Wednesday, January 19, 2011

the longest post ever.

I'm actually blogging from a real computer right now.. because guess what? Well, I'll save that for the end. I don't want to jinx myself.

Sweet babe is 13 weeks old today. I promised to explain our "schedule" that we have going on, so here goes: Many weeks ago, I was reading posts from the Baby Center October 2010 Birth Club board (my guilty pleasure!) and came across some info on the "Baby Whisperer." Now, I am not one for baby training, but some ladies explained the gist of it - sleep, play, eat, repeat. And, wow, that just made sense to me.

We were already basically doing that type of schedule, but I decided to really put it into practice. So we did, and I couldn't be happier. At this point in our lives, Adalyn nurses for about 30 minutes (15 on each side), and then has about an hour and a half of "play" time. We bop around the house, read stories, sing songs, play on her mat, etc. And at the first sign of sleepiness - a yawn, grunts, or whines, I put her down for a nap.

And when she wakes up, she immediately nurses.

This way, I always (always!!) know what she wants when she cries. It's never a question of, "Is she tired?! Is she hungry? What's wrrrronnng with her!?" because I know! Thanks to the Baby Whisperer schedule.

La di dah.

~~~~~~

I also mentioned earlier that we co-sleep. Last night I attempted to use the bassinet, and it was a major failure. She woke after an hour and 45 minutes and was dying of hunger. She basically nursed every two hours all.night.long. Lordy be. I'm hoping (praying? wishing?) that this is a 3-month growth spurt, because this child acts like she's starving to death! And my milk is plentiful, so I'm hoping this is just one of many challenging seasons of infancy!

Lots of people freak out at the term "co-sleep" -- OH NO! You'll roll over on your baby! She'll smother in the covers! She'll die!!!! While Mark is away, there is a gigantic empty spot in our bed, perfect for our little Adalyn. My pal, Dr. Sears (chuckle) has an article on it HERE. He says there are 7 benefits of co-sleeping:

Babies sleep better
Mothers sleep better
Breastfeeding is easier
It's contemporary parenting
Babies thrive better
Parents & infants become more connected
Reduces the risk of SIDS

Last night, when I put her in her bassinet and went to bed, I laid there. And my mind was racing. I could not sleep!! I laid there for an hour and 45 minutes, until she woke, and finally was able to sleep once I had my baby with me. Uh, it looks as if I am the one becoming attached to co-sleeping rather than Adalyn!

:)

Ad & cousin Gray (13wks & 7.5 months!)

Aren't they darling?

~~~~~

I'm on the verge of mailing Mark's first "care package." Don't look at me bad for not sending a package out yet. My husband insists that he "doesn't need anything" and doesn't want me to send any yummy treats. But I've finally compiled a few things and can't wait to mail them off. We're 5 months away from the return of Daddy-O, and time is creeping by. Crawling. Barely moving. Time is almost at a stand-still.

But, oh, what fun we will have when he returns! We have so many fun summer plans - we can't wait! Trips to DC, time spent at the beach, taking Adalyn to swim at the pool (my excuse to buy cloth swim diapers, what a thrill!) and so much more!

While I'm thinking of it - CD mamas: Since moving here, Ad's diapers now smell like some serious ammonia when she pees. Kentucky has hard water, but I don't know if it's harder or softer than what we had in Virginia. Do you think we need less or more detergent? I can't seem to figure out the right "recipe" of detergent. It isn't a big deal, but I'd like to nip that problem right now.




Guys, let me just admit something now: I've forgotten how to blog. Have you noticed how jumbled and confusing this post is? Yeah, I am majorly rusty. I need to get back to my blogging roots. Ack. I'm thinking of returning to my simple days of making up fun poems and such. I do take photos.. I just never have the time to sit at the computer and upload photos and blog. Just bear with me, I promise I will get the hang of blogging again. I promise.

And do you know why I've gotten the opportunity to blog this much with BOTH hands at a desktop computer? ADALYN IS NAPPING IN HER SWING. OH YES, PRAISE JESUS! Literally, praise Jesus. This is something she never ever EVER does, so it's a major deal. I only wish Mark was able to see her. He would be so proud!

More (better? not so jumbled, easily read, yummy!) posts coming up! Promise. Don't give up on me, guys!



4 comments:

  1. We follow that same schedule with Breckin! I love how smooth & easy it makes our day run. Baby center is my guilty pleasure as well, although I'm on the May 2010 board :) Hoping time speeds up for you for Mark to come home. We're waiting to hear if John gets his orders for an upcoming deployment.

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  2. Your header is awesome! So glad to see you getting back to blogging. My life will be a little less empty now I am able to read about yours once again!

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  3. That baby whisperer schedule is the schedule in "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." Glad it's working for you!

    Allllso, did you know that nowadays the ideal way to nurse is not to switch sides when feeding, but do an entire feeding on one side and then the next feeding feed from the other? If it works for you to alternate like you do, that's great! But doing that supposedly reduces the amount of hindmilk your baby gets (the fatty, high-calorie, good stuff) and increases the amount of foremilk your baby gets (high in lactose, can cause gas & fussiness). That's why I always fed on one side per feeding.

    Annnd I have no clue about the reasoning behind stinky diapers! But Rockin Green makes a detergent for soak cycles that treats that ammonia smell. :)

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  4. You probably just need to strip them :) Even people that use RG have to strip their diapers because it gets that smell to them :)

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