Night 6/Day 5

Tuesday Night/Wednesday Day

I'm not exactly sure how long I'm going to be blogging about Cael's new sleep schedule. However, since we seem to have been making great progress, I may stop tomorrow, since that will be one week. He seems to be getting up only once a night/early morning, and for the most part, he has fallen nicely into the 2-3-4 nap schedule. So I probably won't feel the need to blog about it. But I figured if anyone was following my blog, and having sleep issues with their little one, then maybe they can see how amazing the 2-3-4 worked for us, and try it themselves with the same luck.

Last night, despite the crappy naps the day before, Cael slept from 9pm to 5am. Another 8 hour stretch!! I must say, I can really get used to this. HOWEVER, we had some false alarms with the AngelCare monitor, so that woke me up about 2 times prior to Cael waking up. After checking him (of course), I determined they were false alarms because 1) he was still breathing; and 2) he was all the way over to the side rail, and up a little bit on the mattress. So tonight, I will make sure I put him more towards the middle of the crib, this way even if he rolls over to the side, he'll still be in the middle, which is closer to the sensor.

So he woke up at 5am, and was fussing a little. That turned into crying/screaming, so I gave him some Tylenol. But after only about 20 minutes, he was fast asleep. I climbed back into bed myself, until Cael woke up at 7am! I brought him into bed with me to feed him (which I've been doing), and we fell asleep until 8:30! I was in heaven. And I love the morning snuggles with my little man, especially since I don't let him sleep on me anymore. I'll take any snuggles I can get! I was worried about his naps would play out for the rest of the day, since we slept so late. Usually, he'd be ready for his first nap by 9:30 or so.

By 10, he was ready for his first nap. Not quite 2 hours, but then again, 2-3-4 isn't an exact science. He fell asleep by 10:15, but was up screaming at 11. Great, another 45 minute nap. But he wasn't too bad after I picked him up. Turns out, he had peed and pooped, and it had leaked out, so he was soaked. I guess that would wake me up too. But there was no falling asleep again for him, so he was up. We went out and did some errands. He was pleasant, and continued to be so throughout lunch time. He sat in his play nest on the kitchen floor while I ate lunch, and kept himself occupied.

He went in at 2 for his second nap, so that was almost 3 hours. Not bad, and right where I'd like it to be time-wise for his bed time tonight. Currently, it's 10 minutes to 4, so I'll wake him up at 4:30 the latest. That would be a nice 2-2.5 hour nap for him, and he'd be ready for his bath at around 8. I will update after he's gone to bed, as to what the rest of the evening was like.

Update (10pm)

So I woke Cael up from his afternoon nap at around 4:30pm. I fed and changed him, and then we went to the park - since it was such a beautiful day. He seemed really tired around 6:30, constantly putting his head down on my shoulder, and fussing. But there was no way I was getting him ready for bed that early. We ate dinner, in which he was really cranky during, so we brought him upstairs. In the end, we started getting him ready for his bath around 7:15 or so. He was in bed asleep by 8pm. He went RIGHT to sleep. He was really tired. We'll have to see how the night goes.

24 Weeks Old!

I love the way Cael laughs, and smiles at me. He is just Mr. Personality these days. He can now sit for long periods of time, unassisted, without falling over. And if he starts to lean or fall back, he's usually able to correct himself. Because of this, I've started sitting him up in the bath, too. He loves it, because he can play with all his floating bath toys. I'm sure he'll be splashing soon enough!

I think we've gotten to the point where we will be leaving the infant car seat in the car, and carrying Cael to the car. I know he is slightly lacking in the weight department, but the car seat with Cael in it has become too heavy for me to be lugging to and from the car. Add to that the heavy diaper bag on my shoulder, and I am struggling. I love our infant car seat, and we're not ready for a convertible seat yet, so this is the best solution. We don't have a regular stroller yet, so we'll continue to use the Snap'N'Go stroller. I think I can manage to hoist the seat in and out of the car to snap it into the stroller frame. When we get rid of the infant car seat, we'll have to buy a stroller. Preferably the City Mini.

A friend of mine gave me a Sassy mesh eater-thing that you can put fresh fruit and veggies in, and they can mush and eat it through the mesh holder. We used it for the first time yesterday, but with ice cubes in it (obviously, because we haven't started solids yet). He seemed to like it, but after 10 minutes he seemed done with it. We'll have to try it again. I can't wait to see how he reacts to it when he starts eating fruits and veggies.

We started Cael on rice cereal again on Valentine's Day. So that's 6 days ago. So far, no rash. I'm so happy it wasn't the rice cereal giving him a rash. He LOVES his rice cereal. I started it out kind of watery at first, and now I'm making it a little thicker. It's so cute, because he now opens his mouth for the spoon, and cries when it's all gone. We'll probably be starting fruits and veggies in a few weeks, after his 6 month appointment. After going back and forth between Baby-Led Weaning and pureed baby food, I think the best option for us will be the pureed food. Of course I'm going to ask the pediatrician's opinion about it, but I have a feeling he will favor the puree's, since it's the most common option.

Tonight is also the 6th night that we've been using the AngelCare monitor. So far, no false alarms, and I'm sleeping sounder. Well, sleeping better not worrying about him, anyway. He's been getting up twice a night to eat, and then up for the day anywhere between 6:30am and 7:30am. Last night, he was up from 1:45am to 3:30am, fussing. He just would not go to sleep no matter what. So we went into the living room, as to not wake Matt, put him into the walker, and turned on Nick Jr. Hopefully he gets past this phase quickly, because I'm exhausted. And I'm going to (hopefully) need all the sleep I can get.

