Well, Eliot and I had our first day of school (Mothers' Day Out-but in my case 'In' since I'm his teacher).
There were two other girls in the class--one turned one on the first day and the other will be four months old in a few days from now). Yikes! I think I could handle it fine if all three were closer to the same age.
You can imagine that naptime was not pleasant. Eliot didn't actually take a nap until 1:00pm!! But finally-with a little help from my friends at Bluegrass Baptist WEE, all three were sleeping at the same time. I sketched out a better "schedule" that would give me more solo time with the little one and the two "big" kids napping at the same time. Pray for me on Monday as I expect a repeat (with slight improvements--maybe).
Eliot was jealous of the little baby. He hung unto my pant legs as I moved around the room. This was mostly in the afternoon as he was too excited to be with someone his own age with so many new toys. I felt so bad by the end of the day b/c 1) he was so exhausted and 2) I hadn't been able to give him my full attention and he didn't understand why.
I cried as I rocked him to sleep for his second (much belated) nap at home. I didn't even try to lay him down. Sniff, sniff.
Going to school is good for him. He will need the socialization by the spring time and the ability to learn how to adapt. And I'll need some money to pad the savings account so I can stay home for Kid #2 when the time comes (not now--I'm not dropping any hints).
Friday, August 13, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
School
So the summer is coming to a close, and school is looming in the not-so distant future. Ugh.
I'm definitely ready to be more social. I loved loved loved staying home with Eliot. We drove each other crazy plenty of times, but I think it would have been physically painful to apart from him.
That said, I'm going back to work (sort of) this school year. I'll be working two Mothers' Day Out programs Monday-Thursday. For two days of the week, Eliot will be with me, one of three little kiddos. That's a lot of little ones, but we'll swing it. The two other days of the week I'll be working with a toddler class which will not include Eliot. He'll be in the nursery class right next to me.
Would you like to take bets now as to who will have the harder time on the first day of school?
I've already started losing sleep over it. And sleep is not something to be squandered these days.
I'm definitely ready to be more social. I loved loved loved staying home with Eliot. We drove each other crazy plenty of times, but I think it would have been physically painful to apart from him.
That said, I'm going back to work (sort of) this school year. I'll be working two Mothers' Day Out programs Monday-Thursday. For two days of the week, Eliot will be with me, one of three little kiddos. That's a lot of little ones, but we'll swing it. The two other days of the week I'll be working with a toddler class which will not include Eliot. He'll be in the nursery class right next to me.
Would you like to take bets now as to who will have the harder time on the first day of school?
I've already started losing sleep over it. And sleep is not something to be squandered these days.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Estimation
I was pretty nervous before our first airplane ride(s) with Eliot. He was a light sleeper who only slept in the dark with his noisemaker going. Yeh, most of that was his parents' fault, but when he slept, we were grateful and we began some bad habits.
The first day wouldn't be so bad, I told myself. After all, the flights just happened to fall a little bit late of his scheduled naps anyway. And he was excellent! He showed signs of sleepiness in his exciting, new surroundings. My hopes soared. Then he fell asleep nursing during takeoff!! Wow! I was thrilled.
Of course Dan seemed as nervous about me nursing in public as Eliot sleeping. He leaned forward to block me from view, but I would only have been visible to five people (Dan, me, Eliot, the stewardess who passed by only to begin her drink rounds, and the man who was asleep across from Dan). So, no one saw us.
The next flight was even better, though it was longer. It was the one I was really nervous about. Again, Eliot fell asleep while nursing soon after take off. He woke up with 40 minutes left of the flight, but we had been moved to the seats right behind 1st class, so we had all this floor room in front of us. Eliot played at our feet (oh, Dan had moved across the aisle, there was so much free space) and we even were able to change a dirty diaper on the floor there rather than attempt the scary bathroom changing table.
Eliot was an angel during the trip. More on that later.
He slept on the return flight from Edmonton to Minneapolis, and while we had extra space, we didn't have the sweet spot behind 1st class. The trouble came that evening. The flight should have left at 7ish (close to Eliot's bedtime), but it was cancelled. Not only was it late, we had to figure out the return flight, hotel, and shuttle to said hotel--not to mention wait for the crib to be delivered.
