6 Month Stats!

So we were all wrong! Apparently what they say about breastfed babies slowing down growth around 6 months is true! My little man is actually FINALLY on the charts for his height and weight! I have to admit I was shocked when my husband told me how much the doctors said he weighed and what his length was.

Weight: 19lbs 7oz - 50 - 75%
Length: 27in - 50 - 75%

Yep, that's right. he's still under 20lbs. SHOCKER! But I am happy because it means we can continue to use our cosleeper a little longer! It has a max weight of 23lbs! However he is now trying to crawl out of it... so I think its probably going to be taken down sooner rather then later!

6 Months!

Today my little man is 6 months old! I thought my pregnancy went by quickly! Here he is giving me the "i'm exhausted, can we go to bed now?" look.



So, what is new in the life of Eirik? He is MAJORLY working on the crawling thing! In the process he is doing baby yoga...





He does that when we place him on his stomach. Also when he sits now he is trying to go forward. He's not quite brave enough to go from sitting to his stomach yet, but he's VERY close to doing it. He does it when he bats a toy too far out of his reach or when one of the cats is JUST out of touching range.

He is very vocal and talkative at the moment! We have tons of dadada, bababa, mamama, and nanana... he has his happy noises and his angry one's. Both are cute and highly amusing... sometimes its hard not to laugh at him when he's frustrated!

We still haven't started solids yet... part of this is because honestly he is quite happy with breastmilk! The other part is because I still don't have a diaper sprayer for my cloth diapers! Breastmilk is water soluble so at the moment when the diaper is dirty I can just toss it right in the wet bag. However once he starts solids its another story! Hopefully solids will start in a week or two. Have no fear, there will be pictures a plenty when that happens!

Bedtime is a bit of a nightmare still but I have finding a correlation between how difficult bedtime is to how much time I spend with him in the evening. On days where I pick him up at my friends and he doesn't get good quality "mommy time" before bed he tends to take longer to put to sleep. We're slowly getting better. He's still not sleeping through the night either... currently thanks to teething we are up about every 3 hours. Needless to say he's been sleeping in bed with us and I am mastering the art of nursing laying down in bed.

I'll leave you with a bath picture. He still loves his baths. We got him a rubber ducky and he has finally mastered grabbing it out of the water and getting it into his mouth! Yummy. ;)



Doctors appointment tomorrow so we get the official weight and length! I'm guessing 23lbs. Anyone else want to take a stab?

A Few Of My Favorite Things...

Or Eirik's favorite things I should say! =) These are things that I know he enjoys and when he starts getting fussy I can pull out and typically distract him with... for about 5 minutes.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar - He LOVES this book. I've read him others, but this one always gets a huge grin.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - This song always gets smiles. I've sung the ABC's which is the same tune but it doesn't get the same reaction.

The Rocking Penguin - He loves this penguin! Its inflatable and bounces when he hits it... it can easily amuse him for 10 - 15 minutes!

Jumparoo - Still a favorite. He'd stay in there for hours if we'd let him!

The cats - yes, nothing stops fussing and whining like a cat walking by.

RaZ-berry teethers - since he is having major teething pains these things are a lifesaver! This evening he happily gnawed on one for about 5 minutes! Find them here on amazon!

Me gnawing on his feet - He finds this hysterical. I pretend to gnaw on his feet and make loud "arrg" noises.

The outdoors - if all else fails sitting on my front porch always works! So many new sights and smells!

A Gloomy Sunday...

Today is a gloomy overcast day... the kind of day where you want to pull the covers over your head and spend the entire day on the couch watching a movie. At least that's what I would have done before having Eirik! Now however my days are spent laying on the floor watching in amazement as he suddenly discovers how to do something that only days ago he couldn't figure out. In all honesty while I miss the movie watching he is just as amusing.

Last night my husband and I had a date, and while it wasn't the romantic evening I had originally planned it was still thoroughly enjoyable. Originally the plan was to go to PF Changs, however on the way there we passed a 5 guys and my husband suddenly goes "would you mind eating there instead?" Even though it was romantic it was just what the doctor ordered! We got our food and sat outside enjoying the beautiful weather. It was relaxing and low key, which was perfect! Afterward we visited the local Barns and Noble for some coffee and book browsing... something we used to do all the time but haven't done as much recently. It was really a perfect evening! And having never eaten a 5 guys burger before I have to say I was extremely impressed! The burger was delicious... I know where I am going from now on for a burger!

