It's Miller Time!

And no, I don't mean the beer.....hold on to your hats because this story is a doozy!!

To begin this tale, I will inform you that Darren's mom's maiden name is Miller. It seems that all the Millers (and descendants of Millers) like to eat their food right out of oven. Or better yet, if they could eat it while it is still in the oven they'd be happy! I had dinner at his moms house one time and the food was taken right off the stove and put on plates and the Millers were actually eating it right away! I had to wait like 10 minutes before I could dig in! Long story short - Millers like their food hot.....

Well, according to Darren, I like my food cold. (it's not cold, just a little warmer than room temperature and not hot enough to burn my mouth...a.k.a. normal temperature that food should be eaten at...hee hee) He would always comment (err....complain) that when we would eat at my families house, the food would be sitting on the table - steam and precious heat leaving the food - while we all got situated.

Well, the reason I've painted this picture thus far is because for the past two weeks or so I could not get Dane to eat solid food to save my life. I thought he just wanted to nurse more because he was teething or had an ear infection. I'd sit him at the table and get so frustrated with him (not outwardly of course) because he would tighten his mouth up so much that I could not squeeze the spoon in....Since he wasn't eating solids, he was getting up at night because of hunger.. Not this again! I thought we were out of the whole "getting up a couple times a night" routine....but, yet again I attributed it to teething or his ear infection.

Last night I had Darren try feeding him (Dad's always seem to have luck with stuff like this - doesn't seem fair...ha!) and he wouldn't eat for him either (I thought "yeah, it's NOT me!")...so Darren asked if I would just heat up the cereal/pears/blueberries for sh^&t's and giggles.

Wouldn't you know it, the little bugger ate it all up? We had to keep reheating it because it would get cold and he would tighten his lips up - but seriously?!? that's all it was!?!?

He has become his fathers son all right....a picky eater and his food has to be hot!!!

Dane's first snowball!!

I just wanted to share some pictures of Dane eating his first snowball. We are snowed in today and will not be able to see family :o( It has stopped snowing finally (we have about two feet of snow on the ground) but the roads are still un-driveable unless you have 4 wheel drive, and even then it's dangerous. To top it off, once the sun goes down all the roads are going to freeze over and becoming a icy mess....SO - thank goodness we had a back up plan! We have a turkey in the oven and Darren is cooking till his heart is content!! I am enjoying the day - cleaning up a bit here and there and relaxing. I think I have done about 12 loads of laundry....now I have to put it away which is the worst part! I am glad Darren picked up some Captain Morgan and Ginger Ale!! +slosh slosh+

Let it Snow!!!!

I know everyone wishes for a white Christmas....well lucky us! We get it to the extreme! We already have about a foot or so (see pic) and they are expecting at least another foot or so tonight! It is supposed to snow an inch an hour.

I went out earlier today because we ran out of wrapping paper (go figure....all the toys and clothes I bought Dane!) and all the roads and parking lots were clear and fine....but as soon as i got into my neighborhood KAPLOW!! They didn't plow yet, so i couldn't get home!! There is a slight incline...and i mean a slight slight slight incline to get onto my street and i couldn't make it up! I thought I could back up and get a "running start"...nope, didn't work. So i tried to get into the neighborhood and different way and ended up getting stuck. Luckily Dane wasn't with me because I had to walk home! Darren then came out (while i stayed back with Dane) and shoveled my car out. Go Darren!

Hopefully we are able to go to Uncle Larry's for dinner and drinks tomorrow! If not, we bought and turkey and fixings just in case we are snowed in....

I hope everyone is safe this holiday if you have to travel anywhere!!

His first one (and hopefully his last)

Dane has had a cough going on two weeks. :( I decided (with much persuasion from Darren - thank goodness) to take him in to the doctor. I thought he was just coughing from a couple different things 1. teething 2. it's really dry everywhere 3. he sometimes does it to get my attention. Boy am i glad i took him in!

There weren't any appointments available, but the doctors office i take him to has this program called Ready Care. If you don't have an appointment - you sign in and it's first come first serve. They have doctors that are staffed just for Ready Care patients, so the wait isn't too long (I think i waited about 30 minutes). It's nice and its one of the reasons we went with this pediatricians office. They have Ready Care hours on the weekends too - which is a major plus.

Anyway, I took him in and the doctor said his lungs are clear (no bronchitis - yay!) but he has an ear infection in his right ear. I was surprised! He hasn't been pulling at his ears or giving me any signs that he was in pain. She said his ear drum was really red and pussy - so she prescribed him amoxicillin. I know that medicine all too well. I think I spent most of my childhood with an ear ache. I remember one Xmas i had an earache in both ears and i just cried all day - it hurt so bad. I hear (no pun intended) it's genetic, so i am just crossing my fingers, eyes, and toes that he has Darren's ear genes. At least he likes the taste of the amoxicillin (bubble gum) and drinks it right down!!

Little man had some more meat for dinner the other night! He really likes ham. I rip a few pieces off of what i was eating and put it on the tray of his high chair. He can pick it up and put it in his mouth all by himself! I even gave him a couple of green beans, but he didn't like them so much (he doesn't like anything green) He also loves feeding himself his cheese puffs. Lately he grabs the spoon too and guides the spoon full of food into his mouth. I'll let him think he is feeding himself as long as he wants! What a big boy he is.....ugh..... he is growing up so fast! I still cant believe he is 7 months old already!

He now weighs 20lbs! He gained almost two pounds since his 6 month checkup - that seems like an awful lot, but he has been eating solids now consistently for a month so i attribute it to that. Ugh! What a big boy!!! He is almost growing out of his 9 month clothes as well. After the holidays I am heading to Kohl's to stock up on clothing! I need to get him 12 months stuff already - yowza! I just packed up all his 6 month stuff! Thank goodness they have such good deals at Kohl's and it seems every time I go there everything is 50% off!!

We are so excited to celebrate his first Xmas! I bought him so much stuff - and I am sure he is going to have more fun with the wrapping paper and bows than what's inside! Hah! I will be sure to take lots of pics!

I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!

No wonder Chai is overweight!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post, I've been uber busy!

Dane is doing so well, he is still rolling around everywhere and every once and a while gets his legs in the position to crawl - and he will jut forward and then start rolling again - any day now he will be a crawling machine!! He also has two top teeth coming in (poor guy, I can tell they are more painful than his bottom teeth were). He has been sleeping through the night like a champ - most nights he doesn't wake up at all from 7:00pm - 6:00am and other nights he only wakes up once at around midnight. I definitely feel like a new woman with all this sleep I am getting, plus I am reading again since I am confident that I can go to bed later than Dane and know that I will still get enough sleep! I have read three books in the past month YAHOO!! I love reading, can you tell?

My monkey is eating solids like a champ too. He loves his yogurt bites and his cheese curls (they look like actual cheese curls but are for baby's and don't turn your fingers orange). He is eating solids three times a day and nursing 5-6 times a day. At each solid food feeding he gets a jar of either fruits or veggies mixed with oatmeal (banana flavored oatmeal is his favorite - come to think of it, anything banana tastes good). This weekend I am going to pick up some baby food that has meat in it. We did give him some ham from dinner the other night and HE LOVED IT! If we have something from our dinner plate that I can share - we do and of course Dane loves trying new things.

He has learned that if he drops some puffs on the floor then Chai will happily clean up after him!! He thinks this is hilarious - I did too at first until I realized he was doing it on purpose!! I have to keep Chai in the other room when I feed him now or she will gain even more weight!! While it's nice that she cleans up for me, I don't think its healthy for her to eat all this food....she is a little chubby!!

