Cuteness

Somebody looooves bath time!


How I found Nikos this morning when I went to wake him up (and no, that's not how I left him).

Ferber Revisited

I was just looking at Nikos' sleep/feeding log for the past thirteen days, and a thought occurred to me: I feel so well rested! For two nights in a row, the bambino slept for at least 9 hours straight. And even last night, he just woke up once (at 12:30) for a quick feeding, then went right back to sleep. He's been so much happier during his awake time, and I've been happier knowing that there is a little more predictability in his routine. He is pretty much on a regular napping schedule now, and it is one that just sort of emerged once we began Ferberizing. I think it's so awesome! I mean, just look at the records I've been keeping, and see for yourself! (the blue dots are feedings)

I really can't believe how far he has come in such a short time. I also can't believe what a HUGE impact it has made on our lives, now that we're all getting more sleep! I am so thankful that I bought the Ferber book when I did, and that it worked so well with our little guy. HALLELUJAH!!!

4 Month Letter

Dear Nikos,

Another month has flown by once again, and you are now one-third of a year old. You are hardly the same baby we brought home from the hospital! I can still remember after you were born, when I kept having to look at you to remember what exactly you looked like (we had just met, after all). It's funny to think that we've really only known each other for four months, and yet it feels like I've known you my entire life.

Unfortunately, the theme for the past month would have to be "sickness." You recovered from your bout with croup just in time to come down with a nasty cold, followed by a minor case of pinkeye. The doctor said we were doing an excellent job of front-loading your immune system, and we'd have to agree! At this rate, you will never miss a day of school due to illness (sorry about that, Buddy!). Your daddy and I would also like to formally apologize for all the torture we've put you through in trying to clear out your nose so you can eat and breathe at the same time. The mere sight of a tissue, a bulb syringe, or saline drops now sends you into hysterics, and I don't blame you one bit!

In between dealing with your various sicknesses, however, you are still the same amazing kiddo that we love so much. You are constantly smiling at everyone, and making your happy shrieks and squeals. You're becoming more adept at grabbing things, like my hand as I try to put the pinkeye ointment in your eye. You enjoy the "super baby" pose when we put you on your stomach, and can sit up for long periods when you're propped against a pillow. You've started drooling like crazy and sucking on your hands and fingers, which we think might be the first signs that there are teeth lurking down inside your little gums. You can't roll over all the way yet, but you often roll from your back to one side, then all the way to the other side. It's only a matter of time before you roll over completely!

Your biggest accomplishment this month, though is that you've made huge (HUGE!!!) progress in the sleep department. I used to feed you until you were asleep in my arms, or Daddy would sit with you in the rocking chair for an eternity until you drifted off to sleep. You are now completely capable of putting yourself to sleep in just a few minutes. You no longer use the crib positioner OR a pacifier, so we just plunk you down in the crib, cover you with a light blanket, kiss you on the head, and then you're off to dreamland. It's the same story with naps, too, which is a very good thing-- we used to put you in the swing at naptime, but you've gotten so heavy that it barely moves! Now we can put you in your crib or your car seat, and you'll fall asleep in less than a minute. It has made us all so much happier!

Now that you're able to soothe yourself to sleep when you're tired, outings have become a breeze! Last week, we went to the mall, where you cooed and squealed at everyone until you decided it was time for a nap. Even a month ago, I wouldn't have thought you could handle a long shopping trip like that! Since then, we've been to the county clerk's office to get your birth certificate, and to lunch at Chevy's with Grandma and Grandpa (see the picture of you asleep in our booth!). You hardly fussed at all, and made your daddy and I grow bolder about taking you out in public. I can only imagine what adventures await us in the coming months!

As always, you continue to be the light of our lives, and our love for you is endless. Way to grow, little man!

Love and Kisses,
Mommy

P.S. Last night, you slept for 9 hours straight! You never cease to amaze us! :)

My Two Sons

So here's some video of my two babies (the furry one and the not-so-furry one). Today was Nikos' first time in the doorway jumper! So cute! :)

Walk to the Park

Well, with all the rain we've had here over the past few days, we thought we'd take advantage of today's sunny weather before another storm rolls in tomorrow... So we went to the park again! It's a good walk (about a mile each way), but it was nice to see how green the hills around us have become... Hooray for rain!

