Have I Your Heart, My Darling?

So, we looked at the two houses on Saturday. The first house was a smaller version of the house we want, which would have been great. But, it reeked of smoke! The owners (who still lived there) didn't even try to cover up the smell! I left with my stomach upset and a headache. The house had really nice carpet, and I just know the smell of smoke would never come out! The second house was nice, but a very interesting floor plan. You walk in (through the front door) into the "middle" level, which was the kitchen, breakfast nook, dining/living room, half bathroom and a sliding glass door to the backyard. Then, if you go up the stairs (about 6 steps), there's the 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. If you go down the stairs (again, about 6 steps), it's a large living area, glass doors to the backyard, laundry room, and door to the garage. We don't really want a 2 story house (or a 3 story/split level), since Lydia and stairs don't mix just now. Plus, we think we'd get tired of the set up of the house. So, we still love our original house the best.

After looking at the houses on Saturday, we went to Target to get Lydia an umbrella stroller. We didn't want just the simple kind - like my parent's have for the grandkids - we wanted one that would last for a long time. We found a brown stroller that was on clearance (originally $80, on sale for $40). It's really nice. It folds up just as small as a little umbrella stroller, has a small basket underneath, and shoulder straps. I like the shoulder straps since Lydia isn't sitting up on her own yet. Technically, you're not supposed to put a 4 month old baby in this type of stroller, but Lydia loves it. She likes being able to see out, instead of just up (like her car seat stroller). I like carrying her around in the front pack or sling, but we can go on longer walks with this stroller. She liked riding around in it when we went looking for flip flops for Daddy.

Brian is the hardest person to find flip flops for. First of all, flip flops are "out of season" in most stores (although they're year round for Brian), so finding a store that had nice flip flops was difficult. Second of all, Brian has huge feet - size 12 - so finding a store that has flip flops AND his size was difficult. We finally found some at American Eagle (on sale for $10) and then another pair at Hollister (on sale for $10). 

Leah and I went to a kid's consignment store and found tons of new toys for our babies! Leah's mother-in-law gave us a vanity and an outdoor play house that she found at a garage sale. We found a cute little chair, a dinosaur that makes noise and you put balls in, a new see-and-say, and a few other toys. The consignment store is really nice. I even found a Halloween costume for Lydia - she's going to be a little lamb! So cute! We are getting our center set up for toddlerhood. Our babies are all walking, except N (but he'll probably walk before we know it) and need older toys. We also want to make centers for them. We'll have a dramatic play center, quiet area with pillows and books, and the manipulatives center, with all the blocks and puzzles. We're very excited about working with toddlers!

Leah and I also went to HEB to get food for the babies for next month. Lydia came with us so Daddy could play his video game and relax before another week of teaching 6th graders. She rode in my sling the whole time (and of course got a lot of compliments). The sling was very comfortable and my shoulder only started hurting by the time we were finished. Lydia loves riding around in the sling. I knew she wouldn't last long in her car seat, since she loves being held. But, she gets so heavy! So the sling is the best thing. 

Always Dreams With You, Never Common Sense

I never imagined how long the process of buying a house could be! We made an offer on the house down the street, but it's too low of an offer. Before we go up in price, Brian and I are going to look at two other 4 bedroom houses in our neighborhood. These houses are lower in price (about the amount of the offer we made on the first house) and look nice from the pictures online. Of course, they don't come with as much - no washer/dryer, no refrigerator, etc. But, if it's lower in price, we can spend the money on new appliances. I look forward to looking at these new houses. Even though the house down the street is still "perfect" and we both like it, I convinced Brian to look at other houses before we offer a higher price. Maybe we'll end up really liking one of these two houses.

These past two work days have been so easy. Thursday we only had 3 babies and Friday we only had 4! Even though we haven't had all 6 of the babies, we still didn't get out of work until after 6:00. Next week, we may even only have 2 babies on one day, but will still get out after 6:00. At least it's some sort of a break. J's mom mentioned a friend who heard about our daycare and really liked it. He has a son J's age, which is the perfect age we're looking for, so it would be nice if we could get a friend to take Little R's place. The friend is in another daycare, so it may not happen, though. Hopefully we'll find something.

I've learned that Lydia really likes The Wiggles. She was screaming and screaming the other night, but it wasn't quite bedtime yet, so I went on netflix and put on a Wiggles movie and she immediately stopped crying! Then, last night when Brian was watching her, but he needed to grade papers, we put her on her tummy to watch The Wiggles and she loved it! She was even talking to them! When I watched it with her, I made sure to talk to her about what we were watching, which made me feel better (it was an "activity" we did together). I don't want to get her addicted to TV already, but it's nice to have something that will distract her for about 15 minutes.

