Thursday, September 29, 2011

13 on Thursday

  1. Paid phone bill and electric bill-BOO!
  2. Went for a walk with William.  He loves walks; he pulls himself up in stroller and looks all over the place.
  3. Finishing paperwork for daycare.
  4. Plan to go to Sam's and stop to get my eyebrows waxed (they are out of control).
  5. Getting back on diet; actually started tracking in MyFitnessPal again.
  6. Opened email from work and had to fill out tax forms.  I immediately called my Dad for assistance; will I ever quit?
  7. Changed back to very first diaper bag.  I have went through several bags and can not find one better than the vera bradley one my mother got me.
  8. Wanted some coupons for Simliac because the darn stuff is not cheap so I called the feeding expert and she is sending me some ASAP.
  9. Typed a "daycare" schedule for William.  It bothers me immensely that his feedings are going to change a lot.   My work schedule varies so some days he will get up super early and some days he can sleep as long as he wants. 
  10. Made some Splenda Sweet Tea and if you have not tried it with Splenda, DO.
  11. Need to do some cleaning.
  12. Meme may be visiting this weekend.
  13. Rotisserie Chicken, Sweet Potatoes, and Zuchinni for dinner.  How does this fit into my diet, Bill?

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Top Ten Tuesday

Foods...

  1. Reese's Cups
  2. Peanut Butter
  3. Ice Cream (Peanut Butter Delight in a waffle cone from TCBY is my fav)
  4. Spaghetti (I could eat this EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. unfortunately I married a spaghetti hater)
  5. Cinnamon Raisin Bread (Add some of my #2 on top please)
  6. Shrimp (prefer fried but pants size says, "Grilled, please")
  7. Any type of dinner roll
  8. Cheeseburgers
  9. Fries-(Carmen's are an absolute fav; only get these once or twice a year)
  10. Sweet Potatoes- Loaded from Texas Roadhouse-marshmellows, caramel sauce, brown sugar etc., we cook Oreida's Steam and Mash A LOT!
I basically eat the same food day in and day out.  I love peanut butter!!!!  Right now I have either cereal or cinn. raisin bread w PB for bfast, frozen meal for lunch or the cinn. bread if I did not have it for bfast and whatever we cook for dinner.  I always have an ice cream cone at night but its low fat or fat free.  I need to get back on 1200 cals a day but can not find the motivation!!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Boston

We (Bill, Carmen, Rudy, William, and myself) drove to Boston the day before our flight to do a bit of sight seeing.  William did great on the way there but it was raining when we arrived.  It was also chilly so we did not think we should go out but the hotel receptionist told us we had to see Quincy Market.  We got on the train with a stroller, diaper bags, and of course a baby.  William could not stay in the stroller because we changed trains multiple times and there were stairs.  I held William (pushing 20 lbs.) and Rudy carried the stroller; needless to say we were happy to finally get to our destination. 

Quincy Market was cool but not near as cool as the lady said it would be.  It was a bunch of eateries and a few places to shop.  Oh well.  We strolled around the city looking at a few sites (mainly Paul Revere ones).  Luckily we made it back to the hotel just in time for bath and bedtime for sweet William.  He was a trooper the whole time and even took a quick nap in his stroller. 

After carrying William in his stroller down a ton of steps because Rudy knew there was a ramp on the other side as well.

Train station.  It was soooo hot.

Right before Carmen grabs the stroller and runs for the train.

Paul Revere's house.  Went in but was not impressed.

Old North Church.  Pews had doors.

Just for Rudy.

Quincy Market.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Maine

Let me begin with this picture:  Ceal has a pig!  Carmen LOVES to save food scraps for the pig; Ceal is not a fan of the pig.  This is Carmen holding the yuckness that is the food and Ceal filling up a bucket of water so we can pour the food into water.  How appetizing is this?


Audrey playing with the hose.  I do not know a child that can resist a waterhose.

Went by Old Navy and bought this cute number.  William is very happy with the outfit contrary to the facial expression.

He makes a cute apple but resist the urge to take a bite out of him.


"Mom has no clue the sun is in my little blue eyes." 

"Haha, Daddy is 'trying' to hide behind me but obviously stinks at it."

Wearing Abuelo's hat and mighty handsome to.

