Plums!

We tried pureed plums for the first time 4 days ago, and so far, they are a hit! He loves them, and after each bite, he immediately opens his mouth for more. He made only a few faces, but they weren't "dislike" faces. More of "this is sweet and a little tarty" faces. But he thoroughly enjoyed them.

Then yesterday, we gave him a piece of plum (as is, but peeled) in the mesh teether a friend of mine gave me. He LOVED that too! He would bring it to his mouth, pull away and look at it, then go at it again. He really like sucking the juice out of it. I was excited to finally try this with fruit. He likes sucking on an ice cube, but fresh fruit is completely new to him. I'm glad he enjoyed it, and I can't wait to try other fruits.

The plums have also done a number on Cael's bowels. He had a massive poop this morning! It was very soft, and runny (insert gagging sound here). He hasn't had any problems pooping before, but I'm sure having plums everyday has helped move things along.

29 Weeks Old! And The Easter Bunny!

I tell ya, this kid has had something "fun" and exciting almost every new week. Last week it was St. Patrick's Day, the week before, we went to a St. Patty's Day parade, and today, Cael met the Easter Bunny. I was fully expecting him to cry hysterically when I handed him over to the Bunny. Let's face it, the Bunny is scary looking! But to my astonishment, he didn't! At first, he looked at the lady squeaking the toy like she was crazy and had 4 heads. He just stared with a perplexed look on his face. Then I tried coaxing a smile out of him: "Can you give mama a smile? C'mon, give me a smile!", in my high-pitched, excited voice. It worked! Of course, the lady wasn't paying attention, and missed his first smile, but I was able to get several more out of him, and we got a good picture.

I also must say that I am in LOVE with the outfit I got him for Easter. I thought it was cute on the hanger. But my gosh, when I put it on Cael, and saw what a handsome little old man he looked like, I melted and my heart turned to goo. I became all giddy, and had to run upstairs to show everyone. Matt isn't fond of the outfit, because it's a sweater vest, and sweater vests are "gay" (no, my husband doesn't have anything against gay people. He calls everything "gay" that he wouldn't wear or use himself), but his parents loved the outfit. The outfit was made complete by the navy blue shoes, and my favorite, a cabby hat. I just wanted to eat him up!

Cael's Likes:

• The Fresh Beat Band on Nick Jr.
• Sweet peas
• Moving around on the floor
• Jolly Jumper
• Mommy's cell phone

Cael's Dislikes:

• Anyone poking around his mouth
• After-bath time (getting lotioned up, dressed, etc). He screams the entire time.
• BOTTLES! Which could be a problem

Cael is SO CLOSE to crawling. He easily gets up onto all fours without a problem. He even lifts his butt up in the air by pushing off the ground with his feet. He just can't figure out that he can move forward by moving his arms forward. He barely moves his arms at all when he's on all fours. I'm sure he'll figure it out real soon. But he doesn't need to be crawling on all fours to move all over the floor. He wriggles, rolls and shimmies where ever he wants to go. But you can see how determined he is to crawl forward.

Cael's tooth is coming in fast. It's so sharp, too! I forget he has a tooth now, and I let him gum on my fingers. Well, he gums hard, and he bit down, and his tooth got me. It didn't really hurt, but you can definitely tell there was something there! So far, there aren't any visible signs of another tooth coming through, but honestly, it was only maybe 2 days between when I saw the tooth under his gums, to when it actually broke through. To me, that's quick, and I have a feeling his other teeth will be like that. He's definitely been a Stage 5 Clinger the last 2 days, and only to me. That along with an increase in fussiness leads me to believe it won't be long until we see another tooth. Or teeth.

We're going to introduce plums to Cael tomorrow. I'm excited to see how he likes (or doesn't like) them. I'm not a fan of plums myself, but Matt likes them. We decided to try a fruit after 2 vegetables. We'll see how it goes. Overall, Cael has been doing really well with solids. He seems to like the different tastes and textures so far. However, I made my first big mommy-mistake tonight. But after talking to some fellow Sweet Peas, I feel better. I was upstairs last night while Matt's family was having dinner. They had steamed carrots as one of their sides. I had figured that it would be ok to give Cael a carrot, since he'd been introduced to them already, and didn't have any problems. I took a bite of the carrot first to make sure it was soft enough, and it was (by carrot, I mean a baby carrot - which was probably my first mistake). I then held onto it while I let him nom and suck on it. Well, the damn carrot was so slippery, that Cael sucked the whole thing into his mouth. He pushed it out though, and I grabbed it. I was a little nervous when that happened, but figured I would try again. This time, I dug my thumb nail into the carrot, so that I could get a better "grip" on it. Well, it worked for about 10 seconds, until the carrot broke. He sucked in a piece a little smaller than half a baby carrot. Matt's mom, dad and I watched him carefully. He made a face, held his breath for a few seconds, did a slight gag, and then started crying in hysterics. Between the gag and the crying, I quickly leaned him forward on my arm, and hit his back to try and help him get it out. But he must have swallowed it. I knew he wasn't choking, because he was breathing and crying. We figure he got scared because it was a big piece - something he's not used to - and because of our reactions. We weren't screaming or hysterical, but I definitely tensed up and became alarmed. I'm sure he sensed that, especially since he was sitting on my lap.