A's mom gave Lydia a ton of her old 3-6 month clothes. A whole, huge bag full! I went through them and am so excited. A was born in September, so she has several jackets that will fit Lydia by the time it gets cold. Plus, lots of cute pajamas (Lydia was growing out of hers), and onesies. I love getting the hand-me-down clothes. Especially A's, since she has tons of different clothes. It will still be hard for me to not buy Lydia anymore clothes. Even though she has more than enough, it's hard to pass up all those cute baby girl clothes!

Today, either after looking at houses or before, we're getting Lydia a small umbrella stroller to take her on walks in. It's sometimes difficult with the front carriers and the sling, and we can go on longer walks with her in the stroller. We're also going to get her a toy, since she likes playing with some of the toys in the center. 

Even though I'm up at 6:00 on a Saturday morning, I know today's going to be a great day!

It Will, If You Want it to Darling

Brian and I have found the "perfect" house. It's just across the street from our current home, has four bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, breakfast nook, dining room, front room, living room, washer and dryer, two car garage, and a huge backyard. I liked it when I walked past it a few months ago and saw the "for sale" sign out front. I liked it when I looked at the pictures online. And I really liked it when I got to walk around inside it. We're gradually starting the process of owning our own home. I can't believe how expensive homes are, or how long the process of buying a home is! This is all new to both of us, but luckily we have a good Realtor (my parent's friend) who is willing to walk us through the process. I wish we could just up and move into the house this weekend...but it takes much, much longer than that.

Just when we've decided to start looking into buying a house, which will then consist of house payments (much more expensive than the rent we currently pay), our youngest baby is leaving Family Infant Home Care. His unmarried parents (mom is 20, dad 36) are not getting a long, and dad isn't all she thought he'd be. So, mom is taking baby and moving to California. Which means, we're back to 5 babies. This 6th spot has been "cursed", as we like to say. Little R (the one who's leaving), was signed up to come to FIHC before he was even born, but then his mom backed out because of money and transportation issues the week before he was due. Then, we thought a little baby, Miley, was coming at the beginning of June, but her parents backed out the week she was supposed to start. Then, we thought we had found a baby in July, but she was 18 months old (and very tall) and we decided she wasn't a good fit for the center. Then, Little R came back to us, but after 2 months is leaving. We want to start looking for another baby to fill the spot, but at the same time, we are so comfortable with the 5 wonderful babies we have now. But, that extra tuition check a month would be very nice. We think we're going to set a certain time limit - such as the end of October - to find a baby (one that fits our specifications - 10 to 16 months old with parents we like). If we haven't found one by then, then we won't fill the 6th position, and just stick with our 5. Hopefully, if we're meant to have 6 babies, we'll find a good match by then.
Lydia has not joined us in our bed for two nights now. She goes to bed at 7:30, is dreamfed at 9:30, wakes up at 11:30. Brian pats her down, but she has woken up shortly after that, so I feed her and she's asleep again by 12:00. She wakes up again at 3:30 and I nurse her and put her back in her crib. Then she doesn't wake up again until 6:00 - 10 minutes before my alarm! I think I'm going to have Brian pat her down at 3:30 and maybe she'll sleep until 4:00 or 4:30, so she won't wake up until 6:30. At least she's only down to waking up twice a night now. Soon I won't even remember what it was like to wake up every few hours each night and will be enjoying a full nights sleep!

With Everything I Could Possibly Hope For

This week was long and I was exhausted by Friday. Since Lydia's been sleeping in her room by 7:30 each night, Brian and I have managed to go to bed early (by 9:30 at the latest) every night! I never knew I'd be so excited to get to bed before 10:00 each night.

Despite our exhaustion, Leah and I went out on a "girl's night" Friday night. N's parents gave us a $25 gift card to Red Robin for allowing him to come at 6:45 each morning (and he usually didn't leave until 6:15pm!). So, we got a little cleaned up, left the boys to fend for themselves (they had wings and steak), put Lydia to bed and gave Brian the monitor, and headed off by ourselves! We went to Red Robin, ate too much, then to the Palladium for a movie. We saw THE SWITCH, with Jennifer Anniston and Jason Bateman. We really wanted to see EASY A, but it was sold out. However, THE SWITCH was actually a really good movie - I really liked the little boy and Jason Bateman's character.

Brian and I got up when Lydia got up on Saturday morning (7:45) and started getting ready for heading to Austin. We tried packing up an extra portable mini crib from the center (now that A, B & C are on cots we have extra cribs that we want to sell) to bring to Brian's parent's house. But, the crib didn't fit (despite Brian taking it completely apart - he can't wait for his truck!). We took Lydia's play gym, her boppy, her quilt, packed her diaper bag with extra diapers (forgot extra wipes), lots of milk and bottles, and headed off. 

