Saturday, May 20, 2017.
I had just stepped out of the shower and was getting ready to go to lunch with Matt and Sawyer. I had been craving BJ's all week and told Matt I wanted to go for lunch just in case we weren't able to make it to dinner. For some reason I just had a feeling Harper was on her way.
It was about 12:30 pm, I had just gotten dressed and was about to blow-dry my hair and I felt my water break. Just like so many people had told me, it was just a little bit but enough for me to know I didn't just pee myself. I went out into the living room and told Matt. He called his mom to come watch Sawyer (who was taking a nap).
I knew Matt's mom would be at least 20 minutes, so I decided to finish getting ready so I could look decent during the process. However, what no one told me is that I would continue to leak fluid... (I apologize for all the times you may think "TMI" during this post) Every time I moved more would come out. I kept having Matt get me towels and then having to replace them. I went through about 4 just in the 20-30 minutes while we waited for Matt's mom to get there. At one point I just stood in the shower and let Matt get all my stuff packed into the truck.
I was so sad to not see Sawyer before she woke up from her nap, I knew that our whole world was going to be different the next time I saw her.
We got to the hospital around 1:30. I sat in the truck while Matt went in to get me a wheelchair. The next thing I see is him walking out just holding a towel. He said they told him just to give me the towel and put in on the chair in the waiting room while we waited to get registered. Two thoughts came to mind. 1. Can't you register for me and they can take me to a room? 2. NEVER EVER sit on the chairs in the labor and delivery waiting room... GA-rodie.
So there I stood in the middle of a crowded waiting room just dripping away as I waited for my turn. There were about 4 women in labor that all came in at the same time. I was 2nd, thankfully.
We got registered and then they took us to another waiting room, but this time it was private and had a bed. Every time I moved at all, more would gush, it was rather embarrassing. When the nurses came in to check me they said, "Normally we'll check the fluid just to be sure it's amniotic fluid and not just urine, but I think it's safe to say it's amniotic fluid." They kept asking me if my doctor had mentioned anything to me about having excess fluid because with how much I had expelled and how much was still left. I told them all they had ever told me was that it looked good.
Thankfully we didn't have to wait there very long before going to a delivery room. I was only at a 3 when we got there but the contractions were already pretty painful. I just kept thinking, "HOW did I go natural last time??" Since I've had Sawyer all I've thought is how I wished I would have gotten an epidural with her. I was just in so much pain and screaming the whole time that I think it took away from the experience. BUT feeling the very beginning contractions and how painful they were already and knowing that they got SO MUCH WORSE made me pretty proud that I made it all the way without an epidural last time. That being said, I told the nurses I wanted to get my epidural in just as soon as possible.
They came in and gave me my IV and took some blood samples. Not too long after that I told the nurse, "I'm feeling pretty lightheaded" She told me just to take some deep breaths. Then I said, "I think I'm going to pass out" and a couple seconds later I said, "Yup!". Little did the nurse know, I've passed out several times in my life and I KNOW when it's coming. The next thing I knew I was waking up to the nurse calling my name and telling me to keep my eyes open and to breathe! Apparently I had been out for about 30 seconds, normally it's only 5-10 seconds that I'm out. I asked Matt if it was obvious that I passed out or if they thought I was just closing my eyes. He said it was obvious and that it was not fun for him. I kind of chuckled about it, but the nurse and Matt both assured me that it was NOT FUNNY. They gave me some oxygen to breathe until I felt all better.
I started getting a lightheaded again not too long after that and the nurse took it much more seriously when I brought it up, I was given oxygen, a cold compress and smelling salts to make sure I didn't pass out again.
After that drama the anesthesiologist came in to give me my epidural. Bless her. They numb you up pretty good so you don't feel much pain from the needle, but it is a weird feeling that I can't really explain. Just pressure right in the middle of your back. Each time it gets pumped into my system I would get a cold rush from my shoulders down my back. My legs went numb pretty quick, but they never felt like they were just gone. They just felt like they were asleep, which was so annoying. You could touch them and I wouldn't feel a thing and I certainly couldn't move them, but they were tingly the whole time. I kept trying to move my legs to try and wake them up (out of habit) but I couldn't budge them. All that is TOTALLY worth not feeling the contractions though.
They adjusted my bed so I could sit up and Matt and I played some phase 10 while we waited for me to progress. I gotta say, that is a lot better than just screaming the whole time. When they came back to check me I hadn't progressed very much so they wanted me to lay back down again.
