The 5 P's!

What a week, what a week! I am so sorry it has been so long since our last post... what blogger-bores we've been. You'll be happy to know, however, that you, oh members of the great wide blog world were not ignored for no good reason. Caden and Mommy had some serious business to tend to this week, which has led us to come up with the ever-so-clever title of this post: 'The 5 P's."

1. Practice

2. Progress

3. Pimples

4. Playtime

5. Parties

PRACTICE: In the hospital the nurses were very clear to communicate that when your baby is fussy, you should hold them, when they won't sleep you should hold them, basically 24 hours a day you should hold them. So we did, I did... for the first month of Caden's life Justin and I took turns holding him, including when we/he slept. I moved out of our room a few weeks ago and into one of our guest rooms. During the week Justin is off night time duty since he is a workin' man, and if Caden was going to be sleeping in bed with us this wouldn't quite work out if dad planned on getting a good night's rest. SO... on Monday of this week, I had finally had enough...I wanted my bed back, I wanted my hubby back, I needed to make a change...

I was sleeping in the other room with Caden propped up very carefully in my arms...our body temperatures colliding at such a high rate that we were both dripping with sweat. I, of course, would never wake up refreshed or well-rested because any sleep I was getting was with a child draped across my chest or nestled in the crook of my arm. And quite honestly, I am not sure Caden was getting the most restful sleep either... how could he being confined only to the positions my body would allow?

So the equation ended up being pretty simple... a sweaty kid who is sleep-deprived + a sweaty mom who is sleep-deprived= long days and even longer nights. What's a girl to do? Caden outgrew his bassinet the first week we were home and we tried the sleepin' with mom and dad option so all that was left was the big boy crib. GASP! Caden in another room?

It was time, I knew it... I knew it was no longer safe to fall asleep with him in my arms. I finally realized that we had no goal in sight. So what if we got a few hours of sleep one night using that method, what happens after that? Would he still be sleeping on my chest when he is 18? 

There is no time like the present... Tuesday morning I called Justin and said "...it's time... go to Target during lunch, buy a fancy schmancy video baby monitor to give me the peace of mind that I'll need to get through this crib transition... we're starting tonight! Caden is going to Mommy Sleep Camp!"

In order to transition into Mommy Sleep Camp, Caden had to also attend Mommy Day Camp, which meant that Mommy had to start learning to put Caden down during the day... in his pack n play, in his bouncer. When he fussed, I soothed him and put him back down. This was SO hard... it required SO much energy but it was worth it in the end because I realized how much I was able to accomplish in even 10- 20 minutes with full use of both of my hands... I wrote thank you notes, addressed birth announcements, cleaned the kitchen, caught up on emails... I felt like super woman. Of course this did not come without some trial... I was up and down, back and forth ALL day long... it was harder on mommy but practice makes progress!

Here Caden is on his first morning of Mommy Day Camp. 

"Oh booger, they have finally figured out that I don't have to be held 24 hours a day... dang it! Maybe if I scream every 10 minutes or so mommy will get tired of picking me up and soothing me and she'll give up... "

If there is one thing that I do have it is will power and I was determined to out-will Caden. I was doing it for him... KK has always told me it is hard to be a good parent but so easy to be a bad one... this was just the first of many hard things!

Even Maci and Max were rootin' him on. The three of them were commiserating about their transition from lap dogs and hold me babies to pillow dogs and crib babies... what a rough life they all lead! 

PROGRESS: And now we have some progress. Tuesday night Caden did GREAT in his crib. He made it one 4 hour stretch and one 3.5 hour stretch... way to go Caden! On Wednesday night he did the same, but on Thursday night Caden threw Justin and I for a HUGE loop... he made it a 6 hour stretch. We both woke up at one point totally shocked by the time our clocks were reading... could it be true? Was he breathing? Had he escaped? Had the rapture happened? Or D, none of the above... Caden was being a big boy! And that my friends is serious progress. Of course last night we were back to 3 hour stretches, but that's okay, I'll take a 6 hour stretch any time I can get one!

PIMPLES: In the middle of the week we noticed the saddest thing... baby acne! Do they make Baby Proactive? Of course we are still madly in love with our little pizza face. Depending on his temperament his little pimples come and go, so you may or may not be able to notice them in our photos from this week. 

Here are a few shots in our big boy clothes after our long night in our big boy crib! It's amazing how cute we look after a good night's rest...

Yes that's right... Property of Mom Forever... you read his shirt right!

Look at my hair... it's turning red, just like my daddy's! 

And I make goofy faces just like my daddy too... mommy never can seem to get my prettiest faces on camera! Wish list: camera with a faster shutter speed!

PLAYTIME: KK came up Friday to babysit little Caden. Justin had a work function that he HAD to have a date for, so we "convinced" KK to come spend the night with our lil man while we headed out for a few hours. Mommy did not handle it very well, almost ruining her make-up job... and yes this was the first time she had worn make-up ALL week! We survived and Caden had a SUPER fun time with KK. Mommy was super jealous about all the fun stuff she missed...

They sang, had tummy time on Caden's tummy mat, did push-ups, had a long conversation about The Bachelor, Jessica Simpson's high-waisted uh-oh and other hot topics and then settled in for a nice quiet evening on the couch...

That's right, KK pushed our progress back a tad bit on Friday because she refused to put Caden down. Apparently this is a grandparents right... to spoil their grandkids and then give them back to their parents to fix! Oh the irony!

I started pumping on Thursday when Caden was 4 weeks old and Justin was able to feed him his first bottle. He did pretty well... again, I did not handle this very well, crying as I watched Justin feed Caden... I LOVE breastfeeding... it's Caden and I's special thing, but I know Justin enjoyed being able to fill Caden's little tummy as well. I comforted myself by stating that bottle or no bottle, what was in the bottle can't be done without me... I'm still of value! 

During playtime with KK... I love this little face!

PARTIES: After the practice...the pimples... and the progress Caden celebrated his 1 Month Birthday Party with Aunt Emmie and Uncle Josh. Emmie and Josh came down from San Antonio for the afternoon to be with Caden. Emmie and Josh were the only two family members who had not been fortunate enough to hold Caden when they visited him in the hospital, so this was a very special day for all of us!

Uncle Josh...the baby whisperer!

Aunt Emmie...the most beautiful girl in the world... she was so fun to look at!

Aunt Emmie baked her famous Fudge Pie for Caden's birthday... it was yummy! Justin and I have been claiming February 1st as the official start of our "better eating habits" diet, but it has been indefinitely post-poned thanks to Emmie's Fudge Pie! Yum! 

Side-note: I just thought pregnancy made me hungry... HA! Nothing compares to the hunger and thirst of breastfeeding! I can't get enough! 

During our Party today we were visited by Mike the Kirby Vacuum salesman who did about an 1.5 hour LIVE demonstration of all the great things a Kirby can do. Why I let him in my house I'm not sure, but I got a free casserole dish and KK bought herself a new vacuum, so I guess it was meant to be! 

So the moral of that story is...next time you hear a knock on your door...open up... let them inside... doesn't this sound like GREAT advice from a new mom! :) 

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Saturday and enjoys Super Bowl Sunday. I can honestly say that I am not all that pumped up about the bowl this year... maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised... if not that just leaves more time for blogging!

Goodnight blog friends!