We stopped first at Shepler's for Brian to buy his new boots. He wanted boots made out of Caiman (some kind of crocodile or alligator, right?), but they didn't have any his size. After much searching, he found boots he liked made out of python skin (yes, python). At first he was upset because they didn't have a size 12 (he has big feet), but an 11.5 fit him perfectly. The boots were on sale for $319.00 (originally $449.00). He also bought a new button down shirt and a belt. He had a 20% off coupon, so saved a lot of money. After an hour there, we finally headed off to Austin, but not before Lydia had a blow out in the store; Shepler's bathrooms doesn't have a changing table, so I had to change her in the car, and used up all my extra wipes.

Lydia slept the whole way to Austin, which was very nice. We went to HEB to pick up lunch for everyone; three frozen California Pizza Kitchen pizzas and some salads. We made it to the Pfeiffer house by 12:30, had lunch and visited. Lydia played in her play gym. By 2:00, we were ready to go shopping and Lydia was getting fussy - a perfect time to leave her with the grandparents!

I found a really nice pair of jeans at Old Navy - jeans that actually fit really well - so I bought 2 pairs. I also got two new pairs of sweatpants for work, and several t-shirts for work. I spent about $150.00 at Old Navy. Then, on to A'Gaci. It was a small store, so I only found a cute dress and a cute blouse, plus a bunch of my favorite undershirts in a variety of colors (spent about $60.00 there). At Forever 21, I found several cute shirts and spent about $50.00, I think. I bought a super nice bra at Victoria's Secret for $45.00. At Aeropostale, I bought a plaid button down shirt to match Brian (he's been wanting me to get one) and two t-shirts for work; totaling $45.00. At Macy's I bought a long dress (only $4.99!), a cardigan, two three t-shirts and a short dress; totaling $50.00, I think - most of the clothes were on clearance. Then I bought two pairs of shoes at Payless - sneakers and moccasins - totaling $50.00. So, I spent about $450.00 at Barton Creek Mall on my new wardrobe and have about $50.00 left! I think I'm going to buy some more bras at Target, and maybe some more t-shirts for work.

My loot:

9 blouses for the weekends and going out

5 t-shirts for work

3 dresses

2 pairs of shoes

1 bra

5 undershirts

1 cardigan
2 sweatpants 

I am now going to head over to my bedroom and get rid of all the clothes that no longer fit me, or that I no longer wear, and replace them with my new clothes! I will have to take a picture of my closet when I am finished organizing.

Late, Brian and I are going to tour houses in the neighborhood with my parents and their Realtor. Very exciting!

I Love You, I Do

Since my last post, Lydia's sleeping habits have changed again. She's back to waking up every 1 to 2 hours. I read through the "Baby Whisperer's" book, but was not impressed. She didn't agree with crying it out, or co-sleeping and tried to stay somewhere in the middle. But, there was no clear way she suggested to get the baby to sleep through the night. I don't agree with Dr. Sears' method, in that I don't want to co-sleep with Lydia, don't think I should walk or rock her to sleep, but I do agree that I want her to feel safe and comfortable and loved when I put her to bed. I don't agree with Dr. Ferber, either. I'm not going to let Lydia cry it out just yet. When she's a toddler, then yes, she should be able to sleep (I like Jo Frost's way of putting children to bed) on her own. But, until then, I'll just have to come up with something on my own.

Last night, I decided I wasn't going to "dreamfeed", which was a mistake since Lydia woke up at 10:30, (3 hours after eating) versus usually waking up at 11:30-12:30. I had Brian go in when she first woke up and pat her down. It took him about 10 minutes. Lydia then woke up at 11:30. I nursed her, she fell right to sleep. She woke up again at 1:45, I nursed her, and went back down at 2:00. She woke up again at 4:15 and I took her to bed with us, nursing her. She woke up at 6:03 - 7 minutes before my alarm. 

Tonight, I'll dreamfeed her, hoping that she'll stay asleep until almost midnight, then have Brian pat her down. I'm trying to get rid of this midnight feeding. I think she's just in the habit of waking up at this time, not because she's hungry. I change her diaper at the 1:45 wake up, since she has a hard time sleeping in a wet diaper.

Yesterday was a hectic Monday with all the kids screaming and tired. I was exhausted, since Lydia didn't sleep well at all (not even in our bed). I was able to take a 30 minute nap on the couch while the kids were sleeping. Luckily, A was picked up by 1:30, so that made the afternoon a lot easier. She is a handful - always pulling hair, grabbing toys, scratching faces. She doesn't understand the meaning of "no" yet, and doesn't listen when her name is called. Today, B went home early (good thing since she's recently started biting) and R showed up late.

