Round 1 Complete

Mom and Dad: 1 Ian: 0

Ian has never been a child that had to be asleep in your arms before you could lay him in his bed. We have always followed the same routine with him so that he would know what to expect. We change into pajamas, he has a bottle and we read the same books in the same order each evening. We have always been able to to follow this routine and then lay him down sleepy but still awake. He would settle right down and go to sleep within 5 minutes. Well, this week (basically since he has been ill), he has not wanted me to leave his room until he is asleep. He wants me to stay by his bed, stroke his cheek, pat his butt, etc. until he sleeps. Every day this process has taken longer and longer until he sleeps.

So, this evening I drew the line in the sand. (Watch out Mr. Sandman!) We put him in bed and a couple of minutes later he is standing in his bed crying for me. I went in, laid him back down, patted his butt and left. A few minutes later we went through the same routine. Again, I didn't pick him up, I just laid him back down, stroked his cheek and left. A few minutes later he cried again. I laid him back down, he turned on his side crying and started looking over his shoulder at me to see if I was still there and watching. All of a sudden, I see the light and know that the little bugger is manipulating me!!!!!

Well, forget that nonsense. I am putting a stop to that right now! I walked out of the room after telling him that he was fine and to please go to sleep. Well, you would have thought I killed him. He started screaming like a banshee. And he kept crying until he made himself cough and gag on his own spit! I called Sam and asked for her opinion. She suggested that I follow a sleep seminar technique she had heard about. Wait 10 minutes, go back in settle him down and leave. Wait for 15 minutes until you go in again to settle him down. Next, wait 20 minutes and stretch it out each time after that until he sleeps. You don't pick him up, just settle him down. This assures him that you are there, but lets him know that he can't manipulate you.

So, how long did it take you ask???? Well, I went in after 10 minutes of blood curdling screaming. I laid him back down, told him that I loved him, told him to go to sleep and left the room. Mark and I listened to another 10 minutes of screaming over the monitor before he cried himself out and went to sleep! A total of 20 minutes after we started this process. The longest 20 minutes of our lives, I think. (Mind you, he had already had us in there 3 other times during the preceeding half hour!) So, bed time took well over 1 hour if you include his bottle and reading his books.

Right now I am feeling very satisfied with myself for accomplishing this very difficult task. But, I am also feeling horrible that my poor baby cried for so long and made himself so upset. This was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. And, I get to look forward to doing the same for a few days according to Sam. UGH!!!

I will prevail! My will is far stronger than his will. (Just ask my Mother, I am really stubborn.) Please, pray for this testing of the wills to be over fast. (Okay, so that is a little pep talk for myself. It's been a hard evening. So please let me have my "I think I can, I think I can" moment.)

Aaarrrggghhhh!!!!!

I'm starting this post with some happy pictures of Ian. When I look back on this day (read: this entire week), I want to remember happy thoughts. So, I thought the best way to do that was to post a few pics that make me smile.


Sam and I took the kids to the park last week.
Ian loved the swing. The higher it went the more he giggled.
We even got video of him flapping his arms and legs with joy!

Ian discovered Fig Newton cookies.
I love them too. I found mini cookies in small bags,
so that the entire package doesn't go stale before I eat them.
While I was eating my cookies, Ian grabbed one and thought he had struck gold!

Ian and his favorite toy, the LeapPad Learning Table.
It plays music, says the alphabet, colors, numbers, etc.
He plays with it constantly.

Ian, Alex and Whiskey enjoying a laugh.

This post is not for those among you with a weak stomach. So, stop reading if you can't handle bodily functions and just look at the lovely pictures above. You were warned....

This has been quite a week in the world of Ian. I will be happy if we never repeat the events of this week. I am really tired of getting puked on!! Anyway, here is a blow by blow (or puke by puke, if you prefer) of the events.

Ian has not felt great for most of this week. He just wasn't himself all day Monday. He cut 3 teeth last week and is working on 3 more. Or, so I thought. By bedtime, he was very cranky. We followed our usual routine of pajamas, bottle, books, 'snuggle time' and then bed. When I stood up to put him in bed, he vomitted over my shoulder and it hit the floor with a solid smack! I had the phone clipped to my pants, so I called for reinforcements. (I couldn't figure out how to move across the room without dripping a trail of vomit!) We got redressed, new bottle, another book to calm us down, more snuggle time and finally bed. I spent the night in the chair in his room listening to him rustle around and holding him when he cried in his sleep.

