(1) We had a rough week last week because a nasty stomach bug worked its way through our little family of three. :( Last Sunday I thought I had food poisoning, but clearly it was something else. Thankfully it didn't hit Tommy as hard as us - he didn't throw-up or get a fever like we did. My hubby took Monday off to watch Tommy because I felt so horrible that day. Hopefully it's gone for good!
(2) It's hard to believe Tommy will be 6 months in just two weeks. Not only are we are excited that our little guy is getting older, but we can finally send in our adoption finalization paperwork! We have our third and final social worker visit this Friday. After that, everything is taken care of. Our agency will file the paperwork with the court and hopefully we will hear back from them in a couple of weeks with a court date. Apparently they have adoption finalization hearings every other Friday. Hopefully it will be official before the year is over!
(3) We will be here for Thanksgiving and we decided to host some friends at our house. I'm really looking forward to it! I always like to have a reason to cook/bake. I'm not super fancy, but I do try to make everything nice. Any recipe suggestions? What are your Thanksgiving favorites?
(4) I continue to strive for balance in my life these days. Things can get pretty hectic around here trying to juggle school, youth group, singing, taking care of the house and being a full-time Mommy. One area that has been stressing me out lately is my social life. It seems to be so hard to make plans with friends these days - even with my other stay-at-home mom friends. Everyone is busy and it can be hard to find the right time for everyone's schedule.
Also, I have been trying to get together with two lovely blogger ladies (you know who you are!) I promise it will happen sometime soon. I'm really looking forward to catching up with both of you.
(5) Speaking of balance, I really need to get my prayer life on track. It's harder to get to daily Mass now than it was when Tommy was first born. I need to get into a good prayer routine in the morning before the day gets away from me.
(6) Sleep has been a big topic in our household. In just the past couple of weeks Tommy's sleeping habits have really changed. Rocking him to sleep doesn't work anymore and he doesn't fall asleep as quickly or easily when we are out running errands. I know that babies are always changing, but it's hard for me now because our old "tricks" don't work anymore. Did anyone else notice a change during this age - 5-6 months?
The worst is around 5:00-6:00pm. He used to take one final evening cat-nap before bedtime (which is usually between 7:00 - 8:00pm.) For the past week he has screamed when we put him down for that final nap and nothing seems to console him. The funny thing is, once that ordeal is over he will sometimes go to bed for the night without a peep. I don't really get it. Any advice?
I am trying to put him down for naps and bedtime during that just-about-to-be-tired zone so that there is less crying, but that's not always easy. How often and what times did your kids nap at 6 months?
Ooh-- 6 months is tricky. That's a major milestone month (sitting up, solids, babbling a bit), so babies often have crazy sleep patterns. I think at that stage Henry would wake up around 6 or 7, nap 9-11 (give or take), then nap again 2-4 (give or take...). It's amazing how you forget these things. And it's only been 6 months since that stage!! I totally forgot what Clare did, and she's not even 3 yet.
ReplyDeleteGood luck-- sleeping is always so tricky as babies grow and change.
#3--pumpkin cheesecake!! :)
ReplyDeleteWe are struggling a little with sleep at 4 months old. Ella doesn't sleep as easily on the go and is fighting going down at night. Have you read any good books? I have three on my nightstand...
ReplyDeleteI love the no cry sleep solution and sleeping through the night-two excellent books. Charlie went to two naps around that time and they were like your first commenter described. I would def put him down almost asleep but not totally asleep and after six months it is okay to let him cry a little and learn to go to sleep on his own. It will be VERY helpful later :)
ReplyDeletelove your new header!!!
ReplyDeleteno advice... sorry!
Wow.. Clara would never have napped from 5-6 and then gone to bed an hour later! I would just scrap the evening nap and just put him down for the night at his normal time (even a little earlier maybe if he's going without his last nap). Right now we're working on adding in a morning nap in her crib (she had just been dozing on me or in her pen), and it's making her afternoon nap later, which makes her bedtime later. I think it will all work itself out eventually, once I catch on to what she's trying to tell me she needs. It's trial and error I guess!
ReplyDeleteI don't know how you do everything you do.. I am barely getting by just taking care of Clara! And I can relate to the social life thing, we are sharing one car so I'm pretty much stuck home all day. Oh well, right now I don't really want to be anywhere else :)
Sorry, I couldn't preview my comment on my phone and couldn't remember how I had ended it (commenting is very funky on my phone).. What I meant to add was that I don't want to be anywhere else because I can't sit up right now.. haha. Not because I love being home so much!! I also wanted to add that I am SO sorry you had the stomach bug! Ugh! That is my least favorite thing ever and usually happens to me in the month of November. Ahh! Hoping this year is an exception! Glad T didn't get it too bad!
ReplyDeleteI can't offer any sleep advice, sorry. It definitely sounds like he's going through one of those growing stages though!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, my schedule is very open for next week, so let me know if you want to get together :).
Isabella is 5 months and hasn't falled asleep out in public or in the car since she was 2 months old. It means that we are home for her naps or I have a crabby crying baby while we are out.
ReplyDeleteWe sleep trained her according to "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child". It is a gradual process, but by 4 months of age she was sleeping 10-12 hours straight at night. Going to bed around 6:30/7pm. She takes 2-3 naps, depending on how long they are.
If Tommy doesn't want the 3rd nap, he is probably growing out of it and needs an earlier bedtime. I would actually shoot for 6pm, even though it seems super early, it will help a lot. Once his body adjusts, you can move it back to 7 around 9 months of age.
When Catie was about that age, she was only taking "real" naps twice per day. She would wake for the day around 7, go down for a nap from about 10-11:30, take an afternoon nap from 2-4ish and then go down for the night around 7:30-8pm. I agree with the others, perhaps he is beginning to outgrow the pre-beditme catnap.
ReplyDeleteI would also recommend "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" if you are looking for a useful book on the subject. Otherwise, try to establish a routine (warm bath, jammies, bottle, book, bed) that Tommy will become familiar with. Once we established Catie's bedtime routine, putting her down for the night has been relatively easy. Having a good routine even helped when it was time to transition her from the crib to a toddler bed.
Hope this helps!
~Julie D
LOVE the pic of Tommy in the bumpy seat on your header, too cute! I can't believe the adoption is not finalized yet? I just posted the same thing on Lauren's blog. I just can't believe that it takes so long. I remember at the adoption meeting we went to with a local agency they said Mississippi has the shortest termination period of 72 hours and I just assumed that meant the adoption was finalized, but obviously I need to do some more research. Nonetheless, I hope the time moves super fast for your three until finalization :_)
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you got some good advice about the sleeping. :)
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to add that I think mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, stuffing, and rolls need to be on the must make list for Thanksgiving! :) Happy cooking!
I agree with the Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child book. LOVE IT! I also used Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems when we were doing sleep training with Lauren at 6 months (teaching her to sleep through the night). It had lots of good suggestions. You can read a couple books and try some different things and see what works! I too agree that he might be working out of the 3rd nap. Two 2-hour naps is the stage that will probably come next. A lot of sleep books will suggest that their naps need to be in their cribs and not on the go so that they get good REM sleep. I found that to be true for Lauren. Her naps were 9-11 and from about 1-3. It makes being out trickier but I've learned to work errands and social things around naps. And remember it's just a stage. Now we're transitioning to one nap for Lauren and it's been a bit rough but transitions are always a challenge for the first few weeks. Hang in there.....
ReplyDelete