a few things I forgot to mention

So after reading some previous blogs of mine and then the most recent, I realized I left out some things. As for me working, I quit my job when Jason got his in West and have since been a stay at home mom which I love love love!!! I am so lucky to enjoy every day with my little man. Also his sleep training created a wonderful sleeping boy, he goes down around 7 or 8pm and wakes up around 6:30 or 7am, it is awesome!!! I would recommend researching the c/o method or something similar b/c for us it really worked and Huxley is happier and more rested b/c of it. He has also cut down to only 2 naps per day the first one is around 10am and he sleeps 1 to 2 hours then his afternoon nap is usually around 3ish and he sleeps another 1 to 2 or 2&1/2 hours. Last but not least he has 2 bottom front teeth that are adorable when he smiles. Well I think that was all I wanted to add. Here are a few pictures of the little man.

it's been a while

     So I know it's been forever, and I mean forever since I have got on and blogged. We have had a lot going on and I haven't made time to get to to it. To do a quick catch up on what has happened the past 6 months or so; In August Jason got a job in West Yellowstone MT at Yellowstone Vacations and therefore we moved here and have really been enjoying it. We miss our friends and families a ton but have been lucky enough to have some come visit and have been able to head back to Poky to visit. Huxley started walking shortly after the move and has been cruising up a storm. He is all over the place and into everything. He is very curious and keeps me on my toes. He is getting such a fun little personality and I love spending my days with him he is so fun. He is eating solids like crazy, still has the bottle for now but hopefully in the next few months I can start weaning him from it. He calls everything momma, his dad, Tig, toys, books, everything...it's pretty cute tho.
     We recently(Nov,. 15) had a tragedy in our little family, our dog, the sweet little girl Akasha passed away. Jason was out running her and she stopped right in front of his truck, he didn't have a chance to stop and hit her. She passed within about 10 or 15 minutes, we had her cremated and plan to spread her ashes her in West as well as Poky. It has been hard but we are able to enjoy our memories of her and feel less pain. She was an amazing dog and companion.
       The Sunday after Thanksgiving we went out about a mile from our house and for the first time cut down our Christmas tree, it was awesome. Huxley loves it,  he always wants to touch it and pull the ornaments off...little stinker! We have made some wonderful friends here in our new home, we feel so lucky to be surrounded by such great people. That is the past 6 months or so in a nut shell. I will try to get on more often and update.     

Family Pics June 2011....Huxley is 6 months old

it's been a while...

It has been so long since I have posted a new blog, there are so many things that are going on it's hard to find the time. Well where to begin...Huxley is 6 months old and getting funner and funner by the minute. He is starting solids and sleep training. So far so good. He likes some of his baby food but still not eating a whole bunch yet, he likes the bottle to much, haha!!! As for sleep training Huxley is doing great!!!! We are able to put him down tired but awake and he rolls and talks himself to sleep. He cries a little hear and there but hasn't been to bad so far. He is now sleeping through the night; he goes to bed any where from 7:30 to 9:30ish and sleeps to about 6 or 6:30am. He will sometimes wake up around 4 or 4:30am and cry a little roll around and then fall back to sleep on his own after about 1/2hr to 1hr. He is laughing a lot, rolling a lot, and getting such a silly little personality. We took him to his 6 mo check up with his pediatrician and he is doing great, growing like crazy and has a huge head somewhere in the 85th percentile...haha!!! So I assume he won't be crawling for a little b/c his head is so big...but he sure is cute!!!! I am still working and hating it, I want to be home with my baby to see all the new things he is doing so hopefully Jason will be able to find a job soon so I can stay home....keeping my fingers crossed! I think that covers all the new things going on with us. I hope everyone enjoys a safe and fun 4th of July!!!!

New Pics: April/Easter

Here are some new pics of Huxley, my mother in law and Jason's Aunt Steph got us a picture package from Sears and Huxley did amazing! He is such a cutie!!!!

 Here is Huxley's first Easter. Jason's mom and aunt hooked us up with little Easter baskets and stuffed animals for Huxley and a bunch of candy for us. This is also an outfit Jason't aunt bought for Hux.

