"I've got moves you've never seen"

If you can name the movie that quote came from then we can be best buds. By far one of my favorite Julia Roberts movies. It never gets old to me! Every time I watch it though I wait for Michael to choose Julianne instead of "Miss Kimberly Wallace!". Every time. But he never does.

These days Audra is rolling and moving all over the place. A glimpse of what is to be when she becomes mobile. I am slightly cringing for that time to come. When she is on her play mat she rolls to and fro and she is off her mat in no time. Then she fusses because she is out of reach of all her toys. When she is sitting she wants to be standing. When she is standing she has to be dancing. And when she is sleeping...? She has to be in between the rungs. Every night for the last few weeks she has woken up at least twice because is caught between the rungs and cannot get out. Both legs in one rung laying sideways. Both legs in two rungs up to her crotch on her stomach AND again on her back. Arms hanging out all over. Or if shes not in the rungs she's rolled herself into the corner and cannot roll out. It's (almost) a fun game as to what I'm going to find when I stumble in there at 4am.

I did borrow some old school crib bumper pads from a friends mom a few weeks ago. I put them on and then proceeded to stress about SIDS. Audra has never had her face that close to the rungs but I just knew the first night she would have the bumper pads would be the one she decided to do so. *shudder* So I took them out before bedtime. A few more weeks go by of getting up a few times a night to move or re-position her I felt it was best to look into getting the mesh crib liners. Enter: Facebook buy/sell/trade site to the rescue! I found some for $5 and snagged them up. Last night was her first time with the bumpers and it was not a silent night at all. I still had to get up twice because she was fussing. The reason? She was on her back and trying to use the rungs to push herself over but couldn't because those darn bumpers were in the way and she couldn't get a grip. Oh dear me! I cannot win with this child!

I do know in time though she will get used to having them in there and most likely figure out a way around them or to work with them.

Other than that as we enter June and rounding the corner of Audra's 5th month in our lives every week brings something new. I will wait a week to list some of her accomplishments but each one seems more adorable than the last. Except the whole "let me take your plate, napkin, fork, food from you when you eat. Because what's yours is mine right??"

Here are some pictures of our roly-poly baby

Garage sale score from last weekend. $15 for bouncer/activity center. She is still a little small for it so I have to prop her with a blanket but she loves it still. 

And seriously couldn't stop taking pictures of her after our walk the other day. Her feet ARE able to fit under the tray but they never do. She has to have them up on the tray or in her mouth. Always. 

Again, her toes are just an extension of her hands

I swear I didn't tell her to lay still but she did. The most still she's probably ever been. 

Hope you all had a very long and beautiful Memorial Day Weekend. We did indeed and I'm happy for a short week ahead. Next week my husband will be out of state for the week for work so I'll be hanging on by a few less threads this time next week. Lord help me!

The Adventures of Sleep

Sleep. Something that all mothers can about swap war stories. I’ve definitely gained my own stories in the last 4 months and I’m sure to gain many many more!

Since the beginning Audra has been in our room with us with the exception of the week she slept in the swing at night and the 2 weeks her and I slept on the couch every night.

Last week was the first week of Audra sleeping in our spare/storage room. It was also the time we had to un-swaddle her and take her off the changing pad. Enter the worst week of sleep in our lives. Audra was waking up every 30 minutes, every hour, every 2 hours. The longest stretch of sleep we both got that whole week was 4 hours. I was loosing it. Crying when my husband left for work. Crying when she woke up. Crying when she cried. It was miserable for both of us.

But it lasted a week. A hard and exhausting week but we survived. Now we have made it to Friday of another week and this week sleep has found us again and become our lets-get-matching-charm-bracelets best friend. At least for night time. We put a CD player in Audra’s room and it plays the same Celtic lullaby song on repeat all night. This seemed to deliver big bonus points. We also raised her crib so the “drop” is less scary. That moment when you place a baby down in the crib is serious business. Seems like the bottom of the crib is 10 feet away and she was usually waking up halfway down.

But it’s not all easy breezy around here. Nap time is what kills us. Audra never napped in her crib until we started it last week. She always slept in her swing for naps. It was the best of both worlds. She could see me, she could get lulled to sleep by the smooth swinging motion, she could wake up and see me in the room. All that was taken away last week. Cold turkey style. So naturally she had major issues with it. Since last Sunday we have clocked 3 naps in her crib. 2. That’s not a lot. We’ve also clocked hours crying it out in the crib which results in no napping period and the look on her face when I place her in her crib is one of “you are not seriously putting me in here, I WILL scream, do not test me”.  I have come to the conclusion that for now I cannot put her in there partially awake and let her talk or play until she falls asleep. I need to make sure she is out cold and then stealthily maneuver her into the crib and then do not breathe until I exit the room. This is the only way I can think to get her used to the crib. And a pacifier in the crib is not even an option at this point. She almost immediately rolls to her stomach to sleep and the pacifier either falls out or chokes her. No Bueno.

Speaking of stomach sleeping that happened for the first time this week! What a blessing that is! She sleeps so much better on her stomach. She doesn’t put her patootie in the air yet but when it happens I might just take a half dozen photos if I can. For high school graduation of course?

