Just a little update

So it's been a while since my last update. Things have been fairly mundane. We were back to fighting sleep, but when he finally succumbed he sleeps for a long time, generally only waking once at night. Last night was the first time in a week that we were able to go through the routine, nurse to sleep and shift into the crib in a reasonable amount of time, and no waking. The only thing that I can think of that has changed is his afternoon naps. He had started cutting them out, and I think he was overtired by the time bedtime rolled around. Lets see if this works.

The food palette is expanding. This week we introduced pears, peas and green beans. I am trying to encourage Robert to feed him more often. They make a comical duo.

Dear Caleb

Dear Caleb,
It's hard to believe it's been 5 whole months.

Your now eating cereal, sweet potatoes, bananas, apples and squash. So far I think the sweet potatoes are your favorite, with bananas a close second. You definitely seem to like the thicker consistency.

You generally sleep on your stomach now for 6-8 hours, and tend to cuddle with Eeyore much of the time. As a matter of fact anytime I lay you down on your back you quickly flip onto your stomach, including in the bath tub and your starting to pull yourself around. You got a nice snort of bath water the other night. It won't be long til your crawling.

You have found your voice! Your Dad and I both have pounding headaches from your "screams" of laughter. You just lay there and smile while you do it. It makes me laugh to watch you.

Eight whole hours

Caleb slept last night 8 whole hours last night. Wish I knew what I did to bring it on? He was asleep by 6:30p, woke at 2:30a and then again at 6:00a.

A change in direction

Sleep last night had a rough start with a surprise ending.

Since giving up on the CIO method, Caleb now falls asleep nursing and cuddling on the couch. After making sure he is really out, I try to transfer him (sometimes not very successfully) to his crib. He has started to really like sleeping on his side and he cuddles with his Eeyore. Twenty minutes after placing him in his crib the dogs found something to go crazy about creating a racket that woke him up. I got him back to sleep, and transferred for him to wake up again about 30 mins after I had really fallen asleep. Two hours later he was again awake. This was not looking good, but when I went in to get him, I found him laying in the opposite direction that I laid him down and sleeping on his belly. I nursed him, laid him down and back to sleep he went. He quickly flipped on to his belly and was out like a light for 5 hours where the process repeated itself until morning.

Nap time

The roll

Caleb rolled over today from his back to his front. Makes me realize just how quickly he is growing.

time

Well it's been one week of letting him cry it out. It started out at 45 mins went to 30 mins for a few nights, hit 25 mins one night, but went back to 60mins the next. I would have expected better improvement after one week. How long is this supposed to take? I will say he sleeps much better at night this way, whether it's because he's so worn out from crying or because he's learning to put himself back to sleep I can't say. Last night and tonight he finally went to sleep after I went back in there (after 45min of crying), held him till he calmed down, placed him back in crib with my hand next to his face until he drifted back off. He kept opening his eyes to make sure I was there.
The last two days he has changed his napping habit as well. It's taking more work to get him down for his nap, but instead of 3-4 one hour naps it's 2-3 naps with the first one lasting at least 2 hours.

Four Month Visit

Looks like the Tylenol has kicked in

We went for four month vaccines yesterday. Caleb is one brave kid. A little tears and a sad face during the pokes, but as soon as the nurse is done he is back to giggling. So far so good today, although he started to get a little fussy this afternoon and I dosed him with some Tylenol. We talked to Dr. Mark about sleeping. His recommendation is to start sleep training now, and let him cry it out. The longer we wait the harder it will be.

Official stats:
Weight: 16.5lbs (75th percentile)
Length: 27.5" (>97th percentile)
Head: 16.25"

Well the jump seat just became overwhelming. Gotta Go

A change in time

Well as everyone else is complaining about daylight savings time, it seems to be a blessing at our house. The sleep pattern "seems" to be back to normal (At least for the last 2 nights anyway). Caleb's asleep by 7p, awake at 1a, 4a, and 7a. At the 4a waking I crawl in his bed and let him go back to sleep with me. A bad habit I know, but we will work on that one later. One day at a time for now. He woke up so happy this morning too, no crying when he firsts wakes. That makes me so happy. I'm crossing my fingers that the luck continues!