Huxley is 4 and 1/2 months! (almost 20 weeks)

    So it's been a while since I have blogged, I have been so busy with work, Huxley and trying to stay up on house work. Jason has been doing well with his knee, he is up and moving around almost like normal. He is still going to physical therapy and still limps a bit, but he is able to do what he needs to take care of the boy while I am work. My mother in law and Jason's aunt have been helping out on Thursdays when Jason goes to physical therapy and I am work so that has been nice. Huxley is getting used to having them here. This last Friday Jason and I went out on our own for the first time since Hux was born; Aunt Steph (Jason's aunt) watched him for us while we went to a friends for a graduation party. It was so nice to get out and see friends but I was nervous about leaving Hux and how he would do. He had a rough night that night b/c things were so different so he didn't sleep well at all. However, the last two nights he has done awesome sleeping 9 and 1/2 hours straight and 8 and 1/2 hours straight...it has been so nice!
   As for solids we tried to feed him some but he didn't really seem to enthused once I actually gave him some brown rice cereal, so we have backed off and will try again in a month or so and see what he thinks then. Other exciting news about Huxley; he started rolling over all by himself. He only did it for one day any time I would lay him down he would roll right over to his belly then he would get pissed b/c there wasn't anything he could do. He hasn't rolled from belly to back yet by himself but again this morning he rolled from back to belly. So I am sure within a few weeks he will be rolling all over the place.
   He is also getting so much attitude, it's so cute. He will get upset and start kicking his right leg and then last night he grunted so angry and with so much attitude it made us laugh. He is just getting more and more fun every day.  I hope Jason can find a job within the next couple months so I can either cut down to part time or quit so I will be able to stay home with Huxley more. Well that is what's going on with us right now. My one question for all you parents out there is: how did you transition your baby from a bassinet next to your bed to a crib in their own bedroom and how did it go?  We will be moving Huxley to his own room and a crib within the next month or two and I am a little worried about how he is going to transition. So tell me your stories and how you and your baby did it. Thanks guys!!!!

Huxley is 15 wks old!!!!

  Today Huxley is 15 weeks old...holy cow how time flies!!!! I can't believe he is almost 4 months. So far he is doing great with hitting all his milestones...grabbing things, cooing, smiling, laughing, picking his head up and almost sitting up by himself. I am so proud :)  We got some professional pictures done today at Sears, my mother- in-law and aunt-in -law got them done for us...they are dang cute!!! I will post some when we get the CD back. He did great, we then went out to our first meal out of the house with Huxley and he did good at first then got cranky, he was tired.  He has been sleeping better which has been nice for his daddy and I. He still wakes up once or twice a night and is usually awake around 4am to have some daddy time and is awake for a couple hours, so we will have to work on that. Haha!!

  We found out Jason has to have surgery on his knee this next Thursday, so that really sucks!!! We are not looking forward to it. I will be taking a couple days off work to take care of Jason and Huxley which is going to be rough!!! Oh well we will make it through it!

Ok so my questions for every one is; at what age did you start feeding your baby solids?? What did you start with?? and What have you found to be the best way to introduce new foods?? This is the next step in our lives with Huxley, we will probably be starting him on solids in about a month or so. He already seems interested in watching us eat and drink so I think the time is coming. I just want some advice for what worked for you.

What's New with the Knights

It has been a while since I have done any blogging so I thought since I may have a few minutes while Huxley and Jason are taking naps. I am officially back to work :(  It really sucked the first day; Huxley was being super cute and smiley which made it so hard, I was also worried about Jason since his knee still was hurting him and he wasn't able to get around to good yet but, he reassured me all would be fine so I begrudgingly got ready for work. Before I left Huxley gave me a big smile and I lost it...I couldn't hold back the tears and cried on and off for about 10 minutes. Finally I composed myself and walked out the door. Once I was on my way I was ok I just tried to remember that Jason and Huxley were bonding, having fun and it was nothing Jason couldn't handle. I was right, they did great I got home after 9 long hours and Jason and Huxley were just fine...Jason, being such a proud daddy, filled me in on all their activities for the day; tummy time, feedings, music time, naps, silly faces, and "cooing." It was not so bad. I am now getting into the swing of things and we are getting nighttime figured out. Unfortunatley for Jason Huxley enjoys waking at 4am and wanting to hang out with daddy and since I have to work and need my sleep Huxley gets his way. :)

Jason's knee is getting a little better he is able to go longer without pain meds and is able to put some light pressure on it but still has definite issues. He goes in in a little over a week to see what the diagnosis is...hoping he doesn't need surgery!  He is managing the stay at home dad thing very well and is excited to tell me all about their day and what new and cute things Huxley is doing, which is awesome and hard for me all at the same time. I hate missing parts of my son's life but I am so happy that at least one of his parents is home with him and he doesn't have to go to a daycare or something. I think that would be so much harder, I really feel for those parents that have to it must be very difficult for them.

