Worst Mum Ever Award Goes To…

I was the worst mum ever last night. I posted a few days ago that I was starting to sleep train Little Man, and thus far it’s actually been going pretty well. Except for last night, which was awful, and it’s all my fault.

Yesterday we ran out of Pampers and started using some Luvs that we recieved at our shower. I promise this is relevent.

He went down at about 7. We have been waking him up around 9 to feed him, but we decided to let him sleep through and see what happened. So instead of our 3am wake-up call we got a 1am wake-up call. Okay, that’s fine. I feed him, change him, and put him back down without fuss as usual. Lesson learned, he goes six hours between feeds at night regardless of bedtime.

Then he woke up a little after 4, which is early for him. I go in and change him. I swear I changed him. I know I changed him. I didn’t feed him because there’s no way he’s hungry this soon and he wasn’t giving any hunger cues anyway. I put him down calm, leave and let him fuss. 3 minutes, I go back in, put his bink back, leave, let him fuss. 5 minutes, go back in, put his bink back, leave, let him fuss 10 minutes.

At this point this is atypical for him. I’m starting to worry something is wrong, but am trying so hard to stand firm on this method because it requires 100% consistency to work. I rinse and repeat the 10 minutes about three more times. I give in at 4:55am because it’s about when he usually would wake up. I get him up, feed him, and go to change him…

Guys, there is no way I changed him at 4. Maybe I thought about changing him. Maybe I dreamt that I changed him. There is just no way I actually changed him. His diaper was so full. More full than the Pampers usually are after a full 9pm-5am night. Either he had an exceptional night or the Luvs just don’t hold as much. Also, for the first time ever he has diaper rash. It looks so awful and uncomfortable, and I just left him there crying.

Worst. Mum. Ever.

Trust your instincts mommas and listen to your babes. He never cries like that. I knew something was up and I didn’t listen to either of us. I’m still going to use the Ferber method, but I will absolutely throw it, and any other parenting strategy, out the window next time my instincts tell me to.

Those Luvs we opened are hitting the bin and the ones that are still sealed are getting donated for someone who hopefully has better luck with them.

Sleep Training

Little man is fast approaching 4 months old and it’s about time we really started sleep training. The past couple days have been pretty tough, but not as hard as I imagined. Yesterday he napped like a rockstar! We are working on a few things all at once so I do expect it to be pretty rough.

We are using the Ferber method as recommended by our pediatrician. We found this article particularly helpful. For using Ferber with naps, this article has been a godsend.

The first thing we are doing is trying to get him to sleep through the night. He still has a 3am wake up most nights. We are trying to wean him off the 3am feeding by reducing it by an ounce every few days. So far it’s going okay. Every once in a while he sleeps right through to 5 or 6am, which is okay, but not ideal.

That’s the second thing, trying to get him to sleep roughly 9pm-7am. If he could stay awake until 9pm Daddy could have some happy baby time when he gets home, often around 7pm. Right now that’s exactly when Little Man is falling asleep or being grumpy about being tired. Then if he can sleep through to 7am Mum can get up and get ready before he wakes up.

Third, we have started a slow transition to the crib. We moved him into the nursery in the bassinet yesterday and it’s going well so far. He doesn’t even seem to have noticed.

Finally, and perhaps most futilely, we are trying to get him on some kind of nap schedule. Following what I see to be his natural sleep/wake tendencies that’s 2 hours awake, 2 hours asleep for now.

So, basically the next however many weeks of my life is set up to be a total disaster. Please send good vibes and maybe vodka. >.<

April Showers Bring… Solicitors?

They are relentless! Usually I park in the garage so I can pretend not to be home, but the garage is a mess due to all the home projects we have going on. Not that it would have saved me yesterday. I’ve been sitting with the front door wide open because of the nice weather.

I’m never quite sure what to say to them. I’m almost certain we are not interested. But they always start off with questions like “how much are you paying for cable currently?” and I honestly have no idea. Like $100? $200? I don’t know. What’s the going rate for cable these days? Too much, I know that. I couldn’t even tell the lady if we had a double or triple play package. Then they want to come back when Hubby comes home, like great annoy us while we’re relaxing, eating dinner, doing whatever.

I hate to be rude and not answer their direct questions, so it always ends up defaulting to them coming back to talk to Hubby, who I know is going to say we aren’t interested.

The second person to come yesterday (yeah, two totally unrelated solicitors in one day) rang the doorbell while Little Man was napping. Front door wide open and she goes to the other front door (weird house) and rings the bell. Nooooo! Woke him right up.

Maybe I should hang a sign, “Baby napping, ring bell at your own peril,” or “Socially anxious hermit lives here. Please leave all relevant literature in mailbox and go.”

How do you all deal with solicitors?

I Love Library Book Sales

Enough said am I right?

They are such a great way to stock up your bookshelf in a cost effective and environmentally friendly way. You can borrow from the library too, but I personally enjoy having a nice selection of titles at my fingertips when the mood strikes. I feel like it’s nice to own the kids’ favorites too, for when they want to read the same book over and over every day for weeks on end.

My local library was having a book sale this past weekend. Even though Little Man’s bookshelf was already overflowing, I just couldn’t resist. I think he needs another bookshelf now…

Apparently I was grabbing an inordinate number of books. At one point one of the organizers asked if I was a teacher. Haha! Nope, just love to read. She told me teachers get books for free. In that case, if I was a teacher, I may have taken the whole dang room.

The ladies there were super helpful. I asked one of them a needle in a haystack question, “have you seen any Shel Silverstein around?” and she led me right to Where the Sidewalk Ends. A great book of poetry as I recall. They even helped me carry the box of books out to my car since I had Little Man with me.

I love used book stores, but I love library book sales even more. Mostly because they are super cheap. I got all of that (at least 30 books) for $20! I was surprised when I got to the checkout and wished I had grabbed more. Although, seriously, how would I have carried any more?

The same number of books at Used Book Superstore cost me about $100 when I was first stocking up his book shelf. Granted there was no Seuss at the library sale, while the bookstore did have a decent selection of those.

Here’s to hoping Little Man loves to read! >.<

Am I a Mommy Blogger Now?

3am: I’m awake in bed, husband snoring to my left, baby snoring in the bassinet to my right. I get the sudden inclination to start a(nother) blog.

Spring is the perfect time to start something new. We are all coming out of our winter blues. I became a first time mother in January and am emerging from the newborn fog.

This won’t be my first blog, and maybe not my last. I’ve started many in an attempt to kickstart some semblance of a writing career. Some were rather successful for a short period of time, though not all that sustainable. They’re all defunct now.

This one is different. It’s not about my writing or my poetry (though I may post some). This is a place to share the fun, the mundane, the talks about life, my sporadic knitting, my attempts at gardening, my fight with depression, anxiety and sugar and the miracle that has been the Keto diet. Maybe I’ll add some bits and pieces about being a mother. Does this make me a mommy blogger now? Perhaps, but I don’t intend to overshare the details of Little Man’s life. That’s his story to tell.

So this blog, I guess, is my story as I see it. Real and lightly edited for your reading pleasure.