William looks a bit scared and Carmen is eating a doughnut I think.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Meet Mia


William has 3 cousins: Grace, Audrey and now Mia.  Grace and Audrey are Rudy's oldest sister's girls and Mia belongs to Maria.  Mia is so tiny and it is hard to believe William was her size at one time.  He was born tiny but bulked up very quickly.  Mia is almost 1 month old and loves to stretch.  Whenever she wakes up she immediately stretches and continues to stretch for several minutes.  We put William beside her and WOW he was a giant next to her.  Hopefully the next time they see each other they will be able to actually play.   

First time holding Mia.

Abuelo, Mia, Abuela, and William.  Yes the 9 month winter oufit turned into capri pants.

Just hanging out.

Rudy with his niece!

Sweet cousins.  William did extremely well because he was in bed for the night not even 30 minutes later.


Thursday, September 22, 2011

William's First Plane Ride



All of our stuff...


Getting ready to go...

Sound asleep!

Asleep on 2nd plane!

Seeing Abuelo and Abuela...

Thinking about it...

On the way home we had an empty seat...William took it.

and was so glad to be out of our laps.
William was great there and back.  On the way back he slept less but was not too cranky.  He smiled at other passengers and played with A LOT of toys.  At times I had to pull out the big guns: sunglasses, cell phones, Daddy's hat, but overall I could not ask for a better traveling buddy.  Once we landed in Birmingham William could not stop laughing.  We believe he knew he was finally home.  He was so happy and did not even fuss on drive home (even stopped to pick up dinner).

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Top Ten Tuesday

Starting a "Top Ten Tuesday" and it could be foods, books, places, etc.  I do not know if I will do this every week or what but I will give it a shot.  The list is not ordered (that would takes lots of time). It will be funny to look back at these years from now for changes in preferences.

"Top Ten Baby Things" (Everyone does this but I want to keep record of it for myself)

1.  Pacifiers-  At first William did not care for them but now they help a lot.  I know I know, he should be weaned from them by now but we are not ready for that.  I do plan to wean him by 12 months but it will be a slow process not like sleep training.
2.  Ready to Eat formula-  It is more expensive than powder but as new mom I needed the ease of opening those up at 2 AM then walking downstairs and making bottles.  For the longest time I used them whenever I was not home to make a bottle.  That was silly!!  I was usually at my parent's house and could easily use powder. 
3.  Jumper-  William loves to jump.  Everyone says they have never seen a baby love a jumper as much as William.  He does not just sit in there and play he means business.
4.  Onesies-  No cutie outfits that consist of shirts, shorts, shoes, and socks in the South.  He was wearing a onsie every day all day (plus the ole bib).
5.  Gas drops-  We do not use them much now but when he was a newborn they helped (or was this in my mind).  I would give them to him and immediately he would poot (TMI) so maybe they did help.
6.  Vibrating chair-   He had one as a newborn which was used ALL. THE. TIME. and we upgraded to a big boy one later.  He is so squirmy we feed him his bottles in the chair.
7.  Carrier-  William's aunties got this for us when they visited.  At first he did not care for it but once he could look out he loved it.  Rudy always used it in grocery stores and malls.
8.  Hooded towels-  This is a no brainer but once I picked a towel without a hood.  I thought to myself why would anyone use these.  He gets cold so fast after a bath and needs the hood over his head.
9.  Highchair-  William never really used the bumbo so he started in the highchair super early and luckily he loves it.  I feed him in the mornings and usually he will play while I clean the kitchen.
10.  Dishwasher-  HAHA.  Seriously I would wash bottles by hand every day or steam them and then I decided what in the world I am doing.  I am standing up using precious time while standing by an empty dishwasher washing bottles.  BTW the bottles I use have four pieces plus the bottle.  Buy a munchkin dishwasher caddy and wash those bottles in the dishwasher.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

13 on Thursday (from Maine)...

