3.17.2012
It's me first st paddy's day!
More pics to come and hopefully will get his 3 month posting done this weekend!
3.07.2012
Sweet Dreams!
This week has been EXHAUSTING since I've gone back to work, Lachlan is in daycare full-time, and Dustin is travelling for work. Lachlan has the right idea here (although i don't know how sleeping with your arms in that position is remotely comfy!)....ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz
3.02.2012
Daycare....Here I come!
Lachlan had his first experience of daycare yesterday! I don't go back to work until next Tuesday, but I wanted to send him for a few half-days to ease him into it. We are sending him to a traditional daycare center. The state requirement is that each teacher can have up to 4 infants at a time. His room allows for a total of 8 infants...which boggles my mind how 2 people can care for 8 of them at a time! I can barely handle him just by himself! I'm not overly worried like some moms about the transition, but my main concern is just that he will be happy there and will be able to sleep. He gets complete undivided attention from me most days at home and cries if I leave for too long to wash dishes or anything. So I'm not sure how he'll adjust to not having someone in his face singing Wheels on the Bus 50 times a day. Also, he always naps at home in his swing or bouncy seat and sometimes takes a little work to get him asleep if I know he's been awake too long. Daycare of course wants him to nap in a crib, but they will temporarily let him nap other places and gradually work on the transition.
So today Lachlan was up at 6:15 and I gave him a bottle like normal. We finished that around 7am, so I put him in the swing and went to pump. Got done with that and he is fast asleep- go figure he goes right back to sleep the one day I don't mind if he stays awake! So I get dressed, brush teeth and hair, then get bottles and some last minute items together. We finally get out of the house a little before 8 and get to daycare about 8:15. Needless to say, taking 2 hours from wakeup to walking into daycare has to improve once I go back to work!
I picked Lachlan up a little after noon and I walk in to see one of the teachers holding him and he's just screaming. I come hold him and talk to him, but he doesn't calm down when he gets this worked up. It broke my heart to see him so sad and that I wasn’t there for him—I guess at least when he cries at home I know that I am doing every single thing possible to comfort him. I was so glad though to see a teacher holding him rather than him just laying in a chair crying like that.
He then zonked out immediately in the car for the ride home- I don't even think I got out of the parking lot before he was snoring. Once home we sang some Wheels on the Bus and played a short while. Then I gave him a bottle and rocked him in his bouncy seat for a while…but was not falling asleep….so then just held him and he got very sleepy. I transitioned him to the swing and he slept until shortly after 5! I guess you could say he was EXHAUSTED!
So today Lachlan was up at 6:15 and I gave him a bottle like normal. We finished that around 7am, so I put him in the swing and went to pump. Got done with that and he is fast asleep- go figure he goes right back to sleep the one day I don't mind if he stays awake! So I get dressed, brush teeth and hair, then get bottles and some last minute items together. We finally get out of the house a little before 8 and get to daycare about 8:15. Needless to say, taking 2 hours from wakeup to walking into daycare has to improve once I go back to work!
I was probably at daycare 10-15 minutes getting all of his items setup in the appropriate cubbies and he was as good as could be! One of the teachers was down on the floor with like 5 babies and somehow had things under control. She put Lachlan in the bouncy chair and he was all happy chewing on his paws. I was feeling good about leaving him there! My plan was to come home and either sleep or get chores done…I felt like I really did neither as my time was spent filling out about 5 forms daycare needed.
I picked Lachlan up a little after noon and I walk in to see one of the teachers holding him and he's just screaming. I come hold him and talk to him, but he doesn't calm down when he gets this worked up. It broke my heart to see him so sad and that I wasn’t there for him—I guess at least when he cries at home I know that I am doing every single thing possible to comfort him. I was so glad though to see a teacher holding him rather than him just laying in a chair crying like that.
He then zonked out immediately in the car for the ride home- I don't even think I got out of the parking lot before he was snoring. Once home we sang some Wheels on the Bus and played a short while. Then I gave him a bottle and rocked him in his bouncy seat for a while…but was not falling asleep….so then just held him and he got very sleepy. I transitioned him to the swing and he slept until shortly after 5! I guess you could say he was EXHAUSTED!
2.28.2012
2.5 months- random pictures
Since I don't have much time for words, I'm going to try to be better about at least getting some pics updated throughout each month. Lachlan was a GREAT boy yesterday-- he slept for 9 straight hours at night and then napped really well all day...when he was awake, he played and was not fussy!
Last week he was also very good, but for some reason busted into tears any time the camera came out!
Last week he was also very good, but for some reason busted into tears any time the camera came out!
2.25.2012
Baby Products I'm Lovin!
It was so overwhelming to decide what baby items to register for and buy cause everyone has different opinions, but here are the items I'm SO glad we have!
1. Miracle Blanket
I got a few other kinds of swaddling blankets, but should have gone with my gut and just went with the Miracle Blanket. Lachlan has been a great sleeper from the beginning and I truly think it's due to a good, tight swaddle...if he weren't swaddled his arms would be flying around and waking himself up. We did try other sleepsack/swaddle combos that would velcro around him and I don't know how he did it, but even at 1 week old he could loosen out of those.
2. Rock-n-Play
This also was very recommended and am glad we got it. I also think this is another reason he sleeps so well-- it cradles/cuddles the baby much more snuggly than laying in a huge crib. I also like that it is on an incline cause he has some reflux and I just worry about him choking laying flat. The rocking motion also comes in handy sometimes when he has trouble falling asleep-- the problem with using a rocking chair is when we move him into bed, then he'll wake up. With this, you don't have to move the baby once he is asleep and you are done rocking. Fisher Price makes this in several colors and styles.
