Major Updates!

OK, so I realize I probably win the award for longest go at not updating a blog, but life is crazy and that's the beautiful part of it!

So here's my bulleted updates!

Late July 2011 - The Bean fought an ear infection for about six weeks. We went through three strands of antibiotics and "tube talk". Luckily the last strand of meds (powerful enough to burn nose hairs) cleared it up.

August 2011 - I went back to school and enrolled the Bean back into the same daycare we were in last Spring. So far it's proven to be a good choice and I really like all the new teachers! Stella still loves the older lady who cared for her in the infant room and it warms my heart when Michael calls to say she went right to her and snuggled. Stella got moved to the Orange Room (mobile infants) early September.

Late August 2011 - Michael and I went on our first overnight-out of town trip away from Stella. My mom (MaaMaw) came up to stay with her. I called when we arrived in Chicago and MaaMaw informed me they were at McDonald's eating apples and chicken nuggets... Mike was a little upset by this, but I thought, hey what are grandmas for? Though I did have one deep crying spell the first night, we survived.

September 10, 2011 - Stella is a beautiful flower girl in our very wonderful friend's wedding, Justin and Jaime! She was a perfect little lady in the wagon pulled down the aisle. Jaime got her the cutest little head band.

Mid September 2011 - Stella finally starts crawling... I showed up to daycare one day and she turned and just crawled right over to me like it was no thing.... Been on the move ever since! --Orange room teacher moves Stella to one nap in the afternoon only, Stella's not really ready, which leads to early nights, 5pm bed times (daddy doesn't like this!)

Nine Month Check up - 97% in everything! Still proportionate, still big! (This is when we received the last strand of antibiotics and the ear infection finally got cleared up.)

October 2011 - MaaMaw came down and met us at a pumpkin patch! Dressed Stella in her finest orange and black and went on a hayride! Didn't make it to Halloween Trick or Treating, didn't even get a costume on her, was going to bed about 5:00-5:30.

November 2011- Had Thanksgiving with MaaMaw and then with Papa Martin.

December 2011- Christmas with Daddy's side of the family on 12/17. Then with MaaMaw -- Stella got a table and chairs, and fun knick-knacks. Papa got Stella legos, and a talking teddy bear. Daddy got Stella a princess couch!

One Year Check Up - Made it to over 100%, in everything! Again still proportionate, still big! Dr. called her cautious, smart, very loving. =)

January 2012 - New Years Eve Michael and I went out while MaaMaw stayed in with Stella. She is starting to get the hang of an afternoon nap... She is teething really badly, currently. I think I counted at least four different teeth trying to break through, this causes her to wake up from naps screaming and crying, she seems inconsolable. A little Advil will do the trick and if you can get the Ora-gel in there she calms down. She does great with eating. She loves fresh veggies and fruit, which is great!! I don't enjoy giving her over processed crap food, so I will honor her requests gladly, and probably learn from them as well. She started walking (not too confidently) but she goes sideways, because her right foot turns out slightly... I'm not going to worry too much about it, and mention something at her next Dr. appointment if it's still that way. She stays up until 6:00 now, Daddy loves the longer times in the evening he can play with her. She loves to drink water! Officially got rid of formula this month. Still takes a bottle to go to bed at night, Michael thinks that might end soon.

The Nose Knows

A few weeks ago we officially moved Stella to her crib. She did wonderfully as we were strong at establishing a routine for bedtime when she was tiny, and holding true to the routine the little bean falls right to sleep.

Also after the stay in the hospital it all proved too stressful for me to produce milk and Stella wouldn’t even take my breast, so we moved to just formula about two weeks ago and this combined with sleeping in her own room helped mom and dad to alternate nights.

However, lately she’s started a new waking time, an extra one. She use to sleep from 7:00PM to about 3:30AM. We would get up with her, feed her and she would fall right back to sleep until 7:00AM. But for the past two weeks she’s been waking up about 11:00PM eating a little and falling back to sleep, or should I say struggling back to sleep. No we don’t stick a bottle in her right away. We’ve tried the patting, the soothing, the singing, the mobile, the white noise machine, the swaying, the binki, but all this only leads to her crying louder so we resort to a bottle.

On Wednesday of this week I tried the rice cereal for the first time, hoping it might fix the 11:00 waking. Well she woke up, I think out of habit, but I was able to rock her back to sleep. The only catch is I also wrapped her in the nighty shirt I was wearing before I laid her back to bed.

Now the thing I’m learning about this baby thing is to not try two things at once, in this case it was the rice cereal and the nighty shirt. Trying two things at the same time will only keep you guessing which one worked, as you don’t have a control group and are too scared to take one or the other away.

Last night we didn’t have time for rice cereal, and she work up at 11:00. It was Michael’s night for the early shift (as we take shifts, not nights now) and he tried to do all the soothing, nothing worked. Then made her a tiny 3oz bottle (she’s drinking 6oz at a time). She only drank 2oz and feel back to sleep. She struggled though, and I got up… I remembered the nighty shirt from the night before so I did the same thing and she snuggled right up to it.