I have attached some pictures of this blessed event to share - enjoy!

Sunny Side UP

Ever since Dane has been able to roll over he sleeps on his tummy.....well, the past couple of nights he not only sleeps on his tummy - but his cute little hiney is sticking straight up in the air!! The pics are a little dark because I took them with my cell phone (no flash) but hopefully you can see!

Sunny side up!!

Poor guy, he is

growing so fast I didn't remember that i needed

to update the clothing he

has at daycare.

He spit up on his pants last week and they wanted to change his pants, and the only pair in his drawer were these tan 6 month pants...poor guy - they were so tight on him and his hiney was sticking out! It would have been better just to wipe the spit up off his pants, but whatever!! It was a great photo-op!

He is doing so great at daycare and at home!! He is just a happy kid!! He LOVES Cora....he smiles and laughs every time she is in the room and in petting distance.

We will be getting our tree this

weekend and taking some holiday pictures - so everyone can stop bugging me to send out photo's!! Hee hee, just kidding...I know that it's now my duty to make sure I send out pictures of Dane... :o)

Mama's Little Potted Plant Piggy

At last!! Dane LOVES to eat solids!! He now eats three times a day and is eating like a champ! I even have to mix rice or oatmeal into his fruits and veggies because he prefers his meals on the thick and lumpy side....go figure! It was just like one day - all of a sudden - he decided it was time to eat like a big boy!! I do miss nursing him all those times, but I still get to a couple times a day and at night, so all is not gone....yet. :o( He is getting so big so fast!!

He does this funny thing when he eats, he holds both of his arms out to the side and twists his hands around. He also kicks his legs up and down. It is the funniest weirdest thing....I will definitely have to get it on video one of these days before he grows out of that. He also tries to talk with food in his mouth and on more than one occasion I have ended up wearing his dinner! ha!

He hasn't mastered crawling yet, but he rolls around everywhere he wants to go - it is so funny!! He looks like a little steam roller rolling from one end of the living to the next! I think it's only a matter of time before he starts to crawl. He gets his legs up underneath him and pushed forwards, but hasn't figured out what to do with his arms....all in good time buddy - and no rush please!! I am enjoying the potted plant stage.....hee hee!!

Face down in the toy pool

Here's my Dane, face down in the toy pool! That's how I found him at daycare last friday.....What a goof ball! He must have been super tired!

This picture is of Dane on the bathroom floor (we had company and I needed to take a shower and didn't want to leave Dane in the living room all by himself and the company we had was still asleep) while I took a shower. I love how Pooh Bear is "hugging" Dane's head! Ugh, my little man is so stinkin funny sometimes!

The Story of the Traveling Jeans

Not so long ago, God gave a beautiful little baby to Richard and Ann in a rural town in the middle of Pennsylvania. She was born with lots of hair and a great big grin. Her loving parents named her Linda.

About the time Linda turned 6 months, her mommy bought a pair of bib jeans for her to wear. This pair of jeans was blue in color, had little straps that went over her shoulders and secured in the back with little buttons. The conventional snaps adorned the inside legs of the jeans. As Linda eventually grew out of those jeans, Ann carefully packed them away in hopes of God sending her another little baby to love. As the years went by, the jeans were content to lie comfortably in a cardboard box with numerous other outgrown baby clothes.


Because Richard and Ann prayed to God to give them another baby for them to love, Linda’s sister Janet arrived approximately 9 years later. Everyone was ecstatic! Even the jeans in the cardboard box. When Janet turned 6 months, her mommy opened the cardboard box to sort through the clothing. She was hoping there would be a few articles of clothing that could be passed down from Linda to Janet. Well, sure enough, the jeans were on top of the pile! Ann washed the jeans and dressed Janet in them. Janet wore those jeans for a little while, but eventually grew out of them, too. Alas, the jeans would have to be discarded.

But wait,,,,mommy put away a few articles of baby clothing in hopes of needing them for another baby to love. Well as time went on, the cardboard box was moved the back of the attic and forgotten. Then, the family moved to a little town not too far away. As you may have guessed, the jeans were happy when the cardboard box was not forgotten when they moved.

The cardboard box was again moved to the far end of the attic in the new house, the jeans were hoping someone would remember them and perhaps they could be worn again.

When Linda was old enough, God sent a young man named Mike into her life to love. They married and settled down a few miles north of where Richard, Ann and Janet lived. When the time was right, God sent a beautiful baby girl into Mike and Linda’s life to love. Cindy arrived with just a few wisps of golden hair and a big smile. As Cindy grew, she needed larger clothing. Grandma Ann remembered the cardboard box tucked way back in her attic. She retrieved the cardboard box and gave it to Linda. As you might have guessed, when Linda opened the cardboard box the jeans were on top of the pile.

You see, the jeans heard about Cindy’s birth and was really hoping someone would remember the cardboard box that was home to the jeans for over 20 years! Linda took a few items from the box and put them in Cindy’s dresser. A cold day in December, Linda was looking for something for Cindy to wear was warm and cozy. Sure enough, when she opened the dresser drawer, there the jeans were laying. The jeans were folded at their very best and looking so regal. Linda couldn't resist having Cindy wear them. As Linda was dressing Cindy in the jeans, she was telling Cindy the history of the jeans. Of course, Cindy was too young to understand, but she loved listening to mommy’s stories.

In a few short weeks, Cindy outgrew the jeans and Linda had to put them away in the cardboard box, along with other clothing Cindy had outgrown. The box was stored in the attic. Again, the jeans were waiting to meet another little baby to wear them. Linda and Mike prayed for another little baby to love and sure enough, two years later, Nicki arrived. Nicki arrived crying at the top of her lungs. Her head was covered in soft, downy-like dark brown hair and she had big beautiful eyes. Cindy couldn’t wait to hold her baby sister.

As the days went by, the jeans heard a little baby cooing and laughing just below. Remember, the jeans are in the cardboard box in the attic – just above Nicki’s bedroom. The jeans were hoping someone would remember them, so they could enjoy another little one again.

Soon, Nicki was growing out of her clothing and in need of more. Linda remembered the cardboard box in the attic. The jeans were so excited! Mike brought the box down from the attic and as Linda opened the flaps, the jeans almost jumped out! They couldn’t wait to see the new little person that joined the family.

Nicki wore the jeans and looked absolutely adorable. She would crawl as fast as she could trying to catch up with her big sister. And I am sure you can guess what happened next. Nicki couldn’t fit into the jeans anymore. So Linda carefully packed them away in the cardboard box and placed the box in the attic. Linda and Mike enjoyed Cindy and Nicki so much, that the jeans were soon forgotten. How sad the jeans felt. Who knows how long they must stay in the cardboard box, in the attic, in the dark this time????? There they were, lying on top, just waiting for someone to pick them up and just hoping Linda would not pass them up for another article of clothing. Well how could she? Those jeans were in the family for over 40 years and earned the right to meet all the babies joining our family.

Sometime later, the jeans heard Cindy and Alan presenting a pizza box to Linda and Mike. Now this pizza box didn’t contain pizza, as you probably thought it might. Inside were two baby bibs, one pink and one blue. Cindy and Alan were soon going to welcome a little baby into their lives. Linda and Mike were so excited to become Grandparents. They could hardly wait, just like the jeans. The jeans could have jumped for joy, but the box flaps were closed. The jeans could hardly control their excitement and joy at the prospect of loving another baby! Linda remembered the jeans she so carefully packed in the cardboard box and stored in the attic. So, Linda gently washed them so they would look their best and presented them to Cindy.

