Beans and Such

I received a call from Blaine's school yesterday. Here's how it went:

"Hi Jessica, it's Lisa from Hawthorne--no emergency, but we did want to call you and let you know that Blaine put a bean in his nose."

*me laughing*

"A bean?  Really?  I always hear of kids putting things in their nose and wondered why and when it would be our turn."

"Yep, a bean.  He's fine though.  Ms. Megan got it out."

Nice, son.  Really nice.

And in other news, we're getting serious at night now.  No more Mr. and Mrs. Nice Guy/Gal.  The midnight (on the dot) and 4:30 am (on the dot) feedings have got to end.  With only two "sleep-through-the-night" nights under our belts in almost 6 months, I think it's about time.  After checking on Sister at midnight we let her "cry-it-out".  It was brutal.  Well, not too brutal because I guess I fell back asleep.  At one point I asked David how long she'd been crying and when he looked at the alarm told me it had been an hour.

AN HOUR!?!?!  WHAT? 

I might have said some expletives at this point and then I jumped out of bed.  I had never intended to let her scream her poor head off for an hour.  Poor Angel Bug.  I darted into her room to find her in a pool of snot and tears.  I cleaned her face, moved her to a clean spot in the bed and then rubbed her back.  Within seconds she was sleeping and doing that deep breath thing that kids do after they sob uncontrollably for a long time.

I definitely did not win any mother-of-the-night awards last night but redeemed myself at the 5:00 am feeding.

And in more news... our Christmas tree is up but is not decorated.  That's another post though.

Have a good day.

Sleep

Dear Angel Bug,

Thank you for sleeping through the night last night (and then some.) Your dad and I appreciated going to sleep at 10:00 pm and not waking up until 5:00 am. And then you went back to sleep until 7:00! Nice work!

Love,

Mama and Daddy

Family and Valentine's Day

David's Mom (Mimi) and her husband, Jeff (Pops) arrived in Austin on Saturday for a weekend stay. Marie works for the state, so she gets about 78 "holidays" a year off, including Confederate Heroes Day (seriously?). Anyway, she had today off (Presidents Day) so they were able to stay last night and watch Blaine today while I worked my buns off during this very important, national holiday!

Going all the way back to Thursday though, I must tell you that David finally got a new(er) truck. (Pictures to come.) He parted ways with his 1999 Toyota Tacoma. He got that truck, used, about a week after we met in 2003 so it had sentimental value to us both. He drove that trusty truck to and from Houston so many times during the first year we dated that I think it knew where to go when he started down Highway 290. It had 151,000 miles, no bumper, a cracked windshield, no radio (which was stolen a few months ago), and the brakes and tires were practically shot. We loved that truck but what we loved more was that we paid it off a long time ago. It was time though, and David seems to be a happier man now that he has a decent vehicle to drive around.

Back to our weekend: Marie and Jeff arrived on Saturday and Mister welcomed them with open arms and a busy schedule. They took him to the playground and then to Toys-R-Us where he picked out his own birthday present. This task is not easy for a 2-year-old. Everything he picked up he wanted but he finally settled on the Fisher Price farmer set complete with barn, silo, and 6 farm animals. He has been playing with it all weekend and "Framer in the Dell" and "E-I-E-I-O" have been the major tunes around the Lyon household. Sunday we went to breakfast (and after two meals out, Mimi and Pops learned why taking Blaine Miller out to eat is a very bad idea). Following breakfast we went to church where we heard a moving sermon on isolation. Great job, John Burke! Ooooh and then on Sunday night Marie made us shrimp creole. OMG - soooooo good! I think I ate two (ok, 2.5) bowls. Thanks Mimi :)

Mimi and Pops kept Blaine today while David and I worked. They had a wonderful, packed day full of playing, the park and sleep. Oh, yes - sleep! I didn't believe this at first either, but apparently during lunch Blaine stopped and said, "Nigh-nigh!" and then demanded it again. Soon after this, when he got cleaned up, he ran to his room, put on his radio, grabbed his pacifier and blanket and put himself to sleep!! I told Mimi and Pops that they must move in! Not only did he put himself to bed, but he slept for over two and a half hours!!! Awesome.

Blaine not only enjoyed our company, but Tug did too: Here he is after he jumped up on Marie's lap (because he's a lap dog and all... all 50 pounds of him!) to get some attention.

