Is it just me or does he look real proud of himself?
Xoxo,
Gara
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Do You Ever Wonder . . .
What they are thinking? I do ALL THE TIME! Grandpa and I often talk about it during his weekly visits!
Is he saying "put down that camera" or "only shoot my good side" or "I just peed" or "my mom is the silliest person in the world" or a million other options! One of my many questions for God one day!
Xoxo,
Gara
Gara
Friday, March 12, 2010
Leadership Arlington
The program that Brandon and I helped with on Monday was a huge success! Travis was such a good boy.
He hardly made a peep (except when he sneezed).
He started "chattering" during the last performance so that was our cue to leave. He really liked the dancing girls in the sequins - go figure!!
He hardly made a peep (except when he sneezed).
He started "chattering" during the last performance so that was our cue to leave. He really liked the dancing girls in the sequins - go figure!!
How cool to have the opportunity to introduce Travis to "arts & culture" at such an early age!
Xoxo,
GaraTuesday, March 9, 2010
Hope Ya'll Had a Great Weekend!
I sure did!!
I loved on "Gerber" - my great uncle Mickey's baby doll.
And I took a big boy bath!!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Lazy Saturday
Travis has slept 11-12 hours both of the last two nights! So awesome. I am so proud of the little guy!! I'm feeding him 6 times during the day plus two "meals" - one mid-morning and one late afternoon. We tried avocados today! He had them for breakfast and ate them without hesitation. I also fed him half a cube of sweet potatoes, and he ate both like a champ! Our little baby is growing up!
Speaking of growing up, I spent some time during his morning nap going through the clothes that Travis has already outgrown. Aunt Kimmie (my sis-in-law) is hosting a shower for a friend who doesn't have much so hopefully some of Travis's stuff can be put to good use. There are three more bags of "keepers" in the closet. We've retired all of our 6 month stuff and are moving into 9 month wear.
We watched the Aggie bball game this afternoon, and Daddy treated us to Sonic for lunch. I have an allergy food app that helps me find things that I can eat at a few fast food restaurants. After practically no take-out for a few months, I sure have enjoyed a few Sonic burgers (on wheat buns with mustard). I also put this (sans soy sauce) in the crock pot for dinner. It is pretty tasty and didn't require a trip to the grocery store.
Two of Travis's favorite toys are the tv remote and the portable phone. In an attempt to bribe him with his own version, I picked up a baby version of both. Here he is loving on his Sesame Street remote. Too funny.
We also took a family outing to the Arlington Museum of Art. Brandon and I volunteer with the Youth Program of Leadership Arlington, and our session on Arts & Culture is on Monday. The students will spend some time in the museum on Monday, so we wanted to put together an activity for them to do while they walk around. A scavenger hunt of sorts.
In milestone news, Travis can pretty much sit up by himself for a little while. It all just depends on how much he is moving. Yesterday, at baby massage class, he sat up for a few minutes all by himself. Just ask Krista!! I had my legs spread around him, but wasn't touching him. He was just listening to the presentation like such a big boy!
We are loving this Spring weather - FINALLY!!
Xoxo,
Gara
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Sleep ... Glorious Sleep
At Travis's 6 month appointment, the doctor said that there was no reason he was still eating 3 times a night and that it was only going to get tougher to break him of this habit. I had been contemplating and preparing to sleep train him for 2 months now, but I could never pull the trigger. I've had some great mommy friends that have talked with me about sleep issues ad nauseum, and I'm so grateful for all of their advice and support. I had been praying for strength and patience, and this past weekend, we finally decided to start. Most "experts" say that you can start sleep training at 4 months, but I am glad that we waited. I needed to know that he had the skills necessary to help him make the transition. Starting about a month ago, he was getting himself to sleep at the beginning of the night without a full-on rocker-a-thon so I think that was when I first felt like he was getting the hang of it. Him rolling himself over and sleeping on his tummy also made me feel more confident in his sleep skill set. So after lots of prayers and preparation, we finally decided to pull the trigger this past weekend. I had been preparing him for a few weeks by decreasing the amount of time he was feeding during the night. In my head, I was trying to prepare his chubby little body to sleep without a full to the brim tummy of milk. I had also turned down "Travis Cam" in our bedroom hoping that maybe there were occasions that I wouldn't wake up and he would go back to sleep. Finally, we started cereal a couple of weeks ago in hopes that some solids would help him get through the night.
So here is how it all went down.
On Friday night, I put him down at 7:05. I did a dreamfeed at 9:30 - my goal with this was to feed him before he woke for his first feeding. He woke at 12:30 (little stinker was glued to a 3 hr routine), but I just ignored him. He fussed for 20 minutes tops and was back asleep. He woke at 3, and I fed him. I had made a mental note to feed him before he woke, but I failed. Two steps forward, and one step back. He was up at 6:30.
