The final sleep training results!

   I'm uber excited to share this with you guys! It's been 2 weeks and 2 days since we started Brayden's sleep program, so I figured some of you would like the final results! I will first backtrack and remind you of what he was like before...

  Brayden was not very consistent with the hours he slept through the night, and how he would go down to sleep. Then he eventually built a habit of needing to nurse to sleep. Not that big of a deal, (and I didn't mind that much) but it caused him to have night wakings and it was difficult getting him stay asleep when putting him down because that was his way of going to sleep, and almost nothing else. So for a week we had to do a sleep log and it had every single detail written out. Then Nancy, the sleep RN, (or who I like to call the sleep fairy) looked it over and said he was not getting enough sleep per day for his age and noticed right away his habits and the fact that he WAS capable of going to sleep on his own, since he would occasionally. Everything was normal! And that made it easy to give us a plan. So our major goals were to get him to be able to fall asleep on his own with no assistance, (no nursing, rocking, patting ect.) and to sleep ALL night long. At his age and weight she said right off the bat that he should definitely be sleeping through the night. I was not aware of that at the time so I was very relieved to hear it. Then there's the sleep training details, which you can find bits of those in my previous posts labeled with the word "sleep" somewhere in the titles (appropriate right?) And for the final results...........................are you ready?................................You like the dramatic affect? I love to be dramatic and.......ah ok I'll shut up now, I went a little far! Bwahahaha. Silly me. He now goes to sleep for naps and bedtime by me just laying him down in the crib, handing him his loveys, giving him kisses (about a hundred, actually) and walking out of the room. While he is still fully AWAKE, but tired of course. He now just lets me put him down, since babies usually begin to prefer one parent over the other to put them down (weird) and I'm totally happy with that since Jon works most nights and I don't have to do anything but lay him in the crib! He takes 3 naps a day about the same time, and sleeps anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 1/2 hours per nap. It's wonderful guys! Then his bed time every night is 8 o'clock sharp and every single night it takes him 2 minutes tops to fall asleep. And before he goes to bed at night he has his same little bed time routine which is kinda different night to night but same basics, and Jon and I take turns doing them. He never fusses or anything (well, when he was at the peak of his teething it was a different story, you can read that in a previous post lol) accept sometimes for a minute or 2 when he goes down for naps. Only because like most kids, he doesn't like to be told it's nap time! ;) AND, my favorite part, he sleeps ALL night long every single night and doesn't wake up until he's ready to be up for the day which is around 6-7am. And once in a while 7:30. Those days are pretty nice :) So that's it. Need I say more to convince you this is the best program in the world? And his plan was specially picked for him, and our needs too. Our thing was, we want sleep, and we don't want to do any cry-it-out methods. (Actually, she is totally against those methods anyways!) I will recommend St. Luke's over and over (and over again) to anyone who wants sleep, and/or wants their baby to get the sleep they need. And who doesn't like sleep? Duh! Jon and I still talk daily about how we can't believe this is real and that he sleeps like this, and how WE sleep! We have so much freedom at night it's redonkulous. I also feel really good about Brayden starting healthy sleep habits now so it help with the toddler years and won't have to deal with it then, when he's more stubborn! I also have learned that everything revolves around how much baby is sleeping and how well they sleep. Like their moods, eating etc. He was already the happiest baby in the world but now it seems even more so! So anyways, I am going to add the info here so you can do whatever you want with it. It does not matter where in the world you are because she works everywhere by phone! But if you call the number you need to leave a message and also let her know I recommended you, because that's the nice thing to do! :D

Here you go pals: Nancy Birkenmeier 314-205-6350
stlukes-stl.com/pediatricsleep (You'll find some free handouts on there that you can print)

