Thursday, March 27, 2014

Sleep? HAHAHAHAHAHA

So for the past week or so, Sully Bear has decided that he wants to be nostalgic and get up four or five times a night. They call it the "Four Month Sleep Regression." DUN DUN DUNNNNN!

He's always been a pretty decent sleeper, and was getting to the point where he'd sleep 8-10 hours straight. Then BAM, not so much. One thing I can be grateful for is that it's still easy to put him to bed - he goes right to sleep; it's staying asleep that's becoming the problem.

I've been reading about it, and it's supposed to be an awesome sign that your baby is making leaps and bounds in his development. His sleep cycles are changing and he's a little thrown off by it. The good news is that it's only supposed to last a few weeks.

I can handle this lack of sleep much better than I could when Sully was a very brand new little person. It's amazing what your body gets used to over a period of time. Two cups of coffee + maybe four hours of sleep = I got this. Thank goodness, because otherwise we'd be in big trouble.

Before, I mentioned the leaps and bounds in his development. Makes sense, because the kid has suddenly become waayyy more mobile. When I say mobile, I don't mean he's about to run around the house, but he's rolling, twisting and even beginning to sit up. I also see the beginning of the "commando crawl."

Someone compared this sleep regression to how we as adults are the night before a big day. We can't sleep, our minds race, and we toss and turn. Same with a baby, except they are thinking more like, "WOW, look at all the cool stuff I did today! I wonder what else I can do!" And instead of tossing and turning, Sully likes to get up and talk (AKA yell) from his crib.

Now he's taking a nap that's lasted an hour and a half and is still going strong. Maybe I should have taken a nap with him... But the "sleeping when baby sleeps" mantra is a load of crap, really. So, instead, his bottles are sparkly clean and the laundry is done.

It's amazing how sleep becomes a last priority....


Cheers!

Monday, March 17, 2014

First Trip to the Library

I'm all about raising a reader. I try to read to Sully every night for as long as he'll have it (sometimes he's just too tired). Maybe a four month old can't quite understand the story, but he definitely interacts by talking, getting excited over the colors and pictures, and by trying to reach toward the pages.

I do all the voices, add an accent here and there, and point things out to him. Like I said, he may not understand the story, but every time I crack open a book with him on my lap, I know he's learning something new.

Needless to say, we've read his entire library several times. He doesn't really seem to care, but I, on the other hand, can only read Where the Wild Things Are so many times before losing my mind. (Love it, but 27 times is my limit for a while.)

Soooo we decided to take a hike down to the Limerick Library to get 1.) a library card and 2.) some new books! Limerick is teeny tiny, but the library is pretty nice. They're even with the times - you can get a Portland Library card there (getting access to lots of e-books) and set up an online account to renew, reserve, or request books. They even have story time for kids and book signings by authors. Pretty impressive for our hole in the wall (yet very quaint) little town.

The children's section is half the library (which is amazing), and I really didn't know where to start. That being the case, I stuck with the classics, grabbing a few books I've been eyeing to add to Sully's library permanently.







Super cute, huh? 





Does he seem happy to you? I swear, the kid never stops smiling! 



Cheers!!

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Sully's First Food!

Whenever I eat in front of Sully, I feel guilty. The kid stares at me, or more at the food that I'm eating, and it's obvious that he's curious about what I'm doing. You shoulda seen the way he looked at a banana the other day - I thought for sure he'd swipe it from me and shove it in his mouth (like he's been doing with everything else lately).

I decided that it's time to start introducing solids. He's eating like a horse, he can hold his head well and can even sit up with assistance, and there's an obvious interest in eating more than just milk.

A lot of people (on mom forums, mind you) have been saying to wait until babies are 6 months. These are the same people that say you should breast feed for two years. And you shouldn't put your baby down (attachment parenting). And that binkies are a sign of evil. And that moms should basically be finely tuned machines with no emotions whatsoever. Psh.

Sully's doc gave me the go ahead, and since she spent what was probably the better part of a decade (if not more) in school to become trained in issues such as this, I think I'm going to listen to what she has to say. (That, and the slew of mothers I know who have done the same thing.) Besides, it's eating! It's the most natural thing in the world! Why does it have to be so friggin' complicated?

Anyway... Before I start ranting... Back to the important stuff...

Hmmm. Now this is a HUGE decision. What will be the first food that he will ever taste?

We decided to go with sweet potatoes. He wasn't that impressed with rice cereal (it smells like it would taste like chalk, and since I didn't have the guts to try it myself, why would I continue to try to get him to eat it?)

So why sweet potatoes? Well, supposedly, they are easy on little tummies. Not only that, but they are full of vitamins and fiber. Sounds good to me!

