Milestones

So, most people would agree that flowers blooming is a sign of Spring. So check out right below AJ's arm....a little yellow flower. We did at least get a little wet white stuff the next day but the days have been warm and FUN!!!
We also have a little one that is getting used to her new routine.....or so we convince ourselves. She is also getting really strong and does her pushups daily along with sitting on her own....or so we convince ourselves until she falls sideways. GO BOOM!!!

The afternoons are long and cranky as we change the feeding schedule......it will be over eventually:)

Learning through repetition

I'm reading a book I found at the library because both AJ and I have felt that Sam's sleep habits are OK, but we could use suggestions for a direction to head towards improving her routine. She is at the point that she eats on demand through the day, usually every 3-4 hours. She wakes up 3 times a night, every 3 hours, to eat a midsized snack. She goes to sleep wonderfully and really stays asleep, even through the feedings, well in the night. The naps are a different story. They typically happen at around the same time every day but only for 30 minutes at a time, the occasional hour. So I went in search of some guidance to just push us in a direction. I really felt that her sporadic eating during the day was not enough to keep her through the night but I didn't really have any concrete advice on how to change things, other than getting on such a routine that it's impossible to live. I know that my mommy friends are having similar issues and some of them even seem to be struggling even more with a lack of sleep. We all want to provide the best development for our babies with a balance of nurturing and structure.

Highlights:
Most importantly she insists that it is the families life that the baby should learn to adapt, and the parents are always empowered!!!
Positive reinforcement is what teaches great behavior, not negative.
We teach them to move, talk, interact through repetition, so it makes sense to sleep train through repetition.
We need to teach them to sooth themselves, not rely on us soothing them all the time.
Don't get so repetitive with one action that it becomes the only answer to a problem.

This book, The baby sleep solution : a proven program to teach your baby to sleep twelve hours a night / by Suzy Giordano with Lisa Abidin, was originally design for multiples to help really establish a training for their more time consuming development. However, she applies it to all babies. The best part is I was able to read it in a few hours and it really is an outline step-by-step concept so that you have goals to start right away.

Sore Body

Well, yesterday beat me up. But, I can say that I finally took that first step, at least to a sore body....

AJ and I went for a 30 minute run. That's correct we finally got out and began training for the Relay Marathon we are doing in May with other Mama's and Dad's from our Bradley group. It felt great, at the time at least.

But I can't just kill myself with a run....then I had to ride my horse for the first time in like 7 months. I actually think that my butt must be bonier (sp?) since Sam because my a** hurts like no other.

Sam had fun laughing at the horses and dogs with Dad while I rode with my parents. It really was a nice day but wow.....today is another story:)

Menu again

I found a cool giveaway through the Meal Plan site. This food website posted some great menu ideas and some fresh support ideas as well. This giveaway is all about supporting grass fed, home grown beef. I don't see anything wrong with this kind of support group and look forward to maybe some wonderfully flavorful meals:)

Monday - Lemon and Parmesan-Crusted Chicken; Potato Au Gratin; veggies

Tuesday - Crockpot baked Spinach and cheese noodles

Wednesday - Chicken Jambalaya: boneless/skinless chicken breast, chopped onions & peppers, box jambalaya rice mix

Thursday - Turkey Burgers; sweet potato fries

Friday - Grilled Salmon; fresh veggies or KC FISH FRY!!!

Saturday - veggie Fried rice

Sunday - Pasta e Fagiloli; salad w/ homemade dressing

Full Day of FUN

Today the entire family (plus the Gurley's) went downtown again with brown bag lunches. We doubled the amount we did last time to 60 and found tummies for all. It was a nice experience again but this time we think there were some sketchy people hanging around, like maybe unfortunately dealing drugs or something. Hopefully the capital square isn't usually like that, we'll see. It is such a great eye opening experience for all though.

Then the O'Brien clan headed to a baby massage class where we learned to help Sam feel better as she grows. The Cribley/McCracken/Gurley crowd went to the Zoo. I understand they had a wonderful time!!! We learned a lot in class and look forward to helping Sam relaxe....plus maybe we'll learn some new techniques for each other:)Here is Sam in her awesome Komono outfit from Grandma Cribley. It seemed appropriate for the day since we spent it cleansing our souls and then relaxing in meditation. Ok, we fed the less fortunate and did massage but close enough!!