whiny baby tales

Little boy is SICK. Monday when I picked him up from daycare I noticed his eyes were red rimmed and red and a wee bit goopy. By bedtime I knew he was going to the doctor the next day for pink eye. Got him in and checked over and his doc said his nose was getting thick and colorful so we could either write a prescription for antibiotics for me to fill in a few days or wait and come back in a few days. I opted for the prescription. No daycare Tuesday but back on Wednesday. When I picked him up Wednesday afternoon they told me he was pulling at his ear (was just fine on Tuesday) and "warm". That night he was hot, temp just over 100. Did the Motrin/cool bath thing and no fever over night. He slept off and on, I didn't. Went ahead and sent him to daycare on Thursday knowing they'd call when his fever spiked. Sure enough, less than 2 hours later, he's at 102.7 and sleeping. At 9:30 AM. He NEVER sleeps at that time at daycare. Go pick him up and decide to fill the antibiotic as maybe he does have an ear infection. Get him home and Motrin into him...fever is over 103 at this point. Once the Motrin kicks in he's fine. Run to buy a new thermometer as the one that goes in the ear doesn't really work well for him. Got one that you scan their forehead and end on the temporal artery...just like his doctor's office!

At about 3 PM notice the fever is going up. Quickly. And he's shivering with the chills. His hands are ice cold. Wrap him in his blanket and cuddle him while he tries to sleep...no more Motrin for another 3 1/2 hours. A while later notice fever is edging closer and closer to 104+ and call the doctor's office. She's already left for the day and is out tomorrow as well...options are to continue to treat him at home, try Tylenol and a cool bath. Tylenol typically doesn't work for him, but what the heck. Give him some, as soon as it hits his tongue it's back out all over me, the chair, him and the floor. Twice. Fever is nearly 105 now and I'm past my "I can handle this" fever point. Seriously starting to worry he'll have a seizure at home. Won't be happy at all. End up calling the doc's office back and asking my options. Choose to go to after hours care place immediately.

Long story short (ha ha), little boy has Strep. Again. Didn't we just do this a few weeks ago? Pink eye is better though. Ears are clear. Fever is behaving somewhat (he got a Tylenol suppository at the after hours place, joy of all joys!) Ate some Cheerios for dinner and drank about a gallon of water and breast milk. Slept like crap last night...Mama didn't sleep at all, again. Wondering who will be next as I lay in bed listening to Haley coughing and gagging on phlegm. Lovely night. Don't want a repeat!

Baby is sleeping now. No noise for the past hour...gave him Motrin right before laying him down as he was due and was just starting to get warm. Didn't want him to wake up at 104 again. Don't like 104. At all.

Labels: a day in the life of a Zachy boy, bitch and moan, cutest baby EVER, family news, kiddos, sleep issues, want some whine with that cheese?

Oh my God, please tell me what has gotten into my sweet baby???? He's an absolute NIGHTMARE tonight!

Last week, when we went to the zoo, he started this fun new thing that out of the blue whenever he feels like it he SCREAMS this high pitched blood curdling scream. I can NOT stand kids that just scream to hear themselves scream...and that appears to be Zachary's new favorite past time. UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So...he's been going to daycare for 3 days now...he's basically walking around completely sleep deprived because he will NOT nap at daycare and he's been getting up at least 4 times at night. He's going to bed at like 7, which is at least an hour earlier than normal. I KNOW he's exhausted, hell I'm exhausted!

Today...he took a gloriously long nap at daycare!!! 1 1/2 hours...he slept so good! The ladies said he was so happy and didn't cry at all today...other than the mad screaming cry when I first dropped him off. He had a GREAT day. I was so glad, and hoped that him finally giving his overtired body that nice nap would help with tonight and maybe he'd sleep more than 2 hours. A mom can dream.

The screaming fit started around 4:30. My oldest son sat down with a snack and the baby wanted it. All of it. Guess he's not eating real great still at daycare. So, Zachary had a snack, and almost half of what his big brother was eating BEFORE dinner. Then an hour later for dinner he ate more food that I thought could possibly fit in his little belly. And a little while after dinner he nursed like he's not had food for years. Growth spurt??? I know he's teething, his gums are soooo red and swollen and the drool is coming by the bucket full, so I gave him Motrin. I might have given him too much as he's bigger than what the infant dose goes up to and I was going on my very overtired memory of what the doctor told me to give him.

