One Year Old!

Well, our baby is no longer a baby anymore! Jacob turned a year old yesterday, and we had a great party with some family and friends. Some of the highlights from his party include: Jacob trying to eat his birthday candle, delicious cupcakes (which Jacob happily smashed all over his face) & food, lots of presents, and lots of babbling & excitement from Jacob! We had a superhero theme with some decorations I printed off of etsy, and I ordered a cute birthday shirt from amazon that kind of matched the theme. It was a great day, and Jacob (along with everyone else) had so much fun.

During his last month of being an infant, Jacob has become a pro at crawling and is now pulling himself up to a standing position and cruising around the coffee table and sofa. He loves pulling things off shelves and banging things against the table or doors. Speaking of doors, he loves to open and shut them- sometimes when Mommy and Daddy are on the other side! It's so fun to watch him explore things now that he can get around by himself.

Jacob continues to be a great eater. He is now completely on table food, with the occasional puree added in every now and then. He will eat pretty much anything we give him, and has also been eating the snacks and lunch at daycare each day. It is so nice to not have to send any food for him anymore. He has also been using a sippy cup for water, although he loves playing with it more than drinking from it. The other day he figured out how to hold it in his mouth without holding it by biting on the mouthpiece and tilting his head back. It was hilarious to watch! He does a great job using a spoon to put food in his mouth, and I'm trying to show him how to scoop food up by himself. He's starting to get the idea, although it is a very messy process. This week we're also going to try giving him whole milk to supplement the breastmilk he gets at daycare, so I'm hoping he'll like it. He still nurses really well with me, and is able to space out his nurses very well throughout the day now that he is eating a lot more regular food.

Jacob's sleeping habits continue to be a rollercoaster, as usual. I was hoping to try letting him "cry it out" over Christmas Break (is that mean?), but I think he may be working on a new tooth along with working towards walking and it's not recommended to do sleep training during either of those events. For now we're just trying to have a consistent bedtime and routine and trying to keep him in his crib as much as possible each night, although I do still let him snuggle with us in bed every now and then.

Jacob has been such a blessing in our lives, and it has really been a crazy year. He started out as such a fussy, colicky newborn and has blossomed into a happy, sweet toddler. There were definitely times I thought I would lose my mind, but it's so worth it to see him smile and watch him grow and change. I can't wait to see what the next year brings!

And now I'll leave you with some video entertainment from Jacob's birthday!

 

11 Months Old

In one month Jacob will be a year old! It's crazy how fast this year has gone! This month has been very exciting, as Jacob has finally started crawling! He first did it on Oct. 22nd, and then didn't do it for about 3 days. Ever since then, he has been getting smoother and faster at this skill. We are definitely learning very quickly how hard it is to babyproof the apartment and how much trouble a baby can get himself into. In addition to crawling, Jacob has been more mobile in many other ways. He is pulling himself up to a kneeling position a lot, rolling over and twisting around constantly (diaper changes are getting much more complicated!), and sliding on his bottom. It is so entertaining and exciting to watch! Although it took him a long time to get to this point and will probably take him a long time to walk still, I am really proud of him and glad that he finally reached this milestone.

Jacob also had a lot of fun experiences this month. He celebrated his first Halloween by going trick or treating at the zoo (so much fun!) and at the mall (not quite as exciting). He also got to go to Tanner's Apple Orchard and the new Riverfront Museum with Mommy & Daddy. The museum was a lot of fun, and I am really excited to take him back now that he can crawl around and explore.

Jacob's sleeping habits continue to be a rollercoaster, especially these first few weeks that he was crawling. We have been working on getting him back into his crib, and it's actually been going pretty well. Some nights we still let him sleep in our bed for part of the night if he is waking up a lot, but otherwise he is in his crib all night. This is good, because some nights he'll wake up and flip over to a crawling position. I wouldn't want him doing that in our bed and crawling off the edge! As scary as that thought is, it is pretty cute to see him on all fours or sitting up in his crib when he wakes up :)

Finally, Jacob has been making great progress when it comes to his eating habits. He has been eating mostly table foods, although he still prefers most of his fruit to be pureed rather than cut into bite-size pieces. Some of his favorite things to eat right now include yogurt, bananas, oatmeal (a new favorite!), pasta, broccoli, applesauce, cake/cookies (Grandma & Grandpa O are giving him quite the sweet tooth!), and kashi or nutrigrain fruit bars. I have also started giving him a sippy cup of water with some of his meals, although right now he mostly plays with it instead of drinking from it. We are also working on getting him to hold his spoon by himself. He does a great job of taking the spoon from me and putting it right into his mouth (most of the time!). He's such a big boy!

