Lessons From A New Mama

I know that this is a huge topic to talk about and I am by no means an expert in this area, but I know that I searched and searched for any tips or tidbits I could find on this ever so important area to parenting..sleeping at night and nap time.....*cry of horror*. This is the hardest part of parenting that I have been faced with to date. Jason and I tried everything we could think of to get Jackson to sleep at night and then have good naps during the day too, we were getting so sleep deprived and we were reaching that scary and sad point of giving up and just switching to sleeping during the day with Jackson and then staying up at night. Oh yeah that's right I'm talking about the day and night reversal, if you already have had a child you know what I'm talking about. I started doing searches online, asking friends and family for advice, reading different articles and then finally I bought The Sleepeasy Solution: The Exhausted Parents Guide to Getting Your Child to Sleep -Birth to 5- I would recommend this book to parents who just want a little bit of advice and a reference to look back to when things start getting rocky. I have also heard that The Happiest Baby on the Block is a good reference as well as Baby Wise. I started with The Sleepeasy Solution because of the reviews that I read online, and this is what I have learned from the book as well as trial and error.

1) Routine, routine, routine. Make a plan for how you want the night time and nap time routine to go and stick with it! This helps because when you go though those night time steps your little one knows that it's time to wind down for the evening and go to sleep. Jason and I have chosen a routine that we can hopefully stick to as Jackson gets older. We start by having a bath or on non-bath nights some night time lotion, then we get PJ's on and read 2-3 books. Finally, we get in our swaddle, have a bottle and rock to sleep. We start our routine at 7 on bath nights, around 7:30 on non-bath nights and Jackson is usually asleep by 8 or 8:15. No matter what you and your partner decide as you night time schedule just make sure you stick with it and be consistent.

Jackson's Favorite Book

2) I don't know about you guys but Jason and I have to have our room dark at night if we want to get any sleep. Having a room dark is actually one of the recommendations from the Sleepeasy Solutions book. I have found this tip most helpful for nap time. We were having a really hard time getting Jackson down for naps. Partially because he wanted to be where the action was and another part due to the fact that his room was so bright during the day. So naturally when we got dark curtains in his room he started going down for his naps easier and would stay asleep longer.

3) As sad as this sounds Jason and I were clueless as to how many naps Jackson needed throughout the day, and how long they should be. We knew that we didn't want him to sleep a lot during the day because it really messed up how long he would sleep at night, but he needed some sleep during the day otherwise he was so cranky during the late afternoon. So, this is what we have come up with...Jackson takes three naps during the day and each one varies in length. His morning nap is usually only an hour long starting around 10, because he doesn't usually get up for the day till around 8. Then he will take another nap starting around 1 or 2 and that one is usually our longer nap about 2 hours sometimes we let him go for 3. Then the final nap is around 5 or 5:30 and this one tends to be a little 30 minute power nap a little cat nap to keep us content until bed time. Some babies I have heard only need two naps a day, some take more naps like I said this is what we have come up with.

Getting rocked to sleep for an afternoon nap

4) Behold the power of the swaddle. I know what you are thinking...duh! I had a really really hard time caving into the swaddle mostly because when Jackson would get swaddled he would freak out having his arms pinned down to his sides. Naturally as a new Mommy I thought oh my gosh he's uncomfortable there is no way he can sleep when he's uncomfortable....WRONG! He was just tired and yes fought his swaddle, but he sleeps so much better when he is swaddled opposed to being out. Now, I am a terrible swaddler, I could not get Jackson to stay in...I started calling him my little Houdini because I would think he was in there tight and then 30 minutes later he would wake up crying with his arms and legs out of my "great" swaddle job. So, I went to Babies R Us and got the Swaddle Me blankets that have the Velcro...needless to say he has to work really really hard to get out of those things. He has managed recently to find a way out, but it takes him a lot longer to do it and usually by the time he is out, it's time to get up anyway. So don't be afraid to swaddle your little one in....they will rest a lot easier without their startle reflex waking them up every half hour.

