Here's a random funny video of Ethan you all might enjoy.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Becoming Domesticated
For the past almost two months, we have not had the use of our kitchen table because it was turned into my craft table. While my mom was here, I thought it would be cool to learn to quilt, so we picked out a pattern and bought supplies and got started. We accidentally bought enough fabric to make two (I know that sounds strange--there is an explanation, but it turns out its pretty long and boring), so we put one mostly together while she was here (I still need to decide what I want to do inside the big white rectangles and actually quilt it), and I have been working on putting the second one together on my own since she left. It has probably taken me longer than it should, but when I have any free time, I feel like I have to do a little of everything. I watch TV for a minute, maybe work on my puzzle for five minutes, read a chapter of a book, possibly play a few games on my husband's ITouch, fold some clothes, check out everyone's blogs, digitally scrapbook for a bit, do my hair, etc. Anyway, here is the mostly finished quilt with a matching pillowtop. I'm quite pleased.
Israel's a Roller!
Israel rolled over for the first time Wednesday, and you can imagine how excited Hiram and I were about that. Yeah, we pretty much think its the most amazing thing to ever have happened. =) It surprised us because up until Wednesday, he absolutely HATED to be on his stomach and then somehow all of a sudden he doesn't think its so bad, and he's holding his head up super high, and he's rolling. Yay! Here's a picture of him chilling on his tummy and a video of Roll #4. It doesn't come til the very end, so feel free to skip the first minute.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Sleep Update
I knew that at some point, I was going to simply have to get Israel sleeping on his own at night. That point came two Saturdays ago at 5:00 in the morning. Up until that point, I hadn't had it in me to make the little guy sleep on his own, but it just got way too uncomfortable. At night, I couldn't pee, or sneeze, or blow my nose for fear of disturbing my sleeping child, but worst of all, I couldn't turn over and move the way that I need to to have a restful sleep. I tried to have him sleep close to me but far enough away that I could move without bothering him, but our bed is simply not big enough for that. Next I tried letting him stay on the bed while I moved to the floor, but I was too paranoid about Hiram rolling on him or him falling off.
So, as I was saying, eventually I got too frustrated with not getting any sleep, and that was the point that Israel learned to sleep on his own...or started to--it didn't happen over night. =) Get it? Ha ha. I'm so hilarious. Well, to continue, I called a good friend of mine, Rachel Lucas, for courage...and encouragement, and I came up with a plan I was committed to for a week to help Izzy conquer his crib. The first night was probably better than it would have been because he'd cried a LOT during the day and was very worn out. He fell asleep after only crying for 30 minutes (maybe that seems like a long time to some of you, but to me that was amazing). He woke up after only 40 minutes, though, and then cried another 25 minutes before going back to sleep. He woke a short time later but then only cried for 10 minutes. (I was very aware of how long he suffered, because for some reason, I felt this moral obligation to suffer along with him, so I listened to him cry and almost went crazy...I know, it didn't make sense.) He then slept two hours. I went in to feed him and was encouraged when he went right back to sleep without any fuss. He woke again three hours later. Same thing--I fed him, and he went right back to bed. I was feeling pretty great until he woke up two hours later and would NOT go back to sleep but instead cried all the way to 7:00 (about an hour and a half).
Day two was TERRIBLE. I put the baby down and had high hopes because he went without the slightest fuss. Boy was I ever wrong. It was max 30 minutes before he was up crying. He then cried and fussed for like FIVE hours. It wasn't ever very mad like its been in the past, and he did quiet himself for several minutes at a time a few times, but he just never really gave up the fight. I finally took him to bed with me at 1:00. He slept til 4:00, nursed, went back to sleep, and then slept til 7:30. He was very tired that day. The third day was much better. Israel went down quietly. He began to fuss shortly but was done within 25 minutes. Then I heard him once or twice more start to fuss half-heartedly, but each time he gave up quickly. Each time after I fed him, he went right back to sleep happily. Only problem is that he wanted to wake up to eat EVERY TWO HOURS, which is not ideal. Day four was very similar.
It might not sound too bad just reading over those days quickly on your computer screen, but they felt like eternity. I felt that I was doing the right thing, and I was convinced that in the long run we would both be much happier, but it was a very hard few days. I was rewarded by the fifth day. Days five, six, and seven, and for that matter eight, nine, and ten, etc. have all been much the same. Each of these nights, Israel has gone down with only the teensiest bit of fuss, if any at all. He has slept roughly a three hour (sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less) chunk at first and then goes two hours before feedings. After nursing, he is allowed a minute or two of comfort sucking, then I pat him gently on the back for a minute, place him in his crib and walk out. Again, he doesn't fuss much or for long if at all and then goes back to sleep. He does still spend the last couple hours with me in bed because I want him to sleep longer so that I can, but we both enjoy this now, and I don't think there's anything wrong with it.