I felt so bad with the way he was crying. His eyes were filled with tears, and he just clung to me. I felt just horrible. And to think I wanted to do Baby-Led Weaning!? I think I'll pass on that. Although, I do plan on giving huge chunks of apple, pear and whatever else (cut it in half, and give him the whole half) to him to nom on after he's been introduced. My heart was definitely racing after that. And I felt like a horrible mother, too. But he's ok, and that's all the matters. Lesson learned. Cael has a very powerful sucker!

2-3-4 Summary

To sum it up, the 2-3-4 nap schedule is a life.saver! Period. The End. Cael has been doing much better at night, and during the day. He's still teething (I'm sure his bottom right tooth is starting to work its way up out of the bone), so sometimes it's touch and go with his fussiness. But for the most part, everything is much better all around.

The night before last night, Cael woke up at 11:30pm, and didn't go to sleep until around 12:45 or 1am. He was screaming the entire time, except for when I would pick him up to calm him down. Then he was up again at 4:15. I gave him Tylenol both times. Around 4:45, Matt came out of the bedroom, rubbed my back, and asked if I could give him something. I honestly thought he was coming out to go to the bathroom, and was apologizing for him being so cranky and me dealing with it. But nope. He asked if I could give him something, anything, whatever he wanted, so that he would stop crying. He said he really needed to get some sleep. I hesitated, and then reluctantly brought him into bed and fed him. Matt said he realizes we're trying to not feed at night (or in this case, early morning), but he really needed sleep. I was afraid that this would re-start the bad habit, but I don't think it will. He then went back to sleep, I put him back into his crib, and he slept until 8!

Last night was a much better night. He was in bed at 8, and he slept until 5:30am. I tried to get him to fall back to sleep and gave him some Tylenol, but he wasn't having it. There was no calming him down, and I could tell he was hungry. I wanted to put off feeding him until a little later, but I thought it would be cruel. I could tell he wanted to nurse. So I brought him to bed, fed him, and put him back in his crib. He had a little difficulty falling to sleep. I think it was around 6:30 that he finally fell asleep, and he was up an hour later.

There have been only a couple other early mornings where I've brought Cael to bed to feed him. I didn't want it to become habit, but maybe it's what he needs. By 5 or 5:30, it's been about 10 hours since he last ate, so I would imagine he'd be pretty hungry. And he usually falls asleep right after for at least another hour or 2. I guess at some point, we can eliminate that feeding too. But it's baby steps. We've made a lot of progress so far, I feel. Getting up to feed Cael at 5am is nothing compared to getting up every 2 hours. I can deal with that, and then I'll ask about the early morning feeding at his next pedi appointment.

Peas And Carrots!

So far, I love making my own baby food. It's super easy with the Baby Brezza. We're still only giving him 1 tbsp a night, just to get him acclimated with the tastes and textures. But it's been so much fun so far. Last night was day 5 of carrots, so tonight we will be trying sweet peas. I bought frozen ones, and unfortunately, they aren't organic. I'd like to keep it organic for his food, at least for the first year or so. But I needed them, so I just got them. This was at Walmart. I'll have to check the other food stores around here. They didn't have fresh peas (assuming they're not in season), and I was told frozen were just as good and nutritious.

With just 2 cups of frozen peas (still have half a bag left to make), I got 11 frozen cubes. I also made the rest of the carrots yesterday as well, so that they wouldn't go bad. It'll probably be a while before we do carrots again, so I froze them into cubes as well.

Instead of keeping them in the storage containers I bought, or the ice cube tray, I popped them out, and put them into labeled freezer bags to save room in my freezer. After trying the ice cube tray yesterday, and the storage containers for the past week, I am favoring the ice cube trays more. They're much easier, especially when popping out. However, the storage containers will come in very handy when we have to go out, or if we're leaving him with someone who needs to feed him.

The first 2 days with carrots, Cael hated them. But after those 2 days, he never really made a face, and didn't choke them down anymore. I'm excited to see how he reacts to peas tonight. Matt wanted to do peas next, because he loves peas..lol. I'm not sure what we're going to try next. Probably another vegetable. My best guess would be a type of squash. It's funny to think that at one point, I was really upset about Cael starting on solids. But now, I'm super excited, and can't wait to see what he likes and what he doesn't like.

Update (10pm)

So tonight's first attempt at feeding Cael sweet peas was a total success. He really seemed to like them. I had Matt recording his first tastes on my camera phone, fully expecting him to make gagging noises again. But he didn't! He did this weird neck stretch thing, which Matt said looked like he was trying to force them down. But he didn't make any real funny faces, and didn't spit them out. He seemed to enjoy them. They looked horrible, and I didn't really like the taste. But I'm not a baby. We'll see how attempt number 2 goes tomorrow night.

