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!

First Football Game, First Time Pulling up, and (Subsequent) First Black Eye!

Hello, Fall! I love you. I love the changing leaves. I love the cool air. I love football. I love bonfires. I love sweatshirts. I love pumpkin-y stuff. I love it all.

We had a great weekend--we (Kevin, Lewis, and I and Kevin's brother, Scott) went to the Louisville vs. Marshall football game on Saturday. Louisville lost, but we had fun tailgating and being out in the perfect football weather. Today we had a laid back day around the house where Lewis pulled up to standing for the first time (!!!), we took a nice walk around the neighborhood with the dogs, and then tonight we cooked dinner over a bonfire.

Thanks to the Campfire Cooking cookbook that you got me a few Christmases ago, Mom, we made some tasty taco pockets. They consisted of crescent roll dough in a pie iron, filled with taco meat, beans, and cheese. A-men. Since we only have one pie iron, we put them in the oven after Kevin was finished cooking them (one at a time) over the fire--I didn't think of it until afterwards, but the extra oven time helped the dough puff up even more and they were delicious! And my hair smells like bonfire--even better. :)

We also turned our heat on for the first time this weekend--we woke up Saturday morning and the house was pretty chilly (overnight lows were in the 40s), so we decided that we should probably go ahead and turn it on for Lewis' sake.

Here is his game day outfit. We got the jersey for him at a consignment sale right after he was born, so I'm glad he had a chance to wear it before it was too small! I couldn't get him to stay still for very long, so the pictures aren't the greatest, but you get the point.

Go Cards!

I pulled his pants down a bit so you could see the Cardinal on his booty.

Ready for the big game!

First Time Tailgating

Trying to steal my Pumpkin Blue Moon (so tasty) :)

Bundled up and NOT napping (who could?)

We had planned to start sleep training after the game, but his afternoon nap didn't happen until the drive home (close to 7pm), so we decided that was not the best time to start it. Today got away from me and I felt unprepared, so we aren't starting it tonight either. I will try to finish my preparations tomorrow--I have a little bit of rereading I would like to do and a little bit more wrapping-my-brain-around-it to do before I feel comfortable committing to it. I just need a little bit more time.

The next set of pictures/video are from this afternoon when he all of a sudden decided to start pulling up! He's been looking and reaching upward for a few weeks now, but he's just started trying to pull with his arms the past few days. He has been getting to his knees and hanging out like that for a while before giving up, moving on, etc. Finally today he figured out that he could also push up with his legs! We were totally shocked (and maybe a little teary-eyed) when he pulled up to standing today. It has been so neat to watch him figure it out--I'm also so glad Kevin was able to see it with me for the first time!

Cracking himself up in his orange fleece pants.

We are a fleece pants-loving household.

Yum, lead paint.

We had Multi-room DVR installed last week, and they left the old DVR remote, so we took the batteries out and let Lewis play with it since he is constantly eyeing our phones, remotes, etc.

Here are a few videos of his new skill--still pretty rough, but he is determined to figure it out! And, like Emily said, I know there will be lots of bumps and bruises as he is learning.

His first black eye

He got it while trying to pull up onto the Rock Band drum set. He face-planted onto the base of one of the legs and hit it at just the right angle.

Oh, and you can't see it in these pictures, but he has a FOURTH tooth coming through!! Just spotted it peeking through the skin today--it is in the same position as the third, on the opposite side. I believe they are the ones directly next to his top two middle ones--I told Kevin we should ditch the frog idea for Halloween and do either a vampire or a Jack-o-lantern since he'll have such a great, toothy smile by then! We'll see--we still have a month, so he could get more between now and then.

I love you, Lewis Pete. :)

A Catch-Up and A Tribute to Fleece Pants

Now that we are happily emerging from the cold/teething spell, here are some pictures and videos from the past few weeks. He has really improved upon his sitting, and his crawling just keeps getting more efficient, especially when he is wearing his sweet fleece pants on the hardwood floor. Behold. :)

His new favorite hangout spot.

Bathtime when he was sick.

He's a bit of a wild man these days--tries to pull down the shampoo bottle, tries to climb out the front, etc.

Hello, Ladies!

At Kevin's cousin Ashley's baby shower last weekend.

His new favorite thing to get into--Peter's dog bowls.

He flips the bowl off and then gnaws on the frame. He also likes to hug, squeeze, and bite on the dog's stuffed toys. They don't seem to mind, and I'm still trying to figure out how to teach him which are his toys and which are the dog's toys.