Jacob likes: eating/nursing, being rocked to sleep by Daddy, crawling & climbing on things, taking a bath, banging toys together, and pulling things off shelves

Jacob doesn't like: being cleaned up after eating, being taken out of the bath, being told "no", and getting dressed

Crawling

Monster on the loose

Hiding

10 Months Old

Jacob is only two months away from being one! That is just crazy! Jacob is now "talking" all the time. I'm thinking we may hear him say some new words soon, because he just loves to babble. Although he still hasn't mastered crawling, he is able to turn in circles and reach for things while sitting up. He can also lift off his bottom if he's pulling up on something. This month Jacob got to go to the Pumpkin Festival and watch Mommy carve his first pumpkin. In about two weeks he will also get to celebrate Halloween at the zoo and Wildlife Prairie Park. I am so excited to take him out in his costume and take tons of pictures!
Jacob's sleeping habits are still rough (of course), but he has been taking great naps at home. He usually takes a long one (1.5-2.5 hours) in the morning, and a short one in the afternoon (30-45 min). We have been letting him sleep in our bed still, and it has definitely helped me catch up on my own sleep. I love snuggling with him on Saturday mornings and getting a great nap with him. Although nights are still kind of tough, I'm usually able to get him back to sleep in about 10 minutes or less. I am hoping to try transitioning him back to his crib at night pretty soon, especially because I worry about him becoming mobile and crawling or rolling off our bed. It could mean for some rough nights in our near future.
Jacob continues to eat well. I am going to try and really increase the amount of table food that I give him from now on, since babies can tolerate a lot more flavors once they turn 10 months. Yesterday I gave him some meatballs & stuffed shells from my plate, and he gobbled them up! I also tried cutting up a grape and some turkey slices, but he wasn't so sure about those. It will be interesting to see his tastes evolve more as he tries more foods and gets bigger.

This month Jacob likes splashing in the bath, nursing/eating, sitting up & turning in a circle, jumping in the jumparoo, shaking his rattle, seeing Mommy come to get him from daycare, sitting in the shopping cart, and drinking water from Mommy's cup.
Jacob doesn't like getting dressed, being put in his carseat, being left alone in a room, being tired, and being hungry.

Pancakes! 

Trying on his monster costume. 

Having fun at the Pumpkin Festival.

Jumparoo

9 Months Old

I can hardly believe that my baby is 9 months old today! Now he has been growing for as long as he was inside of my belly! This month he has been changing so much and doing lots of new things. He now has 6 teeth- 2 of which are still slowly coming through the gums. His smile is so cute now with all those teeth showing :) Jacob can also say "Mama" and "Dada" now. He says "Dada" a lot more, especially when he's just talking or playing. "Mama" usually comes when he's upset and wants to be nursed or just picked up and held. The biggest development is that he is now starting to become mobile. He has started moving from a sitting position to his belly sometimes when he's reaching for toys, and he's started being able to move in a circle and backwards on his belly. He is still working on these skills, so it happens more when he's upset and really moving his whole body around. I keep putting him on his belly to work on this, so I'm hoping he'll really get going in the next few weeks.

Jacob is still having trouble sleeping at night, but his naps are getting a little better. He is sleeping in his crib at daycare (not super long, but much better than in the spring), and we have been putting him in our bed for naps at home. This has been nice, because I can either take a nap with him or get work done. He usually takes 2 naps now, each one about 1-2 hours as long as we lie with him or put him in our bed. The one downside is that he's starting to want to sleep with us at night. I will be amazed if he ever lasts the whole night in his crib without waking or being moved to our bed or his swing. I have a feeling that by the time he turns one we may attempt letting him cry it out again, but right now I'm just not ready for that.

Eating continues to be one of Jacob's strong suits. He has started eating more finger foods like crackers, rice cakes, yogurt drops, and bananas just to name a few. It's fun to let him try some of our food when we have something that he is able to eat. He has also started spacing out some of his nursings now that he is eating more, which has been nice. In between meals he still nurses a lot, but I know it will get even better as he eats even more and starts having solid foods for snacks during the day.

Jacob likes: eating, taking a bath, splashing water, playing with his toys, kicking his legs, bouncing in the jumparoo, pulling Mommy's hair, listening to his music cd, going shopping with Mommy, and "talking"

Jacob doesn't like: sleeping in his crib, getting his diaper changed, getting dressed, getting cleaned up after a meal, waiting to eat, and being left alone when Mommy goes to get something from another room

 Teeth!

 

 First haircut

 

Scooting

You have to ignore Jacob's fussiness, because he was just tired from daycare. I had to get a video of this, though! Also, it takes awhile for him to get going, so make sure you watch the whole thing.

Cracker

Beantown Baby

Jacob just completed his first cross country excursion! On Thursday we flew out to Boston for my cousin Mariann's wedding, which meant Jacob's first plane ride. Of course, he had no idea what was going on, but I was a little nervous about the whole thing. Luckily, Jacob did great on the trip. He played with his farm animal book and made happy noises the whole way to Boston, and on the return trip he slept half the flight and enjoyed eating some puffs during our descent.
At the hotel we did get a crib, but Jacob got a little spoiled and slept with Mommy and Daddy half the night. It was kind of a fun change for all of us! During the wedding Jacob did great also. I fed him right before the wedding started, and he played happily in the pew during the beginning of the ceremony. I did end up taking him out in the foyer for the remaineder of the wedding, though, because he was squealing and talking. I didn't want to take away from the moment! He couldn't have been happier, though, which was great. On the way to the reception he got a super quick nap in and was ready to party it up when we arrived. He had fun dancing to the music during dinner, playing with our placecard and menu, and tasting some of the yummy food! He got to share some of Daddy's bread and mashed potatoes, and Aunt Patti even gave him a taste of her canoli (not sure how to spell that!). We also got to take him in the photo booth wearing a lobster hat (sorry I don't have the pictures right now). It was a great trip for all of us, and I am so happy that Jacob had fun and behaved himself!