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.

Night 5/Day 6

Monday Night/Tuesday Day

Last night was not bad at all! Cael slept from 8:15pm-ish Monday night to 4:15am. That's an 8 hour stretch! However, it took me about 45 minutes to get him back to sleep, but he was asleep by 5am. I honestly can't remember if I gave him Tylenol or not, but he was screaming loudly. So much so that when I got back into bed, Matt was asleep with a pillow tightly over he head. But honestly, if that's the only time he got up that night, it's definitely an improvement, and not bad at all!

Once again, Cael had crappy naps today. He only took a 45 minute nap in the morning, and about a 40 minute nap in the early afternoon. However, by 4:30pm or so, he was tired again, being cranky and crying. I decided to let him take another nap, since he had horrible naps earlier in the day. He probably fell asleep around 4:30-4:45, and was up at 5:30. So another 45 minute nap. But that was ok, because I was going to wake him after an hour anyway, so that his nighttime wouldn't be too messed up. He didn't start showing signs of being tired again until 8 or so, so we started his bath at 8:15, and he was asleep by 9pm. After a day full of crappy cat-naps, I'm hoping tonight won't be a bad night.

Night 4/Day 5

Sunday Night/Monday Day

Last night was a little bit of a regression. He was up a few times last night. First he was up at 12:00am, and it took him about 30 minutes and Tylenol to fall back to sleep. He wasn't just crying - he was screaming this time. They he was up again at 4:30. He was screaming like he was in pain again, and it had been 4 hours, so I gave him more Tylenol. Then he was up for a third time at 5:20am. This time, he seemed like he was really hungry. I tried to get him back to sleep, and even tried picking him up and rocking him, but he tried to latch onto my shoulder. He became frustrated when I put the pacifier in his mouth, because it wasn't my boob. After about 15 minutes, I realized that I wasn't going to get him back to sleep without feeding him, so I brought him into bed and nursed him. He fell asleep, and instead of leaving him in the bed, I put him in his crib. He stayed there asleep until around 7am, when the barking dogs woke him (those bastards!). He ate again, and we stayed in bed until around 8am.

His whole day was thrown off, though, because I had to drive up to Binghamton. I tried to time it so that he could take his nap in the car, but he only slept for 40 minutes, and was awake before I even stopped the car. The same thing happened on the ride home, which would have been the time of his afternoon nap. He only slept for about 40 minutes, and again, was awake before arriving home. So basically, his naps and the 2-3-4 schedule went to hell today. I'm really "afraid" of what tonight will be like. He was overly tired around 4:45, so Matt and I decided it would be best for him to take a little nap, and just wake him up after an hour. We would then try to get him ready for bedtime around 9 or so. Well, he woke up on his own after less than an hour, which worked out well. However, he was extremely fussy and tired again by 7. So we started his bath at around 7:30, and he was asleep by 8:15. I was still nervous for what the night would bring. We shall see.

Since the recent development of Cael cutting a tooth, I'm not too sure if the horrible sleep patterns he started were due to teething, or a poor nap routine/poor habits. Either way, it looks like we're heading in the right direction.

28 Weeks Old!! We Have A TOOTH! For Real This Time..

For real this time! I can't believe it. My little man has a little tooth coming through. I noticed it for the first time today, and Cael turned 28 weeks old today (or, this month, he's 6 months and 2 weeks old). You can see it under the gums, it looks like a clearish white area. And then when I rub my finger along his gums, you can definitely feel it! I always told Cael that he can wait until he's 9 months old to cut a tooth, but 6 months works too. There are moms I know that have had babies cut a tooth at 3 or 4 months old. So I'm happy Cael's body waited until 6.5 months. My nipples are still terrified, but I've heard that if he has a good latch, then it's unlikely he'll bite me.

Cael is almost to the point of crawling. He easily gets onto his hands and knees, and now has rocking forward and back completely accomplished. Matt said this morning that he actually tried to crawl forward in the crib. But his sleep sack tripped him, and he face planted into the mattress. But he said that he could definitely see the bulge of his knee coming forward through the sleep sack. He's getting so close! Matt was afraid to tell me because he didn't want me to get upset that I missed it. But I told him that I didn't mind, that at least one of us saw it first. I see a lot of Cael's first through the day, so I'm happy he got to see something.

We also have recently tried to get Cael to drink some water from a cup with a straw. However, he can't quite grasp the idea of sucking from a straw, which is skinnier than a nipple. I've heard that going to a sippy cup first can interfere with speech and oral development, so I wanted to skip it. But it seems like it would be a while before he'd figure out the straw, so I went and got a sippy cup. But it's not like the old-school sippy cups. It has a silicone sippy area, instead of a hard mouth piece (if that makes sense). He actually figured out how to get some water out of it yesterday, but I needed to tip it up for him. He still needs to figure that part out.