*hugs n' cuddles*

Good times and some planning

  So things are going pretty good this week so far! Brayden has now three top teeth that broke through so he seems to be feeling much better, yay! Although, he still has one more big middle tooth to come through but at least it's just one, and not 3 at once. Also I'm happy because starting June there will be new associates starting at my Hubs job, so that means the double shifts will be taking the back seat. So more time with his loves! Yesterday the three of us ventured to Babies R Us and got some stuff we needed along with a few unexpected purchases. They are having a HUGE sale on clearance clothes that I just could not pass up! Ah boys clothes are so stankin cute. :D OH and you know what today is? Yes, It is Memorial Day, but it is also Brayden's 7 month birthday! This is exciting because this is the age that the books say you can introduce meat to their diet. So I am going to start with our fave, chicken! Mmm I bet Bray will love it! It will be fun coming up with some new dinners and mixtures. So there's that, and also I believe sometime this month Brayden will start to crawl. He has been army crawling for a month now (and EVERYWHERE) so he has had a lot of time to build those muscles. Plus he has already started trying! He gets up on his hands and knees! Sometimes with my help and sometimes he will take me by surprise and do it on his own. He is such a fast learner it's a bit overwhelming! In a totally good way of course. What else is fun at his age is giving him new foods and fruits to try. Today he had plums for the first time (one of his mommy's favorites) and love love loved them. That's my boy! ;) He also really likes his fruity grain puffs, so I got him 3 more containers at Babies R Us yesterday, 2 of them are new flavors so he'll really like that. We really spoil him, and I feel that's what he deserves! He has some new big boy toys he's really getting the hang of, and next I want to get him a walker. He kind of likes his jumperoo still, but gets bored with it quicker and like moving around so much more. So that's next on my toy list. Yes, I keep lists for every darn thing you can think of!

  So I have a few friend's with babies around Brayden's age that are starting to plan birthday parties and what not. It's a bit soon, but I may start to do a little planning myself. I won't give and info of what I'm thinking about doing because nothing is set in stone, but I have some pretty cool ideas floating around my head. I can totally wait for him to be 1 but to have a party for him I am totally giddy about when my mind goes there! But as of right now, I have got to plan what we are doing for my honey bun Jon's birthday...it's July 4th!! It definitely would be a lot cooler if we had our family and friends here to join, but I got to work with what I got. Even if it's more low key this year I know he doesn't mind one bit. And that's what we did for my birthday in November. Jon and I and our 2 weeks old son went out for the first time after having baby to Cheesecake Factory, and it was lovely. So I'm looking forward to that as well as some firework action. Cha chow!


*hugs n' sparkles*

Warm Fuzzies

  Today God has really been answering my prayers! I'm so glad because I have been praying up the ying-yang. To fill ya in a little bit, the past few days have been rough. Brayden has been teething top teeth STILL and has not been quite himself. He has started to go back into the habit of wanting to fall asleep nursing, and by accident he did and now he's having a rough time going down for naps. (You know what that's about if you read the sleep training posts) It has been making me so emotional because I'm alone and Jon has been working SO much. The crazy part is is that he goes down for bed perfectly and sleeps all night! Last night he slept for 10 hours and 40 minutes! Anyways, to make a long story short God has really been helping me figure out things to do with him to keep him happy and to help him go down for naps easier. Today has improved and he actually ended up going to sleep in his crib again without help. Took 20 minutes but his crying was a lot less. :) I guess I just needed time, time to really try everything and I feel so good that I have came to some conclusions. I have been waiting for a few phone calls to be returned and felt helpless the last 2 days, but now I see it's a good thing they haven't called me back. So Amen, and Amen again!

   Well I have figured out which teeth Brayden has been getting! The top two left. Yes, that's the one in the middle and then the one to the left of that tooth! The one to the left has broken it's way out, but the one in the middle is still working it's way. It's getting super close too! And it's a big one so that explains his pain! Poor little guy. Yesterday when he was all upset I just held him in my lap and turned on one of his videos and gave him his frozen wash cloth to chew on. It was precious. He actually was calm the whole time and I just felt all kinds of warm fuzzies cuddling up with him. There's nothing like the feeling of making your baby calm down like that just from your love. Ahh melts my heart! He's VERY good at doing that. ;) Also he's starting to show interest in learning to crawl! It's so very soon but he will push up onto his hands and lift his mid section up by pushing his feet. (This is really hard to describe fyi) And when he gets up onto his hands and knees by my help he sits there and starts to rock. It's SO cute!! Any day now it seems he will just take off.

  Ok it's time for me to get back to making Brayden's baby food! He's not running out just yet, but getting low on the food in the freezer. I can't believe how long that stuff lasts after cooking it! I still have food in there I made a little over a month ago. And when I prepare and serve it to him it still smells so fresh! I feel so confident in my Mothering skills because he eats all fresh homemade food, and today's accomplishments really help with that too, hehe. Oh and not to mention the TONS of milk he has frozen in the freezer, I almost need a separate freezer to hold all of it! Thank goodness that stuff last forever as well. It's so nice to know your baby is well taken care of, ya know? Anyways toodles for now!



