Sleep, and other craziness

Let me start by saying that I desperately hope Andrew does not inherit my terrible sleeping habits. I try like heck to get him to bed at the same time every night possible, so it seems to be going well so far.... *knock on wood*

Hubby and I are both totally night owls and not morning people whatsoever. We were reminiscing about the first summer we lived together- we both were off of classes until fall and we both mainly worked evenings so we would sleep until noon, laze around for a few hours and head out. Those days are SO over, lol! 

I regret to say, though, that we are still terrible about getting enough sleep. We sometimes will get to bed at a normal time but it's quite often we are watching TV or movies or playing games until 1 or 2 am. And when Jesse works overnights I'm lucky if I get to sleep before 3am. Part of it is just stupid. We lose track of time or just don't think about it. But when hubby is working I just toss and turn for hours. Some nights I do actually go to sleep early but I think that's just when I'm overly sleep deprived, haha!

Anyways, we have so lucked out with our great sleeper. At 5 weeks he began sleeping 12 hours a night, so we have ample time to catch some Zs but we are definitely not taking advantage of it. We really need to work on this. I think I will try some Sleepy-Time Tea tonight. Maybe that'll help, haha....

This week has been kind of crazy for us, I had a doctor appointment Tuesday, on Wednesday we decided to apartment hunt so we viewed 8 apartment at 7 different communities (and munchkin somehow stayed calm for 6 hours of touring and driving). 

Thursday we did the grocery shopping and Friday we toured another apartment at one of our favorite communities and then toured the country club we'd go to if we lived there.

So we had done the whole apartment hunting thing once before and found our dream apartment, but we had a bit of a misunderstanding which led to looking at more places.

So, we used to have this absolutely fantastic pediatrician, Dr. Manish Shah. He was fantastic, the nurse practitioner was wonderful, the staff was absolutely great.... I have no complaints whatsoever. But then Andrew's insurance ran out and we had to switch. For a bit, Andrew was uninsured while we waited to hear about our petition to Jesse's work insurance. Munchkin had gotten a pretty bad cold so we called to see if we could get in by paying out of pocket. Not only did they fit us in that day, but they only charged us $28. 

So, now that we are under different insurance, we tried out a pediatrician near us. It's been AWFUL. We were there for over 3 hours the first appointment (for a well check). The nurse was not very good, the doctor talked over us, pushed us, very obviously did not pay attention to what we were saying, and his policy is to have as many people as possible hold him down for everything. Andrew has begun crying the moment we're in the room because the three times we've gone he has three people tightly holding him down while he gets looked at. For silly things like poking his tummy or looking in his mouth or nose, etc. I understand needing them to be still but this is going overboard. On top of all that, not only did we have to pay them over $120 for the visits but the doctor ran over Andrew's toes and grabbed him when he was running around. Needless to say, we won't be back. 

We did find a sheet that Dr. Shah gave us recommending another pediatrician though, so fingers crossed they accept our insurance!!

The misunderstanding came from the in-network/ out of network coverage for our insurance. Hubby had said something that I took as if we were in Pasco county, we would be able to go back to Dr. Shah's. SO I looked up 7 communities in Pasco county. While we are driving to the first one Wednesday he tells me we'd have to live outside of the three main counties in Tampa to be able to go to Shah's. Sigh. 

But here's the thing. We found a beautiful 3 bedroom at one of these communities. It's almost 1400 square feet, lots of storage space, small porch and lots of natural light (which our current apartment is seriously lacking). The community is gorgeous, they have a great pool area, 24 hour gates, a tot lot, kids area off the gym, mini theater, etc. But the best part is as a resident you get membership to the country club close by for under $20 a month. The Club includes 2 huge pools, tennis courts, big playground, splash park, movie theater, community room, cafe, gym, and aerobics room/ dance studio. It's perfect. It's also off of the road to Jesse's work if you go out the back way, and if you go out the front way it leads to the road to take hubby to school. Best part? It's walking distance from Dr. Shah's. So IF we end up there, fingers crossed that we can work something out with the insurance or doctors office.....

