A Vacation to Remember

It's been quite a while since I've posted. I'm trying to make the most out of my time left as a SAHM, and blogging has just taken a backseat. 

Last week, we took our annual Pinsky Family Vacation. This year, we went to Pigeon Forge. It was Ethan's first long car trip, and he did so well. Sure, we had a few instances of crying and whining, but overall, it was a success ride.

We arrived at our large log cabin, and decided on sleeping arrangements. Our family got the upstairs bedrooms (one for Ethan, and one for us). My in-laws got the main level master, and my brothers-in-law and their broods got the basement. I don't know if you know this, but there is NO insulation in log cabins. Therefore, you can hear everything going on on the floor above you. Fortunately for Ethan, this was not a problem, but our nephews, my younger brother-in-law and his fiance had to deal with the constant pitter-patter of feet, plus the noises that come with two babies and a four-year-old. Ethan was exhausted at the end of every day, and slept 11 hours straight EVERY NIGHT!

Now, on to our adventures. Well, they were limited. Unfortunately, we came down with the stomach flu. All of us...except Ethan (thank goodness). Each day, a new family member dealt with their version of the sickness, making it difficult to go on family outings. Kevin was non-functioning for a day, but still "walking-sick" for three days more. I was down and out for two days. 

We did get to do a few fun things when we weren't quarantined to a bedroom.

We visited the Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies.

We shopped till we dropped {literally} at the outlet mall.

We spent time in the cabin with our family.

We took our first dip in a pool {and loved it}.

We also made it to the Titanic Museum, but since they don't allow photography, I'm not able to share pictures. It was SUPER cool, and I highly recommend it if you are in the area.

All in all, it was a good time was had by all!

Swaddle {Free}

Oh, the swaddle. How I both love and loathe you. From the day Ethan was born, we swaddled him - first, with the Halo Blanket, and then with the Miracle Blanket, which we've been using religiously for naps and at night. 

At first, it seemed to be the answer to our prayers. Ethan would {usually} calm down when we wrapped him up, and started sleeping for long periods at night. Then, I started thinking, when do I stop swaddling him? Most of my friends didn't swaddle their kids, or stopped when their kids were pretty little. I thought maybe I would stop swaddling him when he rolled...but he's been pretty hit or miss with that. Sure, we'd tried here and there to let him sleep without it, but it usually ended up in a screaming fit, and battle of wills {usually we gave in...just to make it stop}. I think we became just as dependent on it as he did! 

I had visions of me having to swaddle a 10-year-old! 

And what would he do in August when he had to go to daycare? Surely, they would not swaddle him, and even if they did, I didn't want him to be that child. You know, the one that has all the rules bent for him, and can only do certain things under special circumstances.

Then I thought, he'll tell me when he's ready. I mean, he "told" me when he needed an earlier bedtime, right? Wrong. The child was content to be wrapped, even though he'd {technically} grown out of his swaddle. 

Finally, Kevin and I took matters into our own hands, and decided that the swaddling needed to stop. Although these ideas might not work for everyone, they worked for Ethan, and they might work for others trying to wean their babes from the swaddle.

• Start Slowly...we started by leaving his legs out. After about two or three weeks, we left one arm out. He did regress, at which point we had to swaddle both arms again, but after another three weeks, he became the "one arm bandit" again. 
• Appeal to Other Senses...we noticed that Ethan had an affinity to a certain giraffe lovie {GiGi} made by Angel Dear. The texture really appeals to him, and he seems to be comforted by it. He takes it with him everywhere he goes. Recently, we found that Angel Dear makes napping blankets! Perfect. We got him this one for his 6-month birthday. I slept with it for three nights, so that it smelled like me. Now, I know  you aren't supposed to put anything in the crib with baby, but in my opinion, You gotta do what you gotta do. I think this, along with a plethora of other things, are a parents' prerogative. For me, I am comforted to know that we use the AngelCare Baby Monitor, which detects a stop in your baby's breathing. 
• Cry it Out {Yep, I said it!}...only you know your baby, so you decide if it's right for you. I know Ethan's cries pretty well, and I can tell a tired one from an actual one. Therefore, when I hear a tired cry, I know I can let him cry it out. I also know that if he works himself up enough, he will never go to sleep, no matter how long I let him cry. Our first night sans swaddle, I had to go in 30 minutes after I put him down, then he started fussing 20 minutes after that, and after 10 minutes of crying, he fell asleep. He woke at 2am and 5:45am, but went back to sleep after his pacifier was reinserted. The second night he slept from 8:15pm to 5:35am, and once his pacifier was reinserted, woke up at 6:15am. Those are wins in my book. 
• Begin with Bedtime...for us, it was because we have a bedtime routine down. Ethan knows that it's time to sleep. Nap times are not at regular times yet, so we were afraid he'd think it was time to play rather than sleep. For the most part {see above}, it worked. He transitioned seamlessly to unswaddled naps after his first night with his blankie, too.

