Why does my four month old get up more in the night???

Having used formula for my first three kids soon after they were born I was sad to learn that babies who nurse don’t sleep through the night as quickly as formula fed babies.  I learned this pretty quickly with my fourth child.  Let me clarify that my babies sleep all night I’m just talking about my formula fed babies waking up to eat.    This actually came as a very disappointing shock to a tired momma.  But what really threw me off was when around 4 months my babies started waking up even more during the night to eat.  I assumed it was a growth spurt at first but it never went away.  With Hyrum I remember trying to make sure he was warm, add baby cereal to his diet and more.   I asked advice of others and even tried letting him cry it out.  Nothing worked and I just found ways to deal with it.  Well, it started happening with Simon about a month ago.  He was sleeping for about 7-8 hours and then another 4-5.  Getting up once in the night was definitely tolerable, but then it slowly deteriorated and maybe slowly is being generous.  He started getting up at 6 hours, then 5, 4 and eventually he was getting up every 3 hrs.  We were all the way back to a newborn’s feeding schedule.  I was tired and frustrated because I still have to take care of 5 children in the morning along with everything that entails.  So, one night when he woke up at 10 right as I was ready to go to bed I Googled ‘my 4 month old is waking up more at night.’  You know I really have loved being able to Google anything my heart desires.  I know they are millionaires now, but I think it is well earned money.  

I found this article, which has pretty much saved my life.  As I read it everything just clicked as it was describing my situation perfectly.  I could tell Simon was hungry and didn’t want to not feed him.  I could tell it was going to take some time to cry it out which wasn’t going to give me any more sleep and just didn’t seem like the right answer.  He was hungry because he was so incredibly distracted during the day.  I mean with four brothers running around who wouldn’t be.  We even had a rule that you couldn’t sit next to his head while he was eating because I knew he was distracted, but I had no idea of the real impact it was having.  There is just so much to do that eating becomes much less important. 

So, how to fix this problem now that I have identified it?  Well, fortunately, I have three older boys who can run the house on their own, so starting the day after I read this article I started feeding Simon in my room just the two of us.  I found quiet activities to do.  That night he slept for 5 hours.  That doesn’t sound amazing but to me it was progress, and I was going to take it especially given that every night before it had been worse than the night before!  He still wakes up once or twice depending on how much quiet feeding time he got the day before, but that is much better than the path we are headed down.  I now have no problem reading my scriptures daily and even get a conference talk read every day!  I get quiet time with my sweet baby, he gets to eat in peace AND I get to sleep at night.   It is amazing how the events of the day immediately affect his nighttime feeding habits.  But at least now I feel like I know the cause and understand that he needs quiet time to eat and he will take it during the day or night, but he needs that, and it is my job to make sure he gets it!

Champions!

Michael and Joshua and their team won the league soccer championship, tonight. It was fun to be on the big field under the lights in the crisp air with our fleece blankets. Even this musician loved the fall sports atmosphere. The final score was 2-1 and Michael wants it recorded for eternity that he was the only member of his team to score. The other point was an unfortunate error on the part of the other team. It was a fun game between the two teams from the school the boys play for. Some parents even had a child on each team! Both teams enjoyed a celebratory party together at Buffalo Wild Wings afterward. We are sad that soccer season is over, but overjoyed for all the time we just got back in our lives!  Here is a shot of the happy guys, post game. 

Happy Birthday Joshua

Joshua was very excited for his birthday in a way that only Joshua can be.  He had fun choosing his meals and was even kind enough to choose some relatively healthy meals.  I was quite impressed.  We started our day with overnight waffles.  Unfortunately, our waffle iron broke the last time we used it, so we were on the lookout for a new one.  Costco did not let us down, and we found this very reasonably priced double waffle iron.  What can be better for a family with 5 boys!?!

 Breakfast went smoothly and was delicious thanks to our new waffle iron.  Then, we cleaned up, packed some lunches and headed to the zoo.  October is free month, so it worked nicely!  We had been studying ecosystems, so we did an ecosystem scavenger hunt.  A good time was had by all!

Can you identify the monkeys in the picture?  I'm pretty sure that there are three.  :)

It is really hard to get good pictures at the zoo because the animals are so far away!

But a picture on the train is much easier, and they had a great ride.  I stayed behind with Simon and enjoyed a little quiet time.

 The soccer tournament started on his birthday but only Michael had a game, but boy did he have a game.  The game ended up being really close even though it was supposed to be an easy game, so they could move on.  They ended up doing two overtime periods and then they lost in a shootout.  It was an intense game with less than stellar refereeing.  But they played hard and could walk away with their heads held high even if they didn't win.  But the result was that we didn't get home until almost 8 PM, so we hurried and ate the chili that I had pre made.  Chili is better after it has sat for awhile.  :)  And enjoyed some amazing chocolate, peanut butter cheesecake.  YUM!

I learned that anytime I took a picture of Joshua I had to take one of Hyrum.  I have lots of Hyrum pictures now.  :) 

And Jacob didn't want to be left out.

