Look who's sitting up tall, eating all kinds of fruits and vegetables, talking all the time, not interested in crawling and getting cuter everyday.
It's Asher!
At Asher's last doctor's appointment he weighed 17 lbs 12 oz and was 27 inches long. He is now back on the "normal" schedule for vaccinations and he even had the blood work done that was supposed to be done when he was born.
Asher is eating solids three times a day and nursing five times a day. He eats rice cereal, squash, carrots, pears, sweet potatoes and avocados. Thanks to Sleep Week he has returned to his great night time sleep habits and we are finally starting to make some progress with his naps.
I feel like he is always talking! Most days "mama" and "dada" are his favorite words to say, but he can make a "baba" sound, too.
Lately we have been going to the park, Asher loves to swing and to ride in his stroller. Here are some pictures from our recent trips to the park.
29 April 2009
Sleep Week - Tuesday & Wednesday
Sleep Week is showing results! Asher has returned to his great night time sleep habits. He has been going to bed earlier (Thanks for the article, Sharon!) and sleeping through the night without his swaddle blanket.
On Tuesday night he cried for about ten minutes before falling asleep and tonight he did not cry at all, he just tossed and turned until he fell asleep. Yay! We have realized that about 2 hours after he goes to bed he cries out, but doesn't wake up. All he needs is his passy and he is good to sleep until the next morning.
Nap time is getting better, but is still a struggle. He goes to sleep pretty easily for his morning nap, but has a harder time falling asleep for his other naps. Today he slept for about 45-50 minutes each nap, which is a big improvement from the 25-30 minute naps he had been taking. Hopefully once we get settled into a schedule he will start to nap longer and go to sleep easier.
For now I feel like he is on a pretty good schedule. Today Asher woke up at 6:30 am, napped at 8:45 am, 11:45 am and 3:45 pm and went to bed at 7:30 pm. Hopefully we can consistently follow this schedule for a while and help him to sleep better.
Thank you all for your suggestions and encouragement! It has been such a big help!
On Tuesday night he cried for about ten minutes before falling asleep and tonight he did not cry at all, he just tossed and turned until he fell asleep. Yay! We have realized that about 2 hours after he goes to bed he cries out, but doesn't wake up. All he needs is his passy and he is good to sleep until the next morning.
Nap time is getting better, but is still a struggle. He goes to sleep pretty easily for his morning nap, but has a harder time falling asleep for his other naps. Today he slept for about 45-50 minutes each nap, which is a big improvement from the 25-30 minute naps he had been taking. Hopefully once we get settled into a schedule he will start to nap longer and go to sleep easier.
For now I feel like he is on a pretty good schedule. Today Asher woke up at 6:30 am, napped at 8:45 am, 11:45 am and 3:45 pm and went to bed at 7:30 pm. Hopefully we can consistently follow this schedule for a while and help him to sleep better.
Thank you all for your suggestions and encouragement! It has been such a big help!
27 April 2009
Sleep Week - Sunday & Monday
Here's what has happened so far.
Sunday Afternoon Nap - Asher cried for 45 minutes straight. We would go in to check on him every few minutes, but the crying just got louder. Actually this happened twice. Between the two attempted naps we put him in the stroller to go for a walk, he promptly fell asleep before we even reached the end of the driveway. I finally held him for a 30 minute nap and later he fell asleep while he was outside with Roger. Definitely not off to a good start.
Sunday Bedtime - This was Asher's first night to sleep without being swaddled. Asher fussed and cried when I put him down to go to bed, Roger went and calmed him down and he slept from 9 pm to about 10:45 pm. When he woke up I checked on him twice and then he fussed and moved around in his bed until he fell back asleep. I think he was only awake for about 15 minutes. He slept until 6:20 am. A very successful night.
Monday Morning Nap - I tried to keep Asher awake longer than usual, but by 8:30 am he was super sleepy. I put him down and after about 5 minutes of playing with his feet he started crying. After he cried for 3 minutes I checked on him and then left him to fall asleep. I think it took him about 10 minutes to fall asleep. He slept about 40 minutes (much better than his 30 minute naps) and only woke up when the phone rang. I tried to let him go back to sleep, but he was wide awake.
Monday Late Morning Nap - After being awake for 2 hours I tried to put him down for another nap. He screamed for about 15 minutes and I gave up. Besides sleep for about 5 minutes in the car he was awake until 2:30 pm.
Monday Afternoon Nap - I think it took almost 30 minutes to get Asher calm enough to go to sleep. I have realized that when he starts screaming he will not go to sleep, but if I can calm him down he can easily fuss himself to sleep. Once he calmed down he went to sleep in about 10 minutes and slept for 45 minutes. I would still like him to nap longer.
Monday Night - We had bath time, eating time and then rocking time. I put him down very sleepy, but still awake at 7:45 pm. I checked on him once after he cried for 3 minutes. After I left the room he quickly went to sleep. Around 10 pm he started crying, but according to Mimi his eyes were closed and he just needed his pacifier to go back to sleep.
Thanks for all of your suggestions, encouragement, comments and emails. I think if I can figure out a good schedule for Asher and be consistent with it Sleep Week will be a success.
