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| 9 Months |
Seriously...I don't know why this has been so very hard to keep up with...Its not like being a Mom to a 9 month old, working, family stuff, etc. etc. keeps me busy! OK did you get the sarcasm there!? Because it is totally there!! Wow, 9 months is almost gone and again I find myself here scrambling to make this blog post before Isaac is 10 months. Maybe my new thing will be that I write about the previous month and that way I'm right on schedule with this post. The milestone keep coming and my little man is getting bigger and bigger with each passing day. One of the main reasons that I really want to keep these monthly posts going is because I have developed a bad case of the 'mommy brain' and can't seem to keep my day, months, or even hours straight at times. Now...that we are almost done with this month let me try my best to conger up what has happened since the last post....
Sleep Training...who is training who??
The sleeping pattern of a little baby can be so unpredictable. I often wonder why I try to keep any schedule when my little man is going to do what he wants anyways. Or at least that is how it appears in our family . These past month we have seen a breakthrough of sorts.
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| Umm....its time to play not sleep Mommy! |
After implementing our version of the Sleep Sense method Isaac can and will sleep through the entire night (7:30pm-6am). What I mean by our version is that this type of sleep training consists of staying in the room with your child while in a chair while they put themselves to sleep. The first night was HORRIBLE!! My strong willed dude cried for over an hour and a half! It progressively got better over the next couple days and Isaac slept through the night for the first time in months. Then can the early morning wake up calls at 4:30am and 5am this went on for a couple more days...Momma was tired. Lastly we had a huge setback, and I couldn't take it. My baby needed me and I couldn't do it anymore...so against all warnings of the method I 'gave in' and picked him up. Just to clarify or make myself feel more justified this was after 2 hours him not going back to sleep at 3am in the morning. Above all else I know that I was doing what was best for my child and that was all that really mattered to me.
This has now lead to our own version of sleep training. I am back to rocking Isaac to sleep (which I am OK with). He is my little baby boy and I truly feel in my heart that this is not only bonding for us but what my baby needs not just wants. The improvement that I have seen from what we went through is that he can and will put himself back to sleep when he wakes in the night. I can also lay him in his crib when drowsy and tapping his bun and rubbing his back he will drift off into sleepy dream land. The Sleep Sense Method calls these 'sleeping props' and warns against them because your child will then rely on them for sleep. And I do not refute that one bit. At this point in time Isaac would not go to sleep without a fight if I just placed him in his crib and walked away. I would be lying if I said that I did not want him to do that some nights...but I keep coming back to the same conclusion that I love rocking Isaac to sleep in my arms and this is something that I would never want to loose at this point in time; and when the time comes for him to be a big boys we will cross that bridge when we come to it.
Overall, I don't feel this sense of urgency for him to put himself to sleep but do gladly except and credit that had we not done the beginning portion of the Sleep Sense Method he probably would not have learn how to put himself back to sleep during the night when he is still tired. I don't ever profess to have it all under control or figured out. This is all new to me and just a learning process with a huge learning curve!
Just not Enough
Taking on solids has been an adventure. As a new parent you never like to think that you are going to have the picky eater. It would be a completely perfect scenario if you had the child that ate whenever and whatever you wanted them to right! It seems like right when you got it all figured out with the eating schedule they come to a new point in their life where is all needs to change again. That is what happened to us with adding in solids. OK you may be thinking....this Mom is talking about implementing solids at 9 months, "what the heck is her problem this should have been an issue at 6 months at the latest". Well, for us that is not the case. Isaac has a wonderful pediatrician that I adore (she was my pediatrician) and I trust her completely and highly respect her opinions and advice. That is all to say that when many Dr's where saying start solids at 4 months, she was still recommending 6 months. So we went with that advice, this is not to knock anyone or any Dr that recommended differently this is just what we did.
Of course it was a totally new experience adding in foods week by week. Isaac seems to like all that we were giving him. Then it was like we hit a brick wall around 8 months out of no where because he was no longer my easy going eater. Every meal was a fight and a struggle, at least he was taking the bottle when I was at work but the amount of solids was minimal at best. Then we discovered rice puff or baby crack..this seemed like a great thing. He would do anything for these puffs or so it seemed. Then our wonderful Dr. informed us that she is not a fan of the puff and that we should not use them as he does not need the extra sugar and flour in his diet. WHAT!!?? you mean to tell me that my only food luring leverage should be taken away! So...no more puffs now what?
Then in the same appointment some news I was somewhat expecting but no Mom wants to hears is that Isaac was not gaining weight properly. He growing curve had taken a small dip, this was by no means an emergency but definitely something that needed to be addressed. The cues that I had been taking as he was full were not he was full but that he did not want to eat what I was offering him. Now came the task of getting him to eat high good fat foods (for his age group). It has been a challenge that I have taken on full force and with each victory of finding a food that he likes there is always a celebration that follow. Shortly I will be blogging about the foods and recipes that we have liked and found.
The Mommy Blues
I'm calling this the Mommy Blues because I really don't have any other words for it right now. All I know is that lately it has been really hard for me to accept that working and not being an stay at home mom is what the Lord want for our family. With much prayer I have accepted this and like most things that God has put on our hearts and calls us to do (that we don't want to do) I am slowly saying YES each day. And instead of having an ungrateful heart I desire each day to have a thankful heart. Notice how said each day... because it really is each day that I have to wake up and say. "Thank you Lord for providing for me and my family. Thank you for my job". Often I want to spend time scheming how to work from home, or how to not work right now...and in prayer it always leads me back to this is exactly where God wants me to be. It is a struggle daily to balance it all but it is when I stop trying to do it on my own is when I see that the weight is truly lifted. Here at the almost 10 month mark it seem like the pain of not being with my little one all the time get stronger and stronger but I want to honor and trust in God for he is guiding my way :)
Happy Father's Day Eddie
What a special day to celebrate! It was perfect in so many ways and I couldn't not have been blessed with a better man to celebrate with. It took me a while to compile what I wanted to get Eddie for his 1st Father's Day, and when it came down to it I knew that photos and a photo book were the way to go. I am not one to keep secrets very well so it really was killing me to not be able to tell Eddie!! Using my ever so loved website Pintrest I found some great inspiration and the picture brought Eddie to tears it was such a beautiful moment. It was no easy task to get the shoes and hat without Eddie noticing either, like a theif in the night I had to pack the a bag the night before the shoot and go and hide it in the car...then the unlike a thief I
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| Wearing Daddy's shoes and hat |
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| Love this shot |
Not only did we celebrate Father's Day, but it was Isaac's baby dedication as well. It truly is amazing to see how our family has grown spiritually in these past months. Sharing this moment as a family was the highlight of the day. We love this little boy so much and cannot wait to see all that God has in store for his life.
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| Baby Dedication 2012 |
Our First Family Road Trip
Planning a vacation is no longer the same as before. I must admit that I was really nervous to travel so far away from home with Isaac. Nervous because I really didn't know what to expect at all. I am very thankful that I have wonderful Mommies around me that I offered plenty of tips, tricks, and just overall great advice for our first family trip. To my surprise Isaac did wonderful in the long car rides! It was a huge relief to me and I am glad that he did not scare us off from planning more vacations!
Here is some pics from Isaac's first trip to the beach...let's just say his Hawaiian side really came out, and he takes after my love of the water and the beach.
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| Beach Baby! |
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| Isaac loving the water on his toes |
