Sleepytime Success!

Wow. I can't believe what just happened. I wanted to really try the whole if-you-soothe-the-baby, -they-will-fall-asleep-on-their-own idea. I've been reading this book that my sister recommended and her kids go to sleep very easily, so I wanted to try it now that he's almost 4 months old.

So I tried it a few nights when T was working late and it worked pretty well. He woke up a few times and I'm not into the cry-it-out philosophy, so after about half an hour of me going in there, rubbing his tummy, singing, etc... he fell asleep. So I wanted to try it for naptime and in his own crib upstairs in the nursery. I figured it'll work better because I can do everything downstairs without worrying that it'll be too noisy. So we rocked in the rocker on the porch upstairs while I read him some books. Then I swaddled him up in the world's best swaddle blankets (thanks, Di!), gave him his paci, and sang him some songs. I looked down at him and he kept smiling at me, but he looked peaceful. So I laid him in his crib (he looks so tiny in it since I'm used to seeing him in the mini crib) and walked away. When I went back upstairs like 10 minutes later, he was sound asleep. And he must have just put himself right to sleep because I never heard a peep. Success! Maybe it's just a fluke, but I hope he's learning to fall asleep and hopefully it'll continue. We'll see tonight...
Man, look how small he used to be...

How on earth do they do it?

When Travis got hired by Alltel, he was hired into a program called Advanced Development Program. This is a program to "fast-track" them into upper-level management by exposing them monthly to workshops and seminars by different executives. The program is a 1-year program and for the grand finale, they had to solve 2 of Alltel's problems they've had for years and years. They thought young, new-to-the-business-world minds could offer new suggestions that they hadn't yet thought of. So for months and months, Travis has had a meeting with his team from 4-5pm which always ended up more like 4-6 or so.

The past week he was gone until 8 pm most of the nights and Thursday night he didn't come home until 1 am! So I took the chance to work on Charlie's sleeping routine and it went pretty well. But by Saturday/Sunday I was completely exhausted, overwhelmed, and just dead. And it didn't help that CB woke up 3+ times/night. I don't understand how single moms do it. I mean, I only work like 9 hours a week and I was spent. And Travis did come home at night, it was just usually after CB was already in bed. It's just amazing to me how much time and energy this little baby takes.

It's been an amazing week of growth for CB. He learned to hold his head up and enjoy tummy time, roll over, play with toys, make new sounds with his mouth, look and listen as I read him books, etc... So I would feel exhausted and then he would smile up at me and start laughing and it gave me more strength. I'm still trying to focus on my goal of living in the moment and enjoying him. Each day we have our Swedish time where I only speak Swedish to him and I name all his body parts and we play on the floor for an hour or so. And during that hour I really try to just savor the time I have with him at this stage. What a roller coaster ride...


What a sweetie.

April Basket

So I picked up our first basket from the Basket-A-Month program and we're big fans. This month the basket included: hormone-free milk, free-range eggs, yogurt, custard, butter, cream, cheese, honey, spring mix greens, sweet potatoes, strawberries, 7 grain bread, shiitake mushrooms, brown rice, and Trav's favorite, a pound of bacon. So far we have enjoyed the mushrooms, eggs, strawberries, and butter. They even give you recipe suggestions to use up your goods. And as luck would have it, channel 7 news was there at the same time I was, so they interviewed me and I was on the 10pm news and here on their website. Hurray for the locavores.

Geography Part II

So for all the peeps that felt very sad and lame after the last Geography quiz and missed a few more than 5 like Heff, here's one to sort-of redeem you. It's of the US. Unfortunately, you have to drag the state to its exact location on a blank country map and if you're a bit off, you get it wrong. Hopefully you're luckier than me and your first state isn't Rhode Island! So it's still tough but nothing like finding Tajikstan. :) Good Luck!

Geography

So I bet Heff can get 100% on this game but can anyone else? I thought I had a clue since we've studied the Old Testament and those maps in the Bible, but apparently if I was a middle east geography student, I would get an F. Try it. It's super hard.

Live in the Moment

I usually enjoy General Conference weekend and there are always a few talks that stand out to me, but this past weekend was different. I felt like Elder Ballard was speaking directly to me. And I guess he was since his talk was addressed to young mothers. I loved what he said about living in the moment. I think it's nearly impossible, yet rewarding I imagine. It's been hard for me to adjust to being at home and being a mom. I love it and it's amazing, yet it's hard to not feel alone, lonely, and unproductive all day long. It's hard to just savor the time I spend with CB just holding him, feeding him, and enjoying him.

I am a big list person. I make checklists and check things off and feel productive as I do it. When I was younger I even used to make timed lists, i.e., 8-8:05 make bed; 8:05-8:30 eat breakfast, etc... The mission schedule was heavenly to me. The structure and the productivity is what I crave. Before CB was born I had my routine down: wake up at 5:30, shower, go to work, go the gym, etc... So the shock I experienced when he was born is indescribable. I didn't know what to do with myself. When he would fall asleep I'd try to run through lists in my head of things I could do to be productive. Work on his baby book, vacuum, mop, etc... So Elder Ballard's talk was exactly what I needed to hear. I don't want to be like Anna Quindlen who has regrets about when her kids were small. I want to remember what we ate at the picnic in the photo. So that's my goal: to enjoy the time he's young and dependent on me for everything and to take time to savor and remember all the details.

CSA

For all of you who don't know what this stands for, it's community-supported agriculture. Most of you know I love fresh fruits and vegetables and when we lived in Murray we had tomatoes, basil, and parsley growing in little pots out on our deck. In North Carolina we planned on growing a garden but we were lucky find time to have the bushes trimmed and the lawn mowed; thus, we never got around to tilling any land for a garden, even though our landlord approved it. So here in Little Rock we keep planning on planting a garden and have this spot picked out to compost and have a garden nearby. But I chose the easy way out and it's community-supported agriculture. It's a program where you pay a certain amount and the local farmers get together and put baskets together each month of whatever is in season for you. Seems fab, right? I've been searching ever since we moved here on national CSA websites and never found anything and I finally found it here and I'm so stoked. There are 2 options: vegetarian and non. Travis thought the meat sounded delish and promised he would eat all of it up himself so we decided to do the one that includes meat. January's basket-a-month included fresh pecans, sweet potatoes, homemade pasta, and Trav's faves: ham and maple bacon. So each month we'll be receiving a basket full of locally-grown fruits, veggies, salsa, and locally-raised eggs, beef, or whatever. Also, on the website people post recipes using the month's produce. Seems super fun. And I learned recently that this type of eating now has a title and it's even been accepted into dictionaries, and that word is locavore. So three cheers for Arkansas Basket-a-Month club! And maybe it'll inspire me to plant a garden this year...