No Sleep Just Snot. The Perfect Storm.

*Please note I am writing this instead of taking a nap. I need a nap but I also feel a need to document this so I can look back one day and say "I can't believe I survived"*

When your a new mom you hear things like "4 month sleep regression" and think psh..."I'll get through it no problem." or even worse "it won't happen to me". Sure there are babies and moms out there who gracefully embrace life without too much hassle but if you like most moms, you probably have a baby who will go through tough crap like sleep regression. When Audra was headed into 4 months old I went to bed with a permanent cringe in my body. We had a rough 2 weeks but then all of a sudden she was sleeping through the night and everyone was honky dory. Enter the 8-10mth sleep regression, baby's first cold, a new developmental leap, possibly teething, possible growth spurt. Good bye sleep. Good bye sanity.

The Lord has a sense of humor for sure. I prayed for more moments spent with Audra asleep on my chest because it hadn't happened in so long. Now it happens a lot. Usually before the sun comes up. 

Now I do consider myself pretty lucky. Seeing as Audra was born smack dab in the center of cold and flu season she never had anything more than a runny nose for only 24hrs. She is truly a happy baby. Or according to the lady at Aldi's yesterday "the perfect baby". Follow by the question "does she EVER cry?". Why yes nice lady, she does cry but she chooses to do it at 4am. Because...why the heck not?

I mentioned before that Audra has been waking up before the crack of dawn and I typically have to nurse her back to sleep. Add that to everything aforementioned and you have the perfect storm of all things dreadful.

Our nights consist of going to bed when Audra goes to bed but now I have that permanent cringe again. She now will wake up several times during the night. The first one or two she is happy to be rocked back to sleep but if it's near 4am she's hungry and will not be satisfied with anything but eating. If I'm lucky she will then go back to sleep for a while. This morning I was not so lucky. The girl was up and babbling at quarter till 6. It was still dark outside. "The sun ain't even warm yet" as Lorelai would say. She was at least happy. I was only happy there was coffee brewing.

Our days consist of lots of saline drops, booger sucking, and vicks rubbing. I am honestly so tired of hearing the snot in her nose and sucking it out. Or worse yet, hearing it and going to suck it out to find that there is nothing in her nose and it's more in her throat and chest. I finally gave her some Tylenol and a steam today which seemed to help. We've also raised one end of her crib so she sleeps at a slight angle. I am still in doubt that it's working but I'm too lazy to lower it yet.

I have read in her Wonder Weeks leaps that she is at the point where she may temporarily resort back to her newborns habits. Being more fussy, eating more frequently and sleeping less. Whether or not this is really what is happening I feel like the mom of a newborn again. Sleep deprived and filled with thoughts of "why did I have a kid again?"

Oh yeah because moments like these are amazing. 

And moments like this are exciting and hilarious. 

First perogies and with her frenemy Sue the cat. 

But at last we've made it to Friday. I find joy in making it to Fridays, immense joy. I continue to pray over this sweet child that her cold will disappear and that sleep will resume. I pray for patience and strength because nobody likes a child who whines. And I pray for a coffee cup that stays full so I can stay sane.

And when all else fails you put on a pretty bow and make it through the day. 

The Diaper Game

As you can tell from the pictures Audra is a lot younger in them - obviously I wrote this a while ago and I'm just now posting it. Forgive me for having a spare post to pull out when I haven't had two seconds to sit down and write. Crawling baby = no down time.

A few years back I went to a baby shower where they played what was called "The 2am Diaper Game". This is where diapers were passed out and attendees wrote messages on them in sharpie. These would serve to provide a smile or a laugh to the mom who was changing said diaper in the wee hours of the morning. I knew that I wanted this game played at my shower when I had a baby because 1. It's just a fun game that isn't very common at baby showers and
2. I'll use the diapers so why not have fun notes on them?

Well after my shower I admit I read all the diapers but then I put them into storage. They were a size two diaper and I had no idea I wouldn't use them until after Audra was sleeping through the night. But it worked out better this way. I was able to read each diaper as I put it on her and I even took pictures of some of my favorites. If the one you wrote is not pictured it doesn't mean I didn't find it special. It means that I didn't have my phone handy at every diaper change to take pictures of them all. I loved all of them, these are just the ones I was able to capture on film. Wait people don't say that anymore do they? OK, capture on SD card. Doesn't have quite the eloquent feel to it but such is life. Enjoy

You're the best mom ever!

Use only ONCE

Warm hugs, soft kisses, unconditional love

Open Slowly!

