His own routine

**I've never participated in this before..but thought I would give it a try.  I read Kelly Korner all the time and decided to write a post that goes along with her Show us Your Life theme.  This weeks theme is best parenting advice.  I'm learning so much everyday and love to share any knowledge or experience I gain.  Please know that I am no expert (not even CLOSE), this is just what I've learned that might help someone out there!  I had no idea I'd learn so much in just 4 months! :)**

Routines..where do I start?!

Since Kason was born I have struggled with the idea of forcing a routine onto him.  I did want him to be in somewhat of a routine when it comes to eating and napping, but wasn't exactly sure at what age to start this.  I also didn't want to stress out about a schedule because I thought that would be hard on Duane and I along with Kason.  I read Babywise because I have a couple of friends that followed it's guidelines and they have the happiest, most well adjusted babies/kids I've ever met.  I wanted what they had, so I read the book.  Although I did like and agree with a lot of what Babywise suggested, I can also see why it might not work for some families.  It's all a matter of opinions.  I did know one thing, when Kason was old enough I wanted to put him on our (mine and Duane's) schedule instead of us rearranging out whole schedule for him.  I thought this would start bad habits and I didn't want that!

When we brought Kason home from the hospital I encouraged him to be on the eat, wake, sleep schedule because I thought this would help him sleep thru the night sooner rather than later.  I was not all about those 1, 3, and 6 am feedings, so I hoped that this would help.  At about 3 weeks Kason started to really follow this schedule.  Around this time he started only waking up once during the night at about 2 am.  At 8 weeks, sure enough, he slept that glorious 8 hours thru the night.  I was thrilled! I'm not sure if it was the schedule I had tried to put him on, or if I just got lucky..but I was thankful for a full nights sleep.  

He has done pretty well at sleeping thru the night.  He has had a couple of rough nights since 8 weeks, but for the most part he sleeps between 8-9 hours every night.  We have a nightly routine we started following around the time he started sleeping thru the night.  At around 10 we would give him a bath (shampoo every other night).  I would then rub lotion on him, put him in his pjs, and read to him (if he wasn't starving by this point).  After I had set the mood for bedtime, I would nurse him and put him to bed.  We've never (knock on wood) dealt with a lot of crying at bedtime.  Nap times are a different story..but we'll get there!  By 10:45 we were all in bed and fast asleep.  It was great!

Although this routine was working well for us, I realized I would be starting back to school soon.  I knew I'd have to wake up by 5 am so going to bed at 10:45 pm was no longer an option.  We also started noticing about 3 weeks ago that Kason would just melt down around 9 pm.  He would scream and cry because he was so tired from the day.  I would usually nurse him at 9 and then we'd still bathe him at 10.  From 9:30 - 10 he would just scream.  I'd feed him again at 10:30 and he would be out like a light!  (I know that's only 1.5 hours between feedings, but that's the only way he'll sleep thru the night.  He needs those two feedings close together to make it thru the night.  I've tried spacing them out..not a good idea!)  With school starting, I decided that we needed to start the bedtime routine about an hour earlier.  Not only would it help me, I could tell it's what Kason needed.  So we tried it.  I fed Kason at 8 instead of 9, gave him a bath and went thru the normal nighttime routine, and by 9:45 we were all asleep!  Kason slept thru the night and I actually had to wake him up at 6 to feed him.

Although we have the nighttime routine pretty much figured out, we're still working on a napping schedule.  Kason still catnaps throughout the day.  He'll sleep 20 min. here and 45 min. there..but never a  solid 2 hours like I would like.  I haven't really tried to force a set nap time on him because I think he will kind of fall into a routine on his own.  The last few mornings he has been taking a consistent morning nap around 9.  He'll sleep for about an hour and then he'll wake up ready to eat.  I'm thinking this will be his morning nap, which will be great.  Of course all of this happened right before I went back to school.  Oh well..it'll make it easier for my mom and sister I supposed! :)

I think the biggest thing I've learned about putting Kason on a schedule is to fit him into our schedule.  If we need to go to bed earlier, we'll make it so that Kason goes to bed earlier as well.  Along with this I think it's important to watch for cues from Kason.  The crying at 9 pm made me realize that an earlier bedtime was a must.  When he starts rubbing his eyes and fussing at 9 am, I know that it's nap time, not meal time.  I'm no professional, but I do feel like I'm learning SO much about how to figure out a good schedule that works for Kason along with his mama and daddy.  I'm sure the schedule will continuously change, but for now, I'm embracing a happy, scheduled baby!