Bedtime has become something I look forward to now because I know what to expect. We take a short bath together, and I give him a little massage as I lotion him. I dress and swaddle him and nurse him on one side while I sing primary songs to him. Then I say a prayer for him, nurse him on the other side (silently now), pat him for a minute or two, and put him in his bed, very drowsy but still awake, and I walk out. I know that he will fall asleep on his own shortly, and I can plan on about three hours before he needs me again. I look forward to this all day because then I can read, or scrapbook, or work on my quilt, or just watch TV. I love to be able to stretch out when I go to bed and to be able to cuddle with my husband again. I used to always be strong-arming him to keep him from hurting our son. =) I have to admit, though, that it has been a little bittersweet. I am ecstatic that he's sleeping on his own for most of the night, but I do find myself missing the little guy and feeling kind of lonely and lost and confused when I don't have to be caring for him. Reminds me of As Good as it Gets when the mom all of a sudden doesn't have to worry about her son dying every minute, and she doesn't quite know what to do with herself. I'm sure I'll get used to it, though. =)
Thanks to everyone for their words of advice and comfort, especially thanks to Rachel who inspired me. Here's a picture of the happy boy so you can see that I haven't done any permanent damage. My Aunt Danielle made the hat. Isn't it awesome?
And this isn't recent, but it remains one of my favorite sleeping pictures because Israel looks like he's dreaming of sunbathing or something.
And another for good measure.
So, as I was saying, eventually I got too frustrated with not getting any sleep, and that was the point that Israel learned to sleep on his own...or started to--it didn't happen over night. =) Get it? Ha ha. I'm so hilarious. Well, to continue, I called a good friend of mine, Rachel Lucas, for courage...and encouragement, and I came up with a plan I was committed to for a week to help Izzy conquer his crib. The first night was probably better than it would have been because he'd cried a LOT during the day and was very worn out. He fell asleep after only crying for 30 minutes (maybe that seems like a long time to some of you, but to me that was amazing). He woke up after only 40 minutes, though, and then cried another 25 minutes before going back to sleep. He woke a short time later but then only cried for 10 minutes. (I was very aware of how long he suffered, because for some reason, I felt this moral obligation to suffer along with him, so I listened to him cry and almost went crazy...I know, it didn't make sense.) He then slept two hours. I went in to feed him and was encouraged when he went right back to sleep without any fuss. He woke again three hours later. Same thing--I fed him, and he went right back to bed. I was feeling pretty great until he woke up two hours later and would NOT go back to sleep but instead cried all the way to 7:00 (about an hour and a half).
Day two was TERRIBLE. I put the baby down and had high hopes because he went without the slightest fuss. Boy was I ever wrong. It was max 30 minutes before he was up crying. He then cried and fussed for like FIVE hours. It wasn't ever very mad like its been in the past, and he did quiet himself for several minutes at a time a few times, but he just never really gave up the fight. I finally took him to bed with me at 1:00. He slept til 4:00, nursed, went back to sleep, and then slept til 7:30. He was very tired that day. The third day was much better. Israel went down quietly. He began to fuss shortly but was done within 25 minutes. Then I heard him once or twice more start to fuss half-heartedly, but each time he gave up quickly. Each time after I fed him, he went right back to sleep happily. Only problem is that he wanted to wake up to eat EVERY TWO HOURS, which is not ideal. Day four was very similar.
It might not sound too bad just reading over those days quickly on your computer screen, but they felt like eternity. I felt that I was doing the right thing, and I was convinced that in the long run we would both be much happier, but it was a very hard few days. I was rewarded by the fifth day. Days five, six, and seven, and for that matter eight, nine, and ten, etc. have all been much the same. Each of these nights, Israel has gone down with only the teensiest bit of fuss, if any at all. He has slept roughly a three hour (sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less) chunk at first and then goes two hours before feedings. After nursing, he is allowed a minute or two of comfort sucking, then I pat him gently on the back for a minute, place him in his crib and walk out. Again, he doesn't fuss much or for long if at all and then goes back to sleep. He does still spend the last couple hours with me in bed because I want him to sleep longer so that I can, but we both enjoy this now, and I don't think there's anything wrong with it.
Bedtime has become something I look forward to now because I know what to expect. We take a short bath together, and I give him a little massage as I lotion him. I dress and swaddle him and nurse him on one side while I sing primary songs to him. Then I say a prayer for him, nurse him on the other side (silently now), pat him for a minute or two, and put him in his bed, very drowsy but still awake, and I walk out. I know that he will fall asleep on his own shortly, and I can plan on about three hours before he needs me again. I look forward to this all day because then I can read, or scrapbook, or work on my quilt, or just watch TV. I love to be able to stretch out when I go to bed and to be able to cuddle with my husband again. I used to always be strong-arming him to keep him from hurting our son. =) I have to admit, though, that it has been a little bittersweet. I am ecstatic that he's sleeping on his own for most of the night, but I do find myself missing the little guy and feeling kind of lonely and lost and confused when I don't have to be caring for him. Reminds me of As Good as it Gets when the mom all of a sudden doesn't have to worry about her son dying every minute, and she doesn't quite know what to do with herself. I'm sure I'll get used to it, though. =)
Thanks to everyone for their words of advice and comfort, especially thanks to Rachel who inspired me. Here's a picture of the happy boy so you can see that I haven't done any permanent damage. My Aunt Danielle made the hat. Isn't it awesome?
And this isn't recent, but it remains one of my favorite sleeping pictures because Israel looks like he's dreaming of sunbathing or something.
And another for good measure.
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