Huxley had his first appointment with the Pediatrician and all is great, he weighs 13lb 8oz is 24in long and hitting all his milestones. He got his first immunization shots and was not a happy camper but did well, no fever and wasn't too cranky. He is getting so big so fast it is amazing to watch him grow and change each day. I love him more and more as time goes by. He smiles, coos, rolls to his side and fills my and Jason's heart with happiness. Well he is waking so better go cuddle and feed my little man. Until next time.

rough week for the Knights!!!!

Well this last week has been pretty rough for the Knights. Jason wrecked while skiing and cracked his tibia and fibula and possibly blown his ACL. He saw a specialist today and was told to continue to do what he has been; ice, ellivate, and stay off it as much as possible, then after a few weeks go back in and they will see if he needs an MRI to check the ACL.  I have to go back to work this week  starting Thursday so Jason is going to have to try and watch Huxley, which is going to be tough since he has to be on crutches or a wheelchair for now. We will see how that goes.

In other news Huxley has been struggling with sleeping, he wakes up 2 or 3 times a night and has been having issues sleeping for longer then 2 or 3 hours at a time. Don't know what is going on there but it sucks. Last night he finally slept 5 hours straight from 9 to 2 then back to sleep at 2:30 then awake again at 5 back to sleep at 5:30ish and then awake at 8. It really sucks b/c he was sleeping so well; 6 or 7 hour stretches. It is really going to be rough when I have to get up for work at 7:30 after only getting 5 or 6 hours of sleep. Yuck!!! Oh well I guess that's all part of being a parent right?

I have my mom coming down to help Jason with Huxley on Friday while I am at work we will see how that goes. I know we will work through this and come out the other side stronger but right now it really sucks!!!! I just needed to get it off my chest!

LOVE

I thought I knew what love was when I told my parents and my brother I loved them. Then I met my husband and found a new love, it wasn't more or less but it was different. Then I had my son and I now know the true meaning of unconditional love...the most intense love a human can feel is the love they have for their children.


My son has made me realize so much about myself...I am incredibly strong, I can survive with very little sleep for weeks at a time, I can go without eating a hot meal and not even mind it, I don't mind making a fool of myself as long as I make him smile, I don't mind smelly baby feet I will even kiss them, I don't mind pee, poop, or spit up as long as it is his, I don't worry about little the things as much because he is my top priority, I would do anything for him. 

*My Sweet Little Boy*

He lights up my life with his smiles and fills my heart with joy and happiness...he is my son!!!

* Huxley *

what happened?

I thought we had a good routine going with Huxley and then last night he threw us a curve ball. We got him down for his evening nap around 7pm and apparently he was ready to sleep b/c we had to wake him up at 8:30 to try and do our night routine but he barely got a bottle down and diaper changed then he was out again. So instead of trying to wake him again I put him down in his bassinet. Since his schedule was all messed up he decided to wake up at 1:30am and was wide awake he didn't fall asleep until 3am then a half hr later he was awake and crying. Since I knew he didn't need a diaper change and didn't need food I let him cry for about a half hr. Then I let him suck on my finger and he was out again. This time he slept until 6am. So now we don't know what we should do. I am thinking we will try and put him down for a bed a little earlier, maybe around 7:30 or 8pm. We will just try and follow his sleepy signs I guess.

In other exciting Huxley knew he almost laughed yesterday, I was blowing on his tummy after changing his diaper and he got super smiley and made some weird noises similar to an almost laugh. It was damn cute and now I can't wait until he starts laughing.  He is just waking up from a nap right now so I better go play with him and feed him.

Let me know when your baby started laughing.

Great Night with Huxley!!!

Last night was the best night so far, Huxley did so well! He went down for bedtime pretty easy around 9pm and didn't wake up until 3am then after a quick change and feeding he was back asleep in his bassinet by 3:30am and didn't wake up again until 6:15am. It was amazing!!! Also yesturday he did great taking his naps, it only took about 10 minutes to get him down and he slept great. He is a happy, well rested little stinker and I am loving it!!!!