Tuesday morning rolls around, I'm tired but Ian seems pretty normal. He was tired throughout the day, but generally not horrible to deal with. Again, we hit bedtime and our normal routine. This time, all hell broke loose during 'snuggle time'. We finished his books and sat up to see if he had to burp. He coughed twice and then vomitted all over my lap. He got my pants, my shirt, my bra, my underwear, the chair cushion, the arm of the chair and himself. So, after stripping his clothing and my clothing off, we started over from the skin out. Redressed, new bottle, another book to calm us down, more snuggle time and finally bed. I spent the entire night listening to him thrash around in his bed and holding him when he cried randomly in his sleep. No sleep for me, little rest for him and poor Whiskey paced back and forth all night.

By bedtime Wednesday, I have a monstrous headache from lack of sleep and the lovely weather in Ohio. Again, Ian was not horrible the entire day, just a little tired mostly. So, I thought we were past whatever occurred Monday and Tuesday. Boy, was I wrong! Beth was over and helped me give Ian a bath. Then we settled into our bedtime routine. We had a bottle, read our books and entered 'snuggle time'. I sat Ian up, he coughed twice and vomitted all over my bare feet!!! That has to hit the highest point of the Ultimate Gross Scale. Puke oozing between your toes just can't be topped! Fortunately, Beth is standing there and can help get the mess cleaned up. We redress, new bottle, another book, more snuggle time and finally bed. (See a pattern here yet?!?!?)

Thursday: We had a really calm day. We picked Mark up from the airport, enjoyed dinner out and headed home for bedtime. The bedtime routine went off without a hitch. Hmmm, maybe we are finally done. NOT!

Friday: Mark watched Ian during the morning while I went to work and to the doctor. (My allergies are killing me. The lack of sleep isn't helping matter much either.) Again, bedtime goes off without a hitch. But, during the night I notice Ian has developed a cough that seems to be getting deeper the longer the night wears on. Hmmm....

Saturday: Ian wakes up coughing the 'barking' cough of croup/bronchitis. I know this sound very well. I suffered through my entire childhood with this problem every winter. I can't even remember how many nights my Mom and I spent in the ER getting breathing treatments. Anyway, I call the Dr. and they will see him in about an hour. Thank God!! There is now a drug they can give a child to stop the croup before it takes over completely. I works if you catch it early enough like I did. Here's the catch, they can give it orally but it tastes horrible or they can give him a shot. I hate needles, he hates shots, who doesn't, so we opt for the oral version. He drank that awful stuff with very little protest. I was so proud of him! I don't know if I could have done that myself! We sat him up, he coughed twice and vomitted all over the exam table, himself and me. The nurse jumped back about 10 feet and Mark shot out of his chair towards the door looking to escape. (Remember, Mark does not do vomit. He even thinks about and he does it too. To his credit, he did not leave the room and he did not vomit. I was totally amazed!) So much for the oral version, the nurse brings in the shot. My poor baby. He was really unhappy at this point and cuddling was not going to help until he was ready. We finally get him calmed down and head for home. Bedtime is looming.....

We follow the routine again. Mark gives him his bottle, I read to him and we enter 'snuggle time'. He sits up, coughs twice and vomits into the burp cloth I am holding in front of him. (Crazy me, I thought that would be enough to absorb anything he could dish out. Wrong!!! But, at least I was a little prepared this time.) I head out of the room with the rag and both hands full of puke and walk right into the closed bathroom door!!! (Can you say, Keystone Cops!!) I actually bounced off the door, dropped a foul word and spilled the vomit all over the hallway. I hadn't lost a drop on the floor until that point, darn it all. Alex came running after hearing this and opened the door. This time Ian got not only himself, but me, Mark and the chair. (And I got the floor.) We all redress, new bottle, another book, more snuggle time and finally bed. (Again, Mark is calm and does not fly out of the room to vomit. He didn't even gag. Amazing! I am so proud of him!)