I'm ready for the weekend! We're going shopping in Austin while Brian's parents babysit Lydia. Brian gets his first teacher's paycheck on Wednesday (YEAH!) and since he did math camps over the summer, we each get to go on a shopping spree! I haven't bought many  new clothes since I was pregnant, so I want a whole new wardrobe! Very excited.

Did You Ever Think of Marrying Just for Fun?

Lydia has been sleeping great lately! I've changed her routine a bit. Instead of putting her to sleep in our bed, I nurse her in her room and then put her in her crib. The first night I had to pat her for about 10 minutes after placing her in her crib, while last night she went right to sleep. The reason I put her to sleep in our room first was because Brian's computer is in Lydia's room. I didn't want to deny him his computer since the baby is sleeping. But, we talked about it, and if she sleeps better by starting off in her own bed, then no computer after 7:30 at night. (Of course, I have a laptop that he can go on.)

Yesterday, she slept in until 8:00am. I was still SO tired, after a long week of working, so Brian got up with her. I slept in until 9:45! It was amazing! Lydia then went down for a nap around 10:30 and I had 1.5 hours to myself (Brian was at a meeting and then chatted with his parents on the phone). Brian said he'd give me the morning/afternoon off by taking Lydia out to run errands with him (he has never gone out with Lydia by himself). I was excited about the prospect of having time to myself. But, after being on my own for 1.5 hours earlier, I was bored without Lydia and Brian to entertain me, so I went on the errands with them!

We went to First Mark Bank (where Brian worked in the Fall) to hand in Lydia's paperwork for her college account we've already started. Lydia was passed around among his co-workers, something she recently doesn't enjoy, plus she was tired. But, they enjoyed finally seeing Lydia and chatting with Brian. Then, we went to Wal-Mart because I wanted to get a princess mobile for Lydia's bed. It was originally $20, but was on clearance for $7. It's a good thing too, since it's pretty "cheapy" looking, but still cute. I also got her some cute princess bibs (she's been drooling and spitting up more often), a picture frame for her cross-stitch that I finally finished, and Brian got a Dallas Cowboys t-shirt. Then we went to Half-Price Books because his co-worker had mentioned the book "Baby Whisperer" for helping Lydia sleep better at night. I found the book, plus a fun book, and Brian found two books.

Brian went for a hair cut while Lydia took a nap, and then we went to FreeBirds to get dinner and rented two movies from Redbox - CLASH OF THE TITANS and THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG. Lydia went to bed by 8:00 and we started the movies.

CLASH OF THE TITANS was pretty good. Of course, I had to look up about the gods on wikipedia during the movie and pointed out the differences between the myths and what the movie portrayed. Perseus didn't marry Andromeda! I don't even think Io was part of Perseus' myth; what was she doing in this movie?! Overall, the movie was action packed and kept Brian's attention. I framed Lydia's cross-stitch and went on wikipedia throughout the movie.

THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG started off good. I liked the animation and the characters. However, I did not like the Shadow Man character and how he had "friends on the other side". His magic was way too dark for a Disney movie. I would expect that from a Warner Brothers movie (like in THE SWAN PRINCESS or ANASTASIA), but never in a Disney movie. The shadow creatures were way too scary and dark. Plus, the little firefly DIES! A good character dying?! No way! I decided that Lydia will not watch this movie, and we will not own it as a Disney princess movie. I love the classic Disney princess movies: damsels in distress, handsome princes who come to the rescue, catchy songs, lovable characters, etc. These new, modern-day princess movies are not and never will be as good as the original ones.

Lydia slept until 2:30! From 7:30 to 2:30! I "dream-fed" her at 11:30 when we went to bed, so that might have helped (and she was getting a little restless). Then she slept until 5:00, when she joined us in our bed. She woke up at 7:00, but I convinced her to sleep until 8:00. Now I'm trying to get her to take nap, then I'll get Brian up so I can shower and get ready for church.

I'll see if the "baby whisperer" has better ideas about getting Lydia to sleep through the night, so her routine may change again. But, I really want to get rid of at least one of her night time feedings.

The Happiest Days are When Babies Come

Every time I look at Lydia, I think back to when she was "tiny". At 3 1/2 months, she's over 12 pounds and nearly 24 inches long. To think that I thought 7 pounds and 21 inches was big! Luckily for Lydia, her Daddy is 6'2" and skinny (as is the rest of his family), so she'll probably be tall and slender. Hopefully taller than me; at 5'2" it won't be too hard to beat.

Here are some pictures of Lydia's progress so far.

Me at about 8 1/2 months pregnant.

Lydia at only an hour old.

Lydia at 3 days old.

Lydia at 1 month old.

