Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Update

Life is good and really busy! Dave has been loving his job and I am getting used to this stay at home stuff. The hardest part about my day is "What do I cook for dinner?" I think I'm needing some more good recipes. Dave is so sweet to choke down whatever I make.

Dave and I have been streaming episodes of "LOST" every night and have been eating cookies and cheetoes while watching. Not so good for my baby weight, but lost of fun! We are still watching lost, but are trying to eat oranges and butterless popcorn instead.

My calling in the Young Women has been keeping me busy and I love it! I am over the Mia maids and they are all so adorable. I love hearing their stories...It feels like just yesterday I was one of them! I am so thankful for the inspired youth programs and for the opportunity I have to share my testimony with the girls. They teach me alot too!

About a week ago, we noticed a little lump on the back of Clay's head. I took him to the pediatrician--they did an ultrasound and said it was an infected limphnode, so I had to put him on antibiotics for a week. He has the most random things happen to him!

The pediatrician also highly recommended that I let Clay learn to soothe himself to sleep. Previously, I would put his binki in, rock him, and snuggle him. I would then lay him down and pray that his binki wouldn't fall out. If it did, the process would start all over again. So, I do see the wisdom in the "cry it out" method, but it takes every ounce of self discipline for me (and Dave especially) not to go pick him up. The first night took 45 minutes and I cried along with him. Last night it was down to 10! Yipee!

I sure do love my boys. Both Dave and I can't imagine our lives without Clay. Here are some pics of my guys:

23 comments:

Stacie said...

Hey Melissa, you should try reading Secrets of the Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg. She has fabulous tips on helping babies sleep better. It worked great for us! Glad to see you're all doing well. Such a cutie little boy!
~Stacie Tonks

Amiee said...

We miss you guys tons! I'm glad things are going well for you though. We love watching Lost online too! It is so much fun and gets soooo addicting! Good luck with Clay and getting him to soothe himself...those were the hardest times for me as a parent but once you accomplish it, you (and baby) feel so much better it seems. Take care!

Allyson said...

I'm glad you are doing good! Clay is so cute!! It is kind of sad but like a month and a half ago is when I started making Olivia cry herself to sleep and it was so hard! It is probably good you are starting now. Olivia learned really quick though and I am so glad :)

Nancy said...

I totally second the comment by Stacie. You have to check out the book out....I live by it and Abigail is the best sleeper and does so well. She is so happy all the time too. I love Tracy Hoggs philosophies and agree with most of them which is good. Anyways, check it out cause I love it!! Anyways, I also wanted to say, Paul and I are also hooked on "LOST" It was filmed out here and a friend in my ward works for them, so I think we might take a tour of the set next week...kinda exciting! You are probably a wonderful mother!! Enjoy it! I have a couple of great crockpot recipes, so let me know if you want them...love ya!

Morgan said...

What a cute baby boy! Uh! We need some of those around here...
Okay, here is the best advice I can give you if you haven't done it. Go to kraftfoods.com. Sign up for their FREE magazine. The recipes in it are simple and AMAZING ! I eat everything out of their. I cook a lot too, and needed something new, and this was the greatest! There are also the recipes on kraftfoods.com you can just find and print off. Good luck!

Katie said...

Cute pictures! He is getting so big! I did the crying thing with chloe too but she was almost one so it took so much longer for her to fall asleep... but I did they same thing you did, I sat outside her door and cried! Its so hard. I'm glad its getting better for you.

Brandi, Dan, L and B said...

What baby weight? You don't have any. Now me that is a different story. I did the Cry it out thing with Lukas too and I had to do it at nap time as well because he just wasnt a good sleeper. After that he was the best sleeper he couldn't defer from his schedule or he was monster baby.

Sarah said...

Cute! He really is growing. It's so fun to hear what you are up to. How fun to be with the Mia Maids. And I am right there with ya sista on what in the world to cook for dinner! It's so hard for me!

belle la vie- Kristen Archer said...

