CIO - Night One...

Whew! Last night was rough! I mentioned in a previous post that Ansley has proven to us several times that she can sleep through the night, but she doesn't always do it. We really need her to be more consistent with sleeping all night, especially since I'll be returning to work soon. After talking with some of our friends who have been through this and using the pediatrician's recommendation, we decided to use the cry it out (CIO) method. This doesn't mean let your baby cry all night and just ignore it, like the title suggests. Basically when the baby starts crying you set time intervals that you will go in and comfort the baby. From what I've read, they suggest starting with letting the baby cry for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, if the baby is still crying, you comfort the baby (either rocking, reswaddling, rubbing, talking to, etc.) and you put the baby back to bed. If the baby is still crying, you wait a little longer to return for comfort....12-15 minutes. You repeat this process adding more wait time in between. So....we figured the weekend would be the best way to try.

BIG YAWN....man it was rough! Due to Ansley's feeding schedule, we've been putting her down for the night around 9:00. My goal is to move this to 7:00 eventually, but she's used to 9:00, so we are gradually trying to push it back. Last night, she was asleep by about 8:45. At 1:30 am she started crying. I went in there, reswaddled and rocked for about 10 minutes, and then I put her back in her crib. She started crying before I even made it back to bed....so we started the 10 minute waiting. She cried screamed for the entire 10 minutes. When I returned, I didn’t get her up. I just talked to her so she knew I was there, rubbed her face/tummy, and gave her a paci. Again, she cried when I left, and we decided to wait 15 minutes. She screamed again for 10 minutes, but after those 10 minutes she started to give up. I could tell by her crying she was going to quit, and she did! Yay…victory for mommy!

Around 3:30, the process started over! Again, I started with 10 minutes. I went in, reswaddled and rocked for about 10 minutes, and then I put her back in her crib. I decided to make the time 20 minutes before I went back in, and before the 20 minutes was up, she was back asleep. Yay…victory number 2 for mommy!

Then around 5:20, she woke up again. This time, I got up and fed her. I would have liked for her to have made it longer, but I think that was pretty successful for the first night of the process. It doesn’t seem that rough as I sit here and think about it, but when you’re going through it during the middle of the night, it’s pretty miserable. We’re hoping for better luck tonight!

Happy 3 Months!!

Wow! It’s been 3 months since Ansley was born! Time seems to be flying by. We’re definitely settling into a schedule, which is nice for all of us. Ansley has doubled in size since birth. She is now 11 pounds, and she is finally in her age clothes. The first month she could only fit into preemie clothes, but she’s caught up to the 3 months clothes now. She has also started sleeping through the night! YAY! We see a light at the end of this sleep deprived tunnel….maybe! It’s not every night, but it does happen about every other night. She’s made it 9:00pm -6:00am several times, which means SHE CAN DO IT! She still wakes up some though, anywhere from 1:00am to 4:00am. When she wakes up in the middle of the night, she doesn’t take an entire bottle, but she does want something. Now that she’s proven she can last all night, we have to be consistent and train her that she doesn’t always need a bottle when she wakes during the night. That’s going to be the tough part. It’s hard to let a baby cry it out. We’ve tried reswaddling, rocking, and putting her back in her crib, but so far that’s been unsuccessful. The cry it out method is definitely not my favorite. It’s heartbreaking and frustrating to listen to your baby cry. It’s also hard because NOONE gets sleep, but everyone says it takes about 3 miserable nights before it works. We know she has the ability to make it all night because she’s shown us, now we just have to let her realize that she’s okay when she wakes up.

I don’t know why, but I love watching her sleep. She’s so peaceful and beautiful, and I could stand there for hours just looking at her. Every time I watch her sweet face sleeping so peacefully, I wonder what I’ve done to deserve such a precious miracle.

Here are a couple of pictures of her at 3 months:

Three months old and 11 pounds...so serious!!

I finally captured a smile...so happy after my bottle!

80 Wonderful Years...

My grandmother, Linda, also had a big birthday this year. She turned 80 on February 7^th! My mom wanted my grandma’s 80^th birthday party to be really special. She decided to have it at my grandma’s church fellowship hall on a Saturday afternoon. It was a drop in from 2:00-4:00, so she did some light finger foods. She gathered some pictures of my grandmother growing up to display, which was really neat to see. Greg Hogan was there to photograph the party so everyone could remember all of the details. My dad picked my grandma up in his newly rebuilt 1941 Chevrolet truck. We had a great turnout to celebrate her birthday. Here are a few pictures from her party:

Here is a picture Greg Hogan took of my grandma on the day of her party. We can't wait to see the rest of the pictures!! I'll post a few of those when he's finished editing.

The photo display with pictures of my grandma throughout the years.

Let's Celebrate

2012 is the year for big birthdays. My sister, Shana, turned 30 on February 3^rd. She wanted a simple party, so Chad planned a get-together for a Friday evening. It was a small gathering of her closest friends and family. We celebrated with pizza and ice cream cake. Everyone (excluding the Greers) brought their kids, who had a blast running around playing all evening. We let Sue Sue and Granddad keep Ansley so we could enjoy a night out. It’s difficult to tote a newborn around town. Chad had been planning a weekend get-a-way for the two of them, and he revealed their destination at the party. Everyone had a great time celebrating Shana's big birthday! Here are a few pictures from her party:

Chad had this lovely picture of my sister with her straw goggles blown up. I apologize for the big glare...I'm still learning how to use my new camera.

He also had this board made with various pictures throughout Shana's life. Everyone signed the board with messages to Shana.

Here is a close-up of Shana's ice cream birthday cake from Baskin Robbins.

Shana posing with her cake before everyone sang, "Happy Birthday."

Chad revealing his card and weekend get-a-way for Shana.


A weekend in Orlando to see The Civil Wars in concert on Friday and whatever Shana wants to do on Saturday! Great job, Chad!