Some of Cael's likes:

• Carrots (the first 2 days he hated them, but now he doesn't make any faces when he eats them)
• The Fresh Beat Band on Nick Jr. Whenever one of their songs comes on the tv, his eyes become immediately locked on the tv.
• Yo Gabba Gabba. Nick Jr changed the format of their channel for the worse, so Yo Gabba Gabba is only on at midnight - real good for pre-schoolers and younger children, because they're up at that time to watch tv.
• Being outside! The weather has been beu-ti-full the last 5 days, so we've been outside everyday so far. He loves walks in the stroller. He also likes to take naps in the stroller.
• Playnest. Still a favorite like of his.
• Sleeping on his belly.

Some of Cael's dislikes:

• Sitting still! This kid needs to constantly.move.around. He can't do the same thing, or stay in the same place for more than 10 minutes.
• Being changed and dressed after his bath. He always seems to cry, scream and wiggle.

Night 3

Saturday Night

More progress! Last night was another good night. He was asleep by 8pm, and slept until 3:15am. That's about a 7 hour stretch! He's getting better. He was a little fussy and crying, so I gave him some Tylenol after trying for 10 minutes to get him to settle down. His cries were pain cries, so I figured his gums were bothering him. In total, it only took me about 30 minutes to get him to sleep. And I sat on the floor next to his crib, out of sight, for the last 5 minutes. So he put himself to sleep, which I'm so proud of him for. He was whimpering while dozing off, and I felt so bad for him. I just wanted to pick him up and cuddle him, but that would have done more bad than good. He was doing good soothing himself with his pacifier, so the last thing I should do is interrupt that. He then slept from 3:45 am to 6:15am. We stayed in bed until 7, so I considered that his wake-up time, and based his naps off that for the rest of the day. So far, so good. Keep up the progress, Cael!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Night 2 Of 2-3-4

Friday Night/Saturday Day

Last night was the second night after we started Cael's new nap schedule, following the 2-3-4 idea. And today was day 3, technically.

Last night was another success! Even better than the night before. Cael was in bed asleep by 8:30pm. He only had 2 naps yesterday, which was the goal. His first nap, I woke him after 2.5 hours, and his second nap, he woke on his own after 1.5 hours. So, here's the awesome news: Cael slept from 8:30 pm to 6:45 am!! It wasn't strait through, but it might as well have been. He woke up twice, but for no longer than 10 minutes, and there was no screaming involved. He first woke at around 1:30am crying, but not screaming. I went in, gave him his pacifier back, and he stopped crying. He fussed for about 5 minutes, but eventually fell back to sleep. Without really getting into a full-on crying episode. Then he woke again at 4:30. I did the same thing - went in and gave him his pacifier. Except this time, he fell right back to sleep. No crying. It was amazing!

I feel so lucky to have heard about the 2-3-5 nap schedule. I posted in our Facebump group about it, and now another SP is trying it out. She wanted to drop her baby's third nap, so hopefully this will help her out. So far, I'm loving this nap schedule, and I'm convinced it's the answer to Cael's sleep problems. Thank.You!

His days have even improved. He would always be happy and cheerful in the morning, and as the day went on, he'd get fussier and crankier. However, since the new routine, he's been surprisingly pleasant throughout the day. It just seems too much of a coincidence to not be a result of the new nap routine. Hopefully the progress continues!

Revamping Of Sleep

So we started a new schedule for Cael's sleeping patterns yesterday afternoon. After researching the 2-3-4 nap schedule, and reading positive reviews about it, we decided to do that as closely as possible. Cael didn't really get a "real" morning nap yesterday because we were out all morning for his appointment. But he was ready for his afternoon nap by 2 pm. He slept from 2-4:30pm, in which we woke him, as we don't want him sleeping too much past 2 hours. He was surprisingly pleasant. Going by the schedule, 4 hours later would be his bed time, which would be 8:30. However, as each baby is different, you have to adjust the schedule accordingly. Cael didn't make it to 4 hours, but was ready for bed 3 hours after waking, at 7:30. We started his bath at about 7:10, got him into his jammies, read him a story and got him into bed. He was asleep by 7:45.

Notice how I didn't mention that I fed him. He had carrots at around 6:30, and nursed after that (I know, tsk tsk - he should have nursed before the carrots. I have to get used to that). Because he had eaten at that point, we decided to just get him into bed since not a lot of time passed. Cael slept for 6 hours! Let me repeat: Cael had a 6 hour stretch of sleep. Something that I can't remember the last time happening. He woke up at 2 am s-c-r-e-a-m-i-n-g. Although it will suck for Matt and his brother, who is right above Cael's room, we decided it's best to follow the pedi's suggestion, and stimulate him as least as possible when he wakes in the night. So after an hour of shhsh'ing, stroking, singing, rocking, patting, and non-stop screaming, he was asleep by 3am. And I did not feed him! I climbed back into bed, thankful, and Matt rolled over telling me I did a good job.