The screaming, oh the screaming. I actually SPANKED him. I felt horrible but really wanted to toss him head first out the door, the screaming was that bad. I love this boy to death, don't get me wrong, but I just can't stand the screaming. So...I decided it wasn't getting any better (this had been going on for 1 1/2 hour now) and what the hell, maybe he needs to just go to bed. I know I was at my breaking point, so off to bed he went. And he SCREAMED. But then he fell asleep...for 45 minutes.

I got him up, he wanted to cuddle and nurse, but still he was fussing. I stood him on the ground for a minute and he about fell over...I think the Motrin does was too much! Oops...hopefully that will leave his system soon. Anyway...I was trying to love on him and cuddle with him and nurse him at his request but he started screaming again!!! So...I put him on the floor in front of me and just keep asking if he was done. Which brought on MORE screaming. Finally after about 1/2 an hour of screaming, he seemed to calm down...at least a bit. Enough to nurse again. Then he started rubbing his eyes and just looked so tired I told him it was time for bed. He's in his crib now...not sleeping but not screaming or crying. I do hope the boy sleeps tonight...I seriously need to get some sleep myself or I have a bad feeling I'm going to just crash soon. Hopefully while I'm at home doing nothing the next couple of days! LOL

Frustration is my name!

Labels: bitch and moan, sleep issues, the joy of teething, want some whine with that cheese?

I swear Zachary has gotten WORSE! He was awake probably every 1 1/2 hours last night, and it took about 1/2 an hour to get him back to sleep each time. So...I started reading through the magic book again, hoping for answers.

Needless to say, there really aren't any. He's a terrible sleeper, has always been a terrible sleeper and needs to nurse to put himself back to sleep. Now mind you he stopped nursing to sleep the first time of the night many MANY months ago...but he's still wanting to nurse in the middle of the night anywhere from 1 to 10 times a night. I'm really getting scared...in two weeks I start a job that requires me to be there at 6 AM. I have to be up at 5 something, and I have to be awake enough to stay at work all day AND function.

What gives? I searched his mouth for signs of impending teeth...didn't find anything unusual. Searched his body for injuries...only found a bruise on his butt cheek that had to hurt (and I remember when he fell down and screamed...so it did hurt!). I'm just at a complete loss. Right now he's in his crib SCREAMING bloody murder all because he's too tired to give up and I'm too tired to try to get him to sleep "gently". Poor bear is sobbing and screaming and I feel absolutely HORRIBLE.

Anyone, please, advise me???? He has slept 11 hours at night TWICE so I know he CAN do it...he just won't.

Labels: bitch and moan, sleep issues, want some whine with that cheese?

Or maybe teething? Zachary woke up this morning...wait, let me back up.

