Sleep Update

To accompany my goals of sleep training, I have been reading "The Happiest Baby on the Block." If you have had a child in the past 7 years, or work in childcare, you are very familiar with this book. It has become a phenomenon, working on other ways to sleep train besides "crying it out." It focuses on the 5 S's (swaddle, shush, side, sound, suck). It follows the 5 S's to get a baby to sleep well- stating to swaddle a baby, shush them to sleep, while rocking them on their side, with white noise as the sound, and sucking on a pacifier (to wean around 6 months). Well, I can do all of those with Preston, but he refuses a pacifier. 4 out of 5 not bad. But, my issue with him is not GETTING him to sleep, it is STAYING asleep. This book has helped boost my confidence tremendously in the stressful process. Needless to say, sleep training at night is not getting much better. He still continues to nap decent during the day in his crib, but night is a whole other story.

The book talks about different types of babies and different temperaments. Both Reese and Preston are considered to be "movement babies". Reese slept in a vibrating bouncy seat for her first 5 months of life. These types of babies (which according to the book account for about 40% of babies newborn-5 months of age) need some sort of movement to comfort them while sleeping. So, I am just going to do what is needed to get some rest, so I can stay healthy/good spirited to keep up with Reese during the day. The author states that some babies need movement until 4-8 months, and your baby will let you know when they are ready to move into the crib. So, that is what I am going to do. I am done fighting it at night. But, since he will nap for me during the day in there, I'll take it. Today he slept for an hour and 15 minutes (straight!) in his crib. So, I will follow his lead and he will let me know when he is ready for the crib at night. I am just not comfortable with the whole "crying it out" thing. I have read too many studies while working in the childcare field for many years that crying it out can lead to anxiety later in life because the baby feels in secure when their needs are not met at this young of an age. As a person who has dealt with anxiety issues before, I don't want to set my child up for that (that is probably my greatest fear!) So we will do what works for us for the time being, giving Preston and I peace of mind :)

In the world of Reese, she is now (basically) fully potty trained. She has no more poop accidents, and has very few pee accidents as long as we keep reminding her to go potty every hour or so. It is nice not having to change two kids diapers, and our wallet likes it too!!

Tomorrow I am headed to Chicago for a girls day with my college girlfriends. We will be cooking a "Thanksgiving" dinner, drinking lots of wine, and catching up. It is always nice to have days like this. Let's just pray when I get home on Sunday all three of them (Kyle, R, and P) have survived, :) I have faith in them.....

It happened...

If you read my last blog post yesterday, you are aware that I began fully sleep training little Preston and had some success yesterday with naps, but was leery with bedtime. I even made the comment "it cant get much worse than already waking up every hour and a half, right?" Well, it did. I must have jinxed myself. He did GREAT with the first few hours of sleep. I put him down at 8:30, he cried for 10 or so minutes, fell asleep for 25 minutes, awoke crying, and I was able to go in one time and he went back to sleep until 11:45 p.m. AWESOME! I was so excited and had high expectations for the rest of the night. Well that was shot out the door. He awoke crying again at 12:30- having been fed at 11:45 I knew it wasn't due to hunger. So I went in after 5 minutes and he fell asleep again, until 1:00. Again, same pattern, cried for 5 minutes, I went in, and he fell asleep again, until 1:45. This pattern continued on until 3:15 am. He would wake up every 35-40  minutes crying, I would let him cry it out for 5-7 minutes, I would go in and pat his back for a minute or two, he would go to sleep, only to wake again 35-40 minutes later. With exhaustion setting in around 3:30 (since I really had not been back asleep since 11:45) I threw the towel in and put him in his swing (where he slept until 7:40- waking only once to eat). Even though I "failed" at getting him to sleep the whole night in there, I pat myself on the back for making it as long as I could.
Naps again today are going fine. He took his morning nap at story hour at the library, and went down for another nap around 12:30. He only cried for about 5 minutes before falling asleep, and awoke about 25 minutes later, crying. Instead of going in, I let him cry for a good 5-7 minutes again in hopes he would go back to sleep (and not wake his sister in the room next door!) and both were accomplished. He has now been asleep in his crib for over an hour, and Reese is sleeping soundly too.  Lets hope and pray tonight goes a tad better, or I may be living off coffee tomorrow.

Sleep Tight

Alright, I have done it. I have jumped full fledged on to the sleep training band wagon. After Preston woke up every hour 1/2 last night (in the swing) I decided  that's enough! Time to get used to the crib full time. So, with a knot in my stomach, I laid him down (drowsy but not asleep) at 9:45 this morning (usual nap time), and prepped myself for the worst. I turned the monitor on, and occupied myself with Reese and an art project. 5 or so minutes went by of him talking and cooing, and then the anger set in :) I followed the sleep training books (go in and soothe after 3 minutes, then again in 5 minute intervals). I went in after 3, and he was super mad. Then again after 5, and once again after 5 more. 15 minutes in and he fell asleep. Not so bad (even though they felt like the longest 15 minutes of my life!) He slept for 35 minutes (again, not so bad). I again feared the afternoon nap (around 12:30) and rocked him a bit until he was drowsy, laid him down, and this time I only went in twice (once at 3 minutes, then after 5 more) and he fell asleep within 10-11 minutes this time. He gave me a 20 minute nap-but was not ready to get up. So I soothed him and he went back to sleep for 30 more. I hope his evening nap goes as well, and I am praying the night goes smoothly. I figure it can't be much worse than being up every hour and a half like last night (well it could, but I'm trying to be positive!) :) He is usually giving me 4 hour stretches at night (in the swing), so I hope he can do it in his crib too.

