During the week we didnt make much progress with potty training since Lexi's in daycare and I don't expect them to be changing her underpants every time she pees in them. We did continue to set her on the potty when she'd wake up and before bed but she'd never go. Yesterday morning we put her in underwear and like last weekend she peed her pants. She would tell us that she peed her pants as she was going but by that time it's too late to make it to the bathroom. Brian would try and would pick her up and run her into the bathroom with pee trickling down her leg and onto the floor the whole way! Yesterday also brought a new adventure in potty training...poop in the underwear! Lexi told us she needed to go potty, so Brian took her in the bathroom but when he pulled down her pants she had already pooped! That was fun to clean-up :-) So another day went by without successfully peeing or pooping in the potty once. Today we tried again and she peed and pooped her pants again this morning. This time I just threw the underwear away! Then after her nap I had her sit on the potty and low and behold she peed within just a couple minutes. I was so excited I started cheering which caused Oscar to bark which scared Lexi! But I think she realized I was so happy she peed in the potty! She got this really shy smile on her face. To reward her I gave her a ring pop and a special toy she only gets to play with right after she goes potty. After dinner tonight she said she wanted candy and I told her she only gets candy she goes potty so she said she wanted to go potty. Within less than a minute of sitting on the potty she peed! I couldn't believe it! She got her ring pop and toy again and I think she's figured out that going potty in the toilet is a good thing! Hopefully being at daycare this week won't set us back on the progress we've made! I plan on keeping her home the week of thanksgiving so maybe she'll be fully trained by the end of that week! I can't wait to not have to buy her diapers! It starts to really add up buying diapers for two kids. Let's hope our progress continues this week!
On another note, here are a couple funny things Lexi said/did this week:
When she woke up on Friday morning she told Brian that Syd, her monkey, bit Ted bear. She then said Syd was in timeout and left him in her bedroom and shut the door behind her!
She's been saying "mmm, that's good" when she eats or drinks something.
When she wakes up she says "I sleep all good." Then she asks me, "mommy, he sleep all good?" meaning did Keaton sleep good!
She wanted to hold Keaton and so I laid him on her lap but he started crying and she said "no, he's crying" and made a motion to take him away!
ticker
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Keaton Week 7
Sleeping/Feeding
I know I'm jinxing myself by talking about his sleeping but I want to make sure to document all his milestones! For the past two nights he has slept 11 hours! I think the primary reason is because he's now eating at least 6oz at every feeding so he's getting enough to eat during the day. He's been doing great adjusting to eating more ounces but he seriously has to be the slowest eater in the world sometimes taking 45 minutes or more! I can't complain though if the end result is him sleeping longer!
We haven't made much progress with daytime naps. He fights the morning nap with everything he has! He is fine with sleeping in the morning as long as it is snuggled up next to me! As soon as I lay him down in his crib though he is screaming bloody murder! We're still trying though and hopefully he'll get the hang of it soon. He does great with the afternoon nap and doesn't typically put up a fight.
Fussiness
So last post it seemed like Keaton's period of fussiness between 5pm and 7pm each night had subsided. Unfortunately it has returned :-( I don't know what causes this but we try everything to calm him and nothing works! Sometimes we can get him calmed down for a minute or two by using the techniques in The Happiest Baby on the Block book but it doesn't last and he starts crying within a few minutes. The only explanation I can come up with is that he's tired but is fighting it until he goes to bed for the night. We are hoping this doesn't last much longer. It sure makes for some stressful evenings and I feel bad that Lexi has to endure it too!
Sisterly Love
As much as Keaton cries when Lexi does get to see him she still loves him so much! She sees him in the morning now too before she goes to school since they are on the same wake-up/bedtime schedule. She gives him a kiss on the head before she leaves and always does one other thing to help comfort him like giving him a blanket, getting his paci, or turning on the music on his bouncy chair for him. When he's not fussing at night she'll hold him for a little bit and she loves to play with his fingers and toes. He seems to like her too and will even calm down sometimes if she holds him!
7 Week Picture:
I know I'm jinxing myself by talking about his sleeping but I want to make sure to document all his milestones! For the past two nights he has slept 11 hours! I think the primary reason is because he's now eating at least 6oz at every feeding so he's getting enough to eat during the day. He's been doing great adjusting to eating more ounces but he seriously has to be the slowest eater in the world sometimes taking 45 minutes or more! I can't complain though if the end result is him sleeping longer!
