Mister's 1st Halloween

At 11.5 months old, Mister has no clue what today is all about.  We have a costume for him and we'll get him dressed up after supper and go visit the grandparents.  I'll have to post a pic here later.  I can't wait for him to be older and able to choose his own costume and be excited for the day.

We bought a pumpkin too and my Hubby carved it up on the weekend.  We found a Mario (Mario Brothers) stencil (my hubby's never used a pumpkin stencil before).  Hubby took our pumpkin to work for an office pumpkin carving competition and he won 1st place!

Mister's 1st Haircut

Today is a day of firsts.  This afternoon we are taking him to get his first haircut. We're going to go see my hubby's barber, who has graciously offered to open up shop on his usual day off so the whole family can come watch and take pictures of the event.  All the grandparents have been invited.  I hope Mister sits still enough for some hair to be taken off!  I'll add pics later.

...Mister did so well.  He cried for the first five minutes, trying to bury into Daddy's chest to get away from the barber.  But then he calmed down and let it happen.  He looks so grown up, like a little boy instead of an infant!

Sleep Transition Step 2 - 1st Night

So, only a few minutes after last night's post I asked my hubby what he thought about when we should move to step two and put up the safety bed railings on my bed so there is a short barrier between my bed and Mister's crib.  We decided to go ahead and make the change last night.  We put up the railings and kept my bed right up close to the crib. So, after I nurse I have to kneel on the bed and lift Mister up and over the railing and lay him down in the crib.

He did AWESOME!  The only change was that he woke more frequently, almost every 1.5 hrs!  Ya, not cool, but it's his first night with a barrier between him and me, so I'll chalk it up to that and see if tonight goes any better.  Maybe we have to dress him a little warmer?

We are making progress and no tears from Mister (or us)!

Sleep Transition Step 1 - Progress

It's been four nights now of me nursing Mister in my bed and sliding him over onto the crib mattress.  He seems to settle really well, get comfy and go to sleep. His waking pattern has changed slightly, but this could be due to shorter or missed naps at daycare recently.  He's ready to go do around 7:30pm, has me up around 11pm, 1am, 4am and sometimes once more at 6am.  This last feeding is probably just a new waking time, not sure yet, but I feed him and keep him with me in my bed after that because we get up at 7am anyway.

I am getting tempted to put up a bed railing or even the crib bars we took off, and see how he reacts.  He needs to get used to being moved after nursing and settling himself to sleep.  I am worried about my back (recently strained) having to lift him over the railing, but I guess I just have to try it and see how it goes.  We are having a friend come over tomorrow evening to babysit while we get a RARE evening out.  So I think we will leave things as they are until Saturday night.

I am also getting anxious/starting to dread the thought of his night feedings when we are no longer co-sleeping.  We have a rocking chair in his room, but that still means I will have to get out of bed and be really awake each time he's up.  The thought of having to get out of my warm bed is disturbing. Why am I giving up the comfort and convenience of co-sleeping?  I just have to hope and pray that once Mister is comfortable on his own in his crib and my bed is out of his room, that he will start to sleep longer stretches and wake me less during the night.  If we can get him on his own, and I am not right there, he won't be able to smell me or feel me close, so maybe he won't think of nursing?  Plus, there is always the option of my hubby taking a turn at trying to comfort Mister when he wakes; which we'll only do after Mister is comfortable and confident on his own for some time.

But so far, so good...and NO crying about sleeping on a different mattress than mommy!

Sleep Transition Step 1 - 1st Night

Last night was our first night in the transition from co-sleeping to independent sleeping for our little Mister (although he hasn't a clue).

The Setup
We removed the front panel of railings from the crib and snugged the back of the crib against the wall. Then we moved my bed into his room and squished it up tightly in front of the crib.  Unfortunately we could not get the crib mattress to be the same height as my mattress (~4" difference).  This will require that I nurse him in my bed and then move him down onto the crib after each feed. (Maybe not a bad thing, since he has to get used to being moved).

The Goal
We want Mister to get used to his room and his crib; the look, feel, smell and sound of it and sleeping with a little distance between him and I.

The Plan
Because of the difference in height of the mattresses, we thought we'd let him just co-sleep with me as usual for a couple of nights to get used to the new room. Then I'd start to try moving him down onto the crib mattress after each nursing.

The 1st Night:
...but while we were nursing at bedtime, I thought, what have I got to lose if I try to move him into the crib? Let's see what he does, if he protests, I'll just bring him back to my side. So, I did the Pantley Pull Off (PPO - we've been working on this for about 10 days now) and kind of awkwardly picked him up/pushed him over into the crib. He barely stirred! Success! That was 10pm.