I'd love to know any routine advice you have!  Feel free to leave a comment of email me! :)

Dear Kason

Dear Kason,

Tomorrow is your mama's first full day back at work.  I can't believe my 4.5 months at home with you are coming to an end.  I have truly enjoyed every moment that we have spent together, even the hard ones. You make me smile like no one else can and I am so thankful God has blessed me with such a sweet, happy baby.

Tomorrow will be a hard day for your mama.  I know you are probably too small to know that I am even gone, but I will for sure know that I am away from you.  For the past 4.5 months I have only left you for a few hours.  The 9 months prior to that you were with me every second of every day.  This is why it is going to be so hard for me to leave you tomorrow.  I know that you will be in good hands with Aunt Jill (and then Grandma on Friday) but it is still hard for me to think about.  I'm the one that has gotten to know everything about you over the past few months.  I know what makes you laugh, what makes you sad, and what toys are your favorite.  I know what every one of your cries means.  I know what to do to make you smile that huge toothless smile.  As much as I know that other people will learn all of these things about you, it won't be the same.  It's going to be a hard day (and a hard year).

Although I will miss you tomorrow, I want you to know that I am going back to work to do what is best for our family.  I will be working hard to provide for the things that you need.  I love teaching and loving on kids that might not get it at home.  Teaching is something that I think God has called me to do.  I know He wants me to help kids that need me.  I hope that you grow up seeing my desire to help children and in turn you will grow to love helping people.  I promise to work hard at school but when the day is over, I will come home and focus all of my time and energy on you and daddy.  I will leave work at work, plain and simple. Being a mommy will always be my most favorite job, and I want you to always remember that.

I am so grateful that I have gotten to spend with last 4.5 months at home getting to know you.  You have know idea how much you have changed my life in this short amount of time.  I have learned so much about what it means to love someone unconditionally, no matter what.  You bring so much joy to my life.  I can't wait to continue to watch you grow and learn.  I am so thankful for a job that allows me so many breaks to spend with you.  I know I will cherish every one of those breaks.

I know you will do great tomorrow, and mama will be fine too.

I love you so much sweet boy,
Your Mama

Sophie

This is Sophie the Giraffe...

A lot of you mamas have probably seen/heard about this rubber giraffe.  It's supposed to be great for teething and just a great toy for babies.  I had my mom pick one up for Kason the other day and he LOVES it.  Sophie is right up there with Kason's stuffed Elmo in terms of his favorite toys.

Here's the problem with Sophie...Kaia also loves Sophie. 

 You see Sophie squeaks, and she's rubber..just like some of Kaia's toys.

Everywhere Sophie goes, Kaia follows.  I often find Sophie (and Elmo) laying right next to Kaia.  Since Kason can't walk, I'd assume Kaia is moving the toys.  I can't really blame her, she's just confused with all of the extra toys that have been added to our house.  I guess we'll just have to make sure Sophie is out of Kaia's reach when we're out of the room! :)

And just in case you needed a little pick-me-up, here's something that is bound to bring a smile to your face...

Happy Friday! :)

One year

A year ago today our lives forever changed.  We go the best, most unexpected surprise of our life..a positive pregnancy test (ok, 3 positive tests..ha).  We were shocked and scared but so excited to see what the future held.  

A year later we are so happy that this is what our family picture looks like this...

We can't imagine our life any other way.  We often say it's hard to remember what life before Kason was like.  What did we do with all of that free time?!  So crazy to think about!  I know one things for sure, a year later our love for this sweet baby boy has multiplied more than we ever thought possible.  We are so thankful that God decided the time was right for us to welcome our son into our family. :) 

You can read more about the day we found out here.

A year later, we are one happy family of three! :)

Kason is 4 months!

