We are so happy to share that we are expecting a sibling for Tyler! I have started blogging about it but right now its just typical me and lots of worry!
http://givemeanangel.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Its always nice to hear
Grammy's service was very nice. There were tons of yellow roses around and she would have loved it. We had a slide show with some great pictures of her. I actually got up and spoke and said many of the things I said in the previous blog. It was hard but I knew there was a reason I needed to write that last night.... otherwise I would have been going at it blind. Getting those words down last night was a blessing.
I can not even count how many times today I was told how special I was to Grammy and how she always talked about me. Her former boss came up to me and told me Grammy was always speaking of me and was very proud of me. It really just reaffirmed what I knew... we had a connection like no other.
I can not even count how many times today I was told how special I was to Grammy and how she always talked about me. Her former boss came up to me and told me Grammy was always speaking of me and was very proud of me. It really just reaffirmed what I knew... we had a connection like no other.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Rest in Peace Grammy
My grammy passed away this week after a battle with colon cancer. I am really not even sure what to write about this...
Her and I had a relationship that was truly special. I know every relationship with a grandparent is a treasured one but Grammy and I were somewhat kindered spirits... to use a cliche. Her and I have always had an amazing connection that I can not find a way to describe. I am no where near as bright and joyful as she was and that is something I hope to attain one day. All of her memorial postings speak of her smile and caretaking personality that is truly missed. She had a way of bringing a smile to everyone's face that was around her and she spoke with true care for all those around her. You could hear it in her voice just how much she loved you and feel it in one of her hugs.
She was also a very strong woman that spoke her mind and let you know how she felt but it always came across in a loving way even if she was disciplining you.... and those of you as parents know that is not an easy thing to do. She was never afraid during all of this and spoke about her death as a fact of life and she knew she would be in a better place. I thank the Lord every moment I can that she was not in pain until her last day. I am glad she was able to pass at home with my papa who loved her so very much. They spent their last days enjoying each other's company and watching TV and doing everything together which is the way she would have wanted it. Papa even told me many times today just how very special I was to Grammy. He even said "Of course I love you but you were so special to Grammy.... " and I truly know it. We were going through the pictures of Grammy and a good amount were of her and I.
I wrote her a mother's day card this year telling her of my love for her and all of the memories I have of us and it really sank in today after reading it that she is really gone.
I love you so very much Grammy and we will bake brownies and you can scratch my back in Heaven.
Her and I had a relationship that was truly special. I know every relationship with a grandparent is a treasured one but Grammy and I were somewhat kindered spirits... to use a cliche. Her and I have always had an amazing connection that I can not find a way to describe. I am no where near as bright and joyful as she was and that is something I hope to attain one day. All of her memorial postings speak of her smile and caretaking personality that is truly missed. She had a way of bringing a smile to everyone's face that was around her and she spoke with true care for all those around her. You could hear it in her voice just how much she loved you and feel it in one of her hugs.
She was also a very strong woman that spoke her mind and let you know how she felt but it always came across in a loving way even if she was disciplining you.... and those of you as parents know that is not an easy thing to do. She was never afraid during all of this and spoke about her death as a fact of life and she knew she would be in a better place. I thank the Lord every moment I can that she was not in pain until her last day. I am glad she was able to pass at home with my papa who loved her so very much. They spent their last days enjoying each other's company and watching TV and doing everything together which is the way she would have wanted it. Papa even told me many times today just how very special I was to Grammy. He even said "Of course I love you but you were so special to Grammy.... " and I truly know it. We were going through the pictures of Grammy and a good amount were of her and I.
I wrote her a mother's day card this year telling her of my love for her and all of the memories I have of us and it really sank in today after reading it that she is really gone.
I love you so very much Grammy and we will bake brownies and you can scratch my back in Heaven.
Monday, June 21, 2010
What's new with us....
Considering the last thing I wrote about what our sleeping I will touch on that!
