She Crawled Today!!!

March 16, 2010 - Taylor figured out how to crawl today. She crawled for the first time a few weeks ago but didn't realize what she had done and she hasn't done it since.

But today she saw a tennis ball on the floor and she wanted it. Instead of screaming because it was out of her reach or rolling to it she crawled...very slowly...she crawled. We put it in front of her a few more times and she crawled to it every time. We were so proud! You should have seen me, it was all I could do not to scream to the world..."My Baby Just Crawled!!!" Check out the video on dropshots.

She's 9 months old.

The funny thing is that she is doing a great job walking. She still needs our help but she has taken 4 steps without us. She can stand on her own for long periods of time and even turn her head and focus on many things without falling. She is down to just using one mommy finger to walk and still falls occasionally but she is doing so great and we are so proud of her!

We are so, so very blessed!!!

9 Months Old

I cannot believe that in 3 very short months our little girl is going to be a year old. The first 6 months flew by, which I am more than grateful for. But now we are all having fun and time can start to slow down now.

Taylor goes for her 9 month checkup on the 19th, but by our scales she weighs 22 pounds. She's very tall, has 8 teeth. The 8th one broke through on 2-28-10. She is walking all over the house holding on to our fingers. She is trying so hard to pull herself up but she's not quiet there yet.

She also crawled for the first time today. She was sitting on the floor playing by herself and saw my slippers sitting by me just needing to be chewed on, so she took off. She crawled 4 little baby crawls and fell onto her tummy. Then she screamed because she wasn't close enough to the yummy slippers!!! I almost screamed out loud. The next hour was spent on the floor with me torturing her by putting things just outside of her reach and begging her to crawl to them. Poor Baby!!! But, our baby crawled on her 9th month birthday. Hooray!

Everything is going so absolutely wonderful for our family now. We are so truly blessed and so truly thankful for our blessings.

Well, I have started gathering ideas for her birthday party. Everyone is invited!!! It's on June 5th, the first Saturday in June, here at the house. (Even though her birth date is the 2nd, that falls on a Wednesday this year, bummer.)

I hope everyone is enjoying our blog and dropshots. I hate that we can't be closer to all of our family and friends, but I maybe this makes you feel a little closer to us. We certainly miss you all.

DaDa!!

I know I'm bias but my baby is SO SMART! LOL!!!!

For a few days now I have been telling her, "DaDa." It didn't take her long and she started trying to say it. At first it was coming out "YaYa" which was so sweet and funny that I couldn't hardly stand it! Now she has gotten it down pat. "DaDa, DaDa, YaYa." Her daddy is so proud. Now we are working on "Pawpaw!"

She is also loving her big girl baths now. At first she was pretty scared in that big tub all alone so we moved her to the spare bathroom bathtub which is smaller. She felt much more comfy in that one. But, now that she is used to it we moved her bath back to the big tub in the master bath. I use the spare bathroom for myself and it was a pain digging out all of her bath toys every morning.

And if my child gets one more tooth...I just don't know what I'll do! I found two more teeth last night. That's 7 teeth at 8 months old and one more is just under the skin!!! 4 on the top and 3.5 on the bottom. 2 haven't completely broken through but you can see them just under the skin.

She is also pushing herself up into a sitting position. She doesn't do it all the time but the other night I put her down in her crib on her tummy and she got up on her hands and knees, got into a sitting position and then proceeded to pull herself up on the slats of her crib. She still isn't crawling forward but she can go backwards like a champ. Sometimes she'll get so excited that she's actually on her hands and knees that she'll start rocking back and forth and get a little too much momentum and throw herself forward. Then she's like, "Wait, I just went forward! Cool!!!"

My little baby is getting so big right before my eyes. She can really start slowing down now. I am so glad that the first 6 months are over. It was so hard for us. Things are so much easier now, it's almost like night and day. I love being a mom now and I hope she likes being my daughter.

Momma???

Call me crazy...but...

Taylor has been saying "momma" for a while now. "M's" are usually very difficult for most kids and the pediatrician was pretty impressed when I told him that she was saying her vowels and the letters "M" and "K" very well. He asked if she was saying her "D's" or "G's" and I told him no, not yet. He said that was interesting, that these letters usually come much later.