4 Month Appointment

We just got back from Nikos' 4 month appointment, and he did really well! He was smiling and cooing at the nurse and doctor almost the entire time, and just being his happy little self. Even when he got his shots (the same ones he got at his 2 month appointment), he cried for a minute or two and resumed his happy cooing and sucking on his fist. He fell asleep on the car ride home, and is still conked out in his room.

I had two main concerns/questions for the doctor, and I was happy to get some answers. First, I had been feeling really paranoid that maybe Nikos wasn't big enough. Since I'm breastfeeding, I can never really know how much he's getting at a single feeding. Plus, he's been sick with various illnesses for nearly a month and a half now, and his appetite comes and goes. But it turns out that he's doing just fine! He weighed in at 15 pounds, 8 ounces (70th percentile) and measured 25.5 inches long (75th percentile). He's a big boy! The scary part is that he gained half a pound since our doctor visit last Sunday. I had noticed that he was less congested and was eating for longer periods this week, but wow! Go baby! The second question I had for the doctor was about starting solids, and she said that we can begin whenever we're ready now (especially since he's a big boy and is obviously getting enough from my breastmilk). I am so unprepared for this! Our little guy is growing up!

Anyway... It was a good appointment! I feel so relieved! Now we just have to decide what we're going to do about this whole "eating-solids" thing... eek!

The Little Piglet

Just some video I took about an hour ago of our squealing little piglet (and yes, that's his hand grabbing the camera at the end). He is too cute!

And a picture, taken afterward:

Then and Now

Then... (April 2007)

Now... (this past Friday)
How times have changed!!

Ferberizing, Night 2

Let me just say it: I ♥ Richard Ferber! That man is my hero!

Last night, we plunked Nikos down in his crib, wide awake, at 7:30pm. He was asleep by 7:40, and didn't wake up again until 2am!!! I fed him, put him back in the crib, and he fell asleep in a few minutes without crying at all. I didn't hear from him again until 5:45, which is pretty darn close to his regular wake-up time of 6am, so I fed him and we began our day. I cannot believe how effective Ferberizing has been for our little guy!!! I had heard plenty of stories about how it worked well for some people and not for others, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But I am thrilled!!

And now, a caveat: I think our guy might have an ear or sinus infection, which could explain why he's slept so much... We have an after-hours appointment at noon today, so we'll see what's going on. He's still happy and smiley, and he doesn't have a fever, but his snot has changed from clear to yellow (I know, TMI) and his eyes started oozing yellow goop yesterday. This kid has been sick for so long now-- one of the drawbacks of putting him into daycare with other germy kids! He had croup and then, just as that was clearing up, he came down with a bad cold (which he then shared with his mommy-- I even stayed home from work for a day, it was so bad!). Now, instead of getting better, it seems to have progressed into something else. sigh... The upside to all this is that he usually sleeps LESS when he's not feeling well... so I bet that the Ferberizing is actually working! And hey, even if it's not- he's still getting into a fabulous sleep routine, which is just as good!

Anyhow... The new goal (assuming we can maintain this excellent nighttime routine!) is to work on taking three decent-sized naps during the day. Nikos prefers to take "naplets" of about 30 minutes, and he takes a bunch of them. Ferber says this isn't good, because the first 10 minutes of a nap are the most rejuvenating-- so if Nikos gets too many of those little rejuvenating bursts throughout the day, it might hinder his ability to sleep at night. So we are now attempting to consolidate the naplets... wish us luck! :)

**UPDATE (2/17): No ear or sinus infection-- just a bad head cold and possibly a little bit of pinkeye (hey, why not??). Turns out our little guy isn't so little, though... he tipped the scales at 15 pounds even at his appointment!

Ferberizing

Welcome to the P. household, land of the sleep deprived! After being woken up by Nikos an average of three times a night for the past several weeks, both Gus and I were quickly nearing our wits' ends.

Fortunately, the planets seemed to have aligned just in time for us to start what I am calling Super Sleep Training Camp! Nikos is close to the 4-month mark, which means that he should be capable of self-soothing as well as making it through the night with only one feeding (or possibly even NO feedings, though I'm not ready for that). And it just so happens that I am on vacation now until the 25th, so I won't have to get up and go to work after a (potentially) sleepless night. Taking all this into consideration, I decided that last night we would start to Ferberize our little guy.

