15 July 2010
14 July 2010
Babywise Story
I subscribe/follow this blog regularly, and they are currently asking for stories in SUPPORT of the principles of using "Babywise" due to increasing antagonism against it. So - if none of this sounds at all interesting to you... just ignore this post. :)
When my first daughter was born, the generally difficult transition of being a first-time new mom was exacerbated by the unfortunate emergency C-section that had been performed after nearly 18 hours of painful back labor and almost an hour of active pushing. The first couple of weeks were very difficult. Especially when, at 3 weeks old, she incurred an ear infection in both ears just as my maternal grandmother passed away. We attended the funeral, grateful for a baby that was so drugged up on pain drugs and antibiotics that she slept blissfully through the entire thing. Unfortunately, a week passed and she still seemed to be crying from pain... constantly. We took her back to the doctor who checked her ears and a few other things and said she seemed fine and that some babies are just "criers." I shrugged it off to bad luck as a new mommy and did my best to cope.
When she was about 6 weeks old, she was still nursing terribly; we tried everything. Mylicon drops, a prescription for acid reflux, I went on the elimination diet, Gripe water, we took long drives at night, extreme swaddling/white noise/black-out curtains, a visit to a Chiropractor.. Nothing seemed to get this baby to sleep longer than 45 minutes without waking up SCREAMING... even at night. It came to a head one night, at 2 AM, when we decided to take her to the E.R. They checked everything. They even did a barium enema, finding no probable causes. One of the ER doctors mentioned "Babywise," and I just glared at him. Little did anyone know I had tried EVERYTHING in ALL books, including BW... all to no avail.
Long story short - I ended up changing pediatricians, and had an amazing Dr. who chalked it up to "colic" and said we'd have to wait it out. In the mean time, she referred me to a sleep doctor at a Children's Hospital in SLC, Ut. He informed me that "sleep training" a colicky baby was unwise. That brought me relief, because I just couldn't listen to my baby cry for 4 hours straight when it sounded like she was in horrific pain all the time. When she was 6 months old, I came across a Chiropractor who offered to see her for free. He eliminated her colic instantly and when she was 9 months old, the sleep doctor gave me the go ahead to begin sleep-training. Following a rough version of Babywise, it took not even a week and our poor little screamer had become a perfect angel.
When my 2nd child was born, I was diagnosed with post-partum depression when she was 6 weeks old. It become a trigger for my anxiety (my blood would, literally, boil) when she would cry only 5 minutes after I would lay her down. I was feeding her on a schedule, but just couldn't get her sleep right, and I felt like she was too young for a rigid sleep schedule. But, due to my increasing anxiety (and, what was later diagnosed as PTSD due to my 1st child's colic), I called a relative who often did Babywise the moment she got home from the hospital. She reassured me that a 6-week-old was not too young for Babywise (a few well-meaning older ladies at Church had given me their opinions on "scheduling" such a young baby... gotta' love 'em), and since I knew it wasn't colic, I began it at the very next nap.
She never cried for longer than 20 minutes, and she took a deliciously long nap that resulted in her nursing like a champ at her next feeding. Another thing was stumbling on the "Chronicles..." website. It was so refreshing to see how well it worked at such a young age, and that I really wasn't just a "mean mommy." I've also been able to help many friends and family members with their new babies by giving sought after advice and encouragement when it gets difficult. It hasn't been without bumps and obstacles, but overall, using Babywise was a huge contributor in helping me overcome the PPD (well - that and some "happy pills").
I was able to get off the medication only 4 months later. My 2nd child is now a year and a 1/2 and incredibly strong-willed. I can only imagine what she'd be like if she hadn't learned the value of strong discipline and order in her home. My oldest is 4 and 1/2, and people are constantly remarking about how good-natured she is. She is the only girl in her pre-school class who still willingly takes a nap.
As cheesy as it may sound... B.W. nearly saved my life; literally.
MY B.W. STORY
When my first daughter was born, the generally difficult transition of being a first-time new mom was exacerbated by the unfortunate emergency C-section that had been performed after nearly 18 hours of painful back labor and almost an hour of active pushing. The first couple of weeks were very difficult. Especially when, at 3 weeks old, she incurred an ear infection in both ears just as my maternal grandmother passed away. We attended the funeral, grateful for a baby that was so drugged up on pain drugs and antibiotics that she slept blissfully through the entire thing. Unfortunately, a week passed and she still seemed to be crying from pain... constantly. We took her back to the doctor who checked her ears and a few other things and said she seemed fine and that some babies are just "criers." I shrugged it off to bad luck as a new mommy and did my best to cope.
When she was about 6 weeks old, she was still nursing terribly; we tried everything. Mylicon drops, a prescription for acid reflux, I went on the elimination diet, Gripe water, we took long drives at night, extreme swaddling/white noise/black-out curtains, a visit to a Chiropractor.. Nothing seemed to get this baby to sleep longer than 45 minutes without waking up SCREAMING... even at night. It came to a head one night, at 2 AM, when we decided to take her to the E.R. They checked everything. They even did a barium enema, finding no probable causes. One of the ER doctors mentioned "Babywise," and I just glared at him. Little did anyone know I had tried EVERYTHING in ALL books, including BW... all to no avail.
