Cross-stiching...

My older sister is having a baby in January. I've already bought her baby tons of cute clothes and the like, but I really wanted to do something 'special' that was made by me. I'm not exactly the craftiest person in the world, but I do try. I'm pretty decent with a sewing machine if it doesn't involve anything more complicated than going straight then turning at a 90 degree angle and going straight some more. I have done a few awesome things here and there but they are few and far between and usually come randomly.

I can't sit down with a pattern and sew something unless I have a very crafty person near by who doesn't mind me asking a billion questions. And likewise for things like crocheting (don't even start with knitting), painting, and actually just about anything else for that matter. I didn't even know how to put gas in the car until I was 17. Shhh. Don't tell. Some people actually think I'm really smart.


Anyways, I decided on a whim to try my hand at craftiness once again. This time I'm going for cross-stitching. And not just any old cross-stitching pattern. I decided to do a whole blanket! I don't know what I was thinking. However, I have found that so far I'm pretty good at it. Aside from getting poked at least 100 times by the needle.... we won't go into details there. So now to show off how much I've done....

And you thought I'd done a lot! hahahaha. Yeah right. I've only done one word. I still have a whole blanket to go!

YAY!!!

Ok, so instead of giving details on the rest of the crying it out stuff I'll just say this...

IT WORKED! :) He went to bed completely by himself without crying at all! Not even a peep. He just went right to sleep. Crying it out= less crying in the long run. Yay for me!

On another note I deserve a good knock in the head and a BIG DUH! Earlier today Jacob was fussing because he has another tooth trying to break through his gums. So I put him down for a second (where I THOUGHT he would be fine)and crushed some ice to put in his munchkin feeder thingy. But when I turned around he was chewing on a pork chop. A PORK CHOP! I was like 'WHAT THE HECK?' 'OH MY GOSH' and 'EWWWWW!!!! GET THAT OUT OF YOUR MOUTH RIGHT NOW!' all at the same time in my head. Apparently someone put a pork chop from dinner in the cat dish for the cat and Jacob scooted over and got it. GREAT! He had a HUGE smile on his cute little face, but mommy did not.

Crying it out...

I started the Cry it out thing last night. I would have started sooner but we moved and I got sick, etc. But this week is perfect for it. So this is basically how it went.

First, we have a bedtime routine. This changed slightly since I'm not nursing him to sleep anymore but it's basically the same thing he's used to. We clean up before bedtime (put toys away, put laundry away, get everything ready for bed, etc.) Then it's either bath time (twice a week) or he gets cleaned up with a washcloth. I clean his gums, change his diaper give him a quick massage then get him into his PJ's. Then we nurse. If he falls asleep I switch sides and wake him up. When nursing is done I read him a story, we cuddle for a minute, I give him a kiss, say goodnight, put him in his crib and leave.

So last night this is how it went. First he cried really hard for about 10 minutes. Then I went in and comforted him (he didn't stop crying at all and actually cried harder!) I left again for 10 minutes. When I came back in he was sitting up! What a stinker! I didn't even know he could sit himself up like that hahahaha. Normally he's like a turtle on his back and can't do much. I think he rolled over on his tummy then got on his knees and then got on his bum. That's the only way I can think of. ANYWAYS I laid him back down, covered him up, patted him and comforted him, said goodnight and left again for 12 minutes. Came back in and same story. He was sitting up again. This time when I left he cried hard for about 3 minutes then 2 minutes later he was out!!! :)

He stayed asleep for 1 hour and 40 minutes. He is 7 months old and can easily go 4 hours without nursing. I decided I will wean him from nighttime nursings slowly. But I wasn't going to nurse him until at the very least 11. So I went in, comforted him, and left starting back at 10 minutes. When I came back in he was on his tummy,haha. I flipped him back over, comforted him, said goodnight and left. This time he fell asleep after about 5 minutes of crying.

He woke up like clockwork at 11. I nursed him, then put him back in his crib. He fell asleep after about 10 minutes of crying.

Then he woke up briefly in between but I don't remember the exact time. I let him cry for about 2 minutes and he went back to sleep.

He woke up again like clockwork at 3:30. I nursed him, put him in his crib and he went to sleep after about 5 minutes.

He woke up at 5 and I think I was too tired to remember what I was doing so I nursed him, and I fell asleep and woke up to find him peacefully asleep in my bed. hahaha.

Moving on to naps for today:

At church he nursed to sleep (it's tough to cry it out at church) and slept for half an hour from about 11:30-12:00. Then he had a nap at 2:30 where I did the cry it out. He cried for 5 minutes and was out! 5 minutes! I was told it could go for up to an hour!

Anyways tonight I just put him down half an hour ago. He fussed for about 5 minutes and was out. This just gets better and better. We'll see how it goes for the rest of tonight. I wish I'd tried this a month or two ago!

That bites.

Jacob bit my shoulder today and I found that it REALLY hurt. Can you see why??? :D


Mind you this came in just one and a half weeks after my doctor told me he WASN'T teething. HA! I knew I was right all along. Doctors don't know nothin.