In his book (Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems), Dr. Richard Ferber talks about establishing "positive sleep associations" and removing negative ones. I had gotten into the habit of nursing Nikos off to sleep in the evenings, then transferring him into his crib. Then, after only a couple of hours, he'd wake up, realize he'd been moved, start crying loudly, and the only way to get him back to sleep was to feed him again... and then transfer him to his crib again... thus perpetuating the cycle. While nursing him had been a very effective way of getting him to fall asleep, he just wouldn't stay asleep-- and that didn't work for any of us! Ferber suggests developing a new and consistent bedtime routine where feeding is NOT the last activity, and then making sure to lay the baby down in his crib while he is still awake. That way, he can learn to fall asleep on his own, rather than relying on external things that he can't really control. If he cries, parents respond by briefly checking in on him at progressively longer intervals-- but they do not pick him up, cuddle him, or feed him (unless it's actually feeding time or if he has a poopy diaper). At any rate, the book seemed very clear and reasonable, so I was so excited to get started with our training!

Last night, I had prepared myself to be awake for the long haul... but was shocked when Nikos fell asleep on his own after crying for less than three minutes! That was at 8:15. Then he woke up at midnight, ate briefly, and fell asleep in his crib after crying for a total of six minutes (I checked in on him at the three-minute mark). He woke up again at 4:40am, ate, and then went back to sleep with NO crying (though he stayed awake in the crib and was babbling to himself for a good 20 minutes). Then, all day long today, he fell asleep at naptime without crying for more than a minute or two each time. And-- most surprisingly-- he just fell asleep for the night after crying for less than 10 minutes. It was so surprising because he didn't seem to really be all that tired, and was protesting vigorously. Still, it just goes to show that our little guy is capable of putting himself to sleep! We just hadn't given him the opportunity to show us what he could do!

Anyhow... who knows if this will keep working or not, but we are quite happy at the moment! Way to go, Nikos! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

One Year Ago Today...

It's hard for me to believe that exactly one year ago today, at 5:57 in the morning, I finally saw two pink lines on a home pregnancy test! I can remember that day so vividly, as well as the weekend that preceded it. I was so certain that I was pregnant, but I didn't want to say anything to Gus or risk jinxing myself!

Anyway, a lot has changed in only a year (obviously). Nikos has gone from being a microscopic cluster of cells to being a 15-pound, nearly-four-month-old boy! I look at him and think to myself: I grew him!! It's the weirdest, coolest thing to think that I grew another person (ok, Gus deserves some of the credit, I guess!). And I'm still technically "growing" him by being his one and only source of all nutrition. He is my life's biggest accomplishment, without question!

But back to my main point: a lot has changed in a year. I realize now that I had no clue about what motherhood would really be like. You can read every book on the planet, but nothing can ever prepare you for that moment when your baby emerges and you realize "he's ours-- forever." It's such a powerful (and sometimes overwhelming) feeling. But the love you feel for your baby is absolutely indescribable. And I can't imagine our lives without little Nikos now. It's just strange to think it all started with those two little pink lines:

P.S. Just for kicks, I added a "belly picture" to the section over there on the right... 55 weeks! :)

Sleeping Freely

So we've made some big progress lately in the sleep department around here... I just realized that last night was the third night in a row that our little man has slept without being swaddled!! Hooray! We started out by swaddling him completely, and then moved on to just swaddling his arms. We stopped swaddling him for naps a few weeks ago, when he showed us he had no problems falling and staying asleep. But when we didn't swaddle him at nighttime, he'd fling his arms around, effectively waking himself up after about half an hour (at which point we'd promptly swaddle him again). On Friday night, however, he was in quite a state. He wouldn't go to sleep OR eat, and I was willing to try anything. I unswaddled him, and he was much happier. He ate until he fell asleep, and then we didn't hear from him again for nearly five hours! Since then, he's been sleeping freely, usually for about four hours at a time! Hallelujah!! (and for those of you who have read this and are asking yourself "What the heck is swaddling??"-- read this)

A Day in Photos: 14 Weeks, 3 Days Old

9am: Nikos seems to notice the cat for the first time (officially freaking Charlie out!)