She naps so well in my bed against my pillow, she's even able to "self-sooth" when she's in my bed. I have now made the connection it’s about the smells. My smell in particular.

I’m working on patenting an air freshener that you can load your mommy smell into…. :-)

Sleep Well Stella Bean

Previously before going into the hospital to be induced Michael and I set up the bassinet in our room. A lovely co-sleeper style by ArmsReach http://www.armsreach.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_1&products_id=19 we got from a group of college friends in October, and she has slept in it every night since we've brought her home. It is honestly the one thing I have used on a daily bases and that I’m so happy about getting and would totally recommend to anyone about to have a baby.

We have toyed with the idea of the crib, putting her down for naps on the weekend. There were a few talks about moving her to her room for night time here and there. Of course I read tons of articles, blogs, and books. Talked to several reliable mommies who had good opinions on sleeping arrangements. Michael thought it would help us get more sleep, ironically he’s able to sleep through anything and isn’t the one missing sleep. Other mom’s would say they weren’t able to keep their baby in there room long at all, others said their seven month old was still sleeping with them. So it was an up and down world and I realized I had to do what was best for me, Michael, but most of all Stella.

This was one thing that was truly personal and neither I nor Stella could be rushed into.

So here we are tonight, Feb 26, 2011 and I’ve put Stella to sleep in her crib for the first time for night time. Its bitter sweet, but I think she is more ready for it than anyone and that’s what makes the situation more comforting than anything. My baby girl, though young, is growing up; becoming independent. It makes me happy to think she’s starting to develop into this littler person, one that can be on her own. It’s melancholy to know that we are no longer attached, or need to be next to each other all the time.

But that’s life. My baby will grow up but hopefully we won’t grow apart.

Sleep well Stella Bean, sleep well.

CIO

I hate acronyms, I always have. I especially hate this one. I quickly realized between all the baby blogs and websites that acronyms are a common thing among this community. I would spend hours Googling them only to find out DH meant “dear husband” and other stupid stuff people could just as easily type out then come up with an acronym for.


So when I first starting researching ways to help Stella “self sooth” so she can learn to fall asleep on her own, CIO was something I came across. CIO stands for cry it out. Again no need to shorten it, not even for a text message in my opinion, but nonetheless they did. Michael and I both agreed at this young of an age Stella wasn't ready for many self-soothing methods, especially CIO. . .

We’ve enrolled Stella in a daycare, I won’t disclose which one as I’m about to bash on it rather hardcore. And I guess they really shouldn’t take it personally, I would bash on any place we take her because it’s impossible to find quality care up to my standards.
The first week Stella only attended two days as the rest were snow days. We both got the pleasure of sleeping in and snuggling. So this week was her first full week there. (Disclaimer: this week in general was a rough week. She had a cold, got her first round of shots, and developed a fever, so anything on top of that was going to cause me to breakdown).

Wednesday was the roughest night of the week. Her fever was highest, she was really stuffy, and she seemed to be going hoarse. Michael dropped her off on Thursday morning and the infant teacher mentioned that she sounded hoarse the previous day. Michael agreed and told her we thought it was because she was sick. My baby was still hoarse the next night, again still thinking it was the cold.

Friday night I picked her up and the teacher in the infant room was from another room, subbing, but she was young and talked a lot. (A good thing for a mother looking for information other people might not tell you.) I saw Stella was sleeping in the crib and asked how they were able to get her in there (as we still haven’t put her in the crib at our house, and the last I heard from daycare she was “spoiled” and would only sleep if someone held her or was in the bouncer). Well come to find out they’ve been leaving her in the crib and letting her “cry it out” until she falls asleep.

Now will someone please tell me how long a baby has to cry to make their voice hoarse and why in the hell did they let her cry that long. Momma ain’t happy.

CIO-WTF!

Clearing my Mommy Karma

I've told people for some time now that Stella sleeps through the night and the truth of the matter is she did, she just doesn't now. It was hard for me to realize this, because when she was tiny she was sleeping through the night, like nine hours a time. So when she started getting up in the middle of the night, recently, I thought it was just a fluke. Michael and I would take turns rocking her, stuffing the paci back in her mouth, she would get frustrated, I would too, Michael didn't know what to think, then I would reluctantly give her a bottle, thinking she really didn't need one, because she use to not...

So her schedule has changed and my mommy karma/ego, whatever you want to call it, got a bruise. But once I realized she's not ready to sleep through the night now, we have had much easier restful nights.

She goes to sleep every night between 7:30-8:30, such a good baby and loves her bedtime routine. She will wake up at 1ish for a snack, and then again at 4ish for another snake. Like I said now that I've accepted this, it's a lot easier, for everyone.

I'm breastfeeding through the night, because it's easier and its sort of a fun time to bond with her, quite, peaceful, and Michael's not hovering over me asking what he can do (love him). We wake her up about 6:45, change her, and feed her, she's down for another nap in about an hour if it's the weekend, and off to daycare the other days.

So there, my mommy karma is cleared: no my baby doesn't sleep through the night, but I'm OK with that!!