*hugs n' fuzzies*

                                              Here is Brayden today playing and very happy!

In Complete Awe <3

  My heart is overflowing with joy and love, thanks to my baby boy! I just came to bed but right before I stood for a couple of minutes the living room glancing at all the toys randomly laying throughout the living room floor by Brayden. It is so precious how he plays and takes toys everywhere with him and makes a mess. I LOVE it! He just makes my heart oh so happy. Also yesterday he started to give me smooches on purpose. Oh. My. Goodness. I had died and gone to heaven! I can't even explain how my heart feels when he does that. I feel like I'm floating on a cloud in the sky! I don't care how corny that sounds either! He has also made me proud, once again, tonight. It was time to start the 3rd step to the sleep plan...putting him in the crib and walking out of the bedroom so he falls asleep with no one in there. And he did just that in minutes. I never heard a peep out of him. He's just too darn perfect!! And I know this sounds silly, but even though he's only about to be 7 months, he's already the smartest kid I know. ;) He knows how to work toys that are above his age and he just does all this other stuff that makes me go "wow!" His mind is soaking up every little thing and he just screams genius baby. I wish he would stay this age forever but that would only be beneficial for me and not him lol. Well my eyeballs are screaming so I need to head to sleepville!

*hugs n'smooches*

A 24/7 Mom

  Just like it sounds, I am a 24/ momma! This post is going to be a little more of a (healthy) vent for me. We all need to do that once in a while so here it goes...

What a 24/7 Mom is like through my eyes:
No alone time with adults, including Hubby. 
Trying to fit in time for a shower when the pits are already smelling up the house.
Trying to keep baby off kitchen floor because I already have used all the Swiffer pads, it gets dirty THAT often.
Rushing around at least once an hour for a new spit-up rag, along with a new shirt or sometimes pants.
Laying on the floor while baby plays because I have lost the energy to keep my dizzy head up because I STILL need more sleep. Just because the baby sleeps all through the night doesn't mean I do, due to my brain being stuck in the habit of needing to wake up once or more from all those months of night wakings.
Looking at the piled up dishes in the sink makes me feel uneasy because I would like to eat off them, not look at them all nastay.
Constantly changing diapers. That's all for that one.
Looking forward to a nap all day then the baby decides 30 minutes is enough time to sleep, when that's how long my brain has now become accustomed to actually begin to fall asleep. Sometimes longer.
Almost getting to the point of going upstairs to ask the neighbor to come over when I barely even know her.
And the big one, just never feeling like I have the time to get any household and personal things done.
There is much more things to add to this list, but the "Mommy Brain" makes me forget so many things by the time I get here to write about it.

  Now, please hear me out. I know I am truly BLESSED to be a stay-at-home mother to my wonderful, beautiful baby boy and I never take it for granted. But at the same time being a 24/7 Mom is hard work and it makes me mad how some people think that it's easy! Those people have never been a stay-at-home Mom. I don't want to hear how "good" I have it right now, I just want to vent and get things off my chest because I never have the time to do that, and it really helps. I don't want to hear how much "harder" it is to work and be a parent, I have my husband for that. And actually he doesn't ever complain. (Probably because he sees first hand how hard it is sometimes for me.) Not everything can be rainbows and roses all the time people. I am real, and I want my blog to be raw for ya. I will not fake how my life is for the sake of my followers on here. Yesterday was one of those days that was just flat out hard. I want to cry when I think about it. And if you want to know more I'm sorry, there's just too much detail for that one peeps. But today I am already much better, but I still wanted to share this, like it or not. You know, sometimes I wish I was in Bakersfield where my friends are all my FRIENDS and will actually come over, or talk to me on the phone, and I feel comfortable reaching out to them. So that also adds a little stress not being around them. I have been so blessed to have a couple friends here that I have been able to just cry on the phone to and get amazing feedback in return. Yesterday I was able to talk on the phone a little bit, but it was tough to not really have the chance to say more. Anyways, I'm done venting here!
  ...Hmm, maybe not. Can I just say how retarded I think yesterday was with all this "rapture" business? It makes me laugh really, but also pissy. Why was everyone going along with it like that might actually be real?? Yes, I believe it will happen one day like the Bible talks about, but Matthew clearly states only God knows when this will happen. People get all high and mighty thinking they are God (or whatever) and can time exactly when this stuff will happen. (End of the world etc.) And they are just PLAIN morons. And the dude who started this whole thing with it being May 21, 2011 at 6:00pm, or whatever, makes all Christians or Baptists (I don't even know what he is) look oh so bad. And anyone partaking in it looks bad as well. Be smart people and stick to what you have trusted in your whole faith life, the BIBLE. Boom.

