Saturday, January 29, 2011

Backwards

Sunday night was a blissful night. That was the night Bridget slept all night.

Ahh...we've finally made it, I thought to myself.

And then Monday night came.

Bridget went to bed at 10.

And we saw 10:30, midnight, 1:15, 2, 3:30, 4, 5:20, and 7am.

What in the world??!!

Tuesday was an awful day. Bridget was super cranky, wouldn't eat, and was so off schedule and out of sorts.

So I called the Dr and took her in.

Double ear infection, and getting her two bottom teeth.

Poor child. (and poor mom and dad)

So all week we've been up about every 1 1/2 to 2 hours, and since she won't eat her normal amount, she's been eating smaller amounts more often, including in the middle of the night.

And when she's feeling better, we're going to have to start our training all over again.

Sigh. Such is life.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Sleeping Through the Night Training-Nights 3, 4, 5, & 6

Night 3: About the same as night 2. Seriously hoping we turn a corner here soon.

Night 4: I was so tired by this night, I couldn't even tell you how many times I got up, and what times they were. She did get up at 6:30, and went back to bed until 9:30, which allowed us to sleep in. First time in AGES. It was simply wonderful.

Night 5: Luke took this night. I think he got up 4 times or so before she got up at 5:30 to eat. This night was rough because she took a 3 1/2 nap until 8:30pm. Not going to let that happen again anytime soon!

Night 6: Ahhhh....blissful sleep! Went to sleep at 9:30, put her paci in at 1:30 and again at 2, then didn't hear another peep until 6:30. Wonderfullness. Serious wonderfullness.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Sleeping Through the Night Training-Night 2


Isn't she just so sweet when she's sleeping? Ok, she sweet all the time. Sometimes a stinker, but always sweet. :)

Last night was SO much better! I fed her at 9pm, she woke up 2:15, I put in her paci and she went back to sleep till 3:15. Then she kinda fussed around (no screaming this time, thankgoodnes!) and I kept getting up every 10 min or so and putting her paci in, and she fell back asleep sometime between 3:45 and 4.

Then she slept until 6:45, which was great except for the fact that then she was ready to start the day.

I was not. :)

Thankfully Luke was up getting ready for work, so he watched her and put her back to sleep before he left.

Downside of her doing well...the past 2 days she's been a grump! Totally off schedule, fussy, won't sleep for more than 45 minutes for each nap...I'm sure I'll feel better by sleeping all night, I just hope she does too!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Sleeping Through the Night Training-Night 1

I knew it needed to happen, but I was dreading doing it...teaching my child to sleep through the night. She usually only gets up once anyway, and only takes about 3oz from her bottle before falling back to sleep.

So it started last night. I fed her at 8:30, put her to bed about 9:30. At 12:30 she was awake and crying. Now she usually goes 5-6 hours at night, so I got up and put her paci in, because she usually falls back asleep when I do that. But last night was different...she wouldn't go back to sleep. So I decided it was as good a time as any to start her training. :)

I switched the noise maker into our room, turned it on really loud, and then retreated to the guest room with my cell phone and pile of pillows.

And there I laid, listening to my daughter scream for an hour and a half.

I did go in every 10-15 minutes to put in her paci and move her back to the correct position in her bed.

At first I said I was going to make her go 7 hours (which she's done on her own on several occasions), which would put us at 3:30am. But by 1:45, my resolve was weakening, and I was just hoping to make it 2:30.

She FINALLY fell asleep about 2, slept till 5:15, I fed her, put her back to bed, she grunted around and fussed in her bed till 6:15, slept until 8:15, grunted and fussed until 9:15, at which time we got up.

Now she's asleep for her nap, and I think I'm going to join her.

I sure hope she's a fast learner!

Monday, January 17, 2011

3 months!






