A series of photos that are sure to make you smile!!

Hello All!!

I wanted to show a series of photos I took of Costner that I hope will put a smile on your face, it sure did to mine.  Justin came home Sunday and it has been so wonderful having him home.  I can even tell in Costner's demeanor how excited he is to have his papa home.

Nap Training Update

This would be day number six of nap training and thank goodness it seems as if we are back on track.  Costner has been napping in the morning for the past few days for an hour on the dot!!  The second nap has been a bit more difficult to extend out but yesterday he slept for an hour and forty-five minutes.  Woohoo!!  I didn't know what to do with all the time.  I was expecting an hour...if that so I hurriedly did all things I needed to get done in an hour.  For forty-five minutes I was waiting for my little man to wake up any minute but he didn't.  Then today came and I was not holding my breath for the same hour and forty-five minutes...I was sure that yesterday was a fluke but it has been two hours people and Costner is still asleep.  Hallelujah!  Those first few days were so difficult, listening to him scream broke my heart each time but my pediatrician was right...it gets better.  And for all that crying I now have a well rested, happy little man who is keeping me and Ducati running all over the house.  We still don't have any teeth but I see them and feel their jagged little tops.  I think he is waiting for his Papa to come home (Sunday) before they pop out.

I'm Starving!!

Chillin!!

Mama has me in a bubble because it's so cold outside!!  40 and windy!!  Brrr!!

I'm trying to help Mama cook!!

Day Four of Nap Training!!

Today was a busy day and it started off well.  Costner woke up at his normal hour, ate some breakfast, played a bit and then went down for an hour nap.  Great...it seems as if we are back on track with the morning nap.  After Costner awoke we went for a walk in the frigid wind with my friend Kelly and her daughter Teagan.  I must report that Costner received his first kiss from a lady nine months his senior.  But enough about Costner's love life....

Back to the day, after lunch I packed him into his carseat and headed to Target.  For my friends who don't live in the Vail Valley the closest Target is 40 minutes away....that's an 1 hour and 20 minutes round trip which usually means Costner will sleep the whole time.  I'll be honest I went to Target because I couldn't bear to hear him wail again.  I needed a day off, a day to have my happy little baby, a day to recharge.  When we got back to the house Costner's Aunt Lindsey came over to watch him so Mama could go to yoga and have an hour to herself.   It is a blessing that I have a wonderful family who will allow me to have time to be me.  Not a wife, not a mother but just me!

The fun didn't stop there....after I came home from yoga Costner and I jumped in the car and met his other Aunt, Jill for some dinner and wine.  It was a treat for us both to be able to have so much company today.  Just when I was feeling alone and confined to my house, friends and family step in to give me a lift and for that I appreciate them more than they know.

No pictures today!!  I will try to snap a few tomorrow!

Day Three of Nap Training!!

The only thing I wanted to do today was pick up the phone and call my mom.  I need her to tell me that all will work out with Costner's napping and tell me remedies she used on my brother and myself.  Instead I am relegated to the internet and what do I find when I google "napping and teething"?  A woman wondering if the fact that her teething baby is sleeping more than usual is a problem.  Seriously!  A problem? Count your lucky stars woman that your baby is sleeping as much as he or she does.

My morning started off great!  Costner awoke around 8am, ate some breakfast and then proceeded to try to get into trouble.  He went down for his first nap without a fight and slept for an hour.  Success!  I was so happy to grab him and play with him. We proceeded to play, go for a run, hit up the grocery store and Costner's drooled thru two shirts.  Those teeth are really close to popping out.  Around 1pm he started to slow down and as soon as I saw a yawn we went for nap #2.  Costner didn't fight me on the second nap and again I prayed he would sleep for two hours.  But again no such luck.  After 45 minutes he was up, though not screaming.  He was sitting in his crib chewing on his hands or anything he could put in his mouth. I left him in his crib in hopes he would fall back asleep.  Well after 45 minutes he started to full out wail and I caved!!  And to be honest...I don't feel bad.  My little man is fussy and I think that it is due large part to these incoming teeth. I am going to try to stick to his nap schedule the best I can but making him scream for over an hour when he is obviously uncomfortable, I can't do it.  Sorry people!!  When these teeth come in then maybe I will be a bit more stringent but I am betting he'll transition back his old nap schedule once they come in.  At least that's what I am hoping for.