  Ok, I want to leave this with a good note so I want say that I love God, my baby, my husband, and my life. Everything is so wonderful right now in the big picture, even though the little paintings get smudged here and there. My boy is continuously sleeping through the night and just really rocking it with this sleep program. Maybe Mommy should start a new sleep program for her! Hahaha. Seriously, I need to reteach myself how to get good sleep and to not wake up so much. Pregnancy ended almost 7 months ago, and night wakings are pretty much a thing of the past. So I need to get back on track! Not sure how yet, but I'll let you know how it works out. ;)




*hugs n' slobbers*

Cribs n' Grins

  Last night was the first night of step 2 with the sleep plan. This is where we put him in his crib and a parent sleeps on a mattress that is level with the crib. Now that he falls asleep on his own without assistance, he now will learn to do this in his crib, and not right next to the parent. He did beautifully!! He fell asleep in about 5-10 minutes with no crying. WOW, my baby is definitely a champ! :) And that's not even the best part, he slept all night long until shortly after 6 am. Sweetness! This morning he was extremely tired by the time he had been awake for 2 hours, and that's how it should be. He went in the crib for his nap and fell asleep real quick and has now been asleep for going on over an hour. This is awesome because since starting the program they say their naps will be really short and gradually will get longer as their bodies get used to sleeping at those exact times every day. I'm happy my little man is now getting the sleep he needs, as well as Mommy and Daddy! Yipper skippery doo!
  So yesterday my son's top tooth finally decided to start breaking through the gum! I still can't believe in a matter of days he will have 3-4 teeth. I feel like I'm not ready! But it's also very exciting to see all this stuff happen. It's not at all like when I saw it with other babies. Now I get to see what happens every single day and what a whole day's difference is. Very cool. I'm also a little confused but this toofer because it is to the left of his left middle tooth, which seems a little TOO far to the left to even be the middle tooth! Might he be getting a random top tooth and not the usual third tooth? Who knows, he is already so special that he might just want to keep the surprises coming. :P Only time will tell, just like every thing else in the baby life. I'm just happy to know he will soon not have to deal with teething pains. Temporarily at least!

  One more update, I've started saving money towards my DSLR camera. I am so excited about that! It will take a long time to get what I need but who cares! I like the feeling of putting aside extra money and that soon it will go to something that I feel I EARNED. Just a little something that makes me feel good, and happy. :)


*hugs n' smiles*

To sleep or not to sleep?

  It is now the fourth night since starting step one of the sleep plan: get baby to sleep unassisted. Last night he went to sleep in 10 mins, barely a fuss, and woke up once and cried, only because Jon had to clean him off from peeing all over himself! Poor buddy! Today has been SUCH a success! Each nap he went to sleep in under 10 minutes with little fussing. And then tonight when I put him to bed he drifted off to sleep after only laying him down for 2 minutes, and not a fuss! We are so close to starting step 2-3: getting baby to sleep in the crib, all night. I wonder how that first night is going to go! I think he'll be a champ don't you? ;)

  So being a stay-at-home mommy to a 6 month old sure keeps a gal busy! Didn't realize how busy till I got here. There is so much cleaning to do now that he is army crawling just about everywhere, laundry that goes on and on, food to cook and throw together to make sure I don't starve myself, trying to fit in a nap so I can make it through the whole day that is too short, and SO much more! Some days I feel like I can't even fit in a shower! But its wonderful all at the same time. And it really makes me soak up the days my husband has off and is here with me. But, sometimes I still can't get everything done because I have all the errands to run when he's home lol. You would think I mind, but I got to say I love being a busy momma. Its exciting to try to fit in all these things into our schedules, keeps me on my toes a bit! Well I'm off to bed with my little man. He looks so sweet and peaceful right now, I really am so blessed!

