Sleep Monster

So this week Cade has reverted back to sleeping like he did when he was 2 months old, which means awake anywhere from 1-3 am and then awake again at 5:30-6:00 in the morning ready to play.

I think part of it stems from him being able to crawl and pull up now, because if he wakes up that's the first thing he starts doing in his crib. Instead of rolling around and snuggling himself back to sleep, he immediately wants to party.

Since this behavior just started last week, the other reason I think this is happening is because the nursery is literally the coldest room in our house. I've tried turning the heat up, but with 2 outside walls it still doesn't get that warm. He's wearing thicker footed pajamas but he still seems chilly. I don't want to put him in a sleep sack since he's crawling and standing now, so I've finally started letting him sleep with a blanket. Crib sheets are thin and crib mattresses are hard, so that doesn't help. I feel like his bed is never really warm. I ordered this mattress pad and a flannel crib sheet hoping it will make his crib more comfortable.

I've read online that people use small ceramic space heaters in nurseries, but I don't feel great about that...

Has anyone else experienced this problem? Any tricks I can try?

Cade {8 months}

Happy October and Happy 8 months Cade!

We have fun now taking weekly pictures. I think Cade is catching on to the game, so he usually hams it up pretty good. This is why we no longer take them laying down...

Now that Cade can {army} crawl he is a beast to keep still for anything. Changing a diaper? You might as well be wrestling a bear. We really need to start baby-proofing the house.

Since we had to go to the doctor 2 weeks ago, I know that he was weighing in at 18.6 pounds. I'm guessing he'll be right around 19 pounds for his 9 month check-up. We're still in size 3 diapers, 6 month shirts, 3-6 month bottoms, and 9 month pajamas. It's hard to keep track of what fits and what doesn't!

Cade is not sleeping as well as he was, because as I mentioned before, the 2-week teething/ear infection extravaganza threw us off track. By the way, we're up to 6 teeth now!

We've started introducing some puffs and yogurt bites into his diet to get him ready for solids. Right now he eats them but makes terrible faces the whole time like we've poisoned him. We're working on the sippy cup too, but he still treats it like a chew toy.

We've moved into our convertible car seat and Cade is loving it. He can see around him more than in his carrier so he's pretty content.

I'm going to continue to end each blog post talking about FALL so it will really get here. I don't accept that the season has changed until the daily high is consistently below 75.

I'm still Halloween costume searching...currently debating between an elephant, a fox, or a bat. Cody still ranks this as his number one pick.

Not happening.

We're looking forward to cold weather, a trip to the pumpkin patch, more football, and Halloween of course!

On The Mend

I will have to blame my blogging absence on illness this time :( sick babies are no fun!
About 2 weeks ago Cade came down with a runny nose that I blamed on the weather and teething since he had no fever. After a week of snot and a night of being awake literally every 45 minutes, we visited the doctor who diagnosed him with bronchitis and an ear infection. I'm not sure where the bronchitis diagnosis came from, but whatever. It got us some pink amoxicillin (which quickly got on every outfit we owned) but Cade finished the antibiotic last week and seems to be feeling much better. He's still tugging at his right ear but otherwise seems like his old self so I'm not too worried.
Did I mention that the same week he was sick with all this he cut 3 teeth. THREE TEETH.
There was not enough coffee in this world.

I cannot explain how happy I am he's feeling better, for the sake of everyone in our house.

While Cade was sick and congested he could only really sleep with his head elevated. Raising the head of his mattress didn't help very much so I ended up holding him a lot. He's feeling better now but the last few days he's woken up around 4:30-5:00 in the morning. I feed him and get him back to sleep but the second I lay him down he's awake and either crying or wanting to play. The only thing that will get him to stay asleep is laying down with me. And then he will sleep until 8:00.

Cade has never slept in our bed and I don't want him to start but I don't know how to get him back to sleep in the mornings. I also don't want him to think it's ok to wake up at 5 am and play. Because it is not. 

Mommy is tired at 5.

Any advice on getting this guy back on his schedule??

We're still slowly welcoming fall in...and searching for the most perfect 1st Halloween costume!

Have a good week!

Fall...Where Are You?

At our house we have been patiently waiting for Fall to knock on our door since, well, June.

Cody and I both share a love for cold weather. His stems from an obsession with anything hunting-related. Mine love for fall and winter is simply because I hate to be hot. I like warm weather long enough to take a trip to a body of water and get a tan, and then I'm over it.

Of course it's not at all shocking to me that it's still above 90 here in Tennessee. I'll bite my tongue though since we've had a "mild" summer. 

I'd like to kick whoever thinks "mild" is not getting above 100 degrees in the shin. 

All September has managed to bring us so far is raging allergies. Enter Cade's first head cold this weekend. Poor thing has spent his weekend rubbing snot and watery eyes on my shoulder. He handled it like a trooper though, managing a few half-ass smiles yesterday even when he was feeling his worst.

