Hallelujah!

Guess Who Is Sleeping Through The Night!! 

That's right. BabyA is sleeping through the night! We started his night sleeping routine last week and now he is a solid sleeper! It took about three days of going in when he woke up to give him the binky, and now last night... He didn't wake from when he went down at 8 until 730!!! I had to get up at 5 because my boobs were so full they were painful and I needed to pump (rather than wake up sleeping beauty). But he slept! AND I got 10(!!!) ounces from my boobs in that pumping session! Ahhhh!! This post is so full of exclamation points! My little cherub is getting to be a big boy and sleeping like one too! I really give credit to that French book... I didn't think he could do it until I read it and now I get to sleep toooooo! We also figured out that he sleeps better if we go out during the day/evening so he can get tired out on looking at things. Even if its just to walk around target or the block by our house. That makes bedtime go so much smoother. Though last night, we got a new book for BabyA and hubs always reads to him while I feed him his last meal of the day, and while he was reading BabyA wouldn't eat. He'd pull back and smile and watch daddy and look at the book. The entire time. I couldn't feed him until the book was over. Silly baby. After baby goes down for the count it is adult time! ie TV shows time and dessert. We started watching Suits. Highly recommend. 

Baby A Five Month!

Baby A Five Month!

Weight: 15.01 lbs
Length: I haven’t checked… Longer than his onesies!

Likes: Grabbing. Everything. Talking with his hands in his mouth. Putting his hands in his mouth. Sleeping on his tummy. Being warm. Mirrorbaby (his reflection). When I windmill his legs or repeat the sounds he makes. When daddy reads to him at night. Daddy plays with his a little rougher than me and he smiles big. He likes our small group, he sits and watches everyone talk. The music at church is loud and fun for him.
Dislikes: Pooping. (Today is day 14… pray for me!) Being frustrated when his hands don’t cooperate. That makes him shriek in anger. But it’s kind of funny too. When he’s tired, he hates being set down or passed around. If he can’t nap immediately… its mommy or bust. Starting to not like his carseat as much… he protests the straps making him lean back.

Eye Color: Dark blue with a grey/blue center (a little more grey but looks like they’re staying!)

Hair Color: Blonde is full on in. Red tint in certain lights. Like mommy.

New Skills: Little boy found his toes last week. He finally saw them and had a “what’s this” face before he grabbed at them and tried to bring them to his mouth. He’s a roller now, I put him anywhere on his back and he flips. It’s his instant sleep knock out. Crying on his back? Go in and roll him and he immediately stops. He pulls and holds his own binky, and can sometimes get it back in his mouth. More often than not he put the side in his mouth, or the back. He is fascinated with cups. He will watch them like a hawk when people have them… following their journey from mouth to table. I think he’s jealous. First Cold this week. Runny nose L He tries to sit up if I have him leaned too far back. He wants to see everything from a sitting position. He will hold onto my arm when I hold him and pretty much support his own sit-up- weight. He can almost sit up.. only a second or two at a time. He can lay on his back and scoot himself in circles or up so he starts two feet from where he started.

My Favorite Thing: When he is sleepy he STILL lets me cuddle him baby style… his head on my shoulder and holding him… otherwise he does NOT want to be a baby and will try and sit up, lean back, see everything. He giggles a little more.. still only for me. He is so happy when he sees me.. HUGE smiles no one else can get J his frustration is so cute! When he gets mad he shrieks and flaps his arms and legs and it makes me laugh. Which makes him laugh.

Things I Call Him: Booger, Boogerbear, Suger Bees, Boogs, Little Square, Little bug

We are training him to like his pack and play so he won’t fight it when we travel… so each day he has had his naps in it and he’s doing really well! I'm so proud of him J now he will have a familiar thing in an unfamiliar environment. We have also started to teach him to “do his nights” in a hybrid America/France way. Instead of cold turkey let him cry in the middle until he sleeps again.. I am just cutting out that feeding, but still going in and binkying him or changing his diaper if needed until he gets used to not eating. Last night.. 9pm bedtime. 4:40 binky (only once) and then 7am feed! I was up for 2 minutes at 4:40.