And lastly a picture of my little man. I realized that I probably take WAY to many photographs of him... but he seems to change almost every day! I'm not even going to admit here how many photographs I have saved on my hard drive!

Who Needs Toys??

Eirik is absolutely SMITTEN with the cats now. Yes, he's always been interested in them but now whenever they walk in the room he looks at nothing else and gets a huge smile on his face. Sometimes I feel like if he had no toys and could only play with the cats he'd be a perfectly happy little guy. This afternoon he spent about 15 minutes on his stomach attempting to crawl towards the cat with the biggest grin on his face as he did it. Not even me trying to interact with him can tear his attention from the cats! These cats better be careful once he starts to move!



His cold is FINALLY starting to get better but the teething is just as bad. Some days are worse then others but he is constantly rubbing something against his gums. We got these raspberry teether pacifiers and they are amazing! He'll happily gnaw on one for a good 10 minutes!



Tonight my husband and I are having a date! We haven't been out alone together since our anniversary in June! We were going to go a few weeks ago but then I came down with my killer cold and this is the first weekend since then that nothing has been going on! I'm excited. =)

Update On Operation Loose Babyweight!

I just realized I hadn't updated in a while on how my "operation loose babyweight" was going. I am please to announce that as of this morning i was 173... thats 7lbs BELOW prebaby weight!! Honestly the only thing I can attribute this continuous weight loss to is breastfeeding. I'm not on any sort of strict diet or doing any exercise aside from carrying Eirik around... which considering he's probably a good 22lbs is no small feat! ;) That means another 10lbs and i'll be just about where I want to and almost at my college weight!

Now while the weight loss is going great I REALLY need to exercise and work on toning. Finding time to do so is another story completely. I have a feeling exercise will be on the back burner till next year after I finish my classes. I guess until then my exercise will be carrying Eirik around and probably chasing him around the house once he starts crawling!

Random Thoughts On Motherhood...

Some random thoughts tonight... I'm still not entirely sure what direction this post will take. Eirik is still sick with his cold and I don't have any new cute pictures uploaded yet (note yet!).

Why is it that mothers always seem to judge each other and instead of supporting they seem to want to criticize or point out flaws? I have to admit up until this point I have been very lucky in the fact that I haven't had anyone close to me directly do this... but it always seems like there is this competition between mothers. The whole "oh, you don't do this? You should!" It doesn't matter what the topic is but instead of being supported you are made to feel bad for your choices. I started thinking about this after reading a post on facebook... someone had posted about a hotline you can now call to get information about breastfeeding and medicine. They asked the question "would you trust the information given". I skimmed through the comments and about a dozen people had said "I just refuse to take anything while breastfeeding.". Well, that's fine and dandy for you... but you don't need to say that. You could simply not say anything at all... not all of us feel that way and no one wants to feel guilty for taking something they REALLY needed.

It seems like so many mothers are so blinded by their own views they refuse to see anyone else. The two big hot topics that always seem to set people off are formula over breastfeeding and planned c-sections... you get people started on either of those topics and its disturbing how quickly two people can get nasty and be reduced to name calling. Personally unless you are physically or emotionally abusing your child I have no place to tell you what to do! You are doing what is best for you and your family and your situation... and thats great! But so many people make it their personal mission to almost harass people in to seeing their point of view. I guess maybe I'm weird in the fact I'd rather just agree to disagree and move on.

Maybe this is why I don't have many "mommy" friends. Most of my friends that are close don't have kids or have older kids... I really don't know anyone close by who has a child in the same age range as Eirik. I haven't really had any opportunities to meet people either. When I was home on maternity leave I looked up mom groups in the area and was disappointed to find that they were all for stay at home moms. What about us who have to work? I have no choice. I really feel sometimes like working moms get a bad rep... we're selfish for working still and not wanting to be at home. Well, news flash, some of us are the primary breadwinners! Some of us really do have no choice but to work, especially considering the economy the way it is today. I would love nothing more then to stay home with Eirik but sadly that is not in the cards for me right now. Maybe someday... but not now and not in the near future.