You got this mommy

This is a BIG ONE! (it really was!)

My dear friend wrote in Thai on one of the diapers. 

"Meh Meh, means stinky in Thai. Sounds like Men"

This WAS one of her stinkiest diapers to date

 

The outside is prettier than the inside (by far the prettiest diaper from the shower)

Your s'wonderful and s'marvelous (from my same friend who wrote the Thai diaper)

Other diapers that I came across but didn't snap a photo of included baby wanting a guitar and a pony when she grew out of said diaper and the always true and helpful "This too will pass". And I think there was not one but two diapers claiming "isn't it daddy's turn?". True as it may be but daddy has yet to change a poopy diaper. Lucky me. #earningthosemothersdaycards

 So for anyone having a baby shower ever, I encourage you to do this game. It's fun for guests and fun for momma! I can't wait to do this game at a shower some time in the future I have so many good ideas now for what to write!

P.S I would like to give a shout out to the people at the Safety First company for making these bibs. And bless the person who bought them for me.

I highly highly recommend them! They are big enough to cover baby's whole front and they're easily washable, just dunk in your dish water as your washing dishes! One morning Audra was eating her chicken and mixed veggies 'lil' bits from Gerber and some of those carrot pieces are too big for her. It can take her a while to gag one down but she's getting better. Well this morning she gagged on one for a while. I went to get a paper towel to clean her face and when I came back she not only spit up the bite she just ate but the milk she had for breakfast 2 hours before hand. Her bib was COVERED and the pocket was holding it all! I was so glad I chose that bib today otherwise her dress and high chair would of been drenched and she would have been headed for a bath. I am half tempted to put all other bibs in storage. *reading this now I realized I only use these Safety First bibs. The other ones I keep in the diaper bag for on-the-go meals but I don't use them at home anymore.* This Safety First bib was a life and dress saver that day! If you're pregnant or you have a baby who is not yet eating solids but will eventually, get yourself one or two or three of these bibs! You won't be sorry!

Thanks for reading. P.P.S. size two diapers for.ev.er.

Month Number Eight

If you remember from my 7th month post I was not enjoying that Audra was 7 months old because I enjoyed her being 6 months still. Well the 7th month was without a doubt the fastest month yet. Hello. Good-bye. Welcome to month number eight!

The other day I counted the weeks until Audra turns 1 year old. Then it was 18 weeks away. Now it is 17 weeks away. How is that possible? That also means Christmas is 15 weeks away and I have yet to start my shopping. Oy.

Audra's eighth month has greeted us with a cold. Babies with colds are no fun. Sucking snot out a screaming baby's nose at 5am is really no fun. But the fact that she is a little more cuddly than normal is a pretty nice trade off.

We are also saying good-bye to Summer and gearing up to greet Autumn. Really my favorite season with the exception that after it is Winter.

Not much has changed in our day-to-day. Audra still gets up before the sun everyday but as much as I hated her to get in the habit of nursing that early I have done it more and more lately. I will nurse her for 10 minutes and she usually falls back to sleep for another hour and a half. So I get to go back to sleep until 8 sometimes. Sometimes is the key word. Sometimes she doesn't and she is up and babbling like a brook at 6:15am. And I start counting down the minutes until nap time. I think I will either chalk it up to a growth spurt or the fact that we had a solid routine so she decided to change things up on me. This morning the drama started at 4am. No one was happy.

It was really hard to get her to look at me because she was obsessed with the sticker!

Happy almost weekend friends. Cheers to Friday eve! Eat some ice cream to celebrate. Or wash your hair and change out of your pajamas. I am choosing the latter. 

The Adventures of Crawling

Red knees. Bruised shins. Bumped noggin. In one week we went from Audra barely staying on hands and knees long enough to even rock back and forth to Audra wanting nothing to do with her jumperoo or being held because all she wants to do is crawl around. If she isn't chasing the cat she is trying to crawl into his cage. If she isn't playing with the drapes she is playing with our laptop cords. If she isn't trying to pull herself up on her walker toy she is trying to concur the hurdles of our dining room table. She is on the move and there is no stopping her. Mama needs a donut.

Dining room table hurdles.
(don't worry she was fine)

Last week was such a crazy week. I have to schedule housework around her to an extent. If she will stay in her jumperoo long enough for me to do the dishes or vacuum I'm a happy camper but most of the time I have to keep an open eye and ear on her. She is a level Ninja crawler. Sometimes I can hear the pat, pat, pat of her hands but most of the time she can go from one end of the living room to the other without a sound. She's good. Too good. And our poor cat, loves the attention that he gets from Audra constantly chasing him but I think he gets old even for him. Sometimes he can't find  a decent spot just to lie down and sleep without Audra seeking and finding him.

