Pacifier Free So Far!

Well it's been 48 hours and we have been pacifier free here! The first day was rough. We had two episodes (one in the middle of the night and one during a nap) where Liam screamed for an hour before he crashed and fell asleep. The other times it took about 15-20 minutes to get him to sleep. The first night he woke about 4 times- so even a bit better than with the pacifier. Day 2 he settled after about 5 minutes. Last night was even better yet...get ready for this. For the first time EVER, he slept from 7pm to 3:00 a.m. I fed him a bottle at 3,  and then he went right back to sleep until 6am! This is the first time that he and I got a night of good sleep in 4 months. I can't even explain how happy I am. I also can't explain what this feels like since I have been a zombie for 4 months now. I am not getting excited that this is a trend in fear of jinxing it. So we will see if it happens again. I think God (and Liam) knew I was at a breaking point. I am starting to feel sick from the lack of sleep and stress- swollen glands, white on my tonsils, headache, etc....I so needed the night of sleep so that I can stop myself from getting sick.  Moms do not have time to be sick! So, I got a good night's rest and can tackle today with bright eyes for once!

So hopefully from here on out we will remain pacifier free and stick to our guns on healthy sleep habits. I do know that seeing Liam at 6am after a good night's rest, he looked and seemed more alert and happy too. It was a hard decision to take away the pacifier from the little guy. I even shed a few tears on that first day knowing that I was the one causing him to be so upset, but with the support of Joe and our Pediatrician I knew it had to be done. A couple of times I thought about giving in to avoid the screaming and tears, but once I started the process I knew I couldn't stop! Sometimes as a parent you need to make decisions that are hard, but you know it's in the best interest of your family. When it comes to parenting, everyone has different opinions about what you should and shouldn't do. It's hard not to feel bad or get wrapped up in what everyone else says....the various "do this, don't do that" or "this is what I did" just confuse you even more. However, I am so glad that I stuck to my guns on this and didn't let anything else influence me. No matter how hard this week is on Liam, on me, and on our family, we will be happier in the long run. And you can all stop hearing about my endless nights of no sleep! It's getting old isn't it??? :)

I do have to say there is no way I could have done this process without Braden being such a good toddler. He is so patient. On Monday I was in Liam's room for an hour trying to soothe him, and I would pop my head out every 10 minutes to check on Braden. He was quietly sitting in the loft area watching cartoons, reading books and brushing his teeth. What a guy we have. I could have come out to colored on walls or who knows what....and his sense of humor and silliness have made me keep it together on hard days! What a lucky Mom I am. These boys are amazing.

Someone once told me that having children was like having your heart outside of your body. Your heart is out there, walking around in the form of a little one. I totally agree with this. When they say or do cute things your heart melts. When they are hurt or sad, your heart strings are tugged. You want to protect them from all the bad in the world. You also feel so guilty when you have to make decisions that might make them sad, frustrated or angry. Although it's the most rewarding and fulfilling experience of my life, sometimes it is just plain ol' hard to be a Mom (of course I mean a parent in general, I am not dissing the Dads out there- just speaking from my side.) :)
I am learning so much as a Mom of young kiddos. I am sure so many more lessons to come!

There's no "I" in team!

There is no "I" in TEAM! Liam and I are going to work this week on getting rid of his pacifier addiction. :) I can't do it alone, and neither can he!

Sounds like a serious addiction, huh? It actually is. Now that his reflux seems to be under control with new medication, I am ready to tackle the next sleep issue- he wakes every 1 to 2 hours screaming for his pacifier. I am sure we created this problem when we were trying to find ways to soothe him when he was in pain during the night from reflux. We would plug in the pacifier as one way to try to get him back to sleep. Now that he seems to be pain-free, he is relying on this little soothing mechanism to keep him asleep. It's 4 months in and I am ready to get some sleep...so wish  me luck. I am going cold turkey as of today. His first nap he screamed for 10-15 minutes while I stayed in the room and patted his chest and did a little shushing noise and then he crashed (I learned this trick from the Baby Whisperer). He now has been sleeping for 1 hour and 15 minutes now. Usually by now he would have woken up crying looking for his paci...so this is a very good thing. Hopefully the days naps will get easier and tonight will be better, but we shall see. I am prepared for the worst in hopes that in a few days we can all be sleeping again around here. What would that even be like?