C'est Moi Que Décide

Bringing Up Bebe

I just finished reading a book about raising your children with a French parenting style, and let me tell you… I loved it. This book is written by Pamela Druckerman, an American woman living in Paris and raising her kids in France. Um. I’d move to France to give my kids a French upbringing. A)French children “Do their nights” (sleep through the night) at two or three months old. B)French kids eat well-rounded meals that are more likely to include braised leeks than chicken nuggets. C) The kids are patient! French kids sit quietly in restaurants and on outing. Few is any tantrums are had by French kids, just her kids until she starts copying the parents techniques. 

Completely wring down a review would take all year.. so here were my favorite things:

The Perfect Mother Doesn't Exist...  A french catchphrase

No Snacking- French children only eat 4 times a day. Breakfast, Lunch, afternoon snack, Dinner. That’s it. No cheerios. No goldfish. No juiceboxes whenever. Just those four times. This makes it so when it is actually meal time, kids are hungry… and therefore more likely to try all the foods that are on the table. 

The Pause- Not immediately answering your child when they call for you, or interrupt. When they cry.. give them a minute to figure out if they are just crying because, and can then self soothe.. or if they need help. The child gets used to waiting a minute after a demand or want, and thus learns patience and how to occupy themselves. That way in the future they are used to playing quietly, knowing the world doesn’t stop for them, and giving adults chances to talk without interrupting. 

“C'est Moi Que Décide (It’s me who decides)

”- This is the authority card parents pull whenthey are getting their kid to do something they don’t want to, or don’t agree with. Tough cookies child, you aren’t the parent. You don’t get to choose. Its ME who decides. No bartering, no child-king syndrome. The parent runs the show. Not the child.

“You do not have the right to _______”- instead of “don’t hit your sister.” It becomes “you do not have the right to hit your sister.” The French phrasing suggests that there is a fixed and coherent system of rights, which both children and adults can refer to. it also makes clear that the child does have the right to do other things.

“I disagree”- Instead of “don’t throw your peas to the floor” it is a look and “I disagree with you throwing your peas to the floor” It establishes the adult as antoher mind, which the child must consider. And it credits the child with having his own view about the peas, even if the view is being overruled. Pitching the peas is cast as something the child has rationally decided to do, so he can decide to do otherwise, too.

These are just a few small things.. mostly badly explained… but the book is worth the read. I'm going to try and have BabyA ‘Do his nights’ starting next weekend when I have time to be tired from letting him fuss in the night (stopping the night feeding). It might take a week.. but we are going to try and cut his one night feeding out and get him to sleep all night without help. 

I need to buy this book and highlight it. 

My Little Sausage

Currently he is asleep in his crib, facedown, arm outside the slats. Naked to the waist, diaper only. We went through our naptime ritual… his realizing he’s being left, starting to cry and spitting the binky out, and then moving into full fledged wailing. After two minutes I go in, flip him to his side, and re binky and he is instantly out for the count. About 5 hours later I sat down to finish this post. BabyA has been sleeping since 3:30 and it is now 6. And again, he is asleep on his face. Today he has been more clingy than usual. His face reddening and scrunching the second he loses contact with my arms when he gets set down. Going straight into full fledged abandonment and skipping fussing entirely. I have been calling this the pre-poop-day meltdown. I’ve found it follows the pattern of nearing his poop day… he gets a little more fussy. Probably from trying to move mountains of poo through his intestines. And it’s only made easier by being held by mommy. Do I have magic powers? I guess I do, not going to lie. I adore being magic. I can do no wrong, I am the person of choice, BabyA’s favorite, and I get his giggles and biggest smiles. I know this is hard for hubs. To come so obviously second in BabyA’s mind. He says he doesn’t mind… but this morning he took a half day and commented that it was nice to see him smile and happy to see daddy. Which is true because by the end of the day he is a little more cranky. This will all even out eventually, and hubs know that. And can’t wait until HE is preferred for things like playing with toys, and bedtime snuggles. I can’t wait to see my two men gleefully together J