*hugs n' wubbanubs*

Sending Kudos To Men

  Men are incredible, and my husband continually surprises me! I have to give him a shout out for the amazing job he has been doing with the baby for his sleep training. As you know, for the past 2 nights he has had to take care of all the nightly routines with Brayden. He's fed him dinner, which wasn't required since I have been home for dinner, given him his bath, reading his bedtime story and everything else I normally do at night to get the little man ready for bed. Plus he's been strong the whole time Brayden has cried when going to sleep and during the night wakings! He is doing better than I would do, I know that. So wonderful! And I can tell he is REALLY loving this extra bonding, since for 6 1/2 months it's been mostly about Mommy. It is the cutest sound listening to him playing with him in the bath. He really gets animated and Brayden squeals with such delight. It's not that I ever underestimated him, I am just so pleased to see how well it's going. I mean, I've never seen him take care of the baby ALL by himself before, this is our first one after all! I'm pretty bummed he has to go to work and close tonight, so we are going to try our best to have baby wait to go to bed with him. If he doesn't last I will have to do it.
  Another reason why men are amazing (and lucky) is how they can lose weight so fast. During my pregnancy and continuing after, Jon has gained some sympathy weight. Which normally men do! But all we have been doing lately is not drinking sodas, going for more walks together, and we both have been cooking more rather than getting food out. And I am just seeing the weight melt off. Why can't it be that easy for women?! LOL Anyways, I thank him and appreciate him very much. He has been keeping me strong during this time of sleep training the baby, even when I was about to not try it at all. He knows we need good sleep at night to be the happiest parents for Braydonian. And that's what this family deserves. :o)


*hugs n' remotes*

Ok, ready for night deux!

  Here I am! Where? Oh, back to my bedroom chillin while Jon does the whole bedtime routines with Brayden. :) I have more confidence in my little guy now that I saw him make it through last night and he was SUPER happy today! Yay Bee Bop! And he did very well with not being able to fall asleep while nursing today. That amazed me! However, in the afternoon it seemed like he wanted to but I just played with him and kept his attention on other things, like his awesome new big boy toys we got yesterday hehe. I haven't cried today either, so that's good. I'm curious if I will tonight again. Oh well its helping me move on I guess. :/ So anyways, I'm sure u want to know about last night. Basically he cried for 30 mins, fell asleep for 20, then cried another 30 and went back to sleep again. Don't worry, Daddy was cuddling with him the entire time! Then he woke up around 12 and then 4 and another time after that and then just a little too early for wake time so we waited until his rise time to get him up from bed. He was happy to see me let me tell you! Tonight I only had to leave a little over an hour before bed time instead of 2 hours, and tomorrow I won't leave at all. (Plus Jons working anyways)

  New status: I took a break from typing for a little while so I would like to inform that Brayden is now asleep! First he lightly cried for about 15 minutes, then Jon tried to move him and he woke up and cried harder, but for only about 7 minutes!! This is going good and that makes me SO happy! Guess I wont be crying tonight! (Lets hope) ;) Ok well I'm going to finish getting ready for bed then off to sleepville I shall go. Tune in tomorrow for the next update!

*hugs n' loveys*

Night one step one!

  Right this moment I am chilling in the basement having ice cream and doing laundry. Not bad! I cried AGAIN earlier today as I nursed my son to SLEEP for the last time. (If this works for him) I am okay with moving forward and all, its just giving up this one thing I have done since my baby was newborn is seriously difficult. Its like he's growing up before my eyes...oh wait, he IS! I bet he will be a superstar tonight and it's going to be Mommy having the hard time. That's usually how it is I hear! Any hoot, step one is me being gone 2 hours before his bedtime and he won't hear or see me at all the rest of the night. Sad, I know. Now u know why I cry? Lol He will be sleeping with Daddy on an airbed on his bedroom floor. That's pretty much the main stuff. We have a time limit of him crying and if he exceeds that we will stop the program for now. But I know my little man is tough, plus he LOVES his daddy! *sigh* ok back to my ice cream. Stay tuned and tomorrow I will let y'all know how tonight goes!