I never thought she knew what momma meant. I just assumed it was baby babble. But today, I was feeding Taylor her breakfast and she reached out for me and said, "Momma."

Granted, this could just be coincidence (and it probably is). But, as far as I am concerned my baby knows I am "Momma!"

Like I said, call me crazy! LOL!

Oh, she is also feeding her self for the first time about 2 weeks ago. I have been giving her Gerber Puffs (aka. Stars) by putting them in her mouth. But, I thought it was time she learned how to do it herself so I started putting them in her hand. After a while she finally figured out that she needs to grab the star with her index finger and thumb and put it in her mouth. When she first started this she thought they were a toy, and still sometimes do. Stars are really awesome, they are a little treat that just melts in their mouth. They remind me of a melting cheerio's.

And, she is developing a little temper too. Which in turn means she is also learning the word, "NO!" LOL!

She is doing so good.

4 Teeth, 7 months

Taylor's second top tooth came all the way through today. She now has 4, two top and two bottom. We have been so blessed that she has not had any problems with them.

I am sleep training her now. She started sleeping through the night at 4months when we got her on the formula but putting her down is now becoming a problem. About 2 weeks before Christmas she started fighting her sleep. She would starting getting sleepy and realize that she was going to sleep. So, to fight it she would start flailing her arms, opening/closing her hands, pulling her hair, babbling, moving her head from side to side, etc.

Since this was only getting worse, I decided it was time she learned how to go to sleep on her own, without falling asleep in mom's arms. It took 5 painful nights but for the last two nights she has gone down with no tears and fallen asleep within a minute of me laying her in her crib. She is doing so good with her nights.

However, days are still a problem. I learned that she wasn't taking longer naps because she was overtired and was unable to transition in to a deeper sleep. I am now trying to get her on a sleep schedule. She is fighting her sleep during the day and sometimes it takes 30 minutes to an hour for me to get her to go to sleep. I have started putting her in our bed for naps and laying with her. I have no idea if I am going to keep this up. I have very fond memories of taking naps with my mom and I kind of want Taylor to have that memory too. However, just being able to put her down in her own crib and have her go to sleep painlessly would be ideal for both of us. I think I am going to give her night training a little longer to see if she has any kind of regression. If that goes well, I'll start on naps.

I cannot begin to tell you how stressful it is having a child with sleep issues. However, I am just so thankful that so far, this is her only issue. She is getting so big and can almost sit on her own for an extended period of time. She is learning so much so fast. You can almost see her soaking everything up like a sponge and it is such a fun and exciting time for us both.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Tomorrow (1-2-10) our baby will be 7 months old. Today I felt her first top tooth. That makes three teeth.

We had a great trip to Chicago for Christmas. We were all sick but Taylor recovered while we were there. I was never really THAT bad, relatively speaking. Dad actually mentioned the ER! We flew home, all feeling much better. However, we are now getting sick AGAIN. I went to Walmart and bought a gallon of bleach, Lysol wipes, a gallon of OJ, a 4pack of Puffs, 2 kinds of NyQuil, and Sudafed pills. I am going to bleach everything in my house. Hopefully that will kill the coodies and we'll get better.

As for our Christmas, Taylor spent her first Christmas with her Great Grandmother, her Granny, and all of her Aunt's, Uncle's, and cousin's on her Dad's maternal side. It snowed while we were there and we got some pics of her touching the snow. I shoveled snow off of the sidewalk for the first time! LOL! We all received lots of a great presents and want to thank everyone for everything.

We are now trying to get back into our routines and get well. Taylor has had a hard time adjusting to the quiet life again. She enjoyed playing so much that she wants to stay up until 10:30 playing! Hopefully her schedule will get back to normal soon. (Please pray for me!!!)

Thanks again for everything everyone.

p.s. And don't worry Mississippians, we'll be headed down south in February.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year (Happy 7th month birthday Taylor.)

No-Nap Taylor

Does anyone have ANY IDEA why our child will only take 2, 30-45 minute naps a day? It is driving me crazy. She is sleeping GREAT at night. Maybe only waking once to eat, maybe. Most of the time she goes down at 7pm, sleeps till about 5am when she wakes to eat. She'll go back to sleep and wake up somewhere around 7 or 8am. This, I am most certainly NOT complaining about. I am VERY lucky she lets me sleep in.

