Rediscovering White Noise

A.K.A.  I'm finally getting some sleep

It's a good thing babies are cute.  Nolan has been sleeping like a baby.  You know up every couple of hours crying and wanting to eat.  It got worse around 3 months and lasted about a month.  I was exhausted and cranky and pretty much a zombie.  At his 4 month appointment I mentioned his horrible sleep to our pediatrician.  Not really normal as he was waking 3-4 times every night.  She suggested sleep training him (ie let him fuss it out more) or possibly trying a little baby cereal at bedtime.  We sleep trained two nights before I decided to give the cereal a little try.  He was up an hour later with crying and tummy ache/gas pain.  We hoped it was a fluke and tried again the next night with more time between cereal and bedtime.  He barely went down this time and same tummy trouble.  So cereal was out.  We'll try again around 6 months as planned.

Somewhere amid the bloodshot eyes and collapse in brain function one of us remembered the girls doing well with white noise and a strict bed routine.  So I found a white noise machine the next day and tried out a bed routine of rocking him and reading/looking at a book with Nolan then feeding him and laying him down drowsy but awake as usual.  Holy cow!  The kid slept and he slept good.  He went down around 7:30 or 8 pm and didn't stir until about 1:30 am.  Unheard of.  We both woke around 1 am and asked the other if he'd woken up yet.  I even sent Jeff in to check on him.  Out cold.  Praise to the white noise machine.  He woke up shortly after the check and wanted to eat.  I fed him and put him back down within 15-20 minutes.  He was out again until almost 6:00 am.  It was marvelous.  And it pretty much happened again last night.  I feel so rested.  Rested to the point I'm almost groggy when I wake up because I'm not used to so much sleep.  Yeah!!  Normal sleep is coming back in the picture for a visit...you know until teething or a growth spurt hits again.

A cute picture of the littles...they all looked at me for it...AMAZING!!

4 Month Update

*as with my girls these updates are for me to keep and remember.

Weight / Length:  14 lbs 11 oz (32%) and 26.38 inches (91%).  Head circ. 42.7 cm (61%)

Eating:  We are still breastfeeding (yeah!).  We did run into him refusing bottles for about a month but I kept pressing the issue and finally found a bottle and hopefully formula that he will accept should the need arise (date night pretty please).  He is hitting 4 months for "solids" but I'm going to try putting this off until 6 months or until he shows more interest in what we eat.  Also want to skip the rice cereal stage if possible but may use it for breakfast once we get going that route.  He did show interest when I drink water around him and loves to grab at the glass and drink a little ice water from our cups (he sticks his tongue in or we give him tiny sips).

Development:   Nolan has good head control.  He does better with tummy time and likes to look at toys and faces this way.  He has rolled from tummy to back a few times.  The first time (around 3 months) I barely put him on his tummy and turned to get some toys and turned back around he was on his back looking surprised ("woah...what just happened?).  He loves to babble, laugh and squeal with delight.  He is starting to grab things more with his hands.  He loves sucking on his hands constantly.  Usually he sticks his index finger and thumb into his mouth.  I think he's grabbing at or playing with his tongue.  

Physical Therapy/Torticollis:  His PT is going well.  He had a month between his intake and first appointment and immediately was doing well enough to do every other week appointments instead of weekly.  Of course our next bi-monthly appointment was cancelled due to him getting sick so it will be another month between appointments again now (yuck!).  His movement is great, head control is great but his flat spot still remains.
As of February 9th:  He had an improvement from 10 mm to 8 mm with his flat spot.  His tilt and turn are doing well but still need a little more improvement.  Most likely he won't need a helmet though if his head shape keeps improving by 6 months.  Yeah!!

Sleep:  He doesn't sleep so good at night anymore.  He is going down around 8:30 pm and then is up at 11-11:30, 2:30-3 and then 5:30 am.  Then usually sleeps until 7:30-8 am when the girls get up.  I don't know if it's for hunger or comfort.  I still get okay sleep so it's not too torturous yet.  Hopefully it'll improve again soon.  Naps are improving which I am grateful for (usually one one-hour in the morning and one two-hour in the early afternoon).  The house recovers and the girls get some attention during this time.  We're hoping to move his crib into his own room so hopefully this will somehow help improve his sleeping.  

