roll side to side, and has even made it from his back to his tummy once or twice.
His cradle cap is still pretty bad, but since his hair is getting thicker, you can’t tell too much, unless you’re close to him.  He still hasn’t found his feet … just doesn’t care about them that much yet.  haha  Lady begs to play with him, tells us to hurry up and finish eating so he can play with her!  He is, of course, still “my M” to her, and she does not like other kids coming near him.  =)  She is only a little protective.  haha
Lady is doing all sorts of amazing things.  She can name and point out: California, Nevada, TX, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma on the map; she knows where Idaho is, but she can’t ever remember the name of it.  Her back-bend is incredible, and of course she still loves gymnastics.  We have started doing some handstands and cartwheels at home; that’s fun!  She speaks in clear, complete sentences unless she is being silly around a big group of people.  She tends to act a little nervous around a lot of people; most people wouldn’t say that about her, but her behavior at home compared to being around a large group is different.  She is shy around certain people, usually men.  Second to gymnastics, she LOVES to sing.  She has so many “favorite” songs, and asks me to sing with her all the time.  She is constantly humming while playing independently.
Here are a few pics I don’t think I have posted before:

 

playing with her doll house

 

reading to her Moose  (obviously she picked out her socks)

 

 

 

 

Our 8″ snow on Christmas

 

17/18 weeks old baby summary

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Mister has finished his 17th week of life, but wasnt 4 months old until the 2nd.  So, his weeks are a litttle off from his monthly age.  He is really starting to come into his own; last weekend we had a play date and we were talking about how quiet and laid back he is.  Then that evening, he just suddenly started squealing, yelling, and growling non stop!  Now, if he is awake and in a familiar place w familiar people, he is talking!

Eating
This boy is devouring solids!  He watches me while i get everything ready and then sits there with his mouth open like a little bird.  Its funny; he loves sweet peas, green beans, apples, and pears.  Oh, and he likes oatmeal mixed into any of those.  Those two bottom teeth?  Yea, theyre trying to cut through.  Some days they bother him more than others, but mistly he is doing okay with them.  His little cheeks stay red (due to the teething) and he drools a lot.  I have also started signing with him, when i think about it.  I do the sign for “milk” right now, but should probably start doing, “please,” “more,” and “eat” as well.  L was signing “milk” at about 7 months i believe.

Development
He isn’t really rolling over much anymore.  He doesn’t like to be on his tummy, and after a few minutes he cries and fusses, like Lexie did.  I need to start making him push back over, because i know he can, since he used to do it.  He does like rolling side to side on his back, though.  Lady makes him laugh a lot  a lot.  He likes this rattle ball his aunt gave him for Christmas, and loves the wooden squish toy; it was L’s favorite too.

His hand movements have gotten smoother, he reaches for and grabs whatever he wants, and he has found his feet a few times, but isnt really interested in them.  Im wondering if this is because he always has a toy to play with, thanks to his big sister, Lexie.  Haha. She makes sure he has plenty of toys, at all times.  He really enjoys sitting, and standing up these days.  He is very strong, and is so proud of himself while standing.

Lady is a big help.  When we get him ready for nap, she sits in the glider while i stand and hold M, and we sing “Jesus Loves Me,” then I put him down in the crib, and Lady e sneaks out past me.  She loves to “help” put him to sleep.  I cant remember if I mentioned it in his last update, but he is in his sleep sack now, no more swaddle.

Lady has been out of Mother’s Day Out for the last two weeks, but starts back Monday (the 7th).  Last friday we started back at gymnastics after a holiday break.  It was much needed, and she enjoyed it.  Her backbends are amazing, and now she can do hand stands!  She doesn’t really know shes doing them, it just sorta happens during her donkey kicks, but none the less, she is so strong!

Week 13 Baby Summary

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Mister was officially 3 months old on December 2nd (also JTom’s birthday)!  But because of how the weeks fell, he is 13 weeks old.