  1. William was an amazing baby on all the plane rides.  He took naps at his normal nap times and ate on schedule (all while running around airports). 
  2. When we got the airport in Birmingham our stuff (William's stroller, carseat, 2 diaper bags, and his carry on luggage) took up 3 chairs.  Picture of this will be in a later post.
  3. I will not change my baby's diaper in an airplane bathroom unless its poop.  I will place that little (big) guy in Ru's lap and that will be that.  He has not peed on us since his newborn days. 
  4. The 2 hr. car ride from Boston to Maine was not as amazing.  I am not blaming him at all; much rather a fussy baby in a car with family then a silent airplane.  You could see in the eyes of passengers when we boarded, "Not me, please do not sit by me."  Well, William showed you.
  5. As amazing as William was the guy beside me on the first flight was in the negative for amazing.  He toyed with the idea of puking when the plane got in the air then went ahead and puked as the plane landed.  Thank you God for the baggies.  Yes, I actually handed him mine just in case.
  6. He loves his Abuela and that makes my heart smile more than you can imagine.  It stinks we live so far apart. 
  7. Formula and William are taking a "break" in their relationship.  As happy as they were in the beginning William needs some time to sit back and enjoy solids and juice.  As a Mommy it bothers me; he needs the formula but William is a big boy so my concern is not extreme.
  8. I held Mia and I honestly do not believe William was ever her size.  It was like holding a feather (a precious, beautiful feather that can not fly in the air and land) and I immediately missed William being in the newborn stage.  This quickly faded as Maria reminded me of feedings at night; I treasure sleep like most women treasure diamonds. 
  9. Job interview lasted an hour.  I was impressed with myself; my last job interview lasted 5 minutes and was for a cashier position with Publix.  Quote from interviewer, "You aced that question by the way."
  10. I have not heard from the company.  This makes me sad but I am sooooo thankful for an interview.  I need interviews for practice or the two degrees I earned will turn to mush.  William never asks me scenario questions and neither does ABC Family.
  11. Being around Rudy's family makes me happy even if William's routine is flip flopped.  I could never move here for 2 reasons: 1. I would freeze into a piece of ice and most importantly 2. I can not be that far from my parents.
  12. My parents would never ever move out of Alabama. 
  13. William is napping right now in the pack n play which he has never used for more than 5 minutes since we moved him to his bed.  He adapts so easily.  Still fusses before a nap but soothes himself to sleep.  Love him to pieces. 

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Things I have learned (wish I would have learned sooner)...

Just some things that cross my mind that I wish I would have figured out sooner.  At the Auburn game I asked my dad why I never listened about sunscreen until I was 25 years old.  Yes, it took that long.  He said kids just have to learn on their own sometimes.  I literally would burn to a crisp, peel and complain but I was too cool for sunscreen.  I was baking myself in tanning beds and thought I could handle the "big, bad" sun.  After the Auburn game I was still burnt even after SPF 30 and now I vow to wear SPF 50.  Here are a few other thoughts...

  • I bought the name brand of every product.  Makeup, cleaners, food, etc. and now I think back at how silly that was (and wasteful).  Now that we have to mortgages, bills, baby supplies and more I am more than willing to at least try to the store brand.  I have figured out that store brand cranberry sauce is yuck and I am sticking with Coke Zero.  
  • Skin cancer is real and scary.  I will not lay in tanning beds ever again and I wear SPF.  I have never been told how WHITE my legs are until this summer which really has not bothered me.
  • Science and math is what lands you a job.  I have two degrees and I am struggling to find a job  (however, I do have an interview with Compass Bank today).
  • Money I wasted in college is gone, gone forever.  Yes, I had a blast in Auburn (every Wednesday - Saturday night and my bank account paid for it). 
  • Quitting in the middle of something.  My education degree in Auburn; I do have to admit I enjoyed the program at Montevallo 3000x better.
*Just a sidenote:  Maine tomorrow.  Flight is at 8:20AM.  Pray for safety and that our sweet William loves planes. 

Friday, September 9, 2011

Crock Pot Cooking: Chicken with Mushrooms

I found this website with loads of crock pot recipes and decided to try one.  I went with chicken with mushrooms because it suggested to serve over pasta (yumo).  Here is how it went:




Just some Texas Toast.

You can find the details in the link above but overall we thought it was a bit bland.  I noticed it did not call for any spices so I was prepared for it a little bland.  It was really bland (in my opinion) and my husband thought it was ok.  He had seconds and will be eating it for lunch tomorrow.  He has thrown food out before so I know it was not a total fail.  I will continue to try recipes and peanut clusters are next.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

13 on Thursday

I read a lot of blogs and decided to do a "13 on Thursday." 