• 1am - 15 mins nursing and moved him back to crib. He moved around to bit, got comfortable and slept soundly.
• 3:20am - 15 mins nursing and back to crib.
• 5:15am - This is his tricky time of night, as of late. He has a tougher time getting back to sleep at this point, and likes to suckle longer...to a point of causing me pain...so he was upset when I pulled him off and hid myself away. I sang, touched, cuddled, first with me, and then with him on his own crib mattress. Eventually I did nurse him again at 5:45am and he drifted right back to sleep in his crib
  
• Daddy came to wake us both up at 7:15am!
  

Overall, it was a totally normal night for us as far as his frequency of waking to feed and settling back to sleep. I was amazed that he didn't really react to being moved to the crib (it's not a smooth motion, as the crib mattress is about 4 inches lower then my bed). So, I'll repeat this process again tonight and maybe a few more nights and see how he does. My goal will be to try to do the PPO earlier and earlier so he is more awake and more aware of being moved away from me and gets comfortable falling the rest of the way to sleep without suckling and with a little distance between us.

Discuss, Plan & Prepare

On Saturday, Mister woke for his 5am feeding and I couldn't get back to sleep afterwards. Thoughts of the reading I have been doing about transitioning him from co-sleeping to independent sleeping were starting to organize themselves in my mind.  Pantley's No-Cry Sleep Solution breakdown of the process has given me confidence that we can do this (and without any tears: baby or parents).

We needed a goal, what was our desired end result? There seemed to be two options, crib or mattress on the floor of his room. Which would I personally prefer? I thought the mattress idea would be easier to accomplish, but for safety and security, I thought the crib might be better. Not sure... Time to talk to my Hubby about what I have been reading and decide on a goal, then a plan could be laid out.

Over breakfast, I shared my mind-wanderings with my Hubby and we made a decision. The crib is our ultimate goal, mostly for safety reasons because Mister is so mobile now. I detailed how my research had broken down the process of the transition. It would require some furniture shifts. We agreed on a plan of action and called my dad to help with the furniture move...for the next day! (might as well jump in with both feet)!

So, my dad and his fiancee arrived in the late afternoon and within an hour had our new set up ready. Here goes nothing...

Research - A parent's best bet

Before becoming a parent, it was important to me to finish my university education (my hubby and I married while I was still in school, so we waited to start our family until I graduated). From those four challenging and satisfying years, I learned that information is out there: good, bad and otherwise; you have to assess the quality of the information you find.

As parents, the one thing we receive most from those around us is advice. It is never-ending. Sometimes it's sought after, sometimes it's offered up freely (if not forcefully). In my short (11 months) experience of being a parent, I've learned that parenting advice is like the daily mail; you have to sort through it. Some of it is like bills, you have to give credit where credit is due, and some are pieces of interest while most of it is just junk.

Yes, there's advice from family and friends, even strangers and then there's advice from the "professionals" a.k.a. BOOKS. Countless books on every imaginable parenting topic, it's literally overwhelming. Which book do you choose? Who do you believe?  Start with knowing yourselves, your views on what you think is best for your child.  Find authors who fell the same why and offer advice with those same beliefs.

Throughout my trails and tribulations of breastfeeding my little Mister, our lactation consultant taught me that information leads to knowledge and knowledge is confidence.  If there is one thing every parent needs it's confidence!

Bottom line...Research is key. So, if you've got a question, or are facing a challenge, it never hurts to ask around, talk to professionals, and do some reading.

The No-Cry Sleep Solution - We can do this!

I've been reading through Elizabeth Pantley's No-Cry Sleep Solution and soaking it up.  It makes so much sense!  I now have a goal of my son being able to sleep on his own one day and confidence that we can make it happen without any crying!  In preparation for it, I have started to work on his dependence of suckling to fall asleep.  Also, looking toward a time when he is sleeping on his own, I want to have a variety of ways to comfort him, so I'm going to adopt her suggestions of a lovey and key words.

Like I mentioned, I started the Pantley Pull Off with Mister during night feedings and we are down to one PPO, rarely two.  I used to let him nurse and suckle as long as he wanted, often he'd pop off himself once he was in a deep enough sleep.  Not anymore, he nurses one side, then the other and as soon as his swallowing has stopped and the sucking has slowed, I do a PPO and he rolls over and falls the rest of the way to sleep on his own.  It's awesome!