Sleeping
Max has been sleeping from about 7:15pm until 5:30-6:30am.  Today (December 4th) I let him cry it out when he woke up at 5:20am.  I went in and checked on him, calmed him down, then put him back in the crib and left the room.  He cried and fussed on and off for about 30ish minutes.  But he went back to sleep until 6:50am!  So we have been CIO today.  It’s not easy, but he is getting it.  After his first nap he only cried (on and off) for 10 minutes before falling asleep.  I am keeping one arm unswaddled, because he can use that hand to soothe himself if he needs to.  (Oh yes, he is in love with his hands this week!)  If it takes him longer to relax and fall asleep, I go in after 10 minutes, pick him up until he is calm, then place him back in the crib.  I know today is pretty much going to mean very little sleep for him, but after a few days, he should be sleeping on his own.  I think he is ready; I feel that way because when I try to get him down he struggles, wiggles, and fights me.  He just can’t settle with me holding him as well anymore.  So, I think it’s time he tries to settle himself.  I will update at the end of the week on how it has gone.

*update*. It has been 3 days now and Mister is doing great with his day time sleep!  We have rough patches through the day, but overall he is putting himself to sleep with very little crying or fussing. I watch him in the monitor, and he usually is just sucking in his hand, with his eye closed, while he rolls around some until he settles.  He has been paci free for 3 days, and I think he is nursing better as a result.

Eating
He seems to be feeling better, reflux wise, so it looks like the dairy free is helping!  One week of no dairy and he is like a different boy during the day.  Looks like we have a dairy protein allergy.  (I will make another post on that later). 

Devleopment
Max is starting to try to raise his shoulders up, and he can do it pretty well.  He rolls from his tummy to back easily and Lexie LOVES to watch him do it!  He is already rocking/rolling onto is sides, and can almost make it to his tummy from his back!  Im sure this will happen before the end of the month.  I am still not sure if he is teething…  I really want to say yes because of all the chewing and drooling (oh my!) but developmentally this is when babies’ saliva glands start producing more (it was part of evolution to help break down food/breastmilk as it changes with baby’s growth.  Also to help build the stomach flora as baby grows bigger).  And since that falls right in line with baby discovering his hands and enjoying chewing … I just don’t know!  His gums have looked like he may be teething since the middle of October, and he started chewing in the middle of November … so we should have something happen by the end of this month if he is in fact teething.  They do seem to be a bit more puffy and white there at the middle bottom, than the rest of his gums.  So we will see.

Max is laughing, smiling, and starting to find his voice a lot!  He is squealing some, especially when he is tired and ready for a nap, he starts really jabbering.  He blows bubbles non stop and spit just flies every where!  Lexie thinks this is a serious problem, “He’s dwooling, Mama.  He’s dwooling!”  She is so serious!  It’s sweet.


Love Bug
Lexie has started napping again at home!  We seem to have found her sweet spot during the day for tiredness, and now that those molars are in and she is no longer scared of going poopy in the potty, things are getting back to normal.  But who knows how long that will last before we get more molars, or something else changes and throws her off for a while.  Regardless, I will take any sleep she can get!  =)

She’s enjoying gymnastics, and can do her bridge, straddle, pike and tuck. She really enjoyed the foam pit last week, and got brave enough to kick her leg up in the balance beam.  It will be interesting to see what she does this week (tomorrow, Friday).  We are doing Advent activities each day, and taking about Baby Jesus, Christmas, love, being kind, and God’s love for us.  Sue Sue has given us some really great resources to use during the month of Advent.  She has really enjoyed the Christmas stamps I got out.


She loves her daddy getting her up in the mornings, and doing her bed time routine at night.  My favorite part about her being in a toddler bed now, is climbing in bed to snuggle with her when she wakes up!  She makes me a spot, says “here, Mama, you need lovie.” and we snuggle.  It’s wonderful!  She walks around talking on her phone like a grown up (and Im never on the phone in front of her?), and loves to cook in her kitchen.  Now she wants to play with Max all the time, which is basically just them laying on the floor together.