Long story short - I ended up changing pediatricians, and had an amazing Dr. who chalked it up to "colic" and said we'd have to wait it out. In the mean time, she referred me to a sleep doctor at a Children's Hospital in SLC, Ut. He informed me that "sleep training" a colicky baby was unwise. That brought me relief, because I just couldn't listen to my baby cry for 4 hours straight when it sounded like she was in horrific pain all the time. When she was 6 months old, I came across a Chiropractor who offered to see her for free. He eliminated her colic instantly and when she was 9 months old, the sleep doctor gave me the go ahead to begin sleep-training. Following a rough version of Babywise, it took not even a week and our poor little screamer had become a perfect angel.
When my 2nd child was born, I was diagnosed with post-partum depression when she was 6 weeks old. It become a trigger for my anxiety (my blood would, literally, boil) when she would cry only 5 minutes after I would lay her down. I was feeding her on a schedule, but just couldn't get her sleep right, and I felt like she was too young for a rigid sleep schedule. But, due to my increasing anxiety (and, what was later diagnosed as PTSD due to my 1st child's colic), I called a relative who often did Babywise the moment she got home from the hospital. She reassured me that a 6-week-old was not too young for Babywise (a few well-meaning older ladies at Church had given me their opinions on "scheduling" such a young baby... gotta' love 'em), and since I knew it wasn't colic, I began it at the very next nap.
She never cried for longer than 20 minutes, and she took a deliciously long nap that resulted in her nursing like a champ at her next feeding. Another thing was stumbling on the "Chronicles..." website. It was so refreshing to see how well it worked at such a young age, and that I really wasn't just a "mean mommy." I've also been able to help many friends and family members with their new babies by giving sought after advice and encouragement when it gets difficult. It hasn't been without bumps and obstacles, but overall, using Babywise was a huge contributor in helping me overcome the PPD (well - that and some "happy pills").
I was able to get off the medication only 4 months later. My 2nd child is now a year and a 1/2 and incredibly strong-willed. I can only imagine what she'd be like if she hadn't learned the value of strong discipline and order in her home. My oldest is 4 and 1/2, and people are constantly remarking about how good-natured she is. She is the only girl in her pre-school class who still willingly takes a nap.
As cheesy as it may sound... B.W. nearly saved my life; literally.
05 July 2010
Independence Day
On Saturday (the 3rd) we took a nice little stroll on the sidewalks of Huntington Beach where a festival was going on and we saw a freaking AWESOME T-Rex puppeteer do his thing as an advertisement for this. (My camera was COMPLETELY dead! So mad). We also watched some b-boy street dancers, to whom Malia donated a dollar. And we enjoyed solicitors and vendors getting on our ever-loving last nerve, convinced that their obnoxious tactics would cause me to dig into my empty wallets to purchase ridiculously chintzy crap for insane amounts of money.
But we don't live in Utah anymore, so when the 4th of July happens upon a Sunday, there isn't much we can really do that we feel is "Sabbath-appropriate." After all, I do have love and reverence for my country... but I love and revere my Savior and my covenants more, so what're you gonna' do.
Well, we went to Church, and came home. The girls napped. We had dinner. Exciting, hey?
But that didn't stop us from three of our most favorite traditions:
(we watched them from the lawn of a great-&-spacious Church down the street where there is a decent view of the show at the military base across the way)
And when your child is so exhausted that they choose staring into oblivion like a zombie over actual sleep, you know it's been a good day...
And then the hubby and I topped it off with my annual viewing of "1776" and some hot chocolate chip cookies (pardon the constant disrespect of the 3rd commandment in the following clip....).
But we don't live in Utah anymore, so when the 4th of July happens upon a Sunday, there isn't much we can really do that we feel is "Sabbath-appropriate." After all, I do have love and reverence for my country... but I love and revere my Savior and my covenants more, so what're you gonna' do.
Well, we went to Church, and came home. The girls napped. We had dinner. Exciting, hey?
But that didn't stop us from three of our most favorite traditions:
Festive holiday foods
Dressing up in our red-white-&-blues
and fireworks!!!
and fireworks!!!
(we watched them from the lawn of a great-&-spacious Church down the street where there is a decent view of the show at the military base across the way)
And when your child is so exhausted that they choose staring into oblivion like a zombie over actual sleep, you know it's been a good day...
And then the hubby and I topped it off with my annual viewing of "1776" and some hot chocolate chip cookies (pardon the constant disrespect of the 3rd commandment in the following clip....).
I like to see a man
proud of the place in which he lives.
I like to see a man live
so that his place will be proud of him.
~Abraham Lincoln~
proud of the place in which he lives.
I like to see a man live
so that his place will be proud of him.
~Abraham Lincoln~
30 June 2010
23 June 2010
2nd Child Syndrome
So - of course, Cecily doesn't get near the blog-time her sister got at this age because, well... there's TWO of them now, ok?! I am no superwoman!
