The Human Pacifier

Last night it occurred to me that I have become a human pacifier. Not all day though. Just from two AM until about five in the morning. Can you hear the sarcasm in my voice? I don't know when it happened or how it happened but lately sleep around here has been hard to get. Following in his sister's footsteps, I am now in another sleepless stage. Not complaining. Just catching you up on where I'm at with BabyM.

I would like to attribute his night waking to his teeth. He's teething now and that could be causing him some discomfort. Sometimes I think that he could be looking for me during that time. More often than I would like to admit I fall asleep while nursing him during those hours. It's possible that he's grown accustom to being with me so he wakes up to call for me.

Either way.

It's time to actually sleep train before it get's worse. I haven't really had to sleep train him up till this point so I hope it goes okay. I can't keep going night after night without adequate rest. He needs his sleep too. Savannah didn't stop night waking until I stopped breastfeeding. I wonder if that will be the case this time?

He's not really waking up a lot but he's incredibly restless and in a wakeful sleep state from two to five. Every night. I've got to figure out something soon. I gave up Dr.Pepper so I don't even have caffeine to help push me through the day. What's a Mom to do? Anyone else go through this? How long did it take you to get your baby back on a good sleeping schedule?

Baby M Update: 4 Months

I feel like I just had Baby M like two seconds ago but he's already four months old. This morning we had his four month check up and shots. Things have been going pretty well. He's such a sweet baby. Steals my heart. I can see so much of my husband when I look at him. Sometimes it's frightening.

Baby M smiles, laughs and coos. My favorite thing to do is talk to him. He responds with all his coos and it's the best. He's a pretty good sleeper right now. In the morning he takes a nap for about an hour. Around lunch time he goes down for another two to three hours. At night he goes down at eight sharp (right after his sister) and sleeps until about three before waking up for a feeding. Not too bad, right?

I'm breastfeeding and I pretty much feed him on demand. I started Savannah on cereal and veggies when she was four months old. I plan to start him on solids by the end of the month. I ordered some more freezer trays with lids and they should be here by the end of the week. I'll share more about my baby food making process in another post. We'll more than likely start with peas or green beans. He's ready for food. He's started sitting on his own a little. He stares at us with pure jealousy when we eat and after nursing for a while he still wants more. I've started doing actual feedings and "snacks" via nursing. Cluster feedings I guess. It's time for him to have a little more of something else at least once a day. I'll still continue to breastfeed until he's at least twelve months.

During his appointment his Doctor was very impressed with his strength and how well he moves. She told me that it was time for him to start working out in an exersaucer or standing activity center. I'll be picking up one today. I plan to sell some of the baby gear we have here to a resale store. I can not believe we are already getting rid of baby things! 

I'm feeling so blessed and thankful that our little guy is hitting all of his milestones. When he was born early I was very nervous about how his development would possibly be delayed. Thank God for miracles big and small. Baby M is right where a four month old should be. I guess that means he'll be crawling and getting into everything very soon. Can't wait!

Video Diary 8152013

It's almost Friday and if I wasn't breastfeeding every couple hours I'd certainly toast to the weekend! I wanted to do a video to share some info about my sleepless nights. I also had a funny moment during a play date that I wanted to share.

Oh. And I'll be posting my review of the Yes To Carrots new line of body washes this weekend. If you're already familiar with the brand feel free to get steamy in your shower with this exclusive code for my readers (Y2LINQ) for BOGO 50% off on all Yes To body washes. Don't say I never hooked you up with anything! You will love the body washes. Can't wait to share my thoughts on them. I'm already in super deep love with the Yes To Cucumber and Yes To Blueberries. 

Enjoy the video! I hope you get a good laugh. Sometimes I crack myself up.

*Thanks to Yes To for sponsoring today's (and tomorrow's) post.

How to get through the next day after a Sleepless Night...

I can barely keep my eyes open to type this post. That's how sleepy I am. You know how it is with a newborn. They sleep all day and you get minimum sleep at night. This is the part you forget about when you see that positive pregnancy test.

So far this week I think I have gotten maybe a combined total of ten hours of sleep. Yep. You read that right. I think I've slept for about three hours a night this week. Not complaining, just stating the facts. Baby M wakes up every few hours to be fed and changed. That's to be expected. What I didn't expect is for Savannah to start waking up during the night. You remember all the hard work I did to get her to sleep all night after we moved to Texas? Well. This week has been a recurring nightmare of those days.