Lydia at 2 months old.

Lydia at 3 months old.

I'm Going to Live Through This....

Things I miss doing before we had Lydia:

- playing the piano anytime I wanted to, without having to worry about waking up a baby, or being distracted by her cries

- reading a book whenever I wanted and for however long I wanted

- sleeping straight through the night (haven't done that since I was 5 months pregnant)

- sleeping in late on the weekends

Things I miss about being pregnant:

- the excited/nervous/expectant feeling I always felt when I looked down at my growing belly

- how I could get away with taking naps anytime I wanted

- how I got away with calling in "sick" at work

- being able to weigh however much I wanted to, and eat however much I wanted to

Things I love about taking care of a baby:

- snuggling with someone who depends solely on you

- waking up early (the weekends feel longer when you're awake for most of them)

- her smiles

- looking up new techniques for getting her to sleep through the night, get rid of a cold, etc.

- getting excited about each and every milestone she reaches (smiling, rolling over, cooing, not screaming all the time)

- how everyone compliments me on how beautiful my baby is

- putting her to sleep at night (giving a bath, getting her into pajamas, reading and singing to her)

- singing silly kid songs

- watching her daddy hold her and spoil her

- having someone else to worry about other than myself (it has helped me become less selfish)

I Don't Know Nothin' 'Bout Birthin' Babies!

Lydia has slept in her crib for three nights now. The first night, Brian and I slept on the futon in her room. She woke up the same amount of times as she usually did in her bassinet. The next night, we slept in our room and she slept in hers. It was hard for me to go to sleep, listening for her sounds on the monitor. She woke up a few less times than normal.

Last night, she woke up at 10:00 (right after I put her in her crib) because her nose was so stuffy! She had been really congested during the day. I bought some saline drops and put them in her nose, plus she has a humidifier, but she was still congested and would wake up coughing. I cleaned out her nose at 10:00, then she slept until 1:00. I cleaned out her nose again and put her back to sleep (without nursing). I thought for sure she'd wake up again at 3:00, but she didn't! She slept straight to 5:00! I was very excited - 4 straight hours of sleep! (Of course, I did wake up around 3:00 to check on her.) I brought her into bed with us at 5:00 and nursed her - but she didn't fall asleep! She was too busy talking, until she finally dozed off around 5:30 and let me sleep until 6:10 when my alarm went off. She then woke up at 6:30. Hopefully her nose will clear up today so she will have a great night's sleep tonight!

We went to Guadalupe State Park yesterday with my family (grandfather, parents, cousin, sister, brothers, sister-in-law and nephew). It was a blast! We bought Lydia a life jacket in case we were going toobing (yes, we're over-protective parents). She will fit in it next year, since it's for up to 30 pounds. Lydia did not like the cold river water at all! She did like to lay out in the shade with her hat and sunglasses on, though! I was worried she would get sunburned (put on sunscreen twice), but she didn't. We went back to my parents house and had home made ice cream - yum! We had to leave the house early, though, since we both worked early in the morning. I hate when three day weekends are over!

Sunday, after church and lunch, I went to Regis and got my hair cut - over 6 inches off! I feel so much better about my hair now. I usually go to Great Clips, since it's cheap, but since I was cutting off a lot, I wanted it to look good. At Regis, they wash your hair, cut it, then style it! My hair was never going to look that good again. I wish my hairdresser could do my hair every morning! I dyed my hair a dark brown that night. I haven't been able to dye my hair since before I got pregnant! It's so nice to have nice colored hair, versus the ugly dirty blonde/light brown hair that I had. I forgot to take before and after photos.

We bought Lydia the CUTEST princess rug at Wal-Mart (it was on clearance!). Her room is starting to look more like a nursery and less like an "office" or a "back room". Now that she's sleeping in her room, I want her to have a nice nursery. I already know just how I want her nursery to look when we get our own house and she finally doesn't have to share with the computer (or the futon)!

It is so rainy and dreary out today. I wish we didn't have to work and could just watch movies all day! These kiddos are driving me crazy. It's always hard to get them back in schedule after the weekend, and especially after a 3-day weekend!

Home. I'll Go Home!

Brian and I recently started talking about our goals for next year. Here's a few:

- Owning/Renting our own house: We've lived with Leah and Jessie in the "Springtime House" that my parents "flipped" in 2008. Leah and Jessie have the master bedroom and bathroom while Brian and I have the other side of the house, two small bedrooms and a bathroom. The Home Care is in the large living room and dining room, and then there's a small front room with our TV and couch. It's been great living with the Carabajals (my sister and I have always known we'd be good housemates, as long as we have our own rooms!), and the rent (to my parents) is great, too. But, after a year and a half, and with the addition of Lydia and the Home Care, we're ready to get our own house. I would like to stay in this neighborhood, just so we're close to Leah and Jessie, and my "commute" to work won't be a long one. I'm excited about decorating the house with "grown-up" furniture; no more mismatched college stuff. Plus, I want to decorate Lydia's nursery super cute! Right now, she's sharing with the computer room.