*hugs n' snuggle bugs*

Busy Bees, Sleepy Bees

  Wow, so much to talk about! Several days have past and as always a lot has gone on but I will try to cram it all the best I can. Thursday and Friday were both busy BUSY days for us! First on Thursday, we went ahead at took Brayden to see his pediatrician because for a whole week he had been extra fussy and would cry out of no where when playing. Our instinct was that it was teething but we wanted to be sure nothing serious was causing it. Well we were right! It was a nice visit that morning because Dr. Adil wasn't busy and actually had time to talk with us and dote on how adorable Brayden is. She was impressed with his skills and even asked to walk him around the office to "show him off!" I love her, she is an awesome doctor. :D Right after that we headed to our one on one appointment with the RN in Sleep Medicine at St. Luke's and got our whole sleep plan set up for Brayden. It is a 3 step plan that is going to make his transition the easiest as possible. In only 3 nights he will start to catch on to it. (At least catch on to step one!) It is very detailed so obviously I'm not going to describe it on my blog, lol. But it involves only Daddy for the first 3 nights, then me for 3 nights, and so on with exceptions here and there due to Jon's work schedule. Same for day time naps, Jon will do them in the beginning. We were going to start this on Thursday night but when we got home I broke down in tears. There was no way I was ready to start that night. So we are going to start Sunday night. I am just soaking up his current routine and getting my boo hoos out, so to speak. Oh, and the last two nights have been extra tough too because Bray has had trouble staying asleep! Might be a growth spurt haha. I say "haha" because in a previous post I had said he was going through a growth spurt, but who really knows. He's 6 months and changing all the time. Its super hard to tell! However, he is teething really bad on the top. Those suckers need to make their appearance already! I may not be ready for him to have 3 or four teeth yet, but I just want him to be comfortable. Yesterday and today have been good with that though, so yay! So, after the sleep training starts I will have a lot to write about, you better believe.
   Thursday we also had our first appointment with a christian counselor and it went awesome! This lady has personality for days and a sense of humor so much like mine I was wowed! She has been married herself for 32 years and knew exactly what we are going through. She read us like a book and Jon and I are very confident to continue seeing her for the next 6 weeks or so. And a God thing happened while we were there! She told me about her primary physician, who happens to be a christian as well, and gave me his number. This is awesome because I have been putting off getting signed up with one out here in Missouri (Hubs too) so I am looking forward to getting that taken care of and get a check up scheduled. :)
  And now for Friday, which was super busy too because we had our "payday" shopping to do. You know, groceries, essentials etc. and I even got to go to Goodwill and just look and shop for as long as I wanted while Hubby went home with the baby! It was awesome to get to do that. Then we had dinner plans at a friend's house and that was a total blast. It was so cool to get together with another couple and our babies and hang out and eat a delicious home cooked meal!  Today has been back to normal so hopefully Brayden will get good sleep, as well as his momma and dadda since it's the last night of our old ways of going to bed. I pray this will all go smoothly and we will have a wonderful outcome!! (And I hope I cry a little less) ;)

*hugs n' rattles*

It's negative!

  Ok, so I started to notice something random (going to spare the tmi details here) and decided to ask my lactation consultant about it and she said it's something that just happens with change in hormones. So I thought, why would I have a change in hormones?? And I got to thinking of some other symptoms I've noticed lately and decided to take a pregnancy test. She had also said that was a good idea. Until I saw that negative result, I really got to thinking of just how much I DO NOT want to be pregnant and have another baby yet! AH! So from now on I am going to be extra careful. It's something to laugh about now, but you don't want to know what was running through my head when I thought of the possibility!! Sure, I think of having my next baby ALL the time and how I can't wait. BUT, right now I feel I need to be responsible and take care of my little man as a baby the best way, and that's with only him! Heck, he's not even sleeping all through the night yet! Then when he's older and at an age some what more independence, I can try to have the second baby. Phew!

 I've talked about teaching my baby some signing since I got pregnant and wasn't really sure the age to start it but I found out that that age is 6 months! Which means it's time to start, yay! I already sign him the alphabet as I sing the song, since he was really tiny, just to get the idea of signing in his head. So it might be pretty simple for him. Can't wait to see! This morning we watched a Baby Einstein video called First Signs. It was great! Taught me some sign language and Brayden also loves to watch those videos because of the cute noises and puppets. He smiles so big at the tv!! Anyways, a friend told me about a website that also teaches you for free so I'm very happy she shared that and now I have another resource other than buying a book. :)
 And another thingy that has turned on a light bulb in my Mommy brain, baby PROOFING! I need to get on it a.s.a.p as Brayden is moving everywhere and getting even more curious as to what things are and what he can nom on, lol. He came into the kitchen for the first time today! He usually gets to the threshold part and just stays and watches me, but now he's decided he can crawl over it haha. Such a silly boy, and a smart boy as well! Not looking forward to spending a lot of money on that stuff but it's very important to keep my baby safe.
  