Our friends Ben and Breann and their daughter Isla came to hang out with us for a bit. Breann was going to stay and take pictures. They got there at about 6 and the nurse had told me I was only at about a 5 and probably had a good 3-4 hours left before anything would happen. I sent Matt with Ben and Breann to go and get some dinner since neither of us had lunch (I was so sad that we weren't able to go to BJ's). They got back around 7:45. Breann was sweet enough to pick me up some treats from Sweet Tooth Fairy to eat after I had the baby. I was almost as excited to eat them as I was to meet my newest daughter. The nurse came in and told me I was at a 6 so at that point I figured Harper wouldn't make her appearance until after midnight. Ben had taken Isla home, so the three of us were just hanging out and chatting. About an hour later they came back to check me again. The nurse said, "Ok, you're complete" I was super confused. I said, "Complete as in...?" She said, "You're at a 10" I could not believe it. I went from a 6 to a 10 in an hour. She asked me if I felt any pressure to push and I told her I couldn't feel a thing (I love epidurals). Once my doctor got there they told me on the next contraction to start pushing. Since I couldn't tell when I was having a contraction, they had to tell me when that was. The next contraction came and I pushed three times throughout. I asked them if I was even doing anything and my doctor assured me I was doing well. The next contraction came and three more pushes. On the 3rd contraction Miss Harper Leigh was born. It was SO EASY! I immediately started crying and was so happy. She was perfect. She was all cheeks and I was so immediately in love.
She was born at 9:52 pm, weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces and was 21.5 inches long. Sawyer weighed 7, 15 but was also 5 days late, she was also 2 inches shorter.
I'm convinced that my girl's personalities are a direct result of how they came in to the world. Sawyer came in with a lot of screaming and Harper came in really peacefully. We'll see how/if that changes throughout their lives.
We are so blessed to have two healthy girls. It's still surreal to me that I am a mother, and now I am a mother of two.
Welcome to the world Harper Leigh Halls.
Sunday, June 25, 2017
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
I don't want to forget...
This happened about a week ago and I've been meaning to write it down. It was so special to me I want to remember it forever.
Last week, for some reason (cough-monthly hormones- cough cough) I was so emotional. I was home-sick and just down on myself. One day, nothing in particular happened, but I just started to cry. I was sitting on the floor in our bedroom watching Sawyer crawl around across the room from me. As soon as I started to cry she stopped dead in her tracks and looked at me. She crawled right over to me and sat in my lap and just looked in my eyes as I cried. She sat there with me until I stopped crying, and in that moment, I was so grateful for her. She was all I needed to stop crying. I felt so bonded to her in that moment and as much as I loved her before, I feel a different sort of connection with her now.
It's so amazing how in tune these little babies are. Before I had a baby I would see other babies and all I really saw was how little they were. I don't see Sawyer that way. She seems so smart to me. I can see how much she is learning every day. I see her put things together in her mind and figure things out. I see how quickly she is developing. She is not just a little, helpless baby to me. She is so amazing, and this moment showed me again just how much she actually does understand things.
She is 10 months old and I still stare at her in awe that she's mine. I had a baby. I HAVE a child. She's so incredible to me that I feel like I have to pinch myself sometimes.
Does everyone feel this way about their babies? Is this what it's like to be a parent?
I watched a movie tonight where a mother lost her son at 12 years old and I just sobbed. That poor mother. I mean, death is always hard, but to lose a child? Now that I have one it just seems like the absolute worst thing. It would feel like a part of me was taken away.
I love her so much that I feel like I could burst.
Last week, for some reason (cough-monthly hormones- cough cough) I was so emotional. I was home-sick and just down on myself. One day, nothing in particular happened, but I just started to cry. I was sitting on the floor in our bedroom watching Sawyer crawl around across the room from me. As soon as I started to cry she stopped dead in her tracks and looked at me. She crawled right over to me and sat in my lap and just looked in my eyes as I cried. She sat there with me until I stopped crying, and in that moment, I was so grateful for her. She was all I needed to stop crying. I felt so bonded to her in that moment and as much as I loved her before, I feel a different sort of connection with her now.
It's so amazing how in tune these little babies are. Before I had a baby I would see other babies and all I really saw was how little they were. I don't see Sawyer that way. She seems so smart to me. I can see how much she is learning every day. I see her put things together in her mind and figure things out. I see how quickly she is developing. She is not just a little, helpless baby to me. She is so amazing, and this moment showed me again just how much she actually does understand things.
She is 10 months old and I still stare at her in awe that she's mine. I had a baby. I HAVE a child. She's so incredible to me that I feel like I have to pinch myself sometimes.
Does everyone feel this way about their babies? Is this what it's like to be a parent?
I watched a movie tonight where a mother lost her son at 12 years old and I just sobbed. That poor mother. I mean, death is always hard, but to lose a child? Now that I have one it just seems like the absolute worst thing. It would feel like a part of me was taken away.
I love her so much that I feel like I could burst.
Monday, August 8, 2016
Sawyer Mae is 10 months old!
This month was, by far, my favorite. Sawyer is showing so much personality these days and she is just so much fun.