Waiting to get on the plane

At a small little park by our hotel

Playing with our placecard

8 Months Old

Jacob is getting cuter and sweeter every day! This past month we have gotten to go to music class downtown, which has been a lot of fun. Jacob just kind of watched the first few times but has been getting more into the class as he starts to recognize the songs and get a feel for the routine. We'll definitely have to do another class sometime this year. We've also gotten to go to the pool a few more times, although not as much as I would've liked due to the heat. Next week I go back to work, so Jacob will be returning to daycare. I think it will be harder for me this time around, but it'll be nice to be back in a routine and I know they will be excited to see him again.
Jacob is a pro at sitting up now, and I can usually leave him sitting up without much fear of him falling over. He's also starting to reach for things when he's sitting, although this usually ends with him falling and getting upset. He is still not crawling, but I'm trying to encourage it as much as possible. He's just not a fan of tummy time usually, and it's hard to keep trying when he gets frustrated and starts crying. Jacob is also babbling and laughing a lot more, which is lots of fun. Finally, his newest development: another tooth! That's right, he now has a top tooth that just cut through the gums. It is so funny to see it when he smiles!
Sleep continues to be a struggle. I don't really have much else to say about, because it continues to be a source of stress and frustration. I'm really hoping that our  next child is a great sleeper, because I've paid my dues with this little guy.
On a positive note, Jacob is still an excellent eater. He is pretty consistently eating three meals a day but still nurses a lot- mostly for comfort and help sleeping, though. He gets so excited when I get his highchair ready and put his food in his bowl. This month he got to try a few new foods, including puffs which are fruit and vegetable flavored cereal pieces for babies. It's so cute to watch him pick them up, put them in his mouth, and chew on them with his gums and front teeth. I have also been giving him bites of other things now and then (waffles, fries, chicken) to help him continue practicing with "real solid food".
This month Jacob likes splashing, being in the pool, chewing on things, playing with Mommy's phone and the remote control, looking at his farm animal book, grabbing Mommy's hair, looking in the mirror, watching Mommy and Daddy run around the room and be silly, bouncing in his jumparoo, standing up (with help), playing with his spoon, and eating.
Jacob does not like tummy time, waiting for Mommy to make his food, having his hair washed, sleeping in his crib, and being cleaned up after a meal.

 Playing with his sound puzzle

8 Months Old!

7 Months Old

My sweet baby boy is another month older! Jacob has been able to stay home with Mommy for over a month now, which has been tiring but lots of fun. He also got to see his cousins from Minnesota this past week. Unfortunately, due to the heat and being too tired, Jacob did not get to see any fireworks on his first 4th of July. I'm sure he'll appreciate it more next year anyways. On Tuesday we are also starting a 6-week music class with him. I am really excited about this, and I think he'll have a lot of fun during it. I'll make sure to take lots of pictures during this fun experience!

Jacob is now sitting up completely on his own, although one of us needs to be nearby to catch him when he inevitably tips over. Since he is becoming a master at sitting up, he now gets to ride in the grocery cart instead of staying in his car seat at the store and sit in highchairs at restaurants. This is also much easier for me, since his carseat was very heavy to carry with him inside of it! Although Jacob is not crawling, he is starting to make progress towards that milestone. When he's lying down he can now kick or wiggle his body into different directions, and sometimes when he's on his tummy he'll tuck his knees under as if he wants to propel forward to crawl. He also reaches for things when he's on his tummy. I'm hoping that over this next month we'll see him starting to really make some more progress towards actually moving forwards or backwards. Jacob also continues to make lots of sounds and babbles a lot, so we're hoping he'll say his first word soon. I keep practicing "Momma" and "Dada" with him to encourage this.
Jacob has now been eating solid foods for just over a month now, and he is doing great! I am so glad we waited to start him on solids, because I really think that contributed to how well he's doing. He has loved every single thing he's tried so far: sweet potatoes, bananas, avocados, carrots, squash (mixed w/bananas), pears, peas (mixed w/carrots), and yogurt. I started out just giving him one serving a day and have now increased to three "meals" most days because he loves it so much! I also now give him about 2 servings (2 ice cubes worth of food) at each meal, and he will eat it all up. I always show him the empty bowl, so he knows it all gone. This always puts a little smile on his face like he's proud of himself. I need to take a new video of him being fed, because he will make noises in between bites as though he's saying, "Hurry Mommy, give me more now!" He also loves to grab the spoon and suck on it or smack it on his highchair.