Caleb laying under the trees watching the wind blow

We went to Beth Hering's wedding Saturday night. Caleb was an angel, falling asleep on Karen's chest. We never heard a peep from him all night. On Sunday he and I went to Sweetwater Organic Community Farm. There was good food and great music.

I bit the bullet

I finally did it. I bit the bullet. I let him cry. Call me heartless or cruel, but you can also call me better rested. After talking with many people, reading lots of comments, and reading through information at baby center about nightwakings, I made the decision to set a 5 minute time limit.
"Sleep-cries are referred as such as the child is initially still asleep when it 1st occurs. The cries are initially very intense, as if the child is in pain or had a terrible nightmare. This initial intense cries often subside on it's own within 2-5mins, followed by fussy/complainy/whiny cries, and the child is in deep sleep again within 7-15mins. Hence, the importance of waiting for a few mins. If one rushes in, one risks actually waking the child and create an actual nightwaking."

So I set the early bed time. He was asleep by 6:00p after his bath, massage, nursing, and the rock. He fell asleep easily and quickly and I laid him down in the crib on the boppy. He was out. I was trying something new by playing an audiobook for him to sleep by. At this point I would try anything that sounded good. At 7:00p he was awake screaming and I rushed in as usual. After many tries of getting him to quiet down and failing I gave up. I came in the living room and let him fall back to sleep on my chest while I read on the computer. That's when I found the information about the sleep-cries. So after about 45 minutes on my chest I laid him back in his crib, no boppy, no sound and I went to bed. One hour later on the dot here came the cries, soft at first and then working into a full blown scream. Robert went to get up, but I stopped him. "Let's give him 5 minutes I said." And so we waited. Both of us laying in bed, tense, our feet shifting waiting for either Caleb's crying or the five minutes to end. At minute three the sobs became screams, at minute four the coughing started, and then at minute five it stopped. Just like that! It wasn't totally over. He cried again for another minute or two, then had that horrible sob that made every muscle fiber in my being shudder. That was the hardest part, but then even that stopped within a minute or so. I could hear him moving around in there for a few minutes, but then he was asleep. Fast asleep, for the first time by himself in his crib. Robert and I let out a sigh, we didn't realize we were holding our breath. It was 9:00p and the whole episode only lasted about 15 minutes.

And then he slept! It was 1:00a before he awoke, this was his normal wake time, I couldn't believe it. I got up and fed him, he was wide awake, and I wasn't sure where to go from here. So I reverted back to the old way, putting him on my chest to sleep. After 30 minutes he was still semi awake and I had to pee so I figured where is the harm, I'll go back to the five minutes. I laid him in his crib and he started to squirm, this escalated to the scream and then the sob, but again right at the five minute mark it stopped. It followed the same suit as the earlier episode, and I stuck it out. And then for the second time in one night, he slept.

The next waking was 4:00a, again this is the "normal" pattern time. I was pretty tired at this point and I gave in letting him sleep with me. I figured why push my luck? We slept till 6:30a and a very bright eyed happy baby greeted me this morning.

 


We also went to the breast feeding class yesterday with Eva and Colton. Caleb had a blast talking to all the other babies! He was 17.2 lbs with his clothes on. This is the same weight as the 6m old babies in the class, and he officially outweighs Grace by 1lb.

A Day of Firsts

We started cereal today. He ate about 2tsp with no problem. He loved it. Opened up and took it down!

