Sorry for the hiatus. I've been out of town. I had a conference in Perdido that I had to be at for a few days and once I got back...well, I really wasn't in the mood for blogging...just wanted to soak up my family. We've had quite a few developments in the last several days so I think I'll post them in a list format.
1. Gaines now has his own room. He's had his own room all along but he couldn't reach his room as his concentrator had been set up and he can't really sleep in there yet so his home base was our den. Like, his clothes and all his belongings had been stored in various hiding places in the den for almost a year so I'm pretty pumped to have all his stuff where it belongs. We did some maneuvering and now Gaines can access his own room. He can't sleep in there yet but we are actively trying to find a solution to that. I'm thinking it will involve a video baby monitor rigged up so that we can see his sat monitor. If any of you have any thoughts on video baby monitors...please let me know. They are kind of expensive and I want to make sure it will work before I actually buy one.
2. The Gaines is getting a little tough love these days on taking naps. Until the last week, he'd been held to fall asleep (naps only...he goes to bed at night well) and then he started not sleeping so great at night. Long story short, our pediatrician thinks he needs to learn to start putting himself to sleep so that he can put himself back to sleep at 4 a.m. (when he's been making up). Basically its the cry it out approach. Its not going so great at the moment...fingers crossed that if we are persistent it will pay off. He's taking little 30 and 45 minute naps and I know he not getting rested. I'm giving it another week and then we'll have to reconsider. I'm all for the tough love because Lord knows, Gaines could use a little discipline in his life but he needs to rest too. Thoughts on this one???
3. We are pretty much t.v. free at our house right now. Beau and I decided over the weekend to really cut back on it for the boys and ourselves. Reed now gets 30 minutes a day (Wonder Pets right before bed to help him wind down) and Beau and I are trying to cut back too. I like it. We actually spend time as a family...a novel concept, I know. Puzzles and books and dance parties...Reed turned on some music tonight and started dancing and wanted everyone to dance so I played along. Beau walked in right after we had done the "Go Reed, Go Reed, Go, Go, Go Reed" and the whole "Go Mama" bit so we started up with "Go Daddy, Go Daddy"...expecting Beau to join in. I wish you could have seen the look on his face. He just froze and stared at us. I know its not funny to read but it was hilarious. There was no convincing Beau to take his turn in the spotlight.
4. Did you see the sunglasses Gaines was wearing in the last post? Well, Reed fell in love with them and wore them to school every day for a week. He even told me that "glasses make you cool". Two days ago they were in the floor and I stepped on them and broke them. I put them away and prayed that he would forgot about them. That lasted until our next trip outside when he asked for his "glasses". I had to tell him they were broken and there was a whole conversation that went something like this:
R-Did I break them?
Me-I don't know...they are just broken.
R-I broke them.
Me-No you didn't baby...
R-Who broke them?
Me-It doesn't matter who broke them...they just broke.
R-I broke them (sad face here)
Me-No Reed, mama stepped on them and broke them on accident. Maybe you and I can go buy you a new pair.
R-But I only want my blue ones...
Knife in my heart. I felt terrible.
5. Reed loves baseball and got a new t-ball set this weekend. I don't know who was more excited, Beau or Reed. I know I'm his mother so I'm biased but he's really pretty good.
6. Also, can you believe that one year ago yesterday we got the phone call that Gaines was getting transferred home. That was such a good day. I cannot even tell you the weight that was lifted off of me that afternoon. I felt physically lighter. Also, tomorrow is the day that Gaines should be a year old. He's doing so awesome right now. He pushed a push toy across his room today. He's been walking on furniture sideways for a while now but this is actual one foot in front of the other. I cannot tell y'all how proud I am of that boy.
7. Gaines went to church for the first time this weekend. Technically his second time if you count his baby dedication but his first time in the nursery while we went to church and Sunday School. Yay!
Ok...I think that's about it. I'm going to try and get my assistant to post pictures soon. I'll be better about the blogging but I'm tired now. Peace out.
Brittany
7 comments:
OK,the Summer Infant video monitors are the best! I have one and love it! You should try it, it really does work. Also, cry it out (at this age) will really work, you just have to be persistent. :D Best of luck!
The crying it out is harder on the Mama than it is the baby. Because of his age, it may take a little longer, but, I promise, if you can make it through it, you'll reap the rewards. We have a video monitor. Can't remember the name brand, but it was the not-cheapest but not-the-most-expensive brand at Toys R Us when Alex was born, 5 years ago. Still works!
This is the one that I have and it is awesome!
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2265802
We have a Graco infant video monitor and love it. Although you may have to set the video right up in front of the sats monitor to see it well.
We have also used the cry it out method and while it is so hard to listen to your baby cry, our girls started sleeping through the night within several days of starting it. Now my youngest goes to bed at 5:30pm and gets up at 6:30am without a peep all night
Been reading since you got put in the hospital before Gaines was born, just not a big commenter. Delurking to say my 18 month old has not slept but one night in her own bed, she sleeps with us. That's because I'm doing everything I always said I'd never do and nothing I always said I would do. I have tried the CIO for one night and I made it longer than my husband. It took her until hse was about 14 months old to finally stop waking up at night, even in the bed with us. I just could not the CIO, don't beat yourself up if it doesn't work. Bailey was born a month early and spent only 11 days in the NICU, not near what Gaines has gone through. At 4 months she went into respiratory distress and at 5 months had major surgery on her airway and spent over week in the PICU back on the vent. That's all I could see in my head when I tried to make her sleep in her bed and CIO. Don't know if you can relate to any of that, but just wanted to throw those feelings/emotions out there.
Too cute about the dancing and great for cutting back on TV. We need to cut back on everything electronic at our house. It's so hard, so good for you for doing it!
We LOVE our video monitor. We live in the tiniest house ever and I swore to my husband that when our little girl was born (she's 4.5 years old now) that I wouldn't even need a monitor because I could hear her mumble through the walls. I don't think we could live w/o our video monitor...it still works and we still use it ALL THE TIME. We're finally expecting another baby and we're going to buy a second monitor for their room. One to keep on the crib and one to keep focused on her bed.
I support your decision to cry it out. M was a great sleeper when she was a baby, but there were phases when we had to implement a little tough love. This summer has been the hardest ever with her sleeping (at 4.5!) and I've had to just shut her in her room and let her cry herself to sleep several nights...thank goodness for the video monitor!! I know it's hard, but the reward is worth it in the end.
Good luck! God bless...
Zoe has been waking up more here lately like at 3 or 4 in the morning which makes having to get up for work at 6-6:30 very hard. I am hoping this is just a stage. We have been going in her room, soothing her and she has been going back to sleep. Should we try the crying out method?
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