Cindy understood the significance of the jeans and was happy to be included in this family tradition. The jeans were so proud to meet Kyle, then Caleb, then Meghan. The jeans loved each and every baby they were privileged to hug.

When the last of Cindy and Alan’s babies, Meghan, grow out of the jeans, Cindy carefully packed them away in a cardboard box and placed it in the attic. The jeans were very said to be packed away again. As they lay in the dark box, they listened very carefully for the laughter of yet another baby. But nothing. Then, suddenly the cardboard box was taken from the attic. The jeans were confused. The cardboard box was moved, but no one opened it! The cardboard box had a new home on Charles St. and still, no more baby laughter. The jeans were so sad. They were beginning to feel they wouldn’t be needed anymore.

Then late in 2008, the jeans were delighted to hear Nicki and Darren were going to welcome a little baby into their lives. God was sending Dane into our family for us to love and nurture. Dane arrived in May. He was a beautiful bundle of joy! How excited the jeans were to know they weren’t forgotten after all. The jeans were just “itchen” to get out of the cardboard box and wrap themselves around Dane. But there was a slight problem. The jeans were in a cardboard box, in Pennsylvania and Dane was in Minnesota! How could this be? Mema Linda rescued the jeans from the cardboard box and gently placed them in an envelope addressed for the Hartenstine home. The mailman carried them all the way to Minnesota just for Dane! Wow!

All family traditions are marked with something very special, so it is true of these jeans. Family traditions grow out of love. It is an honor to be a part of a tradition, especially one that endures year after year. When the jeans were purchased way back in 1955, little did anyone know just how important they would become? With each little baby born into our family, the jeans have had the privilege to be worn by them, even if only for a few moments for Daddy to take a few pictures. How special! Dane is the 8th little one to wear the jeans. Along with this tradition goes a tremendous amount of love for this young life. It is almost like the jeans are a symbol of the Yeagley love, prayers and dreams for yet another new life God has sent to us. And, the strong fibers of the fabric from which the jeans are made, represents the strength of this family. What a wonderful life we have.

And, as time marches on, Thanksgiving 2009 is only a few weeks away. We will again give thanks around the harvest table, remembering all we are thankful for. And this year, we will remember to add to our lists, these jeans that stand to the ready for number 9.


written by Linda Shay - November 2009

Nope....not gonna do it!!

Dane sure is a stubborn little fella!

I had the ladies at daycare start to feed him cereal during the day right before he gets his bottle and he will not open his mouth for them either! I feel kinda good about this because I thought maybe it was something I was doing, but since he wont open his mouth for them either it makes me feel better! I know for sure it's the cereal, he just doesn't like it. Doesn't matter if it's rice, oatmeal, apple flavored rice, or banana flavored oatmeal...he wont eat it.

He does however LOVE love LOOOOVE applesauce! I gave him his first taste of a fruit last night (up to this far he has only had veggies) and he ate the whole darn jar! He opened his mouth just like he is supposed to and moved his head towards the spoon...so I KNOW he knows how to eat, he is just stubborn when it comes to cereal!!!

He still loves his apple puffs (they melt in his mouth) and strawberry yogurt bites and really enjoys chewing on his biter biscuits....(they taste like graham crackers....yummy!)

Sleeping is still going great!! He only wakes up once a night now and it's usually close to 4am....

I however have been woken up by our motion alarm twice each night for the past two nights. We have this sensor pad that attaches to the crib and if it doesn't sense motion (i.e. Dane stops breathing) it sets off a really loud alarm. Well, Dane somehow manages to always sleep somewhere in his crib that his breathing wont register on the sensor - so it keeps going off and I dash into the nursery and all is well...(thankfully!)...it's funny, the alarm is incredibly loud and Dane sleeps right through it! All we have to do is change the sensitivity on the sensor pad and all will be good, but I only remember to do that after he is already in his crib sleeping.....ha!

Back on Track!!

Dane is back on track with his sleeping schedule after it being uprooted whilst he was sick! Yay! For the past two nights he has slept 9 hours in a row! He sleeps from around 7pm till around 4am, then he eats and goes back to sleep till I wake him up for school at 6:30am. I kinda wish he could make it till 5am because that is when my alarm goes off, but hey - I'll take what I can get!!

I feel like a new woman and am so happy I decided to do this sleep training bit. WHY didn't I do it before? Oh, I know...because I didn't think I could live without cuddling with him every two hours....but I did survive and we both are so much better for it! He has always been a happy baby, but he is a SUPER happy baby now that he is sleeping well. Yahoooo!!!

6 Month Check Up

Whoah!! Dane sure is growing!!

He weighs 18.7 lbs (was 15.1 lbs at his 4 month check up) and is 27 1/2 inches (was 26 inches at his 4 month check up) Whoah!! He is in the 50-75 % for his weight and 75-90% for his height. No wonder he doesn't fit into 6 month and some 9 month clothes!

The doc said he is right on track with everything. He commented on his two bottom teeth and how nicely they are coming in, and even showed me that his four top teeth are soon ready to pop through (NO!! We finally aren't dealing with drool....not ready for all that drool again!).

Apparently I am not feeding Dane enough solid food. He should be eating solids 2-3 times a day. Ooops! Breastfeeding is just so darn convenient (and not to mention free and no cleanup!). I should also be giving him yogurt bites and baby cereal (it literally melts in your mouth) so he can practice putting food in his mouth. He did pretty well! He even new to chew!

Poor little man got four shots today too...he was a champ though! He only cried a little and I started making funny faces and noises and was able to get him to laugh and get him mind off of the ouchy. I am learning that if I run to him and sooth him when he falls or whatever he cries more than if I just act like nothing has happened and try to "change the subject". I think babies look to us for our reaction and if we act like "OH MY!!!!" then so will our babes....yah know?!

Anyway, enjoy the photos. The one to the left here is the first time we gave him strawberry yogurt bites and they are a little sour...ha!

Bloody walls and a stash of chocolate

Cora and Chai had a visit to the vets this weekend. Originally it was only supposed to be Chai's yearly physical and shots. I called to see if Cora could tag along too because one of the cysts on her back seemed to be inflamed. (For about 2 years now Cora gets this sebaceous cysts on her body. They will get big and and eventually fall off - gross I know) Poor Darren....he agreed to take Chai to the vet for me since I was going away that afternoon and didn't want to be away from Mr. man twice in one day - but now he had to take both of precious pups! He didn't complain (too much) and did a great job. Of course he met with the most annoying high pitched vet in that office (she is about 5 feet tall and I swear she sucks in helium right before she enters the room). $300 dollars later here are the results...

Cora: 111 pounds....we thought she was losing weight. We drastically cut back on her food consumption, but she weighs exactly the same. We now have to cut back even more, but instead of feeding her twice a day we have to feed her three times a day. The vet cut off the infected cyst and Cora is on 1250 milligrams of Cephalexin and some sort of pain killer. She was bleeding pretty bad and we've had to put a warm compress on her. It looks like someone was murdered in our living room because Cora sat up against the wall and now our wall is all bloody! Hot soapy water should do the trick. Now that isn't bleeding anymore......

Chai: 14 pounds......she gained a pound from last year! Ack! We cut her food back too! I don't get it. Either the people at work are feeding her without me knowing, or she has a chocolate stash somewhere......The vet asked Darren if Chai thinks she is a german shepherd because when she took Chai into the lab to take her blood Chai started to growl and bark at a really big dog that was back there too. Ugh, this little dog certainly thinks she is a big dog!! This behavior is exactly why we were kicked out of puppy training class! Ha!