We haven't made much progress with daytime naps. He fights the morning nap with everything he has! He is fine with sleeping in the morning as long as it is snuggled up next to me! As soon as I lay him down in his crib though he is screaming bloody murder! We're still trying though and hopefully he'll get the hang of it soon. He does great with the afternoon nap and doesn't typically put up a fight.
Fussiness
So last post it seemed like Keaton's period of fussiness between 5pm and 7pm each night had subsided. Unfortunately it has returned :-( I don't know what causes this but we try everything to calm him and nothing works! Sometimes we can get him calmed down for a minute or two by using the techniques in The Happiest Baby on the Block book but it doesn't last and he starts crying within a few minutes. The only explanation I can come up with is that he's tired but is fighting it until he goes to bed for the night. We are hoping this doesn't last much longer. It sure makes for some stressful evenings and I feel bad that Lexi has to endure it too!
Sisterly Love
As much as Keaton cries when Lexi does get to see him she still loves him so much! She sees him in the morning now too before she goes to school since they are on the same wake-up/bedtime schedule. She gives him a kiss on the head before she leaves and always does one other thing to help comfort him like giving him a blanket, getting his paci, or turning on the music on his bouncy chair for him. When he's not fussing at night she'll hold him for a little bit and she loves to play with his fingers and toes. He seems to like her too and will even calm down sometimes if she holds him!
7 Week Picture:
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Lexi Randomness
Howl-Zoo-Ween
Last weekend Lexi and I had a mommy/daughter night at Howl-Zoo-Ween. Nana, Aunt Nikki, Aunt Stacy, and cousin Taylor came along with us too. It was a lot of fun! Lexi went dressed as Cinderella and Taylor was dressed as the skeleton bride. Lexi liked getting the candy but unfortunately wanted me to carry her the whole time. My back was exhausted by the time we got through the trick or treat trail! We still have most of the candy left and are using it as part of potty training tactics.
"The Potty's Coming!"
Speaking of potty training, we officially started on Saturday. We've had potties in the house for awhile now but Lexi didn't really seem too interested. She would sit on them and pretend to pee but only actually went maybe once or twice. She hadn't really been telling us when she'd go in her diaper so I figured she wasn't ready for training yet. But I decided this weekend we needed to start the training since she's over 2 now. I had bought her some big girl undies so I put some on her Saturday afternoon. I told her to tell me when she had to go potty and then I set the timer to go off every 15 minutes to remind me to set her on the potty. I set her on the potty three or four times and she never went. Brian's parents stopped by and I was distracted so I didn't remember to set her on the potty. She was playing on the couch and all the sudden she jumps off and goes running into the bathroom yelling "The potty's coming! The potty's coming". Well we found out that "The potty's coming" really means she already went but at least she's aware that she's going now! We haven't actually made it to the potty yet and have gone through about 5 pairs of underwear in the last two days, but I think we're making progress. Today before her nap I changed her into a pull-up and right after I got it on her she said "Mommy, the potty's coming." We went into the bathroom to sit on the potty but of course she had already gone in the pull-up! But again, awareness is progress! She sat on the potty this afternoon for probably a good 20 minutes and I think I saw a tiny dribble come out so maybe it's just stage fright! We're going to keep trying and hopefully by the time she's 3 we'll have her trained :-)
Quotes of the Week
"Get to bed right now"
"What the heck"
"It's kinda spicy" - She says this one quite a bit when she's eating, even if it's not spicy!
"Wooh, it's hot in here. I need to put on my sunglasses" - This one goes with a picture (see below):
Lexi: "Brother's scared." Me: "What's he scared of?" Lexi: "Umm, the tiger." Me: "Oh, why is he scared of the tiger?" Lexi: "Umm, no, the giraffe." - The mind of a 2 year old! Here's a pic of her while we had that conversation:
Last weekend Lexi and I had a mommy/daughter night at Howl-Zoo-Ween. Nana, Aunt Nikki, Aunt Stacy, and cousin Taylor came along with us too. It was a lot of fun! Lexi went dressed as Cinderella and Taylor was dressed as the skeleton bride. Lexi liked getting the candy but unfortunately wanted me to carry her the whole time. My back was exhausted by the time we got through the trick or treat trail! We still have most of the candy left and are using it as part of potty training tactics.
"The Potty's Coming!"