Again, he was awesome. He cried during his bedtime story. He was simply exhausted, so we cut it short and put him to bed. He woke up once, crying, "Where am I?! Where's my Mommy?!?" He fell asleep as soon as went to him.
Then we had to wake the poor tyke at 5:30 to catch the rescheduled flight to Nashville. He was a gem! He didn't sleep much on the flight, but he was a sweetie. And to top it all off, he took a four hour nap once we got home, giving Mom and Dad time to take a nap of their own.
My mom said she learned pretty quickly not to underestimate her children. She said I taught her that. Probably because Ryan was such a goody two shoes, there was no reason to expect anything less than goody-ness. I learned the same on this trip!
The first day wouldn't be so bad, I told myself. After all, the flights just happened to fall a little bit late of his scheduled naps anyway. And he was excellent! He showed signs of sleepiness in his exciting, new surroundings. My hopes soared. Then he fell asleep nursing during takeoff!! Wow! I was thrilled.
Of course Dan seemed as nervous about me nursing in public as Eliot sleeping. He leaned forward to block me from view, but I would only have been visible to five people (Dan, me, Eliot, the stewardess who passed by only to begin her drink rounds, and the man who was asleep across from Dan). So, no one saw us.
The next flight was even better, though it was longer. It was the one I was really nervous about. Again, Eliot fell asleep while nursing soon after take off. He woke up with 40 minutes left of the flight, but we had been moved to the seats right behind 1st class, so we had all this floor room in front of us. Eliot played at our feet (oh, Dan had moved across the aisle, there was so much free space) and we even were able to change a dirty diaper on the floor there rather than attempt the scary bathroom changing table.
Eliot was an angel during the trip. More on that later.
He slept on the return flight from Edmonton to Minneapolis, and while we had extra space, we didn't have the sweet spot behind 1st class. The trouble came that evening. The flight should have left at 7ish (close to Eliot's bedtime), but it was cancelled. Not only was it late, we had to figure out the return flight, hotel, and shuttle to said hotel--not to mention wait for the crib to be delivered.
Again, he was awesome. He cried during his bedtime story. He was simply exhausted, so we cut it short and put him to bed. He woke up once, crying, "Where am I?! Where's my Mommy?!?" He fell asleep as soon as went to him.
Then we had to wake the poor tyke at 5:30 to catch the rescheduled flight to Nashville. He was a gem! He didn't sleep much on the flight, but he was a sweetie. And to top it all off, he took a four hour nap once we got home, giving Mom and Dad time to take a nap of their own.
My mom said she learned pretty quickly not to underestimate her children. She said I taught her that. Probably because Ryan was such a goody two shoes, there was no reason to expect anything less than goody-ness. I learned the same on this trip!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Scheduling Sleep
As a stay-at-home mom who just wanted her son to sleep so she could sleep, I felt no need to create a sleeping schedule for Eliot. Now at nearly nine months, I've been waiting for the perfect opportunity to instate one; however, since Eliot has been waking during the six o' clock hour, this is not a schedule-beginning that I would like to jump off with.
Why is he waking so early? Could it be he's going to bed too early? Is he going to bed too late? Is he waking when I get up to pee during the five o'clock hour and gives up trying to fall asleep again around six? Why is it that some mornings he has slept until 8, 7:30, or even 7? I'm ready for some normalcy so I can begin a daily routine and actually make plans. I'm also ready (and I'm sure future me will curse present me later) to cut out nap #3.
Current hypothesis: He wakes every few hours (fact), and when he wakes around five or six and sees the sun up, he assumes his family, along with the sun, is up, and he doesn't want to miss out on any excitement. After all, even if he could tell time, there's no clock in his room.
Good intention (about three weeks old): install heavier curtains. Of course, I've tried this, but the sun still peeks through on the side, so I'm going to have to install a longer curtain rod and mount curtains to cover the edges where the sun peeks through, saying, "Eliot, let's get up and play! You're missing so much!!"
Pressing goal: Since I/we will beginning Mothers' Day Out in August, we really need to move to an 8am wake up, so Eliot's first nap isn't due a half hour before I have to leave him with strangers for the first time. Ugh! I'll only be next door, so I know his crying is going to kill me :(
Why is he waking so early? Could it be he's going to bed too early? Is he going to bed too late? Is he waking when I get up to pee during the five o'clock hour and gives up trying to fall asleep again around six? Why is it that some mornings he has slept until 8, 7:30, or even 7? I'm ready for some normalcy so I can begin a daily routine and actually make plans. I'm also ready (and I'm sure future me will curse present me later) to cut out nap #3.