This month has been crazy. We bought a house. We wanted to do "a couple things" before we moved in, and that has turned out to be quite the undertaking. Matt has been doing everything himself (pretty much) so we don't get to see him very much. It's a shame because I feel like every day I have something else to tell him about what Sawyer is up to. We moved out of the townhouse we were renting and into Matt's parent's house while Matt finishes up our house. We should be able to move in in the next couple of weeks.
This month Sawyer had her 9 month wellness check. She is in the 97th percentile for height, 85th for weight and head is at a steady 84th percentile. We have no idea where that came from. Every time she gets checked up I expect to see smaller numbers, that make more sense, but every month they seem to go up.
This month we have been experimenting in solid foods. She will eat just about anything (especially things she finds on the floor). It has gotten to the point where no one can eat in front of her unless you plan on sharing. She can be across the room, see you sit down with food and she will speed crawl over, stand right next to you and cry until you give her a bite. Heaven help us all when there is no more, she gets so mad. She will do this even if I JUST fed her. If there is food to be eaten, she wants in!
One of the best things to happen this month is she finally started taking decent naps. She has never been a good napper. I could practically set a timer. She'd sleep for 30 minutes max 2 or 3 times a day. She was always happy and didn't act "tired" but still, Momma needs her alone time! We went on vacation at the end June, and ever since then she's been a champ. Her nap schedule depends on when she wakes up in the morning. It goes like this, If she wakes up in the middle of the night, she'll usually wake up around 7:00 am, take a nap around 11 for about 2.5 hours and that will be it for the day. If she sleeps through the night she'll normally wake up around 5:30, take a 2 hour nap around 8 and then another 2-2.5 hour nap in the afternoon. I LOVE it. Her naps are usually when I eat... sometimes you just want to eat all of your food, by yourself.
This month she has learned to clap, wave and kiss. She is now afraid of the blow dryer, blender and vacuum. She is a champ in her car seat and more often than not will fall asleep in it. She talks all the time and it's so fun to listen to. I just wonder what she thinks she's saying. She dances, stands on her own and is SO close to walking. I told Matt that I guarantee she's walking within a week of being in the new house. She just didn't have room in our town-home and I didn't want her to practice on the hard stone floors.
Sawyer is just a happy little girl and she'll go to just about anyone (especially if you have jewelry or accessories that she can play with) I take her to the gym with me and I'm always a little nervous about how she'll do in the day care, but every day I go the girls are so happy to see her and when I pick her up after my workout they tell me she was great.
She has three teeth and three more that are right about to poke through. Her two front middle teeth and her left fang have been toying with us for weeks, but now I can see that they are right at the edge of the gums.
She also figured out the awesomeness of binkies. Just in the last week she has started using one and it has been awesome. She always cries when her bottle is gone, but now I just pop that binky in and all is right in the world again. Plus she looks so dang cute.
I just can't believe she is 10 months old already. I started panicking a bit when I realized that I have a birthday party to plan soon. I'm not the greatest hostess, and I'm certainly not a great planner. We'll probably just do something small, but still, it's something I have to think about now.
Sawyer is just so fun and I absolutely LOVE this age. It is so fun to watch her grow and figure things out. She just lights up our life.
This month has been crazy. We bought a house. We wanted to do "a couple things" before we moved in, and that has turned out to be quite the undertaking. Matt has been doing everything himself (pretty much) so we don't get to see him very much. It's a shame because I feel like every day I have something else to tell him about what Sawyer is up to. We moved out of the townhouse we were renting and into Matt's parent's house while Matt finishes up our house. We should be able to move in in the next couple of weeks.
This month Sawyer had her 9 month wellness check. She is in the 97th percentile for height, 85th for weight and head is at a steady 84th percentile. We have no idea where that came from. Every time she gets checked up I expect to see smaller numbers, that make more sense, but every month they seem to go up.
This month we have been experimenting in solid foods. She will eat just about anything (especially things she finds on the floor). It has gotten to the point where no one can eat in front of her unless you plan on sharing. She can be across the room, see you sit down with food and she will speed crawl over, stand right next to you and cry until you give her a bite. Heaven help us all when there is no more, she gets so mad. She will do this even if I JUST fed her. If there is food to be eaten, she wants in!
One of the best things to happen this month is she finally started taking decent naps. She has never been a good napper. I could practically set a timer. She'd sleep for 30 minutes max 2 or 3 times a day. She was always happy and didn't act "tired" but still, Momma needs her alone time! We went on vacation at the end June, and ever since then she's been a champ. Her nap schedule depends on when she wakes up in the morning. It goes like this, If she wakes up in the middle of the night, she'll usually wake up around 7:00 am, take a nap around 11 for about 2.5 hours and that will be it for the day. If she sleeps through the night she'll normally wake up around 5:30, take a 2 hour nap around 8 and then another 2-2.5 hour nap in the afternoon. I LOVE it. Her naps are usually when I eat... sometimes you just want to eat all of your food, by yourself.
