I finally got in one end of it this morning and coaxed him through with some fave toys. By the time he went down for his a.m. nap, he was going through on his own without our encouragement.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Through the tunnel we go
We looked for a tunnel during Christmas but couldn't find anything. Target just put their spring stuff out so we got one for Owen. We thought he would love it since he likes to crawl under things so much. I don't know if it's b/c it moves or what, but he really didn't care for it at first.
I finally got in one end of it this morning and coaxed him through with some fave toys. By the time he went down for his a.m. nap, he was going through on his own without our encouragement.
I finally got in one end of it this morning and coaxed him through with some fave toys. By the time he went down for his a.m. nap, he was going through on his own without our encouragement.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Almost Walking
Nobody can complain about the lack of posts today! I have wanted to post new videos, but I couldn't find the cord to go from the camera to the computer. It showed up today so here you go...
He said what?
I meant to put this on one of the other three posts I made today, but completely forgot. Owen has said mama, dada and baba for months. Other things he has said, whether they have stuck or not have been:
bye bye
hey
duck
pup-pup
moo
daddy (although it sounds more like da-deeee)
mmm-hmm
And in the last few days he has mastered the use of "uh-oh".
bye bye
hey
duck
pup-pup
moo
daddy (although it sounds more like da-deeee)
mmm-hmm
And in the last few days he has mastered the use of "uh-oh".
Rolly Pollies
We went to Sam's 4th birthday party last weekend at Rolly Pollies. Owen didn't really know what to think, but I sure did enjoy myself.
It's about time this kid learns to feed himself
Of course I am just joking. Owen has been holding his bottle for a while, but a few days ago we decided to let him try and feed himself too. He can't really scoop with the spoon yet, but if we scoop it for him he can put it in his mouth.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Q & A ...sick baby
Question:
How can you tell if your 10.5 month old is not feeling well?
Answer:
He stops crawling for more than 10 seconds and lays his head on the floor, or prefers to lay with mommy or daddy in the chair.
Yes...Owen and mommy are sick. Brig started to get a scratchy throat on Sunday and it has slowly been creeping in on her. I noticed Owen's breath was funky on Tuesday night and thought he must be getting sick too. Sure enough, he woke up several times that night whining and went back to sleep a few minutes later. Wednesday morning he sneezed and let's just say our suspicions were confirmed. He also had a major blowout yesterday afternoon. All I'll say about that is Brig was really glad I had just gotten home from work b/c it required both of us to resolve. Needless to say, Owen got a bath early last night. He also had a slight fever, but we gave him some Tylenol and that seemed to take care of it. We hooked up the humidifier and he did sleep better last night.
Hopefully mommy and baby get well soon...and let's hope daddy gets to skip this round.
How can you tell if your 10.5 month old is not feeling well?
Answer:
He stops crawling for more than 10 seconds and lays his head on the floor, or prefers to lay with mommy or daddy in the chair.
Yes...Owen and mommy are sick. Brig started to get a scratchy throat on Sunday and it has slowly been creeping in on her. I noticed Owen's breath was funky on Tuesday night and thought he must be getting sick too. Sure enough, he woke up several times that night whining and went back to sleep a few minutes later. Wednesday morning he sneezed and let's just say our suspicions were confirmed. He also had a major blowout yesterday afternoon. All I'll say about that is Brig was really glad I had just gotten home from work b/c it required both of us to resolve. Needless to say, Owen got a bath early last night. He also had a slight fever, but we gave him some Tylenol and that seemed to take care of it. We hooked up the humidifier and he did sleep better last night.
Hopefully mommy and baby get well soon...and let's hope daddy gets to skip this round.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Let's go to the park
We had wonderful weather today so we went for a long walk and stopped at the playground on the way home. Although we obviously know how old Owen is, I actually looked at the calendar and realized his bday weekend was only 7 weeks away. I can't believe how fast the last ten months have gone by.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Dr. Ferber is a genius
I hate to brag, but Owen is a superstar! He did really well with his naps today. This morning he just talked for a few minutes and fell asleep for two hours. This afternoon he whined for about 6 minutes and fell asleep for an hour and a half. Tonight he cried for all of 10-15 seconds and was out cold.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Time to "Ferberize"
***WARNING...long post ahead...updated at bottom of post
Every now and then, Owen will wake up 30 minutes to an hour after we put him down for the night. In the past, we would simply go back in and rock him back to sleep. Sometimes it worked the first time, and sometimes we'd have to keep doing it over and over until he finally gave up and decided to sleep the rest of the night. A week ago it dawned on us that we have these books and maybe we should see what they say. Much to my surprise, there are other kids who go through the same thing. Don't know why I thought Owen was a special case. I guess when you are in the middle of something like this, you assume it's just your issue and that you are doing something wrong. Let's call it first-time parent syndrome.
Even before Brigette got pregnant with Owen, we knew what book we would consult for any sleep issues once he arrived. It's called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and was recommended to us by mother of two Sarah Daniel. When we went online to order it, another book was offered along with this one, so we took the package deal. The other book, Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems by Dr. Richard Ferber, has sat on the shelf for over a year. We never looked at it until a week ago.