Tyler is doing great. He has been night weaned for a couple of months now and he has actually moved to a twin bed off our bed. He goes down there between 8-10 depending on his nap and then climbs up with us between 5-7. I like having him in the room as his room would be on the other side of the house with how our house is set up. I think it's a natural step to get him out of the bed and but still close to us! It is working out really nice as I am having far less back,neck and shoulder pain! :) In relation to this we have cut back nursing to before and after bed and his nap. I believe it is still a need of his that I need to meet but I was getting a little agitated with him being on me all day so this is a good compromise in my mind!
Tyler has continued to do well on his potty all day. He will use it all day long with no accidents but we have to keep him naked all day! The second I put underwear on him he thinks its ok to go. So we just put it on hold for a couple weeks and started again this week and he seems more interested in his underwear with monsters on them! So hopefully we will be on the next phase of potty training.
I am really worried about Tyler's teeth though. We took him to a pediatric dentist when he was one and she advised that we wipe his teeth down with some wet gauze every night to get the buildup off so we did that for 6 months and his teeth started to decay. We took him back about two months ago and she gave us a fluoride gel and we put that on a night but it has continued to get worse. We brush his teeth and floss daily but his top four teeth are continuing to decay regardless of what we seem to do. I am going to contact the dentist again to see if there are more proactive measures we can take before it gets worse. I have a serious fear of having a child with silver teeth.... but we have been on top of his oral health from day one! We used the little finger brush as soon as he got teeth!
As for me. I have become a vegetarian again. I was enjoying having a wide range of things to cook but I continued to gain weight. I had previously lost 17 pounds and then I added meat back to my diet in November while changing nothing else and proceeded to gain it ALL back. I have started a couch to 5k program yet again! I ran the first week but was unable to run all of the intervals and my shin was hurting after my third run so I am taking a couple days off and will resume tomorrow.
Perhaps the most exciting thing going on is that Tim went to Minnesota to interview for a promotion. This would mean us moving to Albertville, MN which is about 45 miles outside of Minneapolis. While I am happy for this opportunity for Tim and the prospect of not having to struggle as much financially I am rather stressed. I am worried about moving away from the state I was raised in and to the cold which I have never lived in and most importantly leaving our family. I also am upset about the fact that we would have to leave our church that we truly love. I am so happy that Tim is starting to have a relationship with God. It was a day that I hoped would come! We are excited about raising Tyler in the church and all of the principles he will learn.
We will find out by the end of the month if we will be moving. I leave you with some pictures of Tyler.
Tyler is doing great. He has been night weaned for a couple of months now and he has actually moved to a twin bed off our bed. He goes down there between 8-10 depending on his nap and then climbs up with us between 5-7. I like having him in the room as his room would be on the other side of the house with how our house is set up. I think it's a natural step to get him out of the bed and but still close to us! It is working out really nice as I am having far less back,neck and shoulder pain! :) In relation to this we have cut back nursing to before and after bed and his nap. I believe it is still a need of his that I need to meet but I was getting a little agitated with him being on me all day so this is a good compromise in my mind!
Tyler has continued to do well on his potty all day. He will use it all day long with no accidents but we have to keep him naked all day! The second I put underwear on him he thinks its ok to go. So we just put it on hold for a couple weeks and started again this week and he seems more interested in his underwear with monsters on them! So hopefully we will be on the next phase of potty training.
I am really worried about Tyler's teeth though. We took him to a pediatric dentist when he was one and she advised that we wipe his teeth down with some wet gauze every night to get the buildup off so we did that for 6 months and his teeth started to decay. We took him back about two months ago and she gave us a fluoride gel and we put that on a night but it has continued to get worse. We brush his teeth and floss daily but his top four teeth are continuing to decay regardless of what we seem to do. I am going to contact the dentist again to see if there are more proactive measures we can take before it gets worse. I have a serious fear of having a child with silver teeth.... but we have been on top of his oral health from day one! We used the little finger brush as soon as he got teeth!
