Rub-A-Dub-Dub

Cole's in the tub! He LOVES it. We always do it earlier in the evening because he's wired afterwards!

We're Moving!

Today was our lucky day! Found a great place online and we just got back from looking at it. It's perfect- Huge bedrooms, tons of closets, new carpet for when it's time for crawling and a bonus room we're going to turn into a playrooom. We won't have to worry if it takes Cole 30-45 minutes of crying before he settles himself... Or if he wakes up in the middle of the night... I can relax and not immediately think of the neighbors. I'm SO excited for that aspect! I've been looking for months and never thought something would pop up- I can't help but be sad that we're leaving our current apartment. We've been here five years! It was our first place together and Cole's first home. I just keep telling myself that moving will give us the space/peace of mind we need while we continue to save for our dream house!!

Sneaking in Some Zzzzz's

It is Day 6 of Our-Only-Mission-In-Life-Is-To-Get-Our-Child-To-Nap. Almost a week and he still refuses to nap in his crib... Is terribly exhausted... And obviously can't function with 15 minutes here and there in the car/stroller. Worst part for me? Listening to him cry 3-4 times a day for 45 minutes straight. Do I let him just fall asleep in my arms and possibly risk all we've accomplished at night? That thought is worse than the screams- I take really, really long showers now and do all I can do to busy myself until Tom comes home. I even baked a cake last week! I know, who knew Dr. Ferber would turn me into Martha Stewart!?

Once Tom is home, we try and do everything imaginable to keep him up as late as possible - He wakes each morning between 4:45am-6:30am. If he goes down around 7pm, I'm up for the day at 4:45am. If we can get him in bed around 8:30/9pm, we have a better chance of having him sleep until 6am. Pretty much impossible when he falls asleep playing with his favorite toy!



p.s. If your baby was "ferberized" in 7 days or less... Or if your baby sleeps 10-12 hours at night and loves to take 3-4 naps a day... Please don't tell me.

Memorial Day Weekend

Last night we had a major breakthrough with "ferberizing" Cole. He slept through the night for the first time EVER! Our child is clearly a genius as it takes most babies 4-7 days to have success and ours only took 3!

Right... Sleeping through the night is a breeze, but naps? Ha! Not so fast, Mom!

Morning: Happy and rested at Mission Beach



Evening: Birth-Control for Justin & Melinda



(They took Tom to the Padres/Mets game - I decided a few weeks ago I would stay back knowing the stadium would be too loud for Cole - Good thing! We probably would've been asked to leave!)

You Are Getting Sleepy... Very Sleepy

The Cry-It-Out Method we're using allows Cole 45 minutes to fall asleep for his naps. If he's still crying at the 45 minute mark, we remove him from his crib because naptime is over. This has robbed us of our usually delightful child and left us with a red-eyed, cranky mess that hasn't napped in two days. (He sneaks them in during car rides and walks, but that's it!). As you can see, he's EXHAUSTED.

I put him in his crib, he immediately woke up and screamed for 45 minutes. He's a tad stubborn.

Five Months

Cole is five months already! We can't believe it - He is such a character and continues to amaze us.

• He found his feet and is obsessed with trying to put them and his knees in his mouth.
• Two weeks ago I started making his baby food. First up was applesauce - Definitely not a fan, so I tried bananas. He hates those too! We're on Day 3 of carrots and he seems to be okay with them. After a week (to ensure no allergies), I'm going to try sweet potatoes. Hopefully when I reintroduce applesauce and bananas in a month or so, he'll change his mind!
• Favorite things - standing, bath time, bouncing, flying like superman, mirrors, watching people clap/snap, being tickled and gorging on oatmeal

And the biggest change?! Cole was wished a "Happy 5 Months!" with some tough love :) I started "ferberizing" him yesterday morning. It's essentially a Cry-It-Out Method that helps babies learn how to self-soothe. Two nights before I was up at 1am, 3am and 5am. I had enough of not being able to function during the day and it's my fault. The minute he made a peep at night, I sprang up with food so he wouldn't wake the neighbors. Half the time he probably wasn't even hungry, but I had trained him to need it. It being a long weekend and the downstairs neighbor going away made it the perfect time. Wish us luck!