My little girl isn't so little anymore! It makes me kinda sad that she's growing so fast. And at the same time, I remember soon after she was born thinking we'd never get to this point! But here we are! Her new accomplishments are:
-Talking. Just in the past week she's really started jabbering a lot. She gets very serious when talking to us, and has the most hilarious facial expressions.
-Turning in circles. When I lay her on the floor, she wiggles her body around that she turns in a circle.
-Helping mom with all sorts of things. As the 5th picture shows, she helps me with all sorts of household tasks, like laundry and dishes. I plop her in her bouncy seat or bumbo and we chat together.
-And speaking of her bumbo, she's getting much better at sitting up in it.
-Chewing and drooling. Chewing on her hands, her toys, my shoulder, my hair, her burp rag...whatever happens to be in a close vicinity to her mouth. Along with that comes the drool and a constantly wet chin. I keep checking, but no teeth yet!
-Naps? They're for babies. She still takes about 4 naps during the day, but instead of all of them being about an hour and half, she now sleeps about 30-45 minutes for all but one nap.
-Holding her bottle. She certainly can't hold it herself yet, but she has to have her hands on the bottle the whole time she eats.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Family pictures



The other day I realized that we hadn't taken any pictures of the 3 of us since Bridget had been born! So since we were headed to Paul and Elise's for dinner that night anyway, I asked her if she could snap a few!



Thursday, January 6, 2011

Things she'll never know

Sorry about the lack of pictures. I promise my next post will contain some.

I read this article today, and found it very interesting. I suppose it applies to babies born in 2010, as well as in 2011.

Things Babies Born in 2011 Will Never Know


Huffington Post recently put up a story called You're Out: 20 Things That Became Obsolete This Decade. It's a great retrospective on the technology leaps we've made since the new century began, and it got me thinking about the difference today's technology will make in the lives of tomorrow's kids.

I've used some of their ideas and added some of my own to make the list below: Do you think kids born in 2011 will recognize any of the following?

Video tape: Starting this year, the news stories we produce here at Money Talks have all been shot, edited, and distributed to TV stations without ever being on any kind of tape. Not only that, the tape-less broadcast camera we use today offers much higher quality than anything that could have been imagined 10 years ago -- and cost less than the lens on the camera we were using previously.

Travel agents: While not dead today, this profession is one of many that's been decimated by the Internet. When it's time for their honeymoon, will those born in 2011 be able to find one?

The separation of work and home: When you're carrying an email-equipped computer in your pocket, it's not just your friends who can find you -- so can your boss. For kids born this year, the wall between office and home will be blurry indeed.

Books, magazines, and newspapers: Like video tape, words written on dead trees are on their way out. Sure, there may be books -- but for those born today, stores that exist solely to sell them will be as numerous as record stores are now.

Movie rental stores: You actually got in your car and drove someplace just to rent a movie?

Watches: Maybe as quaint jewelry, but the correct time is on your smartphone, which is pretty much always in your hand.

Paper maps: At one time these were available free at every gas station. They're practically obsolete today, and the next generation will probably have to visit a museum to find one.

Wired phones: Why would you pay $35 every month to have a phone that plugs into a wall? For those born today, this will be a silly concept.

Long distance: Thanks to the Internet, the days of paying more to talk to somebody in the next city, state, or even country are limited.

Newspaper classifieds: The days are gone when you have to buy a bunch of newsprint just to see what's for sale.

Dial-up Internet: While not everyone is on broadband, it won't be long before dial-up Internet goes the way of the plug-in phone.

Encyclopedias: Imagine a time when you had to buy expensive books that were outdated before the ink was dry. This will be a nonsense term for babies born today.

Forgotten friends: Remember when an old friend would bring up someone you went to high school with, and you'd say, "Oh yeah, I forgot about them!" The next generation will automatically be in touch with everyone they've ever known even slightly via Facebook.

Forgotten anything else: Kids born this year will never know what it was like to stand in a bar and incessantly argue the unknowable. Today the world's collective knowledge is on the computer in your pocket or purse. And since you have it with you at all times, why bother remembering anything?

The evening news: The news is on 24/7. And if you're not home to watch it, that's OK -- it's on the smartphone in your pocket.

CDs: First records, then 8-track, then cassette, then CDs -- replacing your music collection used to be an expensive pastime. Now it's cheap(er) and as close as the nearest Internet connection.