As for me. I have become a vegetarian again. I was enjoying having a wide range of things to cook but I continued to gain weight. I had previously lost 17 pounds and then I added meat back to my diet in November while changing nothing else and proceeded to gain it ALL back. I have started a couch to 5k program yet again! I ran the first week but was unable to run all of the intervals and my shin was hurting after my third run so I am taking a couple days off and will resume tomorrow.
Perhaps the most exciting thing going on is that Tim went to Minnesota to interview for a promotion. This would mean us moving to Albertville, MN which is about 45 miles outside of Minneapolis. While I am happy for this opportunity for Tim and the prospect of not having to struggle as much financially I am rather stressed. I am worried about moving away from the state I was raised in and to the cold which I have never lived in and most importantly leaving our family. I also am upset about the fact that we would have to leave our church that we truly love. I am so happy that Tim is starting to have a relationship with God. It was a day that I hoped would come! We are excited about raising Tyler in the church and all of the principles he will learn.
We will find out by the end of the month if we will be moving. I leave you with some pictures of Tyler.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Nights
It has been going better than I thought it would. A couple weeks ago I started seeing what it would be like if I refused him from nursing a couple times when he woke up. I gradually increased the amount of times to where I was not nursing him until the sun came up. He has fought it but not near as bad as I anticipated. He cries some but only for a few seconds and I am still there rubbing his back and tellling him that "num nums went night night" I want to ideally get an 8 hour stretch from him so that will mean that I can sleep for eight hours! He still wakes and asks to nurse through the night but it is getting better and better each day! So as of right now we are "kind of " night weaned! I nurse him to sleep anywhere from 9 pm -11pm and then I don't nurse him again until the sun is out or at least 8 hours! I am hoping that he will start sleeping straight through during that time instead of waking and asking to nurse. I knew this was not going to be an overnight thing and honestly I am so grateful that it seems to be going better than expected!
I hope to have him night weaned by the time he is two which is in less than two months! Ideally I would like to cut down nursing sessions to morning, before nap and before bed but we are FAR FAR from that!
We still folllow our night time routine of bath, teeth brushing, lavender oil on feet and then nursing. We have stopped having the TV on in the bedroom and just have nature noises and candle light.
I hope to have him night weaned by the time he is two which is in less than two months! Ideally I would like to cut down nursing sessions to morning, before nap and before bed but we are FAR FAR from that!
We still folllow our night time routine of bath, teeth brushing, lavender oil on feet and then nursing. We have stopped having the TV on in the bedroom and just have nature noises and candle light.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Night 2
Not so good.
We got in the bath, fought to brush teeth and then down to nurse by about 8. He went to sleep pretty fast but woke up around 10:45. He woke up A LOT last night and got up for the day around 6 am. He napped for 30 minutes at 9:30 and again at noon. He will likely nap around 4 or 5 and then we are in for a looooooooooong night.
We got in the bath, fought to brush teeth and then down to nurse by about 8. He went to sleep pretty fast but woke up around 10:45. He woke up A LOT last night and got up for the day around 6 am. He napped for 30 minutes at 9:30 and again at noon. He will likely nap around 4 or 5 and then we are in for a looooooooooong night.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Nap Day 1
We ran some errands at around 10 and when we came back he asked to nurse. I had a feeling he would go to sleep so we distracted with Bee Movie! When that was over we went to bed to nurse but he wasn't ready yet. We came back at 12:30 and he was asleep by 12:45. I put the nature sounds on and brought the elmo in to start the "lovey" and he slept until 1:30! Which almost 2 hours is AWESOME for him. Usually the max we get is an hour but some days its 20-45 minutes!
Sleep Schedule Night 1
I really try not to complain about lack of sleep and the other things that go with nursing and sleeping with a two year old because MOST of the time I am ok with waking every couple of hours to get him back to sleep by nursing. Some nights are worse than others of course but for the most part it has been manageable. But now, my insomnia has reared its ugly head again and I have decided that 1-2 hours of sleep each night for the past two weeks is unacceptable. I am fighting to go to sleep for about 5 hours and then by the time I get to sleep he wakes to nurse again and then the cycle begins all over again with me trying with all my might to get back to sleep. It has SUCKED!