Good luck, and Happy Un-Swaddling!!

Daylight Savings Time...With a Baby

I didn't put too much thought into how we would tackle the one hour jump ahead time change. I know that this is a challenge for moms, as I've read several blog posts and listened to my friends complain about these adjustments. I know that a problem during the "fall back" phase is getting kids to not wake up super early. With "spring forward", I'm sure the concern is getting kids to realize it's bedtime, when it's still bright outside!

Since Ethan is still pretty adaptable, we decided to wake him up at the new 7:45am. Otherwise, I'm afraid he would have slept until almost 9am, and then he would have been up until at least 10pm! Since we just started implementing a 9pm bedtime, I didn't want to lose what ground we'd made, so we chose to forgo our extra hour of peace and quiet in the hopes that we'd regain that hour in the evening. 

Any comments or tips on how to help our little guy adjust to the time change are much appreciated!

A Compromise

Ethan and I made our first compromise this week. I would give him his swaddle back for naps, if he would nap in his crib and put himself to sleep, rather than being rocked to sleep.

So far, it's a success!! He's now napping full time in his crib, which gives me the ability to get some things done downstairs without worrying that he'll wake up at every little noise I make. He has slept through Tobi barking, the doors beeping when they are opened, the garage door (which is right under his room) being opened and shut, and the washer and dryer running next to his room. Plus, it beats having to rock/shush/sway/swing/walk/spin him to sleep for 20 minutes or more! 

Fighting Naps

First, I must say that Ethan is doing very well at night. He is sleeping 7-8 hour stretches, wakes to eat, and goes back to sleep for a few more hours. This is a HUGE accomplishment for him {and us}. 

Lately, and I'm talking the last 3-4 days, he's {really} fighting his naps. He cries and fusses when we try to put him down, even though he is showing all the signs of being tired, and even overtired sometimes. My little nap-lover went from taking several naps that ranged from 45 minutes to an occasional 3-hour nap, to catnapping, with maybe a 1-hour nap thrown in. 

After searching around for the answer, the only thing I can come up with is that he is going through his 3-month "wakeful period". He's been much more interactive and observant of all the things around him, and I think he's just afraid he'll miss something if he sleeps. 

Any other moms want to weigh in on this? Did your child{ren} go through this as well around this age? Any tips? Support? Words of wisdom? I'm open!

Is This a Growth Spurt???

So, I've been searching the internet to understand whether or not Ethan is going through a growth spurt. We've had a rough few days, and like any mom, I just want to know that he's OK and that there is an end in sight. Here is what Ethan's been up to the last few days:

•  VERY fussy behavior - When not nursing, Ethan can be entertained for a total of 15-20 minutes before getting fussy. 
• Does NOT want to take naps - It's impossible to get him down, as he's always fussing. When he is down, he wakes after 10-30 minutes. I've tried swaddling, not swaddling, placing him in the crib, placing him in his swing, laying him on the couch, holding him...just to mention a few. Prior to these last few days, he would do a few short naps (45 minutes - 1.5 hours), and one long nap (2.5 hours - 3.5 hours).
• Eating after shorter intervals - I don't know if this is because I'm still trying to follow the "Eat, Play, Sleep" routine, and since his naps are so short, I just feed him when he wakes, or if he's actually hungry. It seems the only way he can be soothed is by nursing.

So...all you mommies in BlogWorld...is he going through a spurt or not, because I'm literally about to pull my hair out!

Napping in the Crib

After a {very} fussy morning (but also a "sleep-through-the-night", so can't complain too much), Ethan had a difficult time napping in his usual snooze spot - his beloved swing. He woke up after only 30 minutes and refused to go back down. He was only consoled by a very fidgety nursing session, which resulted in a frustrated mom and baby. Daddy tried putting him down for another nap in the swing, which lasted all of five minutes. 

While Daddy was trying to sway and shush him to sleep, I decided that it might be time to try the old "nap in the crib game". Usually, this ends up with Ethan waking up and screaming after 10 minutes, and not going back to sleep. Lo and behold, after falling asleep in Daddy's arms, he went down {and stayed down} in his crib! He's been sleeping there for over an hour! I keep thinking he's going to wake up any minute, though. 

Maybe he was overstimulated down here and just wanted the quiet comfort of his room. Maybe he's outgrown the swing. Or maybe this was a one time thing and it won't work for his next nap. Regardless of the reason, I'm counting this as a win!

Shhhh....

He's all tuckered out from his playdate with Luke. They actually did play together...if you count laying on the floor, side-by-side, quasi-looking at one another, playing. I almost got them to hold hands, too! 

What Happened to My Baby??

So, I had a blog post all ready to go regarding my new "normal", meaning how I've recently felt like I'm getting in the groove of motherhood. I wrote that I knew that as soon as I got into my groove, things would change...and it seems I was right...at least for one night.