We've had to borrow a baby gate to put up to keep Audra out of the kitchen and baby gate hurdles are my latest form of exercise. I despise them but I secretly hope they give my stems a lovely shape. Probably not but I can dream. Other than the baby gate and some outlet covers (I have a ton of them so why not use them) we haven't done any baby proofing. Audra knows what "no' means and we have to tell her it often but she is learning what she can and cannot touch. It also helps that we live in a cozy 750sq ft in-law suite and I can easily keep an eye on her.

But sometimes I find her like this. Happily play and talking to her toys. And then I melt. 

Audra has perfecting her pulling-oneself-up act and even deciding that she will just let go and stand there. If her balance is good she will stand there for 1-2 seconds (or more on occasion). I am not ready for that to happen. I'm just getting used to her crawling, she's got to wait a few months before she starts walking but it'll happen in no time. This girl has been determined since in utero to move on her own as fast as possible!

Her cousin made her a paper crown a few months ago. It now fits...almost. 

I cannot put Audra to sleep at my parents ever. My mom has the Grandma touch. 

Riding in Pap's yard vehicle. Many memories to be made right here.

Well here's to another week with a crawler. I need a cruller to deal with a crawler. Happy Monday Friends.

100th Post!

Wow I cannot believe this is my 100th post on the blog. Where has time gone? I started this blog almost 4 years ago just as I was packing up my things getting ready to get married and move to a military town with my military husband. So much has happened in these past 4 years!

There is not a week that goes by that I don't reflect back. It's especially helpful now that Facebook has that "On This Day" feature that places a randomly selected memory of yours to post on your wall as if to say "if you didn't feel old yet, look, this happened 4, 7, 9 years ago". Just the other day it popped up a picture I took while my folks and I were apartment hunting down in North Carolina. 5 months after that I was in North Carolina with a husband unloading a truck full of our belongings with family members into our townhouse. It took me months to get my bearings straight in that crazy town. I used my GPS to get to Walmart for the first 3 months. No joke. I kept thinking "time is going so slow, I feel like I'm going to be here forever".

Fast forward a year in military life later and I had my dream job, with dream colleagues. I knew shortcuts for getting to Walmart. I was 1/4 mile from a coffee shop and 5 minutes from Target. I felt special going to the base where my husband was. We had a good life and then before I knew it I was driving those same roads that confused me in the beginning thinking "I cannot believe I'm leaving this whole town next week/tomorrow/today". I am forever grateful for that year we spent in NC.

Then we move home and I spend the next year living alone while my husband was deployed for the 2nd time. THAT was a rough year. Patchy phone calls, care packages, trying to balance it and smile through the tears. I kept thinking "this deployment is lasting forever, I'm never going to be reunited with my husband, no one here has any idea what I'm going through!" Then poof that deployment was over and he was home. FOR GOOD. He was home and had a good job. That year I kept thinking "ok he'll be called away for another deployment soon." "Oh wait, no he won't, this is our new lives. He's home for good. Forever" Then in May we found out we were expecting our first child and that whole rest of the year we spent preparing ourselves and our finances for a baby. I embraced and loved every minute of being pregnant becuase I knew "this won't last forever".

And that quickly brings us here today. Life with a 7 month old. I have to remind myself that "this won't last forever" because honestly sometimes it does feel like it will never end. But then I look back on every other time I thought something would last forever and it was over in a flash. bang. poof. And another chapter begins. This chapter has been the hardest yet because I liked our lives before having a baby and it took me longer than I care to admit to get used to life after a baby. I still wish I could sleep past 7am. I still wish I could prepare dinner in peace. I still wish for a longer shower. I still wish for a lot of things but the fact of the matter is this life is also what I wish and prayed for those past 3 years. In NC, in OH alone, in OH married I hoped for one day to have my husband home with a baby in my arms just living a Hallmark type life. And we are. A beautiful yet sometimes flawed Hallmark-esque life. Like a Hallmark knock-off. Maybe more of a Norman Rockwell painting which sometimes comes out Picaso. What a ride it has been.

Anyway, here are some pictures of our sweet babe who is now crawling and trying to pull herself up on anything. Her favorite activities these days still include being outside, being in the jumper play set thing and exploring everything at crawling eye level.