I also have not rushed this because there was really no need. I felt like he needs to nurse and sleep with me through the night and I need to meet that need and not take it away from him. But yesterday I realized I still need to "help" him get better sleep habits now. For he is not a little baby anymore that just has BASIC needs of comfort and food.
We also are trying for another baby and I am pretty sure I would have a nervous breakdown if I had two to nurse all night. So I think this will be better for all of us in the long run to not put this off anymore.
I have put it off again and again because there is always something. Sickness, travel and teeth are the main things. But even though we are going to a wedding this weekend we decided to start the routine last night.
As you know I do not believe in crying it out. I think its wrong. It also would not work at all now because 1. He is in our bed 2. He would just run around and cry and no sleep would come from it. I read the "No Cry Sleep Solution" a while back when he was younger so I broke it back out to see what it said.
I am not a routine/schedule person. Never have been so this will be a learning experience for me as well. But one of the major parts of successful sleeping is a bedtime routine. So we are going to start it and stick with it. Another thing I am really guilty of is having the TV on all night. With insomnia the TV is my friend at 3am when I can't sleep but I know this can't be great for his sleep cycle. He never wakes up and watches it or pays attention to it but I know its not a good thing to have going on in there....
Last night was a good night to start an early bedtime because his day before we like this.
Bed 10pm
Wake at 4am
Nap from 9:00- 9:20
Nap from 2:00-2:15
Yes..... those were his naps. So he tried to go to sleep nursing at about 5pm and we just held him off.... So he was ready for bed much earlier than normal. I think we are going to shoot for 8pm as his bedtime. Not too early to where we have to start his bedtime routine the minute Tim walks in the door and also not TOO late. He has been going to bed between 9-11 for his whole life depending on when his last nap was.
My first goal is just to establish regular bedtime and nap time and wakings. I orginally wanted to night wean first because I have been getting really aggitated at night when nursing and it has been frustrating. But that being said.... the trying not to nurse was what caused the 4 am wake time. If I don't nurse him back to sleep. He doesn't go back to sleep. He gets off the bed and wants to get up. It is impossible to keep him in bed if I don't nurse him aside from holding him down to the bed and making him cry... yeah I am not doing that.
So I need to get a bedtime/routine going before we attack that monster issue again. The suck-sleep association has always been his thing. He can not fall asleep with out nursing. If I had known it would present such and issue at almost 2 I would have tried to break that cycle earlier. As it is I plan on not developing such as strong suck-sleep issue with future kids. It is one of the hardest things to break.
So bedtime and regular naps are what we are working on now. Hopefully I can just push past the agitation when he needs to nurse at night for now.... I can't promise that as it is about the most frustrating thing in the WORLD.
So last night we start! We decided to start a bedtime routine that would get him in bed at 8pm. I started last night at 7 but it was just too long. Bath, books and teeth brushing only take so long. So last night we were in bed at 7:30 and he was alseep by 7:45 but he had been wanting to sleep for hours so I am not calling it a sucess just from the quickness.
So we are doing the following.
Turning off the TV about 30 minutes prior to bed. We don't have TV for him but it can still be stimulating
Bath
Teethbrushing ( which is a struggle nightly)
*last night I rubbed his feet for a moment with some lavender oil*
I tried to read a book but he just wanted to nurse because I had been making him wait.
Got in bed with no tv or lights on
Played some white noise/nature sounds
Nursed
He made it about 4 hours I think. I actually slept last night too so the night waking/nursing didn't bother me! Its the nights I can't get back to sleep that I have an issue with! So we nursed back to sleep as he needed through the night.
We got up for the day around 7am.
I am trying to hold his nap off until at least 12 but hopefully later so we can make sure he only takes one nap. I plan on going straight into the bedroom around his naptime instead of nursing on the couch etc. I am going to turn on the sounds again so hopefully he will associate it with sleep.