We are going to be more adamant about getting these dogs on the treadmill or taking them for walks. Its just so hard when you have to time it right with Dane's eating and napping schedule. If I would feel comfortable taking Dane in the stroller and walking Chai and Cora at the same time I would, but I can just see it now - Chai wanting to chase after the biggest dog in the neighborhood and Cora trying to protect us from the scarecrow in the neighbors yard while I am being pulled along and hanging on to the stroller for dear life! Ha!

Kisses!!!

Our little squirt has learned to kiss! I am sure he has figured it out because I am CONSTANTLY kissing his cute pudgy cheeks, hands, toes, tummy - well, lets just say I love to kiss my little man! A couple of days ago I heard him making this noise that was pretty distinctive of the kissing noise. He would look at me and make that noise and pucker up! So, I decided to hold him up to my face and kiss his cheek - and put my cheek right in front of his lips and he leaned in and kissed me! We do this all the time now, it's pretty cool!

He has been feeling a lot better. Thursday afternoon his temperature finally broke and ever since then he has been back to his bubbly self! He is still a little stuffy but only when he first wakes up in the morning. Thank goodness I decided to switch him to Motrin. I think he started feeling better once I made the switch from Tylenol.

While he was sick I did not work on sleep training. When he cried I went to him and most every night he slept with me in bed. All bets are off when a little one is sick in my opinion. They need all the TLC you can dish out! Well, because of this I was pretty hesitant on starting up the sleep training again. I was thinking that all the sleep training that we went through before he got sick went right out the window, but I was wrong! Last night monkey slept 4 hours in a row then another 6 hours! He did wake up an hour after I put him down but that was because he flipped himself over and was in a really weird and uncomfortable position. I flipped him back and he calmed down. Yay!

Tomorrow is his 6 month check up - YES - he is 6 months old already! I can't believe all that he has accomplished so far. I looked up "6 Month Milestones" online and here is a list. Dane is able to check them all off!

- Turns towards sounds and voices
- Imitates sounds
- Rolls over in both directions
- Is ready for solids foods (Dane has been eating solids for a few weeks now)
- Sits without support
- Mouths objects (ummm, everything is going in this child's mouth!)
- Passes objects from one hand to the other
- Lunges forwards and starts crawling (he does lung forward, but not a crawl yet)
- Jabbers and combines syllables
- Drags object towards himself
- Able to bear his weight when put in standing position (he has been able to do this for quite some time now)
- Able to hold own bottle
- Teething (his two bottom teeth are so cute!! they are getting bigger and bigger!)
- Makes sounds to mirrors and toys (he is always talking to his animals)


I am excited to see how much he has grown since his 4 month checkup. I know he already weighs around 18 pounds from our doc visit last week, but i want to see how tall he has gotten. He doesn't fit into any 6 month pants or sleepers anymore and even some of the 9 month pants and sleeper are too short! He takes after his momma with these long legs!!

Sick little boy :(

My Mr. man has been sick for the past few days :( It started off this past weekend with just a stuffy nose and coughing and a low grade temp (99-101). He was having a hard time nursing because of his stuffy nose but we made it through.

On Sunday night I had him sleep in bed with me because his temp was going up and he just wanted to cuddle...When we woke up on Monday his temp was 102, so I decided to keep him home. He slept pretty much all day and I kept him pumped with Tylenol.

On Tuesday he seemed to be doing better, so I let him go to daycare. The ladies said he seemed tired and out of it, but all in all was in good spirits. His temp was steady at around 100. He didn't really nap at all Tuesday after I picked him up and was uber cranky. I wasn't able to put him down without him screaming for me to pick him back up and cuddle, so cuddle I did!!

Wednesday is a different story....Since Darren has been in Chicago I've had to take Dane to and from daycare. I took his temp in the morning and it was 100, but I decided he could still go to daycare. He was laughing at Blue's Clue's (his favorite show BTW) just like any other morning. He fell asleep on the ride to daycare and when we arrived he was shaking. I attributed it to being cold, so i cuddled with him a bit before i left for work and he seemed fine. 2 hours later I get a call that he is shaking uncontrollably and his temp is 103! I raced to pick him up and took him right into the peds office. They looked at his ears (clear) his throat (clear) his chest (clear) his CBC (good) and WBC (good). Basically I have a healthy child that is sick....ha! The doc said to not worry unless his temp goes above 105....and to expect a lot of puking (because he is swallowing the mucus because he doesn't know how to blow his nose yet) and possibly diarrhea (because of the mucus again) but to just keep him pumped full of Tylenol and give him lots of TLC.

They don't test for the swine flu at my peds office....I am not sure why but I can only speculate because really it's a waste of money to test for it. It's just like any other flu and there isn't any particular treatment for it anyway. (The media has blown it way out of proportion in my opinion)

I am glad I did take him in because now that I know how much he weighs (18.1 lbs!!) I can give him the proper dose of Tylenol and/or Motrin (I was only giving him half as much as he needed, and I switched to Motrin because i think it works better)

Our little monkey isn't allowed back at daycare until he is fever free without Tylenol/Motrin for 24 hours....which means he wont be going to daycare tomorrow either......

I shouldn't point this out because it will only make me mad, but I've paid for a whole week of daycare and he was only there for 1.5 days!! Ugh...i wish we could pay for only the days he is there and not whether he is there or not....especially when the facility is actually closed for holidays. I don't think we should have to pay for holidays!!!

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

It's been a while since I updated you all on our progress with sleeping and other fun things, so here we go:

Dane has been doing really great with sleeping! His body got into a routine for a couple of nights where he would wake up at around 10:30 and then again at around 2:30. I really wanted to break him of waking up at 10:30ish, so for the past two nights I've let him cry (it's not a harsh cry by any means, it's a whining cry) for about an hour, then I will go in and wrap him back up in his blanket (he has moved around so much in his crib that his blanket is at one end and he is at the other), put him back in the center of the crib, and pat his tummy and hum him a lullaby. I do not feed him as I want his body to get used to not eating at this time. He has been doing great! In fact, last night he fell back asleep until 4:15 - which leads me to my next update:

When I went to check on Dane at 4:15 this morning he was on his tummy in his crib playing with his stuffed animal! HE WAS ON HIS TUMMY! This means my little monkey can now roll over! Yay! I don't know if he did it on his own or he used the crib for help, but either way he was rolled over and that is a big step! He was just playing in his crib and probably could have gone another hour or two - but I really REALLY needed him to eat....he didn't eat anything since 7pm and I am used to nursing every two hours - and here it is 9 hours later and I hurt so bad! I was so full that little man couldn't suck fast enough! It was a messy endeavour but we made it through...hahah!!

I had to change him because there was milk just everywhere - and since he was wide awake i brought him and some toys into bed with me so I could cat nap till I had to get up for work at 5:15 and he could play....but he fell asleep right away! What a good little man....He let his momma sleep for another 30 minutes! Hey - I will take what I can get!

Another update - I packed away almost all of his 6 months clothes! He still fits into some onsies and pants if they are soft and stretchy, but for the most part he is wearing 9 months clothes! I just cant believe this because I just feel like I unpacked and washed the 6 month clothes!

And yet another update: Dane's teeth are popping up more and more each day! They sure are sharp and he has bitten me a couple of times. I tap him on the cheek and say "no!" and he stops biting....He hasn't bitten me in a while so maybe he learned?