18 Month Sleep Regression

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Here we are. 18 months old. Fun. Cute. TONS of developmental milestones. Molars coming in … and due to those milestones and molars, the dreaded sleep regression! She has all the typical signs- fighting nap, waking early, waking several times at night crying (which may be something similar to night terrors, but she goes back to sleep within 5 minutes, so we leave her alone). But it’s wearing us all down and out. I recognized the signs from when she had a 4 month sleep regression and now I just know that getting her to go to sleep is going to be hard work.


She’s getting overly tired before nap, since she’s been waking at 6:00am instead of 7:00am. So today we are trying an earlier nap time. We will see how it goes. This also means an earlier bedtime, probably in bed by 6:20-6:30, instead of 6:50pm. Hopefully this will get her back with enough sleep in her system that she starts waking at 7:00 again, instead of 6:00 every morning.


I don’t think I need to explain the importance of sleep for children. At 18 months old toddlers need between 13-14 total hours of sleep per day. If you factor an hour an 45 minute nap, that leaves about 12.25hours of night sleep for Lexie. She has been getting about 11 hours sleep at night for the last few weeks. Over a few days this leads to over tiredness which = cranky. cranky. cranky. and gradually less sleep every day. So before it gets so haywire I’m pulling my hair out, we are intervening!


But here is my hope: that daylight savings time will get us back on track. By switching it up a bit, staying up later that one night and having dark longer in the morning, I’m hoping it will help kick this 18month sleep regression’s butt. But I don’t know .. We will see. If not, I have been reading about how weighted blankets can help your babies sleep better, so that is another option to try. Anything to get over the sleep regression! Everything I’ve read says it can last from a few weeks, or until their 22 months old! Aaaah! I will be too pregnant and too worn out by then for a sleep-deprived toddler! I know that there are many parents out there who dislike their baby or toddler being in the darkness when they sleep, and believe it or not, many don’t believe this is a good thing. Well, it is, and there are many online sources to confirm this. darkness is a friend, not an enemy, says BestForParents! Darkness is good – it tells your child when it is time to go to sleep, just as the dawn tells them it is time to wake up – it’s all about routine, which I will go on to explain next.



What I do know is that people criticize for “scheduling” an routining. However I also know that we are creatures of habit and consistency. Babies and toddlers DEPEND on consistency. When we deprive them of that, their little bodies and minds go haywire. So when parents complain about a sleepless child who is up all hours and doesn’t nap, and runs wild all day, I wonder if they have ever tried a routine/schedule. Because truly, even in a baby/tot that is not a good sleeper it HELPS. It may no have them sleeping 12 hours through the night, but it will certainly establish a sense of confidence and security which will in turn make a happier baby/toddler/older child. Think back to school and even your job/career- there is a daily routine… a certain order in which everything is done. And when you come to the end of a certain task you realize it’s time for your break, lunch, to move on to the next task, go HOME etc. It is the same for a child, and just as important, if not more so.


Another large factor is nutrition. When our kids are eating Oreos (really, daycare?! I’m so glad I send Lexie her own foods), goldfish, PB&J, and juice (AKA SUGAR!) as their main source of nutrition, how can you expect them to feel and rest well? And if they seem to feel and rest well, imagine how much better they would feel if they had a healthier diet? You never know until you try, and I promise there is a difference!


I know all babies and children are different. I do hope that this next baby sleeps and eats as well as Lexie has. But even if it doesn’t, I will schedule him/her and have daily routines. It may not have the baby sleeping through the night (I do realize that some babies just don’t/won’t) or napping well, as Lexie was/does, but it certainly won’t hurt anything!