  Last thought, if you rememer from one of my previous posts, tomorrow is our appointment with the sleep clinic YAY! I can't wait to get my family on a personalized sleep plan and teaching Brayden to self soothe! One thing I'm not looking forward to, though, is the first nights of getting him trained. There will probably be crying involved and I'm not used to him crying without automatically giving him what he wants! Don't worry, we are not about the cry-it-out method, at all. But it is ok for him to cry as long as a parent is there with him. So for now I have to suck it up and give this a shot! Whatever that is! Still have to get our plan first hehe. I will let you know about it after wards!

*Hugs n' rattles!*

Mother's Day and what's been going on

  Yup, spring greetings to all! Yesterday was Mother's Day and it was pretty special being my first, officially! Last year my hubby got me gifts too, but now my son was actually here to celebrate with me. :) The day started with going to church and then Sunday school. I was impressed how well Brayden did going that long! It was like he KNEW it was a day to be good for his mommy haha! Then my husband had to take off to work, which was hard for me, but I had a good day playing with my B-Boy. Then when Jon got home from work we went to Target and I got to walk around and shop a little for almost 2 hours, it was legit. I never get time away from the baby so I felt it was needed so I can have a little time to feel like myself again, and myself LOVES to shop uninterruptedly. (And of course I bought something for Bray Bray too, can't help myself) I can't wait til the end of the week because my husband says he has a coupon for me to get a mani pedi. Boy it's been TOO long since I've had that! It's so sweet how he wants to do so much for me, then again he's also treating me since he's going to a Cardinal's game without me....
  About that, I am one proud wife! My husband is number one in his market (sales) and so his boss rewarded him with a ticket to a Cardinal's game, but it's not just any ticket. He will be sitting in a VIP luxury sweet with other sales leaders and BIG timers in his company!! Also will get free unlimited beer. Ya, I'm jelly hehe. He is very excited and I'm excited too, just wish I could go ;)
  So back to Mother's Day weekend! Saturday we had our first official family picture done and it is the cutest picture I've ever seen of us 3 all together. Looking at it is just so surreal, like, that's my family! I made this! Well both of us did :D And Brayden's 6 month pictures are too adorable for words. Lets just say I am a very PROUD Mommy. I had no idea I could have a baby this cute!! Speaking of being a proud Mommy, Brayden has had some cool firsts this weekend. He learned how to use his sippy cup without my help! I turned around then turned back and he was holding the handles and tipping it up to get the drink!! I really think he's going to be a genius that boy. Other first, he sat in the shopping cart for the first time with his cover. He just about exploded with excitement!! I decided it was time for this because he sits on his own and we aren't toting him around in the car seat any more. Then today he sat in a highchair at Jack N the Crack with his cover, too. Precious! He shared some hash browns and biscuit with me. It was gosh darn exciting!
  One last thing, we are having more play dates and it's been really fun for Brayden. He just enjoys other babies so much. He gets his social personality from me! It's also good for me to get around other Mom's and talk about everything our babies are doing because so many things that seem unusual are actually very normal and it helps me feel better to hear other babies do the same stuff. Not to mention getting to know people and making friends! That's the best part.

Exciting Stuff!