And YET another update: Ha! Isn't this fun? Dane can sit on his own now! Every once and while he will topple over, so I keep the boppy around him - but for the most part he is sitting on his own! Yay! Go Dane!!

And the final update: He is eating about 2.5 tablespoons of rice cereal each night. He doesn't like the normal plain rice cereal, it has to be the apple flavored...and he will not eat the sweet potatoes anymore either....I think I have a picky eater on my hands!! After his check up next week we will probably add another meal into his daily diet - so he will get cereal mid morning at daycare and then again at night. "Yay" and "Boo" at the same time...."Yay" because he is getting to be such a big boy and "Yay" because then I don't have to pump as much at work....and "Boo" because this means less nursing time for us.....I plan on nursing him till he is around one year old, but I am already missing the one time a day he eats cereal....:o( But - it must be done and I am sure every nursing mom has gone through this feeling. I am just glad I have been able to do it this long and it has been such a great experience for both of us.

OK, I think I am done with the updates.....wait...one more....nope, nah - just kidding...I am done.

Why oh WHY didn't we ever think of this before???

We decided that enough was enough when it came to Cora's shedding....either we start shaving her, or we get her groomed....Well, luckily we decided to get her groomed! A shaved German shepherd wouldn't be too attractive, not to mention she'd probably be extremely embarrassed and really cold this winter!! SO, I called around to a few places for the best price and decided on the "furminator" package at Petsmart. Basically what they do is wash her with medicated shampoo, us a shedding conditioner to loosen all the hair, and then blow dry her while brushing her. Then they use a "furminator" (which is a fancy name for some type of brush) and brush her hair till no more hair comes out. She was there for almost 4 hours!!! I saw some of the hair that they got off of her (i only saw the hair they brushed out, not the hair that came out when they bathed and blow dried her) and I kid you not, it could have fit in a large garbage bag! She looks absolutely amazing! She looks younger and thinner. It's money well spent. Included in the package was ear cleaning, teeth brushing, and nail trimming. She walks around so proud because she looks great!!! I think this is definitely something we will splurge on for her (and us) a couple times a year. I used to hoo and haa about people taking their dogs to get groomed, but now I am a firm believer in it!! I now only have to vacuum once a week instead of twice!! Poor Chai feels left out I am sure, her day at the spa entails getting washed in the kitchen sink!! Ha!!

Breaking the Cycle - Day Four

Hopefully this is my last "breaking the cycle" entry!!!


Last night was great! It's so weird, I am getting more sleep in a row that it makes me feel like a new person!

Anywho - the night began a little rocky. Mr. Man was to go down for a nap at 4:30, but instead he wanted to play in his crib - which is perfectly fine! He whined a bit for a while, but I wanted him to learn that this is nap time, so I left him in there till about 5:30. He essentially didnt nap since 2:30 - so I thought I was in for a rought bedtime, but he was great!

At around 6:30 I fed him his oatmeal and sweet potatoes - which for some reason he made the icky face, but ate them anyway....:o) It was incredibly cute! I have to remember to get him naked (well, he will wear a diaper and short sleeved onsie) before we feed him because the sweet potatoes get everywhere because he has to wipe them off his face with his hands, and then wipe his hands all over his clothes - funny boy! He is pretty resourceful though, i hand him a wet paper towel and he wipes his own face. One of these times I will capture it on video to show you!

Any who, after I wiped him clean we sat down to read a story. I don't even think I got one page read when he started to get sleepy. I nursed him to sleep and laid him down at around 7:00.

He slept really well till about 10:45. He woke up to let me know he was hungry....(cindy, you were right - there is a difference between "hungry cry" and "sleepy cry"!) I think his Tylenol also wore off (oh yeah, forgot to mention - his gums are really bothering him....that little tooth that broke the surface is emerging and it hurts his little gummies :o(..He gnawed on my hand yesterday and it hurt me so bad! That tooth is sharp!!...) So I nursed him and gave him some more Tylenol and he was fast asleep in no time! He woke up again at 3:00 to eat and for another does of Tylenol. Poor guy, hope these teeth come in soon!!

I then had to wake HIM up at 6:30 for school! I can handle only waking up once or twice a night....this is great! I did hear him russle around a bit since I forgot to turn down the baby monitor, but I ignored it (even though I really wanted to go in to cuddle....I miss cuddling with him at night, but I make up for it during the day!) and he went back to sleep!! Yay!!

Breaking the Cycle - Day Three

I am so glad I didn't count my chickens before they hatched!!!

Last night wasn't too bad, in fact it was better than most nights, but not as good as Saturday night. Let me explain.....

We started off on the wrong foot....Dane took a late nap from 6:00-7:00....it threw everything off kilter. I stuck to the same bedtime routine hoping it would signal to him that he has to go right back to sleep.....bath, oatmeal/sweet potatoes, story time, cuddle/nursing time, then bedtime.

Nope....didnt work....Poor little guy was WIDE AWAKE till 10:45!!! Luckily Darren said he would stayed up with him so I could go to bed at around 9:00. What a guy Darren, thank you!! I woke up at 11:00 to nurse Dane a little and cuddle and try and get him sleepy. He went to sleep almost right away and slept till 12:00....he awoke and was just whining a little. Darren went in and hummed for a little bit and pat his tummy. Dane kinda fell asleep for about 2 minutes, but then awoke screaming and coughing and we could tell this wasn't a tired cry, it was a "I AM HUNGRY" cry! So, I fed the poor child and he then slept from 12:30 until I woke him up for school at 6:30!

It seems like the 2:00 and 4:00 wake up times have gone away! I can handle that.....I turn the monitor on really low so his rolling around and fidgeting doesn't wake me up (I used to hear him and go in to him to snuggle, but now that I don't hear him he just probably goes right back to sleep because I am not waking him up to cuddle! ....I know, I know....bad mama....I just love cuddling!!) and we both seem to be sleeping so much better! AND - he still loves me in the morning even though I let him cry a little....


GOOD NEWS!!! Dane has a tooth!!!! You can't really see it, but boy can you feel it! It's on the bottom right front. When he was sucking on my finger I could feel it and it is a sharp little thing! He didn't really even teethe or get sore gums....of course, that could be coming. The tooth already broke the surface but it still has to emerge......Yay!!! I hope he doesnt become a biter.....ouch.....

Breaking the Cycle - Day Two

Could it really have only taken one night to break the cycle? Now, I don't want to count my chickens before they've hatched, but we had a great night last night!!!

We started it off with a bath at 7:00...then a massage....then I fed him oatmeal, which he was not interested in until I mixed it with Natures Best Organic Sweet Potatoes...and OH MY GOODNESS! He gobbled it ALL up! He ate all of his oatmeal plus almost half the container of sweet potatoes....piggy! Around 7:30 I started to read him a story....at 7:45 I nursed him to sleep and by 8:00 Dane was in dreamland.

He awoke at 11:30 and Darren went in and just stood there and hummed for about three minutes and Dane was fast asleep again (Go D!).

For some reason from 11:30 - 12:30 my brain would not shut off (dagnabit brain...I could have had an extra hour!!) but I finally drifted back to sleep at around 12:45.....

Dane awoke at 1:15 for a feeding - thank goodness because my boobs were very full! (sorry if TMI, but if you ever breastfed you know how uncomfortable it is!)

He went back to sleep around 1:25 and slept until...wait for it...........wait for it........7:00!!!!! Holy moly!! We just had almost 6 hours of sleep in a ROW!!

