Sleep Training update

It was brought to my attention by my darling hubby that my post yesterday came across as though I was frustrated... ummm.. yeah... I was! As I was typing I had listened to my baby cry for about 20 minutes. When I finished writing it, I didn't quite remember what I wrote which is never a good sign. I read it back and I do apologize for my blunt, uninteresting banter but hey, it happens.

She did end up falling asleep for that nap and slept for a hour and a half. First success. My second success came last night with her bedtime. I have to admit I was dreading it because I knew it was going to be a battle like the night before. I put her in her crib, she started to cry. I let her cry for 3 minutes like I'm "supposed to." I went in and rubbed her belly and let her know I was there and she'd be ok. I left for the aloted 5 minutes and went to wash my face and get ready for bed intending to come back after the 5 minutes to reassure her again. About a minute and a half in, silence. This must be a fluke, right? I poked my head in and she was asleep. I went downstairs with the baby monitor on to watch the rest of American Idol (which by the way, I'm unimpressed with the contestants this year.) fully intending to have to go back upstairs to tend to her. That never happened. She slept from 8:45 until 7:30 this morning. I was shocked.

Now today I tried again for her morning nap. It took about 20 minutes this time but she fell asleep. About 2 minutes ago (10 minutes into this nap) she had an outburst for about 20 seconds but quieted down again. We'll see. Pretty soon mommy might actually be able to get things done around the house and do some work during the day! What a concept!

This pic is from yesterday's nap when she woke up nice and happy and well-rested. The other pic is Farrah and our dog Jimmy Choo. He wanted to be in the pic and he loves Farrah.

Sleep training night 1 = FAIL!

I'm listening to a my baby cry as we speak and it's taking all I have not to go scoop her up and comfort her. Last night was the first night we tried sleep training. We are very fortunate to have a baby who sleeps 9-10 hours straight every night uninterrupted. Here's the problem: it takes forever for her to fall asleep and she needs a bottle to get her to fall asleep. A very bad habit I know. Many nights we've given up and just put the bottle in her mouth in the crib and held it there until she fell asleep and then took it out. Now it's getting worse and her naps are being affected. She's sleeping 10 mins here or there with no real nap schedule and mommy's going crazy during the day without knowing when or where I will be at any given time. Something needed to change.

I started doing some research online about sleep training. Most experts said between 3-6 months is a good time to start. She's just about 3 months so I thought it might be too early but she's already sleeping through the night just fine. She doesn't know how to put herself to sleep though. I didn't want to keep on with the bad habits so I thought we'd give it a try.

So we're supposed to do her nighttime routine, then put her in her crib and leave the room. She starts to cry right away so we let her cry for 3 minutes and then go back in to comfort her without picking her up for about a minute (ie rubbing her belly and talking her her in a quiet tone). Then we let her go for 5 minutes and come back in after the 5 mins. Then the next time is 10 mins and each time after that is 10 mins.

Last night this went on for about an hour and I worried she was still hungry so I picked her up and fed her some more. Not sure if that was the right thing to do but I had to do something. Then another hour + went by with the same thing. Finally we caved and picked her up fed her until she fell asleep, then put her in her crib. Not only did we fail at that part, but an hour or so later, after we had already gone to bed she woke up and started screaming. Once she's out for the night she never wakes up so I was really surprised.

I was second guessing my decision last night, but this morning I decided to keep on. I can't live with the unpredictability anymore and I certainly can't be at the mercy of this infant anymore. (In certain ways I'll always be at her mercy but at least in this way I can't.)

So I tried it again for her nap today. It's been about an hour and I think she's finally asleep. Fingers crossed. Updates to follow.

One sick baby

As I sit here typing with a snot nosed baby on my lap I wonder how we've made it through these past couple of days. I know I couldn't do it without Abe. Farrah got her first cold. Lucky for us, she's eased us into the idea of caring for a sick baby by having a cold instead of anything serious. She doesn't have a fever, she's just really stuffed up and coughing. The worst part is hearing her struggle to breathe. That is one of the worst sounds I think a mom can hear. I dont' want to take my eyes off of her because I'm affraid she'll stop breathing. Just being one of those paranoid new moms. Farrah had been a champ though. She's not crying anymore than she usually does. She still smiles and laughs at all the things she normally does. I wonder if this is part of her true personality showing through. If it is, I'm so proud to know that she will have a smile even when things aren't going her way. As silly as it sounds, My 2 1/2 month old has inspired me to keep a smile when things get tough.
In other news, an update on us: Abe got some side tutoring jobs and my datebooks are packed with Mary Kay appointments. We're getting to where we want to be. It's funny to watch when one of us gets home, the other one passes Farrah off and the other one goes to work. It's like a tag team. I wouldn't have it any other way. A short-term sacrifice for a long-term gain. I'll post pics soon. Farrah's getting fussy.