  So some exciting things are happening for my little family! First of all, Brayden has started babbling! It is the most precious sound, and I used to think that was cooing. (what seems like forever ago) So a lot of "rararara bababa mamama" going on and I love it all! To be honest I wasn't expecting this milestone to come so quick, he's already doing so many other new things. :) The next exciting thing is that we have our appointment set for next week with a sleep specialist a friend of mine recommended me to at St. Luke's. I can't wait for them to personalize a plan for us to get Brayden sleeping on his own, and all night. I know it will be hard, but in the end that will all pay off! Next thing is on that same day, we have an appointment for Hubs and I to see a counselor from church. Now, before you go on thinking we have all these horrible problems, we don't! We are taking action and just need a little guidance with this journey of parenthood and want to make our relationship the best it can be for ourselves and Brayden. A lot changes after having a baby and we want to better ourselves for this new way of life, as well as feel like we are "normal". I am excited for that. Lastly, this Saturday we are having a family picture done along with Brayden's 6 month portraits. Something little but I am looking forward to it! Oh, and last of lastly I am very excited about an email I received from one of the websites I am registered to...a Mother's Day gift which is a code for a free nursing cover from uddercovers.com!! It's normally expensive (to me anyways) and all I pay is 9 bucks for shipping! This will be so wonderful for me so I can nurse anywhere in public. Sweet tamales huh?! The Lord blesses those who ask and are patient!

One last note: Ever since I was little I have had visions and dreams about things that actually happen after I see them. This seems freaky, but it's just a fact about me. So 3 nights before Brayden started babbling, I dreamed it. And this was not a dream I had had before, and I had not been thinking at all about him doing this. Super cool if you ask me ;)

What I've been up to

  So yesterday was pretty busy for me, and I didn't even go many places! First we took Brayden to the Dr. for his 6 month check up and shots, which ended up being a looonng visit. So long that he was tired and fussy by the time he got his shots, which isn't good. :( After he got them he was good though, I just had to stay in the room and feed him before leaving. After that we went to Sam's Club for lunch then the famers market for fruits and veggies. The rest of the day was was doing laundry and house chores, since my husband was home I was able to do a lot more. I wanted a nap but didn't give in because I didn't want to lose the day! It was going by to fast! Then in the evening Bray and I went to our Mom's group, which actually ended up just Jessica, baby Gracie and us. It was a nice visit and we had a good time!

  This morning I started something new, Brayden and I had breakfast together. It was quite enjoyable! I had cheerios with bananas and he had rice cereal with bananas. :) I think I'm going to make this a new routine. Well That's pretty much all I have to write about today...oh, also Brayden did good last night going to bed and through the night, but I'm going to be getting an appointment soon with sleep clinic because now that he's at the age he is we need to change some habits and get him to sleep all night. It's not going to be easy but more on that later...

It Is Time...

  I've decided that it's time to save up money for an SLR camera! I've wanted one for sooo long and having a baby makes me want one even more. I have such love for photography and I take thousands of pictures every month, so this is a definite need of mine! ;) I haven't decided what brand to go with, I'm thinking Nikon or Canon. What I'm going to do first is sell some things I have no use for anymore. For example, I have 138 dvds I am going to auction on Ebay, and might actually try to sell on Craigslist, first. I really would like to start babysitting, too, but I just don't know enough people yet! I need to keep praying that God will introduce me to the right people and bless me and my family. Also, if and when I'm able to get my camera there will probably be no need to get professional pictures done anymore. I will eventually have all the tools I need to do them myself. I've even thought of the possibility of starting my OWN photography business one day, and maybe take a class. That would be so awesome!! I just need to stay motivated and pray lots and lots, which I already do. :) Having the support of my friends and family really helps as well. They all agree I should do it and that I am blessed with the talent. Anyways, I am really curious right now when Brayden will get his next tooth. (Random switch of topic, I know) He got two teeth together exactly one month ago and now he's back at the teething game! Could be any day and I'm not sure I'm ready for his mouth to fill up with teefers. He's so young still! What ever happens he makes my heart glow with pride, he's one adorable little dude. OH, this just in: I left the computer for a sec to look at Brayden and he traveled the living room, with his key toys in hand the whole way! He is doing so much more than I thought, what a smart cookie! Well diary, that's all I have for today!

P.S. Way to go troops, I am truly proud to be an American today. Well done! Prayers for the future <3

How many nicknames?

How many nicknames could one baby possibly need? This makes me laugh because I actually tried counting how many nicknames Brayden has, that we actually use regularly...I've counted 14, but that doesn't mean it stops there. We are always coming up with new ones and some have been there since he was in the womb. So why isn't the name we chose oh so specially for them enough? Probably because the amount of cuteness they embody is just too overflowing for us adults to describe so we constantly come up with words and names to suit them. (Which could never really be done by words lol) Whatever the reason I love it. Between my husband and I we have become really creative with names we call him. Its going to be neat to see which ones actually stick with him his whole life! :)