Sleep Training...so far so...well I think we're making progress

As I write this on my BlackBerry (because I can't find 2 seconds to open my computer when Maggie isn't around) I am listening to Jake cry upstairs. Yep, we are on th second of 10 minute waits. He is mad and I am a bit numb to the crying. He went down for this nap without one tear and he still seems tired when I check on him. Although it makes him even madder when I go in I almost don't want to anymore. He still needs to be in his crib until nap time ends, right?

He did take 2 naps that were almost 2 hours each yesterday and he went to bed without crying last night. He slept from 8pm-6am on Weds night and from 8pm-5am last night. So I feel like that's pretty good. But here we are on day 4 and this morning nap looks just like Tuesday's. Is it because he's older that it's taking so long? I feel like he should be getting the hang of things by now. All I can do is keep trying and hope we'll get there.

I am a little discouraged right this minute. Hopefully this afternoon will be easier. I don't have too much to get done today (just 11 dresses to finish...yeah, not much). So maybe I'll squeeze in a nap later. Hopefully.

Random Thoughts from People Our Age

I saw this posted on Tammy's blog and I thought it was hilarious. ENJOY!
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-I wish Google Maps had an “Avoid Ghetto” routing option.

-More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can’t wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that’s not only better, but also more directly involves me.

-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.

-I don’t understand the purpose of the line, “I don’t need to drink to have fun.” Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they’ve invented the lighter?

-Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you’re going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you’re crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

-That’s enough, Nickelback.

-I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.

-Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the “people you may know”

feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?

-Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn’t work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ’s. We just figured it out. Today’s kids are soft.

-There is a great need for sarcasm font.

-Sometimes, I’ll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the f was going on when I first saw it.

-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I’ll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone’s laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I’m still the only one who really, really gets it.

-How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

- I think part of a best friend’s job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

-The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.

- A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

- Was learning cursive really necessary?

- Lol has gone from meaning, “laugh out loud” to “I have nothing else to say”.

- I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

- Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

- My brother’s Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads.

Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, “Cuz we beat you, and you hate us.”

Classy, bro.

- Whenever someone says “I’m not book smart, but I’m street smart”, all I hear is “I’m not real smart, but I’m imaginary smart”.

- How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear what they said?

- I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using ‘as in’

examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss’s last name to an attorney and said “Yes that’s G as in…(10 second lapse)..ummm…Goonies”

-What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

- While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it…thanks Mario Kart.

- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

- Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

- I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

-Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

- I would like to officially coin the phrase ‘catching the swine flu’

to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: “Dave caught the swine flu last night.”

-I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind of tired.

- Bad decisions make good stories

-Whenever I’m Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don’t mind if I do!

- Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?

-If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.

-Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I’m from, this shouldn’t be a problem….

-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you’ve made up your mind that you just aren’t doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don’t want to have to restart my collection.

-There’s no worse feeling than that millisecond you’re sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

-I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

- “Do not machine wash or tumble dry” means I will never wash this ever.

-I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There’s so much pressure. ‘I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren’t watching this. It’s only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?’

-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello?

Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What’d you do after I didn’t answer? Drop the phone and run away?

- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

-When I meet a new girl, I’m terrified of mentioning something she hasn’t already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.

-I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it’s on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

-Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles…

- As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

-Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

-It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

-I keep some people’s phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

-Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn’t know what do to with it.

-Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey – but I’d bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time…

-My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day “Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?” How the hell do I respond to that?

-It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.

-I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

-I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

-I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

-The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There’s nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard before dinner.

Tutorial Tuesday: How to Make and Tie a Moby Wrap

I think I might. As soon I have plans to leave the house with the kids again. However, by that time....Jake might be walking.....

Head on over to Monkeys-On-The-Bed for more!!

Sleep Training Day 2.....the rollercoaster of guilt

Thanks to those who left comments yesterday. It's nice to know who you are. I know there are plenty others of you lurking and that's okay too. I am getting the sense that many would like to know how sleep training day 2 is going so far and of course how the night went last night. I will just start by saying I have had better nights and I have had better days. But we are only half way through and there are plenty of hours left for improvement. If you are just here for a craft tutorial.....please scroll down. Happy Tutorial Tuesday to ya! If you don't mind a little woe is me session then keep reading.