I understand your feelings about getting the babes to sleep. Guh. I love to snuggle so I don't like to just lay them down either. So sad. Anyway, it's good to hear about you guys. You are such an adorable family.

Kellen and Erin said...

Cute pictures! How fun to have boys in our lives:) I hope Clay is getting better with falling asleep! Oh, and I 'third' the comment about the baby whisperer- it really is a good book, so if you feel like you have time it's a helpful read. I'm glad you guys are doing well!:)

Amy said...

Congrats on the cry-it-out! It is so hard and I never got the hang of it till my daughter was much older. Hang in there, it really will be worth it. I hope I can do better for my next baby. That is so cool that you are in Y.W. It sounds like such a fun calling.

Christy said...

Thanks for the update! I love reading your blog. Your little boy is so cute! I love his big eyes. I am not a great cook, so I wish I had more ideas for you, I need help in this area a lot! haha. Glad to hear everything is going well.

Eric and Heidi-Evalyn Kowallis said...

You guys are so popular. Look at all these posts!

Amiee gave me too great recipes that are yummy and hard to mess up. If you want them give me an e-mail and I'll type them up for you. I found it's easiest to think of 14 meals on a list and then go through and write down the ingredients then go shopping. As the week goes I just look at the list of meals that I have the ingredients for and pick what I'm in the mood for.

How is Clay's head healing? I've never heard of that? Sounds kind of scary for a new mom and dad!

About crying it out....I know exactly how you feel. A few months ago we tried the same thing. I cried along with him. Then our Doctor recommended we wait until 6-9 months for it because the child will most likley get sick or teeth and Mom and Dad will go in and pamper then the child will forget the routine and you will have to do it all over again.

So now Aden is 6 months and we are hoping he does better on his own but we might have to let him cry it out again. Good luck! Parenting is tough stuff!

Love you guys and miss you!
Love Heidi

Adam and Britt said...

Meliss, I am glad you are having fun being a mom. I remember watching shows with you and eating ding dongs, twinkies and anything we could get our hands on! So when you said you are watching movies and eating it made me miss those times. I really remember "Hot Chick" we loved that movie! Me and Some of my friends rented it recently because we all remember loving it in High School and we all sat their and laughed because it was so stupid! But I thought of you the whole time and missed you awesome laugh it just wasn't the same with out you.

Lisa said...

Those are so cute! What a great person you are!

Hannah said...

These pictures are SO cute! I love love love them!

Unknown said...

Little Clay is such a cutie, his daddy sure loves him. And choke down whatever you make, whatever all of your food is so delicious.

Phil and Ronnie said...

Cute blog! I do some blogging on the side sometimes. I don't think I've updated it for a while- my bad! What a cute little guy you have there! Don't worry- he'll figure it out!

philandronnie.blogspot.com

Luke and Linds said...

Hey there Dave, Melissa and Clay!
I'm so glad Dave's liking his job. Melissa, I agree about the cooking thing, it's not as easy as it looks...maybe I should have eaten something in college besides oatmeal and canned green beans?? Tell Clay good job for sleeping after 10 minutes, it's soooo hard to hear them cry though, I agree. I need to call and talk to you. I love you guys! You are such a cute fam!

jonisill said...

Oh he is so cute!! That is such a hard thing to do. We finally did that with Mackenzie when she was 18 months old and it was so hard! I had to go downstairs and turn up the tv so I couldn't hear her crying. Luckily Gavin and Avery have been great sleepers so I haven't had to do it with them. It will be worth it.

Leanna said...

Lance and I are huge fans of Lost, too! I know what you mean about vegging out in front of the computer. lol

We just started making Hazel fall asleep on her own, so I can totally relate to how awful the first night or two are! She's getting a lot better at it now, though, and I love it because it's a lot less stress for me! Keep it up! =D

Alicia said...

Hey Melissa! I just found your blog through the Howard's. Glad to see you guys are doing well! Your guy is so cute!

Cristi said...

I can tell you guys are awesome parents. Letting them cry it out is hard, but really good. For us, it was the only way!