I can hardly believe it.  Kason is 4 months old today!  I remember when I was pregnant with Kason and started thinking about maternity leave.  I knew that I would start my leave sometime in March and would go back when school started at the end of July.  I specifically remember thinking about how far away that seemed and that 4 months seemed like so much time to be home with my baby.  Man..was I wrong!  It has flown by and in just a couple of weeks I will return to work.  But, let's not talk about that right now!

Kason goes for his 4 month appointment on Monday, so I will update his hight and weight then.  We'll see if he's still on the small side.  I have this feeling he will be!

Here's some of the things Kason has been up to lately (with pictures..ha!):

Kason LOVES. . . 

...Standing up!  Obviously, he can't stand up on his own but he loves for others to hold him in the standing position.  He's a strong little guy and I think once he starts crawling and walking our lives will be nonstop!  Along with others holding him in the standing position, he loves to be held..but only if you are standing up.  This is not always true, but when he is fussy he really prefers to be standing. Duane and I joke around at night during Kason's fussy time (so we don't pull our hair out) and sometimes sit down and Kason starts screaming.  As soon as we stand up, silence.  This kid is spoiled! 

...his exersaucer!  This was given to up by a family friend and I tucked it away in the basement thinking we wouldn't need it for a while.  About a week before vacation I remembered I had it and thought since Kason liked standing up so much, he might love it.  Sure enough, it was love at first sight!  Kason loves to play and talk with all of the farm animals that are attached.  He gets tired of standing after about 15 minutes, but those 15 minutes are pure joy for Kase!

...Grabbing!  This kid now is well aware he has hands and loves to grab his toys, rattles, keys, toes and of course, mama's hair (hints the hair cut that took place last week).  It's so neat to see him slowly understand how his hands work.

...Smiling!  I can't help but think of the quote from the movie Elf..."I just like to smile, smiling's my favorite!"  This little guy has a smile that just melts my heart.  He's such a sweet, happy baby and although I am sad that he is no longer a newborn, it is so fun to see his personality emerge.  I just can't get enough of this happy boy!

{The days of me sitting Kason in the corner of our glider and him not moving are over!  I went to snap these pictures the other day and he quickly rolled forward!}

Kason does NOT love. . . 

...Nighttime.  After about 9 P.M. is meltdown time here at our house.  Kason is usually exhausted by this time, so he takes a short cat nap.  He always wakes up angry and just cries and cries.  We try to hold him off until 10 and then give him a bath.  Bath time always calms him down and he is all smiles the second his skin hits that warm water.  After bath time I put lotions on him, read to him (if he's not screaming), nurse him, and then put him to bed.  He almost always goes right to sleep.  I feel like he might be needing an earlier bedtime, but I'm nervous to try it.  When we've put him to bed earlier before, he doesn't sleep thru the night.  He still needs that 10:30 feeding, but he's so exhausted and cranky it's hard to know what to do.  When school starts I will be getting up at 5 A.M. and would love an earlier (maybe 9?) bedtime, I just hope he'll sleep thru the night.  I'd rather him go to bed late then wake up at 2 A.M.!  Ha!  I'm hoping that when he starts cereal we can feed him some right before bed and that will help keep his tummy full until the morning.  Whew, that was long!

...Sitting still.  This kid is a mover!  When I lay him down on his back he flails around like he's trapped and can't move.  He either has to be sitting up (with the help of his bumbo or boppy), laying on his play-mat, or standing up.  I'm going to lose a lot of weight once this little guy is on the move!

...Tummy time.  Although he is starting to tolerate it more and more, he still gets frustrated when I lay him on his tummy.  He usually scoots himself across the play mat and eventually flips himself back to his back.  One of these days he might like tummy time but until then, I'll just keep trying it in small portions!

{He may not like it, but he looks pretty cute spending time on his tummy!}

And as if you haven't seen enough of my sweet baby..here are the 4 month pictures!





{This one cracks me up!  Such a little model!}

{Daddy was home to help us with pictures today!}

Happy 4 months sweet baby boy!  Mama and Daddy love you more and more everyday! :)  

Happy Saturday!