Cute Little Ball of Crazy

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We have reached the 15 month mark.  Lexie is into EVERYTHING.  Running, not walking.  Begging … not easily distracted from her obsessions with things she can’t have or do.  Is this the terrible twos?  Are they worse than this? Because today I toted her out of Belk under my arm while she kicked, screamed, and threw her head back…


I am NOT that mom.  I am a disciplined mom who does not let her child act like a crazy person (because I can  really control how my 15 month old acts.. haha.)  We had only been out for about an hour, and this after her 2 hour 15 minute nap this afternoon…  Craziness.  After a month of tantrum free it looks like we are all up in the middle of some tantrum territory.  Again, I blame this on the two teeth she has coming in on the right side of her mouth.  Poor baby.  But she has still been a holy terror some days.  I may be exaggerating a bit; she is truly the sweetest baby ever.  Within minutes of having a moment, she is snuggling and kissing me, being all sorry about it…  =/ I’m a sucker, I just don’t tell her that!

I keep saying “THIS WEEK” I am reading those 5 toddler behavior books I bought on half.com.  But this week, I really am.  I plan on writing about what  I read to (hopefully) help out other mamas on a tight budget and schedule.  

Speaking of a schedule, I am starting our new schedule tomorrow.  I haven’t made it yet- *gasp* what has happened to me?  I am not in anyway a procrastinator- the last month and a half has flown by so quickly, I can’t seem to keep up!  Tonight I am making out our new daily routine; it will mostly be the same from wake up to independent time, but will include specific time for singing/reading, outside time, and crafting.  How will I fit all of this into our day .. I really don’t know yet.  But honestly she is so young, the singing/reading will be short, the crafting pretty short, and the outside time the longest. I realize I am only worried about it all fitting because I have strayed from my weekly cleaning schedule, which means I am trying to do too much at one time with no real order, and it is wearing on us both (meaning Lexie and I).  *sigh-the holidays*

So, here is to a new week, more discipline (on my part) and a happier toddler!
~Meg


LOTS of pictures .. lots and lots

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I have mentioned that my video camera doubles as my every day camera.  While that isn’t ideal, it does get the job done and I love snapping pictures of my sweet girl.  Lately, all we do is play outside- all day long.  In our pajamas, in blue jeans … with hats on.  Outside is our favorite place to be.  And by “our” favorite place I mean Lexie’s, and therefore mine as well.

Also, I forgot to mention that last week, just before we left for our camping trip, Lou cut her first molar- a top back molar.  A few days later, she cut a bottom molar.  I think this explains some of our excessive crankiness because life has been easier the last 2-3 days.  (YAY)



fell down in the leaves


“laf. laf.” which translated is “leaf. leaf”



Just hanging out


Saw Daddy. Must follow Daddy.


“ball”


“laf. laf”


sleepy baby


Mama-“lexie, leaves aren’t for eating.”  Lexie- “oh, like this?”


“num num laf”


“hey, what you doin?”



Isn’t it, though?


one of our birds.  eating us out of house and home, but Lexie loves them and so do we.


“awer. awer”



“ote. ote”


ready to go “ote. ote”


Mama- “stick”


Lexie- “MY stick”



Lexie- ” num. num stick”


“laf. laf. laf”


“see?”


“yay!”



“booty”


“what’s that over there?”


“car”


” and the mommies on the bus go ‘sh sh sh’.”


my coffee bar, Lexie’s toy chest and book shelf

B is for Booty!

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Lexie is definitely coming into her own.  She has a strong personality anyway (cannot imagine where she gets that from ..) but she is getting more and more hilarious as the days go by.  As I have mentioned before, she picks up on every little thing we say and do.  As I am changing her diaper I usually give her a toy because she is so wiggly these days; apparently she has picked up on me saying “I am trying to wipe your booty, hold still!”.  Because NOW she says “booty” every time we go to the changing table.  It’s really quite hilarious.  She also knows when I say “I need to check your diaper” to come see me, and tots right over.  


