TIO?

So I had thought out my "mothering style" before I was even blessed with Kylee. I had already thought about how I would deal with her sleeping, eating, crying, etc. I read about CIO (crying it out) and decided that it was something I wanted to at least try. I am a firm believer that babies/children really need to learn how to soothe themselves. That being said, I don't think it should go to the extent of neglect. I think CIO is a nice balance between those two things. SO, I awaited the time when I believed it would be appropriate to start letting Kylee learn to soothe herself. I prepared myself for many sleep deprived times ahead. I stocked up on Tylenol in preparation for all the headaches I was going to endure. I got in one last night of REALLY good sleep. And..I jumped in, head first! I laid her down..kissed her..told her I loved her....turned on her rainforrest mobile toy thing..and walked out of the room. I sat down..in the fetal position almost..and waited for it...(Father above, please give me strength to endure what she is about to release upon me.)..and waited...waited a little longer..and then went and checked on her (omg, is she still breathing??!?!)..and found...WHAT?!?! No crying? No screaming? No holding her breath until she was blue in the face? No puking from doing those said things? WHAT?!?!?! Now this picture was taken from her nap today. But the first time I attempted CIO it pretty much looked the same I assure you. I was just too nervous to actually walk in and take a picture for fear of waking the beast.



So why you ask...why is my blog entry titled TIO and not CIO? Well...after her first couple of times sleeping in there, not making much of a sound, just watching her mobile toy..she has started something new. No, its not crying, screaming, or any other evil things infants/children/adults do to get attention. It's talking. She'll talk to her mobile for a good 3-5 minutes before falling asleep. It's quite possibly the cutest thing ever! (She is the world's cutest baby, so what do you expect?) The first time I watched her do it..my eyes filled with tears. There she was..my 4 month old baby...soothing herself. I have a feeling that her and that mobile...it's going to be one beautiful friendship. Thank you Fisher Price...Thank you!



Here she is after she woke up...


Look how red her little cheek is from sleeping on it. I tell ya...too darn cute! Cheers for Kylee being a self-soothing absolute cutie!

Shots and Sweet Potatoes

So today was Kylee's 4 mo. Well Baby Check. This means aside from watching her tip the scales and bust out of the head measuring doodad, she received her 4 month SHOTS! But, in case you're wondering, Kylee is 15lbs 5oz, 24 3/4 inches tall, and has a head size of 44cm, which puts her in the 95%. Anyways, back to the shots, she had to have 2. She also had to drink that Rotavirus vaccine stuff (which she devoured in a mere 8.5 seconds). The first shot produced a slight whimper and the second shot caused some brief wailing. Overall, she did amazing and was smiling seconds after it was all said and done. I have before pictures and at home pictures. I mean really, what kind of mother would prolong the comforting of their recently traumatized (due to the evil needle) infant just to snap a few pictures? It's sick I tell you..sick..and I would NEVER upload pictures like that on my computer and store them in the 'Well Baby' folder..NEVER! Here she was....naive as ever...

Upon returning home, Kylee had to tell daddy all about the evil doctors and nurses and all the HORRIBLE things they did to her. She also proudly displayed her battle wounds!

But on a bright note...Dr. P okay'd solids today. (cereals and stage 1 foods!) We'd already been giving her the rice cereal. Now we were moving on to bigger and better things...think...Sweet Potatoes! She really is Miss Independent. She kept grabbing the spoon from me!

But she clearly loved it!

Oh and I don't want to forget to mention that my cute one is already practicing good hygiene skills! We purchased her first toothbrush/toothpaste set and she LOVED it. I think she wants to be a spokesbaby for Orajel!

He's kickin the 'BUTT'

So my wonderful future husband, Timothy, is now on Day 11 of not smoking. This is nothing short of amazing considering the man has smoked for nearly 2 frickin' decades! (Mind you he's only 33). He did have a minor slip up in the form of 2 lung killers on St. Patty's Day..but he's back on track and in 'BUTT' kicking mode. He shall no longer be tempted by the evil ways of... a lame Class A cigarette!

He's on the patch. Or rather, the patch is on him. It seems to be helping him with the cravings and mood swings and whatever other evil side effects haunt him. However, yesterday, he thought he would be brave and go out into the world (to his workplace nonetheless) WITHOUT said patch. WTF?! I must say I give him major props for this idea..however, I did not enjoy dealing with the nicotine-craving maniac that returned home in the late afternoon. He was pacing the house, proposing that he only smokes on Saturdays (really, who does that?), holding my new camera hostage until I agreed to go buy him cigarettes...the whole shabang. Finally, I snuck into the kitchen, ripped open the package to one of his patches, crept up behind him and....BAM! Slapped that son-of-a-mother dead square in the middle of his back! I then gently rubbed it and assured him that the cravings soon would pass. (I know this, I myself, am an ex-smoker...) For the rest of the evening he was sweet as could be and back to himself. He's going to beat this ....I know he will.

Note: That is not Timothy's arm..nor his patch. His patches are clear and his arm is much pastier. Ah thank you winter! But his arm is also buff...I'm talking ripped...think body builder and then ADD some muscle!... (I know he's going to read this so I must butter him up for allowing me to blog about his journey to being smoke free).

I'm very proud of him. This is by far one of the best decisions he's made since becoming a father (besides asking me to marry him...duh!....) and I will continue to support him and give him strength, regardless of how poop pants he can get. So send him some good vibes and moral support!

A Blogger?

So, I've decided to give a go at this whole blogging thing. We'll see how it goes. I've never been one who's kept up with journaling or anything like that. BUT, now that I have the world's cutest baby to show off to my friends and family, maybe that will be motivation enough. In case you're wondering which amazing baby I'm talking about...please see above and I'm sure you'll agree with me. So, please don't judge me as I shuffle along in this whole blogging situation. I'm sure it's going to be a while before I can add 'Fantastic Blogger' to my resume.

Coming soon: The life of Kylee (well..the 4 months of it I can share right now)