But it didn't last long. He was awake 10 minutes later. And he remained awake - and screaming - until 4am. This time, I limited how many times I picked him up, and just kept giving him the pacifier. I even just let him cry for a few minutes at a time, out of his sight, sitting on the floor. It was loud, and I felt bad for Matt, but he eventually put himself to sleep, while I was sitting on the floor.

Now, ideally, I would have climbed right into bed and went back to sleep. But unfortunately for me, I started urinary tract symptoms at around 2:30am, after going to the bathroom. I was so uncomfortable, that I couldn't sleep. I spent about 25 minutes just sitting on the toilet, because that gave me the most relief. I even contemplated bringing in the fold up table, putting my pillow on it, and falling asleep WHILE sitting on the toilet. But I didn't. I grabbed a pillow instead, put it between my legs/knees tightly, and eventually fell asleep (in bed) at 5:45am.

Cael, on the other hand, slept from 4-6:45am. Not a bad stretch, I guess. I figured he was up for the day, so I brought him into bed with me to feed him laying down. Well, he fell right back to sleep, so I did too. We slept until 8. Not a bad night overall, I guess. Yes, I had to deal with 2 hours of almost-non-stop screaming, but it beats being up every 2 hours throughout the night. I just hope tonight is the same, if not better.

So he was up at 8, meaning his morning nap should be around 10. I had made a doctor appointment for myself, because by the time we got up, I was peeing blood. So much blood, the toilet water was red. And when I say red, I mean red. So my appointment was at 10:30, and I really didn't want to mess around with his naps, so luckily, Matt's dad was home upstairs. I laid him down at 10 for his nap, and he fell right to sleep. He slept until I woke him up at 12:30pm! We're off to a great start for the day. I fed him and got him ready to go out to Walmart. I needed to do some food shopping, since I was away for 1.5 weeks, and Matt doesn't do food shopping. By the nap schedule, Cael should be ready for his afternoon nap by 3:30, so I had to keep him occupied so he didn't get tired and cranky before then.

Cael did really well between his morning and afternoon nap. He really does enjoy going out. He seemed tired at 3, so I laid him down, expecting him to fall asleep. But after some fussing and whining, he eventually fell asleep by 3:30. I took this opportunity to take a nap too, instead of doing the overflowing mountain of dishes that have to be cleaned. Cael was happily awake at 4:30, and since he wasn't crying, I stayed in bed until a little before 5, and then we got up.

We were planning on Cael being ready for bed between 7:30 and 8:30. After nursing and carrots for dinner at 6:30, he happily stayed in his high chair while we ate a late dinner, until 7:30! He was just happy. Matt asked Cael who the new baby was, and told him that it was nice to not have him fussing like he normally would be at that time. Cael had had about enough by 7:30, and started crying, so we got him ready for his bath. I fed him again (hopefully that helps tonight), and he was asleep by 8:15. Now we just have to see what the night brings.

So far, I've noticed a change in Cael's attitude this afternoon. He seemed more happy, especially after napping. I will update tomorrow about how the night goes tonight.

Carrots!

After some thought, Matt and I decided that we wanted to start to (slowly) introduce Cael to veggies; keeping in mind nursing is the number one priority. We started yesterday with a tablespoon of carrots. Initially, Cael seemed to enjoy them. However, that suddenly changed after half a tbsp. He started making pucker faces, coughing and actually gagging, like we were poisoning him. I tried the carrots before he did (we're making our own baby food), and they were not sour or tart. I just couldn't believe his expressions. They were hysterical, and Matt and I couldn't help but laugh at him. He got them again today, and he was still not a fan. Except this time, he didn't even want to finish the whole tbsp.

I love this new chapter in Cael's life. Whereas last month, I was in denial that Cael would be getting solids, and that he was growing up so fast, I'm now embracing and enjoying it. Now we only have to find a veggie he enjoys.

Failure

We had Cael's 6 month appointment today. He got 3 shots and his last oral vaccine. This visit also made me feel like a complete failure as a mother, since it appears everything we've been doing is either "wrong" or backwards. ::sigh:: And I thought I was doing a good job. My anxiety has now increased remarkably after this appointment. Xanax anyone??

So for starters: 1) Cael was 15 pounds 14 ounces, 26.5 inches long, and HC of 17.5. His weight is in the 19th percentile. I had posted about 2 months ago that Cael dropped to the 5th percentile from the 50th. I was misinformed, and at that point (4 months), he dropped from the 50th to the 25th. The doctor was slighted concerned at that point, but not horribly. Now as of today, he's still falling off his curve, and is down to the 19th percentile. But the pedi continues to not be horribly concerned, since Cael is "ahead of the curve" and "developing wonderfully and very alert." We go back in 6 weeks to check his weight again. I know it's not a supply issue, because that's fixed now. I actually get engorged from time to time now.