Lexie knows most of her important body parts; eye, nose, mouth, belly, feet, toes  ….. and booty!  =)
She is signing more and more; literally, she signs “more” now.   She did this for a while a few months back, and then we both got out of the habit of using it.  Mainly she uses “please” A LOT!  It is just too precious when she is pulling on my leg, and I  look down to find her signing “please” to be picked up!  HOW CAN YOU DENY THAT?!  It’s so sweet.  


Next, I am going to work on “help” and “thank you.”  She will say “thank you” after I do, but she does not do it on her own.  However, I am not sure how to enforce the use of “thank you.”  With “please” I just withheld whatever it was until she copied my sign, and now she does it all on her own.  I can ask her “what do you say?” and she will sign “please” and SOMETIMES (but rarely) say it, too.  But thank you may be a different story since that is something you say after you receive something.  So I don’t know.  I used to sign “eat” a lot, and haven’t done it in a while; one of her Baby Einsteins is a signing DVD.  She has learned to sign “eat” from watching it!  It can’t be from me, because I haven’t used it in a few months, I’m sure.  She is just a genius.  😉


Her daddy has taught her to say “clock” and she is obsessed with pointing to it and the fan.  Sometimes the fan is “fan” and sometimes it is “clock.”  She says “juice,” although her juice is about 1oz juice and 6 oz water, and milk is still “gack.”


Her misbehaviors are pretty much pinpointed to pulling up her play mat, now.  I wouldn’t mind her doing it so much, except she eats them.  Apparently she is never going to get out of the “oral” stage, because everything still goes in her mouth before she tried to figure it out.  It is like an octopus using it’s tentacles to feel something out before it uses it; that’s what Lexie does with her mouth!  haha  No, really though I guess it is the teething, now everything goes to the side/back of her mouth, so it must be those new teeth.  Ick.
Anyways, back to her behavior.  When she does that I will try to distract her, then say her name once, and then tell her she will get time out. … (that’s technically 3 warnings). Time out for a one year old.  I mean, she gets it.  She knows when she goes in her pack n play with no toys and I say “time out” it is because she has done something she shouldn’t have because when she gets out (after one minute) she usually doesn’t try it again.  But I am not sure if that’s the right way to handle it.  squeezing her hand doesn’t work anymore, and popping her “booty” doesn’t work most of the time.  Unless JTom does it.  Then her feelings are really hurt and she will stop. It is rare that it comes to that.  Most days we have no problems at all.  She is just learning and pushing her boundaries, which is normal.  I’m thankful she is such a sweet, smart baby girl!
——
Her teachers LOVE her.  They always have a funny story about something she has done that day.  Last time it was using baby doll clothes to wipe her feet off (Hrm, wonder where she gets that?)  She also does this thing where she props herself up in the highchair at home and kicks her foot up against the try while she drinks her milk.  Evidently she has started to do that at school.  Only at school, they sit in real-life chairs attached to the table and her legs gets stuck.  So they have to un-attach the whole chair and pull her leg out when it is time to get up.  Haha  She is a mess..


And, the last big announcement: it is FALL!  Woo hoo!!  How exciting.  I  love this time of year; I really want to decorate, but that will have to wait a little while.  I am trying to decide what Lexie will be for Halloween.  We have done the bumble bee; a friend suggested a butterfly or the hungry caterpillar.  That is a possibility, but I don’t know if that will just be too much of the whole Hungry Caterpillar thing.. but it’s cute!  So, I don’t know.  Any suggestions are welcome!

Oooh, happy days!

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Graduation Party

The party was a HUGE hit.  J.Tom did a wonderful job putting everything together and making it a special day for us.  The only complaint is really the BBQ we got from Sams-TERRIBLE!  The brisket was really good, but the BBQ was not.  I feel really bad for the people that ate the bbq..  ick!  Mama’s beans and pasta salad were good and of course the cookiecake from Sams was delectable.  =)

Lexie officially has 2 new teeth; through all the ear pulling, crying, fussiness, not eat/nursing well, diaper rashes, and drooling came the top two middle teeth!  She has such a terrible time teething and these last 2 were the worst so far.  We still have so many to go, but I sure hope we get more then a few weeks break this time.