I have selected a little blue teddy from his collection to be his 'lovey', so it 'snuggles' with us in bed when he is nursing.  And while he is drifting off to sleep I have started whispering key words (i.e. night night, sweet dreams) as sleep cues for later use when he is going to sleep on his own.

Imagine my surprise when I found Pantley's step-by-step instructions to transitioning baby from co-sleeping to his own bed!  Jackpot!  Four easy steps that I can visualize and see them working for us.  Our first issue was Mister's dependency on nursing, which we are already addressing with success.  The next big issue when he was 5 months old and we tried moving him to his crib was that he would fall asleep in our arms and wake with the slightest movement.  He needs to be able to put himself to sleep, since we can't move him once he is asleep.  Another thing is getting him used to his room, as he's hardly slept in there at all.  I can see how Pantley's step-by-step instructions will help us address the issue of him being moved and see success at the end of the tunnel.

Pantley's approach is very gentle and flexible.  She suggests completing each step for 2-7 nights, or until everyone is comfortable and ready to move onto the next step. (These steps would be similar if moving baby to a mattress on the floor and eventually into their own bed in their room).

Step 1 - Remove front railing from crib and place right alongside co-sleeping bed.  Night nurse as usual with baby on his own crib mattress and mommy on co-sleeping bed.  Therefore, nothing is really changing expect that baby is getting used to a different mattress, a little more space between mommy and baby, sounds the crib might make and being surrounded by crib railings (3 sides - likely doesn't feel as 'cagey' for baby).

Step 2 - Replace front railing on crib but keep the crib right up close to mommy's bed so baby can still see, hear, touch mommy.

Step 3 - Move mommy's bed away from the crib, but baby can still see and hear mommy.

Step 4 - Move crib to baby's room.

My brain started reeling...how can I adapt this to my little Mister and make it work for us?

• We want him comfortable in his own room, so why not do all of this in his room, then he's used to it by the time I move out?  So we'll change the suggested setting and move my bed into his room. 
• Because moving him when he is asleep has been an issue all along, he needs to get used to being moved and then finish falling asleep on his own.  So, I'll nurse him in my bed and then move him to the crib right after, when he is still not all the way asleep. 
• Once the crib railing is back on, it will be impossible for me to put him down onto the mattress asleep (I also have a bad back), he will have to go in more awake.  So we'll add an additional step between 1 and 2 and place one of our bed railings between the crib and bed, so I have to lift him over it after each nursing, so he'll get used to being picked up and moved and having to fall asleep alone with a barrier between us.

I've got to talk to my hubby about all this...I think this will work...and possibly without any crying!!!  I'm thrilled!

Pantley Pull Off (PPO) - to wean babies from dependent suckling

Pantley detailed my son to a tee when she discusses a baby who requires the action of suckling to fall asleep.  His dependence on the breast to fall asleep and stay asleep was going to have to change if we wanted him to go to sleep on his own.  If I pulled away while Mister was still not fully asleep, he would just root around until he found the breast again...or wake up trying.  The thing that struck me is Pantley's gentle and flexible approach.  She advises that if you do a PPO and baby roots, go ahead and give him back the breast right away (don't let him wake fully in his hunt).  Count to 10 or so and try another PPO.  Repeat this process until baby is content when you pull away.  I wondered if I'd get anywhere with this, but I needed to try so I began to implement Pantley's Gentle Removal Plan (a.k.a. Pantley Pull Off - PPO) that night.   

It took five or six PPOs before Mister gave up the breast the first time I tried the technique.  During the first night, this reduced to three or four PPOs each nursing.  Within a matter of nights we were down to one or two PPOs and he would no longer root, just roll over and settle on his own.  So, after months and months of dependency on suckling to fall asleep, he is learning to put himself to sleep without it! WOW!  Awesome technique!  This is going to help us out immensely when we start transitioning him to sleep on his own.

How to Transition from Co-sleeping to Independent Sleeping???

That is the question we have been mulling over for weeks.

We refuse to let our sensitive, lovable Mister be a victim of the heartless Cry-It-Out method.  So, since that's what most people, professionals and books advise...we've been having to really stand firm to our beliefs that it's the wrong method for our family and search for something we can feel positive about.

I have done lots of my own thinking on the matter.  I have discussed the matter with a couple of friends and family members.  I've spoken with our lactation consultant.  I've read what Dr. William Sears (one of our trusted sources of information since before Mister was born) has to say about the matter.  Although he says to make the transition slowly and offers options of a mattress on the floor at the foot of my bed, he really doesn't provide step-by-step instructions.  My brain needs to see how the process will breakdown into steps my family can see as positive and possible for all of us.

