The method behind our madness

Here's a link to the article on sleep training that we read and have been following (with a few personal touches and variations): http://www.parenting.com/article/Baby/Care/Sleep-Training.
The great thing is that it's actually working. The nighttime routine is going beautifully! Tonight I nursed Sebastian and put him down in the crib, then walked out of the room. He was awake, and we never heard a peep after that. I went back about 20 minutes later to make sure he was asleep (and breathing and all that other stuff I do when I check on him), and sure enough...he was fast asleep. Last night I put him down at 8:15 pm, waited in his room for a few minutes, then left quietly...and this morning at 7:45 am he let us know he was awake by making a little squeaky noise. We're on day 9 of the process... and it's definitely a process. But being on this side of the fence makes it seem like those long, drawn out nights a week and a half ago were very worth it!
We're still having to work a little harder on naps, but they seem to be getting better too.
Just wanted to share, cuz I think it's been a great method, at least for us. We had briefly tried a little "cry it out" and "Ferber" methods, but it wasn't for me (us). Plus, we were attempting it right about the time that Sebastian started to really struggle with teething, which made matters significantly worse.
I've begun to think that Kim West (the "sleeplady") is a smart gal. I like her. And I like a sleeping baby! :)

9 Months

Our boy is growing like a weed! Yesterday he turned 9 months old! He’s been getting into anything and everything. He’s crawling all over the place, pushing himself up on all fours, and also pulling himself up onto all things, including our glass coffee table in the living room. He must think it is a good teething apparatus, because he climbs up to it and starts gumming away!

We still haven’t seen any teeth, but his grandma M gave him some teething biscuits for Valentine’s Day, which we let him try, and he LOVED! See for yourself: Sebastian seems to be on a stretch of sleeping through the night, about which we’re not really complaining. It’s such a joy to find him wake up in the morning with a smile on his face and talking.

He’s started becoming more interested in books and turning the pages rather than eating them…although, we think he might be learning Hebrew, because he seems to turn the pages in the opposite direction.

Unfortunately, he’s had another cold over the past week, which has kept us on our toes with tissues in hand. The nose has been a leaky faucet, but it seems like, bit by bit, he’s getting better. His little cough lingers on, but he doesn’t seem to mind so much anymore.

Our little guy continues to be super happy, social and friendly. We’re so thankful to have a kiddo with such a wonderful personality. It’s impossible to not fall more and more in love with him (and each other) every day. God has blessed us beyond measure!

One-oh-one-point-three.

101.3. Sigh. That was Seb's temp before I put him down to bed tonight...and that was an hour after Tylenol. It was a rectal temp, so pretty darn accurate. He started with a fever last night, and was 101.3 in his arm pit, but that was before any medicine. It's so. so. hard. Soooo hard to see your baby sick. He's just not himself. He's had a cough and runny nose for what seems like forever, but now the cough seems worse. And he's had a couple episodes of vomitting. He's more clingy than usual, and his cheeks are so rosy they look like left-over holiday pointsettas. Our dear, dear Sebastian, however, continues to smile and laugh in between his whimpers, moans and groans. We are blessed by his joyful spirit that shines through at all times!
Being the worry-wart that I can tend to be (especially when it comes to my boys) I've listened to his lungs a couple of times today, and they seem fine. The battery for my otoscope is dead, so I can't check his ears. And that message that I'm expecting to light up on his forehead indicating he's teething has yet to work as I wish it would. I'd like to believe this is all from teething, but I think that'd be a bit foolish of me, Doctor Mom.
I sent Tim to the pharmacy to buy a few more supplies tonight - tylenol, ibuprofen, nasal saline and homeopathic teething pellets. So far we haven't had to use any of it, but we're prepared for anything that lies ahead.
So, pray. Pray for our little baby boy. Please. We trust God to restore him to health and give thanks in advance for how that will occur. We also could use your prayers for the healing of our own bodies, that have been beaten down by cough, congestion, sore throat, etc. Pray, too, for healing of the bodies of almost all of Sebastian's cousins and his aunts and uncles and half of his grandparents, who have also experienced the whole gamut of symptoms. Seems like whatever nasty bugs that are floating around out there are really doing a number on all of us!
Thanks for walking on the journey with us, in health and illness. We appreciate you all!