First and foremost let me say that I know I don't have it that bad. I could be much much much worse. There are many mothers out there that fight harder and longer battles to raise their children and in the grand scheme of things I am not dealing with all that much. Having said that, I would still like to throw myself a small pity party and you are of course invited.

Last night started of like any other. I got Jacob ready for bed as usual just before 7pm and started his bedtime feed right at 7. As per the nurses instructions, I was to not feed him to sleep but feed him to drowsy. When I got the sense that he was done I was to make eye contact, sing him a little song or something, and then put him down awake but drowsy. If he cried wait 10 minutes before going in. He cried lightly but was out in about 5 minutes. He then cried/whimpered on and off for about an hour. Never for very long, but just enough to get me listening. I was by myself for bedtime last night so it was helpful to have the first ten minutes happen while I was getting Mags ready for bed. I had enough going on with her to not stew over him and his tears. And that's one part that really sucks,....he has real tears now....the are little but they are there....

I went to bed about 10:30 and then stewed and tossed and turned and worried that I was doing the right thing and then I worried that he had suffocated himself with his lovey (I made Dan go check just in case) and then I worried about what I was going to do when he got up. I laid there until almost midnight. Just staring at the insides of my eyelids.

Around 12:20 he started to stir. This is much earlier than usual. I watched the clock until 12:29 and then like a switch, he got quiet. Shew...we made it...or so I thought. At 12:45 he started up again. This time he was filled with so much angst that the 10 minutes were almost unbearable. But, my be was super comfy and I was really tired, I diligently waited the requisite 10 minutes. At 12:55 I went in to feed him. He at for 30 minutes total. Again I laid him down drowsy but awake. Again he cried when I left. It only took him about 3 minutes to settle and fall asleep.

Then I got some rest. I slept from about 1:30 until 6:30am. At 6:00 I was awakened by his cooing. It was a nice sound but entirely too early. I decided to wait him out. Would the cooing stop and he fall back asleep? (no) Would the cooing gradually gain speed until he was uncontrollably crying? (yes) I went into his room at 6:30 to calm him down. His ramp up from cooing to crying was very short, but he cooed for more than 20 minutes. I really want him to get to 7am. We're working on it.

On to naps.....duh don duh....(**cue ominous music**)...not so successful this morning. Because he got up early, he was tired early. I made him last until 8:30 before I put him down. He got himself to sleep very quickly (YAY!) but then woke up after 1 hour. (BOO!) For the second hour of his nap I went in every 10 minutes to soothe him (not really every ten minutes, but I did go in about 4 times during the hour...every time I came in he seemed to get even more pissed when I left....although he was all smiles when I was in there.) I finally rescued him from his crib at 10:50. He ate like a champ. I have been trying the Gripe Water, but he spits most of it out. ....and then I remember the tip that Jenny gave me. (put it in a bottle nipple and let him suck it out...that worked much better...thanks Jenny!!!!!!)

So here we are. I am now out on the back porch enjoying the AwEsOmE day. Maggie is splashing around in the baby pool and watering the plants. Jacob is next to me in the shade on a blanket, cooing away. I might put him in the bumbo if he gets bored on his back.

Hopefully, the afternoon nap will be smoother since he is pretty tired already from only having an hour nap followed by and hour plus of intermittent crying. I feel like I should feel really bad about the CIO method, but honestly I don't. I feel like it's going to work in the long run. If I can make it through the next few days. If.............

Hi...it's been awhile

Hi there. Have you missed me? I have missed you. I haven't been on in a while, because, in case you didn't know, I have and ALMOST 2 Year Old and an ALMOST 4 Month old. My hands are full. Better full than empty! At least that's what I tell the old ladies that look at me at the grocery store with that look of longing and pity all in one. Other moms...you know the look. So here I am. I am here today because I need you Internet. I need you to bend your ear in my direction and let me vent.

I know today is Love Monday and I will get there today, but not yet. If you just want to hear the fluffy stuff, then feel free to scroll down. Okay, now the warm fuzzy folks are gone. Let's get down to brass tacks. Life as I once knew it is gone. Now, I am not talking about Thursday evening Martini's at the Rossi or even Friday nights at the Mynt Lounge. I am talking morning outings and having more that 1 hour daily to run all of my errands. But WHY? you ask. JACOB.