Speaking of potty training, we officially started on Saturday. We've had potties in the house for awhile now but Lexi didn't really seem too interested. She would sit on them and pretend to pee but only actually went maybe once or twice. She hadn't really been telling us when she'd go in her diaper so I figured she wasn't ready for training yet. But I decided this weekend we needed to start the training since she's over 2 now. I had bought her some big girl undies so I put some on her Saturday afternoon. I told her to tell me when she had to go potty and then I set the timer to go off every 15 minutes to remind me to set her on the potty. I set her on the potty three or four times and she never went. Brian's parents stopped by and I was distracted so I didn't remember to set her on the potty. She was playing on the couch and all the sudden she jumps off and goes running into the bathroom yelling "The potty's coming! The potty's coming". Well we found out that "The potty's coming" really means she already went but at least she's aware that she's going now! We haven't actually made it to the potty yet and have gone through about 5 pairs of underwear in the last two days, but I think we're making progress. Today before her nap I changed her into a pull-up and right after I got it on her she said "Mommy, the potty's coming." We went into the bathroom to sit on the potty but of course she had already gone in the pull-up! But again, awareness is progress! She sat on the potty this afternoon for probably a good 20 minutes and I think I saw a tiny dribble come out so maybe it's just stage fright! We're going to keep trying and hopefully by the time she's 3 we'll have her trained :-)
Quotes of the Week
"Get to bed right now"
"What the heck"
"It's kinda spicy" - She says this one quite a bit when she's eating, even if it's not spicy!
"Wooh, it's hot in here. I need to put on my sunglasses" - This one goes with a picture (see below):
Lexi: "Brother's scared." Me: "What's he scared of?" Lexi: "Umm, the tiger." Me: "Oh, why is he scared of the tiger?" Lexi: "Umm, no, the giraffe." - The mind of a 2 year old! Here's a pic of her while we had that conversation:
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Keaton Week 6
Keaton is already a month and a half old! The bad news is that means my maternity leave is halfway over :-( When I think back as well as read previous blog entries, it was about 6 weeks when Lexi starting staying awake more often but being super fussy when she was awake. This lasted for a couple weeks until her 2 month birthday. Fortunately (knock on wood!) Keaton has not yet hit this milestone. He has started staying awake more during the day, sometimes only sleeping an hour or two total, but for the most part he's pretty content when he's awake. Don't get me wrong, he still has his moments, especially when he gets really tired, but generally he can be calmed. When he is awake though, he prefers to be held and doesn't like if I leave his sight. I bought a new bouncer that has more activities/toys for him and he will sit in that but usually not more than 15 minutes (long enough for me to take a shower!).
Another thing that happened with Lexi around 5 weeks was her hatred for the carseat. Keaton doesn't seem to mind his carseat too much and actually spends a lot of his daytime naps sleeping in it. Generally he will fall asleep as soon as he's in the carseat and feels motion, but lately he's been staying awake but content in it. I hope he keeps liking his carseat because I remember how awful it was with Lex hating hers! We couldn't wait until the day she turned a year old and 20lbs so we could switch her to forward facing!
I had mentioned in a prior post how Keaton seemed to get really fussy at the same time every night and there was nothing we could to do calm him. Luckily this has subsided since then but prior to this week he was still having times where he would get really fussy. My Mom found this video on YouTube of the author of Happiest Baby on the Block where he was demonstrating how to calm colicky babies. It's basically a technique of the 5 S's which includes, 1. Swaddling 2. Side or stomach position 3. Shushing 4. Swinging 5. Sucking. The key is that you have to do them in that combination and the shushing has to be very loud. Whenever Keaton does get fussy we use the 5 S's or at least one of them and it has been working so far!
Here are some other updates:
Feeding
Last post he was only eating about 4 to 5 1/2 oz at each feeding. The last few days he's been able to eat 6oz, sometimes 7oz, for most of his bottles. Occasionally, he will still only eat a 4 oz bottle though. He's done really well with the every 4 hour feeding schedule during the day.
Sleeping
He's still doing a 5 to 7 hour stretch most nights but a couple nights he even did a 9 hour stretch! For the most part though, he only gets up once during the night and he's been doing much better falling asleep on his own when I lay him down. We haven't made much progress on daytime naps, so that will be our goal for this coming week!