Fun Memories:  He enjoyed time with Grandma and Grandpa B for Christmas.  They were both good with him and he would soak in the attention and cuddles he got.  Grandpa B was particularly good at getting him to calm down or sleep during the cranky time.  He would rock and hum to him and Nolan would just stare at him and doze off usually.  We haven't been out much since the new year due getting sick a couple weeks into it and this cold has last two weeks now.

Looking Forward to:  Grateful to have the house coming back together (usually).  Kendall and Seren will be starting preschool in the fall and they are excited for this.  We're also going to visit Grandparents B this summer so we're looking forward to the time with them (we haven't told the girls still haha but I'm sure they'll be excited).  Hoping to finish putting together Nolan's room soon and then move him over.  I need to sew curtains as those I ordered were horrible.  Also going to be doing a minor remodel on the girls room.  Seren fell out of the top bunk about a week ago (thankfully no broken bones or injuries) so I'm getting rid of the bunk beds as they take up too much space when unbunked.  Going to be a busy little time for a bit I guess.

My stinkin cute little boy

Lots of blur from all of his movement this time

Love his skin and kissable cheeks

...and those eyes.  Be still my heart.

3 Month Update

*as with my girls these updates are for me to keep and remember.

Weight / Length:  Around 14 lbs with scale at home.  Length unknown.  Wearing 3-6 month clothes as of almost a month ago.

Eating:  We are still breastfeeding (yeah!).  We have actually run into the opposite kind of snag (problem?) in that Nolan is refusing bottles now.  It happened during the holidays and I've tried formula supplement (new formula though), breast milk and medium flow nipple.  He won't have anything to do with anything but direct breastfeeding right now.  I hope it doesn't stick.  I may try the supplementing formula we started with but other than that I'm at a loss for what to try.

Development:   Nolan has good head control.  He still doesn't love tummy time but he tolerates it and doesn't cry immediately (the holidays and relatives holding him have probably put a slight damper on tummy time).  He loves to babble.  He is starting to grab things more with his hands.  He loves sucking on his hands too.  He has started laughing and squealing a little. 

Sleep:  He sleeps good at night.  Naps are touch and go though.  He recently started going to sleep around 8 or 9 pm though so hopefully that is why.  He sleeps 8 to midnight or 1 am and then again until 6 am (then another hour or two until I get up with the girls).

Fun Memories:  Nolan slept through Christmas.  He was a good baby for the holidays and enjoyed time spent with both grandparents.  We saw the ZooLights at Hogle Zoo before Christmas and he was interested in the lights and would stare but eventually gave into the warm snuggles of being strapped moby-style to me.

Looking Forward to:  More baby giggles.  Nolan being able to grab and play with more things.  Summer and warm weather to get outside more.

3 month comparison with Mario

Love his little grins and giggles

Wide eyed wonder

Happy 4th Birthday Kendall and Seren

How did they ever grow up so fast?  My little babies are turning into beautiful, spunky and loving girls.  They were so excited for their birthday.  I think next year for the big 5 we'll actually try to throw a little birthday party but again this year we enjoyed the small family get together without too much work.  Grandparents D stopped by the day before to wish them well and give them presents (big fluffy blankets and princess pajamas) that they love.  

We went to church that morning and since I was subbing for a primary teacher during this time I was able to watch the primary sing Happy Birthday to them.  They soaked it in.  They each got to wear a special party hat during the song and Kendall's hat had to be held on or it fell off.  She tentatively tried to let go of it and it toppled to the floor.  A boy in her class got the giggles about this and I was worried she would get embarrassed or sad and start crying.  But nope she picked it back up and laughed too then purposefully let it fall off again for another laugh.  I was proud of her for making light of it and not shying away from the attention.  

Grandparents B and my sister were there for dinner and the actual birthday.  The girls enjoyed a meal of their choice (pasta with white sauce) followed by gift giving and then cake and ice cream.  They helped me decorate the cake earlier in the day.  Grandparents B gave them a ballet outfit for their dolls and a Frozen sing-along microphone.  We were all serenaded with their singing and enthusiasm over this the rest of the night.  Jeff and I gave them a Barbie and a sleeping bag and camping chairs.  They were excited to try out the bags and wanted to go camping right away (not to be bothered with the snow on the ground).  We opted to let them sleep in the bags that night instead and that sufficed for now. 

