Update on last night....

First of all, please allow me to apologize for my little 'outburst' at the end of last night's post. I was frustrated and didn't mean to come across as harshly as I believe I did. I realize that each individual family has it's own parenting style, and what works for one family may not work for another -- just as what works for one child may not work for another within the same family. That being said, please allow my husband and me to grow and evolve our own parenting style that works for our family without criticizing the choices that we have made or are making. Please trust that we do not take our occupation as parents lightly and are trying to be the best parents that we can be and are constantly striving to improve and better (was that redundant?) our parenting. Criticism is not helpful and only serves to distance us from the criticizer. I think it is safe to say that is the last thing any of us want. Helpful advice, however, is not to be confused with criticism and is welcomed unless it becomes overbearing. *Please don't think that by writing any of this that I am writing this to anyone in particular...I'm simply trying to write out my thoughts.*

Now, for my update on last night....

I ended up trying for three hours to get Peanut Butter Cup to fall asleep in his crib without any success. My husband (who is currently on a night schedule), gave it a try when he got home (also without any success) and so we decided to just go ahead and swaddle him again. Oh blessed relief! After he was swaddled and fed one more time my husband set Peanut Butter Cup down in his crib, where he fussed for maybe 10-15 seconds and then promptly fell back asleep. Praise be to God!

We've since decided to hold off on unswaddling him at night until he is beyond teething as right now having those two things thrown at him at once may just be adding insult to injury. We definitely don't want to compound any discomfort he may be experiencing by removing the comfort and coziness he has when he is swaddled.

Tonight when I put him down he didn't even wake up (and he was in bed just after 8:30 woo-hoo!). Such a huge difference (and relief!) compared to the past couple of nights! Despite the fact that we are eventually going to have to 'break him' of the swaddling (and who knows if given the chance if he would eventually wean himself of it sometime down the road), I highly recommend swaddling as it has definitely helped my little one to sleep better at night (I've never swaddled him for naps, but I know that many parents do). After he outgrew his blankets that we were using to swaddle him we transitioned to the Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe (see picture below) and it has been amazing. It works very well and has been an awesome tool in getting our little one to sleep at night.

 
Well, I guess I'd better take this opportunity to get some sleep before Peanut Butter Cup wakes up and wants to eat. Have a goodnight!

Has it really been FIVE months? Already? HOW?

Peanut Butter Cup turned 5 months old yesterday, and I am still in a state of disbelief that it has already been nearly half a year since he arrived and changed our lives forever. How has the time gone by so quickly? I don't think it would be as hard to believe if it had only been 3 months -- but five? That means we are only about a month away before I feel okay about beginning to introduce some solids into his diet. At the risk of sounding repetitive, I am astounded that we are almost to that point. The introduction of solid foods is a HUGE milestone to me and to be so close to it is almost unnerving in a way. Besides, it still seems like it was just last week when he started letting us know that he was VERY interested in trying the foods Mommy and Daddy were eating (when he was just over two months old), and I was telling him, "I know you want this Sweetie, but you have to wait for about another 3 1/2 months."

I think the upcoming solid food milestone coupled with the fact that he will be a year old in seven months instead of ten is what has hit me the hardest since yesterday. My little baby is well on his way to being a toddler, and while I know that particular milestone is still a little ways off it is fast approaching the horizon and will soon be in sight. Each passing day brings it closer and closer while I am powerless to stop it's approach. No one ever prepared me for the bitter-sweetness of watching my precious baby grow and change. The song, "In My Arms" by Plumb (see lyrics below and listen to it here) never fails to bring tears to my eyes because it is so very true.