Sleep continues to be a battle for us. The fact that Jacob is working on more teeth is not helping the matter, either. We have completely gotten rid of the swaddle and are only putting him in his crib to sleep at night. This was a really rough transition at first, but he now seems to accept it. On a good night he will only wake up twice, but unfortunately we have had more of the bad nights due to teething pains or just getting used to this new sleeping arrangement. One positive is that a few nights I have been able to get him to fall asleep either on his own or by standing there rubbing his belly while his sleep sheep plays white noise. I'm hoping that eventually he'll fall asleep this way instead of relying on nursing to help him fall asleep. I am also working on getting him into his crib for naps, which has been even more difficult than breaking the swaddle. I got into the bad habit of holding him at naptime, and now he either wakes up as soon as I move or as soon I set him in the crib. Hopefully we'll make progress this month, and maybe when these new teeth come in that will help make a difference.

This month Jacob likes: nursing, bathtime, splashing, chewing/sucking on anything, eating, playing with his spoon, getting tickles and kisses (especially from Daddy!), kicking his feet, bouncing in his jumparoo, grabbing his toes

Jacob doesn't like: getting dressed after bathtime, being left alone in his crib, being on his tummy for a long time, getting cleaned off after eating, being put in his highchair

Spending time with his cousins, Canyon and Asher

Mmmm, yogurt!

Such a happy boy!

Eating Bananas

Talking in the Jumparoo

Crazy Alligator Jumping

6 Months Old

Jacob is now half a year old! That just doesn't even seem possible! This month has been so much fun, because he has been changing a lot and experiencing a lot of "firsts": first time at the pool, first time eating solid foods, and first teeth! That's right, Jacob is now sporting two teeth on the bottom! I have to say that the teething process wasn't as bad as I expected, but I know we still have many teething experiences to come. Hopefully we'll survive them all as well as we did this one. Jacob's first time eating solid foods was also a good experience. Right now we're just giving him one serving of fruits or veggies in the late morning, and then in a few weeks I'll start giving him a second serving later in the day. We started with sweet potatoes and then just started giving him bananas yesterday. He's still getting used to the sweet potatoes, but he loves bananas! I'm glad we waited until now to start, because he was definitely showing signs that he was ready. That seems to have helped the process go so well. One more "first" that Jacob is working on is sitting up on his own. He can sit up very easily with support, and just this week he has started to be able to sit up completely on his own for a few seconds at a time. He's not totally there yet, but I think by the end of the month he'll be able to sit up longer on his own and really become independent with this skill. It's so exciting to see him able to do more things.
Jacob's little personality is showing much more these days. He has really been experimenting with different sounds and is babbling all the time. I keep trying to get him to say "hi," "Momma," and "Dada," but he's not quite there yet. Right now it's just entertaining to listen to all his noises and try to guess what he's saying. Jacob is also still very well behaved when we go out places. Sometimes at restaurants he prefers sitting in our laps over sitting in his carseat, so I think it will be nice to be able to put him in a highchair once he can sit up a little bit better. Then he can be up with Mommy and Daddy and see everything that's going on. It is still so fun to be able to take him out places and let him experience new stores or restaurants with us. Such a difference from his newborn months!
Jacob's sleeping habits are still not the best. He hasn't been waking up as much at night, which is good- usually only once or twice. The downside is that he's mostly been sleeping swaddled up in his swing. I am really trying to break him of this habit, so this week we've been leaving one arm out of the swaddle when he sleeps and are slowly working on putting him back in his crib like this for at least part of the night. I'm hoping that once he's back in his crib for longer that we can completely remove the swaddle or loosen it a little more to start to break that habit. I have been going back and forth with the whole sleep training thing lately and am not sure whether or not we will do it right now or wait longer to see how he does on his own. It's just so hard to hear him cry, and he's doing so many new things that I don't want to stress him out by working on sleep as well. Right now we're just taking it one step at a time, and we'll see how he does with weaning from his swaddle for the moment.
Well, I think that's it for this month. Like I said, a lot has been happening so it's going to be hard to keep these posts short from now on! Below are a few pictures of our big boy this month!

Check out those teeth!

Sitting up with Daddy- love that face!

He loved his first taste of bananas.

Solid Food

This morning Jacob got his first taste of solid foods! We decided to put it on the tray of his highchair and let him experiment with it at first, but he didn't really know what to do. So instead I took the traditional route and fed it to him with a spoon. He seemed to enjoy the sweet potatoes, but he was only able to eat half of what I had made (about 1 tbsp). Good thing I made the food instead of buying it! Here are some more pictures of his big boy experience:

Hmmm... what is this Mommy? 

 Daddy, what is going on?

Wanna see what I'm eating?

Pool Time

 Yesterday we took Jacob to our pool for the first time. We went right when the pool opened, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves, which was awesome. He did so great! He's so used to the warm water from his bath that I think the cold water was kind of a shock to him. He just kind of took everything in and enjoyed the beautiful day. He even took a 2 hour nap afterwards! We are looking forward to taking him to the pool a lot more this summer. Here are a few pictures from the day (Disclaimer: This post is pretty risque for the amount of cleavage I am showing. I apologize in advance!):

Ready for the pool!