6 Week Pictures:
Another thing that happened with Lexi around 5 weeks was her hatred for the carseat. Keaton doesn't seem to mind his carseat too much and actually spends a lot of his daytime naps sleeping in it. Generally he will fall asleep as soon as he's in the carseat and feels motion, but lately he's been staying awake but content in it. I hope he keeps liking his carseat because I remember how awful it was with Lex hating hers! We couldn't wait until the day she turned a year old and 20lbs so we could switch her to forward facing!
I had mentioned in a prior post how Keaton seemed to get really fussy at the same time every night and there was nothing we could to do calm him. Luckily this has subsided since then but prior to this week he was still having times where he would get really fussy. My Mom found this video on YouTube of the author of Happiest Baby on the Block where he was demonstrating how to calm colicky babies. It's basically a technique of the 5 S's which includes, 1. Swaddling 2. Side or stomach position 3. Shushing 4. Swinging 5. Sucking. The key is that you have to do them in that combination and the shushing has to be very loud. Whenever Keaton does get fussy we use the 5 S's or at least one of them and it has been working so far!
Here are some other updates:
Feeding
Last post he was only eating about 4 to 5 1/2 oz at each feeding. The last few days he's been able to eat 6oz, sometimes 7oz, for most of his bottles. Occasionally, he will still only eat a 4 oz bottle though. He's done really well with the every 4 hour feeding schedule during the day.
Sleeping
He's still doing a 5 to 7 hour stretch most nights but a couple nights he even did a 9 hour stretch! For the most part though, he only gets up once during the night and he's been doing much better falling asleep on his own when I lay him down. We haven't made much progress on daytime naps, so that will be our goal for this coming week!
6 Week Pictures:
Friday, October 14, 2011
Keaton's Newborn Photo Session
We're so lucky to have a photographer friend! Nina came over to our house just a week after Keaton was born to take his newborn photos. I'm so grateful that she was able to capture these shots! I love all of them and can't even pick my favorites but I tried to narrow it down to a few!
http://ninaceciliacreativespark.com/
http://ninaceciliacreativespark.com/
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Lexi 2 year/maternity pics
I never posted any pics from Lexi's 2 year photo session and my maternity session done by my friend Nina (http://ninaceciliacreativespark.com/). Here are some of my favorites:
Lexi Update
I haven't done an update on Lexi in quite some time. She's growing up so fast! Since Keaton's been born I swear she's matured so much. She is the best big sister to him. She always wants to hold him and give him kisses and hugs. I don't really think she's acted jealous at all, but I think Brian and I have made sure to give her plenty of attention. In fact, I think she might get more attention now than she did before he was born! She likes playing with the baby toys that we have set out like the activity mat, swing, and bouncer. We have to keep telling her she's too big to sit in the swing!
I think by far this is my favorite age for her! Over the past couple of months her imagination has really started to develop and she's playing more independently. She loves her kitchen and pretending to get us coffee or make us dinner. We bough her another kitchen so she has one upstairs and downstairs too! She is talking so much now too and we can have real conversations with her. She does this funny thing with some of her words though where she adds an "A" at the end. Some examples are: "Take-a my shoes off Mommy", "Get-a my milk Daddy", "Wipe-a my face". I don't know why she does it but I just love her little voice! As you can tell by those phrases, she's quite the little bossy girl! She often repeats stuff she hears at daycare too and I'll hear her putting Mr. Bear or Syd (her monkey) in time out. Sometimes Oscar gets put in timeout too!
Some of my other favorite phrases she's said are: "Knock it off" (Brian's Dad taught her this one!), "I hold you" (This means she wants you to pick her up), "I take it home" (This means she wants you to buy whatever she's picked out at the store). Some other things she's said that crack me up are that she often calls Brian and I by our first names. A couple times she's said "Hey Robin, shut up". I know that's bad, but you seriously can't help but laugh! I'm sure she learned "shut up" from us saying it to Oscar when he barks! Oh and another thing is her saying "oh my god". I've tried to teach her to say "oh my gosh" instead. You can't say anything in front of her without her repeating it. Even if you think she's not listening she is! One day Oscar was barking and everytime he barks Lexi thinks GG and Pa are at the door. When he barked she said "GG Pa are here". And I said, "No, they're not here, it's just your stupid brother" (meaning Oscar). She immediately repeated "stupid brother". I was thinking great, she's probably going to go to daycare saying "stupid brother" and they'll think she's talking about Keaton!
She's really in to making decisions right now too. She always says "I pick one". So then you ask her which one she wants (say deciding between three movies) and she'll say "Ummm...hmmm...ummm...hmmm....ummm..." and will put her finger to her face like she's really thinking before she finally decides "this one!"