We then went to the grocery store and he sat in the cart like a big boy. He kicked his feet and talked to everyone. It made shopping much easier

Sleep was treacherous last night.The trouble seems to have peaked. It took many hours to get to him to sleep with both Robert and I trying everything. Robert eventually passed out with him in the spare bed. Caleb then woke up multiple times during the night and Robert and I spent 2 hours trying to get him back to sleep at 1:00a. Tonight went much better, with the routine seemingly back in place. Lets hope it lasts. I don't think that any of us can take to many more nights like that.

I got a remote for my camera!

Growth picture for 4 months

James Dean for first Halloween

Me and Dad at Mitch's Birthday Party

Round one

Sleep has definitely evaded us lately. When I can get him to sleep it doesn't seem to last long, and I am wearing thin. The books make it sound so easy, "lay him down drowsy so he will learn how to sleep on his own" they say. Well books, you can shove it... Naps I have down pat. A little nursing or rocking (which the books say don't do), put him in his chair and he looks at me for a moment and then drifts off. Night time seems to be the battle. When I finally get him to drift off either at the boob or in the rocker as soon as I put him down he literally pops back up. He arches his back, picks up his feet and slams them down. Does he hate the crib? Hate being by himself, just hate me??? It's so frustrating. No matter the time frame that I allow him to fall asleep in my arms before the  "transfer" he comes back to life. In the instance that I finally do get him to sleep in the crib, many hours later, it's last 20mins before the routine starts all over again. Do I stick it out? Do I go back to putting him to sleep in the bassinet in the living room? And what about in the middle of the night? He used to wake up nurse and go right back to sleep, but we have even lost that luxury? Two hours tonight, with both me and Robert trying. Of course this is only round one, lets see how long it lasts.

stuck in a thumb and pulled out a banana

 He's going to be a thumb sucker. On one hand this is good news. A thumb never gets lost and it will comfort him to sleep. On the other hand, I might have to cut his thumbs off one day to stop the habit. It has already helped with sleep. He slept this morning from 4a to 830a, I feel like a new person.

I gave Caleb some banana this morning. I think he liked it!

 Current Likes and Actions:

Standing 

Screaming, screeching

playing with toes

anything outside

monkey rattle

giraffe

The digression

Hanging out with Grandpa Morris

We visited Great Grandma Morris yesterday. It made for a long day, but she was so happy to see him. Dad met us at the house and we all went down to visit.Caleb was an angel in the car for a change, but I sure am tired of hearing row, row, row your boat.

Mine. All Mine.

Caleb has become so much more aware of what is going on. I finally dug into the toy bin and pulled out the goodies. He will grab things, including his toes and pull them into his mouth (well the toes don't quit reach yet). He loves to give his monkey rattle kisses


Sleep seems to have digressed the past couple of days. Naps seems shorter, and night time sleep a little more interrupted. I don't know if it's just a phase or if it's the hectic schedule we have had lately. I've been trying to run with the neighbor in the evenings and that seems to be a nightmare. I have to go either before or after putting Caleb to sleep of which neither seem to be a good option. I think I will nix it and just run alone with Caleb in the morning. It's better all the way around.

Last night it was hard to get Caleb to go to sleep with him then waking 5 hours later (he usually goes 6). At his second waking he stayed awake for 2 hours. I tried to just leave him to go back to sleep on his own, but it didn't work. Tonight I got him down early and quickly, but 15 minutes after I left to run he was right back up. Everywhere I read talks about teaching them how to go to sleep on their own, putting them down drowsy, not letting them fall completely asleep on you, but I don't know. Every time I try he stays awake for hours at a time. gets more excited, and is harder to get back to sleep. Hopefully this is just a small regression and things will get back on track soon.

The Mom group

We have created our very own mommy group. Made especially for outdoor adventures, for kids and moms of all ages. Today was our first big hike along the Hillsborough River with Sarah and Grace, Karen and Abigail, and Kat. It was so much fun with lots of hope to continue into the future.