The book basically says we shouldn't be rocking our child to sleep. That sounded crazy to me...who in their right mind wouldn't want to rock (and soothe) their child to sleep? Isn't that natural? Who would have thought what's best for you and your child is for them to put themselves to sleep? And the idea of us trying this with Owen, and then actually succeeding seemed impossible.
After much debate and some serious speed reading, we decided we would do a modified version of the Ferber method at first, and then go all-in once we got back in the groove of work again. The short version is you gradually increase the amount of time you let your child cry before you go in and soothe them back to sleep. It is supposed to work after no longer than a week of increasing the time increments daily and over the course of each night. You can't look at them and you can't talk to them, and you certainly can't pick them up or rock them. All you can do is rub their back and/or hair for 2-3 minutes until they hopefully fall asleep. Owen is always standing when we go in his room, so it's not easy to get him to sit or lie down. If the child is still crying after a few minutes, you still leave and then wait the appropriate amount of time before going back in and trying again. The theory says that after the third night the majority will learn that they aren't being abandoned forever and will fall asleep on their own.
Well, tonight is the first night we haven't rocked Owen to sleep since he was born 10 months ago. We got ready for bed, read a few books and Owen started stroking his hair. That's the sign that he is tired and ready for sleep. I picked him up and put him in the crib. His eyes popped open and so I rubbed his hair for less than a minute. I walked out and before I could close the door he was wailing. We are up to 20 min for the first turn so we waited. By the way, after a week of doing this, his screaming and crying doesn't bother us. We don't like it, but he's not in pain and we aren't harming him. We just keep telling ourselves this is good for him. Kids that learn to do this now shouldn't have sleep problems down the road. Anyway, as Brigette was walking to his room the crying stopped. We waited a second and nothing. Fifteen minutes later we checked and he was sound asleep. We don't want to jinx anything, but so far so good. Owen is on his way to being Ferberized. Fingers crossed...
UPDATE: Owen didn't make a noise all night. I heard him stirring some around 6:15 when I was leaving for work. Brigette checked on him at 7:30 and he was just starting to stand up. Way to go lil' buddy!
Every now and then, Owen will wake up 30 minutes to an hour after we put him down for the night. In the past, we would simply go back in and rock him back to sleep. Sometimes it worked the first time, and sometimes we'd have to keep doing it over and over until he finally gave up and decided to sleep the rest of the night. A week ago it dawned on us that we have these books and maybe we should see what they say. Much to my surprise, there are other kids who go through the same thing. Don't know why I thought Owen was a special case. I guess when you are in the middle of something like this, you assume it's just your issue and that you are doing something wrong. Let's call it first-time parent syndrome.
Even before Brigette got pregnant with Owen, we knew what book we would consult for any sleep issues once he arrived. It's called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and was recommended to us by mother of two Sarah Daniel. When we went online to order it, another book was offered along with this one, so we took the package deal. The other book, Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems by Dr. Richard Ferber, has sat on the shelf for over a year. We never looked at it until a week ago.
The book basically says we shouldn't be rocking our child to sleep. That sounded crazy to me...who in their right mind wouldn't want to rock (and soothe) their child to sleep? Isn't that natural? Who would have thought what's best for you and your child is for them to put themselves to sleep? And the idea of us trying this with Owen, and then actually succeeding seemed impossible.
After much debate and some serious speed reading, we decided we would do a modified version of the Ferber method at first, and then go all-in once we got back in the groove of work again. The short version is you gradually increase the amount of time you let your child cry before you go in and soothe them back to sleep. It is supposed to work after no longer than a week of increasing the time increments daily and over the course of each night. You can't look at them and you can't talk to them, and you certainly can't pick them up or rock them. All you can do is rub their back and/or hair for 2-3 minutes until they hopefully fall asleep. Owen is always standing when we go in his room, so it's not easy to get him to sit or lie down. If the child is still crying after a few minutes, you still leave and then wait the appropriate amount of time before going back in and trying again. The theory says that after the third night the majority will learn that they aren't being abandoned forever and will fall asleep on their own.
Well, tonight is the first night we haven't rocked Owen to sleep since he was born 10 months ago. We got ready for bed, read a few books and Owen started stroking his hair. That's the sign that he is tired and ready for sleep. I picked him up and put him in the crib. His eyes popped open and so I rubbed his hair for less than a minute. I walked out and before I could close the door he was wailing. We are up to 20 min for the first turn so we waited. By the way, after a week of doing this, his screaming and crying doesn't bother us. We don't like it, but he's not in pain and we aren't harming him. We just keep telling ourselves this is good for him. Kids that learn to do this now shouldn't have sleep problems down the road. Anyway, as Brigette was walking to his room the crying stopped. We waited a second and nothing. Fifteen minutes later we checked and he was sound asleep. We don't want to jinx anything, but so far so good. Owen is on his way to being Ferberized. Fingers crossed...
UPDATE: Owen didn't make a noise all night. I heard him stirring some around 6:15 when I was leaving for work. Brigette checked on him at 7:30 and he was just starting to stand up. Way to go lil' buddy!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Doggy on my head
We ventured out for another walk this afternoon, not realizing just how windy it was. It got pretty rough about half way around the 'hood, but we had to keep going to get back home. We paused for these shots while the dogs were taking care of business.
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