a fun little weekend

We all got to spend the weekend together in Queen Creek!!

Dad and Billy flew in and Kevin took a bus. Paul and I drove up after he got off work on saturday morning. We mostly just hung around the house and enjoyed each other... I even gave dad a haircut :)

Billy was making Hayden laugh...
Paul was awake from 11 am (after working a night shift) Friday morning to 7 pm saturday night. He was sure tired....

first newborn shoot

Nollie was so sweet the whole shoot! It went so well, and I couldn't have asked for better weather. Check out my photo blog for more. stephanieclitesphotography.blogspot.com

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to me!! Tuesday was our 3rd anniversary! It sure has been a fun 3 years! we mostly just laid around the house and spent time together. We ended up at walmart saying "what do you want for our anniversary?" to each other, and basically picked out our own gifts. Paul was kind enough to allow me to buy a pressure cooker. I got him a new computer chair. He was just using a kitchen chair and it sure wasn't comfortable. So today (after running to Bashas for their buy 1 get 2 free B/S chicken breast sale) I canned some chicken!! My first time all by myself. I remembered things from when Tiffany so willingly helped me can beans a few months ago and with a peek at the manual, I now have canned chicken!! YEAH! Now I can get some food storage going. I'm so excited!!

update

I am loving this book [ No Cry Sleep Solution ]!! I'm already halfway through it and have had it less than 24 hours. Basically Hayden just lacks a routine. I think once a good routine is set in and a few other adjustments he'll be a happy camper, and so will the rest of us. As far as nursing goes, in the day he's down to the morning, naptime and nighttime nursings. Maybe one in the afternoon if he's really cranky and not taking his sippy.

Also we bought an HP Pavilion desktop with some of our tax return and we are loving it. Happy Anniversary to us! ok so its a few weeks away, but who doesn't go spend a little after depositing that check? Now paul can be doing homework on one computer and I can blogging on the other.

short and fat

today I had my 6 month WIC appointment, where Hayden gets his height and weight and finger stick done. He is in the 9 percentile for his height and 97 percentile for his weight!! I was so cracked up by that. My short fat baby. You really wouldn't know it by looking though. also he hasn't gained any weight since his birthday. That's what walking does to you I guess.

weening day 3

Well the rest of yesterday went awesome! I nursed him after his nap but only for like 3 mins and the rest of the day when he got cranky I just offered him juice or milk from his "special sippy" and he ate really well! he pretty much took whatever I offered him and ate it. I guess he wasn't a good eater before because I would nurse on demand. I did end up nursing him at bedtime but he didn't go to sleep with it, he rolled around for a while then fell asleep. Also I nursed him throughout the night... but I will work on that later I think. today at nap time he didn't want anything but a ride in the stroller, I think he wasn't really ready for a nap though. So after a while of the stroller not working we just let him play. Then i took Michele's advice and nursed him but not until he was asleep. He was relaxed and I pulled him off and he screamed so I let him nurse a little longer and when he was almost asleep I pulled him off and he whined a little then was out. I don't know if that's the way she was talking about or what but by that point he fell asleep fast by nursing because he was so tired. I'm just happy he's eating better and nursing less. So hopefully by April 1st he'll be independent. Sorry if these posts get old, but it helps to write stuff down. Thank you everyone for your advice and support, it REALLY helps!!

Weening Day 1 and 2

Day 1:

I told myself yesterday after reading everyones comments that it was the day to start. I nursed him at 7 when we were still in bed then again at 11 or 12 for his nap. Then around 3 he got all crazy; crying, kicking, arching his back, pulling at my shirt and bringing me the nursing cover a bunch of times. I got so tired of it that I just nursed him and then he was happy for a while. I nursed him at 7:30 pm and he fell asleep but when I went to bed at 9 he woke up and wouldn't go back to sleep without it. I tried to comfort him but nothing helped. Finally, after my boob leaked from his crying, I just nursed him. Throughout the night I nursed him 3 times (which is actually less than usual, if you can believe that) He was probably so tired from the day crying that he slept better. He takes a sippy fine if he's happy, but when he's not he won't take anything.

Day 2:

Nursed him at 6 am. He went back to sleep and woke up happy at 7:30. Nap time came at 12:30. I laid down with him (we co sleep at night by the way) in the bed and he started crying and pulling at my shirt. After about 10 mins we got up and got his sippy, that he of course didn't want. He got hysterical again and I decided to push him around in the stroller. He calmed down but didn't go to sleep so after about 10 mins of that we went back to the bed and he got crazy again. After a while he climbed in my arms and I told him that he can't have a brother or sister until he is a big boy and doesn't nurse anymore. I his cry got quieter and after about 10 mins he was out on my shoulder. I waited 5 more mins before laying him down. I think the total time was about 35-45 mins. But... I DID IT!

I absolutely HATE listening to him cry, especially when I know I can do something to make him stop. But this time I'm determined to ween him. This crying is for a purpose! I tried pumping so at least the milk in the bottle would taste familiar, but no luck. I tried giving him a teddy bear or car for comfort, he just pushed it away. I sure hope this gets easier.