However, when it comes to nap time, FOOOOOORGET IT! Most kids at 6.5 months are taking 2 or 3, 1 or 2 hour naps a day! I can't figure it out. Why won't she take longer naps.

The reason this is important to me is because she is pretty needed, as most 1st children are. I devote 100% of my waking moments to her. She doesn't have to share me with another sibling. So, she loves to be held and play games with mom...all the time. She is also aware now when I am not in a room and she screams her head off. Oh, and don't let her watch me leave a room. You would think someone is strangling her!

To get some time to do chores I put her in her bouncer, her swing, on the floor, and other stuff. But, she will only be content with that for so long, then she wants mom time. Yes, I could let her cry, and sometimes I do - for a little while...but mostly I am just not that kind of mom. Why make your kid cry if they don't have too? Perhaps I am making my own bed, but that isn't the point. WHY WON'T SHE NAP LONGER???

My house is a mess. I am dirty, tired and hungry...welcome to motherhood!

6 Months

Taylor is 6 months old today. I cannot believe how big our baby is. Her personality is really starting to come out and she is so much like her mom but she looks like her dad. She's so funny, when she wants something, she wants it NOW! She loves to suck on her top lip, stick her tongue out and blow bubbles, scream really loudly, and suck on her two fingers. She is experiencing a little bit of separation anxiety which most 6 month olds go through. She is realizing that we are out of the room and gets scared when she's alone. I figured out today that she fits in a clothes basket which makes for easy transport of her and her toys from room to room.

I am not sure exactly how much she weighs or how tall she is. By our scales she's about 19 pounds and I'll measure her later tonight. She is enjoying bath time now which is a blessing. She is sleeping through the night. She wakes up at 4 a.m. but usually puts herself back to sleep and wakes up for good between 6 and 6:30 a.m. I have found that if I give her a little snack when she wakes up there is a good chance she'll let me sleep till 7:30 or 8 a.m. Or, it could be like today and she gets up at 4am, I'll feed her and get back to sleep about 4:45. She wakes back up at 5 a.m. and goes back to sleep. I fall back to sleep at 5:45 and Brodie gets up for work at 6:15. She's up for good at 6:30 a.m. Ah, the joys of motherhood. But, I don't mind it. She is the sweetest when she falls asleep and when she wakes up. She'll play in her crib in the mornings all by herself for 20-30 minutes if I let her. When we go in, she'll peek up at us and give us the biggest smile and get so excited. She almost can't contain it! She is such a blessing and everytime I look at her it's as if I am really looking at an angel here on earth.

We had a good Thanksgiving here in North Carolina. The three of us spent the day pigging out and playing. We are gearing up for our trip to Chicago for Christmas, which we are all very excited about. I hope Taylor gets to see some snow for the first time. Don't worry MS family, we'll be home soon. We love you all.

Don't forget to check out her latest pics in the Dropshots link to the right.

At Tay's 6mo check up she weighed 19lbs and was 29" long. She is in the 94th percentile for her weight and off the charts for height! She's a BIG baby! I LOVE IT!!!!

5 Months

Taylor was 5 months yesterday (11-2-09). She has come so far in such a short amount of time. She can pull herself up with our hands and she can sit up with some help. She has learned how to squeal and does it quiet often. My favorite are her tantrums. I just LOVE those! LOL! When she gets really mad, she'll scream to the top of her lungs and her face turns beet red. She's no longer a little baby anymore. While it is great to see her experience those "Ah-Ha" moments, it is so bittersweet.

She got her second tooth today (11-4). We have been so blessed that her teeth really haven't given us a hard time. A few nights we have had to give her some Tylenol but it really hasn't been bad. I guess that means her top teeth are going to be a nightmare. She is also SO big. I have no idea what she weighs but she is wearing 6-9 month clothes. She's just so long!

Her favorite food is peas. She likes her veggies but isn't that big on fruits. Right now sweets make her pucker, squint, and shake her head! It's SO funny. She is doing GREAT on a bottle. We haven't had any problems and after all my worrying, I am sure I made the right to switch.