She also loves loves loves books! We have to read all four books that are in her room every night before bed and if you try to skip one she freaks out! She pretty much has all the words from each of them memorized so she can "read" them to you. The four books in her room now are "Brown bear brown bear", "Five little monkeys", "So big", and Curious George.
Lately she's also been scared of stuff too. I don't know how kids learn this or how they decide what they are scared of. Sometimes before bed she says "Mommy, I scared". It breaks my heart when she says this and I don't want to leave her in her room alone! The other day we were in Walgreens and walked down the Halloween aisle and she saw the masks and said she was scared and started screaming, but it was more of a playful/fake scream.
I know I'm forgetting so much of what she's been up to lately and my favorite things about her! I need to do a better job of doing updates on her! The most important thing I want to remember about this time of her life though is how much I love spending time with her! She makes me laugh so much and I just love her little personality! We're going to Howl-zoo-ween this Saturday and she will be dressed up as Cinderella so I'll post some pics from that!
I think by far this is my favorite age for her! Over the past couple of months her imagination has really started to develop and she's playing more independently. She loves her kitchen and pretending to get us coffee or make us dinner. We bough her another kitchen so she has one upstairs and downstairs too! She is talking so much now too and we can have real conversations with her. She does this funny thing with some of her words though where she adds an "A" at the end. Some examples are: "Take-a my shoes off Mommy", "Get-a my milk Daddy", "Wipe-a my face". I don't know why she does it but I just love her little voice! As you can tell by those phrases, she's quite the little bossy girl! She often repeats stuff she hears at daycare too and I'll hear her putting Mr. Bear or Syd (her monkey) in time out. Sometimes Oscar gets put in timeout too!
Some of my other favorite phrases she's said are: "Knock it off" (Brian's Dad taught her this one!), "I hold you" (This means she wants you to pick her up), "I take it home" (This means she wants you to buy whatever she's picked out at the store). Some other things she's said that crack me up are that she often calls Brian and I by our first names. A couple times she's said "Hey Robin, shut up". I know that's bad, but you seriously can't help but laugh! I'm sure she learned "shut up" from us saying it to Oscar when he barks! Oh and another thing is her saying "oh my god". I've tried to teach her to say "oh my gosh" instead. You can't say anything in front of her without her repeating it. Even if you think she's not listening she is! One day Oscar was barking and everytime he barks Lexi thinks GG and Pa are at the door. When he barked she said "GG Pa are here". And I said, "No, they're not here, it's just your stupid brother" (meaning Oscar). She immediately repeated "stupid brother". I was thinking great, she's probably going to go to daycare saying "stupid brother" and they'll think she's talking about Keaton!
She's really in to making decisions right now too. She always says "I pick one". So then you ask her which one she wants (say deciding between three movies) and she'll say "Ummm...hmmm...ummm...hmmm....ummm..." and will put her finger to her face like she's really thinking before she finally decides "this one!"
She also loves loves loves books! We have to read all four books that are in her room every night before bed and if you try to skip one she freaks out! She pretty much has all the words from each of them memorized so she can "read" them to you. The four books in her room now are "Brown bear brown bear", "Five little monkeys", "So big", and Curious George.
Lately she's also been scared of stuff too. I don't know how kids learn this or how they decide what they are scared of. Sometimes before bed she says "Mommy, I scared". It breaks my heart when she says this and I don't want to leave her in her room alone! The other day we were in Walgreens and walked down the Halloween aisle and she saw the masks and said she was scared and started screaming, but it was more of a playful/fake scream.
I know I'm forgetting so much of what she's been up to lately and my favorite things about her! I need to do a better job of doing updates on her! The most important thing I want to remember about this time of her life though is how much I love spending time with her! She makes me laugh so much and I just love her little personality! We're going to Howl-zoo-ween this Saturday and she will be dressed up as Cinderella so I'll post some pics from that!
Keaton Week 5
Another week flies by! Not a ton has happened in the last week but here are some updates on Keaton:
Feeding
Since I started his sleep training I wanted to be able to monitor how much he was eating at each feeding so I started pumping and bottle feeding him during the day. This has also allowed me more flexibility to be able to leave him for more than a couple of hours and Brian can help with the feedings too. The goal with training is to get him to eat every four hours during the day to get a minimum total of 24 oz in a day. Ideally he'd take 6oz at each feeding during the day and not require any nighttime feedings. We're not quite there yet but we're making progress. He's done great transitioning from eating every 2 hours in the first 2 weeks to every 3 hours in week 3 and now he's up to every 4 hours. He's tummy is still too little to be able to hold 6oz though so he usually only eats 4 1/2 to 5 oz at each feeding. This means he still needs to eat once or twice throughout the night.