2) Spin-off of #1: We were feeding Cael 4 tbsp of cereal twice a day. I'd feed him the cereal first, then give him the boob. Turns out that I should have been giving him the boob FIRST, then giving him cereal, so he doesn't fill up on cereal. According to the pedi, they get most of their nutrition from breast milk/formula, and that the cereal is more for iron, and to get baby used to texture, taste and eating off a spoon; and that cereal isn't really a nutrition/weight gaining aid. Therefore, if they get more cereal and less milk, they start to slow in the weight-gain department. He said Cael's the 6th baby he's seen this week who is falling off the charts, and the common link is that they're getting more solids, and drinking less milk/formula. Makes sense.

3) Going off of both #1 and # 2 (hehe, I said #2): I got the impression from the pedi that it's not important to be starting Cael on fruits and veggies at this point, especially since he's not gaining as much as he should be. Goes back to the "getting more cereal/solids and less milk..." thought process. He said solids too, aren't entirely for nutritional purposes, and that it's more important to be getting milk/formula at this point. I asked him when solids become for nutrition, and he said 1 year old. All this from the doctor, as I got a side-eye from the nurse when I told her he was only getting cereal at 6 months old, and not fruits. "Is that because he told you not to, or..." was the nurses response. I told her it was for personal reasons, to which she replied, "oh (enter pause)...ok". Made me feel real good. But I'm glad the pedi didn't make me feel like that, and supported what we had decided at his 4 month appointment - to wait until 6 months, at least, to start fruits/veggies. SO, he said it's our choice whether we want to start fruits/veggies now or wait a little longer, that it's not something we need to do right now. Just as long as he's nursing enough. That's what he stressed most. We may start out 1 tbsp of a veggie once a day, just to get him started, but I will make sure he nurses first.

4) Cael's sleep patterns are ALL OFF. According to the pedi, he has the sleep schedule of a 2 month old. For the past 2 weeks, Cael has been getting up every 3 hours MAX at night, starting at 12:30. And oddly enough, it's ALWAYS 12:30 on the dot. Before that, it was every 4 hours or so. I was told last month by the pedi not to feed him at night, because he doesn't need to eat at night at this point in age. But Cael still wakes SCREAMING bloody murder, and it takes me about 45 minutes to get him back to sleep (holding, singing, rocking, sleeping on me, anything), and he's still up 2 hours later anyway. That's when I feed him (usually around 2:30am) because at that point it's been 6 or so hours since he's eaten, so I thought he would be hungry. That's a big no-no. Unless of course, the pedi said, that we enjoy getting up every 3 hours at night, and don't want sleep. We've (or more I, since I get up with him) have gotten Cael into a horrible sleep pattern, and we have to break it. Turns out he sleeps too much during the day, which could also be why he's waking at night, although he's still clearly tired. I also have to NOT feed him at night, and break him of that, too. Completely. He said it's going to be hard, and that parenting isn't easy, but it may take 1-3 weeks to get him onto a more "normal" schedule. He should be napping 2 times a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon; not the 3 naps for 2-3 hours each that he was doing. And here I thought I was doing good because I had a "good napper". WRONG. So it's not only going to be hell getting him to stay asleep at night, but it's going to be hell keeping him awake during the day, when he would usually take his 2nd nap. Ohandplusalso, he said that he shouldn't be napping before he goes to sleep, and that he shouldn't get solids before going to sleep.

I've heard of the 2-3-4 nap schedule (although I was so overwhelmed by everything the pedi was saying, that I didn't ask him about it), so we may give that a try. I did more research on it after his appointment this morning. Basically, it says that 2 hours after the baby wakes up for the day, they get their first (morning) nap. Three hours after waking from that nap, they go down for their afternoon nap. Four hours after waking from that nap, it's time for bed.

He said that Cael's driving the car now, and that I need to be driving the car, and not let him decide to do what he wants. That we should develop a schedule; especially a better sleeping schedule. Oi veh. I have a long road ahead of me. I told Matt that I feel horrible about doing everything wrong, and his response? "Everyone messes up with the first child. Why do you think we are the way we are." We laughed at that, but still.

I know every pedi is different, and every baby is different, and that some of what my pedi told me may go against what other pedi's say. I guess there's no one perfect way to do things, and that they vary based on the baby. But I trust and love my pedi, so I'll be trying to do what he recommends.

DIY Cloth Diaper Laundry Detergent

First and foremost, I can't take credit for this. I found this on a fellow Sweet Pea's blog, and decided to give it a try. Here's the "recipe":

1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

1 cup Borax

1/2 cup Oxiclean (or generic brand)

Storage container for detergent

You can also add 2 cups of Calgon if you have hard water. I have hard water, but it's not that hard, so I didn't add it. You combine all the ingredients into the container, and shake it up well. Voila! I do have to admit that I haven't tried it yet, but I'm sure it will work just fine.

Now the best part. If this does end up being a successful detergent for Cael's diapers, here's the savings.

Storage container $2.97 (only need to buy once)

Arm & Hammer $3.24

Borax $3.38

Sun Oxygen $1.96

Total $11.55 + tax

When I need to make more, it will only cost me $8.58 + tax. I made roughly 120 ounces of laundry detergent for under $10.

