Special Day

Today is a special day because it's my nephew Jacob's 5th birthday. Not only that, but it also marks Ethan's 2 months "birthday":) So we're celebrating them both today - the big party is for Jacob, of course. Pool party! So fun!

And I continue to obsess about taking pictures of Ethan. I feel like I have to capture every moment and every new look or guesture he makes. So I'll include a couple of favorites from recent days.

Ethan seems to only improve his napping "skills" and we're both enjoying awake times so much more now. He smiles so much - I just can't get enough of his adorable little face:) His Grandma Hazen (Carol, my mom) is also loving watching him grow and learn. She's feeling quite spoiled to have so much quality time with her grandson. I think the only tough part for her is having to listen to him cry along with me. She wants to help too. We women have such a soft spot in our hearts for crying babies... what can I do!? How can I help!? But she's been very good about allowing me to be the mother and figure all this stuff out on my own.

So I look forward to another great day with Ethan - watching him coo and smile and enjoy life the way a little baby should. And I'm sure it helps that his mommy is much more smiley than before;)

Only gets better

I can't tell you how many times I've heard "It only gets better" and it's so true. Ethan and I have been working on napping and he's getting better everyday. We're still working on taking longer naps, but he'll get there. Even if a couple of his naps get caught a little short, he tends to get a good 2 hour or more nap once a day. Though today his longest was 1 and 1/2 hours. So I'm hoping he gets some good sleep tonight, but I'm not counting on it:)

And I've been trying to cut out dairy from my diet which seems to be helping his stomach. His awake times have been more pleasant and I'm getting a lot more smiles, so that makes me happier too. I know there's always more changes to come and just when you think you have a schedule, it changes. But for now, I'm sane and my child is happy. That's all I can ask.

A Growing Boy

I forgot to mention that I brought Ethan in to see the doctor on Friday. I just wanted to be sure he was as healthy as he seems to be and that the gas issues weren't because of something I wasn't aware of. Well, turns out he's just as healthy as can be and he's 11lbs 5oz and 22 1/2 inches long! So he's gained 3lbs 5oz and grown 2 1/2 inches already! It's amazing how quickly they grow.

And I have to report that he was so exhausted this morning and didn't take a good morning nap. But I put him down not long after his last feeding and he's been sleeping now for 2 hrs and 20 minutes!! It's a record! Yay Ethan! He should be up just in time for his next feeding and we can have some fun awake time now. I'm so happy and so proud of my little boy. I really can't believe how quickly he's learned to sleep on his own. Thank you God!

There's Hope

I was getting so worried that I was doing this the wrong way or maybe trying to teach him to sleep on his own too early. But much to my amazement, within just a couple of days he's been figuring out how to fall asleep ALL BY HIMSELF! I'm so proud of my little guy. Now it's not to say that we've got it all figured out (come on, when do you ever?) He's still having gassy issues and I feel so terrible when there's nothing I can do for him. I try burping him in different positions, rub his tummy, rub his back, giving him baby massages, etc. But sometimes he just needs to cry it out and eventually we get through it.

What I'm trying now is to keep us on some kind of schedule so that he and I both know what to expect during the day. So I'm feeding him every 3 hours (give or take 10 or 15 minutes) and we're trying to teach him to sleep in his crib for naps, usually about an hour or so after he's been fed.

The kink in this new plan is that he's been waking up from his naps after just 30-40 minutes a lot of the time because of his gassy pains. (I've been thinking he may have colic) I'm pretty sure he would probably be able to sleep longer, but because he's hurting, he wakes up unhappy. And then when it comes time for his next feeding, I feel like he doesn't get as much awake time afterwards because he's already been up for almost 2 hours. I know this doesn't all happen like clockwork and I do have to learn to be flexible. It's just hard not to think I'm doing something wrong when I read all these books saying do this, do that, don't do that. I know it's all up to me and the temperment of my own child, but I also want to be sure I don't get him into any bad habits. And rocking him to sleep or letting him sleep on me was starting up some habits that I'm now trying to break him of. And that's why I'm so amazed that he's already doing SO MUCH better after trying this for just a couple of days.

I was very encouraged this morning... we both got a good night of sleep and he took a 2 hour nap this morning! I couldn't believe it! But I knew he needed it. He ate last night at 7pm, then again at 12am, and again around 3am. And then he woke up this morning to eat at 7am. I felt like we both got good sleep because he was going right back to sleep after his feedings. And now he's waking from his nap, so I have to run!

Here Goes Nothing!

So Ethan was especially difficult yesterday all day and night. I decided for my own sanity it's time to start "training" him to sleep without my help. So last night I let him cry it out a few times, but the problem was that he would stop crying, but wasn't falling asleep... hmm, what to do? So when it had been a few hours after his last feeding, I picked him up and fed him. But then during the feeding, he was so tired, he wouldn't eat very well and it was harder to burp him. It's just such a terrible cycle.