This month she has learned to clap, wave and kiss. She is now afraid of the blow dryer, blender and vacuum. She is a champ in her car seat and more often than not will fall asleep in it. She talks all the time and it's so fun to listen to. I just wonder what she thinks she's saying. She dances, stands on her own and is SO close to walking. I told Matt that I guarantee she's walking within a week of being in the new house. She just didn't have room in our town-home and I didn't want her to practice on the hard stone floors.
Sawyer is just a happy little girl and she'll go to just about anyone (especially if you have jewelry or accessories that she can play with) I take her to the gym with me and I'm always a little nervous about how she'll do in the day care, but every day I go the girls are so happy to see her and when I pick her up after my workout they tell me she was great.
She has three teeth and three more that are right about to poke through. Her two front middle teeth and her left fang have been toying with us for weeks, but now I can see that they are right at the edge of the gums.
She also figured out the awesomeness of binkies. Just in the last week she has started using one and it has been awesome. She always cries when her bottle is gone, but now I just pop that binky in and all is right in the world again. Plus she looks so dang cute.
I just can't believe she is 10 months old already. I started panicking a bit when I realized that I have a birthday party to plan soon. I'm not the greatest hostess, and I'm certainly not a great planner. We'll probably just do something small, but still, it's something I have to think about now.
Sawyer is just so fun and I absolutely LOVE this age. It is so fun to watch her grow and figure things out. She just lights up our life.
And so begins the month of snuggliness
On July 9th, Isla Kristie Bowman was born, aka Sawyer's best friend. Ben has been Matt's best friend since they were about 14
No, she's not already addicted to electronics, she just loves to see her reflection
Always needs to be right up next to us. More often than not, she'll pull herself to standing and just hold on to us
Also loves to play in Daddy's closet. She found his hygiene bag and LOVES to brush her teeth
And sometimes she traps herself. I did not do this to her
She would pull herself to standing and then let go, she likes to practice.
Morning snuggles
She's never really taken a binky before so she didn't quite know what to do with it.
She figured it out.
Daddy has been working on our house so much that these moments were few and far between. Sawyer sure loves her daddy.
Gosh I love her.
Monday, July 11, 2016
9 Month Update
On July 8 our little Bug turned 9 months old.
I feel like this last month she's changed the most. She has so much personality and she is just so much fun.
This month we got a third tooth, that caused a lot of tears and pain, but it finally came out, and it's a little fang. Almost as soon as the tooth popped she started grinding and that is a terrible sounds. She does it all the time and I cannot handle it.
She also started dancing. Any kind of music can come on and she'll start bouncing. It's so dang cute.
This month we went on vacation with my side of the family. I was so nervous how she'd do with sleeping, but I was surprised that her naps improved and her sleeping through the night was pretty much the same. She'd fall asleep great and then wake up once. She woke up every morning around 6 and then she'd take a nap in the morning and afternoon, at least an hour each time. I figured we just played so hard it wore her out. Made me feel like she's just bored at home.
The vacation was so much fun and her cousins loved her. She was always surrounded with friends and constantly entertained. She was so happy the whole time, I don't even think she ever cried, unless she was ready for a nap or bed. We even went to Wet N Wild one day, it was 115 degrees and we were outside for about 5 hours, she was so hot but she didn't get upset at all. It was so fun to spend a solid week with my family and can hardly wait until 2018 when we do it again. I was proud of myself that she came home just about as white as she was when we left. Yahoo for sunscreen.
She is crawling all over the place, and always pulls herself up to stand, She's great at monkey walking from couch to table to chair back to couch. She isn't quite ready to walk on her own yet, but that might be soon.
I feel like she is finally at an age where we can play with her and she'll play back. She talks all the time (in her own little language). My favorite thing is she laughs at herself, she'll be babbling to herself in the carseat and then she'll start laughing. It sounds like she's telling some funny stories. Oh how I wish I could understand her.
We went to the pediatrician today and I'm shocked at her stats.
Height 29 inches (95th Percentile)
Weight 20 pounds 11 ounces (85th percentile)
Head (can't remember how big) 92nd percentile.
We do NOT know where she got her height, I keep expecting it to go down, but it keeps going up.
Last month I sleep trained her and I remember being so sad that I was losing my time with her when I'd give her a bottle and rock her to sleep. Turns out, putting her to bed is even better now. Matt will change her and get her in her PJ's then I'll hold her, he'll turn off the light and turn on the sleep machine and immediately she'll put her head on my shoulder. I'll sing her some songs, (Que Sera, I know Heavenly Father Loves Me, A Child's Prayer, Lord Are You There, I Love To See The Temple... to name a few, not all in a night, but those are the regulars) and then I'll lay her down in the crib and she'll babble a bit and go to sleep. With teething, she'll have some nights where it's not that easy, but for the most part, that's the routine.