I need to be strong, as this is a true test of my motherhood patience and strength. I don't want to give in if it gets hard, knowing that I will have to do this eventually anyway. Let's get 'er done before the holidays so wish me luck. Oh the joys of motherhood, it's always something with these little ones isn't it? I feel bad that I am doing this to him (and it's hard to see him scream himself to sleep), he really likes his paci...but I know he will get more solid sleep without it and I just don't want him to be mad at me for taking it away. Everything pulls at your motherhood strings! I just keep re-assuring myself that he won't remember this and hopefully I won't either!  Hopefully the 10-15 minutes this morning was the hardest....I was expecting it to be a ton worse. Fingers crossed. I am even forgoing my Monday morning hour at the gym so I can work on this. It's all about dedication and determination! Hopefully he gets on board, learns to sleep without it and still loves his Mama when we are all done. :)

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

It's hard to find time to decorate for the holidays with two young kiddos, but we succeeded and it looks great around here (I think anyway)! This will be our first Christmas in our new house. We are excited. The fireplace is decorated, the tree is up and the outside lights are up. Well, I should clarify- they WERE up. We had some huge icicles this week hanging from the garage. I was trying to be a good Mom by knocking them down one day so none would fall on top of Braden when he was playing outside. Well, the icicles were actually stuck to the lights so the entire strand of lights above the garage come a tumblin' down. (Sorry Joe for all your hard work! At least it will be 37 degrees tomorrow so you can put them back up in nice weather.)
  My favorite part of each day during this holiday season is when Braden comes down the stairs each morning and sees the tree and yells "It's Christmas." He loves looking at the decorations and always asks to turn the lights on. Liam loves seeing the fireplace lit up. Liam now belly laughs, blows bubbles with his lips and yes, we are starting to get some sleep here. We got him new reflux meds and they are starting to kick in. I also have been doing a little sleep training- so with a combo of those he only has woken up 2 or 3 times a night the past couple of nights versus the 10-15 times before. I am starting to feel like a sane person....starting to but it might take a bit longer! :)
 What a fun time of year. Most mornings we are out/about though between classes at the Y, ECFE and some errands. BUT some days it's too chilly to venture out far (and honestly it's a TON of work bundling up two kids and hauling all of their stuff around), so we may stay cozy in the house and find things to do instead of our fall days of venturing to the park in the morning. On days like this, I am lucky to have this space instead of being cramped in the townhouse like last year. Christmas parties, seeing some family and friends, cookie exchanges and a visit with Santa are all things coming up for us in the last couple of weeks before Christmas. Not to mention shopping, wrapping and all that other good stuff!

I hope you are all enjoying the holiday spirit. It sure is a busy time of year and most everyone gets stressed out. We really need to focus on not getting so consumed by the pressure of making Christmas "perfect". Take time to enjoy the little things- the lit tree, the kids getting excited, the smell of cinnamon and gingerbread.  Simplify if you need to and try to enjoy the special time with family and friends. After all, it only comes once a year and we are blessed to be healthy and here to enjoy it! I am excited to spend Christmas here in our new house as a family of four!

Sleepless in Woodbury

We are into the third month, going on fourth and yes, we are still sleepless over in Woodbury! Maybe because I blog about the lack of sleep that is why it's not getting better. Ha! Or maybe you will all get sick of me talking about it and send some positive sleep vibes this way!

Before Thanksgiving, things were improving in the sleep department (I think, or maybe I just can't remember). We then traveled to Joe's parents in WI for three days over Thanksgiving and Mister Liam did pretty good. I kept him on a good routine hoping that would translate to good night sleep, especially considering the house was full of people and us four were sleeping in the same room. He did wake up a few times per night still and would have a hard time settling back down in the wee hours of the morning, which when then wake Braden up by 5:45 each day. This seems pretty normal when traveling with little kiddos though- you don't expect to get much sleep!

Since we have been home from Thanksgiving though, Mister Liam's sleep has gone a bit wonky. He is hard to settle down for each nap and at night he has these episodes where he is flailing in his crib, arching his back and spitting out his pacifier and we can't get him to settle back down- this happens a few times per night now. So, needless to say we are sleepless in Woodbury. One night Liam's screaming woke Braden up two times, so I was running back and forth from room to room trying to get both kids back to sleep. Yikes. I now know a new form of the word exhausted. I am averaging 4 hours a sleep a night this week- and that's not even four hours straight. Hopefully things will iron themselves out soon. I know we had a busy week- I subbed a few classes and we were out and about each morning...so Liam hasn't been on a routine much in the mornings but it's too hard to stay home everyday, well it's impossible really! I do know that I heard this guy's first deep belly laugh this week which is my favorite! So he is growing up fast and I know this time will just fly by and I will look back and barely remember the sleepless nights...(right??)

Two peas in a pod!

We have been keeping busy this holiday season. We have been enjoying decorating the house for the first time for the holidays. The stockings are hung, the outside lights are strung and the wreath is on the door. We are going to buy our first real Christmas tree tomorrow. We also have been reading "The Night Before Christmas" every night- it's a recording of my Dad's voice. I am excited to start some holiday traditions with our boys. Braden seems to somewhat understand Santa, so we will see come Christmas morning. He knows he needs to be good or he won't get any presents from Santa. I also have been busy subbing a lot of classes lately. Today I am headed to a training to learn a new format of a BootCamp class. Braden and Joe have been going to swimming lessons every Saturday. Tonight we have an Ugly Sweater party. So, we are keeping busy among the sleepless nights. Keeping our fingers crossed for some better nights ahead! I really want to spend Christmas as a happy camper instead of a grumpy one! Please, no more sleepless nights in Woodbury. We have done our time!