So all this to say is we’ve had a good week of sleeping. When Audra wakes at night I set a mental timer in my head for 10 minutes. If she hasn’t whined herself back to sleep by then and she is getting worse I will go pick her up. If her whining continues but softens I let her be. All it usually takes is 10 minutes and she’s out again. Self-soothing is a magical thing and this girl is on her way to earning a gold star for it.  

Nothing much else has happened around here. We had her 4mth appointment yesterday and the Doctor was impressed with how alert and let’s face it “Into everyone’s business” she is but my girl is a people-watching pro. Girl after my own heart. She continues to be slightly below average for height and weight and above average for head size (thank you Daddy!) It’s hard to believe that our next visit to the Dr she will be 6 months old and ready to start solids. I’m already planning her first real food experience. I gave her a finger dip of yogurt last week and she loved it so that may be on the menu. Or I should probably start her on a vegetable seeing as I hate most veggies because I didn’t eat them much when I was younger. I want her to love vegetables. Mmmm…strained peas it is!

We took a family trip to a huge hardware store an hour away the other day. She enjoyed it thoroughly.

I enjoyed it too. Ice cream style. 

Happy Weekend Friends. It’s garage sale bonanza around these parts and we are super excited!

Mother's Day Week/End

Being a mom. Something I've wanted since I was a small girl. Something I knew I was born to be. Something I never knew was so hard. Something that has changed me forever. I am so grateful for my own mother every single day because I never knew the sacrifice, perseverance and love it takes to raise a child. You can't quit. Ever. You may get a break here and there but you're always on call. No days off. No holidays. No recess. I've entered a world I thought I was prepared for and yet I was not prepared at all. I have to continue to find time for myself, ask for help, hand Audra off to my husband if I need 5 minutes to myself to either shower or cry. I'm continuing to learn the art of being flexible, patient and selfless. All things in which I am not and I'm being taught by a 4 month old. Circle of life. 

This blog story starts last Wednesday night when my own cat bit me. The reason is not important other than he was provoked. He has never bitten me so as much as I hated him for doing it to me I didn't think much else of it except clean the wound and bandage it. Blah blah.

Thursday rolls around and my thumb is puffy, warm, red, and red streaks are leading up my left arm. Not good. Noooot good. Definite signs of an infection. Ok. So we wait it out until Jonathan comes home and decide whether or not to go see a Dr. Only problem is I had a Baby Shower that evening and time was of the essence if we went anywhere. Oh and yeah, throw a baby into the mix. Cray.
Jonathan comes home and we spend an hour trying to figure out what to do. Long story short we call the clinic up town to explain and they said head to the ER. Cat bites are serious business. Ergh. We pack up baby and head to the ER, praying to get in and out in an hour. After seeing 7-8 medical staff including the official Dr for a total of 15 seconds, 3 xrays, (yes totally serious they had to see if there were any teeth in the bite, even after I assured them there was not) 1 tetanus shot (almost had 2 b/c so many people going in and out they got their wires crossed), multiple coos over Audra and how cute she is we got to leave and head home. Just in time to feed the baby, freshen up and leave for the shower. Audra's first baby shower. She has yet to realize how fun they are. Haha.

Thursday did bring other positive things though. The anniversary of finding out I was pregnant and Audra rolling from back to belly for the first time on her own. 2 minute happy dance for our little girl at that point!

Friday comes around. Fridays are the best in my opinion. We were super productive Friday morning. Dishes washed, Mother's Day gifts bought, prescription filled, dinner planned, sun shining, it was a glorious day. Until noon. We got home from our errands and I could barely even keep my eyes open. I was exhausted, every muscle in my body ached, I was nauseous and I had the chills. "Oh Audra please go to sleep so I can sleep" I said with tears in my eyes. I was getting sick and I wasn't happy about it at all. Audra luckily slept 2 hours. One hour on me, the other in her swing. I was so blessed to get a shower in. A shower always helps. But off and on for the next 24 hours I was miserable. It peaked Friday night feeding Audra and I had a 101 fever and everything hurt. Everything. Luckily Audra slept very well this night. I couldn't have asked for anything better from her.  At first I thought the cause was side effects of the Tetanus shot but then I felt more like I picked up a bug somewhere. It lasted until Saturday evening. Tylenol and sleep were my best friend. My husband was also my best friend, taking Audra when he could and helping when needed. Being a mom and being sick was just as horrible as I imagined and I wasn't even THAT sick. I am so in awe of the human body and how it can combat infection with a fever and fight without me having to do too much except feel miserable.

Sunday finally rolled around and I got to have my very first Mother's Day. How precious. But I think Hollywood screwed that up for me too over the years. There was no surprise trip away without the baby. There was no breakfast in bed. But there were donuts and that's basically better in my book. We arrive at church and my wonderful sister-in-law (Susie Homemaker!) made homemade doughnuts for her family that morning and brought us some. Even though my stomach was still a little nauseous I had several doughnut holes. Pure deliciousness! Sunday was then filled with family gatherings, sunshine, baby-free arms, the sweetest tear-provoking card from my husband (which I'm pretty sure I'll read every single day until Audra graduates high school) and pizza for dinner.