She is also sleeping through the night, most nights. Every once in a while she'll wake up to eat if she didn't finish all of her bottle before she fell asleep. She is even putting herself to sleep now. We'll lay her down awake and she fades off all by her pretty little self.

She's really doing great and things are much better for all of us now. I am starting to develop a routine with my days and while getting up at 6:30 sucks, thinking of it as a job helps.

Oh, she threw up all down Brodie's neck and back last night! IT WAS PRICELESS!!!LOL! (love ya honey)

Dad Was Right.

As a 32 year old woman, I never expected that my dad could have much more to teach me. Well, again...I was wrong. My dad has been trying to tell me for 2 months that I needed to give Taylor formula and baby cereal. He said that once she gets full she will sleep better. The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend giving solids before 4 months so I decided to wait until then to start. She turned 4mo on Oct. 2nd.

I also decided to stop breastfeeding and switch Taylor to formula. She is only taking a bottle now. 2 of her feedings are formula and I am pumping the rest. Tomorrow I will bump her up to 3 formula bottles and increase to 4 in 3 days. By the end of next week she will only be on formula.

As a result of the formula and solids, Taylor is now sleeping almost through the night. She went to bed at 8pm last night and she slept until 5:30 in the morning. She woke up again at 7am. After eating, she still acted sleepy, so I brought her to bed with me and we woke up at 9:30am. IT WAS WONDERFUL!!!

So, this post is for my Dad. I wanted to say first that after all this time, you are still right. Second, I love you for sitting quietly by and letting me learn on my own. Now that I am a parent, I know how hard is. Even now I want to hand Taylor her toys instead of watching her get frustrated trying to reach for them.

Because Taylor is now on a bottle, I am finally regaining my independence. For the last 4 months I couldn't leave her for more than 2-3 hours b/c she was breastfed. Now, Brodie is keeping Tay so that I can get out again. I have joined a Mom's group and we have weekly play dates at the Park or someones house and many other weekly outings. We had our first play date at the Park today and Taylor loved it. She sat in a big-girl swing for the first time.

For the last four months I have felt like someone was holding my head underwater and now I have come up for air. So, thanks for your suggestion Dad. I wish I would have taken your advice when she was 3 months but I am glad I didn't wait till she was 5 months. Taylor and I are both happier girls...and that makes Brodie VERY happy! ;)

I LOVE YOU DADDY!!! ~your little girl~

4 Months Old

Today is a big day (9-10-09). Taylor started strictly eating from a bottle yesterday allowing me some much needed independence. She is also eating solid foods now. She has a little rice ceral, and as treat for eating that, I'll give her some home made baby food. Her first food was pear. It was too sweet for her so I tried some pumpkin and she loved it.

She also got her first tooth today! I had noticed a gray spot on her bottom gum at the peditrician's office on Wednesday but I just thought it was another nodule. She has a few of them as they are very common in babies. But today Brodie and I went out for the first time without Taylor and our neighbor was keeping her. She texted me that I didn't tell her that Taylor had a tooth. I couldn't believe it! We got home and I stuck my finger in her mouth. Sure enough, my little baby had a tooth at 4 months and 8 days old. She is really growing up fast now.

She loves to stand. We bought her a jumper and she has a great time bouncing in it. She is getting too big for her swing and that is sad. It is a very easy way to get her to take a nap. She is leaning forward in it now and it doesn't have a harness so I am getting less inclined to put her in it.

She was sick last Sunday. We had to take her the ER with a 102 fever. The peditrician said it was Roseola. About 2 days after her fever broke she broke out in a rash from head to toe. My baby was so sick and I was really scared. She felt so horrible and slept most of the day. Thankfully she is feeling fine now.

At her 4 month check-up, she received her immunizations and tolerated them very well. She weighed 16.5 lbs (94%'ile) and was 27" tall (101%'ile).

She still isn't sleeping well at night and never really has. Therefore, I have decided not only to introduce solid foods but to switch her to formula as well. I guess my milk is enough to fatten her up but it just doesn't stay with her long enough. She still wants to eat every 2-3 hours day and night. Due to this, I have discovered why isolation and sleep deprevation are forms of torture. It's amazing, we can't torture terrorist but Mom's have to live and be productive under both sets of circumstances.