Jacob and Mommy

Trying out the water with Daddy

Laughing

Baby Sounds

Rolling Over

Leg Kicks

5 Months Old

This has been a busy month for our sweet little guy! Jacob is getting so big and changing a little more each day.
Jacob's sleep continues to be a struggle. He did great with night-time sleep training for a week and then got a cold and had to go back to being soothed back to sleep. We ended up deciding to hold off on the training until this summer when he'll be home with Mommy or Daddy all day and will have more consistency with his daily routine. Some nights he has only been getting up once while other nights he is up every 2 hours. We also continue to swaddle him when he's asleep.
Jacob's eating habits are much better than his sleeping habits. He still eats about every two hours and for about 30 minutes at a time, although every once in awhile he will go a little longer between feedings or eat for only about 15-20 minutes. The one downside is that I have had to start sending more formula to daycare, since I'm not able to pump enough at work anymore. For the most part, though, he is breastfed, and I hope to continue this for the next several months. Jacob has not started solids yet, but I am looking forward to starting this with him in June when he turns 6 months. This the age that is recommended in my breastfeeding book, so I feel like it would be more beneficial for him to start then.
Jacob continues to get better at tummy time and has even started rolling over more. He did this a few times in January, but now I think he's more aware of what he's doing and consciously trying to do it. I have been putting him on his tummy in the mornings now, and he will sometimes stay in this position for 10-15 minutes before getting upset and wanting to lie down on his back. This is a huge improvement, and he impresses me so much with his head strength. We are still working on having him sit up, but he is starting to get steadier in his bumbo chair each day. Hopefully within the next month or two he'll really be able to support himself in this position. Jacob has also gotten very good at reaching for and grabbing things and is constantly grabbing the toys on his activity mat or putting his blanket in his mouth. He has also started kicking his legs a lot more and blowing raspberries with his tongue.
The final big development this month is that we think he has started showing signs of teething. He is constantly putting things in his mouth and has started drooling more. He has also had a few days where he is extremely fussy and seems to be in pain or discomfort. The other day he even felt like he had a slight fever, which can also be a sign of teething. When Josh's mom came over to see Jacob she was showing us some bumps on his bottom gums that looked like the outlines of teeth forming, so we are pretty sure that some teeth are coming soon!
Finally, here are Jacob's likes and dislikes this past month along with a few pictures of our big boy!
Likes: his blankie (and sucking on it!), his crinkle book, his activity mat toys, kicking his feet, taking a bath, listening to Mommy sing songs, watching tv with Daddy (even though Mommy doesn't like this), sitting in his highchair and watching us eat dinner, getting kisses, being silly with Daddy
Dislikes: being tired or hungry, taking his reflux medicine, being left alone for too long, having his nose wiped

Adventures in Sleep Training: Day Two

I'll try to be brief with this recap, since my first two were pretty detailed. Jacob's first nap was pretty similar to day one. The one improvement is that even though he fussed as I laid him in the crib (he really wanted to fall asleep eating), he fell asleep as soon as I left the room. That was an improvement. Unfortunately, he only slept 20 minutes again, and cried the rest of the time. I was a sad Mommy when I went to go get him.

Nap #2 also started with him fussing as I laid him down and then falling asleep right away. It seems he's at least making progress in getting himself to sleep for his nap, so this was encouraging. This time he slept about 25 minutes, and then cried the rest of the time. He did have a few breaks in his crying, so that seemed to be a little bit of progress.

Since his naps were short again today I decided to put him in his swing for nap #3, and it was tough just getting him to pass out. I ended up feeding him until he pretty much passed out. He put his thumb in his mouth the last minute while the swing got started. I had to go in the bathroom and cry for a minute, because I was so exhausted by this day. A few minutes later Jacob woke up, so I ended up feeding him some more and letting him sleep in my arms. I swear that if he wasn't sleeping so well at night I would be really tempted to give up at this point. I just hope Josh has better luck Monday & Tuesday and that Jacob can actually sleep longer during each nap.

Good news is that once again Jacob went to bed pretty easily. He started getting fussy around 6:45, so I started his bedtime routine a little earlier than normal. As soon as I got done feeding him he stuck his thumb straight into his mouth and his eyes already were starting to close. I quickly set him in his crib and turned on his sheep as he fell asleep. It was so precious! He did wake up crying 3-4 times throughout the night and once in the morning, but each time he put himself back to sleep within a minute or two. Josh and I never had to check on him! I'm doing the happy dance now!

After 3 successful nights of sleep training I am so sold on this process. Although the naps have been rough (and may be for awhile) I am amazed at how well he is able to put himself to sleep at night. I highly recommend the book Sleepeasy Solution to everyone who has babies or will in the future. Although I'd love to detail every day as our training continues, I'm sure you would all get bored of my updates. Instead I'll give you an update probably when he turns 5 months. Hopefully I'll be able to say by then that his naps are going as well as his nights!

Adventures in Sleep Training: First Full Day

Well, we made it through night number one quite successfully and have now completed our first full day of sleep training. That means we had to conquer not just night sleep but also naps. According to the book, it can take up to a week to get babies to successfully fall asleep and stay asleep during naptime. The odds were not in our favor.