The detergent I've been using, Rockin' Green Classic Rock, is a 45 ounce bag, and costs $15 +tax and shipping. So I got just under 3 times the amount of laundry detergent for about 2/3 the price of what I was using. Ah.Maze.Ing. I can't wait to try it out!

27 Weeks Old & A Parade To Boot!

We go to Cael's 6 month appointment this week on Thursday. I'm really anxious to see how much he weighs now. I'm also excited to get find out which foods are best to start him on. We'll probably go out after his appointment and pick up the Baby Brezza, so that I can make his baby food. I'm really excited to see how he does with the different flavors. He loves his cereal, so I hope he likes other solids just as much. I'm convinced he will love food, based on how he eats his cereal AND how much he loves the teething biscuits. He loves the biscuits!

I also love how he is finally growing hair! It's so obvious over the week how quickly his hair has grown in. Matt noticed it in the Facebook pictures. I love how he has a fuzzy head now. You can actually see the cowlick on the back of his head. You can see his hair in the picture below from the parade.

Today was the Rocky Point/Miller Place St. Patrick's Day parade on Long Island. I was so excited that we would be down to go to it, because the one by us is overrun with a bunch of drunk people, and not really kid-friendly or kid-safe. It was sunny, but windy, so there was a little chill in the air. But the sun made the temperature much more tolerable. Cael was really well behaved, and really enjoyed (or seemed to enjoy) watching everything pass by.

However, he cried hysterically when the fire engines and ambulances wailed their horns and sirens. It hurt our ears, so I can only imagine how it must have hurt his. I tightly covered his ears with my hands, but it probably still bothered him. I took him away from the street when the next two towns'emergency vehicles went by. At one point, my mom took Cael away from the street and told me and my sister to go enjoy the parade. Not even 1 minute after we left, a bunch of high school students got into a fight. There was a girl-girl fight, in which a girl got hit over the head with a glass beer bottle and a rock; and a boy-boy fight, where punches were flying. The girl was taken away in an ambulance. My mom said she ran and got a police officer to control the mob of teenagers, and then hightailed out of there because of Cael.

I couldn't believe how much the attitudes of all the teenagers changed. And what the girls were wearing, even though it was cold out! They were everywhere, and honestly, most of the teenage girls looked older than me. I remember having a ton of fun at the parade in high school, and there weren't any fights (at least I don't think there were any fights). Or fights bad enough to warrant an ambulance ride. Times have definitely changed, as have the younger crowd. It's very sad, and it makes me think and worry about Cael's future. I really hope he doesn't turn out to be one of these hoodlums who gets in trouble or disrespects people. Because most of these teens seemed very disrespectful - especially when they were just loitering around in the middle of the parking lot, and not moving when I was trying to drive. Oi veh. But it was fun to go with Cael, and experience his first parade.

Teething Biscuits!

I obtained this recipe through a Sweet Pea sub-group, and I wanted to give it a try. It's a recipe for egg-less teething biscuits, and it's only made with 3 ingredients. Here's the recipe:

Eggless Teethers

• 1 Cup Instant Baby Cereal
• 1 Cup Flour (White, Wheat, or a combination)
• 1 Cup Fruit Juice

Preheat Oven 350Combine and stir ingredients - if you have time, chill dough in the refrigerator. Roll out between sheets of lightly floured wax paper to about 1/2-inch thickness. Cut into round shapes using the top of a juice glass or a round cookie cutter. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet or one covered with parchment paper. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes (or more) until hard.

Cael LOVED them. It only took him a few minutes to realize he can suck on them. I used Gerber Pear Juice in this batch. They're really durable too. They weren't rock- hard, but instead like a rubbery, flexible cookie. But they didn't break apart, either. Actually, after Cael was nomming on it for 20 minutes or so, it was still intact. Just...sticky. This recipe yielded 12 cookies/biscuits.

Happy Half-Birthday, Cael! And more...

As a fellow Sweet Pea pointed out, I didn't updated my blog when Cael turned 6 months old (which was also when he turned 26 weeks old). It also just so happens that on Sunday, Cael and I went back down to Long Island to see my mom. This time though, we're staying home most of the time, and I don't plan on visiting a whole lot of people, if any. Last month when Cael and I were down, we spent a lot of time out visiting friends and family, which I like to do. But I also didn't spend a lot of time with my mom either, so that is what this visit is mostly for.

It was Matt's idea for me to go again this month. He suggested it on Saturday, not in a mean way. Cael had a few rough days, and was always screaming. Matt has sensitive ears, and hears high-pitched loud noises at work, so it's hard for him to come home to a screaming baby. I get it; so he was like, "So uh, when did your mom want you to visit again?!" I asked jokingly if he was trying to get rid of me. It's all good - I like visiting my mom because I get help during the day, and it's not so lonely. Plus she gets to spend a lot of time with Cael, which she loves because she doesn't get to see him everyday.