Film cameras: For the purist, perhaps, but for kids born today, the word "film" will mean nothing. In fact, even digital cameras -- both video and still -- are in danger of extinction as our pocket computers take over that function too.

Yellow and White Pages: Why in the world would you need a 10-pound book just to find someone?

Catalogs: There's no need to send me a book in the mail when I can see everything you have for sale anywhere, anytime. If you want to remind me to look at it, send me an email.

Fax machines: Can you say "scan," ".pdf" and "email?"

One picture to a frame: Such a waste of wall/counter/desk space to have a separate frame around each picture. Eight gigabytes of pictures and/or video in a digital frame encompassing every person you've ever met and everything you've ever done -- now, that's efficient. Especially compared to what we used to do: put our friends and relatives together in a room and force them to watch what we called a "slide show" or "home movies."

Wires: Wires connecting phones to walls? Wires connecting computers, TVs, stereos, and other electronics to each other? Wires connecting computers to the Internet? To kids born in 2011, that will make as much sense as an electric car trailing an extension cord.

Hand-written letters: For that matter, hand-written anything. When was the last time you wrote cursive? In fact, do you even know what the word "cursive" means? Kids born in 2011 won't -- but they'll put you to shame on a tiny keyboard.

Talking to one person at a time: Remember when it was rude to be with one person while talking to another on the phone? Kids born today will just assume that you're supposed to use texting to maintain contact with five or six other people while pretending to pay attention to the person you happen to be physically next to.

Retirement plans: Yes, Johnny, there was a time when all you had to do was work at the same place for 20 years and they'd send you a check every month for as long as you lived. In fact, some companies would even pay your medical bills, too!

Mail: What's left when you take the mail you receive today, then subtract the bills you could be paying online, the checks you could be having direct-deposited, and the junk mail you could be receiving as junk email? Answer: A bloated bureaucracy that loses billions of taxpayer dollars annually.

Commercials on TV: They're terrifically expensive, easily avoided with DVRs, and inefficiently target mass audiences. Unless somebody comes up with a way to force you to watch them -- as with video on the Internet -- who's going to pay for them?

Commercial music radio: Smartphones with music-streaming programs like Pandora are a better solution that doesn't include ads screaming between every song.

Hiding: Not long ago, if you didn't answer your home phone, that was that -- nobody knew if you were alive or dead, much less where you might be. Now your phone is not only in your pocket, it can potentially tell everyone -- including advertisers -- exactly where you are.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Eating habits

I have terrible eating habits. I'll admit it. I'm SO not a healthy eater. Therefore when I seeing my fertility Dr, and she put me on a strict diet, I had a very hard time. I have polycystic ovarian syndrome, which causes insulin resistance. I won't go into all the details, but basically, I eat sugar, my body makes insulin, my body resists the insulin, the sugar is stored as fat which causes me to feel tired and hungry, and so I eat sugar, and the process starts all over again.

Prior to getting pregnant, I followed her prescribed diet very closely, and I felt a lot better. Then I got pregnant, and while I tried to eat healthy, I certainly didn't follow her diet. Now that Bridget is here, and my body is trying to get back to "normal" (I'm not sure if it ever will be), I've decided that I really need to go back on this PCOS diet. And so the other night I was reviewing the packet of info my Dr had given me, and reading the list of things I am to strictly avoid. And it left me wondering what in the world I used to eat!

I'm to stay away from:bagels, non-whole grain bread, cake, candy, cereal, chips, soda, fruit juice, cookies, corn, crackers, dried fruits, fast foods, flax products, fried foods, grapes, high fructose corn syrup, honey, hot chocolate, chocolate in general, ice cream, pancakes, pasta, peas, pineapple, popcorn, potatoes, pretzels, processed foods, red meat, white rice, salad dressings, soy products, table sugar, waffles, and watermelon.

On top of that, I'm to eat protein, healthy fat, and a complex carbohydrate at each meal, along with 2 snacks containing a healthy fat and a complex carb.

Soo...any tips on what to eat besides chicken, string cheese, apples and peanuts? Pretty sure that's what I lived on before!