Nighty Night

Who knew that a slight modification in our bedtime routine would result in Preston sleeping all night long? Our previous routine consisted of a bath followed by his night-night feeding in his room, lights out. Thus, he would get sleepy and have no problem laying down to sleep. Given he is now 6 months old, he is physically able to sleep most of the night without another feeding. However, he was waking around 11:00 or 12:00 at night, crying until he was nursed back to sleep. After discussing our situation with a friend and fellow breastfeeding mom, she gave me some AMAZING advice her doctor had suggested: Don't nurse him to sleep. Ha! I was skeptical that Preston would be a willing participant but I had to give-it-a-go anyway. So, we reversed our routine to having our night-night feeding in the family room with lights on and t.v. noise. Then we had our bath, lotion w/our lotion song, pj's and goodnight kiss from Daddy. Now to the hard part. Per my instruction from my friend, I was to rock him for a few minutes (gradually decreasing each night) then lay him in his crib. He did get a bit sleepy while being rocked but as soon as I laid Preston down in his bed he gave me this look of "What the heck are you doing, Mom?" I turned on his music, inserted the paci and left the room. The crying came about 30 seconds later. Continuing with my friend's advice, I was to go in every 5 minutes, calm him down and give the paci back. It took me going in twice and he was fast sleep. He slept until 5:00 a.m. that first night! I was in complete shock. I couldn't believe that such a small change could have such a drastic effect. This has been about 2-3 weeks ago and while we've had a few night awakenings, he is consistently sleeping from 8:00 p.m. until about 5:00 or 6:00 a.m. After he eats, he goes back down until 9:00 or 9:30, sometimes even later! I will let him sleep as long as he likes in the morning. This is simply because he refuses to allow this type of routine for naps later on in the day. Previously, I was able to get Preston to nap in his crib but I had to nurse him. I found out the hard way that this messes him up at bedtime. The poor guy was getting confused. So now we have to find a new way to get him to nap in his crib for naps :) And side note, Preston now goes straight to sleep when I place him in his bed at night. No rocking necessary. I hum his favorite little lullaby (ironically it's "Go to Sleep") a few times and slip out the door. I have to say, I have missed my long lost sleep and it has been extremely nice to get some much needed zzzzzz's. Speaking of, I'm off to bed!

Six Month Photo Shoot

We went to Aldridge Gardens for Preston's 6 month photo shoot with Ann Wade Parrish. She is such a sweet person and a VERY talented photographer. We love her! We got some great pictures of our boy as well as some updated family photos. Enjoy!

Mother's Day

What a sweet day. I very much enjoyed my first Mother's Day. I beam with pride when I look at my precious boy and I'm so thankful to be his Mama. I'm also proud to be the daughter of my beautiful mother. I feel so blessed to have such an amazing role model and best friend to call Mom. Preston surprised me with a beautiful pair of topaz (his birthstone) earrings for Mother's Day. They were sitting on his crib when I walked in his room (picture below). What a sneaky boy :) Honestly though, I have one thoughtful husband and I'm so thankful that he's mine! He also gave me the New Moon DVD (I'm an obsessed Twilight fan) and a framed photo of Preston and I that our photographer took and I had not yet seen. He is the best! After church we celebrated the day by having lunch with Blake's family and then dinner with mine. My brother, who lives in South Carolina, came in town on Sunday so we had a great time hanging out with him too. We also celebrated both my brother's birthdays with presents and an ice cream cake that I made. It was yummy! My loving sister-in-law made me a scrapbook of Preston for Mother's Day. She is the best! I have Preston's 6 months pictures back and I'll be uploading them soon!

Six Going on Seven

Tummy Time!
P with Ethan & Noah
What I find in the morning :)
Eating bananas!

Where did the time go? We are halfway to ONE YEAR!! I love watching this sweet boy grow and learn. What a blessing he is! We had his 6 month doctor's visit today and it went very well...until the shots of course. However, they had to prick his foot for blood work at the beginning of the visit and he did not cry. He just fussed a little bit at the prick and while they squeezed his foot for blood - but no tears! He is 20 pounds 8 ounces and 28 inches long. His head circumference is 18 inches. He is in the 92nd percentile for height and weight and 93rd for his head. Dr. Youngblood said he is just about symmetrically perfect :) He is such a sweet baby. He was smiling and laughing at the doctor. He did cry when he got the four shots but he recovered quickly, much better than last time. We started solid foods about a week or two ago but we held off the last few days when Preston seemed to have some tummy aches at night. We'll pick back up tomorrow and try his foods a little earlier in the day to see if it helps. Here are a few little things that Preston has been up to lately.

-Yesterday he rolled over by himself for the first time from back to tummy. But Blake and I both MISSED it! I left for Bunko and put Preston on his back on a blanket in the floor. Blake was watching TV on the couch above him. Blake calls me and says "Did you lay Preston on his back when you left?" Me: "Um, yes" Blake: "Well I just looked down at him and he was on his stomach." Side note: Preston rolled over again tonight and we both got to see it :)

- Last night was his first night to go without being nursed in the middle of the night. He woke up around 11:30 and after a half hour of 5 minutes intervals to return his paci, he fell back asleep until 5:00 a.m.

- Now that he can scoot around on his back, I find him sideways in his crib each morning. I peek down at him and he gives me the biggest grin. He's such a funny baby.

- He LOVES to squeal. When Blake or I talk to him all goofy, he smiles and lets out a huge squeal.

- He loves to hold his toes anytime he's on his back. This also includes riding around in his stroller (when he's in the carseat in the stroller).

- He gets distracted very easily now when he nurses. He likes to look around the room instead.

- He loves the seesaw toy on his exersaucer. As soon as I put him in it he gets both hands around the seesaw and goes back and forth, back and forth, back and forth...you get the idea. He focuses very hard on it and does is so fast. It's hilarious. I have a video that I'll try to post.

- He reaches for everything now. Anytime I have a drink or something in my hand he tries to wrap his little hands around it.

- He likes to pull hair now...kind of painful but still cute. He has a very firm grip and will clutch anything he can get those chubby fingers around.

- He likes his paci now - go figure? He's always hated it in the past but he likes it now when he gets sleepy.

- For a boy, he typically doesn't "spray" when he's getting a diaper change, but as soon as he hits the bathtub, here comes the fountain! It goes right out over his tub into the big tub. He's got good aim :)

His personality is developing now and he's at such a fun age. We love our baby boy so much! Now onto Month #7!