1.  I took Baxter to the groomer this morning and William had to join in on the fun.  Imagine me, stroller, infant, and a crying yorkie trying to just make it inside PetSmart.
2.  Cleaning. cleaning. cleaning. 
3.  We were going to give a desk to Salvation Army but after getting it downstairs we decided to use it to hold our microwave.  I know you are thinking, "TACKY," and well it probably is but it looks better than an old wobbly white bathrom thingy from my college days.
4.  William slept in until 7:23AM today and took two great naps without much fuss.
5.  Third nap was an epic fail.  Ice cream man scared him to death with the "shoot me in the head" music.
6.  Bill's room (guest room) is now ready for his extended stay with us. :)
7.  Maine in 6 days!  Whoop. 
8.  I woke up, fed my man (WCY), fed myself, got a cup of coffee and opened Facebook (duh) and my dear ole Dad has friend requested me. 
9.  My diet is hit or miss.  I measure my cereal each morning then eyeball the rest of the day's food.
10.  William does not want to sit on his own.
11.  I hate paying bills and unexpected expenses make me sad.
12.  I hope to start planning our meals 2 weeks in advance once Bill leaves.  He would probably not approve of my list. 
13.  I am craving a cheeseburger.  Thanks Rudy for bringing the smell into the kitchen after I had to eat vege chicken nuggets for lunch. 

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Monday, September 5, 2011

7 Months

  • Drinking around 26 oz. and eating three solid meals
    • Trying all Stage 2 foods except ones with beef
  • Knows bottle and will try to self feed but not quite there yet
  • Also holds sippy cup but not drinking out of it independently
  • 9 months clothes and Size 3 Diaper
    • Clothing and Diapering is a hastle; you are looking everyone and squirming all over
  • Hair is growing at a rapid pace and looks dark blonde (has a little red tint)
  • No teeth yet but in bibs all day due to excessive drooling

  • Rolling all over the place
  • Plays in exersaucer and Johnny Jump Up ALOT
  • Bought you a "Cars" walker and you. have. no. clue.
  • Sits independently for a few seconds
    • Too interested in toys to focus on sitting
  • Bumbo is not safe; arches backwards
  • Will take something that is handed to you (goes straight to mouth)
  • Still dislikes carseat and now fights going in
  • Gets excited when sees Daddy after he is gone all day
  • Uses carrier in grocery store, etc. (only with Daddy) 
  • Has started really splashing in bath (spits up sometimes due to so much movement)
  • Sitting in grocery cart with cover and luckily it has a pillow we put behind your neck for extra support b/c you are a bit wobbly.  You enjoy the cart a lot. 
  • Still laughs so easily and can be tickled around ribs and thighs. 

  • Sleeping- Look here sleep and here more sleep. William is doing so much better with bedtime and naptimes because of the method I (we) chose to use.
  • In crib at naptimes for the first time except for the one or two times I tried in the past and gave up.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Things going on...

Sleep training is still alive and well at the Yeatman house.  I have to say as hard as it is to here William cry he is learning to self soothe.  Nights are better than days ( I thought it would be the other way around) but I am not complaining.  William is on a 3 nap schedule mainly because his naps are short (40 min to 1 hrish).  Every baby is different so I can not make William take a 2 hr nap because I read babies his age do.  He is happy when he is awake and eats with a smile (most of the time).  Many people have told me they can not do a "cry it out" and I thought I was one of them.  However, I see that William wakes up happy to see us and does not seem at all emotionally disturbed.  This is hard now but can you imagine doing it with a two or three year old? 

Auburn football has started and I went to the game with my Dad.  The campus changes every time I visit but I still love being there.  We walked around, had breakfast and bought a couple of T-Shirts.  William's shirt reads, "I Have Been An Auburn Fan My Whole Life" and I could not pass it up.  I put on sunscreen twice before the game but my shoulders look absolutely terrible.  I do not remember the last time I was this sunburned.  I did not take pictures; it was just me and Dad so pictures are hard with two people.  Thoughts on the game: YEEKS! 

The most exciting thing going on right now is our trip to Maine in 10 days.  I have to start packing soon.  Flying for the first time with an infant scares me immensely but it will be worth it once we get there.  William is meeting cousins for the first time and gets to see his Abuelo and Abuela.  They left after his 2 week checkup and I can not wait to see him in Carmen's arms. 

This is a random post but an update nonetheless without pictures.  Tomorrow is lucky 7 for sweet William; check back for his post. 