This Face

Random Other Things

We have finally gotten a routine back with the baby for when he goes to sleep now that he is completely un swaddled. He likes to cry when we put him down to protest being put down, but it only lasts for about 30 seconds before he rolls himself on his tummy and goes to sleep. Bonus if he can find the Binky himself that he had spit out and get it back into his mouth. We are back to only waking up once at night and it is wonderful. He also likes to roll until he hits the side of the crib and then snuggles into the wall. Most times with his butt up in the air.

I was asked for the first time the other week if I have any siblings and if they were older or younger. I have been dreading the day that I had the answer this question out loud. My first answer was yes to "do you have any siblings?" But then the next question came… Are they older or younger. There is no easy way to answer this minefield... I just said I have an older sister, and I had a little brother. No one continues that line of questioning once it gets awkward.



My cousin graduated from high school last week, congratulations to Jacob! I decided to be obnoxious and get him his grad gift in the form of a balloon stuffed with gliltter and money. I got $20.13 in one dollar bills and coins and rolled and stuffed them into a balloon which I then packed with glitter confetti too. Having to stuff all that crap into a balloon was harder than I thought! Especially alone. I had a baby, two hands, and stuff to put in it. Think about the opening to a balloon. Smaller than your pinky… unless you stretch it, which takes two hands.. Leaving no hands to put the money in. I was slightly frustrated, but figured out how to use the cup holder on my stroller as a funnel type thing and got the job done. I was snickering that he would have to pop the balloon to get the money and it would make a mess. Which it did, epically. The ceremony was outside, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, with 500 graduates. Poor choices? It was hotter than blazes and we knew it'd be 2+ hours under the sun. While sitting in the bleachers I had to feed the baby, made difficult by nothing to lean back on and sitting elbow to elbow with people. Challenge accepted. Anyone sees boobs... Well they are just boobs. 50% of the population has them; at least 75% have seen them before. Worlds longest graduation later (tips for future speech givers... No one really wants to listen to your 10 min motivational speech. We just all want you to give a fast one and let us get on with things. Bonus points for humor) we went back to my aunts for a party. We ate and played games and BabyA slept in the pack and play we had brought for him. He did so well being put down at a strangers house in a strange room.

Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day!

Hubby got to celebrate his first Father's Day this year with Baby A and I think it was a success. I started out Sunday morning moving the baby into the big bed with us to cuddle before we got up to get ready for church. While hubby went off to shower, BabyA and I got out his Father's Day card (Asher drew it himself… I held his arm and he held the pen and moved it around.) And I laid out a brand-new shirt that that I had washed the night before. He was really excited about the shirt and put it on immediately. And then thanked BabyA for his first ever drawing.The card also included pictures and info on two different drills he could choose between and I would order once he did. In our house we don't own a drill and there have been many situations where we have wanted one, that makes us terrible responsible adults, I know. So what better Father's Day gift than a tool. He spent a good while looking and reading up on both drills I picked before he could decide which he wanted. Thanks to Amazon Prime, it will arrive on Wednesday! After we were all dressed we went to church where all the dads were recognized by getting a gift of Sour Patch Kids, Sugar Babies, or Lifesavers... And they could pick based on what their kids were. Hubs got Sour Patch Kids only because he liked them, because BabyA is a Sugar Baby:) After church we went to our favorite bakery for brunch and reading in the sun. This bakery has the best butterscotch latte I have ever had in my life. They make their own butterscotch in house and drizzle it on top of the whip cream…Yum. Hubby got a cinnamon roll and I had a grilled cheese with brie and we sat outside on the patio for an hour and ate breakfast and read until BabyA had enough and we went home. Once we got home I was going to make cheesecakes for dessert Which meant we had to figure out where to put the baby so he would be happy because hubby wanted some alone time to relax. I figured it was finally time to change out the baby swing for the exersaucer. Baby is and getting more and more persnickety about lying like a baby in the swing and wanting to sit up instead, so the swing was quickly losing its usefulness. Luckily, thanks to my nanny mom I had an exersaucer in the back hallway waiting for BabyA to get big enough to use it. We switched out the swing in the kitchen and put the baby in it. He promptly went into sensory overload and spent 30 minutes just staring at everything. This gave me enough time to make delicious individual sized salted caramel cheesecake cups. Thank you Pinterest. The baby went down for his nap and slept for the next 3! Hours! Once he got up we let him sit with us in the chair while hubby played his new video game. When it became time to make dinner I made skillet chicken pot pie, which is the most delicious thing ever! And while it was baking we put the baby down for the night. We rounded off the evening with pot pie, cheesecake, and watching Taken2. Which was a complete waste of time, my advice… Don't see it. Ever. Father’s Day success. Hubs called it his “second birthday.”