Ok... defensive spell has passed. Moving on...
Just before the passing of my grandpa, I had this whole 18-month-old milestones post prepared in my head for our sweet CC, and then stuff happened. And now Cecily has been 18 months old for 2 1/2 weeks. But, hey. Better late than never, eh?
We love our CCLemon heaps and heaps. One of the most wonderful and frustrating things about her is that she is NOTHING like her sister. She can be really laid back at times. There are moments where she just, simply, sits back and observes. She often does this when being introduced to new situations. Whereas her sister initially warmed up to any and all strangers in a matter of seconds at this age, CC holds on a little tighter to me and sort of stares at a person until she has gauged for herself whether or not the situation is worth investing in. However - despite her somewhat laid-back approach to social situations, and despite being able to occasionally handle overtired moments with a fairly calm demeanor... she. has. a. temper.
Wow. Such a temper.
The child has been alive for just over a year and we have already experienced at least 1/2 a dozen tantrums that involve a desperate army crawl of sobs and wails that have lasted over 10 minutes. We are learning about the ingenious principle of simply leaving a child to sort out their issues on their own sometimes. Interference can often = World War III.
Despite those moments, our CCLemon is such a sweet snuggle bunny. She is a hugger and I just love, love, LOVE that. And, despite her initial hesitations with new people as well as her... "willful" disposition... she is still fairly obedient and very love-y. We saw a lot of family the last week with the funeral and such, and when we would say, "Ok, CC. Give hugs and say 'bye'," she would do just that. To everyone. And when she hugs, she lays her head on you and says, "Awwwwwww." And it is so dang cute.
Words she says:
Mommy
Daddy
Sis-tha (Sister)
Hi
Bye
Sky
Burrrrrrr (bird)
See? (Can I see that?)
Psssssss (please)
Jesus
Puppy
Baby
Baw (ball)
Nana (banana)
Bah-po (apple)
Moon
Shooooot (shoes)
Car
Ee, ee, ee, ee, ee, ee (eat)
Nahn (want)
Down? (up & down)
No (no)
Nooo? (yes)
"B" (all letters)
Nguh (said like "guh" with your mouth closed = drink)
Dat (that)
Dat tieeeeeeme (bath time)
Ca-caw (cracker)
Gestures:
Waves hi & bye
Gives hugs
Locates nose, mouth, bellybutton, toes, fingers, and bum
Blinks when asked where eyes are
Pats head for "hat"
Likes to cross her fingers and then point at things
Does "where is ----" with shrugged shoulders/palms up
Understands:
"What do you say?" & responds with please
"Come here"
"Be soft"
"Pick out a book"
"Let's go"
"Get (so & so)"
"Time to eat"
Mommy
Daddy
Sis-tha (Sister)
Hi
Bye
Sky
Burrrrrrr (bird)
See? (Can I see that?)
Psssssss (please)
Jesus
Puppy
Baby
Baw (ball)
Nana (banana)
Bah-po (apple)
Moon
Shooooot (shoes)
Car
Ee, ee, ee, ee, ee, ee (eat)
Nahn (want)
Down? (up & down)
No (no)
Nooo? (yes)
"B" (all letters)
Nguh (said like "guh" with your mouth closed = drink)
Dat (that)
Dat tieeeeeeme (bath time)
Ca-caw (cracker)
Gestures:
Waves hi & bye
Gives hugs
Locates nose, mouth, bellybutton, toes, fingers, and bum
Blinks when asked where eyes are
Pats head for "hat"
Likes to cross her fingers and then point at things
Does "where is ----" with shrugged shoulders/palms up
Understands:
"What do you say?" & responds with please
"Come here"
"Be soft"
"Pick out a book"
"Let's go"
"Get (so & so)"
"Time to eat"
There are more, I'm sure, and considering my current exhausted state of mind, I'm probably missing the best ones.
She has definitely inherited, as I mentioned before, a strong will from her mother, which will either make or break her... like her mother. She has also inherited a lack of grace... again, from me. But she loves to dance, and it usually is done with her feet spread shoulder-width apart, and her legs locked straight, as she rocks side-to-side. She also loves to attempt to sing, but only if she recognizes the song. She loves to watch "Little Einsteins" on the Disney Channel, and tries to count down with them, with "1-2-3" sounding like "Duh-Doooo-Eeeeeeeee!" She pat-pats for blast off and even throws her arms up and shakes them to help Rocket get in the sky. She'll be an astronaut, for sure.
She started nursery at Church two weeks ago, and I thought I was really ready for it. But I have already come to miss her terribly... mostly because I listen better when my hands are busy. ;)
We love having our CC in our lives. And the girls are so good with each other. Every night, after I get Malia out of the tub and just before I lay Cecily down, they give each other a hug and kiss without hesitation. It's so darn sweet and I am inspired by their kindness to each other and their (usual) willingness to share... with each other, anyway.
We couldn't imagine our lives without the laughter and love she has added, ten-fold.
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