Nap #1 was pretty rough. Jacob fussed for about 10 minutes, slept for 20, and then cried off and on for the last 30 minutes. Naps are supposed to be at least an hour, so unfortunately I couldn't take him out of his crib before that hour was up. Since he had such a good night, it was rough hearing him cry so much.

Nap #2 also started with crying. This time it was only about 5 minutes, and then he slept for about 20 minutes again. He then woke up and cried for the remaining 35 minutes. Once again, this was not fun for me to hear.

Nap #3 was kind of a cheat. According to the book, if your baby does not get a full nap the first two times around, you are supposed to either use motion (driving in the car or moving in the stroller) or your old ways to get the baby a full length nap. This way the baby will not be overtired and have a harder time settling at bedtime. Since Jacob has never slept in his stroller and rarely sleeps in the car, I decided to feed him and then put him in his swing to sleep. This totally worked. In fact, he only ate for about 5 minutes and then passed out for 1 hour and 40 minutes!

Because he struggled so much with his naps, I began to get worried about putting him to bed that night. Luckily, it ended up being super easy. We went to church before he went to bed, and they gave him a bottle right before we left. They said he tried to go to sleep, but they kept him awake (because I asked them to). As soon as we got home I changed him, read a story, and then put him right into his crib with his sheep. He must have fallen asleep immediately, because he didn't make a peep. I even checked on him 10 minutes later, and he was passed out. It was amazing! I honestly could not believe how easy it was.

Jacob slept great the whole night. He had 3 or 4 times when he woke up crying for about a minute or two, but then he fell right back to sleep on his own. He even woke up 10 minutes before his wake up time, put himself back to sleep, and slept 6 minutes past the wake up time! So he ended up getting a full eleven hours with no difficulty. We still had to feed him, of course, but we started the weaning process and were able to put him back to bed with no problems after each feeding. I am so happy with this process already. I can't wait to see how the next few days go.

Adventures in Sleep Training: Night One

Well, last night I decided to start sleep training with Jacob to see if we could finally work towards getting him to sleep all night long. For those who don't know, sleep training is basically letting your baby "cry it out" until they learn to put themselves to sleep. This keeps them from constantly relying on their parents to get them to sleep night after night. The book I am using is called The Sleepeasy Solution, and it involves several methods to get your child to fall asleep and stay asleep, including slowly weaning them off of night feedings, setting up a predictable bedtime routine, and creating a good sleep environment. Originally I planned to wait another week, but for whatever reason I just decided to go ahead and start this weekend. I am just sick of being so tired and never knowing if he will fall asleep easily or how long he will sleep.

Anyways, last night began our adventure, and I was very nervous about starting the whole process. The book states that babies may cry for up to an hour the first night, and I was expecting the worst based on Jacob's struggle with sleep. I went through our sleep routine which involved a bath (this will only every other night), a diaper change and pajamas, reading a book with Mommy, and a feeding. The hardest part is that I wasn't supposed to let him fall asleep while feeding, because the book said it would make it harder for him to fall asleep on his own and possibly cry longer. The whole time I fed him I was moving his legs, rubbing his belly, and doing whatever I could to keep him awake. He was not very happy about this, because he wanted to fall asleep like usual. After he finished and fussed for about a minute he was calm while I burped him. Then came the time to lie him down and leave. I gave him lots of kisses, turned on his sleep sheep, and left the room. He was totally calm. I went in 5 minutes later to check on him, and he was just lying there sucking his thumb. I then had to wait 10 minutes to check on him again, so I washed some bottles to distract myself and when I went back in he was asleep! I could not believe it. He slept until about 10:05 and then woke up crying. Josh checked on him, since I was trying to go to sleep, and I guess he kept crying off and on for 30 minutes. That was the only crying he did all night. Josh and I fed him according to the book's directions, and he went straight back to sleep each time.

According to the book, since we laid him down at 8:00 his wake time should be 7:00 unless he sleeps later on his own. At about 6:40 I heard him wake up on the monitor and just make noises. He started crying about 5 minutes before wake up, but the book said not to get him up early. So I just waited the 5 minutes, went in and gave him hugs/kisses, and then gave him his morning feeding. I was so proud of my baby!

Now that the first night is over, we are supposed to start working on his naps today and then resume the same bedtime schedule tonight. The book said naps are much harder, usually, so I know that it could be a rough day. I'll keep you posted on how the first full day goes!

4 Months Old

This past month has brought many exciting changes for Jacob. The best change of
all is that our fussy newborn has blossomed into a happy, sweet infant! Of
course, he can still be fussy and temperamental at times, but his fussing is
what I would consider "normal" baby crankiness rather than the unpredictable,
unconsolable fussing that we dealt with the first 3 months of his life. In fact,
the change happened so suddenly that I'm starting to think he was a colicky
baby. Luckily, the worst seems to be behind us, and we are able to have a lot
more fun and do much more with our sweet baby boy. He has been able to get out
and about with Mommy and Daddy much more. He's now been to the mall, Olive
Garden, and Babies R Us in addition to many other places. It is so nice to be
able to get out of the apartment with him without the constant anxiety of
whether or not he will start wailing.