So anyhoo. That's been life lately. Planning and stressing and running and all that jazz. We have had some pretty fun times too though!! Andrew has learned to hug!! It's the sweetest thing ever to ask for a hug and he dives his head into your neck lol, soooooooooo cute :)

He also has been following instruction SO well. If we say "Go grab 'Little Blue Truck'!" He will go search, find that book, bring it over and we will read it. Then once he gets off our laps, we will hand him the book and say "Put the book away, please." and he will take it to the coffee table and carefully put it on the shelf where we keep his books. Such a good little kiddo. 

Time-outs are working great so far, too *knock on wood*. He is starting to understand when we ask if he wants a time-out so he will generally give up his pursuit of knocking over the lamp or smacking you for not letting him do something, lol. He will cry pretty hard for a few moments once we sit him on the chair but then he gets calm and stays pretty still for the 60 seconds we make him sit. Definite improvement over the constant crying and wriggling from the first 5 or 6 times.

Well so far today we have been a bit of a shite show. Rough morning for mama, soooooo many dishes waiting to be washed and a room scattered with toys that I didn't feel like putting away last night. And now here we are lazing around watching E and Andrew is running around with poker chips. If you need us, we will be bumming around the living room playing in PJs.

TTFN! <3

Eight Months Old!

Good Lord does time go fast!

"Gone are the days when your baby would stay where you plopped him. Most critters are ready to roll…and scoot, creep, crawl, or cruise (though not crawling yet isn't worrisome as long as your baby is reaching other important milestones).  The typical eight-month-old is off to as many corners of the world as he can reach and playing like a madman once he gets there. (One result may be a pretty messy house, though there are ways to contain the chaos without constraining his spirit.) His vastly improved dexterity, ability to focus, and language skills make playtime more exciting than ever. Expect plenty of baby conversation and possibly a distinct "ma-ma" or "da-da" in the coming weeks. And while his comprehension is still limited, your tiny troublemaker will soon get the meaning of the word "no" as he hears it (a lot) over the next decade or so. Baby signing may help bridge the communication gap between the two of you, so if you're interested, now's a good time to get started. Another exciting discovery around the eight-month mark: the genitals, which seem to provide endless fascination whenever they're available for self-inspection. That's normal, as is utter exhaustion for Mom as you try to cope with action-packed days and (possibly still) sleepless nights. Make sure to take time to recharge your batteries; taking a break and clearing your head is good for you and, therefore, good for your baby."
--whattoexpect.com

...and you can probably guess I have been neglecting housework and therefore neglecting the blog. And you would be right. But I'm back!

New developments:

• Andrew just recently (literally only for about a day or two) has begun using consonants in his babble which is so fun to listen to! It's really sounds like a little language now rather than cooing! He did indeed say "da-da" a few times at the end of August but has tormented the aforementioned dada by never again uttering those syllables. 
• We decided to never again give him squash. While he didn't have any glaringly obvious reactions, he did have a more rash-y face and and spit up more than usual. Oh an projectile vomited on daddy's jeans. So we figured we'd cut our losses and the squash for a while.
• He likes beets! And looks like some sort of cannibal or vampire after eating them with the juice all over his face. HOWEVER, we are now giving this a two day break like we did the squash because he developed a reaction on his neck and tummy-- which is how the strawberries started out :-S
• Still no crawling but he is MUCH closer. And if you put him on his hands and knees he will try to move forward before falling on his face.... Standing is getting a tad bit more solid. But rolling remains his method of transportation. I set him down and next thing I know he is across the floor on his tummy pulling books down from the shelf-- thank goodness we baby-proofed when we did!
• On that note.... the really awesome gate we purchased for the top of the stairs came out of the wall!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! D-: We need to remember to go to Home Depot to get some stuff to fix that. Sad day.
• Sitting has become very good! He can maintain it for longer periods of time and if when he is reclined or laying down has pillows or something, he can elbow his way up to sitting :)
• Andrew has become very comfortable in the pool which is great! He has learned to splash and has a ton of fun doing that, we also are in the midst of trying to teach him how to blow bubbles and kick his legs. He does not even remotely get it, just stares at us like we're idiots.... but someday! He also enjoys kicking back in his inflatable car and letting us swim him back and forth in the shade.... he even fell asleep last time and slept through daddy carrying him home!
• He definitely enjoys a good mess making at the high chair. He has a white wall next to him that he likes to paint and is even starting to try to get food on his spoon and try to stick it in his own mouth (we give him his own spoon to hold while we feed him to get him used to the idea).