Good Night All!!

My new face I love to make

Helping Mama cook

Day Two of Nap Training!!

First off....I would like to apologize for last night's post.  It was terribly written...geez!!  I blame it all on my exhaustion!

I am thinking of faltering...I cannot take the tears.  I did not falter today though....I held strong.  The day started off well.  Costner woke a little before 8 this morning happy and ready to go.  We ate some breakfast, cleaned some floors (Costner with his belly and me with my the vacuum), chased Dukey around the house before we started in for nap #1.  I put Costner down and not soon after I laid his head down did the tears come even as his eyes rolled back in his head.  Twenty minutes later I tip-toed past him room to peek thru the cracked door to see what if anything was wrong.  I could smell what was wrong from outside of the room.  I went in, changed his diaper and put him back down.  He slept for 45 minutes which was 15 minutes longer than he did yesterday.  Hopefully tomorrow's nap will be 15 minutes longer than today's nap.

Nap #2....my toughest nap!  I tried in vein to ware him out but it was snowing today so we were confined to the house.  Around 1pm I sat Costner in my lap, put some Orajel on his gums and attempted to calm him down before we went for the second nap.  As we sat there I examined at length his incoming teeth.  There are little indents on his gums where his two bottom teeth will eventually be and I can see white on the top.  As I am probing Costner's mouth he rests his head on my arm and flutters his eyes shut.  Really?  This is where you are going to fall asleep child?  As much as I would have liked to let him lay asleep on the floor with a blanket around him I knew I should transfer him to his crib.  So...transfer to the crib I did and with success.  I prayed that he would sleep for two hours but I had no such luck.  Forty minutes later he was up crying so again I let him cry.  Today he cried off and on for a hour.  Ugh...I hate his tears!  

I hope Day Three is better and if these teeth are causing his nap problems than please teeth come in already!!  Stay tuned for tomorrow's post and hopefully a better nap outcome.

Day One of Nap Training!!

Wow....today was tough!  I am proud of myself for staying strong though Costner's cry is still echoing in my ears.  The day did not start off well, that should have been my first indication on how the rest of day was going to pan out.  At six this morning I was awakened by Costner's cry but for the next hour he teetered back and forth from sleep to crying but by 7am he was full blown screaming and awake.  I went into his room to calm him down, give him a little Baby Orajel and lay him back down for some more sleep.  My plan, while being well intended, did not go over well with Costner.  He screamed for 30 minutes and finally went back to sleep.  I woke him a little while later for some breakfast and play time before we set out for our first nap.  I followed the "I'm tired" cues from my little man and put him down in his crib for what I hoped would be a successful hour morning nap.  Costner crawled around in his crib for 20 minutes before finally falling asleep.  Success!!  Or so I thought, he was back up 30 minutes later.  So again I let him cry it out in his crib in hopes that he would fall back asleep.  No such luck!  After what would have been his allotted hour long nap I went in to retrieve my problematic napper.

