Just a couple of notes of what we've been up to lately..
..we finished watching LOST on Netflix. Call me crazy but I actually liked the ending. Just in time for fall shows to start up soon! Yippee!
..I've been stroller striding twice a week (as long as my schedule allows) since the beginning of August and it feels good to get out there and work out. Not to mention the ladies there are super nice and I'm the kind of work out girl that needs other people around doing the same thing I am to motivate me (or pressure me) into keeping up.
..Alex and I keep meaning to start this 5k training app I have on my phone, but things keep getting in the way after work. For some reason we are just fighting the whole 'establish a routine' thing.
..Weekends have been relaxing recently and it's been lovely to say the least. As the weather cools down we have some ideas of how to enjoy the fall, such as apple picking and pumpkin patch visiting.
..Scarlett is pulling herself up on everything and perfecting her crawl. She just started letting go of things to balance for a couple seconds before sitting down, so there's that..
..We just bought a bunch of gates from Alex's coworker and now we just need to figure out how to install them. We're actually thinking of turning the 'eat in kitchen' area beside the kitchen into a little play area that Scarlett can go wild in.
..Volleyball is going to start in a couple of weeks and I'm pretty pumped to be able to play the full season this time (last year I was pregnant and played half the season). Alex is playing Tennis this year as well. He started last week and is really enjoying it so far.
..I'm trying to figure out the best way to keep track of all the baby food we have in the freezer. I currently just have a running list but I feel like there has to be a better way.
..I really want to take a trip to Ikea, but that's a dangerous venture because I really don't need anything. Plus I've been thinking about christmas far too often and have updated my Amazon Wish List and started a Gift List for Scarlett to try to put all my ideas for her in one place.
..I think Scarlett needs shoes. And some fall clothing...... uh oh!
That's probably enough. I'm sure I could go on and on and on but I won't!!
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
Tough Love pt 2
Well after researching this every single night, I finally found a website that explains everything, and I do mean everything, that I was looking for.
Most of the questions I had were related to how to interact with her after the initial cry it out session. Should I nurse her if she wakes up? Should I even go in and soothe her if it will just make her mad again?
Over the past five nights, she's consistently awakening at 2:30am (last night was a bugger bc she was up more, which we later suspected was a dirty diaper, boo!) and I figured it was because she was hungry but my previous reading and the even the doctor at our last appointment and my own personal opinions made me feel like, she got enough food during the day, she doesn't need to eat at night. I didn't even think about trying to wean her off of night feedings until reading this website that I was reading last night (at 2:00am) and today during my lunch break.
About a million light bulbs flashed in my head about 20 minutes ago. Bringo! I get it now. I am going to start weaning her off of night feedings instead of unintentionally trying to have her go cold turkey. Miss Scarlett is an eater.. I should've known that she wouldn't give up her early morning snacks so easily.
I just wanted to come in and update on this subject and perhaps also point out that "Tough Love" is probably not the most appropriate title. I understand now that crying it out has a point and she learned how to put herself to sleep at bedtime (not without a min or two of crying but it's still a success). It's not an end all excuse to let her cry all night long if she wakes up. Babies have needs and I apologized to Scarlett for missing her cues of hunger (and that dirty dipe, she never poo's at night.. sheesh!). And I told her I wouldn't ignore her cues anymore and that we will be working on sleeping through the night over the next couple of weeks until her she is weaned from eating at night. I hope she understood what I said but who knows! :)
Anyway, Happy Monday to those of you who are reading!
Also, Edited to Add... I'm a total twit for not mentioning the website I was reading! It was TroublesomeTots .. Praise praise praise :)
Most of the questions I had were related to how to interact with her after the initial cry it out session. Should I nurse her if she wakes up? Should I even go in and soothe her if it will just make her mad again?
Over the past five nights, she's consistently awakening at 2:30am (last night was a bugger bc she was up more, which we later suspected was a dirty diaper, boo!) and I figured it was because she was hungry but my previous reading and the even the doctor at our last appointment and my own personal opinions made me feel like, she got enough food during the day, she doesn't need to eat at night. I didn't even think about trying to wean her off of night feedings until reading this website that I was reading last night (at 2:00am) and today during my lunch break.
