What a Difference

It is amazing how quickly a baby can grow up.  I know you hear and it and everyone says it, but until you have your own child you really don't understand how quickly they grow up.  I also know that while I was going through whatever, anything with Conrad, the books people would say it will pass and you will look back and think that was nothing and hardly remember it at all. I tried to savor the moments and appreciate every stage.  The only thing that has really been my stressor and difficult is the sleeping.  I never expected it to go on this long and be this hard and it just makes my patience with the rest of life so thin.  So after the last post and the breakdown that was occurring I started doing a let him cry it out version of sleep training.  Basically you wait so long to go in to sooth and increase that amount of time slowly.  I started doing this and trying some other ideas right after that last post while Kris was gone hunting.  I found that waiting 5 minutes then soothing Conrad, laying him back down, giving him his paci, and rubbing his legs or side for a few minutes, then leaving and if he cried again waiting 10 minutes, etc seemed to work, he usually only cried about the 10 minutes and was able to get himself calmed and asleep if not the one soothing, but he was still waking a few times a night.  I would only give him one bottle and no more than four ounces expecting to start reducing this once we got settled into the program a couple nights.  We continued to do this crying system all of last week, which I am sure was fun for my visiting parents.  He would wake  couple of times and cry and we had to keep extending how long we waited to go in and sooth him.  The trouble was his crying was so intense and so painful sounding it hurt to listen to it and we all would just hold our breath for him to sleep.  Come to find out that along with this sleep training he was cutting another molar.  A bottom molar.  So four on top in front four on bottom in front two top molars and the bottom right molar.  Last night he didn't wake up at all, well if he did it didn't wake me anyway.

Conrad is walking all over, almost running.  He gets on and off of his little school bus ride on toy and the four wheeler little bike he got on his birthday and can push himself around on both as well.  He makes car sounds when he plays with his cars driving them on the carpet.  He is eating like crazy, so hungry now, and he seems to really eat the food more and no so much chewing it up and spitting it out.  He also chatters all of the time and some of it is starting to make sense.  I understand when he wants his cup and last night I am sure he was walking up the halls saying Ginger, Ginger sit.  Ginger is my parents dog.

I am glad my parents were able to be here last week to spend that time with Conrad and get to see him at this stage when he is really so much fun.  I miss him and right now am wishing I could be at home more with him.  I know he does great at daycare but I love his snuggles and how curious and inventive he is.  He loves being outside and now he can really enjoy the park too.  He went down the slide all on his own.  Too bad it is starting to rain and getting outside will be more difficult now.  Oh well, a little rain never killed anyone and we can just find some indoor spots to wander.