For the past few days, Jacob has been a general cranky pants during the day. He is happy when one of the following is occurring: 1) he's eating, 2) he's riding in the car, 3) he's asleep. Other than that he is just generally whining at me. So....I started to realize that he never burps. Not all that uncommon in breastfed babies, you say? You're right and his sis was the same way. However...he toots like a mad man. He is constantly letting them rip and he only has one good poo a day. This all leads me to believe that he has some bad gas. I called the pediatrician this morning to inquire about the Gripe Water thing. Nurse Chloe says GO FOR IT! It won't hurt and it could help. Then she asks my why I might want to try it. I begin to explain the grumpy factor and bad napping and then I start to talk about how tired I am and that Maggie is now in the "MINE" and "NO" phase and how my socks feel funny and how I never quite get my oatmeal to the right temperature (add an ice cube? nope now it's too cold. okay in the microwave...dang too hot...argh...) and how....well you get the idea. After about 5 minutes of general venting, therapist Chloe begins to ask leading questions about Jacob's daily napping. Am I putting him down in the same place (no) at the same time (mostly) for EVERY nap (um.....NO...did I mention I have a 2 year old?) Well, in that case. DUH...."mommy you are doing all of this to yourself. Jacob needs sleep training. I bet he will even start sleeping through the night if you fix his daily naps"

Sleeping through the night you say? Okay, I'm listening and as I am listening I am realizing that this is all the stuff I was adamant about with Maggie. Jacob needs it too and I am doing both of us a disservice by not sticking with it. So, no more outings in the morning. No more Friday playgroups. No more life. I know this is a mere blip in the grand scheme of things, but now I have to figure out how to keep Maggie (and myself for that matter) from climbing the walls.

Sleep training began with this afternoon's nap. I put him down happy and awake 10 minutes before the desired sleep start time (1pm). I am to let him cry for as long as I can stand it (in this case I was going to wait 10 minutes) HEY INTERNET!! GUESS WHAT....he was quiet in 6 minutes. YAY! I didn't go up once. Now that's pretty good progress so far. What? It's only the first nap you say. Shut up. I am looking for silver linings. And those of you out there that think it's wrong to let them cry it out. Good for you....head on down to Love Mondays.

Usually he begins to cry after about 45 minutes of sleep. Guess what? Yep. I am going to have to wait another 10 minutes before I go soothe him. I am not sure what the best way to soothe him is. I don't want to pick him up. The nurse discouraged the paci because once it falls out we are back to square one. SO...I guess I will use my mommy instinct and see where we land. Hopefully he just falls back to sleep and I don't have to come up with a plan.

So...same nap time....same nap channel....tomorrow my friends.

I need to get some sewing done. I have 10 nursing covers done. 11 dresses in progress. 12 belts in progress. shew...I am a busy seamstress. If you interested you can shop my wares at www.the.abbeygiftshop.com. My stuff isn't on the site (yet) but you local folks can jot down the address and head on over. I think she is planning on opening the shop sometime in September.

If you landed hear to order a nursing cover or other such baby gear....don't worry I will have more fabrics soon. In the meantime you can send me an email at ForYourPeanut (at) gmail (dot) com.

Okay...

Love Monday

• LOVE that Bruce and Amy are expecting there "Cheetah" in February. His/Her big brother "Cooger" will be awesome!

• LOVE that Maggie will be TWO next month. ELMO birthday here we come. If anyone has any good Elmo birthday sites to send me to, please feel free!

• LOVE the Internet love. I love that 40+ people look at my blog daily. What keeps you coming back? Or....are you all just spam bots trolling for email addresses?

• LOVE the garden. So far I have some green beans and a couple of good handfuls of cherry tomatoes. There are lots more things on the vines though. Please send ripening thoughts.

• LOVE all of the blogs on my blogroll. I keep reading things at 3am, when I am feeding Jacob, and it's keeping me sane. All you bloggers out there....keep it coming!

Lastly....really.....what does keep you coming back. Of the 40+ readers out there, I only know who a handful of you are. WHO ARE YOU? Please tell me 1 (or more) interesting thing(s) about yourself in the comments. And for those of you I already know....tell me something I don't. :)

LOVE,
Amanda

AmandaOlogy

I'm hoping you'll fill this out about yourself. I would love to find out more about you! Copy this, paste into the comments or your own blog, replace my answers with yours and re-post this as your name followed by "ology".


