Lucky In Love: Eli

We found this really cool old couch that was fun to take pictures of Eli on in Foley

CIO (crying it out). In summary CIO SUCKS. It is horrible and I will never do it again. I am sure that CIO gets results (On Becoming Babywise says give it 3 to7 days). But I can't let Eli CIO..., With the transition to the big boy crib and his 2 month shots and our trip to Gadsden, Eli is not sleeping as well as he had been (waking up around 3)..., so Saturday morning I consulted my handy-dandy On Becoming Babywise..., and the book talked about how Eli could be waking up out of habit and not hunger so to let him work it out himself. Babywise also emphasizes the importance of naps (which I 110% have found to be true) but states that babys should nap about 1.5 hours at a time..., Eli has NEVER napped that long. Since we brought him home we would be lucky to get an hour nap from him. Babywise calls short naps the "45 minute intruder" and the suggestion being let LO (little one) CIO if they try to wake up after 45 minutes. So Saturday we let Eli CIO. And it was the most miserable 30 minutes EVER. And it didn't work. He was more tired at the end of his crying session and he was upset and I was upset. I can not do it again.

In my heart I have decided instead of trying to make my son CIO so he can sleep more, I am going to be thankful for all of his amazing qualities. Eli puts himself to sleep (most of the time), Eli is a great car baby, Eli LOVES the ladies, Eli can entertain himself, yes Eli wakes up at 3 or 5 BUT he goes back to sleep until 8 or 9 and Eli is on a clock-work schedule. I feel like these are huge accomplishments for which I should be proud of Eli.

Anyway, I am going rogue. I have decided that as helpful as Babywise has been for putting Eli on a schedule, I will not follow it blindly. I will get my son to sleep through the night,... maybe not in the 12 weeks that Babywise promises. But it will happen. And here is my attempt to solve the "baby-sleep-crisis".... First I realized that having the dogs in his room was a stupid idea... (duh noise)

Possible Reasons Eli wakes-up Possible solution
Leaked through his diaper Get larger size diapers for night (thanks Laurie)
Upset tummy Gas drops - needs a big burp
Wakes up out of habit Offer pacifier instead of food

Constipated (didn't poo during the day) Our pediatrician said to give him an ounce of juice

I haven't tried the juice yet, I'll let you know how that works.

I have also noticed that if Eli has good naps during the day he sleeps a LOT better at night (the difference in 3AM and 5AM).

I am starting to do my version of "Pacifier Training,"... As I said before Babywise says that Eli is probably waking up out of habit at this point. So when he does wake up I have started giving him his pacifier instead of feeding him, and he takes the pacifier no problem. And then just before 8 (I am trying to make it to 8) he wakes up wanting momma-juice. He then goes back to sleep if it's Tues/Thurs or if it's M/W/F we get ready to go to jazzercise.

I feel like the take-away from that whole experience is to NEVER-EVER follow any parenting book's advice blindly. As great as Babywise is in so many ways, and I will suggest it to every preggo I meet..... every baby and every parent is different. Each of us need to make our own decisions regarding our babies ourselves. Learn all, read all, listen to all, but at the end of the day Eli is my son, and I'm going to listen to my God-given instincts on how to raise him.

Saturday - So after the disaster of CIO.... we did out best to recover (even though I found myself thinking about it and cringing inwardly) We went to Foley and before the Hot Air Balloon Festival we stopped at a antique store to look for glass door nobs (we put up french doors and blah blah blah).... but when we got out of the car this woman came running up to us frantically asking if we had a cell phone and to dial 9-1-1... I grabbed my phone dialed 9-1-1 and ran across the street to a young mom holding and shaking her 3-year-old daughter (who suffered from fever seizures) and screaming "breathe baby girl breathe!!",... the mom and I stripped the little girl of her bathing suit and her mom gave her a huge shot in her hiney. When I came up to them the little girl was purple and wasn't breathing.... but after the shot began working, the little girl regained her color and continued breathing. It took about 10 minutes for the ambulance to get there. It was an adrenaline pumping 10 minutes. I believe that the little girl will be fine, I hope they can figure out how to stop the seizures.

At the antique store

After the antique store we went and saw the Hot Air Balloons, then we went and visited my nanny, Eli's great-grandmother. There we picked some blueberries that we enjoyed for breakfast all this week.

Eli and Nanny

Love them

Pickin' blueberries

Father's Day - After church we went back to my parents house to play in the pool, cook-out and open presents. Eli and I got Chris a frame for his Auburn diploma! When Chris graduated from Auburn's Engineering program last August (which I told him I was pregnant the day before he was suppose to give his senior presentation... talk about pressure!) we could not afford to get him a nice frame to put his diploma in,... so his diploma hung out in a page protector at work.

Here my proud hubby is, with his new diploma frame and his even more precious son, it is amazing how quick change comes.

Here is his diploma hanging proudly in his cubical!

Hanging out with daddy on Father's Day!

We also gave him this framed picture to put in his cube

Special visitors - Wednesday Amelia and her BFF Tara came and spent the night with us. Then Thursday Eli and I took the girls to lunch at Bagelheads, the mall and lastly horse back riding at Horse Rides of Pensacola.

Aunt Ama-ma with Eli

Cowboy Eli all dressed and ready to meet the horses

After Eli and I took the girls home, we headed out to the beach to meet Chris (who went surfing) and participate in Innerlight's S.U.P and Supper. This a really cool event that they are putting on all summer. You can play on their stand up paddleboards for free, then go and eat a discounted dinner at Surf Burger or Unique Cafe (either 25% or 50% depending on the location) It was so much fun! I was only there for about 30 minutes, next week I want to go earlier.

Start out on your knees

And then when you feel comfortable stand up

Looking forward to this weekend - This weekend Chris plays in church on Sunday and Saturday we are going over to Portofino to spend the day with Rachel and her boo Cary. Rachel, Eli and I are going to hang out by the pool while Chris and Cary go for a bike ride on the beach.

Looking forward to this week - I am so looking forward to spending time with two of my favorite Landrum ladies! I get to have lunch with my friend Stefanie and her beautiful baby boy who was born about 4 weeks after Eli! And Thursday my friend Katie is going to come over and we are going to watch daytime TV together, which has pretty much been the plan since we both left Landrum in March!

Special outings - We had lunch with Christian at the Oar House, a local favorite.

How is nursing going - Nursing is still going good, even with the added workout sessions I have not noticed a decrease in supply. But I have been taking these breastfeeding vitamins since we brought Eli home from the hospital, which help with your supply. When I started adding more workout sessions I started taking 2 vitamins instead of 1.

These vitamins are awesome

Losing my baby weight - It probably isn't a secret that I gained a LOT of weight when I got preggo,... just look at my maternity pictures! And I have heard that breastfeeding can make it difficult to lose weight quickly because your body wants to hold onto that fat for baby. And I have only been able to lose about 1lb per week when I am doing the work of someone who should be able to lose 2 lbs a week. It is so crazy how everyone is different... some people lose 1lb a week doing nothing but breasfeeding,... others like me have to work their butt off to work their butt off! lol But as my friend Laurie says "9 months up, 9 months down!" I have to constantly remind myself that my body preformed a miracle 11 weeks ago give it some slack!

Something for mommy - I ordered this chalk calendar for our kitchen last week and was so excited to put it up that I didn't read the directions and messed it up... I should have waited for Christian to get home,... but I still think it looks good, not perfect, but good. If you like it, you can order one HERE