26 April 2009
Sleep Week
WARNING: The following post is long, all about Asher's sleep habits and contains few pictures of funny stories. If you don't care about Asher's sleep then feel free to just check out this picture and check back later for more funny Asher stories and cute Asher pictures.
Asher is having a few problems sleeping and I have finally decided this is the week that we are going to try and fix the problem.
Here's what's going on...
Before Asher was born Roger and I read a book called On Becoming Baby Wise, we had heard great things about it and learned a lot about how much sleep a baby needs and how often a baby needs to eat. After Asher was born we followed the basic sleep-eat-waketime routine described in the book. We decided to not do everything the book said for various reasons. When Asher was around 4 weeks old we stopped waking him up in the middle of the night. I would feed him at 7 pm, swaddle him and put him to bed. When I went to bed around 10 pm I would feed him (he didn't really wake up) and then he would go back to bed and sleep until about 5 am. Over the next few weeks this stretched out to almost 7 am. There was never any crying in the middle of the night or fighting with him to go to sleep. During the day Asher followed about a 2.5 to 3 hour routine of eating, playing and sleeping and was generally a good napper.
I'm not sure what happened, but suddenly Asher stopped taking good naps. He would still go to sleep easily, but after 45 minutes he would be wide awake and not interested in sleeping anymore. If you have read Baby Wise I'm sure you would recognize the "45 minute intruder." So, yeah, I know that 45 minutes is not long enough for him to take a good nap, but I don't know what to do about it. We let him cry, we try to rock him back to sleep, but nothing work. I'm frustrated, but everybody always tells us we shouldn't complain because he sleeps so good at night.
As Asher got older he continued with his 45 minute naps, we had no solution for our problem. He consistently fell asleep by himself and slept through the night (now from 8:30 pm to 7 am without waking up to eat), but he would never sleep for more than 45 minutes. By the way, when I say 45 minutes I mean exactly 45 minutes. I could look at the clock and know exactly when he would wake up.
I guess I learned to live with the short naps, after all he slept so good at night, but a few weeks ago his sleep pattern changed again. He started taking 30 minute naps. So, we tried letting him cry when he would wake up, we tried rocking him back to sleep, we tired holding him through the whole nap. It didn't matter he would only sleep 30 minutes. This left him tired all day long and wanting to take little naps every hour or two. I tried keeping him up longer and putting him down sooner, nothing changed. This started messing with his night time sleep. For the first time since he was a tiny newborn he started crying at night and waking up at 5 am and he has stopped falling asleep on his own.
So, Roger and I have decided it's time to buckle down and do something about Asher's sleep problems. We have been researching and reading and praying about what to do. Sunday night Sleep Week begins. For one week we are going to train Asher to sleep good, to fall asleep on his own (without a swaddle blanket) and to hopefully take good naps.
If you have any suggestions, ideas, or encouragement please let me know. My baby won't sleep and I need help!
Asher is having a few problems sleeping and I have finally decided this is the week that we are going to try and fix the problem.
Here's what's going on...
Before Asher was born Roger and I read a book called On Becoming Baby Wise, we had heard great things about it and learned a lot about how much sleep a baby needs and how often a baby needs to eat. After Asher was born we followed the basic sleep-eat-waketime routine described in the book. We decided to not do everything the book said for various reasons. When Asher was around 4 weeks old we stopped waking him up in the middle of the night. I would feed him at 7 pm, swaddle him and put him to bed. When I went to bed around 10 pm I would feed him (he didn't really wake up) and then he would go back to bed and sleep until about 5 am. Over the next few weeks this stretched out to almost 7 am. There was never any crying in the middle of the night or fighting with him to go to sleep. During the day Asher followed about a 2.5 to 3 hour routine of eating, playing and sleeping and was generally a good napper.
I'm not sure what happened, but suddenly Asher stopped taking good naps. He would still go to sleep easily, but after 45 minutes he would be wide awake and not interested in sleeping anymore. If you have read Baby Wise I'm sure you would recognize the "45 minute intruder." So, yeah, I know that 45 minutes is not long enough for him to take a good nap, but I don't know what to do about it. We let him cry, we try to rock him back to sleep, but nothing work. I'm frustrated, but everybody always tells us we shouldn't complain because he sleeps so good at night.
As Asher got older he continued with his 45 minute naps, we had no solution for our problem. He consistently fell asleep by himself and slept through the night (now from 8:30 pm to 7 am without waking up to eat), but he would never sleep for more than 45 minutes. By the way, when I say 45 minutes I mean exactly 45 minutes. I could look at the clock and know exactly when he would wake up.
I guess I learned to live with the short naps, after all he slept so good at night, but a few weeks ago his sleep pattern changed again. He started taking 30 minute naps. So, we tried letting him cry when he would wake up, we tried rocking him back to sleep, we tired holding him through the whole nap. It didn't matter he would only sleep 30 minutes. This left him tired all day long and wanting to take little naps every hour or two. I tried keeping him up longer and putting him down sooner, nothing changed. This started messing with his night time sleep. For the first time since he was a tiny newborn he started crying at night and waking up at 5 am and he has stopped falling asleep on his own.