Yesterday was TERRIBLE! A day of not good sleep overnight, meaning he was up 4 times during the night to nurse, so he was already tired when he got up in the morning. His morning nap was super short...maybe 30 minutes. He was fussy all day, and his afternoon nap was even worse than his morning nap! By the time we had to go to PT for Haley I was praying he'd just sleep in the car and all through therapy. No such luck...he was WIDE awake in the car, all crazy in PT and wide awake on the way home. Ugh. So...after dinner he got a bubble bath and then went right to bed. I think it was 7:45? He woke up at 11 PM...right when I was falling asleep. I have this new thing where I sit up in bed, listen to his fussing to see if it's reajustment or actual needing me crying and take action from there. 11 PM was serious need me crying! I got him and put him in bed with Mike and I...and he nursed voraciously for a good 10 minutes! LOL He's a speedy nurser now. Anyway...he got done with both sides and proceeded to wiggle and squirm and crawl on me, but with his eyes closed. Ah ha! That's HIS sign to me that he needs to be in HIS bed...so off to bed I took him. Turned on his pooh bear and kissed him and laid him down. I went back to bed and to sleep.
At 3:15 AM he cried out. I can't even remember if I sat up this time, but I listened to his fussing...and it ended before too long. I went back to sleep, and woke up at 6:05 AM, to him STILL sleeping! Baby boy finally slept ALL night...since early June!! he woke up at 7:35 and I put him in bed with me to nurse. We slept, thankfully, until 9 AM!
As a side note, when I got him out of bed at 7:35 he was chilly to the touch everywhere his skin was bare. His arms and hands, his cheeks, his feet and a little bit of leg where his jammie pants were not covering.
At 9 AM he was HOT to the touch. This is a baby that hasn't had but one fever in his life but always feels hot to the touch. We got up out of bed and went downstairs, I found the thermometer and low and behold...100.6. Not high by any means, but a slight fever.
I gave him some Motrin at 9:45 and actually got him to eat some breakfast and drink some water. At 11 AM I put him down for his nap. He slept for 45 minutes and woke up SCREAMING!!!!!!!!! and CRYING!!!!!!! and just really not happy with me!!!!!! It took me a full half hour of trying every trick in the book to figure something out and calm him a smidge. Goldfish crackers rule!
At about 12:45 I got him settled in the high chair without screaming and gave him some lunch. He ate some but not much. He had a bit more water. Amazingly enough, once he had some food in his belly, he was less grouchy! He walked around, played with a toy or two and I put on his crack, err, Baby Signs DVD. Love that Baby Einstein! He was, for the first time today, a happy boy.
I just now laid him down for his second nap. LOL there went that short lived happiness.
Somewhere along the line I found a blog that talked a LOT about their baby's sleep issues and linked to another blog that talked about a sleep pattern that most babies over 6 months of age tend to have. Basically it says that a baby is ready for their first nap 2 hours after they wake up in the morning, ready for the second nap 3 hours after waking from the first, and they are ready for bed 4 hours after waking from the second nap. Zachary, blessedly, is pretty true to this pattern. It just took him 10 long hard sleepless months to figure it out! So...he's down for nap #2. I hope it's longer than the last few naps!
We'll deal with the grumpies if they appear again. I wish I knew what was up...other than I think it's a toss up of a delayed reaction to his last vaccinations a week ago, or he's teething a LOT of invisible teeth. Based on the little biting trick he pulled this morning, I'm leaning towards teeth! I just really hope it's not something like TEN at once!!!

Labels: a day in the life of a Zachy boy, bitch and moan, cutest baby EVER, mama's bored, sleep issues, the joy of teething, want some whine with that cheese?

I believe this will be night four...in a row...that Zachary has now official slept through the night. Ok, I'm jumping ahead and he may in fact have a terrible night now that I've claimed it as otherwise.

Anyway...three nights ago he slept from 9 PM to 5 AM, two nights ago it was 9:15 PM to 5:08 AM...last night it was 7:15 PM to 6:08 AM. Yes...I'm starting to keep track of the minutes! If I could get to bed, and to sleep, before midnight, I'd be sleeping all night too!

I'm so proud of him sleeping so well by himself! I have to keep remembering to put him to bed in long pants because this morning he was freezing cold when I got him up.

Naps aren't going as well...we're doing so much running around he's getting real used to sleeping in the car and not at all in his room. Today was maybe 45 minutes of sleeping wrapped around 20 minutes of crying and fussing. Next week will begin the much better routine during the day...no more ballet, no more excessive running around. Or at least I can hope. I have started to claim his nap time as sacred and nothing is to wake him before he wakes himself up. That means I've been spending a good amount of time sitting in the car. Remind me to get some books, ok. I'm out of things to do to keep myself entertained for an hour or more at a time when I'm stuck in the car!

I can not believe this little boy will be one in just a few short weeks. Six, in fact. Wow.

Labels: a day in the life of a Zachy boy, cutest baby EVER, mama's bored, sleep issues

Not the best by any means though. His first night and first daytime nap were awesome...since then we're just getting by.

Second nap was probably 1 1/2 hours, so still a good one. I had hoped with him being so well rested from those naps that he'd sleep well that night. He did ok, but certainly not 6 hours. He woke up around 11, I brought him downstairs to nurse (we were watching a movie and it was almost over) then put him back in the crib at 11:30. He cried some but fell back to sleep. Mike and I went to bed at midnight and our whispering voices seemed to disturb him so Mike hooked up another speaker to our stereo and stuck it in his room. He was sleeping, but not well. He woke up at about 2 I think, slept in our bed until 4:30 and then slept in the crib again until 7. I was pretty tired though.