First and Fourth Christmas

We had a great Christmas.  We were delighted to have my parents come up from Florida to visit us and surprise the girls.  They weren't toooo surprised (I don't think they understand how far away Florida is haha).  Nolan was a good baby for his first Christmas and promptly slept through most of the gift giving and unwrapping.  The girls were thrilled to make cookies for Santa and sing Christmas songs and talk about the magic of the season. We visited Santa on three different occasions and each time they asked for the same things.  Kendall wanted a tablet (with kid games...no grown up games) and Seren wanted a doll.  Santa came through with two of each thanks to some surprise help from family in Florida.  We were spoiled and grateful.  We even got one magical family picture of everyone looking at the camera and smiling.  Love this little family of mine.  

That Darn Torticollis (evaluation appointment)

I went to Nolan's physical therapy evaluation and intake appointment yesterday.  The therapist was very nice and good with him.  She explained more about the tilt and lean/turn that Nolan was doing and which muscles were causing the issue (good to know as I had it reversed).  She used her "tools" to measure how much progress he would need to make and where he was at now.  One looked like a giant protractor she laid on the floor with him to measure how much he could move without resistance/grump.  And the other was like a soft clamp that she measured the difference of his head with (the flat side versus the rounded back of his  head to over the opposite eye).  He had an 11 cm difference.  If he were closer to 6 months old this would mean Nolan would need a helmet but since he is still so young she believes we'll be able to correct the problem and his skull will fix itself before it's an issue.  My understanding is around 9 months is when head shape begins to be permanent.

We'll be going to physical therapy weekly for the first month and then every other week after that along with doing lots of exercises and stretches for him at home.  I hope we see an improvement rather quickly and the therapist thinks it will only take 6-8 visits to get him on the right track and hopefully be done.  He is still such a happy baby and very easy going with the stretches we are to do with him.

2 Month Update

*as with my girls these updates are for me to keep and remember.

Weight / Length:   12 lb 9 oz (76%), 24.21 inches (88%) and head circ 40.2 cm (53%)

Appointment Notes:  We talked about tummy time and Nolan's dislike for it.  Also determined that he probably has a little torticollis and Dr G wants him to be evaluated for physical therapy.  I think he's doing better now that he is fully in the crib but Dr G thought his neck muscles still felt a little tight toward his left side.  Other than that he is doing great and no concerns.

Eating:  We are still breastfeeding and still have the same tub of formula sitting around (yeah!).  I'm debating between buying a backup tub or those nice travel pouches (I usually only supplement on the go) or just using a different formula sample we got from my ob/gyn appointment.  Still happy it's working though and hoping to push until at least 6 months and maybe a year but we'll see.

Development:   Nolan has great head control.  He is very alert  and likes to look around.  Despite this he hates tummy time (okay he doesn't cry anymore but he usually just lays his head down and chills out haha).  He seems to try to immitate "Hi" and loves to make eye contact and smile and coo.  He loves watching his sisters as they run around or lay/sit by him to entertain him.

Sleep:  He started sleeping in his Rock n Play due to a stuffy cold and darn it all he got pretty attached to it.  It cradles, rocks and vibrates so I can't blame him.  I've been trying to break him of the habit for the last couple of weeks and had a breakthrough a few nights ago.  I rolled up a blanket next to him (hoping it would make him feel more secure) and he went down without a fuss.  So now he naps better and sleeps good at night also.  He's in our room and won't move to his own room until next year due to the holidays and honestly not wanting to fight him on it just yet either.  3 months is a good time to hit that goal right? haha  He goes to sleep between 10-11 pm at night until 2:30 (he has hit 4:00 am a couple of times...wow) and then again until 6:30-8:30 am.  

Fun Memories:  The girls still love on him.  Seren is especially attached and likes to touch his head, hold him and lean on or near him.  Kendall is okay with him but seems a little worried about hurting him, so we try to encourage her and she's getting better.  Kendall is the first to ask "How is Nolan doing?" before she goes to sleep and loves to observe what he's doing and tell us.  Nolan spent his first Thanksgiving sleeping most of the time on my chest.  The girls are excited for Christmas and wrapped presents for him to open.

Looking Forward to:  I hope he starts enjoying tummy time more so that he'll eventually be more mobile.  It will be fun to do Christmas stuff with the girls and Nolan.  They love to see the lights.  We've driven through Layton city lights twice now in a week and even Nolan stops fussing once there are above lights that he can see.  

It blows me away how much he has changed in one month