Just to clarify here, none of my blog readers fall into any of these categories... well, unless you're a reader I don't know about or who never comments then I can't say. I just really wish women would support each other more and spend less time being judgmental and negative. There's no reason to debate parenting styles... just like every person is different every parent is different... and every baby is different! I wish sometimes I could yell "Can't we all just get along?!"

Photo Update!

Today is just a photo update as I am very behind on my homework and other household chores. =)



In other news I really need to move... that is on the top of the priority list of "things to accomplish by next summer".

The Joys Of Pumping In Public...

Yesterday was AWESOME. It was a relaxing fun filled day of lots of great music and conversation! There was a radio station in Maryland called WHFS that played alternative and rock music and every year they would have a HUGE concert called the HFStival. I grew up listening to the station... my parents played it in the car and then as a teenager and adult I listened to it. I never attended an HFStival but every year I wished I could... it seemed like there was always one reason or another I couldn't go. Then one afternoon in 2005 as I was driving home from work my beloved station was playing... spanish music. I thought this was some sort of prank at first but no, my station was gone. They attempted to bring it back on nights and weekends on another station but it never really went anywhere. Now you can apparently listen to it on HD radio... but I don't have that. But, I digress... this year they decided to do another HFStival! It was like reliving the 90s... the lineup was all those alternative rock bands I loved listening to! Fuel, Lit, and Everclear to name a few.... and Billy Idol. Yes folks, I saw Billy Idol in concert last night... and I must say that he looks pretty darn good! In true rock concert fashion I witness people in various stages of drunkenness, the really old guy who looked completely out of it, and a fight. No concert is complete without a fight!

My day itself started early. I went to breakfast with my one friend who was coming to the concert with me and another of our friends. We decided to stuff ourselves silly as concert food is horribly overpriced (a think of fries was 7 dollars and a soda was 4 dollars!). After eating a huge unhealthy breakfast we went to the concert and met up with my friends friend who was coming with us. The concert itself was fairly tame comparted to HFStivals of years past. I actually saw a lot of people with small children which was rather shocking to me. Considering the line up I expected a lot of people between the ages of 15 and 30 but I was very surprised to see quite a few people who were in their 40s and 50s there... as well as people who came with the family! I saw a lot of teenagers with parents! Of course as the day wound down and the level of intoxication increased the families slowly left. The weather was perfect for the event... the three of us found ourselves a little spot in the shade under a tree where we could see one of the large screens and spent most of the day listening to music and talking. My friends friend has a 14 month old so we spent some time talking about kids and how quickly they change. It was nice!

The biggest blah part of my day was pumping. I pumped in the car before entering the concert but I knew I would have to pump at least once at the concert. I had a little manual pump and I decided, after much deliberation and trying to find a quiet spot, to pump in the bathroom. UGH! To say it was disgusting was an understatement. Thankfully the venue had a lot of real bathrooms and honestly I've used bathrooms that were more disgusting... but still it was not pleasant. I pumped just enough to take the pressure off and then the second I got home I pumped again.

While I missed my little man it was good for me to get out for the day and do something for me and have me time. I haven't really done that in a long time. Typically I schedule my girl outings around Eirik's eating and sleeping so I am only gone for 3 - 4 hours. I am however enjoying spending the entire day today with my little man who despite a very clogged up noise is his typical smiling/happy self.

More Sickness....

But this time its Eirik! =( Poor baby... I wondered why he was up so often last night and this morning it was obvious he has a cold. Hes congested and sneezing... but still a happy little man! I on the other hand am exhausted... he was up about every 1 1/2 - 2 hours and even when he did sleep it wasn't very well... so needless to say I didn't sleep well either. To make things even more interesting I am having my first official girl day without Eirik! I am going to an all day festival rock concert... i'm going to be going from about 9am till 11pm! Not only will I be exhausted by the time I get home I'm now going to be worried about him. =( I'm really hoping he didn't get the killer cold I had!

Grabbing The Spotlight...

A short video for you today! Note the cat trying to steal the attention half way through... =)

No Use Crying Over Spilled Milk...

Whoever said that was NOT a mother who pumps. Up until now I have had none of those "oops" moments when pumping... almost 3 sucessful months of remembering everything in the morning and getting it all home safely at night. In true fashion of everything happening in 3's... this week has been my "Everything going wrong" week when it comes to pumping.