Cheeeese!

It has been beautiful and fall-like this week, so I decided to give him some time in the yard the other evening. He seemed to enjoy it--he sat for a while, crawled in the grass and on the concrete (which surprised me--I guess it didn't bother him/scrape him since he had long pants and sleeves on).

I sit pretty well these days!

Sitting (before my memory card filled up and I had to do some rearranging...)

Sitting and crawling through the grass.

If you have your volume up, you'll notice the goats in the background. :)

Eating grass.

He also tries to eat tufts of dog hair he finds in the house. I know one of these days he will find dog poopies in the yard and will eat those, too (just like his cousin, Juniper). :)

Hanging with Papa against a cool gray sky.

Yesterday we finally went to visit the Louisville Nature Center! I was hoping for a nice place to hike within 10 minutes of our house, but we quickly discovered that the one main trail is a) not wide enough for his all-terrain stroller and b) has some major erosion problems (drop-offs, tree roots, and random 4x4s sticking out). It made for a bumpy ride--we got maybe a quarter mile in and I realized we wouldn't be able to make it, so we had to turn around and hoist and bump our way back up the hill. Next time, we Ergo it.

Before the trail, though, we stopped off at their Bird Blind for about 15 minutes. It was really peaceful--a small building with tinted windows, overlooking an area of various feeders and a small pond. They had a microphone set-up by the pond's little waterfall that carried the water sounds and the sounds of the birds, so it was really tranquil in there (and we had it all to ourselves). Lewis seemed to like it, too--especially when the birds and squirrels came up right next to the window. We'll definitely go back--I could have taken a nap in there (especially given our sleep issues as of late), listening to all of the sounds of nature.

The Bird Blind

Watching the birds, squirrels, and chipmunks.

And finally, here are Lewis' latest moves...traveling throughout the house, following our voices, following the dogs, eating flip-flops, etc. and most definitely keeping us on our toes.

Sleep Makes Me Angry

"All babies are born good babies. It's the parents who make them who they are (bad/good)." - Old man (and father of 6) on flight from Houston to Boise

"Babies need 10-11 hours of sleep a night, plus 3-4 hours during the day over 2-3 naps." - Graco Sleep Machine pamphlet, other books

"My baby slept through the night since ____ months old." - Everyone. Good for you.

A rare glimpse of the Beast, sleeping. And drooling (this was last week when he was sick and couldn't breathe through his nose).

It makes me angry to think about, to talk about, to listen to someone else talk about. I know each baby is different. I know everyone has their own style of parenting and philosophies on sleep.

Lewis used to be a good sleeper. What has happened to him? I happened to him. I have created a Bad Baby Sleeping Monster.

I did not mean to--I meant to create/foster a healthy sleeper who could self-soothe and eventually sleep through the night when he was developmentally ready.

Now, we are beyond that.

Between 4 and 6 months, your baby can go without the overnight feedings. A few months ago, I decided that I would cut back on the duration of his nighttime feeds by just offering one side, thinking that eventually he would stop waking up and 'needing' the feed if I offered him less. Well, now here we are at 7+ months, and he is still waking up. And the only thing (at least the quick, easy thing in the middle of the night) that will get him back to sleep is the boob. I'm tired of it.

In addition, his bedtime routine has started to suck. It used to be that we could:

• change him
• read to him
• feed him
• turn out the light, and
• he would go to sleep (by 8pm).

Not anymore. These past few days/week, we have had to go back in, rock him, give him the pacifier, etc. It's been more like 8:15-8:25pm before he goes down. Or, he'll go down by 8 and then wake up again an hour or so later.

Before our Boise trip, he had gone through a stretch waking 2x a night. Then, right before our trip, he got it down to 1x, which I was okay with. While in Boise, he went between 1x and 2x (and maybe 3x) times. When we got home, he went back to 2x a night.

Then he got a cold.

Then he started teething.

Then we did our first bedtime away and he stayed up with the grandparents until 9:30pm.

Then his naps have started sucking (which I know is tied with the quality and quantity of his nighttime sleep).

We are over it.

Currently when he wakes, I go in, feed him on one side, and he goes right back down. Or, I should say USED to right back down. A few times now, he has woken up at 6am and has refused to go back down. Or, worse, laughs at us in between fusses.

If we go WAY back, there was a time when we could put him down at 7:30/8pm and he would not wake up until 7:30am!!! There was! I swear. He has it in him. That is what is so frustrating. I obviously have been fostering bad, bad sleep habits and, like I said, have created a monster.

