Tag Archives: sleep

Active at G-Ma’s and I Almost Forgot Something!

04/14/2014 R.C. Liley 12 Comments

For the past few times we made the trip to my mom’s, Avery’s G-ma, to stay the night, Avery didn’t do much. I mean, the hightlight of our last trip was doing Ninja Turtle puzzles…..without her! Then again, she didn’t do much anywhere because she’s under six months! But, for our trip this past weekend, Avery was more active and full of smiles. For the most part, she’s still a baby and she still cried.

Before leaving on Saturday, we had our usual routine of coffee and protein pancakes while Avery played with her Skwish Stix from the Manhattan Toy Co. Kelley put Avery down for a nap before our drive, and then we did a workout together in the garage.

The Skwish Stix are meant to help introduce the concept of cause and effect as your baby pulls the beads and watches them spring back. They are meant for ages 6 months and up, so I’m giving it awhile before a full review. But, Avery is interested and will grab at them when nearby.

Once at G-Ma’s, we sat Avery in the middle of the kitchen counter to let her read a recent magazine article.

We asked if it was an interesting story, but she just flashed smiles.

I figured it couldn’t be bad with those smiles, but then she just ripped the pages out and tried to eat them.

Hmmm, time to go roll on the floor with Mommy and G-ma!

We spent a lot of time with Avery rolling around and trying to keep her on the blanket. She’s not even crawling yet and she can really get “around”! Too cheesy? Good, the more cheesy the better! Anyway, you could tell Avery was enjoying her time playing with G-Ma, and they both loved every second of it.

Avery has been laughing a little bit, but we’re still waiting for a real outburst coming deep within her stomach. I’ve been able to get the little laughs by crawling around and “attacking” her belly, but she won’t do it for many others yet. That didn’t stop G-ma from trying though…

Avery was going strong and moving around for quite a while when all of the sudden, I think tiredness set in.

Even Abby, not allowed in the room but as close as possible to the “boundary”, seemed worn out.

When a baby is tired, fussiness is sure to follow, and it did. Nothing too bad, but it was time for a little power nap. I brought along our new Ergobaby Ventus carrier that Ergobaby kindly sent me to review, so I figured we’d go for a walk/nap to test it out.

The wind was gusting at high speeds so I utilized the built-in hood for Avery. She didn’t fuss for the whole hour we walked and I know she slept at least 40 minutes. When we returned, I asked Avery how she liked the walk, but she was still too sleepy to answer.

The Ergo was pretty nice and it is smaller than the Onya that we have, but you have to expect a carrier with a built-in child seat will be bigger. I will be wearing the Ergo more before a full review, but one thing I wish it had were extra storage pockets. These are very handy for carrying a phone, keys, wallet, or a doggie bag for our walks with the dog.

Sleep is always up in the air with a baby, and she didn’t do the best at G-Ma’s. Going Mom was up several times trying to feed and console her while my lazy self just laid in bed. Sorry, Kelley. Kelley was exhausted and Avery was still wide awake and very active, so I finally did something took Avery to the recliner in the living room. I rocked and reclined her and she eventually fell asleep on me. She’s not as small as last time we slept together, and it wasn’t the most comfortable, but I know I should still cherish it while I can.

The next day we sipped multiple cups of coffee and Avery rolled around more. My little brother, Uncle Preston, worked late the night before but was home now and he got to hold a happy Avery for bit.

It was good to see, and hopefully they’ll get to hang out more as she gets older. I can see these two becoming best buds, besides her and her Daddy, of course.

The day drew on and it was time for us to head home. Ugh, time goes too fast! G-Ma spent a little longer with Avery showing her some window ornaments and then said our goodbyes.

It usually takes us a month or more before making our next trip to G-Ma’s; I wonder what Avery will be doing then. Maybe crawling?

Oh yeah, I almost forget to say what I almost forgot. It’s nothing big to you I’m sure, but being self-motivated and anal-retentive about fitness (amongst other things in life), this would’ve bothered me had I forgot. What was it? 30 burpees!