It started Monday when I got to work and realized I had left all the connecting pieces for my pump at home. I had the pump, the bottles, the lids, the cooler... but not the breast shields or the connectors. At this point it was either drive all the way home to pick up the parts, which would mean 30 minutes home plus 30 minutes back to work, or run in to Target and hope they have the parts. Thankfully Target saved the day. Now I have an extra set of parts to keep at work... so, a win situation in a way. At least I know I'll never have that happen again!

Today however was the day I sat and wanted to cry. Today I managed to spill an ENTIRE bottle of milk down myself. Yes, that's right, not only did I loose about 4oz of my precious milk it went ALL over my pants... at work... at 9:20 in the morning. Apparently the bottle wasn't screwed in all the way and after pumping I moved everything and the bottle just dropped off of the connectors. I sat stunned staring at the bottle on the floor not knowing what to do... do I cry? Do I scream? Do I start laughing because honestly what else can you do at that point? Now the worst part of this situation was that it was so early in the day I had to walk around with pants that smelled like breastmilk. Now at first this wasn't a huge deal but by about lunchtime it smelled horrible. I tried to keep my distance from people and hoped no one wondered what that interesting smell was. The only lifesaver was my pants were black so thankfully no one could tell but me.

But as I said, these things happen in 3s! Yesterday when I arrived home I noticed a 4oz storage bottle of milk was missing from the fridge. I assumed that my husband had given Eirik extra yesterday for some reason and moved on. Eirik goes to my friend's house on Wednesday and she hadn't fed him a bottle so I took that bottle out of the diaper bag and put it back in my fridge. This evening I was looking for Eirik's teething tablets and what do you think I discovered in another pocket of the diaper bag? Yes... the other 4oz bottle of milk that was missing.

Yes folks, my heart broke as I dumped that 4oz bottle down the drain. Today a grand total of 8oz of my milk was lost... due to my own carelessness. On a good day I pump a total of about 20oz so you can see why the 8oz loss hurts so much.

Instead of crying over my spilled milk however I have been indulging in ice cream... a much tastier option!

Thank You =)

I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to all of you out there who commented on my post yesterday. It made me feel so wonderful to know that even when things are stressing me out I can come and vent here and have support. I don't know why the subject of my dad was bothering me yesterday.... 90% of the time I can just shrug it off but yesterday for some reason I just couldn't. It may be because my dads birthday was a week ago and I sent him an e-mail (I have yet to get his new address..... ) and I haven't heard anything in response.

But, we're not going to dwell on that topic any more today.

Today we are going to focus on the adorableness that is Eirik! I wanted to get a new signature made for my ivillage profile for Halloween so yet again I shoved Eirik in his halloween costume to take a few photos. I have to say that while it still fits now I can tell that in another month and a half it will be too small. At least I can tell myself i've gotten 3 good photo sessions in! I think the cuteness factor of all of his photos justifies the 2.50 I spent on the costume!





All together now... "AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW"

Dear Dad...

Dear Dad...

I know that our relationship hasn't always been perfect. We hit that rough patch when I was in middle school and you and mommy officially began the divorce proceedings. Things were never quite the same after you officially moved out of the house and in with your new family. Even though you tell me otherwise I'm quite aware that for most of my life I've come second... never quite as important as I once was. At first this really hurt ... it hurt a lot. When you missed my college graduation I shrugged it off telling myself that it was just a graduation and really no big deal. But when you missed my wedding, canceling only 24 hours before hand, my heart broke in two. And then shortly after this I came to the conclusion I just had to stop caring and stop expecting things from you. And that's how its been ever since.

I accepted that you lived far away... that the reason you never came to visit me unless you happened to have work in the area is due to your vast traveling. I understand you are away for weeks at a time off in Europe, Asia, and Africa doing whatever it is you do. But you moved... you live only 45 minutes away now. And while I am aware that you may not physically be there all the time I would like to think sometime in the last 5 1/2 months you have been there... and for more then 24 hours. And I wonder why in the past 5 1/2 months you haven't found the time to drive 45 minutes to visit your grandson. During those first few weeks of his life I thought maybe things would be different... you kept promising you would come visit after your next trip. But as weeks turned into months I realized yet again I was being told empty promises... yet again you said you would be there and you weren't. Each time I contacted you I would get the same response... I'm getting ready to leave the country, I'll call you when I get back in town.

