Tummy-Time

Let me preface my planned video post with this disclaimer:

...Ahhh the SIDS debate. I hear ya, I hear ya. I also know what sleep deprivation feels like and have seen it on a 1 month old.  It's not pretty.

Insert stomach sleeping.

I'm still not sleeping very well for fear of his stomach sleeping, but I know it's what makes him feel better.  Our Pediatric Gastroenterologist indirectly recommended this as the preferred method of sleeping infants with reflux.  (Of course, they cannot ethically recommend this to parents.)  Thankfully, I have a video monitor clear enough to watch him breathe and have recently borrowed a movement monitor that will alarm me if he stops breathing.  I plan to install the movement monitor when we move him upstairs for good. It's honestly for my own piece of mind; which in Mommy-world makes all the difference.

So -- the video -- this is from the morning after he slept on his stomach. The kid hasn't been this happy since that gooey newborn phase the first 2 weeks we were home from the hospital.

Love him (excuse the crappy iphone video):

First Swim

So, the clouds have parted and the sun begins to shine again (well, in our case continue to shine and bake us all to a crisp). Colic is gone and we are working hard to get back on track.  I've been referencing some of my Mommy literature and am anxiously trying to get Knox rested and on some sort of patterned sleep schedule.
For the weeks surrounding colic we were lucky to get a 30 min nap in him during the day and any more than 2 hours of REM sleep at night.  Now, almost 2 weeks post-colic, we are on the fast track to normalcy. I'm beginning to see my bags under my eyes disappear. Praise sweet baby Jesus.

In the spirit of "anew", I thought I'd share some quick ol' iphone photos of my sweet boys swimming with Nana (pronounced: Naaaa Naaaa - just to clarify ;p). My Mom had been swimming with Nash and once I saw the sun disappear behind the trees and offer some shade, I slipped out with my little naked nugget to let him feel the warmth (and by warmth, I mean bath water warm) of the pool. He was content and I was pleased.

Again, we welcome the post-colic era:

My vicious circle of colic

Love these definitions:

Babycenter says colic is.... a term used to describe uncontrollable crying in an otherwise healthy baby.

Wikipedia says colic is....  is a condition in which an otherwise healthy baby cries or screams frequently and for extended periods, without any discernible reason.

However, for this Mommy, colic is defined by:

- sleepless nights, days, and all the time in between

- headaches, backaches, body aches

- sadness your baby is unhappy

- and ultimately lots of money spend on wine to soothe nerves.

We honestly did not see colic coming in Knox. SURELY having one baby with colic and reflux was enough for this lifetime. Um no. I figure I have these challenging newborns now and I'll have easy grade school or teenagers later... right? Why not, a girl can dream.

Literally it went off like a switch.  One day my sweet, easy-going, sleep-eat-poop, little guy turned into a raging, hysterical and inconsolable child. Thing is... I KNEW something was up. I knew he had reflux from day 1. 

I should mention here that now, after 2 kids with colic, I can confidently tell you that colic is something that happens as a result of other factors. Colic in itself isn't brought on by nothing at all... With Nash it was the reflux alone and with Knox it was a combination of the reflux and the tummy troubles causes by his sensitivities.  The thing to remember is that it passes once you get the factors under control.

This is Knox one evening laying next to me in bed. 

He was having NOTHING to do with me.

---Lesson #1 in parenting--- You are your child's advocate. I remember telling his pediatrician for weeks at a time that he had reflux and they kept putting me off.  In hindsight, I wouldn't have taken 'no' for an answer. 

---Lesson #2 in parenting--- The doctor isn't God. Use your gut and do what's best for your family and your child. 

Knox was a fidgety, gassy (and when I mean 'gassy', I mean GASSY), fussy thing for almost 4 weeks before the hysteria came in. Nash didn't have all that nonsense, so I chalked it up to run-of-the-mill gas. Not so much. Trial and error had us with 2 different formulas behind my belt and raw nipples on account of marathon nursing to keep him calm. After 2 weeks of crying and 4 solid days of non-stop screaming + no sleep on anyone's part, I called his pediatrician waving the white flag. I. Give. Up. 

We changed him to Enfamil's Nurtramegin formula for babies with extreme colic by way of a milk protein intolerance; one week on solid Zantac and -- whala! new kid.