My husband actually called me a Saint today! It made me proud...sometimes a new mom feels so lost trying to figure her baby out. I guess I am not doing that bad of a job. {smile}

Sleep Training, Night #2

THE FIRST NIGHT - The first night when MUCH better than expected. She cried for about 45 minutes before she finally feel asleep. This was horrible to listen to but it was expected. I put her down at 9pm. She woke up at 10pm b/c she had to burp and was stuck in the slats of the crib. Bumper pads are not recommended to be in cribs due to a risk of suffocation. They have been attributed to several cases of SIDS over the last 20 years. However, she moves around so much that I think we are going to have to get a breathable bumper pad just so she won't get stuck and wake up.

Anyway, after I put her back down at 10:20pm she only woke up at 1am & 4am. She woke for the day around 9:15am Saturday morning. Dad and I were so happy that she let us sleep in.

THE SECOND NIGHT - The second night was great also. Starting at 8pm I nursed her in her room. When I put her in her crib her eyes were closed but she wasn't really asleep. I laid her in her crib at 8:30 and she wiggled around for about 5 minutes and then she fell asleep. She woke up again at 10 because she had to burp. She woke up again at 11 and this time she had to throw up, she was stuck in the slats, and she was dirty. After a quick diaper change and a little sip of milk she was back to a light sleep. I put her down, she wiggled/cried for about 10 minutes and put herself to sleep. She woke up at 1am & 4am.

I am so happy with her. While she isn't to where I want her just yet, it will take a few days. Our goal isn't that she sleep through the night, I just want her to be able to put herself to sleep. Hopefully, that will result in less night wakings for both of us.

So far I would say that we are both doing great!

Also, last night dad went in to comfort her. While he was rocking her she feel asleep in his arms. That was the first time this had happened and he got to see just how precious that moment is. He said that she was so cute that it was all he could do to not laugh. I am so happy he got to experience that. If she'd take a bottle he could experience it a lot more often! LOL!

Sleep Training

Well, tonight was night #1.

Brodie has two weeks of leave so I decided that now was the time to teach Taylor how to fall asleep on her own, without swaddling, nursing, or rocking, everything she requires now. I decided to try the Cry-It-Out (CIO) method, otherwise known as the Ferber Method.

When I notice Taylor getting sleepy (usually around 8pm) I will feed her in the living room. Then I will go into her room and have nothing on except for her blue nightlight and her music box that shines shapes on the ceiling. I rock her for 10 minutes to get her very drowsy but not asleep. Then I put her in her crib, pat her a little and kiss her good night. I exit the room and hope for the best.

Tonight she cried for 45 minutes...very hard. I even thought she threw up at one point. I go in to check on her every 10 minutes to make sure she is not stuck in the slats of her crib and that she is basically okay. Eventually, she became very quiet. Brodie checked on her and she was passed out! Whew...Thank God!!!

Now, the hard part comes when she wakes up in the middle of the night to eat. I will feed her then put her back in her crib. If she cries, which she surely will, I will have to just let her CIO again. Now, Taylor usually goes to bed swaddled while I nurse her to sleep in the rocking chair. I put her in her crib sleeping around 9pm-9:30pm. She wakes up at 11:30, 2:30 & 5:30. She is usually up for the day around 7:30.

I will do this same routine every night until she learns how to fall asleep on her own. It shouldn't take more than a week or two.

Please keep us in your prayers as this will not be easy for any of us!

Taylor has been wanting to stand up now. This means we have to hold her up which gets old very fast, especially when there are chores to do.

Yesterday we were looking in the baby section of Kmart and I saw this jumper. I asked B to get her out of her stroller to see how she fit in the jumper. He really didn't want to but I nagged until he did.

When he put Taylor in the jumper her face lit up. She played and smiled the entire time. I don't think she wanted to get out but we had to go. Well, when her Daddy saw that smile, his heart melted and he had to buy it for her.

And so it has begun! :)

3 Months Old

Miss Taylor is well into her 3rd month of life now. She has really made significant leaps in her motor skills as well as her communication and learning curves. The most visible to me is when I changer her diaper. She will pick her legs up as soon as I place her on her changing table and hold them up until we are done. She is finding the toys on her activity play mat and reaching for the teething toys I place in front of her on her Bumbo seat. Her favorite thing is her burp cloth. She can reach down, pick it up and put it in her mouth. She loves to chew on it. I think her teeth are beginning to grow up through her gums, but it probably will be a while before they break the skin.