Your baby blues, So full of wonder
Your Curly Que's, Your contagious smile
And as I watch, You start to grow up
All I can do is hold you tight, Knowing

Clouds will rage in
Storms will race in
But you will be safe in my arms
Rains will pour down
Waves will crash all around
But you will be safe in my arms

Story books, Are full of fairy-tales
Of kings and queens, And the bluest skies
My heart is torn just in knowing
You'll someday see, The truth for lies
When the

Clouds will rage in
Storms will race in
But you will be safe in my arms
Rains will pour down
Waves will crash all around
But you will be safe in my arms

Castles they might crumble
Dreams may not come true
Cause you are never all alone
Cause I will always
Always love you

Hey I
Hey I
Will always love you

Clouds will rage in
Storms will race in
But you will be safe in my arms
Rains will pour down
Waves will crash all around
But you will be safe in my arms

In my arms

I'm sorry if this post is ridiculously sentimental...that's what happens when your baby starts growing up on you -- you become ridiculously sentimental, or at least, I DO. Ha ha! :)

Moving on to a less sentimental topic and on to one that has caused some frustration the past few days....

Since Peanut Butter Cup has become quite proficient at rolling over, he has been rolling over at night and trying to sleep on his tummy instead of his back now. This I wouldn't mind so much as he has good head control and can prop himself up on his arms and move around, but up until a few nights ago we were still swaddling him as it helped him to sleep better. Obviously, when he rolled over while he was swaddled he didn't have the same range of motion as he would if he was not swaddled. With that in mind, about four nights ago I decided to try him in his sleep sack after one of the night feedings and see how he would do and thereby begin to get him adjusted to sleeping without the swaddler. He stayed asleep when I put him back down in his crib, but about 40 minutes later he woke up and was fussing as he rolled around in the crib. After that I re-swaddled him after feeding and changing him again as it seemed like that was the only way to help him go back to sleep. After talking to my mom the next day and her encouraging me to just work through all of the frequent wake-ups for a few nights while he adjusts to  not being swaddled and being 'free', I hesitantly decided to go ahead and work on it over the weekend. The first night Peanut Butter Cup woke up A LOT (and he tried to sleep on his face once too!). The second night I decided I was going to try putting him in a onesie instead of the sleep sack so he wouldn't get it twisted around his legs if he rolled around a lot again. I forgot initially so I ended up changing him to the onesie after he woke up the first time. He woke up more than usual again, would fall asleep nursing and then as soon as I would set him down he would roll over thereby waking himself up again and start to fuss. I tried rubbing his back, singing our special lullaby, keeping my hands on him, letting him hold my hand -- all to no avail (except for one time when he fell back to sleep for about 40 minutes after I rubbed his back for a few minutes). After a few minutes of him working himself up and me realizing he wasn't going to go back to sleep, but was just going to keep fussing and rolling around the crib I'd pick him up, nurse him, and then try again. At one point last night it took four tries over a period of an hour before he went back to sleep after being set down.

So far tonight, we are working on attempt #3...here goes....

Well, that was a no-go...I tried for twenty minutes, without success. I think the worst thing about this besides the lack of sleep for Peanut Butter Cup and myself is that we had finally gotten bedtime established as being between 8:30 and 9:00 (but tonight for example, it's nearly 10:30 and he isn't in bed yet -- and my first try at setting him down was right around 8:30). I'm at a loss...any thoughts or advice are welcome (besides "letting him cry it out" as recent research has shown that method does more harm than good, and I am just not comfortable with it. Period. End of story. I'm sorry if that offends anyone, but I'm tired of having my method of parenting criticized -- along with all of the reading and research I've done being called into question...I can assure you it has been extensive).

Anyhow...this post has become a lot longer than I originally intended it to be, so I guess I should end it before it gets any longer and I bore you to death (that is, if you've even made it this far! Ha ha!).

Goodnight Everyone!

For Real?

Just now I was reading an article about babies rolling over and I read this:

"...the average baby begins to roll at 7 or 8 months...."

and this:

"'Infants used to roll over from front to back at about 4 months,' Dr. Olson says. 'It currently seems more common to see this at 6 months There are no apparent consequences to this slight delay.' If babies aren't rolling over by 12 months, he says this should prompt some additional attention from the pediatrician."