Last but not least Sunday brought Audra's 4 month "birthday". I cannot believe I've been a mother for 4 months now! We have moved her crib into our spare/storage room. This has been great the last 2 nights. It's almost weird though that I feel so far away from her because she's been so close for 4 months. Audra is learning new things every week. She has found her toes! A day I've look forward to since she was born. One of my favorite things is when babies find their toes. There is nothing cuter. Her teething seems to be calm for now. Calm before the storm? Perhaps. She rolls over a lot these days. She talks, giggle and smiles so much. She grabs things like a champ, including my hair. Not so great. She is getting more used to other people holding her besides me - Praise to the Lord on this one! We are even getting a little more sleep these nights.

A dress from Great Grandma. When I received this I felt like it would be for.ev.er until she wore it. Time flies!

Because happy baby = happy mommy

So to all of you mothers, women who have no children but are still mothering to others and to those who lost children all too soon. YOU are incredible. Never forget that.

At last but not least...

It's Always Something

Our weeks around here just seem to get a little crazier each week. But I somehow survive them and then look back and can hardly remember them. Sometimes I'm glad I can't remember the first month besides tons of crying and not enough sleep. Sometimes I wish I could because should we choose to have another child I'm afraid I won't know what to do when he or she is born and I have Audra running circles around us. Maybe that's the wonderful part of Motherhood. You can't remember all the bad stuff so you have more kiddos. And the species lives on. I also think that with every kid you have you loose a little more of your sanity. Moms of more than one is this true? You just get a little crazier as you add more chicks to the nest?

First up was the answer to the question on my mind for weeks. Whether or not Audra was teething. She had all the signs and I'd been told by several people that she was but I wasn't convinced. "Wouldn't/Shouldn't I have a mother's intuition on this stuff? Shouldn't I be the first to see it?" Apparently not. Apparently I was clueless as to why Audra was so stinking fussy the last 3 weeks. Teeth. Two of them. Coming up like daisies. Nice and early too. I am so not ready for a teether. I thought I had months to get ready for this stuff. But Audra continues to throw me curveballs and all I can do is catch them or get hit. Feels like I get hit more than catch. Ha. So here we are waiting for the teeth to officially emerge and then hopefully the rest of them will follow suit quickly rather than slowly. Unfortunately teething before the baby can properly hold or put an object in her mouth makes for more work for momma. But it's only for a short time so we'll survive.

Cradle cap has also entered our life. I've gone back and forth between not washing her hair very often to washing it everyday. Everyday seems to work better for us. I know this is normal and harmless but it just bugs me personally. Haha.

Swaddling. A parent's favorite home-run move for comfort and sleeping. Audra was swaddled for every single nap and every night for sleep until she started out growing her Swaddle Me blanket and I truly didn't want to buy another one because she'll be rolling over soon and then we'll have to stop anyway. So I've been trying over the last few weeks to break the swaddle...cue dramatic music. I feel like this is a moment all parents become anxious over because this means babies will have their hands free to fly! This causes them to wake themselves up. So it has been about a month and a half in the making but we are getting closer to her sleeping with no swaddle. I started during naptime only doing a half swaddle (no arms) that way I wouldn't loose any sleep when she kept waking up. At night I started only swaddling one arm. This worked great for a long time. Last Monday I started putting her to bed half swaddled. The first 3-4 nights were rough I'm not going to lie. She was up every 3 hours and I was loosing my mind. But then she had her first 5 hour stretch and then a 6 hour stretch and I was beginning to see the light. Sunday night I put her to bed with no swaddle and I'm not sure if it was the no-swaddle, the teething or the constipation but she was up 3 or 4 times that night. I did not get a lot of sleep.

Oh yes last but not least, constipation. No fun as an adult. Even worse as an infant. She was grunting so long and so hard I thought she was going to hurt herself. I ended up giving her equal parts of 100% apple juice and water and that did the trick. I don't think were out of the woods yet but were definitely getting closer.

So it just seems that it's always something with her. I can't even keep up these days. If it's not one of the above topics it's the fact that 4 month sleep regression is setting in I think and I'm getting less and less sleep these nights. I do count myself lucky that should I need a nap I can always take one when she naps or we can nap together. Coffee continues to be my best friend.

On the positive side of things Audra is getting crazy close to rolling over from back to belly. She starts to stare at her toes more often but has yet to realize they are hers. And her personality is all me. No idea what she wants and when we find out what she wants she never wants it for long.

Of course I didn't get a lot of pictures of our week last week. As I was busy just trying to tread water some days. But here are the few I did get.

Our morning snuggle

First family hike. Audra. That stare. 

She doesn't lay on my chest very often. I'm very quick to put her in her swing once she is asleep. But this time I decided to snuggle her and soak it up. 

Here's hoping for a better week this week. If not I still have my rip-your-skin-off orange arm floaties and I'll be over here doggy paddling my way to the shore. Of a desert island. With endless ice cream sundaes and naps.