In addition to being less fussy, Jacob is doing many new things. He now puts almost everything into his mouth. It all started with his fists and fingers, and lately he has started sucking on his thumb. He also likes putting his bibs and blankets in his mouth. Another thing Jacob has started doing is batting and grabbing things. Instead of just lying on his activity mat, he now hits and grabs the toys that dangle from it. He can also hold his rattle for several minutes and shake it himself! It is so fun to watch him playing with these things and interacting more. Jacob also loves smiling, "talking," squealing, and lately he has even started to laugh! The first day he did it was so fun, and it almost made me cry- the sound was so sweet and cute. Finally, Jacob is getting better at sitting up in his bumbo chair and is getting close to rolling over from his back to his stomach. All of these developments have been so fun to watch, and it is crazy how much he is developing in just these past few weeks.

Jacob has been doing well with eating but sleeping continues to be a challenge. I have started doing whatever it takes to get him to sleep- usually resorting to feeding him or putting him in his swing to get him to pass out. His naps are very unpredictable, and he often sleeps best when being held. Nights are also all over the place. Some nights he wakes up only once or twice, and other times he wakes up 3-4 times. These nights I end up putting him in the swing to sleep so that he won't wake up again. Although his sleeping has not improved, I have somehow managed to get a decent amount of sleep each night, and this past week really helped me catch up a bit. I have been on Spring Break, so it has helped not having an alarm wake me up and being able to sleep until Jacob finally gets up for the day. At the end of the month I plan to start sleep training with him to hopefully get him to sleep straight through the whole night and take good naps consistently. I know it will probably be a challenge at first, but I am eager to get to the point when his sleep is more predictable and we can all get some good rest.

Finally, I thought I would share some of the things that Jacob likes and dislikes, now that his little personality is starting to come through. Jacob seems to love taking baths, playing on his activity mat in the morning, playing with his blankets, listening to Mommy sing songs, playing with Daddy, looking at lights, practicing standing up (when we hold him, of course), hearing us clap our hands, and playing with his toys. Jacob does not like waiting for things (to be picked up, be fed, etc.), having his nose cleaned out, riding in the carseat in Daddy's car, tummy time flat on the floor (he prefers the boppy so he can see things easily), not being able to fit things in his mouth, and sitting in the carseat when we're out at restaurants. It is so fun to see his personality developing! I can't wait to see what this next month brings as he continues to grow and change!

3 Months Old

Wow, Jacob is growing so fast! It is hard to believe it has been 3 months since this little guy came into our lives. The past month has been very busy and kind of rough for all of us. Right when Jacob turned 2 months old he got his first cold and had to stay home from daycare for 2 days, since he was getting a bad cough from all the drainage. Then the following Monday he had his 2 month check-up and had to get shots. All of this resulted in a very cranky baby, and Josh and I also ended up getting colds as well. Then just as Jacob was recovering he got super snotty again, and then developed pink eye. Our poor baby just could not catch a break! So basically he's been sick almost the entire month. Not fun! I have also been sick most of the month, so this has made for a miserable time in our household.

This month was also my first month back at work, and Jacob's first full month in daycare. Both of us are doing very well, although some days I come home pretty exhausted and end up passing out while Jacob is napping. He is also exhausted and usually sleeps 3-4 hours when we come home from daycare. He does not nap very well while he is there unless he falls asleep in the boppy pillow, but somehow he makes it through the day. I am just glad that he is doing well and not being fussy all day for them.

Speaking of sleep, Jacob still is not sleeping through the night, but we have had some good nights sprinkled in here and there. Of course his illness did not help him sleep, and there were a few really rough nights for awhile. In fact, two days after his doctor's appointment he was pretty much awake all night, and Josh and I had to take turns holding and feeding him throughout the evening. I think we got about 4 hours of sleep each so that was the worst night since he was first born. When he hasn't been sick, though, he has done much better. There were 2 nights right after he started daycare when he slept about 6 hours before waking up, and he has started doing this again in the past week now that he is feeling better. I have been trying to get him to sleep by about 8:00 at the latest, and then he will sleep until around 2:30/3:00 to eat. Once I put him back down he will sleep until about 6:00/6:30. So we're making progress. Now we just need to work on his naps, because he has really been fighting those lately. I did get a new baby sleep book that someone recommended at work, and if he is still struggling to sleep through the night and take his naps then I will use that to do sleep training once he turns 4 months old.