- New Car: I really want Brian to get a new car. His is older, squeals when it starts up, sometimes stalls when it's started up and the A/C doesn't always work. I would also like him to have a nicer and newer car since he's driving to and from New Braunfels every day. He wants to get a truck. I want a Honda CRV. Since he's the one who will drive it the most, he can get his truck first. I told him that a car seat has to fit in the back, and he's already found one he likes. I think we're going to wait until January to get the truck, though.

- New Furniture/Decorations: As I mentioned with the first goal, I want to decorate the house in a "grown-up" way. After we get a house, I plan on redoing one room a month (at least) so that it's nicely decorated, feels homey, and is "grown-up". I really want a new couch for the living room. A new piano for the sitting room would be nice, too, but that's a goal for way down the road!

Lydia did really well at the birthday party yesterday, although she's going through a faze where she only likes mommy to hold her and cries when others try to. She didn't do as well in her crib as I thought she would. She slept like she did in the bassinet. But, I did forget to change her diaper at 12:00 when she woke up. We're going to try NOT sleeping in the same room as her (we slept on the futon last night) and see how that goes.

Great Balls of Fire! Don't Bother Me Anymore, and Don't Call Me Sugar!

I mentioned previously that I love my busy, hectic days. It's the truth. But, there are some days when I wish I could lay in bed for as long as I wanted, read a book all day, watch TV, play the piano, go out shopping, and do whatever I wish. Instead, Lydia wakes me up at 7:00 on a weekend, I have chores that need to be done (because I didn't feel like doing them during the week), places I need to go, and Lydia to take care of. On the weekends, when Lydia naps, I quickly get as much done as I can, instead of napping with her. Sometimes I want to return to my carefree days: before marriage, renting a house, working full-time, etc. 

I haven't had a free summer of no work since Summer 2004, after I graduated from High School. By Summer 2005, I was working at Concordia Child Care Center, and worked there for the Christmas holiday and again the next summer. After that, I was working at Showplace and Marketplace Theaters, summers 2007 and 2008. Summer 2009 had me working at Bright Horizons Child Care Center and Summer 2010 I'm working at Family Infant Home Care (my home daycare). This summer, Brian had his first summer off since sometime during High School when he started working at Target. I definitely envied him his free summer.

One day I plan on being simply a Stay-At-Home-Mom (SAHM). That had always been my dream as a little girl. I went to school to get a teaching degree, but I truly just wanted to stay at home and take care of my children. My mom is a SAHM and I always loved having her home when I got home from school. I want to be like that for my children. When I first started my full-time job at Showplace and Marketplace, I hated the fact that I had to go to work. When I started at Bright Horizons, I hated the fact that I had to work 5 days a week for 8 hours a day. That was hard! Now I'm working 5 days a week for 12 hours a day! I love my job and my busy life, but I could always use a break. Leah and I always say, "If I could only have a one week vacation, I'd be fine." 

Taking care of 7 babies (including Lydia) under the age of 16 months is exhausting, frustrating, but ultimately, rewarding. I love watching the babies grow and learn. When I first joined Leah at home in March, the babies weren't moving around very much. Now, most of them are walking and starting to say simple words! It's crazy! I always knew that watching and helping children grow and learn is what I wanted to do with my life. One day, I'll just be watching my babies grow and learn, but for right now, working with other parents' babies is what I want and love to do.

With my hectic schedule, I'm constantly exhausted and sometimes I take that out on Brian, my long-suffering husband. I'm sure he had no idea what he was getting himself into when he married me. He's handled my mood changes, temper, and constant need for attention quite well. As new parents, we are both still getting used to sleepless nights and being tired all day. He understands that when I get upset with him over little things, it's probably because Lydia didn't sleep well the night before and I'm tired. Hopefully, when Lydia starts sleeping through the night on a regular basis, I will be less tired, and therefore, nicer to him!

Last night, we had a "couples night". We played Rock Band and had a few drinks (Brian, Leah and Jessie did, anyway). It was nice to be able to take a break and just hang out with each other. Of course, Leah and I called it quits after 2 hours, while the boys stayed up late into the night talking and hanging out. 

Luckily, Lydia slept through all the noise. Although, when she woke up at 1:00am to eat, she wouldn't go back to sleep in her bassinet. I let her sleep with me the rest of the night. Tonight, we're going to try putting her to bed in her big crib, so I had one last night with her close to me (if the big crib works out).