5) Some babies are super great about sleeping/napping through the loudest of noises (I have been told that I was one of those babies to bad it's not hereditary). Jackson is not one of those babies...he needs it to be quiet in the house if he is going to stay asleep during nap time. Jason and I found this out recently when we were trying to pack up our house for our move to Michigan. When it was just Jackson and I at home it was really not a problem, I would usually go downstairs and read or take a little nap myself, but with Jason home and the move coming closer and closer we had to utilize this time to get things done. We quickly found out that that is a no go. Jack would keep waking up and we would put him back down after a while and then we realized that with us making noise downstairs. As hard as it is to just hang out when you have a ton of things to get done, the cranky afternoon baby is way worse, so we just hang out and wait for him to wake up and then we get back to work.

So those are a few things that I have learned about napping and sleeping. I'm sure that there are going to be a lot more discoveries along the way. Have you found any tricks that work really well with your little one?

Graduation Day!

Why does it seem like the days that you always look forward to the most come and go in the blink of an eye...your birthday, prom, your wedding day, birth of your child? Jason's graduation was no different we have been looking forward to this day for four years and it came and went so quickly. However, I am proud to announce that my hubby is now Dr. L!

Jason getting hooded

The day of graduation was a crazy one! We found out early on that the school allows the students to hand out 7 tickets to family or friends to attend the ceremony...however, the ticket doesn't guarantee you a seat in the auditorium to see the ceremony. In a way you kind of have to day after Thanksgiving your seats! Well, my family is always good at day after Thanksgiving sales, so my parents and Jason's parents along with Jason's brother and girlfriend were there at 7ish in the morning even though the doors didn't open until 9. Needless to say...we got good seats. Not that we would have had to worry because our good friend Karl (who graduated with his masters the same day yay Karl!) was there before us to make sure that his wife and my family had seats for the important day.

Karl waiting to get in

The ceremony was what seemed to be short and sweet. I was so proud watching all of our friends get hooded and make that giant leap into the medical world, but nothing could have prepared me for the emotion I felt when they called Jason's name. As I sat there waiting I remembered the first day of orientation, the first year and how lonely I was until we met the Karl, Erin and their amazing kids, Meaghan, Beck, Aaron, the Kim's and countless other friends that very quickly became family. Then I started thinking of our move to Ohio and how big of a struggle it was to not have Jason around that often. Then the addition to Cooper into our family and shortly after Jackson. We have been through a lot the past four years and I am so proud of us more making it through.

I know the next four years are going to present new challenges, but I also know that our faith and family is strong and as long as we stay true to these two things we will be able to conquer the rest of this medical journey.

Ready for Chapter 2...Residency!

Lessons From A New Mama

Well, the lessons just keep on coming...
Lesson 1
You can never have too many burp cloths. Jackson has started a new fun game of spit out the milk. He will be doing just fine and we will get a good burp out of him and then maybe 5 minutes later we get a really wet burp with spit up. Needless to say we have burp cloths all over our house because you never know when a spit up attack is going to strike. Now I know there are a lot of different burp cloths out there and I don't think it matters what you use, we have some homemade ones that my grandma made for us when we found out we were having a boy. I think the important thing is to just have them and make them easily accessible, because when that wet burp sound comes up, you want to be prepared.

Lesson 2
I often times think back to when I was just pregnant and getting my things together to leave the house took maybe 5 minutes, probably less if I knew ahead of time which purse I was going to use. Now, not so much. I didn't realize how long it took to get Jackson and myself ready to leave the house. So lesson number 2 allow at least 15 minutes to get your things together and get to the car. I have come up with a pretty good system now of getting the diaper bag ready while Jackson is still playing on his play mat or napping. I ensure that I have a change of cloths, diapers, wipes, bottle, pacifier, blanket, spare set of socks, light blanket, changing pad, and a hat just in case. Then comes the super fun part of getting Jackson into his car seat. Now a few weeks ago I was super slow at doing this step. I just wasn't comfortable strapping my kid in, but now I feel like a veteran and it takes a lot less time. Finally, I get my wallet (which just goes in the diaper bag, good bye super cute Coach purse), and keys and we are out the door. So again, prepare yourself, and don't wait till the last minute to get your things together otherwise I can guarantee you are going to be late for wherever you are headed off to.

