Shots, Sleeping, and Eating

Parker had his 4 month check up this week. He is huge! 18 lb. 13 oz. and 26.5 inches long. He is in the 99th percentile for weight and the 92nd percentile for height. He is doing great. At this appointment, Parker had to get his second set of shots. It didn't seem too bad the first time he got his shots, so I thought this time would be the same. I was wrong.

Parker wouldn't let me put him down that day without crying. He was needy, and I could tell that he didn't feel well. This continued the next day. The day after that, my mom babysat and Parker screamed the entire time. Poor little guy! I think he was exhausted and still didn't feel well from the shots. His week has just been off.

It also seems like Parker is not being a very good eater this week. I know, I know, 18 lbs. 13 oz. what are you complaining about?? I just worry that my milk supply will start to go down if he doesn't start eating regularly again. This week he gets really mad at me after eating for about 5 or 10 minutes. The mornings are especially hard. Oh well. At least I know he's not starving.

Parker's naps haven't been very good either, and I decided to let him cry today. I know some of you might think I'm a bad mom (negative comments not welcome) but he NEEDED to sleep. Maybe now he will eat really well at his next feeding and will have a great afternoon nap. One of the hardest things about letting him cry is that we have neighbors next to us and below us. I'm sure they get annoyed with Parker's crying fits sometimes, but I don't know what else to do. It will be nice to be in a house one day where I don't have to worry about that. Here's what my mom told me earlier: "welcome to the joys of motherhood!" How true! But there really are true joys to being a mother.

Parker is also cuter than ever. We have to do all sorts of crazy things to try to get him to laugh. Things that are funny one day are never funny the next :) One time I sneezed while changing his diaper, and he thought it was hilarious. I continued to pretend to sneeze and he laughed and laughed.... I tried it again the next day and he just stared at me. What a funny guy!

Fitness

When I was younger (elementary, Jr. High) I was pretty physically fit. I LOVED running, and track was my favorite sport. I played basketball in Jr. High and woke up at 4:30 every morning to get to practice. It was a great way to stay fit!

So what happened to my motivation? I am not accountable to anyone. I don't have a coach yelling at me, and I don't have a team.I got busy in high school with music stuff, and then went to college where it seemed like I had ZERO extra time. I tried to stay active during the summers, but it still wasn't what I really needed to do. Now I'm a mom, and the time seems like it's even more limited, but I REALLY want to work out. We also get a bonus from our insurance if we work out for 30 minutes, 5 days a week, so that's more motivation!

I decided to write my first mini goal in my blog so that a few people out there in the blogging world can remind me of my goal (Especially you, Amy, since I KNOW you read my blog!). My first goal is simply to get out of bed at the same time as Randy and either put in my Pilates DVD, or do some resistance training. I've been doing a lot of research on work out DVD's since I don't really want to cough up the money to go to a gym right now, and there are a lot of really good options out there.

Anyway, here's to more fitness in my life!

Parker is Independent

It is amazing how different life is. I told Randy that I feel alive again, which is a really great thing.

The reason for the change? Parker decided he doesn't need our help putting him to sleep, and prefers to cry a little to himself and then sucking on his hand through his blanket. We were spending SO much time trying to rock the little guy to sleep... and he would just scream, and scream, and scream.... So one night, I decided to try setting him down because NOTHING was calming him down. I set him down, and he was out. I couldn't believe it! I decided to experiment the next day by putting him down while he was still awake to see if he would do it again. The next day was amazing! Every nap he went down by himself. Sure he cried for a few minutes sometimes, but other times, he just went to sleep without fussing.

I can't tell you how wonderful it is not to have to spend 30 minutes to an hour trying to bounce Parker to sleep! The only down side- I'm pretty sure I'm gaining some weight back because my exercise "routine" has been abolished :) But hey, I'll take the happy baby over the exercise routine.

We have also decided to put Parker on his tummy. I know they say you're not supposed to, but he WON'T sleep any other way. He is great on his tummy and holds up his head really well. He can also move it from side to side without any problems. So we feel good about putting him on his tummy. The first few times I did it, I checked on him probably every 20 minutes. Now I don't worry at all.

Life really is good, and is getting better. I actually feel like doing things now (like decorating his room!) and being more productive. Before, it was great when I could just get the dishes done, and then collapse on the bed. Parker is doing so much better, and so am I :)