How Fickle is Woman

As I mentioned yesterday, there are several things I do with Lydia that I thought or said I would never do. Here's a list of the ones I can think of:

- Sleeping on Tummy: I worked in daycares for about 2 years and was always taught the "back-to-sleep" philosophy. And when Lydia was really tiny, I followed that rule and never put her down on her tummy, unless it was to play (and always supervised). But, after reading and hearing from several other parents (and from my own experiences), I decided to let her sleep on her tummy once she had good head control. Babies (and toddlers and most adults) sleep better on their tummies. Also, Lydia wasn't able to move around as much to wake herself up (she didn't like to be swaddled at night).

- Pacifiers: I had not quite made up my mind about pacifiers by the time Lydia was born. Cons for pacifiers: bad teeth, doesn't encourage self-soothing, can become a habit. I used a pacifier as a baby, Brian did not. We both had to wear braces. As a childcare worker, we encouraged children to self-sooth, but I found I don't like my baby to cry it out. When used correctly, children can be broken from the pacifier habit. Lydia lasted 21 days without a pacifier. My mom eventually convinced me to try pacifiers because Lydia was a fussy baby and sometimes the only way to sooth her was to nurse. She took to the pacifier right away, but isn't dependent on it. It does help her go to sleep, though. I will not allow her to crawl/walk around with a pacifier in her mouth. It will ultimately become only a nap time/bedtime object and then she will no longer use it by the time she's two.

- Bottles: My mom breastfed 5 children; Brian's mom breastfed her 3 children. If they could do it, so could I. My mom only used supplementary bottles of breast milk with Leah and me. I had thought I wouldn't want to introduce a bottle, but after having to go off into a quiet room (at least at first) to nurse and missing out on conversations, not being able to go out of the house without Lydia for extended periods of time, not wanting to nurse in public (too often), I decided to introduce a bottle. Lydia took to the bottle right away - at first. By the time she was 2 months old, she no longer would take one. I finally found a nipple that she likes and that the breast milk should be warm. She gets one bottle a day to keep her in the habit. She'll need it for when she goes to BSF (Bible Study Fellowship), and so Brian and I can go out on dates! She doesn't drink formula, only pumped breast milk.

- Co-Sleeping: Like I mentioned before, I still don't like Lydia in our bed too often. But, if it will get us those few extra hours of sleep in the mornings, then I'll do it. When Lydia was super tiny, I never let her sleep in bed with us. But, once I discovered (and learned how) nursing while lying down, I bring her into bed with me in the mornings (no earlier than 4:30am). I never put her between Brian and me, since he will forget that she's in bed. I always seem to know she's right there with me, even when I'm sleeping. I know co-sleeping is a bad habit to introduce, but I don't mind if she comes into bed with Brian and me in the mornings, even when she's older. I always liked my parents' rule for Thomas: he could join them in bed when the sun was up!

I'm sure there will be a lot more to come. I have realized that you can't always follow the book with babies. Every baby is different and therefore requires different tactics to make them happy and healthy. I know I will probably be an over-protective mother and listen to "baby experts", but I also know I will let a few things slide (especially with my mom's influence and my sister's).

After All, Tomorrow is Another Day!

I've been trying to look up solutions to Lydia's sleep problems. As a tiny newborn, she woke up every few hours at night and slept a lot during the day. I was tired, but this was expected. After a few weeks, I put her on a sleep schedule in which, during the day, she could only sleep 2 hours at a time, and then had to be up for an hour in between. That way, she'd sleep longer at night. It worked really well.

At about 2 months old, Lydia dropped all her night feedings except for one. She'd go to bed at 8:30-9:00 and not wake up until 2:30-3:00 and then sleep again until 6:30-7:00. This was great for me...but I took it for granted! Just before she turned 3 months old, Lydia has started waking up often at night. She goes down at 7:30-8:00 and will then wake up at 12, 1, 2, 3, and 5. The first few times she wakes up, I just give her her pacifier and pat her bottom and she goes back to sleep. At the 3:00 wake up, I'll nurse her and put her back in her bassinet. By 4:30 or 5:00, she'll join me in bed when she wakes up and I'll nurse her while we sleep. These constant waking-ups are driving me crazy! I definitely don't get a good night's sleep with her waking up every hour.

The past few nights, I have changed her bedtime routine just a bit and started "dream feeding" her. We start getting her into her pajamas at around 7:30 and then I nurse her on one side while I read her a book. Then, I nurse her on the other side while laying down. This way, she will either fall asleep while nursing, or I put her on her tummy when she's done and pat her to sleep. She sleeps in my bed until Brian and I go to bed, around 9:30. I then "dream feed" her, in which I nurse her without really waking her up. She then goes into her bassinet. She'll wake up around 1:00 and I'll feed her, but then she'll keep waking up, restless. Last night, she decided that 4:00am was a good time to get up and play.