Now, not to be pessimistic (OK, i am always pessimistic, so this is status quo) but I certainly hope this isn't a fluke....I could really handle waking up once a night!

We will see how tonight goes!!

Breaking the Cycle - Day One

I am breaking down Dane's sleep cycle and building it back up so we both can start sleeping better. I think I am biting off more than I can chew with this task, but it has to be done or we are both going to go crazy!

The night started off at 7:00 when we just got done giving Dane his oatmeal and I nursed him. We went upstairs, put on his jammies, and I read him a story till about 7:45. He was not tired at all....earlier in the evening he slept from 2:00 - 5:00 - so I knew going into this that he wasn't going to be tired for his normal 7:30 bed time. Anyway, Darren came in and we layed Dane on the floor and quietly played with him and a stuffed animal. We didn't want to get him too excited, but we wanted him to wind down a bit and burn off some energy. Around 8:15 he started yawning and rubbing his eyes, so I swaddled him up and nursed him and rocked him to sleep. He slept pretty well in his crib till about 11:30 (which is a normal time for him to wake up, and this is a time I want to erase from his pattern). I let him cry until about 12:00...it was SO HARD to do! I ended up bawling and Darren stood by the nursery door so I wouldn't go in. Then I kept thinking, well maybe he is hungry? It has been 3.5 hours since the last time he ate, so I went in and picked him up and fed him. He ate like he never ate before!

I put him back in the crib around 12:15 wide awake and he whined a little bit but fell asleep after about 5 minutes. I thought - yes! I can go to sleep for at least another three hours and life will be good! Nope...not the case. Dane woke up at 1:30 and SCREAMED his little head off till about 2:30. He was still swaddled, so he was kicking his feet and ended up moving his body into the top right corner of the crib. Obviously this wasn't comfortable and he wasn't happy. SO, I went in and un-swaddled him...I didn't pick him up (go Nicki!) and just put my hand on him, and he started smiling and cooing. He wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon, the kid was wide awake!

I gave him a stuffed doggie and he was playing with it till about 3:30. He started to yawn and rub his eyes and whine...I let him cry for about 15 minutes, but then it has been about 3.5 hours since the last time he ate - so I fed him and again, he ate like he never ate before!

I put him in his crib half asleep at around 4:00 and he fell asleep right away. Yay! Maybe I can sleep for about 3 hours!! Nope....not going to happen. He woke up again at 5:30....At this point I am utterly exhausted, so I caved and grabbed him and put him in bed with me. We slept like...well...babies till 8:45....


Maybe tonight will be better? At this point I'd rather get up when he fusses and feed him because at least then I am only up for about 10 minutes....but I know in the long run this is good for both of us. And he still loves me today and doesn't remember that I let him cry last night....

Gimme Gimme Gimme!!

Dane has now reached the mentality that if he knows he wants something, he cries till he gets it!

We are currently teaching him how to drink water from a cup ( he is doing really well with this by the way) and we are using a silo cup (beer pong anyone?) until we go to the store and buy a cup with handles....anyway, when he would drop the cup - he would cry and whimper till we picked the cup up and gave it to him. It was cute at first, but after a while it got annoying, so to teach him that he can't have everything he wants when he wants it (I know, mean mommy!) I wouldn't give him the cup right away, and he wasn't too happy, but got over it....Once he stopped whining for the cup I gave it to him and he was happy!

So, now that I know he is old enough to know that crying gets him what he wants, it's time to start letting him cry it out at night. We are still not sleeping through the night, and when he cries and I go to him and nurse him, he barely even eats which tells me he isn't crying because he is hungry, he is crying because he wants to snuggle. He falls asleep within a minute or two and I place him back in his crib. It is going to break my heart to hear him cry because I know he is crying because he wants a snuggle - but it's for his own good. He needs to learn to sleep through the night or he is going to be a teenager still getting up every 2-3 hours! Besides, I really need to start getting some sleep or I am going to break down!!

I got some scary news today from daycare, another infant in Dane's class was confirmed with having H1N1. The teachers assured me that they sanitize everything, but you know how kids are at this age....everything goes into his mouth...and they could have missed sanitizing the ONE thing that he put in his mouth...So, I am taking the poor kids temperature like every 5 minutes (OK, not really -but I am taking it quite often). I heard that the H1N1 flu is not as bad as the media is making it out to be, and with him being a breastfed baby he has a leg up since breast milk has a ton of antibodies along with the probiotics i give him everyday. I will still keep my fingers, eyes, and toes crossed that he doesn't catch it. :o(

He is doing really well with his cereal! We started him on it last weekend, and last night was the first time he actually figured it out! I put the cereal in his mouth and he swallowed it right away! It didn't dribble right out of his mouth!! Yay!! *sigh*...my little man is officially growing up....:o)

Where's Waldo!!

Dane decided to help me with the laundry last night....hee hee! I buried him under this huge pile and he was content to just lay there...(or he couldn't move...one or the other)... He got the giggles, so this might be a new game we play on laundry day!! Where's Waldo....er....Dane!!

We started little bear on oatmeal this weekend (so now you can stop bugging me Cindy...hee hee)...he seems to like it a lot better that the rice that's for sure. He wanted NOTHING to do with the rice, but at least he is making an actual effort when it comes to the oatmeal. I posted some pics of the event on our smug mug - go take a look!!! (click on the link to the right "our pics and videos")

Dane can almost roll over the right way (from back to tummy)..He can get his upper body to go over, but he forgets about his legs....if i just gently push with the tip of my finger he ends up rolling over, so any day now i expect him to be a roly poly!

He is almost sitting on his own too...I put him down to sit and as long as he doesn't go to the side he can sit up...well, kinda...he bends forward to where he almost has his nose on his toes - but hey it's a start!

No teeth yet!! His gums aren't even red and sore, but the boy can sure drool!! And he has the bite of our german shepherd! He bit down on my finger the other day and I swear he could crush bone with those jaws!

If the weather cooperates we are going to try and go to a fall festival this weekend....fun! I love fall, it's my favorite season!!

Go ahead, make my day!

I (well Dane) got the nicest compliment yesterday from Miss Jenn at daycare...she said that no matter how bad of a day she is having, all she has to do is look at Dane and with his HUGE smile he just brightens up her day! It's so true! I could be in the worst of moods, or just uber tired and not wanting to do anything but curl up on the couch and nap (which I haven't done in about 5 months, not sure I even remember how to!) and then I just look at my son with his big toothless smile and all the stress and ickyness just melts away! His smile is so contagious!

Rolling Over and 9 months already?

Mr. Man learned to roll over yesterday! He can roll from his tummy to his back....Yay! I walked into daycare yesterday and Miss Jenn asked me if he has been rolling over at home, of course I said no. She said the reason she asks is because she thought she put him down to play on his tummy, and when she came back to get him he was on his back - so she didn't see him roll over. Well, Immediately when i got home last night I grabbed the video camera (sorry it's dark, apparently they IS a light on the camera to help with that...who knew?) and away he went! I am so proud of him! I am sure this is the first of many milestones to come. What's funny is when I was saying "roll over, roll over" Chai was next to Dane rolling over! She kept looking at me like "where's my treat?" haha!

I think our little monkey has gone through a major growth spurt as well. Last week he fit into his 6 month khaki's and jeans, but I can't even get them on him at all this week! I sent Darren to the store today to pick up some 9 month pants - YES, 9 MONTH PANTS!! He is only 5 months old (Omigosh...he is 5 months old, where has the time gone????)! Ha! Sheesh...