His first bite was probably the cutest thing I've ever seen. The look on his face was a mixture of "WTF and COOL." No one remembers their first bite of real food, but try to imagine it now. You've never tasted anything but breast milk or formula, then suddenly your taste buds explode with whatever it is that your mom has spooned into your mouth. What. Is. Happening? This. Is. Awesome!

That's kind of how it went. He ate quite a bit, and as I kept feeding him, he got better with the spoon and with "chewing" and swallowing. We take eating for granted, but like anything else (walking, talking, etc.), it's a learned skill. And I have a feeling it's one that Sully will catch on to pretty quickly.



Cheers!

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

First Day of Daycare!

Today went a lot easier than I expected. I thought I'd cry the entire way from the daycare to work and that the rest of the day would be filled with anxiety and wondering if they would think I was a complete psycho for calling every half hour. I did good. I called only ONCE (it helps that Taylor stopped by and texted me an update), and I didn't cry. That is, until I got home and realized how much I missed him.

I admit, I did take packing his stuff a little too far. I packed five bottles. Yeah. Five. Why they would need five bottles is beyond me. I guess I thought they didn't know how to wash bottles and would, therefore, need every single bottle that Sully owns. I also packed four bibs, three changes of clothes, a snowsuit (like they would actually take him outside in this frigidity), two blankets, his Monk Monk, teething rings, two things of butt paste (because apparently, one isn't enough for a single day of diaper changing), baby lotion, orajel, gas drops, two binkies... Yeah they probably thought I was never coming back the way I packed.

But you know what? They didn't call me saying they needed something! So there. Mission accomplished.

I also made a list of all the things I packed. With bullet points. Along with a page (front and back) of everything I could think of that they would need to know about Sully. Anxiety? Ya think?

Well, I dropped him off, said goodbye probably seven times, and went to Dunkin Donuts to get a coffee. It was pretty nice to order a cup of coffee without worrying if someone needed their little booty cleaned. They had redone the whole inside of the shop, so it actually looks like a cafe with comfy chairs and everything. I was pretty stoked about that, and told the barista as much. Turns out they had done all that way back in November. *cringe* I'd say it was time for me to get out of the house.

Work went very well - in fact, it was like I never left. I think that's what made today so much easier than it could have been. I was going somewhere I know to work with great people I know. So really, the only thing I had to worry about was Sully Bear.

And you know what? I worried for nothing, and I kinda knew that that might be the case somewhere in the back of my mind, but still... He's my little man, ya know? I swung by the daycare on my lunch break (there was no convincing myself not to do that) and he was totally crashed out and happy. Apparently, he had been playing with the other baby all day. (There's only two little babies in the daycare, and guess what? They have the exact same birthday! How cool is that?) So Sully made a buddy and was eating and sleeping like a champ. He'd also been smiling and laughing all day....

Enter Mom.

Once I left work, I couldn't wait to see my little guy and know all about how his day went. He was in the back in his own super secret baby hideout (where the babies play all day), and wasn't embarrassed at all that I scooped him up kissing and squeezing him.

The girls at the daycare were awesome and had his stuff all ready to go up front. I put him in his carseat and proceeded to put his jacket on which um... hmmm... didn't go so well...

Sully started screaming at the top of his lungs like putting on his jacket was the most horrifying experience in the history of baby experiences. Even worse than birth. Or circumcision. The kid was tomato red and I had no idea what to do because soothing him was NOT working. Did I pinch him? Did I accidentally scratch him? I have no idea, but the girls were all like, "Oh no! He's been so good all day!!" Of course. Because I've put his jacket on him a million times and he's never made a peep. I guess he needed to make some kind of point, but honestly, I'm still perplexed.

I got him strapped in and finally got him calmed down after a decent amount of screaming and wondering if people thought I was abusing my child.

After I have a happy baby in tow, I make my way to the still running car and, oh crap, the door is locked. I try every single friggin' door, and am walking in circles around my car (to the probably amusement of the full parking lot), about to completely freak out until, thank goodness, the driver's side is unlocked. (Seriously? Could you imagine if I had to go in and ask to use a phone because I locked my baby and myself out? Humiliating.)

Ahhhh... Finally. On our way home. LOL. I laugh at myself. And I hear Sully laugh in the back, so all's well in the world of Mahaffey mother and son. I ask him how his day was and, in true Sully fashion, he proceeded to tell me alllllll about it and then some.

Needless to say, the little man chowed down, chatted through story time, and konked out.

Now Mom has a "little" glass of wine ;) and is looking forward to Sully's dad getting home with dinner! (I'll be happy to see him too, of course....)


Cheers!!