I think she's a light sleeper like me so she wakes up if she hears the baby crying too loudly. Not only does she wake up but she gets out of bed and comes to check on him. Sweet, right? It wouldn't be if you were me. Last night they were both up for a while and I had this feeling of defeat. They were beating me at my own game. No worries though. I have a game plan that will put an end to all of this night waking. More on that later...

I have been amazed at how easy it's been to still get through the days while I'm past tired. Here are some tips that I've found very useful. Thank you for everyone that made a suggestion via our Facebook page....

~ Stay Busy

As crazy as it sounds staying busy when you're exhausted helps the time fly by. You won't feel as sleepy if your occupied by another task. This is my go-to method for getting through the tired days after a sleepless night. I clean, cook or take the kids out. It helps keep that sluggish feeling at bay until you can actually sleep.

~ Drink lots of water

This may not be true for everyone but drinking ice cold water throughout the day keeps me alert. I have been doing pretty well staying off of caffeine. Caffeine tends to make me feel less energized, or maybe it's the crash from the sugar in a soda. At any rate drinking water has done wonders for my energy level.

~ Sleep while the baby is sleeping

Everyone has heard this. Unfortunately, I've never been a good napper. Napping actually has the opposite effect on me. If you are a person that does well with naps try sleeping when your baby does. Since Sav doesn't take naps anymore I can't sleep during the day, but if you're able to do it GO FOR IT!

~ Don't feel pressured by your checklist

If you're like me you feel the need to get things done during the day. When you're super tired throw that list in the garbage. Take your time getting things done. Ease into your day. Don't rush it. If you can get a load of laundry done, great! If you can't, don't sweat it. Try to keep your day as calm and carefree as possible. Staying in a relaxed state will keep you from exerting more energy. I take the pressure of cooking dinner off of my plate when I'm really tired and it helps me.

~Rest when you can

Try doing some stationary activities with your kids. Read books, color, paint or work on some fine motor skills if they're old enough. If you have a child that will watch a movie throw one on. Even if you can't sleep just sitting and resting does wonders.

I use all of these during the day to help me stay mentally sane after a sleepless night. It's not easy but you can do it. As soon as both kids are asleep at night I go to bed too. A couple hours of sleep is better than no sleep at all.

What are some of your tips for getting through the day after a sleepless night?

Baby Update: Four Weeks Old

Time is flying. I have always said if you want to pass time quickly have a baby. I can not believe my son will be four weeks old tomorrow. Whoa. I thought it would be nice to share how we're doing. I think I am adjusting like any other woman with a newborn. I'm tired and still riding on what little adrenaline I have left. Things have been going pretty smooth for the most part and I am very thankful for that.

Our sleep pattern has been pretty normal. He wakes up about every three hours to eat and be changed. He normally goes right back to sleep after being nursed. We have been doing a mix of co-sleeping and putting him in his crib. It just depends on how tired I am. Please spare me any lectures on co-sleeping. I am not interested in them. Baby M will eventually sleep in his crib every night. When he starts having longer stretches of sleep he'll make a permanent move to his room. He sleeps in his bed during the day for naps so I'm not too concerned about the move. I didn't co-sleep with Savannah but then again I wasn't as tired then as I am now.

Breastfeeding is still going well. Between nursing and pumping I'm a little milk machine. Love that. We've been able to go on a couple play dates and are slowly getting back into the swing of things. I am hoping to get better about taking both of them out by myself. I never knew how much goes in to taking two small children out for errands or an activity. It's been a learning experience. And I am still learning.

I'm going to start working exercise back in to my routine this weekend. I'll keep you posted on how that  goes. I don't own a scale so I'm not sure where I am in terms of weight since giving birth. I'm looking forward to getting in incredible shape. My plan was to be in amazing shape before my thirtieth birthday in February and I plan to accomplish that goal. Watch me work. We'll be talking a lot about fitness in the coming months. 

What was your first month like after baby? Is it all a big blur?

Sleepless with Savannah

Welp. The good news is that we have made some progress. The not so good news is that she's still getting out of bed a few nights out of the week. I stopped rocking her sleep a couple weeks ago which means that she's not going to sleep as early as she once was. That irritates me a little. I like my time to watch tv and decompress. 

The nights that she has been sleeping all night have been giving me hope. I'm thinking that by the time baby number two gets here we might be okay. I've got to figure out what the missing piece to this sleep mystery is. I have already decided that I'm going to try not to make these same sleep mistakes with number two. I'm going to try anyway. At least Savannah is putting herself to sleep now. That's progress.