I found another item I need to remove from my diet - Soy! I was on a soy milk kick for a while and it caused Dane to be constipated and extremely gassy. I stopped drinking it and viola! He is cured! Amazing.....


Enjoy the video!! (if you turn your sound up real loud you will hear him toot in the very beginning, ha!)

Happy Anniversary!!

I want to take the time to say "Happy Anniversary" to my one and only! Darren, you have made my life mean something. From the moment I met you my life has changed for the better. You are such an intelligent, interesting, humorous, sincere, amazing man. I am so glad you chose me to share your life with! Thank you for giving me such an amazing life - and an amazing son! I couldn't be any happier and I am looking forward to many more years with you! I love you!!

20 Weeks already?

I remember posting the same title to this blog when I was 20 weeks pregnant with my little man! Now he is 20 weeks old! Oh my, time sure does fly by!!

He is such a giggler and is really enjoying sticking his tongue out. I am trying to teach him to "blow raspberries" and he can almost do it...it's so cute to watch him try! I end up getting slobber all over my face from him, but it's OK! Once he conquers this I plan on teaching him how to do a "fish face"...that one is going to be tough!!!

We still don't have rolling over quite achieved....he's almost there but not quite....probably a few more days of practicing and we might get it!! Like I've said before though, no hurry to learn this because then I have to REALLY make sure he is strapped in the changing table! Argh! And on top of that I don't think he can be swaddled once he learns to roll over, so putting him to sleep is going to be a challenge since he loves to be swaddled....So - maybe we won't work on rolling over...hahaha!!

Darren and I are celebrating our 4 year anniversary on Thursday - can you believe it? FOUR YEARS? wow....again with the time flying by.......

"4 hours" SOLD to the lady with black hair and bags under her eyes.....

Well......I know one day I say one thing and then it changes (welcome to motherhood) but for the past week or so we stopped giving monkey rice cereal, applesauce, formula, N E Thing but breast milk and he has actually been sleeping much better!! He sleeps almost consistently 3-4 hour stretches instead of the 1-2 he has been sleeping....I think it has a lot to do with the fact he doesn't have gas pain waking him up anymore!! Also, when he does wake up to eat I force him to eat from both sides so he is getting really, really full (it's not like I have to force him, it's just I have to wake him up to switch sides...it IS the middle of the night and I too fall asleep while he eats sometimes!) and I think that is helping him sleep longer too. The only downside is that when he was waking up every 1-2 hours to eat, we would only be awake for about 5 minutes...but now that I am feeding him from both sides we are awake for about 15-20 minutes....ahhhh!! Because I am feeding him this way I am not pumping then at night either (YAY! that was annoying!) but I then have to not only pump twice at work but then pump once at home to get 12 ounces (2 - 6 ounce bottles) for him at daycare....I might start thawing out some of the frozen milk I have stored up (last time I counted I have about 180 ounces...haha!) to help me out......

Enjoy the pics of Dane and Cora - they are buddies!! I am not too sure if Cora really found this entertaining, but she was a good sport about the whole thing....of course now she is hiding.....ha!

Dane's First Painting

As promised, here is a picture of Dane's first painting! He sat in a highchair to do this! Miss Lera showed me a picture of him (making his "typical Dane face" and they call it) and it is so cute! Once she prints the picture out I will post it for you all to see.

Miss Jen told me that out of all the babies that participated in painting, Dane was the only one that showed interest in it. He actually played with the paint and "studied" it, trying to figure out just what it was! Too cool!! My little Einstein!!

Hey you.....yes, you.....LOOK AT ME!!!

Oh my, monkey has such a personality these days! The ladies at daycare say he is really opening up and is such a silly goose! They painted today with leaves, but I wont get to see the final product until tomorrow. I promise I will take pictures of it and post it for you all to see. One of his teachers told me he was so fun to show how to paint, he soaks it all in (the information, not the paint) and is really into learning new things. They took pictures of him painting and she said the he was making the typical "Dane" face...I am anxious to see what she means!

Today I had him in his floor gym and happened to look away at something that was on TV and I hear Dane making noises....louder, and louder, and LOUDER!! So I finally look to him and just as I do - he smiles....he was trying to get my attention! So, I looked away again, and he did it again!
I noticed he was doing this the other day when we were at the car dealership. He was in his car seat on the floor next to Darren and he was staring right at Darren with his tongue sticking out. He was waiting patiently for Darren to look at him, and when he did Dane started laughing and sticking his tongue out further! He knows that the whole tongue thing is funny...he even laughs at himself when he sticks it out!

Oh my, what a little goober...I can't wait to get to know my son even more...his personality is just priceless!

Dane decided to sleep really well last night, he slept from 8:00 - 12:30! He got up again at 1:30, but just as I was about to put my hand on his tummy to console him back to sleep, he turned his head and fell asleep on his own! yay!! He then woke up at 3:30 and then I had to wake him up at 6:15am....I stopped giving him anything but breast milk (we were giving him formula at night to see if it would help him sleep through the night) and the rotten gas he has had subsided (thank goodness). We will try the rice cereal again in a few weeks, but until then I am going to enjoy not smelling rotten eggs!!

Mr. Tongue-sticker-outer

Well, our little monkey man has learned a new trick! He can now stick his tongue out and it is the CUTEST THING EVER! Ugh, it is just so darn cute.....If I look at him and stick my tongue out he will copycat and do the same thing! Needless to say - this is all I did this weekend and now my whole mouth is sore for sticking my tongue out for hours on end...ha!

We also bought him a bouncer thing which he LOVES! We had to put a phone book underneath him so his little toesies could reach, but the little man goes crazy in it! It was neat to watch him learn how all the new playthings work....Just this morning I was watching him figure out how to get this one purple floppy thing to go where he wanted it just so he could stick it in his mouth!

2 dead spiders and an accident report

Yesterday was Dane's first accident at daycare :( He was playing in the toy pool and another child reached into the pool and scratched Dane on the forehead. He has 4 long scratches right above his right eye. I asked Brenda if he cried and she said that he was really startled and she picked him up and gave him lots of TLC. She washed the scratches with soap and water. I wish it were me that comforted him, but Brenda is such a warm and kind lady that I am glad it was her that was there to step in for me. The scratches are almost all healed today - gotta love super healing babies!! I had to sign off on an accident report that will be kept in his file....Imma gonna kick that other babies butt when I find out who scratched him....haha, I kid people!! I kid!! I know it was just an accident.... :o)

As I was cleaning today I found two dead spiders side by side. I said to myself "Self...have I stumbled upon Romeo and Juliet of the arachnid type? Were these two lovers that decided they couldn't live without each other and committed suicide? Or were they two arch enemies dueling to the death? Or were they friends holding each other close while they froze to death because we left the window open last night?" I guess I will never know, but as I scooped them up in 7 paper towels (I wanted a large enough barrier between them and my hand just in case they decided to come alive and bite me....yes, i am a little crazy when it comes to spiders....they freak me out) I had a moment of silence for whomever they were before I chucked them in the trash.....

On a happier note, I got some sleep last night! Dane slept from 9:00 -1:30! then from 1:45 till 4:30! then he was up till 6:30 (booo, but at least Darren got up to hang with him for a bit so I could go back to sleep) then he went back to sleep at 6:30 and slept till 9:00! I decided to give him 2 ounces of formula mixed with breast milk last night right before bed and crossed my fingers, eyes, and toes that it would keep him asleep so I could recharge my batteries, and it worked! Yahoooo!!!