On Saturday night, T missed his last afternoon nap, so I put him down at 6:40. I did a dreamfeed at 9:10. He woke at 9:35, but only fussed for 10 minutes. This next stretch was the toughest. He woke at 1:50. I should have fed him by then so I felt even guiltier. He cried until 2:38. It was important to let him go back to sleep by himself before feeding him as I didn't want him to think that crying would get him fed. I just laid in bed during this time praying for God to give him strength and guidance. PTL - it worked! So, I scooped him up at 2:53 and fed him for a few minutes. He was no worse for the wear so I felt okay going back to sleep. He was up at 6:15.
On Sunday night, I put him down at 6:55. He made some noise at 9:40, but only fussed for 5 minutes. I attempted a dreamfeed at 10, but he wasn't interested and didn't even open his eyes. This night, I set my alarm for 1:30. I fed him for 4 minutes. He was up at 6:55.
On Monday night, Daddy put him down at 7. I set my alarm and fed him for 3.5 minutes at 1:30. We didn't hear a peep on either side of the dreamfeed. He was up at 6:30.
On Tuesday night, I put him down at 7. He woke randomly at 11:40 and cried for about 40 minutes. My dad was staying over, and he didn't hear him so it wasn't too bad. I was awake for all of it, but thankfully, my new friend, Adrien, was awake so we e-mailed back and forth while he went back to sleep. I said sweet little sleep prayers for my baby while waiting for her return e-mails. :) Once he went back to sleep, I waited for a little while and then went ahead and fed him. Didn't see him again until morning.
Last night, He went down about 7:05. I fed for 3 minutes at 1:30. He was awake at 6, but I didn't go get him until 6:30. He seemed content in his crib, and I was happy to lay horitzontal for a few more minutes. :)
I'm going to continue cutting down the dreamfeed for a few more days. Hopefully, he'll then be going a full 11-12 hours.
Obviously, what works for every little one is different. Parenting is a big ol' bunch of trial and error! You can read and read and read, but ultimately, it is a gut thing. What we did ended up being a random mixture of lots of different strategies, but one that I felt comfortable doing. I'm putting all of this out there mainly as a way to remember this whole process, but also, maybe to help someone else on the sleep training journey. Lord knows I do lots of "googling" for parental advice. :)
The hardest part in the whole process was dreading it.
Xoxo,
Gara
So here is how it all went down.
On Friday night, I put him down at 7:05. I did a dreamfeed at 9:30 - my goal with this was to feed him before he woke for his first feeding. He woke at 12:30 (little stinker was glued to a 3 hr routine), but I just ignored him. He fussed for 20 minutes tops and was back asleep. He woke at 3, and I fed him. I had made a mental note to feed him before he woke, but I failed. Two steps forward, and one step back. He was up at 6:30.
On Saturday night, T missed his last afternoon nap, so I put him down at 6:40. I did a dreamfeed at 9:10. He woke at 9:35, but only fussed for 10 minutes. This next stretch was the toughest. He woke at 1:50. I should have fed him by then so I felt even guiltier. He cried until 2:38. It was important to let him go back to sleep by himself before feeding him as I didn't want him to think that crying would get him fed. I just laid in bed during this time praying for God to give him strength and guidance. PTL - it worked! So, I scooped him up at 2:53 and fed him for a few minutes. He was no worse for the wear so I felt okay going back to sleep. He was up at 6:15.
On Sunday night, I put him down at 6:55. He made some noise at 9:40, but only fussed for 5 minutes. I attempted a dreamfeed at 10, but he wasn't interested and didn't even open his eyes. This night, I set my alarm for 1:30. I fed him for 4 minutes. He was up at 6:55.
On Monday night, Daddy put him down at 7. I set my alarm and fed him for 3.5 minutes at 1:30. We didn't hear a peep on either side of the dreamfeed. He was up at 6:30.
On Tuesday night, I put him down at 7. He woke randomly at 11:40 and cried for about 40 minutes. My dad was staying over, and he didn't hear him so it wasn't too bad. I was awake for all of it, but thankfully, my new friend, Adrien, was awake so we e-mailed back and forth while he went back to sleep. I said sweet little sleep prayers for my baby while waiting for her return e-mails. :) Once he went back to sleep, I waited for a little while and then went ahead and fed him. Didn't see him again until morning.
Last night, He went down about 7:05. I fed for 3 minutes at 1:30. He was awake at 6, but I didn't go get him until 6:30. He seemed content in his crib, and I was happy to lay horitzontal for a few more minutes. :)
I'm going to continue cutting down the dreamfeed for a few more days. Hopefully, he'll then be going a full 11-12 hours.
Obviously, what works for every little one is different. Parenting is a big ol' bunch of trial and error! You can read and read and read, but ultimately, it is a gut thing. What we did ended up being a random mixture of lots of different strategies, but one that I felt comfortable doing. I'm putting all of this out there mainly as a way to remember this whole process, but also, maybe to help someone else on the sleep training journey. Lord knows I do lots of "googling" for parental advice. :)
The hardest part in the whole process was dreading it.
Xoxo,
Gara
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
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