And daytime sleep--for the love! He used to be such a good napper. I know that he needs at least 45 minutes for the nap to 'count' and for it to be restorative for him--I am lucky if I get one 1-hour nap and one 30-minute or maybe 45-minute nap. He needs his sleep, and I need some breaks during the day. For.the.love.

So, this weekend, we will begin sleep training. It is time. Before it's too late to fix his worsening bad habits. We are going with The SleepEasy Solution by Waldburger and Spivak, which was highly recommended to us by friends. We will address nighttime sleep and nap sleep at the same time. I'll let you know how it goes!

A 3rd Tooth Hath Emergeth

This is just a re-post--the text on the previous version had some issues. Hopefully they are resolved now. :)

I don't want to put the ol' cart before the horse, but I think I can say that Lewis is within a day of being 90-95% again (just disregard what I said midweek...we have not been well). :) Today has been a much better day than the last week has been, AND Kevin spotted a tooth which has FINALLY emerged from the snotty, fussy shell of our formerly pleasant, happy baby. That makes all the tears and snot-sucking and Orajeling and Advil and cold medicine worth it. Have mercy. He is getting tired of being messed with, and I am getting tired of having to fight him to help him!

This tooth (his 3rd) is NOT one of his upper middle ones (we thought they were next)--it is to the right of the middle one, or maybe even two spaces to the right of the middle one. It's just a sliver right now, and I'm not sure if it will migrate at all as it comes in?? If not, he's going to have an awesomely funny smile for a little while.

And I just read that there are 20 baby teeth. 1 and 2, not so bad. 3, hell. Please let the next 17 be easier on buddy Lew (and us). Thank you.

Bag of Tricks

I think/hope/pray that we are on the upswing from Lewis' cold/teething spell. Holy guacamole.

The night before last, we were up every hour and a half to two hours. Then last night was a little better with fussing from 8-9, and then sleeping 9-12, 12-4, and 4-7. The night before last I stupidly stayed up until almost 11:30pm; last night was better and I went to bed at 9 when he finally did.

Thankfully Kevin took a half day today and came home to save me. I do not know how single mothers do it. I do not know how mothers/fathers of colicky babies do it. I do not know how mothers with more hands-off husbands do it. It is rough. Period. That uncontrollable/inconsolable cry--when nothing I do seems to help him (and he can't tell me where it hurts).

Over the past 48 hours, we have tried:

• The humidifier.
• A fan.
• The swing (thinking the incline might help drain him).
• Gas drops.
• Saline spray and the nasal aspirator (before every feed now).
• Tylenol.
• Vick's BabyRub.
• The doctor (b/c he spiked a fever of 101.2)...only to find out it's 'just a cold' (and not an ear infection) after waiting 45 minutes to see the doctor (better safe than sorry, I know). AND he has officially broken the 20 pound mark, according to their scale.
• Advil (per doctor's orders).
• Dimetapp (per doctor's orders).
• A lukewarm bath.
• A drive.
• Orajel.
• Frozen grapes.
• Some homeopathic teething tablets I picked up at Walgreen's.

Lewis took his bath while Mama drank her coffee and took some deep breaths.

I think we have a good rhythm of Advil, Dimetapp, Orajel, and snot-sucking (and the humidifier) going on now. His fever was gone this afternoon. And he seemed to like the frozen grapes this evening, too.

Something he did NOT like...plums. Or bananas. He totally puked after tasting both this evening, so we just gave him a little extra cereal with some breastmilk mixed in to try to keep things easier on him (and since he puked up the milk he had just eaten prior to the cereal/fruit).

I am so thankful for Kevin--for being hands on, for being supportive, for knowing when I am about to snap, crackle, and/or pop. :)

Furthermore, to top off perhaps the most challenging day with Lewis thus far, Peter peed on Kevin's foot as we were walking tonight. It made me laugh. :) We are going to be okay.

The Trifecta!

I'm pretty sure poor Lewis has piled on a growth spurt, teething, and a cold--all wrapped into one miserable package! We have administered tylenol and gas drops (for good measure)...sucked the snot, filled the humidifier, rubbed on Vick's BabyRub (which he is now trying to lick off his pajamas). He's refusing to nurse OR take the pacifier, probably due to the overage of snot. The swing has reemerged from the basement, and we can only hope it will help keep him inclined well enough to stay drained and asleep!!! It's almost 11pm, for goodness sake! Poor guy!