And today I've been trying to let him cry it out during nap time because I can't spend my whole day rocking him to sleep and praying he'll stay asleep when I put him in his crib. He had finally fallen asleep this morning at 11am, but woke up about 30 minutes later. So I went in to comfort him and try to get him to sleep again, but instead I'm listening to him cry AGAIN. I think this little guy is more stubborn than I'm prepared to handle. It's SO HARD to listen to it and be strong enough to let him cry, but I know for sure he's only crying because he's tired. And I really think it's time we both get on some kind of schedule. I need more hands free time and he just needs more regular sleep. Ahhhh! This has really been a nightmare of a week, but we've gotten through it so far and I can only pray this gets easier. (at least the gas drops seem to be working - now we just need to get him to sleep and stay asleep and we'll all be happy campers)

This too shall pass

I keep reminding myself of that verse... "This too shall pass"
I know the bad gas and not wanting to nap are just a phase we're going through, it's just been a rough few days. But I'm happy to report that today has been a vast improvement from yesterday. I was about to pull my hair out and cried a few times yesterday when I couldn't get him to sleep (even though his eyes looked SO TIRED) It was so stressful for me because I knew he needed to sleep and I knew he was cranky because he hadn't gotten enough sleep, but there was nothing I could do to help him go to sleep. Yesterday was kind of a waiting game. The only problem was I was so tired, I was NOT in the mood for waiting;)

But we got through it and he slept better during the night. And today has felt like such a relief as far as naps are concerned. He's been getting back on the schedule he was on before. He eats, is up for a bit (with pleasant looks and smiles and coo's) and falls asleep after being up for about an hour to an hour and a half. So YAY for whatever has been helping to calm him today. And in turn, has helped to calm me as well. I feel much better today. Still can't wait for the gas to stop bothering him, especially during the night. I go in a few times(or more) during the night to rub his tummy when I know he could have kept sleeping if he wasn't experiencing pain. I know we'll get through it.
My friend Rachel Hyman was just telling me today (in an e-mail) that she remembers going through it too. And it's so good to be reminded that others have been there and better days are around the corner. (thanks Rachel:)

And I just keep asking God to help keep me calm and hopeful for what's to come. And I also make sure to enjoy those moments when he IS enjoying life... the smiles, the active arms and legs, the eyes that love to explore. He's such a blessing. I need to thank God for him EVERYDAY!!

Got gas?

(that's a picture of him in an outfit his uncle Jon wore when he was a baby:)

Ethan's been struggling a bit with gas the past few weeks. But I finally got some gas drops to see if that might help and they have! He seems to be much more pleasant after feeding and it's not waking him up so much as it was before. Yay for gas drops! life saver;)

Other than that, I've been sensing he's NOT into naps during the day. It takes a lot of coaxing and calming to get him to even close those eyes (when I can see by his yawns and face that he's actually tired) The only good thing about that is he should be getting much closer to beginning to sleep through the night. I've been reading a book about sleep habits and promoting healthy sleeping. It keeps saying that 6 weeks is supposedly the magic number. He'll be exactly 6 weeks on Thursday, so we'll see...

I would absolutely LOVE to be able to sleep for longer than 2 or 3 hours at a time. That would be a very welcome change for me;)

And of course, he's getting hungry as I write, so I best be going. I'll keep the updates coming - fun to see him change and grow! I just love him to pieces!

The Fourth of July!

So today is Ethan's first 4th of July and he's happily sleeping upstairs as I finish up some e-mails... can't believe he can sleep through all this noise, but I do have a couple fans on to "mask" the BANGS surrounding our house.
And of course, as I'm writing this, I hear him stirring. But he's been asleep now for about an hour, so I'm proud of him. He's actually probably getting hungry.

I just can't wait for him to start going more than 3 hours during the night without eating so we can both get some more rest.

O.k., he's not so happy now, so I need to go!
Just wanted to say how amazed I am that he actually slept through all that noise;)
What a good boy! (next year we'll go see the fireworks - he should be a little more "ready" for it then)

Time Flies!

I've been trying to get on here since Sunday to report that Ethan is already ONE MONTH old!! I just can hardly believe how quickly time is passing. You hear people say all the time, "Just wait, it goes fast". But now I'm beginning to understand. Usually a day goes by and I think, "what did we do today?" But when you're feeding every 2-3 hours and burping, changing, and getting him back to sleep, it's amazing how fast the day seems to disappear!

I'm still loving ALMOST:) every minute we have together. I have to admit there are times when I'm just so tired, I'd rather collapse back in bed than get up to feed him. But then I see his beautiful little face and the way he sometimes smiles up at me and I melt once again. And then I forget that I'm up at 2am and wish I could be sleeping again.

He's going to be 6 weeks in just a week and a half and I hear the sleeping schedule gets much better from that point on. So I'll look forward to reporting getting a full night's sleep finally! Wow - can hardly remember what that's like.

His Aunt Jessie was visiting from Seattle for the weekend. She had a wedding to go to, so it worked out well that she could spend the rest of her time here with the family and meet Ethan finally! She just LOVES him already - didn't want to say goodbye. But the good thing is she'll be back at the end of August with her husband David, so we're all looking forward to that. And Ethan will seem so much different in just a couple of months.

And lastly, my good friend Rachel went into labor a couple of days ago. She's in Nicaragua, so I'm looking forward to hearing how it went and whether it was a boy or girl!! So exciting! Babies everywhere!!