It’s been a very long week, and this will
\n probably be a long post, so make sure you have your cup of
\n coffee and a comfy chair.<\/p>\n
Lex got a
\n stomach bug Friday that lasted for several days in full force,
\n then several more in after effects. I, of course, caught the
\n same bug Monday. I was home from work on Tuesday and I’ve just
\n felt slow and yucky all week. On the upside, Lex is feeling
\n much better now and I’m well on my way as well. My stomach
\n still hurts sometimes, but not always and it’s now slowing me
\n down like it was earlier. <\/p>\n
To get the
\n negatives out of the way early, Lex still isn’t sleeping
\n through the night – he’s up 5 or 6 times a night, wide awake,
\n hollering, and its getting harder and harder to put him back to
\n sleep. On top of that, things with the old company are heating
\n up, which is stressful and we’re wracking up the legal bills
\n faster than I thought possible. We’ve always had bankruptcy as
\n sort of a “worst-case option”, but I found out this week that
\n Alan would loose his patent if we declared, so that whole idea
\n is right out. Which basically leaves getting things worked out
\n with the company, at any cost, as our only option. And… on
\n top of all of that, my current place of employment had a
\n company offsite Thursday and Friday of this week. It was
\n interesting, but exhausting. There’s nothing like sitting in a
\n meeting room for 2 full days, with only a few hours sleep, and
\n listening to very passionate visionaries discuss the future.
\n It’s exhausting! <\/p>\n
Now for the postives,
\n because overall, life is good. Lex is learning so much and it’s
\n amazing watching him every day. He’s not quite (hands and
\n knees) crawling, but he’s very mobile. He scoots around on his
\n belly, back, and butt (that’s my boy!). He can also pull
\n himself up pretty good and take a few steps. The other day I
\n saw him transfer from one support item to another by taking,
\n with a few steps to get him there. Sitting on the floor with
\n him is fun because when he’s done playing, or just wants a
\n break, he’ll crawl into my lap for cuddles. And he loves
\n stories. He snuggles into my lap and looks at the pictures when
\n I read to him. (B – he loves Jesse Bear. Thanks!)<\/p>\n
Lex has also discovered gravity and
\n cause-and-effect. He loves playing with long “toys”, such as
\n belts and the cross bars from his butterfly mat. Things that he
\n can move one end and they make noise or do something somewhere
\n else. His new favorite toy is a plastic slinky that I brought
\n home from work (one good thing about company offsites). The
\n rainbow colors, noise, and motion all facinate him. Also, now
\n that he’s pulling himself up (and falling down) he’s discovered
\n the idea of gravity. He loves to laugh at people lower than him
\n (someone coming up the stairs, for example, or sitting on the
\n floor when he’s being held by someone standing) and he very
\n scientifically throws his toys off of the changing table then
\n looks over to see where they went (accident waiting to happen!)
\n I think he enjoys the different sounds they make when they hit
\n the floor, garbage can, diaper pail, dresser, etc. He is
\n definitely a smart baby.<\/p>\n
So I decided a
\n few days ago that the reason life is getting harder and harder,
\n and seemingly crappier, is because we are getting less and less
\n sleep. I’ve been putting off any sort of “sleep training” in
\n the hopes that he would just figure it out – but that’s not
\n looking to promising. I borrowed a book on sleep from my friend
\n and read through it (short book :) ). There was nothing novel
\n in it, but it did give me the courage to try a variation on the
\n CIO (cry it out) method of sleep training. Last night was our
\n first attempt. The plan is to put baby to bed when he’s sleepy
\n and relaxed, but not asleep. We used to do this, but as I was
\n putting him to bed last night I realized that lately we’ve been
\n rocking him all the way to sleep to avoid crying. So I put him
\n down and he cried for 10 minutes before falling asleep. I cried
\n for 5 minutes. You’re supposed to let baby cry for 5 minutes,
\n then go in and check on him (don’t pick up or cuddle, just
\n reassure him that everything is ok and make sure he’s not
\n straggling or anything) then, check on him every 10 minutes
\n until he falls asleep. So he cried for just 10 minutes, which
\n seemed awful at the time, but overall not bad. Then we went to
\n bed. Our plan was to get up and watch some TV or something to
\n distract us from a screaming baby. The book says that it often
\n takes up to an hour of crying before baby finally falls back
\n asleep. I was very nervous, but I think (hope) in the long run
\n it will be best for all of us. So he woke up 3 or 4 times last
\n night and each time Alan reassured him that everything is ok
\n and then we went into the living room. And every time he was
\n back asleep in about 3 minutes!! Often before we could put on
\n our sweaters and slippers and get comfy on the couch. I was
\n shocked! The last time he woke up we just stayed in bed and he
\n was out again in just a few minutes. The longest he cried was
\n for about 20 minutes at 5am. I think he was hungry (he’s been
\n eating twice a night lately) and I was definitely ready to
\n nurse (this is training for both of us!) so we decided he’d
\n done good for his first night and I got up with him. We will
\n try our new sleep plan again tonight and I’ll let you know how
\n it goes. Hopefully I will be well rested by next week :)<\/p>\n
Speaking of tonight, we’re having a dinner
\n party for Alan’s birthday tonight. He’s turning the big 3-0
\n this year so we decided to celebrate :) We don’t normally do
\n much for birthdays. So now I have to go clean and get ready for
\n a party. It should be fun.<\/p>\n
On that happy
\n note, I think I’m going to end this book. Lex is ready for a
\n nap and I’ve got to get busy. Hope you all have a lovely
\n Saturday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It’s been a very long week, and this will probably be a long post, so make sure you have your cup of coffee and a comfy chair. Lex got a stomach bug Friday that lasted for several days in full … Continue reading