Big marble works we got Joshua.  I love Costco sized toys!   Joshua couldn't wait to start but couldn't finish it before bedtime, but he made pretty good progress.  

In the morning the next day he moved it upstairs to keep it away from Hyrum and finished it!  It is pretty awesome!  

 It was a great birthday and now I have to remember a new age (hopeless).

Happy Birthday, Joshua!

Kitchen Re-Remodel

Anyone who has been following us for a while (so, you know, three people, including my mother) knows that we just celebrated a year in our new home. Correction, we just celebrated a year in our new home in which we tore out walls, built new ones, changed ceilings, added rooms, and rebuilt from the ground up. Truly, it was one of the most challenging times for us and our young family.

So, after a year in the space, getting to know it and allowing it to get to know us, naturally, it was time for a major overhaul. The lucky room? The kitchen, of course, because how can your enjoy a small re-remodel without seriously inconveniencing the entire family? You just can't. From the day we started this house over a year and a half ago, I was hesitant to make too many life-altering decisions because you just can't know how to plan a space without living in it. You don't know its strengths, weaknesses, or clever little secrets.

Unfortunately, we did not have the luxury of living in the home before making the decisions; we had to finish it and finish it good. The kitchen has come together slowly over the last year with some necessities: pot rack, quick lumber shelving, makeshift mudroom wall. Each has been helpful, but none have really been "it" for our kitchen and our lives. So, I've been plotting. I've been planning. I've been spending way too much time on Pinterest. And, I think I've been victorious in moving our kitchen from "meh" to "ahh." I still have to redo the mudroom wall to match, but I have the materials and as soon as I make the rest of my decisions, it will be done. Take a peek:

The kitchen  before. This kitchen is so hard to photograph because of this annoying south facing window. Too bright during the day and too dark at night. Oh well, it's all I've got, and I'll take it.

This is my wall-o-shelves. I've loved the open shelves for years, and I sure thought these were beautiful, even though they are just 2x12s that I quick stained the day we moved in so that I would have somewhere to put all our stuff. Notice, though, that there is stuff all over the counters. Time for that to change.

Step one—take off the window casing. It was ugly, anyway.

Step 2—Put on a new sill. I needed some extra depth there to put some herbs for the winter. Necessity certainly is the mother of invention!

Step 3—Add the sides

Step 4—Cap it all off! I almost stopped here because I was so surprised impressed with myself. It was already a whole, new, brighter kitchen! Can you see the difference? Amazing.

I didn't stop there, though, because we decided that our kitchen really needed some sort of backslash. After careful consideration (and, again, way too much time on Pinterest,) I settled on wood planks. I continued with my first layer of those; you know the layer—the one with all the outlets. Frowny face. These are cut from thin plywood, 5mm, and I had them ripped to 8" at Home Depot. They are formaldehyde free, so I'm willing to use them in the kitchen.

Second layer. I used nickels to space them. It worked pretty well to make sure I had that rustic, authentic gap between the rows. Mostly. I always want to leave room for future mind-changing, so this are simply finish nailed into the studs. No glue, just my favorite tool and me.

Third layer of planks. Notice the piles of crap that follow us through this process. It was inevitable.

Once I got the third row in, I caulked them, primed them, then painted them in a semi-gloss paint that I had color matched to our cabinets. Consistency is key, you know. Next time I do this (like for the mudroom wall) I will spray the planks before I install them. Painting in place with a brush is just too much work. I then sealed the planks with 2 coats of Polycrylic to make them easy to wipe down. Best decision ever.

Here's the detail of the top of the window. Loving the farmhouse detail.

I took down the shelves, whitewashed them to this great brown grey (my current favorite color trend) and reinstalled two of the three originals. I actually put stuff on the walls before I put the shelves back because I couldn't wait. You see that cool tool caddy? That was the solution to "TOO MANY THINGS ON THE COUNTER" disease that our kitchen had.

Also, I made it because I couldn't find the one I wanted. Well, I found it, but the store no longer stocked them, so I improvised. Now this one I am proud of. Super proud.

Here is the almost finished product. I'm afraid that I might have captured the fly strip in this shot and destroyed all good yumminess about the kitchen. Deal with it—it's a farm kitchen and we have flies. Well, not anymore, because now we have fly strips. Booyah. It looks so much better than in this photo. So clean. So streamlined. So farmer chef chic. Yeah, that's a thing.

This is just a reminder of what it looked like before. It helps to have perspective when trying to get that fly strip out of one's head.

My over-the-stove art piece isn't done yet, but it's going to be classic. And awesome. And vintage. Hopefully I don't blow it. We shall see.

Another before.

And . . . AFTER! Once I put up a little shelf and buy a new paper towel holder and throw away that ice cream bucket, these counters will be clear and stay that way. FOR.EV.ER.

All in all, I'm happy with the result. It's still a little busier than I would like, but there's really nothing to be done. I live in a farmhouse cabin, and I'm leaning into it. The kitchen feels happy, clean, content. It's nice to be in a content kitchen. Everyone I know should come feel the kitchen's new contentment; it's good in here.