Caleb has rolled over a time or two since the big day, but we have been so busy lately that he hasn't had much tummy time. He sucks on his fingers at a pretty steady rate now and even chokes himself now and again. His laugh is getting louder and stronger with his grin getting wider. I wish I could capture it better on camera, but he seems to stop every time the camera comes out. He is holding his head up well during tummy time and I just know that crawling is right around the corner. I went with Eva and Colton to a mom's breastfeeding group on Friday. Caleb weighed in at 15lbs 9oz.

Saturday night was the first night out with out him and the first night in with him for Robert. They were both troupers. They both got about 3 hours sleep before playing the rest of the night waiting on mom to get home. It was really tough for me to leave them alone, but we were all very brave. The boys did great. I was proud of both of them.

Me, Beth and Karen for Bethie's Bachelorette party.

The Movies

Caleb in action

Caleb 3m old Sept 2011

Caleb 3 1/2m October 2011

Caleb 4 1/2m Nov 15, 2011

6m January 1, 2012

The big roll over

The start

The finish

Caleb rolled over today!! Twice in a row from belly to back. It surprised him a little and caused a cry the first time. The second time time I praised him for doing a good job and he smiled from ear to ear. This occurred after a morning of screaming giggles while laying on the floor after our morning hike.

Today we hiked 3.5 miles on the Alafia River Corridor. Caleb really seems to enjoy outside and the weather is beautiful right now.   High's in the low 80" and tonights low should be in the 50's. yeah.

We have discontinued using the swaddle at night for sleep time, and he is doing well. Normally sleeps 6 hours and then wakes every 2-4 hours after that. For the most part going right to sleep at night and staying asleep, although sometimes there is still a wake up period 30 minutes after passing out.

Bath time has become the funnest time, with lots of giggles and smiles.

Greensboro, NC

Greensboro, NC. What fun to be had, well kinda. We left Florida late Saturday morning with multiple destinations in our future. First stop, Macon GA. Since we had plenty of time to spare, we decide to stop often. With Caleb's unhappiness at times in the car seat, we both knew our nerves would be fried by the end of the day. With our financial status of not having any I was able to finally put to use all of those credit card points and booked a hotel in Macon for the night. I read all the reviews, none perfect and finally decided on the red roof inn. Not a high class hotel, but in the budget. So after driving for 8 hours we tiredly pull into the parking lot to see multiple hoodlum types hanging out. Robert gets our room key, and of course our room is right in the thick of the "gang". It left us a little nervous to say the least. After entering our room, which was surprisingly clean, we hear a ruckus outside. Two girls are yelling at each other, one on the ground in a car and one on the second floor. I would have looked out the window to see the show if it wasn't for my fear of being shot.  Robert and I discussed leaving, but decided to give it a little more time. The girls finished their fight and all was quiet again. When Robert and I left for supper at the local BBQ joint we found a dozen condoms had been strewn throughout the parking lot as downed soldiers of the battle.

We spent a few hours the next day visiting with my Aunt and Uncle in Douglasville, GA. It was good to spend time with Uncle Charlie, who I hadn't seen in a few years. They also got to meet my husband and son. We were enamored by the detailed work he has done on the house, and how happy he seems now. We then headed off to the mountains and Asheville, NC to an uneventful hotel stay with a lazy morning before we headed into Greensboro, NC.

 Caleb and I have spent our down time exploring the area while Robert hangs out in classes and drinks free beer. The first day we headed back in time in Old Salem. 

We then hit the local farmers market to wander and eat lunch. Caleb got the attention of every little old lady with in a 20ft radius.

Robert, Caleb and I went to eat dinner at Bonefish Grill last night. Looks like Caleb had to much to drink.

Caleb woke up this morning (Thursday) with a stuffy nose. Poor guy spent the night coughing and barely able to breathe. Must be the change in temperature. No fever, and he seems still just as happy.

We spent the next few days locked up in the hotel room due to rain and a sick kid.

Are we there yet?