11:30am: We walked about a mile to our neighborhood park, since the weather was so nice... Nikos couldn't stop staring at the branches of the trees up above us!

11:30am: Daddy made Nikos wear his Cappy's hat, which he was a little unsure about...

3:00pm: Time for a snooze in the swing... Check out his little toes!

Shoes... Sunshine... Sickness...

Things that start with the letter "S"!! Ding ding ding, we have a winner!

Seriously, though, those three things are sort of the theme du jour. First we have sickness. Nikos is still sick. That's right, he never got 100% better! Last weekend, after seeming to be mostly better, he developed a really junky-sounding cough, so we took him to the doctor on Tuesday. She said that his lungs were completely clear, and that the congestion was all up in his head. She also had a tough time seeing into his ears (they're small and he's wiggly), but that she *thought* she might have seen a little bit of pink, indicating a possible ear infection. She advised us to just keep an eye on him, but that he seemed to be okay overall (he was happy, eating well, etc.).

Fast forward to a few days later, and suddenly our little guy's nose is just loaded with snot. And no matter how often I spray saline drops up his nose or use the bulb syringe to suction him out, he's still plugged up. This makes breastfeeding a nearly impossible task (try maintaining suction on something with your mouth when you can't breathe through your nose... see the problem?). Milk gets sprayed everywhere, Nikos gags and cries, and it's just generally very stressful. I'm planning on taking him back to the doctor on Monday to get checked out, but in the meantime... it's going to be a very long weekend!

On a positive note, though, the weather today is unbelievable gorgeous!!! It feels more like a day in April or May, as opposed to early February. I have all the windows open, and a nice warm breeze is blowing through the house. Maybe the fresh air will do our little guy some good??

Finally, I have to share a few pictures... Nikos is actually out with Gus right now (they went to the auto parts store... you know, manly stuff!), but today was the first day he has ever worn shoes!! Not that he needs them, really, but they are so cute. Hooray!

Proof!

See? He is mine, after all! I AM the mother! hehe!!!

13 Weeks and 1 Day Old

A video I took last night... Nothing out of the ordinary, just our cute little guy enjoying his jumperoo!

Semi-coherent Babblings

Ahhh... It's Friday afternoon, Nikos is asleep, and I can finally sit down and breathe (and enjoy my chai soy latte). I never thought this week would end!!

From Sunday through Tuesday nights, I think our little man was going through a growth spurt. He would only take short naps during the day, and then was hungry every two hours all night long (like clockwork!). I don't even know how I managed to teach this week, but I dug deep and found some hidden source of energy. It's amazing what the human body can do, isn't it?

And then, early (4am!) Wednesday morning, Gus left on a business trip for Wyoming and Colorado. I got my first real taste of what it would be like to be a single mom... So I can officially say this: I do not know how they do it! Luckily, Nikos went back to a more normal sleeping schedule just in time (THANK GOD!), but I am still completely and utterly exhausted. My back is killing me. And every time he takes a nap, I have about a million things to get done (washing/preparing bottles, setting up his bath, taking my own shower, doing laundry... it never ends!). Gus still won't be home until tomorrow, but I think I've made it through the toughest part. And let me tell you, I appreciate that man in an entirely new way now. Nikos and I both can't wait for Daddy to come home! And Gus' parents are going to come and babysit on Sunday so that we can get out and go to a movie or something. So that will be fun!!

Anyway... I am completely wiped out. I should probably go and just watch some mindless TV. I am seriously having trouble putting together coherent sentences!

One last thing, though, before I go... My highlight of the week! I discovered yesterday that MY OLD JEANS FIT AGAIN!!!!! YAY!!!!! I am so happy, because I really love these jeans (they're trouser jeans from Banana Republic... they're the best!). I really didn't think that this day would ever come, but it did. And I have to say-- I've been really lucky in the weight-loss department. I actually weigh less now than I did when I got pregnant, and I haven't exercised at all. Thank you, breastfeeding!!!

And a final picture... I took this one this morning right before I dropped him off at daycare (I loved the outfit). He gets cuter and cuter every day!!