3. Boppy Lounger
This was not really recommended to me, but I saw a lot of positive review on it. At the last minute I added to our registry and am so glad I did. When we are tired of holding him, it is the perfect place to plop him down-- it also has a slight incline and snugs around the body. He takes many naps in here too. At dinner time, we put this on the table so he can chill there with us.
4. Baby Timer
Download an app for your phone to track everything with your baby. I thought this was idiotic when people recommended it to me, but there is so much you are keeping track of that it is a MUST HAVE! I used Log4Baby on the iphone- it could use some improvements, but overall was really great. You can even email yourself a summary of each day. You log each time you do a diaper change and if it was wet/dirty/both. This is really helpful if you breastfeed because you have to count how many wet and dirty diapers you have each day to ensure they are getting enough food. It also logs each time he feeds- you can log bottle ounces or the number of minutes on each boob. We also used it to log when he took his medicine-- you can set reminders to go off too. It also can track the sleep- but we found this pretty hard to do since he took so many catnaps. You can also add in any other items you want to track.
5. Swing and Bouncy Seat
I honestly didn't want a zillion toys, but trust me when I say you need these for the parents sanity! It gives you a break from constantly holding and entertaining the baby....plus Lachlan takes naps frequently in both of these cause they magically put him to sleep. We really like that the swing will swing in 2 different directions (side to side OR front to back) and it plugs in vs. using batteries.
6. Bum Genius 4.0s
I was a little nervous about the cloth diapers, but these have been pretty awesome so far! Cotton Babies just had a sale to get rid of some old colors/patterns where they were Buy 2, Get 1 Free. For just under $200, we have 16 diapers we use. I do laundry every other day and it really isn't too bad or time consuming-- the only part that takes time is to put the inserts into the diapers after washing. It really surprises me that so many people are opposed to them because we both think they are just as easy as disposables and will save SO much money by using them. The only negative I have is that with the disposables there is a line on the outside that turns blue when the diaper is wet, so it makes it easy to know when to change him...you lose that perk with the cloth.
7. Baby Bargains and Baby 411 books by Denise Fields
These were so helpful because of how the books were written/organized. I can quickly find an answer to most any question I have-- and the last thing you want is skimming through a bunch of paragraphs looking for something when your baby is screaming! Baby Bargains is helpful for registering, so want to get this before the baby arrives!
1. Miracle Blanket
I got a few other kinds of swaddling blankets, but should have gone with my gut and just went with the Miracle Blanket. Lachlan has been a great sleeper from the beginning and I truly think it's due to a good, tight swaddle...if he weren't swaddled his arms would be flying around and waking himself up. We did try other sleepsack/swaddle combos that would velcro around him and I don't know how he did it, but even at 1 week old he could loosen out of those.
2. Rock-n-Play
This also was very recommended and am glad we got it. I also think this is another reason he sleeps so well-- it cradles/cuddles the baby much more snuggly than laying in a huge crib. I also like that it is on an incline cause he has some reflux and I just worry about him choking laying flat. The rocking motion also comes in handy sometimes when he has trouble falling asleep-- the problem with using a rocking chair is when we move him into bed, then he'll wake up. With this, you don't have to move the baby once he is asleep and you are done rocking. Fisher Price makes this in several colors and styles.
3. Boppy Lounger
This was not really recommended to me, but I saw a lot of positive review on it. At the last minute I added to our registry and am so glad I did. When we are tired of holding him, it is the perfect place to plop him down-- it also has a slight incline and snugs around the body. He takes many naps in here too. At dinner time, we put this on the table so he can chill there with us.
4. Baby Timer
Download an app for your phone to track everything with your baby. I thought this was idiotic when people recommended it to me, but there is so much you are keeping track of that it is a MUST HAVE! I used Log4Baby on the iphone- it could use some improvements, but overall was really great. You can even email yourself a summary of each day. You log each time you do a diaper change and if it was wet/dirty/both. This is really helpful if you breastfeed because you have to count how many wet and dirty diapers you have each day to ensure they are getting enough food. It also logs each time he feeds- you can log bottle ounces or the number of minutes on each boob. We also used it to log when he took his medicine-- you can set reminders to go off too. It also can track the sleep- but we found this pretty hard to do since he took so many catnaps. You can also add in any other items you want to track.
5. Swing and Bouncy Seat
I honestly didn't want a zillion toys, but trust me when I say you need these for the parents sanity! It gives you a break from constantly holding and entertaining the baby....plus Lachlan takes naps frequently in both of these cause they magically put him to sleep. We really like that the swing will swing in 2 different directions (side to side OR front to back) and it plugs in vs. using batteries.
6. Bum Genius 4.0s
I was a little nervous about the cloth diapers, but these have been pretty awesome so far! Cotton Babies just had a sale to get rid of some old colors/patterns where they were Buy 2, Get 1 Free. For just under $200, we have 16 diapers we use. I do laundry every other day and it really isn't too bad or time consuming-- the only part that takes time is to put the inserts into the diapers after washing. It really surprises me that so many people are opposed to them because we both think they are just as easy as disposables and will save SO much money by using them. The only negative I have is that with the disposables there is a line on the outside that turns blue when the diaper is wet, so it makes it easy to know when to change him...you lose that perk with the cloth.
7. Baby Bargains and Baby 411 books by Denise Fields
These were so helpful because of how the books were written/organized. I can quickly find an answer to most any question I have-- and the last thing you want is skimming through a bunch of paragraphs looking for something when your baby is screaming! Baby Bargains is helpful for registering, so want to get this before the baby arrives!
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