The Bare Necessities

After reading about all the essentials Ali said she needed for her and Viv… I decided to add what I have figured out for Baby A and I and see if the lists match up at all. 

Three of the things, the swing, the bumpo, and a play mat

I highly recommend this list:

•          My Dutalier glider and ottoman. I’d get rid of everything else to keep that.
•          Crib- He hated the bassinet
•          Flannel changing pad covers for his crib and changing pad for leaks and accidents. Easier to wash
•          Our lullaby turtle
•          Boppy (more for my tailbone. I still sit on it in his room)
•          More burp cloths that I thought
•          Footie onsies, we just now started using feetless ones.
•          The miracle blanket x2. NECESSITY
•          A playmat for him on the floor, he uses it daily
•          An infant swing. He’s outgrown it mostly by now but it was a lifesaver in the beginning.
•          About 20 bibs. And I still run out of them before laundry day
•          Soothie binkys
•          Aquaphor for his neck rolls
•          We LOVE our Britax carseat/B Ready. Especially because the B Ready will fit two babies in a few years.
•          A huge Muslin blanket that is lightweight for emergency swaddle, feeding cover, and nap blanket.
•          Spare plastic bags in the diaper bag for blow out clothing containment.
•          An extra outfit or two in his diaper bag
•          The Ergo and baby insert. He LOVEs it and so do we
•          Black out curtains for his room and naptime
•          Video monitor
•          Our book library for him so he gets used to daddy’s voice
•          Mittens!
•          A night light we leave on all night so I don’t have to turn on a light to feed or change him
•          Disposable breast pads until my body regulated, then washable. At least 6 sets.
•          Nursing tanks for sleeping
•          Three nursing bras
•          Purex Baby detergent. Not Dreft. Purex smells like heaven, and is cheaper… but harder to find.
•          Amazon Mom
•          A mom’s play group for my sanity
•      The Keurig...  We got it for us, but with a baby coming in mind. So nice to pop and go coffee!

These we have and could have done without:

•          The pump- I use it like… once or twice a month
•          The baby bathtub, he will take a bath with me and we both enjoy it
•          Receiving blankets. Though we have some in the car just in case.
•          The snuza… wasn’t as paranoid as I thought
•          Toys. He doesn’t even care
•          Shoes for babies. Aint nobody got time for that.
•          A nicer camera. We have one.. and don’t use it because we use our phones.
•          Everyother brand of sleep sack. They never worked and we have about 6.
•          A humidifier.. at least yet
•          The car mirror… it’s really hard to see him. 
•        Baby hats

These we don’t have and am glad:

•          Wipe warmer
•          Bottle warmer

Things we will eventually get.. no hurry:

•          Eating paraphanalia, cups, spoons, plates, sippy cups, food bibs
•          A high chair
•          Baby gates
•          Childproofing stuff

Diaper wise… Loved Pampers for newborn. Huggies suuuuucked. Then we switched to Costco size 1-2, next we will try Luvs, then pick. Or change depending on size.