Weighing in (at 6 1/2 months)…and then some.

I feel like I’m waaaay behind on posting these days… It’s been several weeks since Sebastian’s half birthday, and since then we’ve had his well child check – where he weighed in at 17 lbs, 7.2 ounces… and measured 27.5 inches long.  He was 6 1/2 months at the time of the appointment.  He faired all the shots incredibly well, and he just cried for a moment.  I didn’t give him Tylenol this time around, because just two days prior I had learned about a recent study that has demonstrated that Tylenol given before shots reduces the efficacy of the vaccinations.  Ugh.  But he barely fussed and had a good rest of the day.  Maybe it’s because he got to see Dr. Donna (whom I know he loves)… or maybe it’s because he’s just a happy, happy baby.  Either way, I was thankful for a good doctor’s visit.  It is such a blessing to have a healthy, jolly baby!

He seems to be growing and changing right in front of our eyes, and – just like they say – it goes by so quickly.  I’m almost afraid to blink my eyes, for fear that I’ll miss something!  On December 6th, he started sitting up all by himself, without the previously anticipated, slow motion sideways fall that seemed to occur every time we sat him down, without fail.  He was just about 6 1/2 months old then.  He also is now scooting across the floor like a caterpillar, and he’s started to push himself up on all fours.  After the holidays, we definitely are going to have to work on baby-proofing some things around the house.  My sister-in-law, who is one of Seb’s regular care providers, has requested a safety gate for the top of their basement stairs – a very wise idea!  So, I’m on the lookout for some gates… I’ve been checking Craig’s List regularly, but have failed to find any yet. 

Above is our happy baby in his new high chair.  It’s the Svan high chair, which is a sleek Scandinavian design, that converts as our little boy grows – to a toddler high chair, then a kiddo chair and a big kid chair… even an adult chair for those weighing less than 150 pounds.  We love how it looks, and as you can see, Sebastian is a happy camper in it.  It also seems to have a smaller foot print than many high chairs, which was high on our priority list for high chair selection.  We think we mad a good choice - at least thus far, two weeks into the deal. 

Eating is a wonderful and wild adventure for Sebastian.  It’s so much fun to watch him experience all news tastes and textures through his lips and his tongue.  I have found great joy in making all of his food (except his cereals/grains – which I hope to get into at some point), which I think helps to ease the emotional transition from him receiving 100% of his nutrition from me to getting some outside calories from other sources. 

Sebastian also had his first taste of a much loved staple in both the Johnsen and Martin diets.  I nearly flipped my lid when I caught his Grandpa IN THE ACT – giving him a  taste of ice cream!  There’s no doubt in my mind that he’ll love ice cream just as much as the rest of us do (and he seemed quite content to have the little bit on a spoon that was shared with him), but I think Grandpa now has it pretty clear in his mind that he was prematurely advancing Sebastian’s diet.  Tim (and Tim’s mom) is thankful that it was my dad – and not his – who first introduced the “forbidden fruit!”  Everyone knew it was bound to happen sooner or later, especially with Sebastian having the great blessing of two ice cream addict grandfathers so close by that he gets to see all the time.  There were bets out on who would do it first.  I guess I lost the bet. :)

Much to my chagrin, Sebastian had a major aversion to avocado.  I tried to give him a little bit mashed up last night, which provoked a horribly ugly face, followed by gagging, and ended promptly with the vomitting all over the place.  This was a bonafide vomit - the first official one... not just a little spit up.  I guess I'll have to wait awhile to try to re-introduce my favorite fruit.  Oh, so sad.

Anyways, we’re trying to gear up for Christmas around here.  The tree is up, some presents are wrapped, and we’re looking forward to a few days of reflection, celebration, relaxation, and family time.  Our Christmas greetings will come soon – in the form of a post!  So be on the lookout.  Many blessings to you and yours as you count the days…!