From the moment I went in to get Costner Operation Wear This Child Out commenced.  We played, we went to the Post Office, grocery store, dry cleaners, the local holiday bazaar with Aunt Jill, ate some lunch and finally played some more.  I put the adorable little stinker down for his second nap and what did I hear as I left his room.....nothing!!  No tears!  Could this be success?  Well, kind of.  Costner slept for an hour which was great but Dr. Engle said he should be sleeping for at least two hours in the afternoon.  So...again I let him wail.  A terrible wail!!  I started to organize my kitchen cabinets because I could not bear to sit there and listen to him cry.  I had to keep busy otherwise I would cave and go grab him.  In the middle of Costner's cryfest Ducati was nowhere to be found.  I went looking for him and I found him sitting outside of Costner's door.  The scene in front of me melted my heart, here was my dog who normally paid no attention to Costner sitting in front of his door listening to him cry.  This was Duke's way of showing his love for Costner.  After an hour of crying...that's right I said an hour...Costner finally fell back to sleep.  When he woke I gave him a big bear hug, my way of apologizing for not coming to him when he needed me.  He looked at me, smiled and pulled on my hair as to say "Mom, why are you so upset?"  We spent the rest of afternoon watching the snowstorm roll in, watching some football and snuggling of course!

I am hoping tomorrow and the coming days will be easier than what I had to go thru today but if not at least my house will be spotless clean from all my busy work.  Here are a few pictures from today!

"Mom, why do you let me cry?"

"Duke, why can't I get to you?"

Mom's attempt to wear me out!!

My organizing!!

Will he nap today or not?!

I have not been inspired the last few months and that is why I have not blogged.  I have been trying to figure out why I have been so uninspired, part of it is because I am thinking too hard and I should just write what I know.  Let's be honest....I am a stay at home mom (that might be changing) so my life encompasses Costner and all that goes with a busy 9 month old, my husband and his ever changing schedule and my always faithful companion Ducati.  Let go Whitney of thinking you have to have profound conversations on a daily basis that gives you something to write about!  Though I do wish I did have those types of conversations even on a weekly basis.   The other part that I believe contributes to my uninspired feeling is that my day to day life has been a little out of sorts with Costner.  Which leaves me little time to contemplate writing.

About two months ago his naps became erratic.  The morning nap would still happen fine but the afternoon nap went from 2+ hours to 45 minutes if I was lucky.  I was baffled!!  I thought the disruption was being caused by teething but we still do not have any teeth two months later.  So what happened to my amazing sleeper? What happened to the boy who would go down for a nap without even a peep?  Now I have a fight on my hands every time and cries that have been excruciatingly difficult to hear.  I should be clear...I am by default a Type A personality.  I like structure and schedule, those two things help me tackle the day.  Costner and I had a great schedule going.  It went a little like this:

8:00am wake up and have breakfast

9-9:15am nap time

10-10:30am wake up and play,go for a run, etc.

12:00pm lunch

1-1:30pm nap time

3-3:30pm wake up and play some more

4:00pm dinner and more playing

6:45pm last sippy cup of milk

7:00pm bedtime

And then the latter part of the schedule got shot to hell.  No afternoon nap means a cranky, over tired little man and it also means Mom does not get time to herself to recharge.  I believe the change happened when he started crawling and pulling himself up.  To Costner there is too much to see and do and if he sleeps he might miss out.  So instead he fights his naps, he stands up in his crib (which I had to lower because he is way too tall) and screams bloody murder.  Costner is not a fussy baby and he rarely cries so when he first started crying like this I would run in to see what was wrong.  That is where the downward spiral began.  Costner is a smart baby, he knows how work Mama's heart strings.  The other part is that he is actually teething so the pain undoubtedly wakes him up and then he has a hard time getting back to sleep. 

Well, yesterday we saw our wonderful pediatrician Dr. Janet Engle.  She confirmed that two teeth are in our eminent future but that is no reason why he shouldn't still be napping otherwise we are going to be constantly waiting for teeth to come in to get back on a nap schedule.  Tough love needs to be administered.  "But Janet he screamed for 45 minutes today!" And she responded with "If you know he is safe and okay then you need to let him cry." Does she know my son's cry....it is gut wrenching?!  Janet explained that by Day Three he should be doing much better with naps and not fussing too bad.  But I have to be strong which is hard to do when Justin is out of town and not here to back me up or allow me step away.  Today is Day One and Costner is currently crying, I will blog this evening to let everyone know how it is going.  

Thank you continuing to read my blog even though I write sporadically!!