Visit from Auntie Janett and Uncle John

Happy Belated Valentine's day everyone! The hubbs and I said we weren't getting each other anything this year to save money but I forgot to at least get him a card. He got me one... whoops! I was hoping they'd still have some V-day cards at the store but they didn't. So I made one from my fun Stampin' Up stuff. (Shout out to my Stampin' up rep Tina!)

We had a fabulous weekend thanks to a visit from Abe's sister Janett and her husband John. Farrah really missed them... she told me. ;) Farrah is a really lucky girl because she has so many people that love her very much and they're spread out all over the place. I always hate it on those reality dating shows when the person says "Family is really important to me." Umm... duh! Who's going to say "no family isn't important to me... I hate family." But I should say that especially when you go through a big life change like having a baby it reminds you why family is so important. Short and sweet this week. Here's a great pic of their visit.

ps Farrah pooped through her diaper and clothes about 6 times while they were here. I had to take a pic of one really unbelievable poop so that Abe would believe me, but I'll spare you all that picture ;) Consider it my valentine's present from me to you!

The parents behind the baby

Sorry for the delay in posting. Things have been crazy as I'll explain. It occurred to me that some of you might actually care what is happening in the lives of Farrah's parents and not just Farrah. As excited as you all are to hear about her weight gain, sleeping schedule, frequency of poops, etc. I thought I'd take a post to update you on Krista and Abe.

I'll start with Abe. Abe finished up his grad school (Congrats babe!) and now has his Master's in Education and can begin teaching. One problem is, the State of California is knee deep... more like shoulder deep at this point... in debt and teachers are being laid off, not hired. He was student teaching for 3 months (unpaid) right around the time Farrah was born. Not the best timing but we made it work thanks to our amazingly supportive family. Now he's been substituting, and also picking up shifts at his old job working with adults with developmental disabilities whenever they need someone to fill in. Most days he doesn't know if he'll be working until 6am that morning when he gets a call from subfinder needing someone to fill in for a sick teacher. Even though it's not ideal he never complains and he always keeps a positive attitude. I know that's the reason why I never have to worry about us parting ways because when things are tough we turn to each other instead of turning on each other. I'm sure many of you want to vomit after that comment but it's true. He's also DJing sometimes on the weekend however it's not really the height of wedding season so it will pick up again in a couple of months.

Now me. As many of you know since college I've been a Mary Kay consultant. I've always had a pretty nice business with many clients who would consistently order from me. I work with the David's Bridal brides and also do one on one appts. or parties. I took some time off for a few months when Farrah was born but I'm just starting to get back to work. I wasn't sure how I would feel after having Farrah, if I would want to go back full force or just be content making a few extra $, but Farrah has been the most motivating factor in my life thus far. I've never been so motivated to get out of bed and get to work. I know I'm doing it for her and it makes my efforts so worth it.

Right now I'm working on winning the 2010 Chevy Malibu. Here's why: I officially own the ghettoist (eloquence from a literature major) car in the state of California. Well I guess I'm being a little dramatic but it's pretty bad. I truly believe these things keep happening, one after the other, because God is trying to give me a nudge and let me know it's time to win that car. Within the past year I have had the following things happen to Gloria Gold: (Gloria has been her name since I got her when I was 15! Yes this is my first car and only car. She's a 96' Honda Accord.)