Finally, Jacob has changed so much this past month and is doing cute little things everyday. He is becoming much less fussy than he used to be, which is a huge relief. When he is awake he will smile and coo at us. He seems to do this the most when he is in his bouncy seat, swing, or boppy pillow, and he loves it when we get in his face and talk to him or give him kisses. My favorite time is in the morning, because I will strap him in his bouncy seat and put it in the bathroom while I shower and get ready. He will just sit there making noises and "talking" to me, and it is so cute! He is also very active and will kick his legs and wave his arms around like crazy. He hasn't started grabbing things very much unless he is pulling on a blanket or our shirts when we hold him. I have tried to get him to grab or bat at the animals that dangle on his activity mat, but he just still isn't ready to do that. He is still getting used to his new activity mat, and does not like having tummy time on it. Lately I have been putting him on the boppy for tummy time, and he prefers this much more. I think it is just because his head is raised up higher, allowing him to look around. Another new thing Jacob has been doing is sucking/chewing on his hands and fingers. You would think those things were made of candy! It's pretty funny to watch, and sometimes he will end up with drool all over his chin from all the sucking. Jacob also loves being naked while having his diaper changed or taking a bath. The other day he was being pretty fussy after I fed him, but as soon as I turned on the bath water and started undressing him he got a big smile on his face and calmed down. Usually he sort of lies there with a shocked look on his face and his fists clenched because he gets so cold, but the last few times in the bath he started waving his arms and legs and kind of splashing the water. I can't wait until he is big enough to sit up and start playing in the bath! Although I miss how little he was when he was first born, I love all the things he is doing now and how playful he is becoming. Josh even said the other day that he thinks Jacob is cuter now than when he was born. Josh said he loves that Jacob has chubby cheeks, legs, and arms now! I thought that was pretty funny. As hard as it has been to adjust to this new life, we definitely love our little guy and are excited to see what this next month brings!

I love cloth diapers

I thought I would do a quick post to share how my cloth diaper experience is going, since I chose to order some before Jacob was born and try them out. So far I am loving them! As you can see from the pictures above, they are super cute, and clean very well. The top picture is after he has worn them each about 3 times and pooped in every one! You would never even know!

So far the cloth diapers have been pretty easy to use. They require a little extra work, but they are much better than disposables. I have only had one experience with poop coming out of the cloth diapers, but in disposables we experience poop blowouts at least once a week if not more. Yuck! That is proof that there will be poop in the washing machine whether you use cloth diapers or not. And speaking of poop, since Jacob is pretty much solely breastfed I don't have to do any extra rinsing of the diapers before washing them. I just stick them in my cute cloth diaper wet bag and then throw the bag and diapers in the washing machine after he has worn them all. There have even been a few times where I took a few days to wash the diapers, but the stains still came out really well. It's pretty amazing!

Right now I only have the 7 diapers you see above, but I may invest in some more later to reduce the number of disposables we use at home. I currently have 3 Fuzzibunz diapers (on the left), and 4 BumGenius diapers (on the right). They all work well, but I think I like the BumGenius a little better. The Fuzzibunz require you to adjust the elastic as the baby grows, while the BumGenius just uses snaps on the outside to adjust the fit of the diaper. Still, though, I am very happy with the diaper choices I made and am glad I decided to try out cloth. I would highly recommend them to any mommies or future mommies out there!

2 Months Old

How do I have a 2 month old already? I just can't believe it. The past month has been pretty crazy and very busy for all of us. I went back to work last week, and Jacob started daycare. I am eager to see how he does with this new schedule over the next month, but so far it is going well.

Jacob continues to eat well. He still mostly eats every 2 hours, but he can often go longer if he takes a good nap. He is still mainly on breastmilk, but he does get a bottle of formula almost every day at bedtime so Mommy can get some extra sleep! I think Josh enjoys having his Daddy time with Jacob at night, so it works out well for everyone.

Jacob's sleeping patterns have been kind of crazy this month. We have continued to work on the whole 90-minute sleep cycle thing, with some mixed results. For a long time he would fight us on taking a nap even when he appeared to be tired, and if he missed a nap he would get pretty cranky. Recently, though, he has started falling asleep in his swing and carseat, so this has helped a lot and allowed us to get him to sleep and then transfer him to the crib. At daycare he doesn't nap very well. So far he only naps for a total of 2 hours while he is there (not all at once), since he can't be swaddled or have his heater blowing on him. He definitely makes up for it by napping when he gets home though. Hopefully he will get used to the cribs there and sleep at least a little more during the day. And he also has not been too fussy or cranky at daycare, which has been exciting to hear. That being said, he is NOT sleeping through the night. Although he sleeps pretty well at night he still gets up once or twice to eat. He has been going to bed around 11 or 12 at night and waking up around 7 or 8 AM, so he's getting some pretty good stretches of sleep even with waking up in between to eat. I, of course, am hoping he will give up nighttime feedings and just sleep straight through from night until morning. Maybe all the excitement of daycare will help make this happen, since he comes home so tired when I pick him up. Overall, though, I can't be too upset about his night sleeping, since I know some babies this age wake up even more often at night.

Jacob's 2nd month ended with him catching his first cold. He has been really snotty and coughing since Sunday night, and I felt so bad for him. Luckily he was home with Josh on Monday and Tuesday instead of at daycare with other little ones.

Overall, I have to say that Jacob has made a lot of progress this past month. He is starting to make lots of sounds and smile, especially when he is in his swing or lying on the boppy pillow. He also seems to slowly be getting less fussy, especially after he started at daycare. This has been really encouraging and allowed me to start taking him out a little bit more. On Sunday I even got to go to church and was able to leave him in the infant room. It made me nervous, but he did fine. I can't wait to see where the next month takes us and how he grows and develops!