I shouldn't be surprised... But I am. I shouldn't let myself get upset... But I am. Why did I think things would be different now... different just because you live closer and I have a child. I want you to know that the door is always open here... you are more then welcome to come visit at any time. Do I think you will take me up on the offer? I don't know. But I do know that it is your loss... your loss that you have missed out on meeting this amazing little man.

I like to think that someday soon you'll finally make the trip to visit him... I like to think that you'll finally meet him before he turns 1... but i'm not holding my breath.

Normal

Over the weekend I suddenly realized that my life has settled in to the new normal. I'm not quite sure when this occurred... but somehow now things just seem... normal.

The first 3 months after Eirik was born were spent adjusting to life with a baby. Having very little baby experience before it was a huge learning curve! I remember that first month and those sleepless nights... Eirik being awake until midnight refusing to sleep. I thought I would never sleep again! We would try everything to get him to sleep... the swing, rocking, swaddling, feeding... and then the moment he would be put down he would be awake again. Slowly over time however things got better. He slowly moved his bedtime up till he was regularly going to bed about 8 or 9pm and I was become more and more skilled at figuring out what he wanted. By the time he was 3 months old I could read his sleepy ques and know when nap time was eminent.

Of course this is when I had to return to work which just threw a wrench in the plans. I had spent 3 months figuring Eirik out and getting used to one schedule and now I was going to have to learn a completely new one. Me getting up 5 days a week for work, picking him up from my friend after work, getting him to bed so I could get stuff done. To say it was rough at first would be an understatement... with Eirik still waking up very regularly at night and not going to sleep easily I was up till all hours of hte night trying to get everything accomplished. It didn't help that it was summer so it was difficult to keep Eirik in any sort of night routine... we tried as best we could be those scorching summer nights just made everyone miserable.

But today I realized that for the past week or so we've had a good little routine down... one that seems to work for everyone. As I put him down for his afternoon nap I realized I am a pro at knowing when he needs to sleep and can now get him down for a nap fairly quickly... well, most of the time. He's not on any sort of schedule per say... but typically he gets up at the same time, naps at the same time, and every night we do bedtime at the same time. The past few weeks my husband and I have actually spent time together talking or watching a movie... something we haven't done together since before Eirik was born. I have been knitting... and I don't feel completely overwhelmed. We have found normal!Well... at least until Eirik changes it again. ;)

But Mom... there's people around!

At the grocery store today I witnessed a very touching moment... it made me smile to myself thinking someday that would be me. I walked by a mother with her son who was probably between the ages of 8 and 10... that age where having your mother kiss you or hug you is "totally uncool". The woman reached out, grabbed her son, and hugged him randomly, kissing the top of his head afterward. His quick response was "Mom... there are people around! People!!" and she matter of factually stated "I don't care". I thought it was sweet and touching to see this mother still reaching out to be affectionate with her son, even though he thinks its "totally uncool".

That moment made me reflect on all the things as a child I never fully appreciated but as an adult do. There is a moment that to this day still stands out in my mind. I always was one of those kids that had lunch from home... buying lunch was a privilege and I only did it maybe once a month. I of course always wanted to buy lunch like my friends because they got things like pizza and chicken nuggets and I got soup and tuna fish sandwiches. However bringing my lunch from home had one advantage that buying lunch didn't... love notes. My mom would randomly pack little love notes in my lunch for me. One day she made me a sandwich and created a heart in the middle of the bread. I still remember to this day feeling special seeing that sandwich. And these lunches didn't end in elementry school... no, even in high school i had a few little love notes stuck in to my lunch. These little notes and moments were my moms way of saying "I Love You" and reminding me of just how special I was.

I know today that little boy in the grocery store thinks his mom is embarrassing him, but in 10 years he'll look back and smile thinking about how much is mom loved him. If there is one thing in life I want to do, I want to make sure that Eirik knows just how loved he is no matter what. I want him to look back as an adult and go "my mom loved me". And even if it means I have to put up with the "mom, you're embarrassing me!" or "There are people looking!!" I am going to be that mother who tells her son she loves him every day, kisses him every night, and hugs him in public. I know that one day he'll grow up to be an adult who will cherish all those moments.

