Becoming more independent!

     The past few nights I have noticed our nighttime routine has been getting shorter and shorter. This is how it all began...
     The other night C was playing with his fingers while I was rocking him. I looked down and his eyes were wide open!! I continue to rock him for about 30 more minutes. Still wide awake! Normally, by now, C's eyes would be getting heavy and looking pretty drowsy. Nope! Hmm, maybe he is trying to stay awake to get my love and attention. So, I laid C in his crib just to see what happens and 5 minutes later, he's asleep!! What?! Maybe it was a fluke or maybe I just got lucky. Well, I tried it again the next night and it worked. What is going on here? Now, we are on the third night of this new routine and C is crying in my arms. Why is he crying? Is he crying because he's overtired? Overstimulated? Wants to be put down in his crib? Wants to use me as his pacifier? Well..."Let's try this." I laid C in his crib and he went to sleep without a peep!
Is my babe becoming more independent? Is it a sign that he finally gets this whole nighttime sleep thing? Pretty soon, I will be able to read him one book and sing him a song or two and he will be ready for bed. This makes me a little sad. My babe is becoming more independent. I know babies aren't babies forever but it makes me sad to see my little one growing up so quickly. Next week he will be 6 months old. Where did the time go?
     So, now he probably doesn't need my help so much anymore to go to sleep..at nighttime that is. Now, we just have to work on naps.

10 signs that you are sleep deprived

10. You put the new roll of toilet paper in the refrigerator.

9. You put your baby's clothes on backwards and it takes you a few diaper changes to figure this out.

8. You start to go to bed earlier and earlier each night and going to sleep at 8:30 sounds like a good idea.

7. You try to take a nap during a 4am feeding.

6. You lose track of what day it is and ask your husband what he is doing at 6:45am on a Monday morning thinking that it is Sunday.

5. You accidentally put the wet diaper back on your baby and realize when you try to button up the onesie that there are two diapers on your baby.

4. You try everything that you know how to do to get your baby to nap so you can take a nap even if it is for 5 minutes.

3. You put the peanut butter in the refrigerator and the jelly in the cabinet.

2. You put your clothes on inside out because it's the middle of the night and you don't want to turn on any lights.

1. You hear a little whimper come from the nursery and hope that your baby falls back asleep so that you can get just a few more minutes of sleep.

DIY Dry Erase Board and Chalkboard

The new year brought on some inspiration to do some DIY projects. The first project we did was a chalkboard which was super easy and cheap.

Here's what you do for the chalkboard...

Materials:

1. picture frame without the glass

2. chalkboard paint (we used http://www.homedepot.com/buy/paint/spray-paint/rust-oleum/10-25-oz-rust-reformer-spray-98166.html)

3. a piece of wood the size of your picture frame

4. paint roller

5. staple gun

6. primer

Steps:

1. Prime the wood and let it dry.

2. Paint 3 coats of chalkboard paint on the wood allowing time for the paint to dry in between coats.

3. Once the wood is dry, use a staple gun and staple the wood on the back of the frame at an angle so if you need to replace the wood the staples will be easier to take out.

4. Season the chalkboard by taking a piece of chalk and turning it on its side and rub all over. Erase and enjoy.

Our next project or should I say my project, was to make a dry erase calendar. This is an easy project to make with supplies lying around your house.

Materials:

1. picture frame

2. scrapbook paper

3. scissors

4. ruler

5. markers

Steps:

1. Gather all your needed supplies.

 2. Decide on how big you want your calendar to be and draw in the boxes for your calendar. 

 3. Use scrapbook paper to make your calendar decorative.

4. Hang up and enjoy!

A work in progress

I'm new to all this blog stuff and have no idea what I'm doing. I read other people's blogs. Now, that I'm designing my own, I wonder how in the world do they make their blog so cute. So, I'm researching all there is about blog creating and things around here might change day to day or maybe not for a few days. This blog will always be a work in progress. Any tips?

"I'm tired. Aren't you?"

     Four loads of laundry.  Dishes washed and put away.  A trip to the mall and grocery store.  Lunch. Garbages taken out.  Mountains of spit up and two outfit changes.  Diapers stuffed.  And throw in there a mixture of nap attempts.  And still no nap for C.
     C is almost 6 months old and we have struggled with naps since day one.  We have tried this.  We have read that.  We have talked to friends and strangers.  We still have not been successful in the nap department.  Now, don't get me wrong, he has napped here and there for 1.5 hours a few times in his short life.  I get so excited.  I get my hopes up.  I hope that it continues the next day, but something happens either he naps for a real short period of time or not at all.  I think, what the heck, I did the same exact thing as yesterday so why isn't he napping today.
     I feel this pressure of getting him to nap by the time he goes in for his 6 month check up.  When we were at the doctor's office for his 4 month check up, I remember the doc saying, babies should be taking three naps a day by the time they are 6 months old.  What?!  My baby hardly takes one nap let alone three.  How am I going to get my baby to take three naps in two months time.  Well, here we are, February 16, only 14 more days left until the big 6 month check up AND still working on nap #1.
     Now, when C was a newborn, he fell asleep in the car, the stroller, and when he was worn in a baby carrier.  He would sleep in those things for hours.  Looking back I think, did I get him so use to sleeping one way that he won't nap in his crib.  Or do I miss that "magical window" of sleepy cues that by the time I am getting C ready for a nap, he is already overtired or overstimulated and can't calm himself down to fall asleep?  Or do I really have a baby that only naps for ten minutes to Target and that's enough sleep for the day (even though all the books say 10 minutes is not enough time for a nap)?  Or is it because I nurse on demand and don't have a set schedule for C? Or did I mess up his sleeping by holding him too much when he was a newborn and slept in my arms?  These questions run through my head on a daily basis.  So, now Collin is finally asleep in my arms and attached to my breast.  So, now what do I do?