Ok, so since I haven't written in about a week, I'll lump everything into this one post. Here goes!

Happy 6 Months!

Half a year old already! I swear I have no idea where the time is going. He's developing and doing new things at the speed of light, it seems. As usual, he loves his rice cereal. He's getting 4 tbsp now, which is a serving size. He feels heavier, so I hope it's helping him gain weight. We go back to the doctor in 1 week for his 6 month visit, shots and weight check. They'll also check his ears to make sure the antibiotic is working. He doesn't cry in pain anymore, and it's been days since he's needed Tylenol, so I'm hopeful.

In addition to being able to sit unassisted for long periods of time now, he is also able to get up onto his knees more frequently, and is starting to rock back and forth; and he can now also pull himself to a standing position and stand there with assistance. All he needs to do that, is you to hold his hands, and pull back slightly. He'll do the rest of pulling himself up. So basically, if he's laying on his back, and you let him take hold of your hands and pull up slightly, he won't want to just pull up to a sitting position; he goes right up onto his feet and into a standing position. He's much less wobbly while standing now, too.

So with all this, he can can: 1) sit unassisted, 2) get onto his knees, and 3) stand assisted. It may be me and being biased, but that seems to be an awful lot for a 6 month to be doing. And he's been sitting since just around 5 months old. Oh yea, and he moves all.over.the.floor when he's on his belly.

The playmat is basically useless because he only stays on it for a few seconds. He's very mobile. And with my moms help, he was able to "walk" (take uneven steps) towards me just by (again) holding his hands and providing some support. He did the rest. I'm going to have my hands full, that is for damn sure!

He also loves going for walks in the stroller. I just have to say, that I love love LOVE my Baby Jogger City Mini stroller. I am beyond happy with it. It's so light-weight, easy to fold up and so very easy to maneuver. After pushing the BJCM around for a while, it makes the Snap n' Go stroller frame feel impossible to maneuver. It's been really nice outside yesterday and today, so my mom and I had Cael outside in the stroller, walking around. Both times, he fell asleep. I guess the fresh air really does knock kids and babies out. Works for me. And when I stop pushing the stroller, he starts fussing. So add that to the list of things Cael likes: walks outside. It's going to be so much fun when the weather turns nice for spring and summer. We'll be outside a lot.

On another note, there are no signs of any teeth yet. Not even any visible under his gums. I (and my nipples) are very thankful for that! He can wait until he's 10 months old for his teeth to pop through for all I care. BUT, we do have hair growth!! Since being at my mom's house on Sunday, he's had a noticeable hair growth spurt. It's really coming in now, and I love it. It's light brown, oh-so soft, and definitely more visible in pictures. I texted Matt today that he's finally growing hair, and he said that he was able to tell from the pictures I've been posting on Facebook. I'm so happy he won't be bald until 2 years old, like I was.

First Trip To The Aquarium

I've been wanting to take Cael to the aquarium for about a month now. I wanted to the last time we were down on LI, but I didn't think he'd be intothat muchsince he wasn't as interactive or interested in the world around him, like he is now. I'm glad I waited, because he really seemed to enjoy himself. I know he won't remember it when he's older, but it was something fun and different for him.

Cael and I went with my mom and sister on Tuesday. It was nice, because it was a weekday, so there was barely anyone there. They just opened a new butterfly and bird exhibit, so we were really excited about that. Cael seemed to love the butterflies. They were flying all around, and he was constantly looking around at them in the air. It was so cool to see his interest in them. He liked the birds too. They were really colorful, and flying around as well. As long as you were over 5 years old, you can hold them. So the 3 of us held some birds - conures mostly. Two lovebirds and a parakeet landed on my mom's shoulder all their own. It was a really awesome, well-done exhibit.

He also seemed to like the big fish tanks with the colorful fish swimming around. He would stare at them all moving around, and seemed to be in awe. He seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself, especially being pushed around in the stroller. He didn't cry or fuss, so I was extremely proud of him. I fed him right before we left to go to the aquarium, and didn't have to feed him again until right before we were leaving the aquarium. So he went 4 hours between eating. He was so good. He did take a nap somewhere between the fish tanks and the outside exhibits, which was fine with me. It was a lot for him to take in, so I would have been surprised if he didn't nap while there.

The shark looks like it wants to eat Cael!

6 Month Photoshoot

This will be just a montage of photos from the 6 month pictures I took of Cael. Once again, we didn't want to pay to have them done professionally (although I wanted to), so I took and edited them all myself (again). I'm happy with how they came out. The first two pictures are comparison shots. I loved this particular outfit on Cael in a newborn size, and was sad when he grew out of it. Well, luckily, I found it again in a 6-9 month size, and decided I would compare the size from when he was a newborn, to his current size. I can't believe the changes in his face, and how much he's grown. It's hard for me to believe he fit into that tiny outfit!

And now for a TON of 6 month pictures! I couldn't just pick a few :)