Some Updates

Getting Outside

Last week we made it to Cherokee Park here in Louisville--they have a 2.5 mile multi-use loop road that winds through the woods (full of leaves just beginning to change color) and past a few really beautiful outlooks. We did hear the interstate a few times, but otherwise it was hard to believe we were in the middle of the city. Also, I didn't get lost, which I consider a small victory! The park is notorious for being confusing because the loop is a one-way with many in/out points.

I'm going to try to get us out on a longer walk at least once a week as a way of semi-training for a 5K coming up in mid-November. Kevin is running the mini marathon, so Lewis and I signed up to walk the 5K with Lewis in the jogging stroller. The once-a-week longer walk will be in addition to the mile and a half morning walk we've been doing for the past month or so.

Here is Lewis at one of the overlooks in Cherokee Park. I can totally see us there in a few years, chasing him down this huge hill. It's one of those hills that makes you want to log roll down it or run really, really fast.

Pulling Up/Falling Down

Lewis is becoming much more graceful and daring with his pulling up/falling down. He has figured out that landing squarely on his butt hurts a lot less than the butt-back-head combination. He still falls, of course, but he has greatly improved and refined his method in just this past week. The worst is when he falls and hits the shelf around the bottom of the coffee table. His black eye was JUST about gone, and he fell and got a new bump this morning on his eyebrow. And a bump on his forehead. And a bruise on his cheek. And he flipped head first into the laundry basket for a few seconds--butt in the air, flailing his legs.

He likes to (if given the chance) pull up on the coffee tables, floor lamp, toilet, entertainment center, laundry basket, chairs, couches, and Peter's elevated dog bowl frame. He is keeping me on my toes, for sure.

Sleep

Last week, we officially dove into the world of sleep training. The book we are using (The SleepEasy Solution) teaches Lewis to fall asleep on his own, without me nursing him, without being rocked, without having a pacifier, etc.

I can't believe we waited this long to do it.

The first night was rough, I admit. Since then, he has 'gotten' it and he has been falling asleep better and better each day/night. He's had a few hiccups, but overall we are all very excited about the change in just a week's time. What a difference an uninterrupted night of sleep makes after almost 8 months without it!

The problem was that we were sending mixed signals. If he cried, we might go in and shush him. We might give him a minute to see if he would fall asleep. We might go in and pick him up and bounce him. We might try the pacifier. We might sit and rock him. I might nurse him. We would take turns, get frustrated, get annoyed with each other, get laughed at (that was Kevin's favorite), and we finally decided it was time that he learned how to fall asleep on his own.

While it has been hard to hear him cry it out, we do go in at specific intervals to let him know we're not far and that it is okay to go to sleep. So far, so good. Before going away for the weekend, he was happily falling asleep at every naptime and bedtime without a peep. We went to Indianapolis this weekend where he made it all night (yay!), but he had some trouble falling asleep for his afternoon nap today here at home. And he woke up 45 minutes earlier than usual this morning, too, so he's a little bit out of whack--we'll just stick with the plan, though, and hopefully he'll get back to happily sleeping again soon.

Consignment Sales

It is the Fall/Winter consignment sale 'season' around Louisville...I have been to two so far, and I have two more to check out--one this week and one next. I am hoping to find some childproofing supplies to try to lessen the bumps and bruises--I saw some at the first sale, but Lewis wasn't mobile then and I didn't think to buy any. The second sale didn't have very many, but I did find a good variety of toys.

Here is a video I took (before my memory card filled up, of course) the other night of him playing with a highchair toy I found--I didn't know they existed, and I'm so glad I found this! I tend to cram in unloading the dishwasher or washing dishes while I have him in his highchair, waiting to eat. So it's really nice to be able to give him a toy to play with while I take the extra 5 minutes. He loves it, too!

Craftiness

Friday we went to JoAnn's to shop their Columbus Day sale. They had a lot of items that I've been sort of waiting to pounce on, on sale, plus I received a 20% coupon in my email for regular and sale-priced items, which never happens. So, I bought $125 worth of fabric, batting, velcro, and (four!) throw pillow forms for only $75. Yay!

I need to get started on the sewing projects like YESTERDAY. The biggest project I have planned is a crib rail guard to protect the finish on his crib, but I need to find some time to make it! He now totally pulls up in his crib and stands there waiting to be picked up--it is only a matter of time before he starts gnawing on it and messing up the finish. A race against his sharp little teeth!