Current hypothesis: He wakes every few hours (fact), and when he wakes around five or six and sees the sun up, he assumes his family, along with the sun, is up, and he doesn't want to miss out on any excitement. After all, even if he could tell time, there's no clock in his room.
Good intention (about three weeks old): install heavier curtains. Of course, I've tried this, but the sun still peeks through on the side, so I'm going to have to install a longer curtain rod and mount curtains to cover the edges where the sun peeks through, saying, "Eliot, let's get up and play! You're missing so much!!"
Pressing goal: Since I/we will beginning Mothers' Day Out in August, we really need to move to an 8am wake up, so Eliot's first nap isn't due a half hour before I have to leave him with strangers for the first time. Ugh! I'll only be next door, so I know his crying is going to kill me :(
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Good Intentions
I intended to blog about something each day, but we all know what they say about good intentions... Although, those of you who have "subscribed" may object to my use of "good" intentions. You were probably only being polite. At any rate, my good intentions were zapped and shriveled up when our AC went out two nights ago. I was backing up our iTunes library and felt pretty hot. I said something to Dan, who is a furnace, and he chalked up my discomfort to dealing with two laptops at once.
Twenty minutes later, on my way to bed, I checked the thermostat which was on a roasty toasty 78*. Now, Eliot was already in bed, asleep, and as you may have guessed from my previous bloggings, we don't wake him up once he's asleep. We kept the ceiling fans on and thanked the Lord that the sun was down when the ac went kaput. When Eliot awoke in the morning, we packed for Grammy and Grumpa's.
This was Eliot's first sleep over since the hospital. I was nervous, but since there was no choice involved, this nervousness was brief and short-lived... And thankfully unnecessary. He did great! In fact, he slept well-naps, night, everything until we got home today! He woke up at 6:30, and did not sleep at all until 11. Ugh! Several of those later hours were not very pleasant. Thirty minutes by himself and then thirty with Daddy holding him.
I know it goes against everything I promised myself and touted on previous blogs, but I decided to hold him for the next nap to avoid a full day of Mr. Fussy. He slept for friggin TWO AND A HALF HOURS! I had prepared for this and had the computer with me. I watched two episodes of Gilmore Girls, half a Lost Season 1 episode, and did some surfing. He only awoke when I finally had to fish my completely dead asleep arm out from under his sweaty, fuzz-covered head.
WHY?!
Okay, c'est l'heure for evening nurse and bedtime routine. Repeat to myself: I will not rock him for longer than 10 minutes, I will not rock him for longer than 10 minutes.*
* I am like a drug to him. The more rocking I give him, the more he requires... NOOOOOOOOO!!
Twenty minutes later, on my way to bed, I checked the thermostat which was on a roasty toasty 78*. Now, Eliot was already in bed, asleep, and as you may have guessed from my previous bloggings, we don't wake him up once he's asleep. We kept the ceiling fans on and thanked the Lord that the sun was down when the ac went kaput. When Eliot awoke in the morning, we packed for Grammy and Grumpa's.
This was Eliot's first sleep over since the hospital. I was nervous, but since there was no choice involved, this nervousness was brief and short-lived... And thankfully unnecessary. He did great! In fact, he slept well-naps, night, everything until we got home today! He woke up at 6:30, and did not sleep at all until 11. Ugh! Several of those later hours were not very pleasant. Thirty minutes by himself and then thirty with Daddy holding him.
I know it goes against everything I promised myself and touted on previous blogs, but I decided to hold him for the next nap to avoid a full day of Mr. Fussy. He slept for friggin TWO AND A HALF HOURS! I had prepared for this and had the computer with me. I watched two episodes of Gilmore Girls, half a Lost Season 1 episode, and did some surfing. He only awoke when I finally had to fish my completely dead asleep arm out from under his sweaty, fuzz-covered head.
WHY?!
Okay, c'est l'heure for evening nurse and bedtime routine. Repeat to myself: I will not rock him for longer than 10 minutes, I will not rock him for longer than 10 minutes.*
* I am like a drug to him. The more rocking I give him, the more he requires... NOOOOOOOOO!!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Sleep Tome II
Picking up where I left off yesterday.