Isn't he just the cutest thing you ever did see? :D And I still can't believe he has blue eyes! Wow! They are gorgeous!

Thoughts on Crying it out?

So while doing some research about sleep methods I've noticed that crying it out gets a really bad rap. I've heard everything from 'you'll damage your child's self-esteem if you let him cry it out' to 'Crying it out is cruel and evil'. But my thoughts on the matter differ slightly.

For one, you don't just leave your child alone and comfortless for 30 minutes and let him cry until he's blue in the face. It's a gradual thing. First, you start with a bedtime routine that makes sure all of your child's needs are met... his diaper is changed, he's been cuddled and loved, he's been fed, etc. So you can be quite sure that he is just fine. Then you put him to bed sleepy, but awake and leave the room. If he cries, you let him cry for a set period of time (say 5 minutes), then go back into the room and reassure and comfort him without picking him up. So he knows you're there, and you still love him and care. Then you go out for a little longer (maybe 8 or 9 minutes) and repeat the process. Most babies will go to sleep after a couple of times.

For another... me and all of my sisters and coincidentally all of my step-brothers were all cry it out babies. And we're all just fine as far as I can tell!! Unless I'm damaged and someone just forgot to tell me.

I'd like to speak to the person who said that ALL babies should co-sleep. My Jacob wakes up like 6 times a night if he's in my bed!!! How the heck do expect a parent to get any sleep that way? Did he even have kids???

And to whoever said babies should nurse or rock to sleep, do you really enjoy rocking a child to sleep for an hour only to have them wake up an hour later and need to be rocked back to sleep again?

It's jsut ridiculous. I'm so tired all the time. Jacob was sleeping really well before (2 6 hour periods at night) and then once his teeth started bothering him his schedule went out the window. I KNOW he is capable of sleeping through the night. And I also KNOW he can't be hungry 5 times a night. He nurses quite often through the day. He wakes up like normal babies and people but just can't put himself back to sleep.

Another thing I'd like to point out is that Jacob cries himself to sleep anyways. Whether he is nursing, or being rocked, in his crib or in my bed. He cries himself to sleep either way. So I don't see what the big deal about it is. I'm going to try it and I will let you know how it goes. Sometiems tough love is needed. You wouldn't let your child touch a hot stove because you don't want him to cry if you tell him no. Babies NEED sleep. So do parents (at least this one does!). His health and my sanity are resting upon it.

Here's to getting some sleep!

What do I do?

Ok, so this isn't really life altering or anything (well maybe slightly) but I really have no idea what to do so maybe someone else (particularly mothers who have been there done that) has some input.

Jacob will simply not go to sleep without nursing! I know, I know, some will say it's a bad habit but it just works for us. Or I should say worked... it really isn't working for me anymore. It works for him just fine though, lol.

I'm having a really hard time with it because I basically cannot leave to do anything without taking him. Not that I want to leave him all the time to do all sorts of irresponsible things. But for example last week I went to the Taste of Home Cooking School with my mom, grandma and sisters for my mom and grandma's birthday. It was really fun for me to get out of the house without a baby in tow (I actually got to watch the entire show! Woo! lol. ) and it was rather refreshing. I don't ever do anything like that. It felt pretty good to have three hours to not worry about a baby. But Jacob wasn't so happy about it. He basically moped and cried almost the whole time. I felt so bad! Both for babysitter (Grandpa Green) and him!

Or for another example, I would love to go do baptisms for the dead one of these days but I actually feel guilty (GUILTY!!) leaving him long enough to do so because I know he'd just be miserable.

Also, I may start dating pretty soon here and I will probably need to get a job soon too. And I would really like to be able to go on a date or go to work without knowing Jacob is screaming his head off the entire time.

So anyways, I'm not expecting grand miracles to occur and for him to be a perfect angel while I go out but seriously, I would like to have your input...

What do you think about nursing a baby to sleep? Yay, or nay?
If nay, why and how do you suggest stopping this habit?
If yay, how did you leave your baby with a babysitter without all heck breaking loose?
And how do you get a very stubborn 5 1/2 month old baby to take a bottle? Or do you think a cup works fine? Cause he'll take a cup if he must.


Thanks for any help or advice you have to offer.

A little lost....

Lately I've been feeling a little lost. Or more like I've lost a little of myself. I think this is probably a common occurrence among new mothers. How could you go through all that and not come out a little bit lost? You pretty much give up your entire life for something new. Not that it's a bad thing. It isn't. But it does make you wonder who you are.

Today my visiting teachers came over and asked me how I was doing, and if I was feeling better. I said yes, but I wasn't feeling quite like myself yet. They said, "You'll never feel like yourself again." That's not really what I meant, of course. I meant that I was still low in energy. But it was also true. I'm not feeling at all like "myself" and I probably never will again.

So who am I? The only two things I know for sure are these:

I'm a daughter of God, and always will be.
I'm Jacob's mom, and always will be.

Who am I? I really don't know yet, ask me again later. I'm still figuring that out!