***********FOODOLOGY***************

What is your salad dressing of choice?
Blue Cheese

What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
Akai Hana

What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?
Pizza Hut Pan Pizza

What are your pizza toppings of choice?
Mushrooms, pepperoni, bacon, and black olives

What do you like to put on your toast?
Apple Butter

***********TECHNOLOGY***************

How many televisions are in your house?
3 (one has no cable and no converter box, so it just catches dust)

What color is your cellphone?
Pink

Do you have an iPod?
No

***************BIOLOGY******************

Are you right-handed or left-handed?
right-handed

Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
Blood, wisdom teeth, 2 other teeth, and 2 babies.

What is the last heavy item you lifted?
Diapers, 4 boxes of 'em

Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
No

************BULLOLOGY**************

If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
No

If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
I love my name. I wouldn't change it.

Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?
No Way.

**************FAVORITOLOGY****************

Season?
Spring. Everything is so fresh and new.

Holiday?
My Birthday. Yay Me!

Day of the week?
Saturday.

Month?
February. My birthday!

***********CURRENTOLOGY*****************

Missing someone?
Yes

Mood?
calm

What are you listening to?
Jacob starting to cry.

Current worry?
getting it all done. we have Maggie's birthday party in about a month and the house looks like it did a year ago when we had just moved in. we have such a hard time decorating. I call our style...cardboard and toys r us

***************RANDOMOLOGY*****************

First place you went this morning?
to feed Jacob

What's the last movie you saw?
??? I probably fell asleep.

***************OTHER-OLOGY*****************

How many pairs of flip flops do you own?
3 but I am only allowed to wear them when Dan isn't around

Last time you had a run-in with the cops?
I had a state trooper go through my diaper bag at the fair on Sunday.

Last person you talked to?
Jacob

Last person you hugged?
Maggie

Do you always answer your phone?
No. I'm busy and don't like to talk on the phone.

It's four in the morning and you get a text message, who is it?
My friend Lauren

If you could change your eye color what would it be?
Green

Do you own a digital camera?
Yes

Have you ever had a pet fish?
yes

Favorite Christmas song(s)?
All of them. Especially the ones where Dan feels compelled to sing along to the radio

What's on your wish list for your birthday?
A night out with NO kids

Can you do push ups?
yeah....a couple of em

Can you do the splits?
I used to be able to....I haven't tried recently

Does the future make you more nervous or excited?
Excited

Do you have any saved texts?
Only because I neglect to erase them.

Have you ever been in a car accident?
Several, nothing horrible.

Do you have an accent?
Depends on whose listening. Some say I sound southern.

What is the last movie to make you cry?
I can't remember. I try to avoid this kind.

Plans tonight?
Picture project!

Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom?
Not quite.

Name 3 things you bought yesterday?
diapers, diapers, diapers, wipes, sippy cups

Have you ever been given roses?
Yes. Dan had them delivered to me on our 6 month dating anniversary.

Met someone who changed your life?
Yes

How will you bring in the New Year?
Probably by going to bed early.

What song represents you?
Hooked on a Feeling....from the Reservoir Dogs soundtrack. OOGA CHUCKA!

Name two people who might complete this?
Kelly and Amy....maybe

Would you go back in time if you were given the chance?
No, the present usually seems better.

Have you ever dated someone longer than a year?
Yes

Do you have any tattoos/piercings?
No and Yes.

Does anyone love you?
Yes

Would you be a pirate?
Why?

What songs do you sing in the shower?
I don't sing in the shower....I relish the quiet alone time and the hot water.

Ever had someone sing to you?
nope and please don't

When did you last cry?
probbaly recently. I have a 2-year old and a 3-month old.

Do you like to cuddle?
Yes. It's a great way to start or end my day.

Have you held hands with anyone today?
Yes

Who was the last person you took a picture of?
The kiddos

Are most of the friends in your life new or old?
Mostly new.

Do you like pulpy orange juice?
Absolutely not.

What is something your friends make fun of you for?
How quickly I am willing to make an ass out of myself. We only live life once. Why not have a lot of fun while we are here?