Dear Taylor, mother of two,
Getting them down doesn't mean they'll stay down.
There are all kinds of sleep training methods. Ferberize, Gerberize, Bieberize (wait, that's for tweens). They're all hard, but it helps to have a husband do it--much less painful that way. We chose a middle of the road method at four months. We'd get him drowsy, lay him down, and let him cry for five minutes. Enter Dad, restore pacifier, kiss to the forehead, exit Dad. Ten minutes, still crying. Enter Dad, restore pacifier, kiss to the forehead, exit Dad. Fifteen minutes, still crying. Enter Dad, restore pacifier, kiss to the forehead, exit Dad. From then on, we'd go no longer than fifteen minutes. It never exceeded forty five minutes, which is handy b/c my pediatrician suggested no more than an hour, though I think that applied more to the cold turkey method than our staggered visits.
I wussed out for naps. I held him during naps until six months, though we began sleep training at four months. Not only was this due to my wussiness (see above--Dad did the check ups during the crying), but it was also due to the fact that I still had several seasons of Lost on Netflix to catch up on. What better excuse to not do anything else all day but watch Lost while my son slept?
At six months, I'd caught up on Lost. Eliot was now sleeping through the night--until he started teething, then caught a cold, then started teething again. It was time to sleep train for naps. He cried for one nap, and then it caught on. Not too shabby.
Anytime teething enters or a cold or a throat infection, or whatever, I'd feel sorry for Eliot and rationalize holding him longer or nursing him in the middle of the night. Then we'd start the whole process again. Dear Future Taylor, mother-of-two, do not do this. If you do, sleep training will begin ALL over again. I, Present Taylor, don't know what you should do instead, but maybe Middle of the Road Future Taylor will be able to help you out.
Dear Taylor, mother of two,
Getting them down doesn't mean they'll stay down.
There are all kinds of sleep training methods. Ferberize, Gerberize, Bieberize (wait, that's for tweens). They're all hard, but it helps to have a husband do it--much less painful that way. We chose a middle of the road method at four months. We'd get him drowsy, lay him down, and let him cry for five minutes. Enter Dad, restore pacifier, kiss to the forehead, exit Dad. Ten minutes, still crying. Enter Dad, restore pacifier, kiss to the forehead, exit Dad. Fifteen minutes, still crying. Enter Dad, restore pacifier, kiss to the forehead, exit Dad. From then on, we'd go no longer than fifteen minutes. It never exceeded forty five minutes, which is handy b/c my pediatrician suggested no more than an hour, though I think that applied more to the cold turkey method than our staggered visits.
I wussed out for naps. I held him during naps until six months, though we began sleep training at four months. Not only was this due to my wussiness (see above--Dad did the check ups during the crying), but it was also due to the fact that I still had several seasons of Lost on Netflix to catch up on. What better excuse to not do anything else all day but watch Lost while my son slept?
At six months, I'd caught up on Lost. Eliot was now sleeping through the night--until he started teething, then caught a cold, then started teething again. It was time to sleep train for naps. He cried for one nap, and then it caught on. Not too shabby.
Anytime teething enters or a cold or a throat infection, or whatever, I'd feel sorry for Eliot and rationalize holding him longer or nursing him in the middle of the night. Then we'd start the whole process again. Dear Future Taylor, mother-of-two, do not do this. If you do, sleep training will begin ALL over again. I, Present Taylor, don't know what you should do instead, but maybe Middle of the Road Future Taylor will be able to help you out.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Sleep Tome I
Am I the only one that thought newborns fell asleep when they were tired?!?!?
Upon realizing that this was NOT the case, it seemed to make sense. I have to relearn to fall asleep every few months. I create a new routine. My current one is to lie on my back with a fat fluffy pillow curled under my neck. I then place my flat pillow over my eyes. My arms are straight down my sides and I wiggle my toes and exhale. If this doesn't work, turning on a Harry Potter dvd (any one except Order of the Phoenix) will put me to sleep in seconds.*
I digress.
So, a newborn has to learn to fall asleep. Any literature will tell you this. You start a routine. So, why are you reading my blog? To be honest, it's really hard to tell when you pass the threshold of wanting to hold your newborn 24/7 and realizing you can't lay him down without him waking up. And then you very quickly move into rocking for an hour and attempting to deposit him in the crib without him waking up lest you have to rock for an additional hour. Then any blip that awakens him has him crying because he doesn't know how to fall asleep without your drunk-from-sleep-deprivation rocking.