Rocking My Baby...

I had another post planned out for today. In my mind it was all ready and set to go... and then this evening it changed. Does that happen a lot to other people out there? They are all ready to go blog about one thing and end up blogging about another?

Up until last weekend the bedtime routine for Eirik was to lay with him in our bed and feed him, put him in his cosleeper, and let him fall asleep there. As he is quickly approaching the weight limit for the cosleeper we have been doing night time in his room. This means now after his bath we sit in the rocking chair while he eats and then if he's still awake (which most of the time he isn't!) i'll swaddle him up in his crib. We also have been using the sleep sheep which I think help relaxes him. Typically the second he's asleep or swaddled I rush off to accomplish my tasks for the evening... homework, cleaning, getting things ready for work... you get the picture.

Tonight however after he went to sleep I felt the overwhelming desire to sit and rock him gently as he slept. I found myself staring at his face as he slept... he looked so peaceful and innocent... and I realized just how quickly time is going by. Just a few months ago he was a fraction of this size freshly home from the hospital... and now here he is developing his own little personality and trying to grow up before my eyes. While I am enjoying watching every milestone he hits I also want to tell him to slow down. I sat there gently rocking him imaginging what he'll be like next year... as a toddler. I then realized before I knew it he would be too old for cuddling and rocking.

The thought made me sad... sad to realize just how busy I have been recently and how I haven't had as many oppertunities to just sit and hold him while he slept. I came to the decision tonight that every night I am going to spend a little time just holding and rocking him... enjoying watching him as he sleeps. He is more important then the homework that needs to be completed or the lunch that needs to be made or the laundry that needs to be folded. Those things can wait until tomorrow... but Eirik growing up is happening before my eyes. I never understood that poem called rocking my baby until now...

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth
empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
hang out the washing and butter the bread,
sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
and out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
but I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.


by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Clear Eyes

Eirik's tearducts have finally unclogged!! WAHOO!! No more gunky disgusting eyes for him!! I swear I felt like a bad parent... every time I went out his eyes looked so gunky and disgusting! People always said "oh, hes got a little gunk..." and then when his eyes got really bad they turned all red and sore looking. Of course he never complained about this... it was all me worrying! Of course I had all these fears they wouldn't unclog themselves and he'd have to go through surgery to correct it. Thankfully however my massaging of his tearducts worked! He now has nice clean eyes! I'm sure Eirik is happy that now we don't have to constantly try and rub under his eyes anymore!

A Hop!

Okay, I know I am going to sound like such a first time parent right now... sorry! But tonight Eirik moved himself forward... with intent!! He's been getting on his hands and knees and rocking and tonight he actually managed to lunge himself forward... once! I know this in no way means he's going to be crawling around the house tomorrow... but as he moved himself forward I quickly saw all the lovely safety hazards in my house. I guess I know what i'm going to be on the hunt for on sale... baby gates! My cats better beware... there's gonna be a baby on the move soon!

Sleep Success!

This weekend has been a very successful one for sleeping! Well, for Eirik at least. I still am not sleeping well thanks to this lovely cough... but that's a whole other story! Eirik's crib up until now has been filled with junk... well, not junk per say... but things that don't belong in a crib. Since it was so hot this summer he hasn't slept in it once... he's slept in his cosleeper in our bedroom and his pack and play downstairs but never the crib. I decided that since this weekend was going to be a LOT cooler we were going to try... the crib. We also decided to try some of those aids to help with soothing babies to sleep.

They always say "put the baby down drowsy". Yea... not Eirik. He just plays... and plays.... and plays. Even swaddled up I still have to constantly go reswaddle and usually end up laying next to him doing rhythmic sushing to finally sooth him off to sleep. Thanks to lovely discount deal sites and other sales we purchased a soundsleep cd and a sleep sheep. I had honestly been eyeing up the sleep sheep for a while but had convinced myself I didn't need it. Well, when you can't do rhythmic sushing because you keep coughing the sleep sheep becomes more and more appealing!

First the soundsleep cd was tried... because it came in the mail first. I have to say while the music was nice and soothing it did NOTHING for Eirik. It was nice relaxing background noise... but he seemed to just play through it and it didn't make him drowsy at ALL. I still ended up having to cuddle with him and attempt to do some shushing.