Since we got home from vacation she's been sleeping pretty well. She goes to bed at 8, if she wakes up in the night it's only for about 10 minutes, and then she'll wake up around 7:30. She's been taking at least one good nap during the day, but it switches off between morning and afternoon.
She's just becoming a real person and I feel like she is so aware of everything going on. She is such a light in our home and we feel so blessed to be her parents.
Likes
Baths
Eating
Car rides
Other kids
Music
Shoes (to eat)
any kind of string (draw strings, shoe laces, cords, hair...)
Anything that we don't want her to play with
Otter pops
biting mom's shoulder
Dislikes
Getting in jammies
when mom leaves the room
getting dressed after a bath
when you take the otter pop away from her
I feel like this last month she's changed the most. She has so much personality and she is just so much fun.
This month we got a third tooth, that caused a lot of tears and pain, but it finally came out, and it's a little fang. Almost as soon as the tooth popped she started grinding and that is a terrible sounds. She does it all the time and I cannot handle it.
She also started dancing. Any kind of music can come on and she'll start bouncing. It's so dang cute.
This month we went on vacation with my side of the family. I was so nervous how she'd do with sleeping, but I was surprised that her naps improved and her sleeping through the night was pretty much the same. She'd fall asleep great and then wake up once. She woke up every morning around 6 and then she'd take a nap in the morning and afternoon, at least an hour each time. I figured we just played so hard it wore her out. Made me feel like she's just bored at home.
The vacation was so much fun and her cousins loved her. She was always surrounded with friends and constantly entertained. She was so happy the whole time, I don't even think she ever cried, unless she was ready for a nap or bed. We even went to Wet N Wild one day, it was 115 degrees and we were outside for about 5 hours, she was so hot but she didn't get upset at all. It was so fun to spend a solid week with my family and can hardly wait until 2018 when we do it again. I was proud of myself that she came home just about as white as she was when we left. Yahoo for sunscreen.
She is crawling all over the place, and always pulls herself up to stand, She's great at monkey walking from couch to table to chair back to couch. She isn't quite ready to walk on her own yet, but that might be soon.
I feel like she is finally at an age where we can play with her and she'll play back. She talks all the time (in her own little language). My favorite thing is she laughs at herself, she'll be babbling to herself in the carseat and then she'll start laughing. It sounds like she's telling some funny stories. Oh how I wish I could understand her.
We went to the pediatrician today and I'm shocked at her stats.
Height 29 inches (95th Percentile)
Weight 20 pounds 11 ounces (85th percentile)
Head (can't remember how big) 92nd percentile.
We do NOT know where she got her height, I keep expecting it to go down, but it keeps going up.
Last month I sleep trained her and I remember being so sad that I was losing my time with her when I'd give her a bottle and rock her to sleep. Turns out, putting her to bed is even better now. Matt will change her and get her in her PJ's then I'll hold her, he'll turn off the light and turn on the sleep machine and immediately she'll put her head on my shoulder. I'll sing her some songs, (Que Sera, I know Heavenly Father Loves Me, A Child's Prayer, Lord Are You There, I Love To See The Temple... to name a few, not all in a night, but those are the regulars) and then I'll lay her down in the crib and she'll babble a bit and go to sleep. With teething, she'll have some nights where it's not that easy, but for the most part, that's the routine.
Since we got home from vacation she's been sleeping pretty well. She goes to bed at 8, if she wakes up in the night it's only for about 10 minutes, and then she'll wake up around 7:30. She's been taking at least one good nap during the day, but it switches off between morning and afternoon.
She's just becoming a real person and I feel like she is so aware of everything going on. She is such a light in our home and we feel so blessed to be her parents.
Likes
Baths
Eating
Car rides
Other kids
Music
Shoes (to eat)
any kind of string (draw strings, shoe laces, cords, hair...)
Anything that we don't want her to play with
Otter pops
biting mom's shoulder
Dislikes
Getting in jammies
when mom leaves the room
getting dressed after a bath
when you take the otter pop away from her
Swim party with the Halls
Always standing
First time sitting in the cart like a big girl
Father's day
Definitely a morning person
How she stares at me when I'm eating and not sharing
She's a dare devil, we always have to keep a hand on her.
Exploring the hotel on vacation
First Movie, Finding Dori. She did great.
She started out as trying to see what was under the fridge, then it turned into eating the ground
On our way back from Wet N Wild, so thirsty
Love that swim suit
Day after Wet N Wild, we were SOOO tired and just wanted her to take a nap so we could.
I'm practically just corn on the cob for her.