I know if I could get her from drinking right before bed that would help. Wetting the bed or having to go potty has been causing her to wake up too. There's always something. Has anyone else had luck getting their little ones to sleep since we last talked about our sleeping issues? 

Sleepless with Savannah III...

It has finally come to my attention that Savannah's sleeping is a direct result of our new schedule. This really didn't hit me until I was reading a post over on the blog Lipgloss and Binky. In that post, Mimi was sharing that her daughter's doctor thought that a child's routine helps them sleep. Even though I'd read this theory several times in parenting books it didn't really hit me until I read it on her blog.

After I thought about it I realized that Savannah's schedule has completely changed since moving. How can I expect her to sleep well when I haven't really put forth the effort to put her back into a routine? Before we moved Sav was sleeping every night from seven thirty to about seven in the morning. If she wasn't up by maybe seven fifteen I would calmly wake her up so that we could start the day. Since we moved she's been sleeping until almost eight every morning. That's got to change.

I also have to get back in to the habit of making her go to sleep at about eight. I've been letting her stay up later than I normally would and it's not creating an environment of healthy sleeping habits. During the day before we moved we were constantly doing an activity or meeting for a play group. Now that we are more settled she's started dance classes. Tomorrow we start Mommy and Me Pre-School. Like I said in another post, sometimes I have to remind myself she's only two. I can't expect her to adjust to new routines and environments easily. I have to do a little work. (Why do I feel like Iyanla Vanzant right now? LOL) I have to create her routine all over again and not deviate from it.

We were at a good place before and I know we can get back there. Waking up during the night and sleeping in my bed is no longer going to be tolerated. I'm cracking the whip and getting us back to our regularly scheduled program. Pray for a Momma.

Sleepless with Savannah II

Unfortunately I do not have any major updates to report. I do not know what I am doing wrong. Perhaps maybe I could be a little more consistent with putting Savannah back into her bed right away after she wakes up. She normally comes to our room so I don't know she's awake until she's standing next to my bed. 

I have thought about keeping a sleep log, but then I decided that I didn't need to see on paper what I already knew. She literally wakes back up every time she's put back into her own bed. Every. Time. Sav may sleep for an hour or so before coming back to our room. So things have not progressed at all. There have been a couple nights (like exactly two) where she's slept in her bed from about eleven to four. She goes to sleep at eight and she wakes up around ten thirty to start making her way to me.

Not to mention that she has also developed a pretty bad cough so even if she was going to sleep all night in her own bed (which I doubt) her cough is waking her up. I picked up some nighttime cough syrup today. Hopefully it will kill her cough and put her in a more restless sleep. I am at a lost for what to try next. All I know is that I want her out of my bed so that I can get my good REM cycle back. 

Just wanted to give you all an update. Happy Monday.

Lately she has been doing the "Snow Angel" and "H is for Hell".

Sleepless with Savannah

As you might recall I featured the pic below in a collection of funny findings I'd seen on the internet. Little did I know that my life would turn into what I'd previously chuckled at. After reading a post on the Curly Mama blog about co-sleeping it got me to thinking a bit more about my own sleeping arrangements. Like Curly Mama, I had never thought of myself as a co-sleeping kind of Mama. As a matter of fact I still don't consider myself as a co-sleeper. 

After Savannah was born she slept in our room in a bassinet for the first couple months because I was trying to get the hang of breastfeeding. Some nights I would fall asleep with her next to me. She then moved to her own room and her own bed. That's where she had been sleeping with no problem until August when we moved.

Since it took some time for our house in Texas to get ready we stayed with my parents for about three to four weeks. During that time we all slept in the same bed. If I had known then that that was going to completely destroy her sleeping pattern I would have never done it. Since we've been in Texas she has slept in her own bed once. Once. Just once. All of the other nights have been a mix of her sleeping in our bed and me getting up all night and putting her back in her own bed. Exhausting.

This morning was my "aha moment" though. I was talking to Savannah about sleeping in her own bed and sleeping in her own room. I asked her "Where is Savannah's bed?" When she pointed at my bed I knew it was time for me to start sleep training again. I had been hoping she would just come around on her own. We did switch her to a toddler bed but I know that has nothing to do with it. She just wants to sleep with Mommy and Daddy and Mommy is not feeling that at all. Wish me luck. I see a few more sleepless nights in my future. 

Savannah's favorite sleeping positions are "H is for Hell", "Jazz Hands" and "The Stalker".

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