Since the day we brought Avery home on 11/17/13, I have committed to doing 30 burpees a day and haven’t missed a day yet. Sunday night, as I had the water and was about to step in the shower, I suddenly realized I forgot. So, what’s an OCD guy to do? I knocked them out right there before getting in the shower!

Phew, close call, and sorry for sharing the details. Now you all know me a little bit better.

Do you have anything that you have to do every day? Every week?

How was your weekend?

Disclosure: The Manhattan Toy Co. and Ergobaby sent me the products I mentioned free of charge to be reviewed on my blog. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own.

Parenting

What Happened to Nap Time?!

04/05/2014 R.C. Liley 4 Comments

Are you someone who counts on having things planned at least for the day ahead? With food, I drive my wife crazy by constantly trying to plan ahead, and this goes for most other areas in a day. As a stay-at-home dad, for instance, I think and strategize my day according to Avery’s nap time.

Since I’ve transitioned from the office to a stay-at-home dad, I have learned to count on her long morning naps to get most of the things I can complete. Working out, cooking for myself and Kelley, cleaning myself (most days), and internet time if I can.

Lately, Avery stays up longer before her morning nap, so now I bring her with me to work out and maybe get some food prep out of the way if she allows. Well, today, after working out and taking cues from her rubbing her face with heavy eyes, I figured nap time was imminent.

Bottle in hand, lights off in the nursery, and white noise on, I proceeded to help Avery fall asleep. She wasn’t having the bottle, so I gave up and tried singing (keyword: tried) to soothe her, but she just started smiling. Crap, what happened to that sleep, face rubbing girl five minutes ago?

Eventually, she dozed and I laid her in the crib. But, instead of three hours later, it was twenty freakin’ minutes later and she was already screaming! She’s done this before, and on most days, she gets herself back to sleep. Not today! Nope, she started kicking the side rails of the crib with the vigor of a UFC fighter!

I watched the monitor in hopes of things calming down, but eventually had to go in and try to console her. Still, she just cried louder when I offered the bottle, and even louder if I set her down. I felt the top of her head for tiny horns because I was convinced she was replaced by a demon child. No horns were found; phew!

Over the span of two hours of trying to get her to sleep, I just brought to the kitchen with me while I finished my daily food tasks. Avery seemed content in her jumper for a while, and even flashed me smiles when I’d look over at her. For the most part, she was keeping busy.

I kept trying to offer the bottle to her, but I think this look says it all….

So I carried on slicing a jicama to put in the dehydrator to make chips.

I was concentrating pretty hard on making sure the slices were thin enough, when I noticed it seemed quiet……a little too quiet. I looked up at Avery in her jumper and, well……

Oh sure! She won’t sleep in a perfectly nice crib, but being suspended in a jumper is no problem! I went over to see how out she really was, and I’d say like a college freshman on rush week!

My hear sunk when I saw this, and I picked her up in hopes of laying her down somewhere better. Wrong move. She never went back to sleep, just cried instead. We fought with the bottle a while, and then it was time for a walk. When all else fails, I can count on our trusty Onya Baby Outback to help Avery take a nap.

Ten minutes into the walk and she was out. The weather was cool and comfortable, but I covered her with the integrated hood just to keep the sun off her head. Plus, it’s becoming a universal sign that I’m walking with a sleeping baby and most of my neighbors know just wave; no talking! Thank you, neighbors!!

An hour later and Avery started squirming from under the hood so I took it off to say hi.

We were in a new phase of the neighborhood where a lot of construction is going on and I’m sure the noise woke her. The previous night, we had very high winds with rain and hail, and the port-a-potties around the sites had blown over. Being one who likes to turn random things into fun, educational games, I decided we’d count the port-a-potties that were tipped.

Hmm, seemed like more than that. Oh well, counting is counting, and who doesn’t love turned over port-a-potties? Oh, that many, huh?

Avery continued to be stubborn on taking the bottle back home, and finally Going Mom came home from work. Yay, another non-demon to join forces! Kelley happily held her dear ~~demon~~ daughter for a while and then fit in a work out for the day.

All in all, Avery’s longest nap was in the Onya (I seriously love and depend on this thing!) for around 45 minutes. It’s nighttime as I’m writing this and Avery finally conked right out after her bath. Fingers crossed for a good night!