Brian eventually took her into the nursery (down the hall) so I could get some sleep. He put her in her big crib and said she fell asleep after only a few minutes of moving around. And, she stayed asleep until I had to wake her up at 7:00! We are going to try putting her in her big crib in her own room this weekend. We're going to sleep on the futon in that room for the first night or so (because I'm just a bit nervous about her being so far from me). We'll see if she does better. I feel that the bassinet is getting a little small for her and she doesn't find it comfortable anymore.

Lydia takes really good naps throughout the day - usually 2 two hour naps and 1 one hour nap. She's really good at sticking to the center's routine. I totally believe in routines for babies and Lydia seems to be doing great on the one we have set up (as do the other 6 babies).

I found that Lydia sleeps better on her tummy. Aunt Leah put her on the tummy first, for naps, when Lydia was less than 2 months old. When Lydia turned 2 months, I let her sleep on her tummy at night. She was really good at moving her head when on her tummy so I felt safe and confident that she would be fine on her tummy while sleeping, despite the SIDS scare. I have a movement monitor under her bassinet's mattress that detects when she moves. An alarm will go off if it doesn't detect movement after 20 seconds. This definitely helped in my decision to put her on her tummy. I had always thought that I would never put my baby on her tummy before she could roll over. But, now I know it's what is best for the baby. Lydia sleeps better on her tummy, so I let her sleep on her tummy. Of course, during naps, I check on her constantly. And, when she used to go 6 hours straight without waking at night, I would wake up randomly to check on her.

I had also said I would never co-sleep. But, when she wakes up at 4:30-5:00, I put her in bed with us to nurse and sleep until 6:00am (or later on the weekends). I never feel completely comfortable with her in our bed, which is why I limit the time she's sleeping with us - even though she always sleeps really well with us. I'm sure there's going to be a lot of things I said I would never do, but I'll end up doing it. Oh well. Each baby is different and whatever is best for baby goes.

My First Blog, My First Post

This is my first time writing a blog. So many of my friends have blogs and I love being able to keep up with them through their blogs. So, I decided to give it a try!

I am a stay-at-home mom, but I also run a home daycare with my sister. It's open Monday through Friday from 7:00am to 6:30pm (sometimes later). I am exhausted, but happy. I love being able to stay at home with my baby and contributing to the family finances. I sometimes wish I could just be at home with my baby, but then wonder what I would do all day. I enjoy taking care of the other babies and love that Lydia is able to be around other children her age. My day is hectic and I'm tired at the end of the day, but I'm enjoying life.

My daily schedule is something like this (Lydia's schedule included):

6:00-6:45am: force myself out of bed to get ready for the day (I usually end up getting up around 6:15)

6:45-7:00am: Leah and I get the center ready for the day; I get Lydia up and dressed

7:00-8:00am: the babies start to arrive (we usually have 5 by 8:00); I nurse Lydia

8:00-8:30am: breakfast for the babies and for us

8:30-9:00am: playtime; Lydia goes down for her morning nap

9:00-10:00am: snack time and more playtime; if Lydia doesn't wake up on her own, I wake her up a little before 10:00

10:00-10:45am: playtime outside (weather permitting); Lydia gets her breast milk bottle (about 2.5 oz)

10:45-11:15am: lunchtime and clean up; Lydia goes down for her late morning nap

11:15-11:30am: getting the babies to sleep

11:30-12:30pm: we get to eat lunch and relax while the babies sleep; I pump; one or two wake up after an hour

12:30-1:30pm: the babies get up and we have snack; Lydia wakes up and is nursed

1:30-2:30pm: playtime; Lydia goes down for her afternoon nap around 2:30

2:30-4:00pm: snack time, playtime, then the babies go down for another nap; Lydia wakes up and is nursed

4:00-6:00pm: babies are picked up slowly throughout the afternoon, they get another snack around 5:00; Brian comes home and takes Lydia; we start dinner and clean up

6:00-7:00pm: all the babies are picked up and we finish cleaning up the center and finish up dinner

7:00-7:30pm: we eat dinner and play with Lydia; Lydia gets a bath and then ready for bed

7:30-8:00pm: Lydia gets stories and songs, nurses, and is put to bed

8:00-9:00pm: mommy and daddy time

9:00-9:30pm: sleep!

It's a busy day, but I enjoy it! The weekends are slower; we usually can convince Lydia to sleep until 8:00. I like to go on "adventures" on the weekends. These can include shopping, parks, swimming, etc. We usually go over to my mom and dads on Sundays after church.

That's probably long enough for my first blog!