So, Roger and I have decided it's time to buckle down and do something about Asher's sleep problems. We have been researching and reading and praying about what to do. Sunday night Sleep Week begins. For one week we are going to train Asher to sleep good, to fall asleep on his own (without a swaddle blanket) and to hopefully take good naps.
If you have any suggestions, ideas, or encouragement please let me know. My baby won't sleep and I need help!
25 April 2009
Meeting Maddie
After our big trip to Keeneland we headed to Louisville for a few hours to visit the Jacksons. Since we last saw Will and Beth a lot has happened, Asher grew two teeth and Maddie was born. Asher and I spent a wonderful day at home with Beth and Maddie. I had so much fun sitting around and talking with Beth while we fed our babies, took them to Target, cooked supper and changed a lot of diapers. After supper was over we took the babies (and the mamas and daddies) outside for a little photo shoot.
I held Asher and Maddie (or as I often call them "Masher and Addie") while Roger snapped away. He really captured the moment and who knows, maybe we will be showing these pictures at their wedding one day.
I held Asher and Maddie (or as I often call them "Masher and Addie") while Roger snapped away. He really captured the moment and who knows, maybe we will be showing these pictures at their wedding one day.
19 April 2009
Keeneland's Best Dressed
Last week while we were in Lexington we took Asher to Keeneland to see the horses. He is a little young to know what a horse is and way to young to be losing any money at the track, but I think he still enjoyed dressing up and entertaining the crowds.
Asher's Granny got him this great little outfit, it was a big hit. Everybody at Keeneland was talking about the baby in the cute hat.
Enjoy some pictures from the beautiful spring day.
Asher's Granny got him this great little outfit, it was a big hit. Everybody at Keeneland was talking about the baby in the cute hat.
Enjoy some pictures from the beautiful spring day.
12 April 2009
Beach Bum, Baby
Asher returned to the beach last week for another round of fun in the sand and in the pool. You may remember Asher's first trip the beach (click here to read about it), this time he was able to do a lot more besides sleep.
It was pretty chilly most of the time we were in Florida, but we still enjoyed some time out on the beach.
Asher didn't like the way the sand felt on his feet, so he spent a lot of time sitting with me in the sling.
It was way too cold to get into the ocean or the outdoor pool, but lucky for us the condo we were staying in had a heated indoor pool. We got Asher in his bathing suit and swim diaper, blew up his brand new (already has a hole in it) float, and jumped into the pool.
Asher loved the pool! He kicked his little legs so hard and spent a lot of time staring at that big turtle head. I can't wait to take him swimming this summer and to get him back to Asia so he can swim all year round.
We had a lot of fun going for walks on the beach. Asher rode in the sling the whole time we walked.
Here are some family pictures from our beach trip:
It was pretty chilly most of the time we were in Florida, but we still enjoyed some time out on the beach.
Asher didn't like the way the sand felt on his feet, so he spent a lot of time sitting with me in the sling.
It was way too cold to get into the ocean or the outdoor pool, but lucky for us the condo we were staying in had a heated indoor pool. We got Asher in his bathing suit and swim diaper, blew up his brand new (already has a hole in it) float, and jumped into the pool.
Asher loved the pool! He kicked his little legs so hard and spent a lot of time staring at that big turtle head. I can't wait to take him swimming this summer and to get him back to Asia so he can swim all year round.
We had a lot of fun going for walks on the beach. Asher rode in the sling the whole time we walked.
Here are some family pictures from our beach trip:
06 April 2009
Sitting Tall and More Pictures
Look at Asher! He is sitting up (mostly) by himself. He has been working on it for a while and now he can sit and play with his toys for several minutes before he gets distracted and tumbles over.
Roger has been taking lots of pictures with his wonderful new camera. I think he is taking better pictures everyday. Here are a few recent ones.
Roger has been taking lots of pictures with his wonderful new camera. I think he is taking better pictures everyday. Here are a few recent ones.
02 April 2009
Six Months
Asher is a spiky, red haired six month old!
Sometimes the hair is not so spiky and sometimes it is more blonde than red, but it always makes people smile. The name "Asher" means happy and we love to see how happy Asher makes people. Every week as we go grocery shopping we watch as people see Asher and smile, every time we are at church we watch people rub his fuzzy hair and smile. We love that our son is such a happy baby and that he makes other people happy, too.
We haven't been to the doctor in a while, but I think Asher weighs about 17 pounds. He has just started eating cereal and some vegetables, but still loves milk more than anything else. Asher still rolls over all the time and is learning to sit up on his own.
Asher's favorite toy is his walker, he gets in it and zooms around the kitchen playing with his toys, opening and closing drawers and grabbing towels to stick in his mouth. When he gets tired of the walking he goes under the table and plays.
Labels:
Asher,
Baby Equipment,
Food,
Monthly Updates
01 April 2009
Avocados for Lunch
I was looking through the old blog posts and I can across this one from exactly one year ago today.
Why do I think this is interesting?
One year ago today Asher was the size of an avocado and today he ate an avocado for lunch.
Why do I think this is interesting?
One year ago today Asher was the size of an avocado and today he ate an avocado for lunch.
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