Sleeping
As I mentioned in my last post, we started doing his bedtime routine with his last bottle around 7pm. We don't really have much to the routine yet because 7pm tends to be his fussy time so there's not really any chance to read a book or do anything other than give him his bottle. Eventually I plan to do a similar routine as what we did with Alexa which included a bath and book before his bottle. Speaking of baths, Alexa just loved baths from the moment she was born. Unfortunately, Keaton not so much! He pretty much screams the entire time, so baths are pretty quick! Hopefully that changes as he gets older. It makes it so much easier when they like their bath!
He usually will do a 5 to 7 hour stretch at night when he finally falls sleep, then another 3 to 4 hour stretch, and another 2 to 3 hours until he gets up for the day at 7am. He seems to be in a fairly consistent routine so I'm hoping to just keep stretching his sleep longer. I think until he can start eating more throughout the day though he probably won't be able to go more than 7 hours or so without eating.
We're still trying to figure out naptimes. I've tried to put him in his crib for his official naps but I think he prefers to be held while he's sleeping during the day!
Interaction
Keaton still sleeps for most of the day so there's not much interaction with him. Sometimes after his morning bottle he'll stay awake for an hour or so. He's usually content looking around but only for a max of 30 to 45 minutes and then he starts to fuss. I'm sure he's either bored or tired but there's not really much I can do to entertain him! He does love going outside though so we've been enjoying this beautiful weather and going on lots of walks. I'm sure over the next few weeks we'll start to be able to interact more and it will be easier keeping him awake and entertained. I don't know what we're going to do when it starts to get cold outside. We might have to put him in a snowsuit so he can go outside!
5 Week Picture
More pics:
Feeding
Since I started his sleep training I wanted to be able to monitor how much he was eating at each feeding so I started pumping and bottle feeding him during the day. This has also allowed me more flexibility to be able to leave him for more than a couple of hours and Brian can help with the feedings too. The goal with training is to get him to eat every four hours during the day to get a minimum total of 24 oz in a day. Ideally he'd take 6oz at each feeding during the day and not require any nighttime feedings. We're not quite there yet but we're making progress. He's done great transitioning from eating every 2 hours in the first 2 weeks to every 3 hours in week 3 and now he's up to every 4 hours. He's tummy is still too little to be able to hold 6oz though so he usually only eats 4 1/2 to 5 oz at each feeding. This means he still needs to eat once or twice throughout the night.
Sleeping
As I mentioned in my last post, we started doing his bedtime routine with his last bottle around 7pm. We don't really have much to the routine yet because 7pm tends to be his fussy time so there's not really any chance to read a book or do anything other than give him his bottle. Eventually I plan to do a similar routine as what we did with Alexa which included a bath and book before his bottle. Speaking of baths, Alexa just loved baths from the moment she was born. Unfortunately, Keaton not so much! He pretty much screams the entire time, so baths are pretty quick! Hopefully that changes as he gets older. It makes it so much easier when they like their bath!
He usually will do a 5 to 7 hour stretch at night when he finally falls sleep, then another 3 to 4 hour stretch, and another 2 to 3 hours until he gets up for the day at 7am. He seems to be in a fairly consistent routine so I'm hoping to just keep stretching his sleep longer. I think until he can start eating more throughout the day though he probably won't be able to go more than 7 hours or so without eating.
We're still trying to figure out naptimes. I've tried to put him in his crib for his official naps but I think he prefers to be held while he's sleeping during the day!
Interaction
Keaton still sleeps for most of the day so there's not much interaction with him. Sometimes after his morning bottle he'll stay awake for an hour or so. He's usually content looking around but only for a max of 30 to 45 minutes and then he starts to fuss. I'm sure he's either bored or tired but there's not really much I can do to entertain him! He does love going outside though so we've been enjoying this beautiful weather and going on lots of walks. I'm sure over the next few weeks we'll start to be able to interact more and it will be easier keeping him awake and entertained. I don't know what we're going to do when it starts to get cold outside. We might have to put him in a snowsuit so he can go outside!