 

For Christmas all we're getting her is a magazine subscription. 

We recently had a play date with Audra's second cousin who is 3 months older than her. Audra stole Liam's toys. Liam stole them back. It was adorable.  

In other recent events of eating, Audra has enjoyed a cracker. Besides gagging on the larger pieces she would not put it down for nothing. 

And back in the beginning of Summer we tried out this swing and she was not ready for it at all. I just kept thinking "OK by the end of Summer she'll be ready for it" and here she is. She still leans a little but she loves it. 

When you have toys but grass steals the show. Every time. 

                                  Stripes AND tie-dye. Be still my heart. 

To wrap up this 100th post I'm so glad I started this blog 4 years ago. I love that I can look back and reflect back on my life at any given point. As can anyone reading this blog. Thank you all of you who follow along with me in this life. From those of you who I met in NC to those of you I've met after becoming a mommy and all of those who have been around a lot longer than this blog has. I look forward to many more posts about life with a baby and balancing life as a mom and life as a wife and life as myself. Join me if you wish!

Seven Months Strong

I almost hate that Audra is 7 months old. Not in the "I can't believe how time flew" way but in the "I don't want her to be done with being 6 months old yet" way. Yes I admit I want her to stay 6 months for a few months longer. I'm not ready for her to be 7 months old. I not ready to tell strangers she is 7 months old, I want to keep saying she is 6 months old. Weird right? I prayed to hit the 6 month milestone for weeks and months. I prayed that I would survive until then but now it's come and gone and here we are at 7 months. I don't like the number 7. It's an odd number, I don't like odd numbers. But somewhere inside me is trying to convince my heart that the 7th month will be even better than the 6th month. I just find it hard to believe. Prove me wrong Audra?

At 7 months Audra is just cruising along. Loving life. Loving her activity jumper. Loving this Summer weather with all her might. If we stand by the sliding door for a moment and then walk away...she fusses because she realizes we are not going outside. This child is serious about being outside. Cannot get enough of it. I used to bring us a blanket and half a dozen toys so she wouldn't get bored easily but now sometimes we just walk out without anything but maybe a sun hat and just sit in the grass. The grass (that is not dead from lack of rain) is her toy. Clover flowers are her jam. She is a pro at picking them and putting them in her mouth. No first-time-mom syndrome here. If she wants the flower in her mouth and doesn't gum it off the stem and the flower is not dried or covered in bird poop then she gets the flower. It keeps her occupied and happy. Who am I to complain or take it away? Hashtag crunchy momma wannabe.

But when my child is not chewing on leaves and flowers she is loving the Move and Crawl Ball from V-tech. We borrowed it from my mother-in-law and she loves it. She also loves tupperware in the same manner. She's easy to please like that. When she isn't rolling all over the floor trying to get a toy or the cat she is begging for me to sit down with her so she can pull herself up on me. Shirt, knees, hair, anything that is grab-able she grabs. She will just stand and sit for as long as I sit there with her. She is also rocking back and forth on hands and knees these days too when she is in the mood. And if she is near anything with a tag, she will find it, she will talk to it and she will suck on it...forever.

"Hey, you've got a different number on your tummy today"

This is a glimpse of my future. At.ti.tude. 

Weeeeee! This chair moves!              Holy zebras...this chair moves.     

Tags. Nom. Nom. Nom. 

In other news we are 7 months into breastfeeding and I'm still proud of myself for making it this far but sometimes it's still so frustrating. When it doesn't hurt Audra moves non-stop. Scratch that, it still hurts sometimes AND she moves non stop. Some babies may prop up a leg or an arm on mom but Audra tries to grab her feet when she eats. And then she tries to grab my hand and pull it down in between her legs and then hold it there while she again, grabs her feet. If I lay my hand anywhere on her body she pushes it off. It's a circus. A breastfeeding circus. And she, of course, is the ringleader. 

I guess I can finally say that Audra has been sleeping through the night for about 3 months now. I still hope I'm not jinxing myself but lately she gets up at least once every other night from either bad dreams or hunger. I try my hardest not to nurse her at night anymore. I've only done it twice so far. It's time to fill her tummy super full before bed so she is not waking up at night. And also so she is not waking up at the crack of dawn starving. I would love to sleep in past 6am these days! But either way I'm getting a full nights rest and that is nothing to complain about at all. 

And just for fun...I love looking at how she's changed and yet stayed the same

Happy Tuesday Friends. Smile, just because you can