About a million light bulbs flashed in my head about 20 minutes ago. Bringo! I get it now. I am going to start weaning her off of night feedings instead of unintentionally trying to have her go cold turkey. Miss Scarlett is an eater.. I should've known that she wouldn't give up her early morning snacks so easily.
I just wanted to come in and update on this subject and perhaps also point out that "Tough Love" is probably not the most appropriate title. I understand now that crying it out has a point and she learned how to put herself to sleep at bedtime (not without a min or two of crying but it's still a success). It's not an end all excuse to let her cry all night long if she wakes up. Babies have needs and I apologized to Scarlett for missing her cues of hunger (and that dirty dipe, she never poo's at night.. sheesh!). And I told her I wouldn't ignore her cues anymore and that we will be working on sleeping through the night over the next couple of weeks until her she is weaned from eating at night. I hope she understood what I said but who knows! :)
Anyway, Happy Monday to those of you who are reading!
Also, Edited to Add... I'm a total twit for not mentioning the website I was reading! It was TroublesomeTots .. Praise praise praise :)
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Tough Love
Last night, we did it.
We let Scarlett cry herself to sleep.
I had every intention to do what I normally do, and nurse her than rock her to sleep, then lay her down gently. After laying her down gently, she opened her eyes and smiled at me, in a sort of.. haha, gotcha lady, you are mine, i am the boss.. sort of way. I knew I didn't want to spend another 15 minutes upstairs trying to rock her back to sleep and lay her down gently. I patted her gently, said it's nigh-night time and promptly left the room. She was angry. I went downstairs to grab my phone so that I could look up how to actually do this and headed back upstairs so I could sit outside her door, which was cracked.
I timed 3 minutes and she was still pretty angry so I went in, laid her down because she was standing up at the crib. I know for a split second she thought I was going to pick her up, which probably brought a glimmer of hope to her little world, right before I laid her down and the agony continued. I said to her gently again, it's nigh-night time, i love you but it's time to go to sleep. And promptly left again. More crying ensued and I was supposed to wait 5 minutes before going in again. Her crys were dying down to whimpers so I stayed out more like 8 minutes and then made a mistake. She was still crying on and off so I thought one more time to go in would be the last. Well that made her mad again when I left, again, but about 5 minutes later she had laid down and fallen asleep.
Success!
She slept until 1:30 am. I walked over to her room, laid her down, told her to go back to sleep and left. Again, she was angry but fell back asleep in about 5 minutes or so.
She woke again at 3:30am. I did the same thing. She was quiet in her crib so I thought I would go and check on her. I found her sitting in her crib looking around. She had been doing that for 15 minutes. I wondered if she was hungry and since she wasn't bawling for me, I did nurse her. When she was done, she was sleepy again and I laid her down again. She wailed again when I left and then fell asleep about 5 minutes later.
She woke for the day at 6:45am.
Overall, I think it was a successful evening. I didn't actually lose anymore sleep than I normally would. I'm hoping tonight goes even better and she can sleep even longer.
It's bittersweet sleep training her, I know it's what is best for her and me but I will miss getting up with her. I will miss her needing me. I will miss holding her limp sleeping body with her head upon my shoulder right before I lay her back down to sleep. Pretty soon, she'll sleep through the night and we won't look back. I do hope to remember these times though, as they truly are precious. Guess we'll just have to have another so I can do it all over again :)
We let Scarlett cry herself to sleep.
I had every intention to do what I normally do, and nurse her than rock her to sleep, then lay her down gently. After laying her down gently, she opened her eyes and smiled at me, in a sort of.. haha, gotcha lady, you are mine, i am the boss.. sort of way. I knew I didn't want to spend another 15 minutes upstairs trying to rock her back to sleep and lay her down gently. I patted her gently, said it's nigh-night time and promptly left the room. She was angry. I went downstairs to grab my phone so that I could look up how to actually do this and headed back upstairs so I could sit outside her door, which was cracked.
I timed 3 minutes and she was still pretty angry so I went in, laid her down because she was standing up at the crib. I know for a split second she thought I was going to pick her up, which probably brought a glimmer of hope to her little world, right before I laid her down and the agony continued. I said to her gently again, it's nigh-night time, i love you but it's time to go to sleep. And promptly left again. More crying ensued and I was supposed to wait 5 minutes before going in again. Her crys were dying down to whimpers so I stayed out more like 8 minutes and then made a mistake. She was still crying on and off so I thought one more time to go in would be the last. Well that made her mad again when I left, again, but about 5 minutes later she had laid down and fallen asleep.