Lesson 3
Feed, burp, change, rock to sleep, find time to shower and repeat steps one through three. That is the order of the day, everyday. I have often times found myself getting overwhelmed with Mommy and have lost a little bit of the Becky. So, this lesson is on Mommy time which is sometimes hard to come across. It's important to be honest with your spouse, partner, significant other about when you are getting overwhelmed and just need a little time to yourself. I finally broke down one night crying to Jason saying I just needed 20 minutes to myself so I could read a book, sleep or just watch TV without focusing on Jackson. If you find that you too need this time, it doesn't make you a bad parent, rather I think it makes you normal. It's better to be honest and get the assistance and time you need than becoming one of those crazy people you hear about on CNN. Also, make sure that your partner is getting their time too. I know sometimes I think that Jason needs to take more time with the baby, and forgetting that he just got home from work and needs to relax a little too. So, balance it out to make sure you are both keeping a level head and giving your child the time and energy they need.

Lesson 4
I don't know about you guys but Ohio has had the driest winter I think I have ever experienced. This year was so bad that I would be walking in our house and would build up enough static to get shocked by our light switches when I would go to turn them on. With a newborn having really dry air is the worst because it causes them to have really bad congestion. Jackson was one of those babies that would wake up in the morning or from a nap and he would just be so stuffed that he wouldn't be able to eat right away, or if he did he would end up choking on his milk because he would try to breath through his mouth and eat. So,of course I ask our pediatrician what we could do (obviously I thought he had a cold or some terrible illness and not just dry air congestion). Our doctor recommended putting a humidifier in his room to increase the moisture while he slept. Duh, why didn't we think of that. It worked like a charm and Jackson has had little to no congestion since. However, sometimes I forget to refill the humidifier and he ends up getting stuffy, a little trick to clear it out before eating, have your little one suck on a pacifier. I know some people are really against pacifiers, but this trick really works to get out the stuffiness prior to eating.

Lesson 5
For those of you who are still pregnant you have probably heard a million times how drinking water is the cure all to any pregnancy symptom you may have. Swelling...drink more water, constipation...drink water, fatigue...drink water. Well, the same holds true once your little bundle of joy is here. For those of you who are planning on breast feeding you will find that you will have to drink a ton of water to keep your milk production up. I have had a few scares in the past few weeks because I was getting dehydrated, so then I wasn't producing a lot of milk then either. So, if you find that your milk production is getting low, gulp down a few glasses of water and you will see that your next feeding will go a lot better.

Three Months Old!

I don't know where the time has gone, but my little baby is now three months old. He has changed so much during the past month and we have been so busy that it has just gone by way to fast. Jackson is now a chatty chatty boy. As soon as he wakes up in the morning or from a nap he is cooing to whoever comes and gets him. I think that he's telling us about what he was dreaming about, but who really knows.

3 months old!

We are also finally on somewhat of a sleep schedule, which I am super excited about. Jackson will take three naps a day and then sleep pretty great at night. We start our bedtime routine around 7 or 730 which consists of a diaper change, pj's and then reading some books. Then we swaddle him up, feed him a bottle and he is usually out until 1 or 2 in the morning. Then it's a quick diaper change and feeding and he's out again till about 7 or so. It seems weird that we are still having some broken sleep at night but Jason and I are feeling a lot more rested now because we are getting longer stretches of sleep.

This month we didn't have too much going on...but we are going to get to see Grandma's and Grandpa's soon when they come to help us move!

Jackson has gotten a lot bigger...I'm not sure how much he weighs since we don't go to the Dr. till 4 months, but I do know that he is still in size 2 diapers and we are in 3-6 month clothes...more towards the 6 than the 3. He is also a lot more alert and loves to play with Jason and I. He is getting more and more interested in his toys and Cooper. He has started to smile and giggle every time he sees Cooper.