Knox after the "switch" went off:

I should also touch on my little helper how he dealt with this whole scenario.  Nash was actually, remarkably, tolerant of most of the screaming and Mommy's lack of patience.  He spent most of the time watching movies in his chair. Brilliant if you ask me. :)

Monkey See. Monkey Do.

Knox is breastfed.

Nash is 2.5 years old.

And I have a little shadow:

My Mom dug out my Cabbage Patch doll from storage to help Nash adjust to having a baby in the house. He does a great job rocking, feeding, laying the baby down... and then his testosterone kicks in and he hits the doll with his baseball bat. At any rate though, he'll be a good daddy one day :)

Potty Training. The Beginning --

I'd like to send a shout-out to ol' Nana and her readiness to have Nash potty trained. Thank you. I actually don't think we would've been as far along (not ACTUALLY that far along, but you know) as we are without her having those wonderful "grandma patience" that mommies tend to lack.

So, let me paint this picture for you: it's 400 degrees here and we can't play outside; not even in the morning hours. Nash wakes up everyday rarin' to go and with a new baby in the house Mommy is less than eager to much of anything... but sleep. So, one afternoon while watching movie #3,890 of the week, Nash mentions he has to "poop". Mom and I just look at each other, scoop Nash up and haul butt (get it? haha) to the bathroom. No golden ticket to speak of but some entertaining pictures to share:

what's a little private time without words with friends, right?

He will, undoubtedly, kill me for this post one day. Mommy's right. Sorry ;p

Nash's Big Boy Room Conversion

So, it's finally finished. That same relieved feeling I got from accomplishing Knox's nursery, I have today. Ahh. I collapsed onto my soft armchair in a fit of exhaustion and determination to post the pictures of his new room.  It's sort of my "trophy" for finishing a project. I love that feeling. It's my drug. (I wish that drug also had a dose of energy and maybe a sprinkle of a sleep aid... but satisfaction will have to do for now.)

As I gathered the images from his big boy room, I'm reminded of the same feeling I had over his nursery. It's bittersweet. I was anxious to be a first time Mommy and to get to spend all that time up there you're told you'll have to enjoy... every frame, every stuffed toy, every bright-colored baby accessory. Now, closing the door to Nash's room at night I'm so proud how far we've come: no more late nights up over reflux, no more colicky crying for hours on end, no more cereal bottles to help hold it all down.  Now it's just sweet giggles over bedtime stories, ABCs sung over the monitor and new milestones like brushing teeth and blowing our own noses. Times flies by so fast. (Insert an image of my dark circles and bags under my eyes here: I'm right back there -- thank you, Knox.)

Here it is... what I believe to be a conversion from baby to big boy that hopefully will last us the next 6 years. **fingers crossed**

It was important for me to keep the basics to his nursery in order to save money. 

So instead of painting, changing his curtains, etc., I incorporated his "baby" colors into a more

"big boy" feel that could carry him until those oh-so-fun tween years.

I altered the focus of this room (his bed) to the opposite wall to muffle some of the 

hallway noise and game room noise.  I'd always wished his crib wasn't on the same wall as the hallway

desk and the top of the stairs.  In addition, I wanted a "book wall" to bring color and pattern to the room; 

something so totally overwhelming to a 2 year old. Win!

Thanks, Papa! This was a Christmas Gift to Grandpa who was too scared to crash and burn with it.  

Instead, it finds a new home above Nash's bed, hung by monofilament line and cup hooks. 

Love how he can lay in his bed and stare at the plane suspended from the ceiling.

The bed was an "heirloom" from some family long ago. After a little TLC from Nana, it was perfect for the little guy!

Soooooo that bed? Yahh... It was originally going to be navy. Turns out the paint SUCKED and we scrapped the idea.

I'm glad it didn't work out.  Let's call it a "happy mistake".

I love that ABC decal above his bed. He does too... I spend many an evening listening to him 

learn his ABCs over the monitor. Score one for Mommy!

Remember those canvases from the first pic? I couldn't bare to part with them yet. 

Relocated to this corner for now.  As we hit grade school, I'll likely move them to my

stairwell with the rest of the family photos. 

Welp. There ya go. It's done. What project now?????

Um. Hell no. (at least for now ;p)

Sources:

• white frames on wall - Aaron Brothers
• white shelves on book wall - IKEA
• white shelves above night stand - IKEA
• brackets for shelves - IKEA
• shag rug - IKEA
• patterned pillow on bed - Jonathan Adler
• car pillow - Dwell Studio
• quilt - Dwell Studio
• letter decal - Etsy