A quick recap of our daily schedule:

9am

Andrew is either fussing, screaming or just chatting away to his stuffed animal friends . We go get him (usually he is on his tummy or sideways or upside down in his crib). Change him from an overnight disposable diaper into a cloth diaper and dress him for the day (he pretty much lives in onesies unless we leave the house).

He gets 8 ounces of hypoallergenic formula and then we play for an hour

10:15am

Oatmeal time!!!!

11am

Andrew is either rubbing his eyes/ getting fussy by now or after another 10 minutes he goes down anyways. We change him and put him down for a nap in his onesie with the mobile on.

1pm

The sleeping baby has awoken!!!! Time for another change. This time we go to the highchair for 7 ounces of formula, a bowl of broccoli, spinach or carrots and as much water as he will take. Then we play. If daddy is home we will often go for a walk or swim around this time as well. 

3pm

Time for another nap!

5pm

Up for a change, 7 ounce sippy cup, veggies, and water. This time we usually are more active-- doing stuff on the floor, reading, going on the patio, etc. Plus occasionally get to say hello to Granny.

7pm

Down for a short nap

8:15pm

Up for some play time/ tummy time

8:35

8 ounce bottle of formula

8:45

Warm cloth all over the baby face/ neck full of crumbs, formula drippage and drool. He just LOVES this part.

9pm

Change into disposable overnight diaper and PJs, kisses, eucerin on his face, and to bed with his stuffed bear and elephant :)

September 1st marked ONE YEAR of life in Florida!! Crazy to think we've been out of the frozen Tundra of MN and into the Palm Tree laden Tampa Bay! We've definitely enjoyed it! Made a few really good friends and still meeting some new ones. 

We are planning a playdate with Plum Mom's Club next week which I am apprehensive about since I am a total loner but am forcing myself to go to because it would be great for Andrew to have some structured time to socialize with other little kiddos. They also have a program called "Stroller Strides" on that site which is a really neat program for soon-to-be moms, new moms, etc! You bring your baby in your stroller, walk little stretches and then stop at checkpoints for exercises! They also do kid-friendly activities. It sounds pretty cool so I am working up the courage to give that a shot too. 

October 5th we are going tailgating! My mother works at USF and they have a tailgating party for alumni, students, staff and families so we're going to go have some food/ meet some people and then you get to watch the Bulls game! Time to shop-- Andrew just NEEDS a tiny Bulls jersey! Muahahaha ;-P

....On that note. Online shopping is DANGEROUS. I have placed 5 orders in the past few days. Granted, one was very cheap and something Jesse and I both needed, 3 were necessary to start our dance classes (Oh yeah BTW we are doing adult ballet classes starting this month with a friend Jesse works with!)-- it could have been one but we forgot some stuff and then an item got cancelled... bleh. And the last was a major moment of weakness. Old Navy's last day of the baby sale (30% off) and an additional 15% off at checkout. I am weak, what can I say? But how can you turn down this, or these, or these????? I have a problem. Oh hey by the way, Old Navy has a 20% off sale now until September 18th! Go check it out!! Seriously, Old Navy has upped their game and I like it!!!!

We were hunting for a three bedroom the past week, and ended up deciding to stay at our community but the only available 3 bedrooms were lower level, and they all felt claustrophobic-- we've been spoiled with vaulted ceilings. So, we are staying in our 2 bedroom until November 2014. Hopefully then we can move into something more practical for our needs. 

Lastly, I don't know about y'all but I am in major Autumn mode. It sucks big time that there is no evidence of fall outside, but oh well. Gotta make up for it inside, right??? Haha! Hubby is not too crazy about the whole decoration thing so we only do some colored leaf garlands, pumpkins and pine cones scattered around. We also get the appropriate candles for the season, haha! Right now though we only have apple cider so this weekend I am planning on hunting now another candle or two. And perhaps a bit more decoration, shhhhh. Hubby works overnights all weekend so maybe if I put them up while he sleeping he won't notice. Tee hee :)

...Also darn Starbucks and their deliciousness. I am craving a Pumpkin Spice Latte. BAD.