Mamarazzi

I think I have an obsession with taking pictures of Kason.  I mean like a problem that could very well need an intervention asap.  Ha!  I probably take at least 10 pictures of him a day..and I'm not ashamed to admit it!  I bought my camera about a year and a half ago in hopes of learning how to use it before I had kids.  Well, I didn't think I'd have kids this early..but I got blessed with the cutest baby in the world, and I'm not complaining!  I've gotten so much practice with my camera and love all of my pictures of sweet Kason.  I know I will cherish them when he is older!  I've been reading the book "Mamarazzi" and I'm pretty sure that word sums me up.

I love evening lighting.  oOne thing I've learned since I've had my camera is it's the best lighting for pictures, especially of people.  Middle of the day lighting is pretty harsh on Kason's sweet little face, so I try and stay clear of it.  About the time 7 rolls around, the sun it at the perfect place and I just love it! Last night Duane was at class and Kason and I were tired of playing under his play-mat so I snatched him up and took him outside for a little photoshoot.  You know, since he had changed so much since the day before.  Ha!  Anyways..here are some of the pictures I took.  I think they're pretty cute, but I've been known to be slightly biased. :)

{Looking quite plump in this picture.  Love it!}

{Smiles and drool..Kason's two favorite things!}

{This is his annoyed look.  I have a feeling I'll be seeing it a lot more in the coming years!}

{Love the sun in this one!}

I'm no professional, but I am learning so much about my camera and photography each day.  I can't wait to get a NEW camera in a couple of weeks and start learning even more! :)

Happy Friday!!

A balancing act

Just a warning - I'm just back from a long walk in which I've had a lot of time to think about what I want to say in this blog post.  Therefore you are about to read words that are straight from my heart and you are about to see the inter-workings of my mind over the past 4 months.  It may be long, so just bare with me.

Moving on..

I was a cheerleader in high school.  I was the one that they threw up in the air and held me in obscure positions high off the ground for way too long.  Being a flyer meant you had to have good balance.  Let's just say, I did not.  I got better with practice but still, as a senior, I struggled.  Everything had to be perfectly in order for me to stay up in a pyramid for a mere 10 seconds.  I mean hands had to be placed on my foot/feet perfectly or all you know what would break loose.  The one time something was out of place, that was it, I came flailing to the ground and prayed that my bases would catch me and that I would not break another back spot's nose (which really happened...more than once...woops). 

Throughout my life I have noticed that this cheerleading story is kind of like an ever present representation of my ability to balance things, people, or tasks in my life.  If too many tasks are at hand I struggle to find a way to balance them.  If too many people are needing my attention or help I get overwhelmed at the thought of distributing my time evenly (which is kind of ironic considering I'm a teacher and this is a MAJOR part of my job).  I can multitask, but I find it hard to balance my attention when doing so.  Balancing and I just aren't friends.  Never have been.  When I was in elementary school my teachers would always check the box on my report card that said "uses time wisely".  And by check, it means I didn't do it..in case there's any confusion.  Ha!  I think my lack of time management was due to my constant need to socialize instead of focusing on school work.  I couldn't balance both things and therefore, I get the check and the ever dreaded parent lecture.  Side-note: I'm sure Kason is looking forward to those lectures. :)

So you might understand my great anxiety when I think about going back to teaching and balancing my career with being a mom and a wife and a daughter and a sister and a friend...the list goes on.  But my main fear is balancing being a mommy with being a teacher.  Why is this so hard to grasp?  Well because I'm new at both of these things.  I've only been a mom for 4 months and a teacher for 1.5 years.  Insert stress here.  So over the past few months I've been praying and thinking about what this balance would look like.

When I got pregnant one of the main reasons that I was so upset about the timing was the fact that I would most likely not be able to stay home with my baby.  This was a dream crusher at the time and I really struggled with it.  My mom stayed home until I was a sophomore in high school and I loved the experiences I had with her and my sisters.  Because of this I always wanted to stay home when I had kids.  I never really gave it a second thought, I just thought it would work out.  When I got pregnant (almost a year ago to date) I realized my dream might be flying out the window, and that was hard.  Financially, it would be hard for me to stay home since Kason was going to arrive a bit earlier than we had planned.  I kind of put the thought of what August 2011 would look like on the back burner and tried to enjoy my pregnancy.  I continued in this state of "not facing my feelings" up until about 2 months ago.