I just had to chuckle...!

a little holiday diversion

Since we got back from vacation, life has felt a little rough.  Sebastian hasn't been himself and has been very clingy, not sleeping well, occasionally refusing to eat - we're wondering if this is just an adjustment from being back from vacation or something else - illness lurking, teething, etc.  His poor sleeping patterns have been trying on us physically and emotionally - we've both been exhausted, and I seemed to manage to mess up my neck royally by sleeping in a very akward position several nights in a row so as to protect my little babe - who would only sleep if sleeping with us. 
I also began a new schedule at work which includes multiple double bookings in order to increase productivity by accounting for our no-show rate.  I was the last provider to move to this schedule, because they were waiting for Sebastian to start solids.  For that, I'm so very thankful... but it was a difficult transition to go back to work after a week of vacation.  The mommy guilt was at a high level - I almost felt like I was going back to work after maternity leave all over again - and I had this new schedule to deal with... 
In the midst of it all, I have not felt like I was in the Christmas mood or spirit at all... it's barely crossed my mind, and I recognize that it's fast approaching.  We don't have any decorations, I have no gifts (let alone ideas!), and I haven't been in church for almost a month because of being on call and then vacation... so the concept of Advent floats around in my head, but doesn't yet seem a reality.  Sigh... Not exactly how I'd like to feel or be around Advent... especially for Sebastian's first go-around with Christmas.
In an effort to relax a bit this afternoon (I had a very early meeting that I was NOT looking forward to this morning, followed by a long day of rounding at the hospital), I decided to play around a bit with the Jib Jab Elf videos to get some comic relief and work towards some holiday cheer. 
So, here you have it - live and for the first time - the Johnsen Martin Elves performing a holiday disco dance.  There were five options, but I chose to post this one, because it seemed to be Sebastian's favorite.  He squealed in delight and flapped his little arms and legs when he saw this video. 
So enjoy!  Here's to the holiday season... may it find its way into our home and hearts very soon! 

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

And yes, we ALL can dance like that in real life. Ha!

Just a few thoughts... plus the anti-spitting diet

A random thought: I was taking a walk with Sebastian today through Franklin & Marshall College's campus, when we passed a student, who said - out loud, to himself, I presume - "why am I walking so fast?" Then he slowed down a bit. Hmmm... Makes you wonder, was he trying to smell the roses a bit? I know I sure walked fast back in the day when I was at F&M... there was always so much studying to do!


A hooray thought: Today, por fin, the number on the scale matches the number the day I had a positive pregnancy test. Hooray! The first 30 pounds shed so quickly, but those last three seemed to take forever! I'm sure my addiction to ice cream doesn't help. Sigh. Interesting, however, that despite the numbers being the same, my figure is not so much the same. That child-bearing thing really does transform you, in many, many ways!


And the anti-spitting diet: Speaking of ice cream, I'm a bit saddened to say that I'm going to try to go a week without it, or any other dairy product for that matter. Sebastian is a spitter. A huge spitter. At least he's a happy spitter and not colicky. But he's a fountain that overfloweth constantly. Pretty much the only time he's not spitting up is when he's sleeping. I've told many people that I think he'd probably weight 30 pounds if he didn't spit up. He spits and smiles or laughs. He usually doesn't seem to have signs of reflux, so I'm not convinced that he needs medicine. He's gaining weight well, and isn't fussy for the most part. But nonetheless, I'm on a mission to see if he'll stop spitting (or at least cut down significantly) if I avoid dairy products. I started today, and have already realized how incredibly challenging this might be. I could NEVER be vegan. For breakfast, I had toast with peanut butter and jam and a cup of tea with honey. Not bad. Lunch was a bowl of soup from Trader Joes... I thought it was safe cuz it was tomato and roasted red pepper soup... but I thought I'd read the ingredients - after I had already eaten the soup - only to find the first ingredient was MILK! Then for dinner we went to Spryo Gyro - YUM - and I ordered the Vegetarian Delight, which came with a salad that had feta cheese on top AND in the dressing, not to mention the cheese in the spanakopita! From there we went to Rachel's Creperie for dessert...Tim, our nephew Angel, and I ordered a couple of things to share. I thought a Nutella crepe was safe - til I got home and looked at the label - yep, contains skimmed milk and whey. We also ordered a fresh fruit crepe, and it was smothered with whipped cream. Both were wonderfully delicious, but definitely not dairy free. We shared a smoothie, too, made with frozen yogurt... and I got a decaf coffee, which I drank sans cream. Note: despite the Norwegian blood that runs through my veins, I much prefer to have cafe con leche. So there you have it - my first day of a dairy free diet. I didn't have yogurt, cheese, straight-up milk, cream or ice cream. And I survived. So far.