Hitting a wall.....

So here I am in my sleep deprived daze I find myself in nowadays....Dane is still up every two hours....and the cry it out method doesn't work....probably because I really don't let him cry it out for very long (what seems like a very long time is probably about 2 minutes in reality). Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining one bit about cuddling with my monkey at all hours of the night, I actually like our little midnight dates....I am just taking the time to share some fun facts about sleep deprivation.....here we go:

• New research suggests the right amount of slumber might keep Alzheimer's disease at bay (great, now that is one more thing my hypochondriac self needs to worry about)

• Studies have shown that sleep deprivation is associated with increased risk of weight gain and obesity as well as type 2 diabetes.

• A chronic sleep-restricted state can cause fatigue, daytime sleepiness, clumsiness and weight gain.

• A 2001 study at Chicago Medical Institute suggested that sleep deprivation may be linked to more serious diseases, such as heart disease and mental illnesses, such as psychosis and bipolar disorder (uh oh, watch out Darren!! I may be going crazy!!)

• Sleep deprivation can be used as a means of interrogation that some believe will constitute torture when used to excess.

Hopefully during this weekend I can catch some Zzzzz's....but if not, I've made it this far without sleep - what's another couple of weeks? (Oh goodness I hope it doesn't last another couple of weeks....Ack!)

Rotten Eggs and Applesauce

Mr. Man has is 4 month check up yesterday - he is getting so big! He is 26 inches long (grew 2 inches since his 2 month check up) and is 15.1lbs (gained 2.7 lbs since his 2 month check up)!! He is in the 90th percentile for both - oh my! He was so funny during the exam. When you weigh a baby it's with the diaper off - so I instructed Dane not to poop....but he did feel it necessary to toot....and BOY did it stink!! It smelled just like rotten eggs. I started laughing but the nurse (who didn't have a funny bone in her body) just kept filling out paperwork and didn't even crack a smile.....her lack of humor made it even more funny to me!!....I was laughing so hard on the inside! Then when the Dr was listening to Danes breathing and heart with the stethoscope Dane kept pulling on it like a rope until the Dr's face was almost right next to Dane...it was too cute! At least the Dr has a sense of humor and was laughing right along with monkey....it was so adorable!

I talked with the Dr about Dane's heartburn - which has made an evil come back - and he just said to up his dose of Ranitidine from 0.67 ml to 1 ml....which we will do. He also asked if we started trying to feed him solids. He said he was big enough and has really good head control so there is no reason why we should wait. I told him that we have faithfully been trying for almost a week now but monkey just wont eat it. He said to mix in some baby applesauce and try that. Well, Mr. man still wouldn't eat it....for me or my mom anyway....but once Darren tried his hand at it he loved it! Why is that? What is it about dad's? Darren made it seem so easy and had Dane laughing....I try to feed him and he immediately starts crying....oh well...

Poor dude also got three shots, two in one thigh and one in the other :o( He is a little sore and is running a slight temperature :o( The nurse (who had no funny bone) gave him the shots and when Dane started crying I said to him jokingly "i think the mean lady with the needle is done hurting you now"and not even a smile from her....nothing....she must really hate her job!!!

He is also full force in teething mode! He has been chewing his fingers and trying to put both fists in his mouth - so much so he gave himself a rash on his cheeks from all the saliva....The doc said to give him Tylenol as needed. Once the Tylenol kicked in he stopped chewing on his hands...poor guy. I hate that he is in pain and doesn't understand why :o( Hopefully those teeth pop out soon. I've read that the first tooth is always the hardest, and then each tooth afterwards is a little easier. It's probably because they realize what the pain is all about.

My parents were in town this weekend - we had a really good time! This was the first time my dad got to meet Dane (they live in PA). Both my mom and dad got plenty of cuddle time in....Dane is such a cuddle bunny! My parents actually stayed and extra day so they could go to the Mall of America, but I really think it was to cuddle more with Dane....haha!!

Dane still isn't sleeping through the night...the doc said it's pretty normal but I should start letting him cry a little before I go into the nursery to console him. He said he is old enough that he shouldn't be hungry that often - especially if we can get him to actually eat his rice/applesauce concoction before bed. Friday night Dane slept for 7 hours in a row for the first time EVER! I was so mad at myself because I didn't go to bed when he did....if I had I would have had the same amount of sleep.... :( That was a one time thing of course because every night after that he has been up every two hours almost on the dot. Oh well, eventually he will decide to sleep more than two hours at a time...I hope!!! Until then I will wear the bags under my eyes proudly!

Trial and Error is the name of the game!

The very first day of giving Dane rice cereal he LOVED it, the next day - not so much....he didn't want anything to do with it AT ALL! It could be because i tried giving it to him at 6:45 - which is pretty late considering he goes to bed at 7:30...so tonight I will try and give it to him at 6:00 instead. I'll keep trying till we get the right combination of time, thickness, temperature, and the kitchen sink....

He is still sleeping from 7:30 - 11:30 which is great! But last night I could feel his tummy rolling as he had some serious gas (I've been eating a lot of fruit lately which I think is making him gassy, sorry monkey!) so he wasn't comfortable enough to go back to sleep after his 11:30 feeding....I tried and tried to get him back to sleep in his crib, but he wanted to cuddle so off to my bed we went. We slept snug as a bug till I had to get up for work (boo) at 5:30 and then he remained under the covers till 6:30.

He did really well at daycare today too - they commented on his hand-eye coordination and how just in the past week it has really developed. He can reach for toys and grab them right away instead of swaying his arms around for a while. Last night during tubby time he kept grabbing the cup I use to rinse him off and trying to chew it. Yes...we are at the stage where EVERYTHING has to go into his mouth! I am constantly running things under the water...with two dogs you just never know who licked what and where their tongue was just before they licked it....haha!!

I know I've said this before.....BUT

Could it be the start of something wonderful??? I gave Dane rice cereal last night (this time it wasn't so runny and he was able to keep it in his mouth) and he ate it like a champ!! He opened his mouth for the spoon every time!! Darren had to help because I had the positioning all wrong, but once he showed me how to hold the spoon for our baby button it was smooth sailing from then on! I was also eating a frozen yogurt popsicle and Dane kept staring at it, so I put it in front of his face and he moved towards it and opened his mouth and boy did he ever like it! He kept wanting more "tastes"!! Our little man was nice and comfy and full until 2:30am!! Then I nursed him and he went back to sleep until 5:30am! Oh I hope this is going to be a normal schedule for him, but if not - I am used to it and will live......I have so far!!

On another subject - our poor little guy hasn't had a BM in three days :( This isn't normal for him at all. He usually has a couple healthy ones each day. You can tell by looking at him he is really uncomfortable. Even the ladies at daycare mentioned it to me....I think it's from his digestive system maturing (we only gave him rice last night so it's not from that). I was thinking of giving him some prune juice mixed with water - but then I started doing some research and this is what I found out:

Breastfed babies start digesting better at the age of 3-4 months and use more if not all the nutrients in the breast milk so they just don't need to poop as often as a baby that is eating solids or a formula baby. A week can be very normal, but there were stories of babies that went longer without any issues.

So, what to do....what to do....he is obviously uncomfortable. Giving him the prune juice/water isn't going to hurt, so I think I'll give it a try.....

HAHAHA...I am proofreading this before I post and I have Dane on my lap and guess what he is doing???? That's right...HE'S POOPING! Ha! Too funny....he's got perfect timing that is for sure!!!