Independence Baby in Leila's old clothes. Leila wore this when she was 15 months old
We now have to strap her down in the high chair
She followed me to the door one day. Matt took this picture after I left. Breaks my heart.
Snuggling with Momma's leg
Our baby girl is 9 months old!!!
Sunday, July 3, 2016
8 Month Update
Internet issues makes this post super late, but I still want to update. I'll try not to merge with the last month.
On June 8, Sawyer turned 8 months old. I feel like in this month she would start something new and just when we'd get used to it, she'd be done. For instance, she would have these quick bursts of yelling and she'd do it over and over, "Yah! Ah! Ah!". She'd tense up her whole body every time she'd shout. We'd do it back and it was just this little game. It seemed like that lasted only about two days. Then we'd do it and she'd look at us like we were weirdos.
Her crawling is a lot more steady these days. I feel bad that there isn't a lot of room for her to crawl around our house. Our bedroom is the only place with carpet and the rest of the house is stone floors. She's not completely steady and those floors are too hard if she were to fall. SO the only place she can crawl is in our bedroom, or back and forth on the couch. I feel like if she had more space, she might be walking already. She pulls herself up to standing all the time, and sometimes she'll let go of whatever she's holding and just stand there, all by herself.
She has so much energy. She will just sit there and flail her arms over and over so she looks like she's drumming, or she'll sit in her high chair and just kick her legs for like 10 minutes. She doesn't like to sit still (we learned that well on the flight to and from Utah). Someone will want to hold her and she's so fidgety trying to get out of their arms, they think she wants me, but really she just wants to be put down so she can explore. She does the same thing if Matt or I hold her.
Sleeping has been a challenge. This girl will not nap for longer than 30 minutes. No matter what I do. I'll wake her up earlier, I'll wait a bit longer before I put her down, or I won't wait as long... no matter what she wakes up thirty minutes later. I can practically time it. The good thing is, she doesn't seem tired or ornery when she's awake, she wakes up happy and stays happy until it's time to eat or sleep again.
Night time was more frustrating, I had to feed her to sleep, and if she didn't fall asleep while eating her bottle she would just scream until she tired herself out enough to zonk out. More often than not if she DID fall asleep while eating she would wake up again an hour later and then scream until she fell asleep again AND she would wake up at least once in the middle of the night.
I was at my wits end. Again, I had tried everything other than "sleep training" and I was just dreading that, but it was time.
The first night trying the "cry it out" method I was a wreck. Matt was working late that night so I was home alone. Thankfully my sister-in-law Autumn knew I'd be trying it that night and was texting me the whole time. The method is, you do a routine, sing to them, bathe them, what have you, and then you lovingly lay them down, kiss them goodnight and leave the room. They'll cry, you wait two minutes then go back in, don't pick them up, but rub their back, tell them you love them, be in there no longer than a minute, and then leave again, then you wait five minutes. Go back in... then wait ten minutes. Then 15, you never wait longer than 15 minutes to go back in, you want them to know you're there, you'll always come back.
The first night I would do each time twice, 2 minutes, then 2 minutes, 5 then 5, then 10...
I was sobbing. The first time I did 10 minutes, she fell asleep at minute 9, and then she slept through the night. I hated that she cried until she fell asleep, that I wasn't actually there when she fell asleep, but she slept through the night.
The next night she fell asleep within 10 minutes, the night after that, Matt put her down and she went right to sleep.
Now, every night, we go upstairs, put her in jammies, (she screams throughout that process) then I take her, turn on her sleep sheep, turn off the lights and she immediately lays her head on my shoulder and I'll sing some songs to her. That is the only time she'll lay her head on my shoulder and just snuggle, but as soon as the lights turn off she does it, every time. I'll lay her in her crib, sometimes she'll be awake and just babble to herself, but she'll go to sleep without crying every time. Makes me wonder why I didn't do that earlier. I love our night time routine.
Still doesn't nap though and that method didn't really work out for that.
That was probably the biggest milestone this month. I feel like she is changing a lot, even in just what she likes and what she doesn't. She no longer likes having her diaper changed, when that used to be something that would STOP her from crying. Now she likes being in her car seat and will fall asleep almost immediately, when she used to scream the whole time. She loves baby food and is showing strong interested in eating real people food. She will stare at Matt and me the entire time we are eating, I'll possibly introduce her to the real stuff next month.
She is such a chunk and she is just so much fun. Every time Matt gets home from work she gets so excited. She'll stiffen her legs and flail her arms and just reach out for him until he comes over and gets her.
She won't have another appointment until 9 months, so I'm not totally sure of her stats, but I'd guess she is around 18.5 pounds (given how she has gained weight in the past)
She still just has the two bottom teeth, but I think her little fangs are going to make an appearance soon.
She is just a happy baby, (when she's not teething), she makes us laugh all the time. I love listening to her babble and can't wait for those to be real words.