5 Week Picture
More pics:
Monday, October 10, 2011
Worst Night Yet
Last week I started sleep training and Keaton had been doing fairly well. His bedtime bottle was 7pm and most nights he'd go until 2am or 3am, one night even going until 4am. Although this was great, getting him to sleep after his bottle was always a struggle. He'd finish his bottle sometime between 7:15pm and 7:30pm and he'd usually fall asleep drinking it but as soon as I laid him down in his crib he'd be wide awake. This wasn't necessarily a problem though since part of sleep training is putting him to bed awake and allowing him to learn to fall asleep on his own. The problem is that he's not really doing so well falling asleep on his own! He'll lay in his crib for a few minutes then start to cry. I let him cry and he'll usually stop within 3 minutes before I would go in there. But then he'll cry again for another couple minutes, stop for a couple minutes, cry again, etc. This will go on for at least an hour before he finally gives up. Then he'll have a good stretch of sleep (5 to 7 hours) and he'll wake to eat again. He'll usually fall asleep again while I'm feeding him but then wake up when I put him back in his crib and we start the whole crying on and off for another hour or two. This makes for a very long night! While I'm grateful he has one long stretch of sleep, I almost think it would be better if he was waking every 2 to 3 hours but going right back to sleep after he eats! I know he's tired, I just don't understand why he fights it so much! Speaking of, he's supposed to be napping right now but he's crying, fighting his sleep again!
Okay, so last night was the worst night we've had so far for several reasons. Keaton had his bottle at 7pm but didn't fall asleep until 8:30pm. I went to bed at 9:30pm but couldn't fall asleep until 11ish. Then he woke up at 1am, I fed him and put him back to bed but he fussed until about 3:30am. Then around 4:30am I heard Oscar pacing around the room. He wasn't whining, just pacing. About the same time I hear Keaton starting to fuss. So I get up to go in his room and as soon as I sit up from the bed I smell poop. I turn on the bedroom light and sure enough Oscar had pooped on the floor...in 3 different spots...including on top of my laptop! So I woke up Brian to take on poop clean up duty while I tried to get Keaton back to sleep. Keaton then continued to fuss until around 5:45am when I finally fed him again. Then he slept for about an hour until his 7am first feeding of the day. Ugh...rough night! I'm not sure who's worse at this point, Oscar or Keaton! I don't remember Alexa being this bad of a sleeper!
I've decided I'm definitely not one of those people that enjoys the newborn stage. Some people just love the newborn stage but I think I enjoy it much more once they can interact and are sleeping through the night :-) I just have to keep reminding myself that it will get better soon!
Okay, so last night was the worst night we've had so far for several reasons. Keaton had his bottle at 7pm but didn't fall asleep until 8:30pm. I went to bed at 9:30pm but couldn't fall asleep until 11ish. Then he woke up at 1am, I fed him and put him back to bed but he fussed until about 3:30am. Then around 4:30am I heard Oscar pacing around the room. He wasn't whining, just pacing. About the same time I hear Keaton starting to fuss. So I get up to go in his room and as soon as I sit up from the bed I smell poop. I turn on the bedroom light and sure enough Oscar had pooped on the floor...in 3 different spots...including on top of my laptop! So I woke up Brian to take on poop clean up duty while I tried to get Keaton back to sleep. Keaton then continued to fuss until around 5:45am when I finally fed him again. Then he slept for about an hour until his 7am first feeding of the day. Ugh...rough night! I'm not sure who's worse at this point, Oscar or Keaton! I don't remember Alexa being this bad of a sleeper!
I've decided I'm definitely not one of those people that enjoys the newborn stage. Some people just love the newborn stage but I think I enjoy it much more once they can interact and are sleeping through the night :-) I just have to keep reminding myself that it will get better soon!
Friday, October 7, 2011
Happy One Month Birthday Keaton!
Keaton turned one month old on Tuesday. Where has the time gone?!? In the past week Keaton has definitely become more vocal. I actually think he might have a little colic because he gets super fussy every night sometime between 6pm and 9pm and there's nothing we can do to calm him. We know he's not crying because he's hungry, needs to burp or needs a diaper change. And we've tried holding him, rocking him, laying him down, using the swing, everything! but nothing seems to work. He will finally settle down after he gets his bedtime bottle (between 8pm and 9pm). I think he finally just gives up at this point because he's so tired from crying! It's definitely a frustrating time each day for us but knowing it's going to happen we pretty much just prepare ourselves and try to get through it. On Tuesday he was really fussy all day and was not interested in sleeping in his crib during the day at all. The only thing I can think of for why he was so fussy is I made garlic chicken the night before and maybe he wasn't a fan! It's so hard not being able to decipher what's wrong with him! Luckily he had a good night's sleep Tuesday night though.