She is also talking and laughing a lot more. Instead of the little bursts of laughs she once had, she is now cracking her self up and laughing very hard at times. It is the cutest thing EVER. She "talks" back to me when I am speaking to her and sometimes it seems like she is encouraging me to talk to her. For Christmas I want to get her the "Your Baby Can Read" program that teaches children to read very early in life. I also encourage her dad to speak to her in Spanish which also helps her developmental progress.

She weighs 15.5 pounds and is about 26" long now. She is in size 2-3 disposable diapers and in medium cloth diapers. The cloth diapering is going great. She didn't stay in her small's as long as I had anticipated so we just had to purchase a bunch of mediums. But the good thing is that we can store them away until we have our next child...if I live through this one! LOL! The extra work that comes with it isn't enough to even worry about and I actually enjoy it because I know I am doing what is best for my baby and the environment.

She is starting to sleep a little better as well. For the last two nights she as only gotten up at 1am and 4am. I feel SO much better. I guess the trick is only letting her get small naps that are pretty far apart. Keeping her up after 5 or 6 is also helping her sleep. However...you do not want to be in this house around that time because her lungs are FULLY developed. (Actually, did you know that human lungs aren't fully developed until about 18yrs old. That is why smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke at a young age is so very detrimental.)

Thank you for checking in on us. And if you wanna fly out and babysit, we'd love to have you!
:)~

Sleeping Beauty

Holy Macaroni! Taylor slept 7 straight hours last night and 6.5 the night before that! We had family visiting from MS and we ventured all over the county while they were here. That didn't afford Taylor much time for a nap. She'll be 3 months old next week and I think she is finally getting the hang of this sleeping thing.

However, I try not to get my hopes up. I realize that just because last night was good, that doesn't necessarily mean tonight will be. For some reason and I am very nervous about tonight. Hopefully I am anxious for no reason.

If she does return to her sleepless nights, my family will just have to return to NC for a very extended stay. We are expecting Brodie's family to visit at the end of Sept. and I can't wait. It was so great having family here to help. It really made me realize how fortunate we are to have such a great family. We are so blessed.

It's getting a little better!

A few days ago I didn't think I could do this anymore. Everything was just so hard. I had tried almost every sleep schedule I could think of. Finally my neighbor suggested that instead of putting her to sleep at 7, keep her up a little later.

I would give her a bath at 6:30, nurse and start putting her down at 7. Most nights she wouldn't get to sleep until 8 or 8:30. That means I am spending absolutely no time with my husband and the time we do spend together isn't quality time because I am so exhausted. I have to admit, I have been pretty difficult to get along with lately...BUT IT'S NOT MY FAULT, I'M SEVERELY SLEEP DEPRIVED!

Well, now I give Taylor her bath at 7 or 7:30, play and tire her out until 8 or 8:30. She goes to sleep so much easier and faster now. This allows me to finally be able to ask Brodie how his day went...and actually to listen.

Taylor is getting up 3 times a night now. She usually sleeps for about 2-2.5 hrs at a time. By now she should be getting into 4 or 5 hr stretches but not all babies are ready for that. For now I am so very thankful for only having to get up 3 times a night. I feel so much better and I am sure Taylor does too. We'll get to those 5 hour stretches, I'm sure. It just won't happen right now and that is fine. I have learned that motherhood becomes much easier when I let go of all of my expectations for my daughter. Just because last night was good doesn't mean tonight will be. I have learned to take one day at a time. This has really saved my sanity...and my relationship with Taylor.

She isn't an easy baby but my goodness, she is so awesome when she isn't tired.

Also, I put her on the scales this morning and she weighed 15 pounds. She was 13 pounds 2 weeks ago!

2 Months

Taylor's 2 month check-up was on Aug. 6th. She weighed 13.3 lbs and was 25" long. She is in the 94th and 101st percentile for her weight and height, respectively. That's the good news.