Next came the sleep sheep. Since the soundsleep cd was such a failure I excepted the sheep would be the same. If nothing else its absolutely adorable so it would be a great stuffed toy. Eirik loved it and wouldn't stop staring at it and trying to play with it when I took it out of the box! When nap time came around we placed him swaddled up in his crib and turned the sheep on. I decided to leave it on the ocean noise because that sounds the most like the shushing noise he likes. I left and came back 5 minutes later and just reswaddled him as he had kicked himself out and was playing. I went back again 5 minutes later because I noticed he was quiet and... he was FAST asleep. Yes folks, fast asleep!

The sleep sheep is officially my new best friend. We have used it all weekends and naps and nighttime have been AWESOME. If he wakes up from his nap early and is obviously in need of more sleep I turn the noise back on (it goes off after 45 minutes), give him his pacifier again, and he is back to sleep in moments. Where as before it would take about 30 minutes of reswaddling and laying with him and shushing now I am doing that in about 10 - 15.



So not only did he nap in his crib... he went down easily for naps AND slept longer! Oh, and he put himself back to sleep last night! He woke up about 3ish to eat, and i fed him and put him back down asleep. Well, he woke himself up, played for about 15 minutes, and then went back to sleep again. I lay there watching him in the dark, figuring since he wasn't crying or being overly loud i'd see what he did. I was so happy!

My next sleep obstacle is what to do now he's almost outgrown the cosleeper... i'm not ready to sleep apart from him all night but I'm not quite ready to have him in bed all night either... i'm thinking crib until his first feeding and then in bed with us after that? Or maybe pack and play in the bedroom?Ahh choices choices!

Other Uses For Infant Carseats...

Is your baby growing up to fast? Have they already outgrown that infant carseat you spent a ton of money on? Do you feel guilty retiring it to your basement to collect dust? Well, worry no more... I have the solution! You can reuse that infant car seat. Oh yes! How can I do that you may ask. Well, the answer is simple! You can reuse that car seat as.... A CAT BED!



Yes folks, thats right... your cats will LOVE their new sleeping place! And its so easy... just set the carseat on the ground and before long that cat will be curled up fast asleep! No need for fancy cat beds!

Reflections of Motherhood

I found this video today online and I decided I wanted to pass it along. Mothers were asked what they would tell their pre-mother selves. There were times in the video where I chuckled a bit at the advice and times where I already could go "yep, so true!" Other statements for some reason made me want to cry... such as the one that says "you will miss your mom". That one really hit home with me.



So without further ado... Enjoy!

New Respect For Exclusive Pumpers!

I have always been in awe of those that exclusively pump. I have to be honest here, I HATE pumping. Even now after being back at work for 2 months I still hate it. I have a hands free pumping bra, i bring a magazine to read, I play on my phone... but I still find it tedious. The thing is Eirik is such an efficient nurser he eats in a fraction of the time it takes me to pump! So while at home I nurse him every few hours for about 5 - 10 minutes at work its 15 minutes... plus the added set up and clean up. Plus, while pumping doesn't hurt, its not exactly the most comfortable feeling in the entire world.

Yesterday I worked an 11 hour day. It sucked. I went in prepared for the long day however. Unfortunately since I had to go to the doctors yesterday morning I still left my house at about 7:30am so its not like I got to skip a pumping session at work. That means at work yesterday I had 4 pumping sessions. Then i got home and Eirik was already fast asleep which meant another pumping session before bed. He's recently been only waking up once a night so if I didn't pump I would wake up VERY uncomfortable a few hours later. All that pumping yesterday really made me respect those who exclusively pump even more! I cant imagine having to do that all day every day. So, to those of you who do exclusively pump, GO YOU!

On a side note I waned to just make a little comment about Eirik's eye. I've gotten a few questions asked recently about what happened to his eye. I realized in some of the recent photos it looks really nasty and red. He still has his clogged tear duct in one eye and every now and then he gets flair up infections from it. It stinks but sadly I can't really do much about it right now. We're massaging under his eye to help clear the tear duct and I'm optimistic it will work because it worked for the other eye. So, that's whats up with his eye!