I don't claim that parenting literature lies to us neophytes. They just don't tell us much needed details. It's true, holding your baby a lot does not spoil them--in the sense that they will begin demanding more allowance and rolling their eyes whenever you try to speak to their fellows-in-diapers.**
Okay, this is why you're reading my blog: Lay him down after nursing. If you can't just let him be because he's so frickin amazing, feel free to stare and stroke his swaddled little self. Just let him lie there--crib, bouncy seat, swing, bassinet, where ever. Let him fuss five minutes--this isn't letting him "cry it out." Believe me... been there, done THAT like four times already. Do a routine. Sure. The books don't say it's necessary at first, but what's "at first." When exactly is the transition from no routine needed to routine needed? Just play it safe. Nurse, rock, lay down.***
As quickly as I learned the pillow on top of my eyes helped me fall asleep--one night that I had wet hair and my husband had the ceiling fan going, so to may your newborn quickly learn that being held is the way to fall asleep. THE ONLY WAY.
*Notice I wrote "turning on a HP dvd." I don't actually have to watch it as I fall asleep before the movie starts--though after I hit play. This works especially well with Sorceror's Stone.
**They can't not roll their eyes of course. Every new parent--whether they admit it or not--is worried that their kid will be cock-eyed since in the early days their eye muscles aren't up to focusing both eyes at once.
***Simple Opinion Alert... Co-sleeping. Makes sense with newborns (as in under 13 pounds--roughly the size experts say babies have the caloric base to sleep through the night without being fed). You can sleep while baby nurses. But beyond that, kick the kid out. You all will sleep better in your own beds.
Upon realizing that this was NOT the case, it seemed to make sense. I have to relearn to fall asleep every few months. I create a new routine. My current one is to lie on my back with a fat fluffy pillow curled under my neck. I then place my flat pillow over my eyes. My arms are straight down my sides and I wiggle my toes and exhale. If this doesn't work, turning on a Harry Potter dvd (any one except Order of the Phoenix) will put me to sleep in seconds.*
I digress.
So, a newborn has to learn to fall asleep. Any literature will tell you this. You start a routine. So, why are you reading my blog? To be honest, it's really hard to tell when you pass the threshold of wanting to hold your newborn 24/7 and realizing you can't lay him down without him waking up. And then you very quickly move into rocking for an hour and attempting to deposit him in the crib without him waking up lest you have to rock for an additional hour. Then any blip that awakens him has him crying because he doesn't know how to fall asleep without your drunk-from-sleep-deprivation rocking.
I don't claim that parenting literature lies to us neophytes. They just don't tell us much needed details. It's true, holding your baby a lot does not spoil them--in the sense that they will begin demanding more allowance and rolling their eyes whenever you try to speak to their fellows-in-diapers.**
Okay, this is why you're reading my blog: Lay him down after nursing. If you can't just let him be because he's so frickin amazing, feel free to stare and stroke his swaddled little self. Just let him lie there--crib, bouncy seat, swing, bassinet, where ever. Let him fuss five minutes--this isn't letting him "cry it out." Believe me... been there, done THAT like four times already. Do a routine. Sure. The books don't say it's necessary at first, but what's "at first." When exactly is the transition from no routine needed to routine needed? Just play it safe. Nurse, rock, lay down.***
As quickly as I learned the pillow on top of my eyes helped me fall asleep--one night that I had wet hair and my husband had the ceiling fan going, so to may your newborn quickly learn that being held is the way to fall asleep. THE ONLY WAY.
*Notice I wrote "turning on a HP dvd." I don't actually have to watch it as I fall asleep before the movie starts--though after I hit play. This works especially well with Sorceror's Stone.
**They can't not roll their eyes of course. Every new parent--whether they admit it or not--is worried that their kid will be cock-eyed since in the early days their eye muscles aren't up to focusing both eyes at once.
***Simple Opinion Alert... Co-sleeping. Makes sense with newborns (as in under 13 pounds--roughly the size experts say babies have the caloric base to sleep through the night without being fed). You can sleep while baby nurses. But beyond that, kick the kid out. You all will sleep better in your own beds.
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