Mrs. Susie brought the walker from her house for Lexie to play with outside during the party-SHE LOVES IT!  She goes backwards, forwards, side ways, EVERYways!  haha  We are keeping it for a while.  We are probably going to play with it outside this afternoon, it is so nice out there!

I’m stuck!  (she does this a lot)










Look who’s got me!




She knows patty cake now-when I sing it she starts to clap and bounce.  She said MAMA this morning, but only repeated it, didn’t say it on her own…  but at least she is saying it now.  We are working through some “mini fits”-AKA baby tantrums.  Meal time is really a challenge which is strange, because Lexie LOVES to eat.  But lately she is refusing food; sometimes it is all food, sometimes it is just the homemade foods I do, sometimes it is just green stuff… you just never know.  But I am HOPING and praying this is either A) teething or B) a phase or possibly both.  But I’m not sure and it is so frustrating and worrying not knowing what it is! 


I did not know I could be this happy-it is amazing, really.  It is exhausting, yet so rewarding.  I love being a stay at home wife and mom.  I fix J.Tom’s lunch each day, which usually looks something like this:
It’s not really as much as it first appears to be; sandwich, veggies with dip, oranges, and some laughing cow cheese.  Yum Yum!

I have a schedule of things to do and what needs to be done.  Each day I do a different chore, and then once a week I deep clean.  It is all about time management.  If you manage your time SOME days you have time to play online, blog, or just rest.  I am usually up and about though.  

Did I mention the car wash took off my car panel?  Yes, that is right-your $40,000 vehicles are put together using… wait for it… DOUBLE SIDED STICKY TAPE!  So, I have to go this week and get that put back on.  We also have to run errands to return a few things and get my necklace chain fixed, I feel naky without it.  Anyways, that is what we’ve been up to around here  =)

May 2011- Eighth Month of Life and more…

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Lou Bug is officially 8 months old! =( I know it is a good thing but it is sad too. She has learned several new things since 7 months; she is now: waving, clapping, bouncing to get where she wants to go, sliding around to get places (but not necessarily to meet a specific destination yet) and is cutting TWO top teeth. Poor baby, no wonder she hasn’t felt good lately. She is also trying to bounce from her bottom onto her knees, ans she CAN but once she gets there they slip out from under her. She plays better on her belly than she used to though, so that is good. She is still trying to pull up on EVERYTHING! It is really funny, because most things are still too tall and she gets very frustrated.


A week and a half ago, we started sleep training. I knew i needed to begin, but was so afraid. After talking to a few friends, I decided it would be okay. Lexie has always been a great sleeper, although not a good napper. At night she would take her bottle, talk a bit, snuggle, and then I would give her the paci and I would hold her while she fought sleep for about 5 minutes. At this point she always spit the paci out and I would take it away, put her in her crib and she would sleep all night. I knew paci would be a challenge,but didn’t know how much of a challenge…

Sleep training is NOT a new concept, it has been around since like the 1890s or something like that. It is basically getting your baby to sleep on their own so they can learn to self soothe. This allows them to go BACK to sleep each time they wake at the end of a sleep cycle, which is about 45 minutes-1.5hours, depending on the baby. Lexie’s is exactly 45 minutes. She has never had a problem putting her self back to sleep at night, she just did it. But getting herself to sleep was another issue. Some parents decide to use tools similar to a sleep training app to better track how their baby is adjusting but everyone has their own approach.