We had a very busy, fun Thanksgiving weekend. Thursday we headed down to Kyle's grandma's house for the annual Turkey Day dinner. We then stopped at my parents house for a few hours in the afternoon, and made one last stop at Kyle's aunt and uncle's house on the way back to Evansville. Both kids were cashed out, slept the whole way home, and slept good that night.
Friday we were excited to go cut down our Christmas tree. We have always gotten a pre-cut tree, so I was excited to start the tradition of going out and cutting out own (like we did when I was a kid). Reese was a trooper through the cold (and snow!) and we picked the perfect tree. Preston slept the entire time, which was ok with me!

Saturday we took Reese to Sesame Street Live in Milwaukee. Boy was she excited! We went out for lunch downtown before the show and enjoyed having a Reese Day. My mom came upto watch Preston so we could enjoy the day with just her (this was/is her Christmas present from us.) She loved it. It was an hour and a half show- with a 15 minute intermission- and I highly recommend it! We had a great time. She is still talking about it, and she even got to touch Cookie Monster and Count Dracula. It made her day!!

Before the show

All the monsters!

3 months

Preston turned 3 months old yesterday, and is changing more and more. I feel like he is starting to look like a "baby" now instead of a "newborn". He smiles ALL the time, loves to giggle (he is so ticklish!) and is starting to babble alot more. He coos when you talk to him, and loves kisses on his cheeks. He is getting bigger too, as his 3 months clothes are just about too small for him. Time to get out the 6 month bin and go though it!

We went to play group again yesterday and Reese made a turkey hat for Thanksgiving. It was so cute! She loves Monday playgroup as most of the kids there are her age. I would say there are usually about 15 kids there. We have been talking about Thanksgiving this week, and she is really excited to get to eat turkey on Thursday :)

I found another great crock pot recipe I want to share with you all! Yes, I am becoming the crock pot queen. 1. Because it is so easy to throw everything into when even though I am a stay at home mom, is is too hard to find an hour to stand in the kitchen and "make dinner" 2. Our new house has an induction stove top, and you have to have certain pans for it. Well, of course, our pans don't work on it, and I am trying to sell them on craigslist before purchasing a whole new set of pans. So, I have been cooking with ONE cast iron skillet (the only thing I have that works on it), thus the reason for lots of casseroles and crock pot dinners lately :)

A friend from play group gave me this recipe and it is delicious and SUPER EASY!

Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings:
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

3 cans cream of chicken soup

1 cup water

½ small bag frozen mixed veggies

1 onion chopped

2 cans crescent rolls

Place chicken in crockpot. Top with soup, water, veggies and chopped onion. Cook on low 6-7 

hours. After chicken is cooked, pull apart into smaller pieces. Turn crockpot to high. Break each 

triangle dough of crescent rolls in half and roll into balls. Drop into crockpot. Cover and cook on 

high another hour until dough is golden brown on top.

Just the right thing

As you have probably noticed, I have been changing up the blog recently because I just can't find a template that I like. So the past few times you  have been on here, it has probably been a different one each time. I am just trying them out until I find one that suits me :)

Reese (and Preston and I) attended a new play group Monday morning at the community center in town. We had a great time. She met new friends, played, did an art activity, and they sang songs and read books. It is like a little mini-preschool morning all packed into an hour and a half. Preston took his morning nap there (I was shocked!) so it was a success. Reese was asking to go back before we were even out of the parking lot. I have met a couple stay at home moms that I have connected with and they both have daughter ages 2-4. We already have scheduled a play date with them. It is much easier to make new friends in a new town when you have kids, thats for sure! :)

Preston is doing much better sleeping. He gave me SIX straight hours on Tuesday night. I ran in a checked once to make sure he was breathing :) He slept from 2:00-7:45, ahh amazing. It is incredible what a little more sleep can do for you the next day. Last night he went back to every 3 1/2 to 4 hours, but I think he had a tummy ache since he hadn't pooped in over a day (and got it all out of his system this morning.) He has also been taking a 2 hour afternoon nap from about 1-3 (same time as Reese) every day this week. I feel like I get so much done in those 2 hours. I usually get dinner made (or prepared and stuck in the fridge so I can just heat it up when its dinner time), I get laundry done, catch up on emails, make phone calls if needed, and clean. Every now and then I even sit down and watch a show I have DVR'd. Its pretty nice :)

I am busy re-launching my Arbonne business and jumping back into it after taking a few months off. I am busy planning my "Holiday party" with my sponsor, as well as lining up parties during the week nights. I LOVE the products and it is so nice to be able to share the knowledge and benefits with people about living a pure, safe, and beneficial lifestyle. Right now, being a stay at home mom and Arbonne consultant is just the right thing. I couldn't ask for anything more!

Mac n Cheese

Yesterday this house was craving mac n cheese, so I just so happened to hop on Pinterest (my go to recipe book) and find a great Paula Deen Crock Pot Mac N Cheese (yes! crock pot!) It was so yummy, I thought I would share this easy recipe with you.

Paula Deen Crock Pot Mac N Cheese

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

4 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
3 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cheddar cheese soup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

 

Directions:

Boil the macaroni in water for six minutes. Drain. 

 

Ia medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts.
 

In slow cooker, combine cheese mixture and add the eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper. Add the drained macaroni and stir again.
 

Cook on low for 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
 

So easy and very yummy! The best part was having left overs today :)