Naps yesterday pretty much didn't happen. We went to Mike's Dad's house so he slept some in the car on the way there, then slept about 1/2 an hour while I went to pick Haley up from ballet (Micheal came along so I didn't have to get him out of the car and wake him up!) and then stayed awake for another 2 hours at Mike's Dad's house...another 2 hours driving to and from and attending church...and then another 2 hours at home. The boy was EXHAUSTED, but stayed up until 10 PM. He slept in the crib about 3 1/2 hours...slept in our bed 4 hours but was tossing and turning and nursing a ton instead of really sleeping. Then I got tired of his antics and put him in the crib. He has been awake since 5:30 this morning. UGH! I had a ton of grocery shopping to do, he slept in the car for maybe 15 minutes, and he fought going to sleep in the crib just now. But, about 1/2 an hour later, all is quiet in Zachary-ville! I hope he sleep a couple of hours to recharge his little tired self.

What's keeping him so busy that he won't sleep you might wonder? He's got 2 of his cousin's here to play for the long weekend! And this afternoon, if it all works out, he'll have 2 more come over and play too! I do hope he will get back to sleeping better once we're back in a routine again.

Labels: a day in the life of a Zachy boy, cutest baby EVER, sleep issues

Three days ago I hit rock bottom with Zachary. I have not slept more than 10 minutes in a row for about a year...sometime around 34 weeks in my pregnancy I couldn't sleep anymore. I am TIRED.

So...three days ago I put his crib together and put him in it wide awake to see if he'd sit down and check it out or stand there and scream blue bloody murder. Screaming won.

Two nights ago after nursing and tossing and turning and me getting mad at all the hair pulling and poking and kicking going on, he got "put" into the crib. Not all sweet and nice like I wanted but damn...I'm exhausted and was TIRED of the baby. He screamed blue bloody murder for a LONG time. I finally got him up about 20 minutes later, nursed him to sleep in our bed and fell asleep for a couple of hours. But when he woke up again, instead of just nursing back to sleep he started all the kicking and messing around again. So I picked him up and plopped him in his bed. A bit nicer but still not all sweet and loving like I wanted to do. I don't remember giving him a kiss and saying good night at all. He cried, but didn't scream. And after about an hour I got him back up and nursed him to sleep in our bed.

Last night, after his bath we nursed on the big bed until he was drowsy. Then I told him it was time to go night night in his bed. I hugged him and kissed him and told him I loved him and to have sweet dreams. I put him in his bed, on his belly at his direction, and covered him up with his blanket. He cried a little, fussed more than cried really. And he slept SIX hours. Zachary has NEVER slept that long in all of his little life!!!! I, on the other hand, did not. LOL I slept maybe 2 hours. When he woke up and cried out a bit I brought him to our bed to nurse and we both fell asleep for another 3 hours. I feel so very well rested it's not even funny!

Today...after such a great night...I thought I'd try nap time. He played with Daddy, ate some breakfast, swung outside on the swing, and has been having a ton of fun. Then he was getting sleepy...so we nursed in the recliner and I carried him up to his room. I told him I loved him, kissed him and laid him down. He fussed, literally six seconds worth, cried out 2 times, and has been blissfully quiet ever since. ~~~***~~~
ETA: he napped for THREE hours!!!!!

I know...it's about time, right? He's 10 months 1 week old! But it's been so hard for me to let him cry about much of anything that the first few times of screaming bloody murder about set me over the edge. I will keep going...he will nap in his crib and he will start every night out in there as well. I am not hoping for him to sleep all night...but if he can sleep a 6 hour stretch then be in bed with me...and I can get over the mommy guilt of putting him in the crib to begin with...then I can sleep at least that long too.

And life will be all sunshine and roses once again, when the Mommy gets some sleep and doesn't feel so foggy headed all the live long day.

Labels: a day in the life of a Zachy boy, cutest baby EVER, sleep issues, want some whine with that cheese?