Oh, and then there is the microwave. Blaine's new obsession. He wants to "cook it" - "it" being everything he can get his pudgy little hands on. Here he is cooking a book.

We are so glad that we could spend some quality time with our family this weekend. We have the best families anyone could ask for - always supportive, loving and helpful - our moms are always overextending themselves just as they did when we were kids. Thanks for your help Mimi and Pops. Love you guys.

I saved the best news for last. Valentine's Day brought in FIVE boxes of Girl Scout cookies for me and a sweet card from both my boys. Mmmmm. ;) Oh, the simple joys...

Mister Terror

Mister has been sleeping really well, during the day and at night, for almost a year. We struggled during the first 10 months but he got the hang of it and knows the value of sleep now. Unfortunately over the last few weeks he has had a lot of trouble going to sleep at night and has been waking up 2-4 hours after he falls asleep (rather, passes out from the screaming). When he wakes he screams at this awful, ear-piercing, painful pitch that would wake the dead if we lived near a cemetery. The first few nights we thought maybe he had a bad dream, or maybe he was really wet, or needed a drink... but none of these these things seemed to be "it". He would continue to scream and wail for an hour+ before literally passing out.

Upon the suggestion (maybe he has an ear infection?) of a friend I called Dr. Dan and they wanted to see him in the office today. Our appointment was at 4:20 and we didn't see Dr. Dan until 5:20 (this is unheard of in his office-we never have to wait) and Blaine is supposed to eat dinner at 5:00 pm. Enough said, right? Thank God I had brought some peanut butter crackers (given to me by Blaine's girlfriend, Siri :) and his water... but this didn't even make a dent in his hunger. So now, I have a hungry, sleepy, possibly sick child and we are waiting in a 8 x 8 room. They should have just put me in a straight jacket!

When Dr. Dan finally saw us he determined that:

A) Blaine's ears look o.k. - a little drainage so they certainly weren't perfect. His only symptom (besides the night wakings) was a green-snotty nose, but no consistent drainage. He did prescribe an antibiotic to start on Saturday morning if Blaine still has the green stuff (TMI, I know.)

B) The ear thing is probably not waking him up, though a headache from the sinus pressure could be but the most probable cause of the night wakings:

C) Night Terrors. I was like, "OK, so he's having a nightmare?" Dr. Dan, "Nope - based on when he's waking, these are most likely Night Terrors."

What is the difference you ask? I went to http://www.babycenter.com/ to get more information:

What are night terrors?
Night terrors occur in at least 5 percent of young children, and can start as early as 9 months. These mysterious disturbances happen during deep, non-dreaming sleep. A child in this state will cry, whimper, flail, and even bolt out of bed. Though his eyes may be wide open, he's not awake and isn't aware of your presence. Once the night terror (which can last anywhere from a few minutes to half an hour or more) is over, your child will return to a sound sleep and have no memory of the incident in the morning.

How are night terrors different from nightmares?
Nightmares happen during rapid eye movement (REM) or dream sleep. A child who's had a nightmare is likely to have a fairly clear idea of what scared him, though he probably won't be able to articulate his fright until he's about 2. He may also be afraid to fall back asleep, and in the morning, he'll probably remember that he had a bad dream.

What should I do when my toddler has a night terror?
Of course, your first instinct will be to comfort him, but your efforts will most likely be futile (remember, he's not really awake and he's not aware of your presence). You just have to wait it out and make sure he doesn't hurt himself. Don't speak to him or try to soothe him, and don't try to shake or startle him awake or physically restrain him — all of which could lead to more frantic behavior. In 15 to 20 minutes, your child should calm down, curl up, and fall into a deep sleep again.

Is there anything I can do to prevent night terrors?
There are several steps you can take to reduce the chances that your toddler will have night terrors. First, make sure that he's getting enough sleep, since children who go to bed overtired are more likely to experience these sleep disturbances. To avoid fatigue, extend your toddler's nap time, let him sleep a little later in the morning, or put him to bed earlier at night. And be sure to schedule plenty of time for calming bedtime rituals, such as a bath, a song, a book, and lots of cuddling.Since night terrors usually occur during the first part of the night, you could also try gently rousing your toddler after he's been asleep for an hour or two — about 15 minutes before the typical episode would start. This should alter his sleep pattern enough to head off the night terror at the pass.

Terrible, huh? That's what I told Dr. Dan. I think I asked numerous times, "Are you sure this isn't a terrible sinus infection that can be cured with a powerful and wonderful antibiotic?!"