Success!
She slept until 1:30 am. I walked over to her room, laid her down, told her to go back to sleep and left. Again, she was angry but fell back asleep in about 5 minutes or so.
She woke again at 3:30am. I did the same thing. She was quiet in her crib so I thought I would go and check on her. I found her sitting in her crib looking around. She had been doing that for 15 minutes. I wondered if she was hungry and since she wasn't bawling for me, I did nurse her. When she was done, she was sleepy again and I laid her down again. She wailed again when I left and then fell asleep about 5 minutes later.
She woke for the day at 6:45am.
Overall, I think it was a successful evening. I didn't actually lose anymore sleep than I normally would. I'm hoping tonight goes even better and she can sleep even longer.
It's bittersweet sleep training her, I know it's what is best for her and me but I will miss getting up with her. I will miss her needing me. I will miss holding her limp sleeping body with her head upon my shoulder right before I lay her back down to sleep. Pretty soon, she'll sleep through the night and we won't look back. I do hope to remember these times though, as they truly are precious. Guess we'll just have to have another so I can do it all over again :)
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Nursery Update
I added a print to Scarlett's nursery and wanted to share it here, so I took a couple of other pictures of the room as well. Check out this label to see other posts about the nursery. I know I still haven't shared the tree that I painted BUT it is painted and the white flowers are painted on as well. I didn't end up using a stencil bc that was just too time consuming/didn't turn out well, looks wise. I need to paint on the magenta flowers and I also plan on putting some 3-d elements on as well (depending on how they look when a couple are put up).
I saw this pin on pinterest and yes, it's taken me a while but I finally got around to designing my own. It incorporates Scarlett's room colors and mini theme of butterflies. I really like it, and this actually is the third draft. :)
Next project coming up is creating an alphabet book for Scarlett with her favorite things! Al la this pin!
If anyone is interested in a print like the one above for their own babe, I'd love to make you one. It's not hard and you could pick the colors too. :)
I saw this pin on pinterest and yes, it's taken me a while but I finally got around to designing my own. It incorporates Scarlett's room colors and mini theme of butterflies. I really like it, and this actually is the third draft. :)
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| Tad disappointed that my paper is whiter than the frame but oh well! |
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| There are a couple other pieces I have in mind for this wall. |
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| My awesome consignment find! And handmade mobile. |
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| Trinket shelf. The black bear is from the Smoky Mtns, and the tea set is from Alex's cousin Rachel (and her husband Ewan) from Scotland. The tiny beach themed box contains a tiny bracelet from my mom from a cruise, I believe. |
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| Made that thingy from paper towel, toilet paper rolls. |
If anyone is interested in a print like the one above for their own babe, I'd love to make you one. It's not hard and you could pick the colors too. :)
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Playtime with the Hix Family!
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| Harper & Scarlett |
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| Love Harper's watermelon outfit! |
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| They definitely like to trade toys.. sharing is going to be a fun concept! |
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| The Hix Family! |
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| The Brubaker Family! |
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Bethany Beach 2012
Included below are some pictures from our Bethany Beach trip from the beginning of August. We had a great time as we always do and it was extra special sharing Scarlett with her Aunts, Uncles and cousins who she doesn't get to see as much as we would like because they live a state or two away. I'm not going to lie though, taking a baby on vacation is hard work. It really wears on sleep schedules and just the amount of sand she could get on her in such a short amount of time plus the clean up afterward was a lot. We're figuring it will be easier next year when she's a bit older and walking. Just keepin' it real!
Scarlett :: 7 months
Stats (approx)
Weight- 20-21 lbs
Height- 28.5"
Eats
She eats two meals a day, for breakfast she has cereal and a fruit and for dinner she has a veggie and a fruit. The cereal is organic and from Target, Earths Best?. They have 3 different kinds that we switch between. Her fruits and veggies have been a mix of Plum Organic squeezies and homemade baby food. I plan to freeze a lot over the next couple of weeks to get some of summers best all frozen for her for the fall. This includes Spaghetti Squash, Broccoli, Spinach, Peaches, Pears and Apples. Usually I pick a couple and mix them together like Plum does with the squeezies, then she gets lots of flavors all together!