I am now a firm believer in helping your child create better sleep habits by following their drowsey signs and getting them down for a nap and bed before they become overtired and then create a sleep schedule based on this. It is working great for us so far.

Cry it out? or Answer to every cry? What do you think?

  I thought I would give you all an update on how things have been going with Huxley and our sleeping routine. So far things are going betterr, we still have a long ways to go but they are definately better. He is sleeping in his bassinet at night and during naps so that is a huge improvement. He is doing good with sleeping 5 or 6 hours straight but then after I feed him and get him back down he thinks w/i the next 45 minutes to hour he needs to wake up to play which is cute and all but not so fun at 4 or 5 in the morning. So after reading Dr. Weissbluth's book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child  we decided that we would let him "cry it out" so he would learn to self- soothe himself back to sleep and not reinforce 4am play time. It wasn't too bad, he woke up at 2:30am to eat then fell asleep quick and was back in the bassinet by 3am then at 3:50am he started fussing a little, we ignored him after 10 min he calmed down for a few minutes then started crying again never getting too worked up but definatley not really happy. After another 20 minutes I decided to do a quick diaper change just to make sure that wasn't the problem. I didn't make eye contact or talk to him it was all business, he tried to get my attention by smiling and cooing so I knew he just wanted to play. I hugged him, gave him a kiss, told him I loved him and put him down to cry some more. Finally at 4:55am I fed him again while still in the bassinet and afterwards pure silence, he was out until 7:30am when he woke up happy and rested like nothing happened. I knew this was the key to teaching him how to sleep better. I know some don't agree with this strategy and think it is cruel or heartless but it really seemed to work and he actually for the first time fell asleep in his bassinet and stayed asleep w/o needing to be rocked and shushed. So I am going to continue to follow this strategy to help Huxley learn to sleep better and to get the rest he needs. This morning I started to rock him and soothe him to put him down for his morning nap but he was fighting it so I put him down and let him cry for about 10 minutes then picked him up consoled him, rocked him for a couple minutes and then put him down while he was drowsy but not fully deep asleep he layed there for about 5 or 10 minutes then cried for about 30 seconds and was out. This was a great improvement b/c usually we go through a struggle of holding and rocking util he is asleep, putting him down then he wakes up and I do it again and we do this about 3 or 4 times. One quick last thing I want to say before any one judges this method is please do some research b/c there are many child Psychologists that say it does not harm your child in any way to let them cry so they learn to self-soothe themselves to sleep, however with that said never allow your baby to cry when sick, soiled, hungry, or for extreme prolonged amounts of time. I judge by his cry how serious things are and then decide when enough is enough. So I hope this works for us, let me know what you think? What did/do you do to help your kids go to sleep and stay asleep? Have any of you tried the "cry it out" method?

When is your kids bedtime??

Ok so I am reading a wonderfully informational book that my dear friend Crystal is letting me borrow it's called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child I am only about 1/3 of the way through it but it got me wondering when is a good bed time for an infant? I know each child is different and the bedtime changes with age however, in this book the author, Marc Weissbluth, M.D. recommends an earlier bedtime to ensure a rested child that is happy and healthy and I mean early like between 6ish and 7ish for most infants (4 to 11 mo) and young children (1-3 or 4 years old). I think this is very early and if I was to start doing this I would not see my son in the evenings at all b/c I don't get home from work until 6:30 or 7:30pm. So I was curious as to when you all put your children to bed and how it has changed with their age, what struggles you went through, and how you started setting up a nap/bedtime routine??

Sleepy Time update!!!!

So last night things went very well and I'm hoping it was not a fluke. Huxley took two main naps yesterday lasting about 2 or 3 hours and he woke up from his last one around 7:30 we played and talked with him, fed him, changed him then around 9:30 I gave him a warm bath and then Jason bounced him and rocked him till he was drowsy. Then I fed him again and he was off to sleepy town in his bassinet. He slept from 10:30 to 3:30 I fed and changed him then back to bed around 4 and he slept until about 6 when Jason got up with him. It was so nice to sleep in bed again. I am going to try the same routine tonight and see if it works again, keeping my fingers crossed that it does. I will let you all know how it goes. Thanks for all your support and advice!!!