(Here is the link to the article: Rolling, an Important Milestone)

My goodness! Peanut Butter Cup really is in a hurry to grow up! He rolled over from his tummy onto his back just a few days after he reached 3 months! And just over a month later he rolled from his back to his tummy (see previous post HE DID IT!). Next thing I know he's going to be walking. Slow down Little One, slow down.

Spring has arrived!

A friend of mine from college (Mikki) drove down last Thursday to spend a few days visiting with us (which is why I haven't posted anything recently). While she was here we were able to go out and spend some time with the horses. It was a beautiful day, so I was scurrying here and there taking pictures while Mikki was grooming and tacking Ice (our palomino Quarter Horse) and my husband held Peanut Butter Cup.

After Mikki finished with Ice I brought out my handsome boy, Titan (who'd worked himself into a frenzy while Ice was out of sight -- he was drenched with sweat), and worked with him for a while. Initially my goal was to get him out and groom him thoroughly, but after we came back and saw how worked up he'd gotten, I decided to see how he would do with being sprayed down (it's not his favorite thing -- the last time we did it last year he completely flipped out). He did pretty well, he was a bit nervous about it a few times, but I was eventually able to almost completely hose him down. When I was satisfied that he was cooled down sufficiently, I groomed him and spent some time on teaching him to ground tie (he doesn't understand the concept behind it just yet, ha ha).

Anyhow...back to my original purpose for this post! I wanted to share some pictures that I took while we were out there. I still wish I could have gotten all the snow that everyone else did (though we did get about an inch -- it was a historic 'snowstorm' for this area, ha ha), but since it isn't going to happen, I'm glad that spring has indeed arrived and is in full swing!

I know this isn't necessarily evidence of spring (though in some contexts it could be), but I couldn't resist adding this one to the bunch! My little Peanut Butter Cup showing off his new hat we got to keep the sun out of his eyes. :) I just think it's adorable.

Pictures of My Darlin'

I was able to clear off quite a bit of space on my hard drive the other day and after my camera battery had recharged I finished uploading the pictures of little Peanut Butter Cup from after he'd rolled over onto his tummy from his back for the first time. Now, several days later, I finally have a chance to upload a few pictures...that is unless the Wee One decides to wake up prematurely. :-)

Panda Bear (our insane cat that we will be finding a home for soon as he just doesn't really fit into our family and will probably do better elsewhere) is mad that my husband and I have Penny (our other cat) in the office with us -- with the door closed with him on the other side. So, why is Penny in here with us and Panda Bear not included, you might be wondering. Well, he attacked Penny, so we have them separated for a little while. However, he is mad now and (this is how smart he is) in order to get back at us he meows as loudly as possible at the bedroom door trying to wake up Peanut Butter Cup (tonight is the second time he's done it). The cat is vindictive and brilliant -- and he's been driving me nuts.

Anyhow, back to the pictures of my little Peanut Butter Cup...I just had to vent for a minute. The first few pictures were taken slightly earlier that afternoon...my husband and I were working on the yard so Peanut Butter Cup was in his jumper/play station thing in the shade while we worked (he was having so much fun! He LOVES to be outside). It was the perfect opportunity to take pictures because the lighting was perfect and I haven't quite figured out how to adjust the settings for indoor pictures to make them as good as I'd like (if anyone can give me any tips I'd be willing to give them a shot -- no pun intended. I've tried so many different combination of settings -- without much luck -- that I've been a little discouraged lately). The indoor pictures are of when he'd just rolled over. I just put the camera on auto at that point as I didn't want to miss the moment any more than I had already.

Here they are! Enjoy!

He loves to stick his tongue out currently! :-) 

So serious!

"Gotta jump!"

I wonder what he was thinking here.

I think here he was thinking about trying to roll back over onto his back again. :-)

Hope you enjoyed them! Have a good night everyone!