The bad news is that she still isn't sleeping. We decided to put her in her crib in her room. The idea was that she was smelling me and waking to eat. I thought perhaps she wasn't getting satisfied when she ate, maybe my milk supply was low. I started drinking more water...much more water. I also stopped drinking caffeine products. I wasn't drinking that much to begin with but I just wasn't sure what was going on. We wrap her up nice and tight to sleep, turn the air down, turn her ceiling fan on low, she's burped, has a clean diaper, and is very well fed. Nevertheless, she still wakes up every 2 hrs, 3 if I am lucky.

I am utterly exhausted. I can hardly complete a sentence much less make it make sense. The only thing I can think that could be causing this is a growth spurt. But it isn't time for a growth spurt. Her next one should be at 3 months. Do growth spurts really come 2 weeks early? I don't know. I feel so useless and just plain ignorant. I feel horrible because I can't satisfy my child. Why won't she sleep? I beg her to sleep, I know she's so tired...but she just refuses to close her eyes.

She really is a good baby. I love her so much. But her inability to sleep and lack of parenting skills makes it so difficult to enjoy her because I know that in a matter of hours I will have to get her to sleep and I have no idea what I am doing wrong.

Everyone has suggested putting formula or cereal in a bottle with some breast milk. My pediatrician advised against this. He said among other things, it would inevitably be the beginning of the end of my breastfeeding. I guess sucking from a bottle is instant gratification compared to nursing which takes a little more work on her part. Also, cereal is believed to create allergies and lead to childhood obesity. Obviously not all children experience these side effects but I don't wanna chance it. Plus, we tried to give her bottle the other night and she DID NOT want it. She wanted her momma to go to sleep. She would not take a bottle of formula or breast milk.

If anyone has the answer and wants to come on out and help, I will pay for your plane ticket! LOL! This is very hard being so far away from family. I could really use some help. Everyone says it'll get easier. Well, it is only getting harder.

It's a good thing she is so cute.... I keep telling her if she doesn't straighten up I am going to put her on eBay! LOL!

Well, pray for us. We sure need it.

Nap Time

Notice there is no picture of Mom napping!

Taylor has always been a good napper. Usually I could just put her in the swing and she would fade right off to sleep. Now, she HATES her swing. I have no idea why but if she even gets near that swing she's starts screaming.

Now for naps it usually takes me an hour or two to get her to sleep. She fights her sleep so badly and it is really hard on me. I have to swaddle her and rock her for 20-30 minutes. She'll usually wake her self up and then we have to start all over. Then she'll dirty her diaper and we'll have to get up, change her diaper, and start all over again. Then I'll put her down after she's been asleep for a while. She will sleep for an hour and wake up screaming.

So, in short, Taylor sleeps maybe 3 hours a day, if we are lucky. All of the sleep research I have been doing says she should be sleeping about 6 hours a day.

She also had a hard time going to sleep at night during her 6 week growth spurt. I had to start swaddling her again b/c she would jump and wake her self up often. She is finally going to sleep somewhat easily at night but I am still swaddling her. I really believe that helps.

And no, momma isn't getting any sleep during the day! But I am hanging in there.

6 weeks old

Well, our little baby is 6 weeks old this week weighing in at a whopping 13 pounds! She is eating about every hour and a half now and she is very hard to put down at night. We were able to get her sleeping in her pack and play. She screamed bloody murder the first night...for a solid hour. But the next night and the following week was great. No problems. She'd eat, get tired and I'd put her down. She would fall right to sleep. Now every time I lay her down in her bed she jumps and wakes herself up. Long story short, she eats about every two hours and it takes me two hours to get her down. That adds up to no sleep for mommy! Two nights ago I got about 3 hours of sleep. This is the hardest it has been when it comes to night time.

However, I know this is only a phase and it will get better. I was getting pretty frustrated about 3 a.m. but I just had to remember that this is hard for her too. I know it's only a phase and things will get better.

Brodie is still giving her an occasional bottle and she is taking it wonderfully. She is growing like a weed. She is growing out of most of her newborn clothes but not really into her 3 month clothes. I have found that if it says 0-3 months it'll probably work. I hope to get her pictures taken pretty soon.

Well, she's napping now so I should help my husband clean the house...I'm so blessed.