Inside the driver's side door by the handle, the plastic piece in the door that surrounds the handle cracked and broke apart so the door handle hangs down and for the longest time I didn't know how to work it so I would just roll down the window every time I had to get out and open the door from the outside. It took me a few times before I even realized I could do that so imagine a pregnant woman climbing over the center console to the passenger side to get out of her car every time she had to get out. Not the most lady like endeavour. Later I found out there was a system to it where if you hold the handle against the door just right and gently pull it will open. (When you need explanations for parts of your car it's time for a new one.) Then, I got a flat tire on the way home from a trip to LA and had to replace all the tires because apparently the place that I paid to fix the alignment didn't do so and they were totally bald in random places. Then the leaking started. Still haven't got that fixed. I'm afraid to find out how much that's going to cost. Every time I go into oil changers they say "ummm do you know your car is majorly leaking?" and I play dumb... "no way! really? that sucks!" Then a couple weeks ago I came out to my car to notice a huge crack in the windshield. Got that replaced. And the icing on the cake happened a few days ago. This was God going from a nudge to a full on shove. I came out to my car. I swore I unlocked the car on the passenger side before I opened the back passenger door to put Farrah in her car seat but now it seems maybe the door was already unlocked. I get her in and go around to the other side to get in myself. I notice napkins on the floor by the pedals.... that's weird... I keep those in the center console. I know those weren't there last time I was in the car. I reach into the compartment in my door to grab my CD player face and it's not there. I always put it there. I call Abe. "Were you in my car?".... "Ummm no, why?" he replies. "My CD player is gone." "Check to see if anything else is missing. I check. All told here's what was stolen: My CD player, my Calvin Klein prescription glasses, my GPS, my phone charger, my Mary Kay CD's (someone thief is driving around and getting really motivated right about now) and some hand sanitizer (a very clean thief too.)

That concludes my car woes. Back to the subject at hand. We have been so busy because we've been working so hard. I am going to win that car. I deserve it, my husband deserves it and of course, my baby girl deserves it. So keep your eye out for some sharp women who want something more because I'm building one of the fastest growing teams in all of Mary Kay and I'm looking for some sharp women who want to run with me!

"If you pay now, you can play later, but if you play now you'll have to pay later." John C. Maxwell

ps the pictures this week are of Farrah with her parents. The one with her daddy was her first superbowl which is why she's rockin the 49ers onesie... holla!

2 months old!

Yesterday, 2/3, Farrah turned 2 months old! Doesn't sound like a big deal but to me, and her daddy, it's a huge deal. I can't believe 2 months ago she came into this world. 2 months ago our lives were forever changed. I can't believe there was a time when she wasn't here, dictating how every second of our days would be spent. You don't realize how much free time you really have until you have a baby. At this point I don't really consider her a newborn. She's been sleeping through the night for a while now (lucky us!) She's truly the perfect baby and I know a lot of people say that but we have been truly blessed. It makes me tear up just thinking about her and how lucky we are to have her in our lives.

2 days ago she had her 2 month check up. Luckily we got a much better pediatrician... Dr. Lucky! hehe. She was very energetic, not so cold and clinical like the last lady. I feel really good about her. Then it came time for the dreaded first shots. I had prepared myself for the fact that she was probably going to scream and cry so I handled that ok. What I wasn't prepared for because no one told me was that for the next 24 hours she would still be uncomfortable and crying. I'm not complaining on my behalf, I just hated seeing her in pain and there was nothing I could do. As a mom it really pulls at your heart strings when you here the "I'm in pain" cry. Not fun at all. I kept telling myself... this is bad but polio or hepatitis are much worse, so it's for her own good!

She weighed 11 lbs. 14 oz which is in the 80th percentile... go girl! Then they measured her at

22 1/2 inches which I thought wasn't right because she seemed so long. Then when we took her in the other room for her injections, the nurse commented on how long she is and I said they only measured her at 22 1/2 inches. She couldn't believe that so she got out a measuring and sure enough, she's 23 1/2 inches. So they updated her records. Not sure what percentile her new measurement is but the original 22 1/2 inch measurement would have put her at the 60th percentile. I can't believe how much she's grown.

I took her 2 month pictures yesterday. If you remember from a previous post, I accidentally ordered the boy stickers for the onesies instead of the girl stickers so I put a bow in her hair so she looks a little more girly, but the bow is brown and blends into her hair so yes... it is a girl not a boy! Happy Birthday Farrah!

ps she looks so much like her daddy in these pics it's ridiculous. Especially when you compare them to his baby pics. Lucky lady!