We love this outfit!

He really likes going on stroller rides and so I try to take him and Cooper for a walk everyday, which is super easy right now since it's so nice outside.

We haven't started teething yet, but I think he is getting really close because he is drooling like crazy. Some days we have a drool mark all the way to our belly button on his onesie. I really am hoping that he's not teething yet, I'm not ready for him to grow up that much yet.

Some things to look forward to...Daddy's graduation, Jackson's baptism, the move to Michigan...and maybe our first day of daycare (if Mommy gets the job...fingers crossed!)

April Weight Loss

Whoops I had planned on posting about this sooner...sorry things have been a little nuts around here. I have realized something very key when it comes to my eating habits...stress equals sweets. I know this sounds so cliche and some of you out there are like whatever..done reading her stuff, but it's true for some reason when I get stressed I want the sweets. April has been a very stressful month for our little family. At the beginning of the month we went back to South Dakota for Jason's Grandma's funeral. It was a very stressful time for us for a few reasons: one we were going to be flying with an infant and having to figure out all the little items that we needed to take with us, how we were going to get them there and worrying about how he was going to do on the flight (we didn't want to be those parents with the really annoying kid that makes you hate flying coach...there are enough reasons to hate coach without us adding to it), two this was the first major loss that Jason has gone through that he can remember, or that I have been around for, three it's hard being at home with all your favorite foods that mom makes or restaurants that you only get when you go home. So, there were my failures this month...I was a stress eater when we were home, and I didn't eat well when we were there either due to peer pressure and availability. Solution to these well obviously I need to find a new way to deal with stress that doesn't involve chocolate and two never go home again (haha that's not going to happen).

While I was home my sister did also mention that she was wanting to drop a few lbs. from her pregnancy, and like any supportive sister I said that I would do my best to keep her in check if she turned around and did the same for me. We talked about what our ultimate goals were and what our plans were on how to get there. Since we have done that I think we have done really well. Plus I think there's something about having someone check in on you, especially a sibling that keeps you on track....I don't know maybe it has something to do with sibling rivalry.

I have taken some advice from a fellow reader that said to have all the materials to prepare a meal at home instead of opting for a fast food option. We have been working on eating at home more anyway because we have to get our freezer cleared out for the move next month, but I also agree with her. It's important to know what you are eating and how it is prepared and the best way to do that is to do it yourself. It also actually helps out our finances when we eat at home opposed to eating out.

Well since I have last written about my weight I have lost 5  lbs. So I only have 10 to go! Wish me luck and like I said before, if you have any tips or recipes please send them my way...I'm all ears!

Packing...Unpacking...Packing Ugh

The past four years it seems like this is a lot of what Jason and I do. We pack then we unpack...then in two years repeat. Thank goodness that this next move we will be able to unpack and then stay put for four whole years! With all the moving that Jason and I have done I have learned a few things about the art of moving that I have to remind myself from time to time....

1) Pack slowly: make sure that all your boxes are full with items from the same room so that way when you unpack everything stays nice and neat and you aren't just throwing stuff all over the place.

2) Label boxes properly: kitchen crap no longer works for packing...I have invested a lot of time into writing on labels exactly where the box needs to go and what it inside...that way when we get to our destination and our parents want to start helping.

3) This is an excellent opportunity to get rid of the items that you haven't used in the past few years and/or a time to update or change any of your current possessions...Jason and I took advantage of this one for the first time and reupholstered or dining room chairs, they turned out great!

4) Don't get stressed! Moving is a stressful experience, it's important to try to remain calm and just survive. Everything will get done in its own time and you just have to kind of go with the flow (I know easier said than done!)

5) Try to get as much help as you can when it comes to loading your truck. (We have found that pizza and beer still work as a good form a payment for these services!)

It's always hard to transition to a new state, a new city and a new home. It's hard to leave behind your family and friends and to start new...but the experience and the adventures sometimes make it all worth it. We will keep you posted on the transition to our new lives in Michigan and of course our new house too!