I cannot believe she is 8 months old already. Time is flying by.
On June 8, Sawyer turned 8 months old. I feel like in this month she would start something new and just when we'd get used to it, she'd be done. For instance, she would have these quick bursts of yelling and she'd do it over and over, "Yah! Ah! Ah!". She'd tense up her whole body every time she'd shout. We'd do it back and it was just this little game. It seemed like that lasted only about two days. Then we'd do it and she'd look at us like we were weirdos.
Her crawling is a lot more steady these days. I feel bad that there isn't a lot of room for her to crawl around our house. Our bedroom is the only place with carpet and the rest of the house is stone floors. She's not completely steady and those floors are too hard if she were to fall. SO the only place she can crawl is in our bedroom, or back and forth on the couch. I feel like if she had more space, she might be walking already. She pulls herself up to standing all the time, and sometimes she'll let go of whatever she's holding and just stand there, all by herself.
She has so much energy. She will just sit there and flail her arms over and over so she looks like she's drumming, or she'll sit in her high chair and just kick her legs for like 10 minutes. She doesn't like to sit still (we learned that well on the flight to and from Utah). Someone will want to hold her and she's so fidgety trying to get out of their arms, they think she wants me, but really she just wants to be put down so she can explore. She does the same thing if Matt or I hold her.
Sleeping has been a challenge. This girl will not nap for longer than 30 minutes. No matter what I do. I'll wake her up earlier, I'll wait a bit longer before I put her down, or I won't wait as long... no matter what she wakes up thirty minutes later. I can practically time it. The good thing is, she doesn't seem tired or ornery when she's awake, she wakes up happy and stays happy until it's time to eat or sleep again.
Night time was more frustrating, I had to feed her to sleep, and if she didn't fall asleep while eating her bottle she would just scream until she tired herself out enough to zonk out. More often than not if she DID fall asleep while eating she would wake up again an hour later and then scream until she fell asleep again AND she would wake up at least once in the middle of the night.
I was at my wits end. Again, I had tried everything other than "sleep training" and I was just dreading that, but it was time.
The first night trying the "cry it out" method I was a wreck. Matt was working late that night so I was home alone. Thankfully my sister-in-law Autumn knew I'd be trying it that night and was texting me the whole time. The method is, you do a routine, sing to them, bathe them, what have you, and then you lovingly lay them down, kiss them goodnight and leave the room. They'll cry, you wait two minutes then go back in, don't pick them up, but rub their back, tell them you love them, be in there no longer than a minute, and then leave again, then you wait five minutes. Go back in... then wait ten minutes. Then 15, you never wait longer than 15 minutes to go back in, you want them to know you're there, you'll always come back.
The first night I would do each time twice, 2 minutes, then 2 minutes, 5 then 5, then 10...
I was sobbing. The first time I did 10 minutes, she fell asleep at minute 9, and then she slept through the night. I hated that she cried until she fell asleep, that I wasn't actually there when she fell asleep, but she slept through the night.
The next night she fell asleep within 10 minutes, the night after that, Matt put her down and she went right to sleep.
Now, every night, we go upstairs, put her in jammies, (she screams throughout that process) then I take her, turn on her sleep sheep, turn off the lights and she immediately lays her head on my shoulder and I'll sing some songs to her. That is the only time she'll lay her head on my shoulder and just snuggle, but as soon as the lights turn off she does it, every time. I'll lay her in her crib, sometimes she'll be awake and just babble to herself, but she'll go to sleep without crying every time. Makes me wonder why I didn't do that earlier. I love our night time routine.
Still doesn't nap though and that method didn't really work out for that.
That was probably the biggest milestone this month. I feel like she is changing a lot, even in just what she likes and what she doesn't. She no longer likes having her diaper changed, when that used to be something that would STOP her from crying. Now she likes being in her car seat and will fall asleep almost immediately, when she used to scream the whole time. She loves baby food and is showing strong interested in eating real people food. She will stare at Matt and me the entire time we are eating, I'll possibly introduce her to the real stuff next month.
She is such a chunk and she is just so much fun. Every time Matt gets home from work she gets so excited. She'll stiffen her legs and flail her arms and just reach out for him until he comes over and gets her.
She won't have another appointment until 9 months, so I'm not totally sure of her stats, but I'd guess she is around 18.5 pounds (given how she has gained weight in the past)
She still just has the two bottom teeth, but I think her little fangs are going to make an appearance soon.
She is just a happy baby, (when she's not teething), she makes us laugh all the time. I love listening to her babble and can't wait for those to be real words.
I cannot believe she is 8 months old already. Time is flying by.
Waiting for our flight back to Arizona
Summer ready
I just love the way she's sitting in this picture. Playing with Daddy
Not a toy in the world is more fun than a strap
I can't remember if this was late at night or early in the morning, just one of the times she didn't want to sleep.