I started sleep training with him this week (same thing I did with Alexa) and one of the techniques is the "Limited Crying Method", which basically means you let them cry in their crib for 3 to 5 minutes before going in and trying to calm them (but not picking them up). The idea is that 3 to 5 minutes is enough time for the baby to learn to self soothe but not so long that Mommy can't bear it. It doesn't sound like a long time, but when your baby is crying it feels like an eternity. On Tuesday night I let him cry in his crib for 3 minutes and I felt like I was going to throw up the whole time :-( But ultimately it worked and he quieted himself down. He's been doing great ever since! He still cries every once in awhile in his crib but usually for only 1 or 2 minutes at a time.
He had his 1 month checkup yesterday. Here are his stats:
Weight: 9lbs 7oz (45%)
Height: 21.5 inches (50%)
Head: 15cm (50%)
Here's his 1 month pics:
I started sleep training with him this week (same thing I did with Alexa) and one of the techniques is the "Limited Crying Method", which basically means you let them cry in their crib for 3 to 5 minutes before going in and trying to calm them (but not picking them up). The idea is that 3 to 5 minutes is enough time for the baby to learn to self soothe but not so long that Mommy can't bear it. It doesn't sound like a long time, but when your baby is crying it feels like an eternity. On Tuesday night I let him cry in his crib for 3 minutes and I felt like I was going to throw up the whole time :-( But ultimately it worked and he quieted himself down. He's been doing great ever since! He still cries every once in awhile in his crib but usually for only 1 or 2 minutes at a time.
He had his 1 month checkup yesterday. Here are his stats:
Weight: 9lbs 7oz (45%)
Height: 21.5 inches (50%)
Head: 15cm (50%)
Here's his 1 month pics:
Monday, October 3, 2011
"I so pretty"
I think we might tell Alexa she's pretty too much! She was the flower girl in her Uncle Kyle and Aunt Jess' wedding this past Saturday and of course I thought she looked so pretty and told her so a few times. I think other people also told her that throughout the day. Later that night we were in our hotel room and we were getting ready to leave. I said, "Come on Alexa, let's go." She said "Okay, hold on, I need to look in the mirror." Then she walked over to the mirror on the closet door, looked in the mirror and said "I so pretty." I about died laughing! I don't want her to get a big head, but I will probably still tell her how pretty I think she is :-)
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Things I Never Imagined I'd Be Doing #1 and #2
In the past week I've done a couple of things that when I was younger I couldn't have ever imagined I'd do. Obviously when I was little I knew one day I'd be a mother and imagined I'd do all those motherly things like change diapers, feed the baby, rock him, etc. But there's a lot of things that motherhood brings that you would never expect yourself doing. So I decided it would be fun to start a list of some things that one would never imagine themselves doing (or at least I wouldn't!). Here are the first 2 items to start my list:
1. Getting projectile pooped on and laughing about it (and not throwing up)
2. Shopping for pacifiers with a nipple that most closely resembles my own - I have to comment on this one. I mentioned before that Keaton didn't really seem to like the pacifier, which I have since decided is definitely a bad thing! I'm willing to risk having him addicted to the pacifier if it means having a method of calming him! Anyways, I was thinking that he doesn't have a problem nursing so the issue with the pacifier is that I needed to find one that could replicate that. So there I am in the aisle at Target looking for a pacifier that most closely resembles me. If you're wondering, I didn't do any comparisons in the store :-) But I did manage to find one and he seems to be taking it much better now!
1. Getting projectile pooped on and laughing about it (and not throwing up)
2. Shopping for pacifiers with a nipple that most closely resembles my own - I have to comment on this one. I mentioned before that Keaton didn't really seem to like the pacifier, which I have since decided is definitely a bad thing! I'm willing to risk having him addicted to the pacifier if it means having a method of calming him! Anyways, I was thinking that he doesn't have a problem nursing so the issue with the pacifier is that I needed to find one that could replicate that. So there I am in the aisle at Target looking for a pacifier that most closely resembles me. If you're wondering, I didn't do any comparisons in the store :-) But I did manage to find one and he seems to be taking it much better now!
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