Friday, September 2, 2011

Sleep Training-Day 2

6:13AM-Start Day
8:02-Nap
8:06-Silence
8:45-Cry
9:02-Took Out b/c hour was over and never went back to sleep

10:58AM-Nap
11:01-Cry
11:08-Silence
11:27-Cry-Silence
12:01-Awake

2:32PM-Nap
Cry
2:41-Silence
3:52-Awake

7:11PM -Bed
Fussing
7:19-Silence
10:26-Cry-Silence
5:28-Cry
5:33-Silence
5:41-Cry
5:44-Silence

*William continues to fuss and cry until finally my motherly instincts say, "Check on him."  Against the book (do not go until 6AM) I get him out of crib and I notice the sheet is damp.  I think he has been drooling and crying so the sheet is damp.  NO NO NO!!  William's diaper leaked!  When did this happen??  At 5:28 with the first cry??  Who knows?  Needless to say we were up for the day.  Due to this super early wake up call William was falling asleep in exersaucer by 7:30 this morning.  Another interesting story but I will leave that for tomorrow's post.

*Day 2 went well I thought.  Very little crying and I slept great all night.  I feel terrible about my sweet baby sitting in pee.  My overall opinion so far is the book is a great starting point for us.  I have learned that William needs to cry to learn self soothing and that he will LIVE through this.  However, by putting him to bed early his diaper has more pee (leaky diaper and wet sheets) and he is hungry sooner.  He is also not ready to begin his day that early i.e. asleep in jumper and fussing at solid food.  So I am a bit torn with what my next steps are in this process.  Feel free to give me advice.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Sleep Training using "Healthy Habits, Healthy Child" by Marc Weissbluth, MD

Sleeping has become a serious issue. I am now using a method I found on http://thehagaboaters.blogspot.com/.  Luckily I am a blog stalker because I have never heard of this book.  Honestly I read her posts on her experience several times for several weeks before I started it.  I just thought that I could not handle "cry it out." 

Basically I have been sleeping with William in our bed 3x a day. This is not a problem for me but I know I am creating terrible sleep habits for our son. I am not getting any time to recuperate from taking care of William either; I am with him ALL of the time. Like I said its not a huge bother because I sleep, watch TV, etc but it is not healthy for either one of us.

Night sleep was great then got harder then got ridiculous. I have been getting up every couple of hours to replace the pacifier. Then William learned to sleep on side and eventually fall onto stomach. He would wake up and cry to be rolled back. I then started to put him in our bed right as Rudy was getting up for work (finally I can just put him in with me and get some sleep) but this is bad as well.  I never let William fuss for more than a few seconds for fear of waking Rudy.  After getting up at least 10x I knew I had to do something. That is when I went back to the blog and got the gist of the method (had not bought book).  I started immediately with the first nap and bought book on my Nook during that time. 
 
First Day Recap (8/31):
 
7AM-Wake
8:45AM- Nap Starts
Cried until 9:08
9:09AM-Cried
9:11AM -Silence, Cry, Silence
9:13AM -Silence, Cry
9:14AM-Silence
9:47AM -Whimper, Silence
9:54AM-Crying
10AM-Took out of crib
 
I will not go into great detail of Dr. Weissbluth's method mainly because I inlcuded the link to the blog where she goes into more detail.  I will say you are not to check on baby if using "extinction" but I did the first two naps and learned why you should not check.  It makes it harder on everyone.  There is a way for me to "peek" on William without him noticing and I do this once there is silence. 
 
Nap 2
 
11:57 -Nap
Cried until 12:39
 
This was so hard!  Felt like an eternity.
 
12:39 Silence until Wake at 2:18
 
Bedtime
 
Dr. Weissbluth recommends a super early bedtime to get into a routine.  I decided to move up bedtime 30 minutes (yikes).  However, I did not do a third nap yesterday.  I am torn with the third nap business; more on that later.  So we did bath around 6PM, bottle at 6:45ish and in bed at 6:52PM.
 
Cried until 7:02PM
3:24AM Crying
 
I grab monitor, phone and go to guest room.  I have no idea how long William will cry he is used to me coming in immediately.
 
3:27AM Silence
5:11AM Fuss (Notice I use "fuss."  He is not wailing like he did at 3:24AM he is asking me to get him and put in my bed.  He babbles himself to sleep and I notice silence around 5:25 AM)
6:13 AM Cry-Start the day.
 
*William has been sleeping with pacifier at every nap (with me beside him replacing it) and at night whenever he cries.  With this method you can not check on baby so if spits pacifier out its gone for at least an hour for naps (which after an hour nap is stopped and wait for next nap time) and there is no time limit at night. 
 
*This is not easy but it has not been as hard as I thought.  We are only in Day 2 today so I am sure there will be bumps in the road.  I found it funny that his whole life we have been paci, paci, paci but William can sleep without it once he learns to self soothe.  I hope to keep updates the next couple of days. :)