Dr. Dan said that the cause of night terrors is most often: sleep deprivation. This of course is bad news because night terrors cause sleep loss and that makes them more tired and then their deprived and then they have night terrors and... it's a viscous cycle. He said our best defense is a good nap during the day and an early bedtime.

Not to mention we had to stop and get BBQ for dinner (an hour and 10 minutes after the official dinner time of 5:00) and if you've ever had a hungry toddler on your hands you know what I mean when I say that he was having a total meltdown. Poor guy.

Daddy gave Mister a bath and then read him some books and put him down for his nightly scream. He didn't put up a huge fight tonight, but it was worth noting.

Dr. Dan talked to Blaine man-to-man about sleeping through the night but Blaine was more interested in writing on Dr. Dan's prescription pad with the pen I gave him. Oops.

I showed Blaine this picture when we got home - I thought it might motivate him to sleep. I'll let you know later...

Mama, Mama, Maaamaaa!

I don't know why, but Blaine is screaming my name from his crib. He should be napping. On our way home from errands he fell asleep in his car seat for about 2 minutes. He is sadly mistaken if he thinks that was his nap for the day.

I've went in there twice to see what his deal is. Both times his crib was pushed away from the wall, as far as his toddler length arms could push it. He tells me, "Nigh-nigh" and smiles when he sees me. Yes, son - 45 minutes ago you should have been sleeping and you're not. What now?

I cut the end of his pacifier off last night and he had serious issues. Gosh, I can't believe how attached he is to that thing. I am not a fan of the transition phase. Ugh.

Nigh-Nigh Mamaaa

Blaine loves to say "nigh-nigh" as in "good night, it's time to go to sleep". He says nigh-nigh with his head laid down on Tug, nigh-nigh with his head on the rug, and nigh-nigh with his head down trying to eat a bug (I just had to rhyme that last word!!!) Seriously though, this kid loves his sleep (I never thought I'd see the day, but it has arrived!) and not only does he want to go nigh-nigh, but he wants us to go nigh-nigh too.

This is usually how it goes down:

Blaine finds a nice place to rest his head: "Nigh-nigh Mama" he says in his sweet voice.

In this next photo Blaine lays his head down again and opens his eyes to see if I've laid down yet. He is still being sweet in this picture. Awwww.

You can see Blaine getting perturbed here. He is (literally) telling me here: "Nigh-nigh MAMA, Nigh-Nigh!!" and the pointing of the finger indicates he means business.

I cannot show you the next picture because it is scary (lol). He literally comes over and pushes my head down on the bed and demands that I go nigh-nigh.

Personally, one of my favorite moments of the day is getting into bed. I savor those first few minutes of comfort and warmth and relaxation... (I get that from GG, who also loves her nigh-nigh time) and so I think Blaine has received the sleep-gene from me :)

Blaine wanted me to tell you all that you should go nigh-nigh... don't make him come over there and push your head down on a bug! It's not pretty.

On a semi-related note Blaine also insists that we "sit" down at various times throughout the day. He usually takes our hand and pulls us to one of the couches or the floor and tells us to "sit" so that we can read to him or play with his toys or (now, this is really fun) watch him play with his own toys. If we don't sit upon his command he gets very upset and uses all his energy to push us down all the while saying, "sit, sit, sit siiiiit!"

So if you come over, expect to sit or go nigh-nigh as per Mister Mans orders!

Dealing with a few storms

Dealing with a few storms, literally. We just prepared for a tornado - candles, flashlights, blankets and towels in the bathroom (actually I am updating the blog from the bathroom :). A few tornado's touched down within a 3 mile radius of our house. There were/are 80 mph winds and golf ball sized hail. The worst has passed and we never had to wake Blaine and move him to the bathroom which is a good thing because sleep has been a battle for him lately. Let me explain, but first - some pictures!

The big bad storm.

Tug waiting for the storm.

