Playground fun

Hey mom! Want some mulch? It's delicious!

Zayd's First Pss-ghetti!

It's hard to baby whisper...

...over a baby screaming.

But we have had many small successes over tge past week. Wednesday we successfully began two naps and bedtime with nothing more than leg massage. No tears. Divine.

Then yesterday the manny told me that zayd just happened to fall asleep in his stroller so putting him down didn't require any baby whispering, otherwise referred to as the pick up/put down method. Grrr.

That led to today where zayd wants to know why we've returned to self soothing. Fifteen minutes for his morning nap, twenty five for the afternoon nap. That sleep cycle lasted a whopping six minutes. Bedtime was easy. He went down arty 7:30. It's 9:50 and I've whispered four times.

Im spent but trying to remember that last saturday I would have killed for a fifteen minute put down.

So, we are going to just keep on keepin on and sleep when we can. Nighty night!

The photo is just a thanks for reading gift.

Mirror mirror!

Somehow the weather here in sunny Texas has been divine lately! We are talkin mid 70's during the day and cold enough at night to need socks, hot cocoa, and a snuggle. That means Zayd and I are spending our days in the flower beds again. That is, when I can get Zayd to pull himself away from his lion mirror.

Maybe I should teach him the story of Narcissus? Just kidding! Who could help but stare into those deep brown eyes?

Knock, knock...

Zayd as accepted a new official duty in our house. Let's call it his first chore. He LOVES to open to door for people. More importantly, he likes to smile and then shut it in your face.

Come by and see for yourself!

Sleep Training - Or Die Trying

So, we have decided that it is time to Baby Whisper again. It had gotten pretty bad around these parts. I have personally gone to bed whenever my baby demands it MANY times these past few weeks because he wouldn't settle unless he was snuggled up in my arms in my bed.

We set out to

• teach him to self soothe
• stop using the yoga ball to bounce him to sleep
• stop nursing him to make him fall asleep
• get him on a proper schedule
• get him to stop the constant (sometimes hourly) nightwaking
• stop nursing him to sleep all night long
• stop letting him determine my bedtime

We use the Baby Whisperer, as you may be familiar. The book essentially calls for picking him up to soothe him and putting him down to let him fall asleep while sshhing and patting his back. At his age, the pickup is dangerous because he thinks its a rescue so basically I just lay him down as he tries to climb out of his crib. It's been 3.5 days and I have had mild success. Let's play a little game of guess who:

• Guess who cried during afternoon nap time today?
• Guess who got a few 3+ hour sleep stretches the last few nights? (Which is GOOD)
• Guess who slept in the crib last night?
• Guess who secretly wishes we would just quit baby whispering and nurse little Z to sleep?

The answer to all of the above is Zayd AND Mommy. Yes. We have both shed some tears and after 1.5 hours of pick up/put down last night, I just climbed in Zayd's crib and we went to sleep. It is kind of a success as I didn't nurse him, he didn't get bounced, and he didn't come into my bed before he was welcome. I do see the downside. It isn't lost on me.

So, that probably says more than I could ever explain in words. I slept in Zayd's crib.

We'll let you know how tonight goes.

And then there was this...

Yes, he's wearing a bow tie.

Diapers for Trade

Two Happy Heineys Pockets

Itti Bitti Tutto OS with three inserts

Softbums - 2 omnis, 1 echo with five inserts

My little bibliophile!

I walked into Zayd's room today to see why he was being so quiet...

LOVE!

Ahhhhh!

Zayd took two steps today!

The Best Intentions

I once read a magazine article in one of my hippy mom mags about being a Zen Mom. I don't remember most of it but it talked about carving out a quiet space every morning to set your intention for the day with your baby. This seemed perfect for someone as over-scheduled and self-critical as me. (Two traits I hope NOT to pass on to my little babe.)

So, most mornings, or whenever I remember to "intend" I ask Zaydie what his intention is for the day. No answer yet. Most mornings I come up with something for him related to sleep. Most mornings, actually, I make a sleep inspired intention for both of us.

• You intend to get restful restorative sleep, Zayd.
• I intend to not let your failure to sleep define me as a mother and make me cross with myself or you!
• I intend to sleep when you sleep, Zayd-oo!

But sometimes I get a little more creative.

• You, Zayd intend to strengthen your relationship with Nani, today.
• Today will be a success if WE get the dining room table cleared off.
• Let's laugh together today, Zayd!

As, you can see the intentions really run the spectrum. Today I realized that they are sort of like mini resolutions. So, I thought I would reveal todays intention to you all:

• Let's not rush the first day of 2012. When we are driving to Reliant Stadium, let's not feel panicked. The game will be awesome whether we start watching at kickoff or five minutes into the first half. When we are coming home to give you a nap, lets realize that stressing because we are late for your nap won't make you any more rested and will make the drive tense. Let's linger until we head to San Antonio. And when we get there, let's lay in bed together, or sit in our rocking chair, and think about how great tomorrow is going to be. We won't worry about unpacking or emptying the clean diapers from the dryer. We will just enjoy the smell of our house and sleeping under our own blankets.

Happy 2012 everyone!