Lots of snuggles this weekend.

You like that random patch of short hair? Thanks a lot post-partum hair loss.

All this heat and snot has made me SUPER excited to go back riding this weekend. 

(For those of you who've asked, we ride this (my husband's toy) here.)

The weather for East TN is looking like mid-70s and sunny...which means up in the mountains it will feel like fall. I can at least pretend for 3 days! I'm sure my husband will look at me like I've grown a third head when I throw on a hoodie and try to bring coffee with me :)

Frozen Salted Caramel Mocha, because it's flippin' hot outside.

By the way, I'm still searching for the most perfect First Halloween Costume for Cade. Cody is still giving me a firm "no" on most of my suggestions. I would like a bat or fox, but everything I show him receives an eye-roll and "Really? That?"

He forgets we're shopping for an infant, not a 10-year old.

If you see something cute, send it my way!

I'm going to light fall candles all around my house, crank up my AC, and pretend it's cool outside. 

Cade {7 Months}

Happy 7 Months Little Man!

No doctor visit this month (thank goodness) but Cade normally averages around a pound a month in weight gain, so we are probably nearing the 18 pound mark now.

Cade is still wearing 3-6 month shorts, 6 month outfits, and moving in to 9 month jams. I can't wait to bust out some cute fall clothes...not to mention what will probably be the cutest trick-or-treater ever.

We've held on to a pretty steady schedule this past month. Our day still starts around 6-6:30. Cade wakes up so happy, most days he'll lay in his crib playing and babbling for at least 10 minutes. 

Our sleep schedule is also about the same (other than random nights when I think teeth are bothering him). We do a bath around 7, bottle at 7:30, and we normally lay him in his crib awake. He'll roll around usually no more than 10 minutes before he's out for the night. 

He's taking 6 ounces of formula at a time, and we do baby food 2-3 times a day in between bottles. I've started offering him a sippy cup but so far all he's done is flip it sideways and chew on the handles. I've debated trying one with a straw since he loves grabbing straws out of cups and will suck water out of the end of one. I'm having trouble getting this guy to eat veggies. He is just like his daddy. If it's not a fruit, sweet potatoes, or carrots, he's not interested. He has 3 teeth now (and working on #4) so it won't be long before we can try some textures!

And Cade is still trying so hard to crawl. He's still inchworm-scooting or rolling to get to whatever he's interested in. Now that he can sit on his own, I'll set things just out of reach. He'll lean for them and just when I think he's going to prop up on hands and knees, he usually just lays down on his side and rolls to it.

I'm anxious about Cade starting daycare this week. Actually, it's a small home daycare down the street from our house, and I actually think he'll do wonderful because he's content as long as he's entertained, and he loves watching other people. I'm mostly just worried that the first couple of weeks will be a rough adjustment to his nap schedule (or lack of). Fingers crossed!

Favorite Things:

SpaceSaver High Chair: I chose this highchair because we don't really have room for one sitting out all the time. I strapped this into one of the chairs in our dining room we don't use all the time so it's mostly out of the way. I also like that you can buy extra pads for the seat so it's easy to replace if one gets stained.

VTech Count and Learn School Bus: I don't know why, but Cade loves this thing. Probably because it's loud, flashes a bright red light, and plays super annoying music. His favorite thing? Chewing on the string you pull the bus around by.

Baby Einstein Sea Dreams Soother: This is one of those things I kept saying I was going to buy, finally did, and then said "Why didn't I buy this months ago??" There are so many things I like about this. It doesn't have real water in it, so in a few months it won't look dingy and yellow. It stays on for about 20 minutes (most crib soothers only stay on for about 5 or so). You can either choose, ocean sounds or music, with or without the lights/motion on. Whatever you choose fades every 5 minutes until it shuts off. Hell, listening to this playing on the baby monitor puts me to sleep! It also has a remote (which I haven't even used), but I'm sure that's handy if you're trying to turn it on/off like a ninja when your kid falls asleep or wakes up.

Infantino Compact Shopping Cart Cover: I originally had this cover which I would not recommend. It got exchanged quickly. It didn't have any elastic and didn't cover the entire cart so Cade was sliding all over the place and still trying to put his mouth on the cart (gag me). It probably would've been fine for a toddler, just not a little one like Cade. I like the Infantino much better. It covers the entire cart seat, plus it folds into itself to form a little carrying case for when it's not in use. It also has little loops to hook toys on, as well as a strap to velcro on to a sippy cup. No cups on the grocery store floor!

We're still looking forward to fall. I said that last month but it's still hot here, so I'm still wishing. Football season is here which makes me all the more pumped for colder weather.

 I've got to get my shit together and start searching for the most perfect Halloween costume!