D'awwwww
Putting out the vibe
Second hiking attempt, she slept both ways.
Pretty much the norm while bottle feeding.
Love this.
She's so happy WAAAY too early in the morning
8 months old!
Friday, May 13, 2016
7 months!
Sawyer Mae is 7 months old (as of May 8th)
Its amazing how much she develops each month. They go by so fast, but she learns and changes so much.
Right now she's working on getting her upper teeth to poke out. This has done a NUMBER on our sleeping schedule. She used to sleep a solid 10 hours every night, but her naps suffered. I remember talking to Matt and telling him I'd rather her wake up once or twice a night but have good solid naps during the day. Putting her back to sleep at night is a pretty quick process. She must have understood me because that's exactly what happened. She started waking up in the night but she started taking two good naps a day. Now she wakes up at night AND doesn't want to nap. So... awesome.
I will say though, whenever she wakes up, be it at night or after a nap, when I go into her room to get her she gets so excited to see me. I love that.
I started giving her baby good pretty consistently now (one meal a day usually). She loves it. She devours her baby food pretty quickly. One container would normally hold her over for about an hour and a half, but I noticed that she never turns her head when I feed her (to show she doesn't want anymore) I'd just give her one container and call it good. Last night I decided to give her a second container. She ate it right up. Little chunker.
For Mother's Day this last weekend, we went to Utah. My family hasn't seen her (in person) since she was about 2 and a half months old. She has changed so much and I was excited to show her off. My parents kept commenting on what a happy baby she is. We'd put her on the ground in the family room and she'd just play for hours.
She does so well around other people. Almost everyone that she meets she'll let hold her (for a while) and she'll smile and be happy, even if she sees me standing there. The only time she wasn't that way was when I took her to my office on my last day. I think she knows they were keeping me from her during the day and she was showing her disdain.
She babbles all the time and I just wonder what she thinks she's saying.
We just love our little girl and we feel so blessed to be her parents.
Likes
Watching people eat, it fascinates her
Baths (still)
Momma's singing
Daddy playing with her
Baby food
Her walker
LOVES the little baby in the mirror and babies in general
Running water
Dislikes
sitting still for diaper changes
sitting still at all
being forced to sit still
bananas
Its amazing how much she develops each month. They go by so fast, but she learns and changes so much.
Right now she's working on getting her upper teeth to poke out. This has done a NUMBER on our sleeping schedule. She used to sleep a solid 10 hours every night, but her naps suffered. I remember talking to Matt and telling him I'd rather her wake up once or twice a night but have good solid naps during the day. Putting her back to sleep at night is a pretty quick process. She must have understood me because that's exactly what happened. She started waking up in the night but she started taking two good naps a day. Now she wakes up at night AND doesn't want to nap. So... awesome.
I will say though, whenever she wakes up, be it at night or after a nap, when I go into her room to get her she gets so excited to see me. I love that.
I started giving her baby good pretty consistently now (one meal a day usually). She loves it. She devours her baby food pretty quickly. One container would normally hold her over for about an hour and a half, but I noticed that she never turns her head when I feed her (to show she doesn't want anymore) I'd just give her one container and call it good. Last night I decided to give her a second container. She ate it right up. Little chunker.
For Mother's Day this last weekend, we went to Utah. My family hasn't seen her (in person) since she was about 2 and a half months old. She has changed so much and I was excited to show her off. My parents kept commenting on what a happy baby she is. We'd put her on the ground in the family room and she'd just play for hours.
She does so well around other people. Almost everyone that she meets she'll let hold her (for a while) and she'll smile and be happy, even if she sees me standing there. The only time she wasn't that way was when I took her to my office on my last day. I think she knows they were keeping me from her during the day and she was showing her disdain.
She babbles all the time and I just wonder what she thinks she's saying.
We just love our little girl and we feel so blessed to be her parents.
Likes
Watching people eat, it fascinates her
Baths (still)
Momma's singing
Daddy playing with her
Baby food
Her walker
LOVES the little baby in the mirror and babies in general
Running water
Dislikes
sitting still for diaper changes
sitting still at all
being forced to sit still
bananas
Early morning with Daddy (she always plays with her ears)
This was a thing for a while
Just watching her show
Mmm Green Beans
If I ever lay on my stomach, it's not long before she is crawling all over me
again
practicing walking with Daddy
First time in a swing, and wearing flip flops
Big girl in a high chair
When you're sick, you can play with Momma's draw string (and completely pull it out)
Again, this is also her newest expression
Cute baby in the mirror
Flying to Utah, that huge dude next to Matt was just in love with Sawyer
Jennie, trying to solidify her "favorite Aunt" title
Mother's Day with my parents
Sawyer Mae, 7 months old.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)