So, back to my reasoning behind this: I DO NOT want a baby who has to sleep in the bed with me when she is 18 months old because she doesn’t know how to go to sleep on her own because I was not willing to let her TRY to get to sleep on her own. Maybe Lexie will become this type of baby anyways, but at least I can say we tried and at some point succeeded. My second reason for doing this is because there is absolutely NO WAY in this world I could sleep train her when she is able to stand in the crib, arms outstretched over the sides, crying “mamamama, dadadada.” There is just no way. So I decided to begin now, before she can literally talk me into picking her up and holding her to sleep.

It was the hardest thing I have done, second to leaving her at daycare and going to work for free (aka internship). But it went surprisingly well. From day one I have kept a log of each nap and bed time-what time I put her in the crib, what time she stopped fussing/crying, and what time she woke. It started with about 15 minutes of fussing at night; this was something she always did, even when I held her, only it was about 5-7 minutes when I held her. At naps… well naps are a different story. They were harder. I would allow her to cry 6 minutes, then I went in her room, picked her up, loved her, calmed her, and placed her back down. I would usually have to do this one more time and then she would be asleep. The first time she slept for over an hour at a nap-this is a record nap for Lexie! So, in this process I took away Paci. =/

Evil, I know right? But the thing is, if I allowed her to have it in the crib it fell out and she was too tired when she woke at the end of a sleep cycle to realize it was right there, grab it, and put it back in. So rather than me going in non stop to replace it until she was weaned from it, we just stopped all together. At first she would look for it, root around as if to nurse but wanting anything she could use to sooth herself-that lasted about 5 days. Then she was done. She no longer looks for paci or roots to nurse for comfort.

The last 2 or 3 days there has been no crying when I put her in the crib to sleep. She just rustles around some and finally gets comfy and is asleep in no time! It is truly amazing. She also seems just as happy as when I held her to sleep with a paci. I believe this is because I created a new routine for her sleep as well. After bath time, we now go to her room and rock while she takes her bottle and I read a story (or 3). Then I hold her for a few minutes, burp her (which isn’t really necessary anymore) and we say our prayers. Then I squeeze her tight and place her in the crib. She realizes now this is the new routine, and she has adapted to it.

At her nap this afternoon, I put her down and she literally did not make one noise. So, while it was terribly hard for me to let her fuss and cry sometimes (because she didn’t really cry every time, just mainly at naps) it is amazing that she can now put herself to sleep peacefully. Many people begin sleep training when babies are like 8 weeks old-I just couldn’t. Before she was so dependent on nursing and mommy for comfort I could not deny her the holding she needed and craved. But as she has gotten a little bigger she is not that dependent on me for everything.. I just thought it was a good time to start, and it turns out it was.

Now, my next challenges are: extending her schedule from a 3 to 4 hour routine and making her baby food.
I use schedule in the place of routine-Lexie does not do the exact same thing every day. But she is very predictable. She sleeps after being awake about 2 hours, eats about every 3, and naps about an hour 3xs a day. I am hoping to extend the times between each of these things by about an hour-we will see how it goes. She is old enough to drop the afternoon nap, but I don’t know if she is quite ready. I think she will let me know when she is.

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For a Mommy update- I AM DONE WITH SCHOOL FOREEEEEVVVVEEEERRRR!!!! Really, I cannot imagine ever torturing myself again with school, although I know eventually I will get my Masters and would LOVE to get my doctorate and teach at a University one day. But that is too far ahead to think about. Right now I am basking in the glow of achievement and loving every minute of it! Now, if I can get a job for the fall and get my Praxis III over with, then I will really be done and completely certified! I graduate next Friday, the 13th (<--- GO FIGURE!) and I have to go get my cap and gown sometime this week before graduation. Tonight, my poor husband is getting his first complete, home cooked meal in like 2 weeks. I have been so swamped with finishing up school stuff I have not been cooking. We have had a lot of snacks and sandwiches for dinners.

Tomorrow is my Women Can Run Arkansas 5K. We will see how this goes. I expect it will be a slow 5K for me, but Lexie will be running with me, so that is exciting-her first 5K! =) Wish us luck.
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