Kicks and Giggles

Both tonight and last night, they announced on the news that they are releasing violent offenders onto the streets.  They also announced this same thing a couple weeks ago.  Today the news said that they have released 6 of these people in the last year or so.  Not a big deal except for one thing.  Every single one of these people is at high risk to re-offend, so I wonder…WHY ARE THEY LETTING THEM OUT???  If they feel they have to issue a public warning (And they don’t for everybody they release) then maybe you should not be letting them out on bail or parole.

Well, it has officially been over six weeks since Jacob was born and although he sleeps really well at night (usually one six hour stretch and one four hour stretch) he was having horrible trouble napping.  I would spend almost all day rocking him to sleep or holding him.  This was not good.  For one thing, it was eight thousand degrees (not literally, probably closer to 29) in our house.  (The only acceptable reason for this hot of weather is the beach.  As we do not have one close, this weather is unacceptable).  For another thing, it gave me almost no time to spend with Chloe.  I really felt like I was neglecting her.  I also was unable to get anything done, or have a nap myself. 

I did this, because I knew if he didn’t nap, he would become overtired and not sleep that night.  I had that happen with Chloe and there were nights where I would rock her to sleep and put her down only to have her wake up 10-20 minutes later and then we would repeat this process for anywhere from 1-3 hours.  I was reading one of many sleep books and the one I was reading (Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child) said that there are three keys for naps. 

   1. Motionless sleep (not sleeping in a car or swing or stroller, etc, being put to sleep that way is okay, but doing it for the entirety of the nap is not)

 2. Not exceeding the period of wakefulness (1-2 hours in small babies) and letting the child become overtired.

 3. Consistency in soothing styles. (rocking into deep sleep, placing in crib awake, etc.)

The first two, I was doing, the third, not so much.  So, yesterday we started it.  Since I can’t rock him into a deep sleep always because I have Chloe, I chose to rock him with a soother for 5 min and then place him in the crib awake.  I knew he was able to self soothe, as he has been doing it at night for a while.  He cried a long time yesterday morning before he fell asleep.  The rest of the day, there was no crying, except for about 5 min before bedtime.  Today, there was no crying at all!  As long as I am very careful about not keeping him awake too long, he seems to fall asleep quite nicely, so I am very careful about when I put him to bed. I don’t want to get too excited and think that I have fixed the problem, but I am hopeful!  Today, both my kids were in bed by 7:15!  Jacob will probably wake up around 10/11 to eat and then again around 3/4.  It makes for pretty good nights and easier days.

Well, Christy was here last weekend and with her help, we finally got Chloe’s room all finished!  Here are some pictures.

The last little bit has been incredibly busy.  We have had oodles of company.  Jacob has had more doctors appointments then I thought possible for a relatively healthy child and he has been exhibiting quite a bit of fusiness the last week or so.  Our company is finally over.  While it was nice to see everybody that has been her over the past month, I am glad to have our house to ourselves and our lives somewhat back to normal. 

Jacob’s doctors appointments have finally wound down.  All we have left is the chiropractor and he says that Jacob is doing really well so we should be done soon.  (We have been going as Jacob is favouring his left side).  We have had his normal doctors appointments and he has had a couple eye infections.  He is also still jaundiced and had a dialated uretur show up on prenatal ultrasound.  We had another ultrasound for that when he was about three weeks old and they will do another one when he is about 3 months old.  It should go away on its own and isn’t too serious.  We also went to see a pediatrician for his jaundice.  She was not concerned about it and says it should go away on its own as well.  The level was not extremely high and apparently extended jaundice is quite common in breastfed babies, so I won’t worry.

He has also been kind of fussy that last couple weeks.  He has been hard to put down in his crib and occasionally difficult to get to sleep, especially in this heat.  We actually had to take him for a drive today, something we never did with Chloe.  Due to this incredibly busy schedule and Jacob’s fussiness, I have not had time for myself to do something for a while.  Finally tonight, Chloe went to bed, and Jacob was still sleeping in his car seat, so I went out, BY MYSELF!  Just to Wal-Mart where I bought a couple shorts and tank tops for summer, as well as a couple other things.

And here are some pictures, cause pictures make all posts exciting.

This morning a telemarketer called.  As I know they are just doing their job, I try to not be rude and say no politely, until they stop accepting my nos.  Anyway, as I was just about to tell her that I wasn’t interested, Chloe fell off her riding toy and started crying.  While I don’t love that Chloe hurt herself, even though it was quite minor, I couldn’t help but apprectiate her choice of timing.

And here is a picture of my soother loving babies.

This afternoon, I was sitting on my couch, cuddling Jacob who had just finished nursing and reading stories to Chloe.  I absolutely love moments like that.  I may be lacking in sleep, my body has been through a lot and doesn’t look the same as it once did, my house is never clean and sometimes I want to pull my hair out, but moments like the ones on my couch make it all totally worth it.  Now, both my kids are in bed and I am going to get some ice cream and finish watching Twilight.  Today I was reminded that life is good!