So, here we are. I am typing and listening to the monitor. Mark is trying desperately to forget the events of this day. Ian is thrashing around in bed. Alex headed for his house to avoid any more crying or vomit. And, Whiskey is hiding for fear that he might be puked on next!

(I think I will rename 'snuggle time'. I think 'vomit zone' is a better description at this point.)

Ian and Oatmeal

This is what happens when you give a 10 month old the spoon and his Apple/Blueberry Oatmeal. Please note that the bowl is not pictured in the last 3 pictures. It had hit the floor and the dog thought he had died and gone to heaven.

A Laundry Basket of Fun

These were taken a couple of weeks before Easter. Ian was just starting to pull himself up to stand. He was standing all the time with help, just not pulling himself up until this day. I put him in my empty laundry basket, held the bottom to keep it from tipping and he played for 45 minutes. He had the best time in that basket. I wasn't fast enough with the camera to catch him standing up though!

I'm not sure what this expression is all about, but I love it!!

Sleeping Pictures

Here are the pictures that should have been posted with the last post titled "Sleeping".
I am completely frustrated with Blogger. Each day I have to "re-discover" what way will allow me to post pictures that day. This is really getting old! Anyway, the pictures are in the same order as they were previously. So, I am not going to comment at the bottom of each one, just read the previous post.

Sleeping

Ian sleeps just like his father; all over the bed. All night long, I hear grunting and shuffling over the monitor. Every time I enter his room, he is in a different position. This is true no matter how many times I check on the noise coming from his room! I have even caught him sitting up and completely asleep. (I was sleepy too and didn't think to take a picture. Sorry.)

This moving around the bed so much began when we brought him home from the hospital. (When I stopped and thought about it, he moved a lot (all day and night!) when I was pregnant too!) He moved to the crib in his room about 2 weeks after coming home. I didn't want to move him but I had no choice. He was moving around in the bassinet so much, I thought he would knock it over!! Every time I laid him down to sleep in the bassinet, he would scoot down and kick the bottom. For a baby that was not even close to mobile, he sure could get around!

Speaking of mobile, he is completely mobile now. Nothing is safe from the crawling and exploring. And, he is pulling himself up on everything he can get his hands on! In other words, if you stand still long enough, you become the standing post! He doesn't care if the "post" moves, he will still try. He is pretty fearless. Just what I need another daredevil in the family!



Okay, so he's not sleeping in this picture.
He had just woken up when I took the pic.
Please note that his head started out on the other end of the bed!!

Again, he just woke up as you can tell from the 'bedhead' hair.

The boy sleeps ALL over the bed!
I took this picture at about 3 AM one night last week.
He is completely asleep, rear in the air, face buried in the corner.
How?!?!?!

He had just woken up and was trying to concentrate of Mickey Mouse.
I love the glazed over, blank stare. (Wait, that's Mark's look too...)

Easter Pics

I WILL MAKE THIS WORK!!!!
I am really frustrated now and so I will keep trying until Blogger cooperates.


Our first family picture


Ian and Aunt Bonnie

"Uncle Burtney"

My cousin, Julie

Easter 2007

The Easter Bunny brought Ian a Mickey Mouse.
Ian loves Mickey Mouse. That must be a really good ear!


Mark's nephew, David

Mark, Ian and Whiskey

Family friend and fellow foodie, Glen

Easter Pictures Again

Well, I am going to try this one last time! I have attempted to post these pictures 4 times in the last 2 days. Hopefully, this batch will post with no problem. If so, I will try to post more later today. So stay tuned....



Our first family picture

Ian and Aunt Bonnie

My cousin, Julie.
(See, I told you it was a good pic!)

"Uncle Burtney"

Easter Eggs

Ian loved holding the Easter eggs!

Nate hunting Easter eggs.

Ian loved banging these two eggs together.
It's a good thing the Easter Bunny uses plastic eggs around here.

Alex, me, Ian and Nate hunting eggs.
Noah was already in the backyard hunting eggs!

More Easter Pictures.....

My Dad and Uncle Eldon enjoying Mark's smoked ham.

Steve and Nate playing with toys from the Easter Bunny

Alex putting Easter toys together

Noah and Nate trying to get more strawberries from Dad