I also have not rushed this because there was really no need. I felt like he needs to nurse and sleep with me through the night and I need to meet that need and not take it away from him. But yesterday I realized I still need to "help" him get better sleep habits now. For he is not a little baby anymore that just has BASIC needs of comfort and food.
We also are trying for another baby and I am pretty sure I would have a nervous breakdown if I had two to nurse all night. So I think this will be better for all of us in the long run to not put this off anymore.
I have put it off again and again because there is always something. Sickness, travel and teeth are the main things. But even though we are going to a wedding this weekend we decided to start the routine last night.
As you know I do not believe in crying it out. I think its wrong. It also would not work at all now because 1. He is in our bed 2. He would just run around and cry and no sleep would come from it. I read the "No Cry Sleep Solution" a while back when he was younger so I broke it back out to see what it said.
I am not a routine/schedule person. Never have been so this will be a learning experience for me as well. But one of the major parts of successful sleeping is a bedtime routine. So we are going to start it and stick with it. Another thing I am really guilty of is having the TV on all night. With insomnia the TV is my friend at 3am when I can't sleep but I know this can't be great for his sleep cycle. He never wakes up and watches it or pays attention to it but I know its not a good thing to have going on in there....
Last night was a good night to start an early bedtime because his day before we like this.
Bed 10pm
Wake at 4am
Nap from 9:00- 9:20
Nap from 2:00-2:15
Yes..... those were his naps. So he tried to go to sleep nursing at about 5pm and we just held him off.... So he was ready for bed much earlier than normal. I think we are going to shoot for 8pm as his bedtime. Not too early to where we have to start his bedtime routine the minute Tim walks in the door and also not TOO late. He has been going to bed between 9-11 for his whole life depending on when his last nap was.
My first goal is just to establish regular bedtime and nap time and wakings. I orginally wanted to night wean first because I have been getting really aggitated at night when nursing and it has been frustrating. But that being said.... the trying not to nurse was what caused the 4 am wake time. If I don't nurse him back to sleep. He doesn't go back to sleep. He gets off the bed and wants to get up. It is impossible to keep him in bed if I don't nurse him aside from holding him down to the bed and making him cry... yeah I am not doing that.
So I need to get a bedtime/routine going before we attack that monster issue again. The suck-sleep association has always been his thing. He can not fall asleep with out nursing. If I had known it would present such and issue at almost 2 I would have tried to break that cycle earlier. As it is I plan on not developing such as strong suck-sleep issue with future kids. It is one of the hardest things to break.
So bedtime and regular naps are what we are working on now. Hopefully I can just push past the agitation when he needs to nurse at night for now.... I can't promise that as it is about the most frustrating thing in the WORLD.
So last night we start! We decided to start a bedtime routine that would get him in bed at 8pm. I started last night at 7 but it was just too long. Bath, books and teeth brushing only take so long. So last night we were in bed at 7:30 and he was alseep by 7:45 but he had been wanting to sleep for hours so I am not calling it a sucess just from the quickness.
So we are doing the following.
Turning off the TV about 30 minutes prior to bed. We don't have TV for him but it can still be stimulating
Bath
Teethbrushing ( which is a struggle nightly)
*last night I rubbed his feet for a moment with some lavender oil*
I tried to read a book but he just wanted to nurse because I had been making him wait.
Got in bed with no tv or lights on
Played some white noise/nature sounds
Nursed
He made it about 4 hours I think. I actually slept last night too so the night waking/nursing didn't bother me! Its the nights I can't get back to sleep that I have an issue with! So we nursed back to sleep as he needed through the night.
We got up for the day around 7am.
I am trying to hold his nap off until at least 12 but hopefully later so we can make sure he only takes one nap. I plan on going straight into the bedroom around his naptime instead of nursing on the couch etc. I am going to turn on the sounds again so hopefully he will associate it with sleep.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Hello
So I have my parenting blog and thought it would be nice to just share what is going on with us somewhere.
And.... now Tyler is up. Ha.
I promise to blog soon!
And.... now Tyler is up. Ha.
I promise to blog soon!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)