She also nurses about every 3 hours and drinks bottles while I'm at work about every 3-4 depending on activities happening around her.
Sleeps
She has been teething hardcore the last couple weeks so sleeping has been difficult for her. We got her an amber teething necklace and put it on the other day and this has definitely improved her mood and sleep. She wakes twice a night to eat generally now, around midnight and around 3am and then 6 am where sometimes I can get her back to sleep and sometimes I can't. I am okay with this schedule and I'm in no rush to sleep train, despite what I may have said a couple weeks ago (not on the blog). We did move her to her own room a couple weeks ago and she has been doing well! Alex and I have been sleeping upstairs in the other bedroom so that we're close by but my sleep has definitely improved now that i'm not checking her every second (exaggeration).
Activities
She crawls like a pro now and pulls herself up on furniture. She is very brave and lets go of the furniture a lot to try to balance. Her balance is not the best but it's getting better little by little. It is bittersweet that she is so mobile. I know it's awesome and all but she's growing up way too fast. She still loves swimming in pools, though she prefers private homes vs public pools. She has been very vocal the last couple weeks and has resorted to happy yelling a lot. Sometimes we hear a "Ba.." or a "Da.." or even a "Ma..". I know these sounds barely mean anything at this point but we hear a lot more sounds unrelated to the ba, ma, da which is great!
Other
She enjoyed the beach a couple weeks ago, ate some sand, yes and was scared of the waves when her feet were on the ground and the were splashing on her.
She is very loving. I put my head to her head and she just smiles so wide. It's also pretty easy to make her laugh, I kiss attack her like you can see below and she just laughs her face off. It's awesome! She loves hair. She pulls and tugs at my hair all day long and likes to tug at other people's hair too if they're holding her. I'm not sure what her obsession with it is but her hair is growing faster now so soon she'll have her own to pull.
Enjoy some pictures below :)
Weight- 20-21 lbs
Height- 28.5"
Eats
She eats two meals a day, for breakfast she has cereal and a fruit and for dinner she has a veggie and a fruit. The cereal is organic and from Target, Earths Best?. They have 3 different kinds that we switch between. Her fruits and veggies have been a mix of Plum Organic squeezies and homemade baby food. I plan to freeze a lot over the next couple of weeks to get some of summers best all frozen for her for the fall. This includes Spaghetti Squash, Broccoli, Spinach, Peaches, Pears and Apples. Usually I pick a couple and mix them together like Plum does with the squeezies, then she gets lots of flavors all together!
She also nurses about every 3 hours and drinks bottles while I'm at work about every 3-4 depending on activities happening around her.
Sleeps
She has been teething hardcore the last couple weeks so sleeping has been difficult for her. We got her an amber teething necklace and put it on the other day and this has definitely improved her mood and sleep. She wakes twice a night to eat generally now, around midnight and around 3am and then 6 am where sometimes I can get her back to sleep and sometimes I can't. I am okay with this schedule and I'm in no rush to sleep train, despite what I may have said a couple weeks ago (not on the blog). We did move her to her own room a couple weeks ago and she has been doing well! Alex and I have been sleeping upstairs in the other bedroom so that we're close by but my sleep has definitely improved now that i'm not checking her every second (exaggeration).
Activities
She crawls like a pro now and pulls herself up on furniture. She is very brave and lets go of the furniture a lot to try to balance. Her balance is not the best but it's getting better little by little. It is bittersweet that she is so mobile. I know it's awesome and all but she's growing up way too fast. She still loves swimming in pools, though she prefers private homes vs public pools. She has been very vocal the last couple weeks and has resorted to happy yelling a lot. Sometimes we hear a "Ba.." or a "Da.." or even a "Ma..". I know these sounds barely mean anything at this point but we hear a lot more sounds unrelated to the ba, ma, da which is great!
Other
She enjoyed the beach a couple weeks ago, ate some sand, yes and was scared of the waves when her feet were on the ground and the were splashing on her.
She is very loving. I put my head to her head and she just smiles so wide. It's also pretty easy to make her laugh, I kiss attack her like you can see below and she just laughs her face off. It's awesome! She loves hair. She pulls and tugs at my hair all day long and likes to tug at other people's hair too if they're holding her. I'm not sure what her obsession with it is but her hair is growing faster now so soon she'll have her own to pull.
Enjoy some pictures below :)
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