Sleepy Time??

So we are struggling with getting Huxley to sleep in his bassinet in our room. He has gotten used to sleeping in the living room either in his boppy pillow on the couch or in his swing. This is mostly b/c when I was pumping it was easier at night to feed him and pump in the living room then in our bedroom. However, now that I am formula feeding I would like to get him back in his bassinet so I can start sleeping in bed again and not on the couch any more. Unfortunately when I try to get him to sleep in his bassinet he wakes up more often and sometimes won't sleep more than an hour. There have been a couple times when he has slept for 3 or 4 hours in his bassinet at night but only b/c he was exhausted. Today we tried to get him to take his morning nap in his bassinet and he would sleep for maybe 5 or 10 minutes then be wide awake again, we tried about 3 times and the last time he slept for almost an hour then he needed to eat. After he ate I let him sleep in his boppy pillow again on the couch b/c he was so tired and hadn't napped all morning. I am just not sure how to get him to transition to the bassinet for sleepy time. If any of you have had this problem and found a way to solve it please let me know, I will give anything a shot. Thanks!

what is a "good" baby??

I am starting to get so sick of people asking if Huxley is a good baby or not. I know I have been guilty in the past of asking people with new babies the same thing however, now I realize what a dumb question this is.  Babies can't be good or bad they just are. Huxley doesn't purposefully get fussy and wake up in the middle of the night just to piss us off, he does it b/c he needs something or b/c he is trying to communicate that something is wrong or he is uncomfortable. We need to stop putting labels on little babies, I love my son and think he is wonderful...all his behaviors are normal and just b/c he may need more attention or becomes fussier then other babies at times doesn't mean I want to label him as a "bad" baby or a "demanding" baby he is just a baby and he is doing what babies do; crying, eating, pooping, smiling, cooing, etc. I also think that by putting these labels on babies affects the parents and we start wondering why is my baby so demanding and her baby is so relaxed and chill, am I doing something wrong, why can't my baby be like that...and with all the trials of parenthood and all the guilt and second guessing already involved why add one more thing to worry about. I accept all the ups and downs that come along with having my son and am trying to cherish every moment b/c before I know it he won't want me to love on him and kiss on him he will be off with his friends pretending like his parents don't exist. So enjoy your babies...good, bad, relaxed, demanding...wonderful!!!!!

new to me: blog #1

  So this is my first blog and I am not sure what it's going to bring however I thought it would be nice to have some where to share my thoughts and concerns about life with my first child. His name is Huxley and he was born on Christmas day 2010 he is currently 8 weeks and 4 days old.
  So far motherhood has been intense, rewarding, tough, frustrating, wonderful, and indescribable. There is no way for any one to prepare you for the struggles and intensity of the first month with a newborn; I was sleep deprived, recovering from natural child birth, and a complete emotional wreck. I felt as though my life was over and I would never get the old me back. I was lucky to have my husband home with me helping me through the chaos. My son and I struggled through breastfeeding, he got thrush (yeast infection in his mouth) and then passed the yeast infection to my nipples while breastfeeding. This caused extreme pain every time I had to nurse making it very difficult to bond with my little boy. After 3 weeks of this hell I decided to pump and bottle feed, that went well for about 5 weeks then I noticed my let down becoming more painful and we thought the yeast was moving into my milk ducts so I stopped pumping and now am formula feeding. This was extremely difficult for me b/c I wanted to breastfeed for at least 6 months however, I have learned that you have to roll with the punches when you have a kid and do what you have to do to survive.
  We are finally in somewhat of a routine and I am feeling better about life with an infant. My son is smiling more and more and reacting to the world around him with awe. I am loving being a mom and enjoying the little delights he brings to my life. Of course we have our moments, mostly at night when he is fussy and want to be held non stop, or cries for no apparent reason, but I am holding on to hope that he will grow out of it soon.
  There is still one thing we really need to work on within the next few weeks and months and that is trying to get Huxley to sleep in his bassinet in our room; we have only got him to do it a few times for a few hours. Usually Huxley and I sleep in the front room and I am not sure how to transition him to sleeping in the bedroom so if anyone has any advice I am open to suggestions. Well I guess that's all for my first blog, just a quick history about the last couple months in my life. Please tell me your stories about your life as a parent.