Now on to Blaine... He has been going to sleep peacefully and on his for almost 6 months. Dinner, bath, reading, prayers, in crib and falls off to sleep peacefully (and independently) and sleeps for 12 hours straight. He recently got a sinus infection and was put on antibiotic which cleared up the infection but he got severe diarrhea about 5 days ago and has not been able to keep anything down. Our pediatrician recommended Florastor (to restore the good bacteria in his stomach) and get his bowels back to normal... Well three nights ago he woke up with a mess in his diaper and it traumatized him. We cleaned him up (he required a bath that night because it was so bad) and put him back to bed, but he cried and cried and cried and was totally freaked out. We finally got up with him at 5:00 am because he would not go back to sleep. Each night since that traumatic experience he FREAKS out at bedtime (and nap time). I mean totally breaks down. It is breaking my heart and I don't know what to do. Last night he woke at 4:00 am and screamed for an hour an a half before passing out. He throws everything out of his crib and kicks and screams our names. I know he's scared and associates his crib with a really red and hurting tush... but UGH, what do we do???? Tonight was much of the same. He screamed for about 20 minutes before David went in to calm him down and help him to sleep. I wonder what time he'll wake up tonight? Poor guy.

Funny side note: David actually slept outside two nights ago because the screaming fit was so bad. He took a pillow and blanket and went into the backyard to sleep on the cot. Imagine it. LOL.

Operation D.O.D 1-3 AM

Operation D.O.D. (Daddy On Duty) was an unplanned (and dirty) operation last night. At 1:00 am piercing screams woke us up and like any good "cry-it-out-method" parents, we let Blaine work it out for about 10 minutes. Unfortunately he was working out more than his sleep issue--poor guy had a diaper full of liquid poo :( Daddy to the rescue for a diaper change and mini-bath (tush-rinse). Blaine has had diarrhea for about 5 days now--a side effect of the antibiotic he's been on for his sinus infection. When he was finally cleaned up he did not want to go back to bed (I am sure his fire-engine-red-desitin-covered-ass didn't help...) and he screamed and screamed and screeeaaaamed for another hour. He threw everything that wasn't tied down out of his crib (including the very important cozy-up blanket and pacifier) and screamed DAAADDDAAAMMMAAAAMMMMAAAAAA for what seemed like eternity. We finally brought him to bed with us for about a half an hour but all he did was lay there and point (and talk to) the ceiling fan. After three failed attempts to get him to sleep in his own bed, Daddy moved to the couch where Blaine finally fell asleep after 45 minutes of back patting.

Dr. prescribed Florastor this morning to get the good bacteria back into Blaine's stomach. We're hoping and praying for those little flora's to do their stuff!

The Happiest Baby in the Whole Wide World

Even after a napless day (OK, he did nap... but 3 ten minute naps DO NOT count), our precious miracle was still all smiles during bath time. If these pictures don't make you smile, you've got issues.

Got it down

Things to notice in this picture:

1. Blaine's foot by his face, as if he's stretching after his morning run
2. Blaine is sleeping!

We took this picture after Blaine feel asleep from a standing position. In the previous post we told you how Blaine is now standing up in his crib. Well, this is what a typical "putting Blaine down for his nap/bedtime" looks like:

- Sleepy Blaine, rubbing eyes, already fed, obviously time for nigh-night
- Mommy and Daddy kiss Blaine and tell him is nap/bedtime
- lay him down with a cozy blanket and his stuffed turtle in his crib
- first 5-10 minutes, Blaine happily plays with Mr. Turtle and enjoys silent time, then...
- Blaine soon realizes we've left him and it is N.A.P time!
- Blaine pulls to a standing position in crib, cries and snots (all over crib) and wails for us
- At a predetermined time (10-15 min-etc...) we go in, show him how to unlatch his hands from side of crib and get down to an oh-so-wonderful nap position and then we leave
- repeat previous step 5-15 times.
-Blaine falls asleep standing up and collapses into position you see above. We call it the Blaine-Stand-N-Nap.

We are proud to report that Blaine is back to sleeping 10+ hours a night (straight through!) and is going down for naps with much less complaining. Well, as of this morning's nap :)

He is his father's child

Blaine's athleticism is beginning to shine! After putting Blaine down for his nap today (which he hates) I was surprised to hear no screaming after 5 minutes. I thought 'He's asleep!'... so I tip-toed into his room only to find this barely 6 and a half month old baby STANDING in his crib. No, he's not on his knees and this is not an illusion... he pulled himself up and is standing in his crib. Not only is he standing, but he is standing in a place where he can see out of his room and he can hunt for me! I made the mistake of leaving the door open today and so there he was, in all his standing glory looking for me, demanding that I pick him up... Now! After 10 minutes of screaming I thought he'd at least be laying down (screaming), but no - he was still standing, clutching the crib, screaming away.

Dear Lord, help me! :)