I figure it’s the first signs of teething and feel like we’re in for a long, painful, and sleepless ride. Oh wait, that’s parenting in general, huh?

Have you ever had a really “off” day with your baby?

What’s the longest your child has gone without sleep?

Parenting

White Noise for my Wife

04/02/2014 R.C. Liley 1 Comment

Its official, Avery is growing up. Duh, that’s what babies do, right? Sure, but as a first time parent, every single change is new. With her latest feat of rolling over both ways, she’s now sleeping on her stomach (like her mom) and no longer requires being swaddled.

Ahhh, the freedom to sleep however I want!!

We are proud of our girl, but as most parents know, it’s bittersweet. But still, I really want to play and do more with her, so I’m okay with a little more growing up!

Monday was nothing out of the ordinary, Going Mom went (to work) and Avery and I did the usual as of late. “The usual” is now her staying up longer and hanging out with me as I get my workout of the day in and then taking her morning nap. She used to be ready to go back to sleep after an hour and a half of being awake in the morning, but now it’s more like 3 hours.

Fine with me, she seems to enjoy watching Daddy work out, and really loves it when I have to get on the ground for pushups or bear crawl. She’ll just crack a big grin and let out a semi-laugh. Her laughs are still a work in progress.

The Manhattan Toy Company sent us one of their new toys, Skwish Stix, to review and we got right to it before bath time. Right out of the box and Avery was ready to grab at it and apparently eat it.

I’d say she’s going to enjoy this toy better when she can sit up on her own. In the meantime, Mom and Dad can give her a hand. I’ll be posting a review on the Skwish Stix after Avery logs some good play time, so be on the look out. They are currently out of stock, so that must say something.

After our usual nightly routine, Kelley and I will sit in the living room where Kelley eventually falls asleep and I eat for almost 2 hours. It’s the only time where I actually sit down for a meal, so not like I’m going over my daily energy intake; if you cared.

Since it has been warmer lately, Avery has some heat rash around her body, so we decided to move the fan in our living room to her room. The problem is, that fan provided noise to help drown out the noise from me constantly getting up and down for more food while Kelley slept.

Solution? I used a white noise app on my iPad to help Kelley go and stay asleep as I frequented the kitchen. As a side note, we have the most expensive white noise machine in Avery’s nursery; Kelley’s iPad. Yep, that’s all it’s used for, but if it helps a baby sleep, isn’t it worth it?

Speaking of sleep, Avery is doing better in her own crib than when she’s in our bed. Usually, around 3 to 5 in the morning, I’ll bring her to our bed to feed and then she falls back asleep. Not so on Tuesday morning!

That girl was just kicking and rolling around between us. She found a good position with her feet kicking my stomach and hands slapping Kelley and kept attacking us both. Being one to make the best of situations, I simply turned around for a nice semi-massage on my back compliments of her kicking feet. Kelley, on the other hand, continued to get slapped.

Avery eventually started to get fussy and refused to fall back asleep, so I brought her to her room thinking I’d just have to sit up with her and roll around or maybe play peek-a-boo pushups.

First, I went to change her diaper and Oops!, she was a little dirty. Well crap (pun intended, I like those), I thought, I’d kick my parents too! After changing her, I set her in her crib to wash my hands and start a load of laundry as she rolled around and cooed to herself.

With the washer started, it seemed a little quiet in the nursery, and when I walked in, I found this…

And I just laid her down to start some laundry!

Well okay then! And she slept for over an hour with no white noise or swaddle of any kind. What’s with this girl?! She even greeted us with smiles when we woke her up.

All day Tuesday, Avery was rather pleasant and didn’t fuss as much as usual. It helps that she wasn’t actually bitten by a snake! She did, however, turn into a grump as the day was coming to an end. Teething, heat rash, tired? Maybe all of the above, but one thing’s for sure, baby.

Our girl is getting older, as we all are, and we are proud of every new thing she accomplishes. Next up, crawling!

How did you find out your baby is able to sleep easier on their own?

Babies growing up; exciting, sad, or in between?