My mom has always told me that I spit all over the place til I was a year old, so perhaps this is my payback. Like mother, like son? We'll see if any change in the spitting pattern comes out of my efforts at a changed diet. If I recall correctly, my SIL had to cut out dairy products when my niece was a baby, but I can't remember exactly why. And my friend, Steph, had a spitting baby who's just about 3 months younger than Sebastian, but she gave up milk and Baby Kiki stopped spitting so much (but she was fussy with more reflux symptoms). I honestly can't even remember how long Sebastian has been spitting. I'm not sure if it's been going on since day one, or if it started later... but this is my one week trial. We're sure thankful for hardwood floors and leather furniture around here. And even if the milk-free diet doesn't change things, he HAS to grow out of this at some point... at least by the time he's going on his first date (she said hopefully)... which will be when he's about 30 or so, by the way (if he's anything like his father) :).

Wish me well, and pray that I survive the week without ice cream. While I was pregnant, I used the excuse that I needed extra calcium and protein... and now I claim that I'm a nursing mama, and I need the extra calcium and protein (not to mention sugar, fat, etc.). I think deep down, I'm fearful that it might actually work - this milk-free diet thing - and that would mean some sad days ahead for me, but if it made a difference in my little baby's spitting habits, I'd commit to it. Anything for my baby...and the hopes of less laundry!

Ahhh... a sleeping baby

Finally! Sebastian has been sleeping peacefully for about the past hour now. Thank goodness! I normally have a pretty easy baby, and we can't complain - he's not colicky, and his crying spells usually are short-lived. However, the past several days, he's been more fussy than normal. We're definitely at that stage of heightened irritability that occurs between 3-4 weeks of life. It makes us thankful that we don't have it that bad - we've heard the stories of other parents with newborns who never sleep - they're completely exhausted, can't see straight, at their wit's end, etc. We are fortunate!

But, for some reason this morning, Sebastian must have believed that he needed to nurse - ALL morning long! This mama needed a break, and finally it came. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Sebastian, for letting up a little on your mama.

The sight of a sleeping baby is too delicious to not capture in a photo... especially after a very long morning. We all needed a little break ;).

Uh oh! I may have spoken (written) too soon! I hear whimpering from the other side of the room... sigh. It doesn't change how precious he is, though!

For Rachel... on parenting and Mr. Rogers

My friend, Rachel, recently posted a list on her blog of her favorite things that "have made parenting much easier, more fun, or just cooler." I'm just getting started at this parenting thing, but a few of the things on her list are already very much a part of our repertoire - cloth diapers, for example (love bumgenius), and the hotsling (which I'm still working on getting the groove of, but was a fantastic gift from Rachel herself).

We haven't read The Sleepeasy Solution book yet, but as of now, I'm hoping we won't need to - since we have an 18 day old who sleeps from 6-8 (yes, EIGHT) hours a night as of late (don't hate me, Rachel!). If that changes, we'll be sure to ask to borrow your copy!

As for the other things, we'll have to transition into them over time, like the wagon, the glider rocker, construction equipment, etc. Before we know it, I'm sure our little boy will be wanting his own dump truck!

Coffee is still decaf at this point - we'll see how long that lasts, but I'm eternally grateful for Counter Culture Coffee that sells a great decaf blend, 17 de Septiembre - que rico! I'm going on 15 months with no java and still surviving!

We'll be sure to tune into to Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood if we ever have the TV on for Sebastian, as the Neighborhood has always been near and dear to our hearts! Again, Rachel, this is not intended to make you jealous! :) But I have to admit, it's pretty darn cool when the Neighborhood actually comes to your own house! And no, I didn't photoshop him into the picture... ;)

Ever since I met Rachel and her husband, Peter, over five years ago, I've always really admired their parenting skills and felt that there was much to glean from them. They have great kids, and their patience, kindness and love has paid off! Thanks for your example, guys. :)

And now, it's definitely time to change a diaper... bumgenius, here we come!