I had a job interview this past Thursday. I think it went really well, and I'm actually excited to (hopefully) start working again. It's for a per diem position, but it's better than nothing. The lady that interviewed me said that she had some other candidates to interview, but to not get discouraged by that, because she'll probably have to hire more than one person to get the coverage she needs. It works for me. One of the perks is that the hospital is 2 miles away from our house, which is an amazingly small commute compared to what I was driving to work. Hopefully I'll hear sometime this week, one way or another.

Cael Is Sick :(

We were supposed to take Cael to the pediatrician tomorrow for a well visit weight check, but I couldn't wait that long. On Sunday night, I noticed that Cael's left eye was looking a little watery, and slightly pink. But there was no discharge, or swelling. So I decided to wait it out, and see what came of it. Then on Monday, he started coughing, and I noticed some gunk, or discharge, forming in his left eye. I knew he had pink eye, and it was time to call the doctor. Especially with the coughing. I was afraid he would get congested like me. By that time on Monday, though, it was too late to call. So I called first thing in the morning yesterday (Tuesday), and they got me an appointment for 1:00. They would weigh him then, instead of having to return again Thursday.

As it turns out, Cael does have pink eye in his left eye, and to my surprise and guilt, otitis media of his left ear. He had gotten his first ear infection. I was shocked when he said that, because I wasn't expecting that. I felt so bad, because I had no idea how long he had it for. He had been cranky and sleeping poorly at night, and now it all makes sense. He was in pain. :( So I have to give hims Amoxicillin ("Bubble Gum medicine" as I used to call it) for the ear infection, and Erythromycin antibiotic eye ointment for the pink eye. My poor Little Man.

Now onto his weight. He weighed in at 14 pounds 6 ounces. He's in the same percentile as he was last time, and gained only 15 ounces over the last month. That's 1/2 ounce a day, and the pediatrician said he should be gaining 1 ounce a day. Now, regarding the percentiles. It turns out he's actually not in the 5th percentile, but instead just below the 25th percentile. They never told me the actual percentile at the last appointment; only that he had dropped off his curve. I had said he was in the 5th percentile, because the app on my phone put his weight at the 5th percentile. It had given me accurate percentiles (compared to the pediatrican) from the time he was born, until 2 months, so I assumed it would continue to be accurate. So I guess he's not in the 5th percentile, but just under the 25th. It's not as big a drop as I thought, so I don't know why the pediatrician is so concerned. He looks healthy, and his length is keeping up on the charts.

So anyway, I told the pediatrician about my supply issue, and that was probably why Cael was having problems eating around 4 months old. I told him that I felt I corrected it with supplements and pumping. He then looked at the chart and saw his weight, and he replied with, "Uhh..are you sure you did?" I felt like complete crap after that comment, but I know that wasn't the intention of the pediatrician. (But this morning, I pumped 5.5 ounces combined in one session, so I know my supply is coming back up.) As I was getting Cael dressed, I flat out asked him if he was concerned about his weight. He immediately replied with a hesitant, as to not upset me, "Yea." I started crying right there, and he tried to reassure me that sometimes babies just take some time to gain, and that the cereal should help put some weight on him. He also said that he looks great, and that he'll be fine, but I couldn't help but feel like a horrible mother. He goes back next month for his 6 month appointment/shots, and for another weight check. Hopefully the cereal does help him gain some weight by then.

We started the rice cereal again last night as a test to see if he's really allergic, or if that rash was just a fluke. If he does get a rash, we'll stop the rice cereal, and give him either oatmeal cereal or cream of wheat.

In light of another Sweet Pea unexpectedly passing away due to SIDS, I bought a new monitor. We needed a new one anyway, but I never thought I'd get the one I did. I went and spent $300 on it, but it's a movement, sound and video monitor. It's the AngelCare Deluxe movement, video and sound monitor. The whole enchilada. I needed the security that I'm doing everything possible to keep my son safe, even if it meant spending an insane amount of money on a baby monitor. It has the sensor for under the mattress, which detects if the slightest movement, such as breathing, stops. I'm pleasantly impressed with it, and shocked that it detects Cael's subtle breathing movements. There's a pendant that moves on the touch, color screen that lets you know he's moving/breathing. It also has a 2 way speaker so I can talk to him, and monitors the temperature in his room. It will alert you if the temperature gets too high or low. I put the monitor on our Babies R' Us credit card because we didn't have the money to spend on it, but I had absolutely no buyers remorse after purchasing it. I love it, and love that I can see him sleeping on the monitor. Definitely the greatest investment yet.

In other news, I have a job interview tomorrow! It's for a per diem general ultrasound position at a hospital 2 miles away from me. It's the perfect location, being so close to home. If I'm going to work per diem and use childcare (almost impossible to get per diem child care at a daycare), there are only certain days I can work. My friend S can watch Cael on Wednesday's and Friday's, and Matt can watch him on Thursday's, up until November. And then there are Saturday evenings and Sunday's until 4. Hopefully we can work out a schedule for me. I'm feeling a while slew of emotions: I'm happy, nervous, excited and sad. My last official job interview was for a grocery store, so I feel like I may mess up on some answers to questions. Plus, I haven't performed a general ultrasound study in about a year and half. I hope that's not a deciding factor. I'm nervous about scanning general studies, but I'm confident that after a few days, it will all come back to me - like riding a bike. I hope, anyway.