Ethan slept for six.hours.straight last night. I didn't, since I was up for the last hour wondering, what happened to my baby? You can't help but think something is wrong! I couldn't believe it. Then, after his feeding, he went right back down. I didn't even change him since he was so peaceful! I bet he would have slept another four hours, but I had to wake him up after close to three because we had plans. 

It was also the first night we did not need to use formula. I'd been trying to wean Ethan from the formula, going from two bottles a night to one, and it seems we are thisclose to doing it! 

Continuing with the "What happened to my baby?" theme, we went to my mom's Chanukah show at the temple's pre-school. Ethan fussed a little in the car on the way there, fell asleep, and aside from a little bit of fussing here and there, slept through the whole show AND the meet-and-greet afterwards. He hasn't slept that long in his carseat since he was around 3 weeks old! He cried for 10 minutes on the ride home, then stayed awake and observed things around him for the rest of the way...also something he's not done before!

He's been cooing and smiling A LOT today, too! Then, when he got fussy this afternoon, we swaddled him, put him in his swing while he was awake but drowsy, and he fell asleep! For the last week, he would only fall asleep for naps if he was being held, which caused me to once again think, what happened to my baby??

I'm trying to remember everything I did yesterday so I can repeat it today...you know, so he sleeps for a while again tonight, but I'm not sure that is necessary. Someone at the temple told me that once they sleep for 6-7 hours a few times, it becomes routine for them. Also, our pediatrician told us that when they hit 10-11 pounds (our unofficial weight check this week had him weighing in at 10lbs., 3oz.), they really do increase their night sleep. Plus, according to the author of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, once a child is six weeks past his/her due date, they are able to sleep for longer stretches at night. Tomorrow will be exactly six weeks past his due date. Here's hoping those tidbits are true!!

Taking the Plunge

Yesterday, my brother said, "Raising a kid is not an experiment." Well, in my limited experience, it kind of is. Albert Einstein once said, "Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." That's kind of how I feel about our current nap/sleep method with Ethan. It's just not working, and I'm going crazy!

The problem lies in two conflicting viewpoints on the nap/sleep front. The first approach involves not letting a baby sleep "too much" during the day, in the hopes that they will sleep more at night. Let's call the second, the "don't wake a sleeping baby" approach. The name says it all.

We've been trying the first approach, making sure that Ethan is fed every 3-4 hours. Between the length of the feedings and his need to be awake a bit (since he's more alert now), he was only getting a 1-1.5 hour nap. I think he's so overtired at night, that he's not even getting 3-4 hour stretches then! Therefore, he is not getting an appropriate amount of sleep. Also, since I feed him when he wakes (or when I wake him, for that matter), I feel that he's not always hungry, and falls asleep mid-feeding. This causes him to need to eat smaller amounts more frequently. 

I think we are going to take the plunge and try approach #2. This is the recommended approach in Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child which I am slowly reading. Dr. Weissbluth, the author, claims that if you don't let your baby/child sleep the appropriate amount necessary for that 24 hour period, they will be in "sleep debt". They will be so overtired, that their bodies will not let them fall asleep as they should. 

Now, I plan to not let him sleep more than three hours at a time during the day, since that has been the consensus among the people I've polled (read: my mom and friends). I know that I have to give this a try for about a week to see if it will work. The difficult part will be to continue on the first few days and nights, even when it seems like it might not be working. The truth is, it might not work, but raising a child is and experiment, after all.

Accepting Help

This week was very trying for me. It was WAY more difficult than I thought it would be to take care of Ethan all by myself, without Kevin. I felt like I had no relief, no adult interaction, no sleep...you get the idea.

We had an awful night on Monday, with Ethan crying and crying, and me crying and saying, "I can't do this," over and over. I started reading Babywise during my feedings and read about some things I was doing "wrong". I was so confused on what to do, that I was second guessing everything, and driving myself and Ethan crazy! I called Kevin at 2:15am upset, and then called my mom at 6:45am...upset.

After another awful night of sleep on Tuesday night, I raised my white flag of surrender. I was driving myself crazy, feeling like I was not cut out for motherhood, I wasn't eating or sleeping...I was just in bad shape. I realized I could not do this by myself so soon. I called my mom's friend, Debra (or my "fairy godmother", as I will henceforth refer to her), who said she'd come over and stay the day and night with me so I could get some rest. She did Ethan's laundry, made me lunch, cleaned up around the house, changed him, fed him, got up with him in the middle of the night, etc. I got 7 hours of sleep...IN A ROW!!

Today, Ethan and I were both well-rested, and we had a wonderful day together. It's also nice to know that Kevin will be home any minute! 

The moral of this blog post is: Accept help when it is offered. I thought I should be able to do this by myself, but the truth is, being a mom of an almost 3-week old is hard. I'm not doing a bad job just because I need to rely on friends and family to get me through these first few weeks (or months).