At this point, I was beginning to accept that there was NO way we would get Mister sleeping in his crib without some crying.  Dr. Sears says that a baby crying in the arms of a loving parent is NOT the same as being left alone to CIO.  So, I was preparing myself for long nights of cuddling, cradling and standing by his crib-side for as long as it took for him to fall asleep, to comfort him with voice, touch and presence while he inevitably cried, looking up at me from inside his 'cage' (that's how he'd be feeling about it). 

Today I went to Chapters see see what I could find in their baby book section.  I came across a handful of 'help baby sleep' books.  Some where immediately identifiable as CIO preachers, so I returned those to the shelf.  I found The Sleepeasy Solution and another one I can't remember the title of.  Suddenly my eyes happened upon The No-Cry Sleep Solution, and on the back cover I thrillingly noticed it was endorsed by Dr. William Sears.  I grabbed these three books and found a spot to sit and skim through them.  The Sleepeasy Solution had my attention for a while, (I believe a friend of ours had success with this method) seemingly laying out a pattern of going in to comfort baby at longer and longer intervals until he falls asleep...since I felt I was facing some crying anyway, maybe this could work?  But the more I read, the 'strictness' and rigidity of it became apparent and the more I felt in my gut/heart that this was the CIO method in sheep's clothing and definitely not for us.  I put the book back.

Could there really be a No-Cry Sleep Solution out there, as the book proclaimed?  I skimmed through it, noting that the author herself (Elizabeth Pantley) co-slept with all four of her own kids.  Cool, maybe I was onto something.  She talks about her own love of breastfeeding and co-sleeping in a manner that totally warmed my heart, as she described exactly how I felt about the experience.  At last I felt like I had found an author who understood me, my family and the connection we have with our son and that we didn't want to risk losing that connection as we transition him from co-sleeping to independent sleeping.  Naturally, I bought the book.

Thrush...again!

My left breast has been sore; I think I had a blocked duct on Monday, and my nipple's gotten sore so I finally went to the walk-in clinic today and was diagnosed with thrush...again!  (pretty sure this is bout 5 or 6).

Once again I am on Fluconazole, 400mg loading dose with up to 28 days of 100mg twice a day; until pain free for a week. (Ref. Dr. Jack Newman).  I am also using the All Purpose Nipple Ointment after each nursing and taking Grapefruit Seed Extract (1 capsule three times a day) and probiotics (10 billion cells three times a day).   For the first few days I will even treat my nipples with Gentian Violet in the morning (while Mister is at daycare all day) and simply wipe it off before nursing (he is lucky enough not to get thrush this time).

After speaking with our Lactation Consultant, I will stop all Domperidone, blessed thistle and fenugreek seed.  Blocked duct earlier in the week is probably due to too much milk and Mister not taking it all from me.

Global Breastfeeding Challenge 2011

The "what" challenge?  That was my response when I heard about this event yesterday on the radio.  My hubby told be they said 'breastfeeding' challenge.  My interest was peaked.  A local radio station was interviewing someone from the local health unit about the Global Breastfeeding Challenge 2011, taking place the very next day.  They mentioned that the local record was 26 breastfeeding pairs together at once for this event back in 2008.  Weird, cool...I thought, why not!?  It wouldn't be every year that I'd be able to participate in something like this and the whole idea behind it was rather neat...gathering together with women around the world at the same time to breastfeed together to 'latch on' and breastfeed our babies.  It would be kinda cool to say that Mister and I participated in something like that.

Only problem was that I am still healing from my sore back and not supposed to carry Mister and Matthew was quite uncomfortable at the idea of going somewhere where there would be any number of exposed breasts (hehe).  So, I called my Dad and his fiancee to see if they might help me get Mister there and carry him around until it was time for us to latch with the rest of the world (such a strange concept but totally neat way to stand up for and promote something you believe in!).  So, Dad said he would pick us up in the morning and get us to the local event.

It was a busy place, held at the local Chapters store in the kids section.  They had a sign up sheet and I asked the gals how many were signed up so far for today.  I think I was number 23 or something...I told them I was hoping to be part of breaking the local 2008 record of 26 pairs.  So I found a chair in the hustle and bustle of the group of moms with babies and kids and waited.

So, at 11am we were one of 27 nursing pairs that latched on together with women and babies around the world! 

Follow this link for more information about the event and results from around the world!