August was only a couple of months away and I had a decision to make.  Would I leave a job I love and stay home or would I continue to teach and somehow find a way to balance it all.  I prayed and prayed about this.  And when I say I prayed I mean you can page thru my prayer journal and I mention this decision in about every entry.  God slowly showed me what I was supposed to do, in the most subtle ways of course.  I decided I would continue teaching.  It would be hard, probably one of the hardest things I've done, but it's what I want to do.

After I made this decision I of course went into a mindset that I would be missing out on Kason's life.  What if I miss his first words?  What if I miss his first steps?  Next, there were the thoughts about my job. What if I'm not a good teacher because I'm worried about how Kason is at home?  What if I'm crabby towards my students because I'm so exhausted from working and being a mom.  I could go on and on.  There will always be the what ifs.  But I have decided is that I will stop thinking what if, and start learning how to balance being the best mom AND the best teacher I can be.  I honestly think this will teach me more discipline and organization.  It will teach me to use every ounce of my prep to prepare for the next school day, so that I can go home to my baby and leave thoughts of school at school.  It will teach me to truly cherish the hours in a day I have with Kason.  It will teach me to be more organized and to use my time wisely (this would make all my elementary school teachers proud:))  I will give both jobs my all.


I still struggle daily with the thought of going back to work.  The first day back will be rough and I'm sure I'll shed a few tears.  That being said, I am looking forward to going back to teaching.  I'm excited to meet my new class for next year and to meet the 25-30 students I have prayed for this summer.  I absolutely love teaching and would miss it greatly if I left.  I know there will be days when I wish I was with Kason, but that's okay.  I'm doing what's best for my family and that is what I keep saying over and over again in my head.  This is what I want to do right now and it's what works for us.  I'm at peace with this because it is a decision I made (with the help of my wonderful husband and of course, God).  I will always be a mommy first and a teacher second, that will never change.

I want to end this post by saying how grateful I am for my job.  I have such a supportive staff (including another new mom/teacher) that will be 100% supportive towards me.  I love the students I work with and work hard at being a positive adult influence in their lives.  I have family and friends who will (and already have been) be supportive and for that I am so thankful.  Teaching really is the best job for a mom.  The school I teach at is on a really great schedule where we go for 9 weeks and then have 2 weeks off.  This will give me lots of breaks with Kason as well as 2 months in the summer.  I've never been a teacher for the time off, but I do love this schedule! :)  Duane's mom was a teacher while he was growing up and he told me the other day that he has so many memories of spending time with his mom in the summer.  He doesn't remember her working while he was at his grandparents, he remembers the fun memories he had with her while she was home.  That is what I hope and pray Kason remembers.

Thanks for listening.  I would appreciate any prayers come July 28 (first teacher day).  


Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Vacation 2011

We just returned from our first vacation as a family of 3 (Ok, it was last week, and I'm just now getting around to blogging about it, where does the time go?!).  We went to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with some of our best friends.  Although it was a lot of work, it was so much fun taking Kason to the beach for the first time.  It's amazing how much vacation changes when you have a baby!  Kason's schedule was off quiet a bit, which is to be expected.  I was worried about this but we figured out a "vacation schedule" that worked for us.  For the most part, Kason was a happy, easy going baby on this trip.  We can't wait for many more family vacations in the future!

Here's a little glimpse into what we did:

We spent time at the pool and on the beach...


{Kason really liked the pool..the ocean, not so much!}


{Taking his morning nap in his beach tent!}






{View from our 15th floor balcony!}

We spent 3 of our nights going out to eat and shopping...




{Duane and I waiting to eat at Margaritaville!  Kason was asleep in his stoller :)}






{One of mine and Duane's favorite southern restaurants!}


{Such a fun place!}

And of course we (ok..I) took lots of pictures...












{love this one of Duane and Kason}


{The boys in their tank tops!}


{Auntie L and Kason}







Whew, that was long!  Happy Monday! :)