7 Quick Takes about sleeping like a baby, the weekend forecast, and fears

1. My child is a nap-striker. Which would be just fine if I didn't want to read or write or bake or nap or work or sit and stare out the window...
As I rock and bounce and shhsh him for at least an hour a day, I'm always left wondering, "Should I just try cry it out?" But then I start thinking about him standing in his crib (because he does not stay laying if he's not soundly asleep) and reaching for the door and crying and I just can't bring myself to do it. I always wonder though...what if he actually isn't feeling good? How can you tell the difference between a baby who is fighting sleep and a baby who genuinely needs his momma?

Funny thing is, I guiltlessly let him cry when I need to take a shower...

2. Speaking of sleep, we've had a few rough nights around these parts. My 10 month old has indeed slept through the night before but now is waking up at least twice per night and usually one of the times he's up for a good hour. Ugh. It feels like we're dancing and he's leading and if I do something wrong he crys.

Bounce bounce bounce with his head in the crook of my left arm, on his side, while sshsh, sshsh, sshshing and then sway sway sway, little bounce, little bounce, sway sway, little bounce, sway sway sway sway, little bounce, sshsh sshsh, stand perfectly still and then little bounce, little bounce, sway, still still...until he's so sound asleep he's snoring. And then I gently lower him towards the mattress and those little eyes "pop!" open, back arching, waiiiilll. Back to the bounce bounce bounce...there was one night where I literally tried 10 times to lay him down.

And, yes, I have most definitely tried to lay him in his crib awake but then there's just screaming and gnashing of tooth (because he only has one!). I've tried to lay him down and sit next to the crib, I've tried holding his hand or rubbing his back or even rubbing his feet...

Truly the only thing that works is saying Hail Marys until he falls asleep and stays there when I lay him down.

I should also mention that this isn't an every night occurrence and I'm not feeling desperately tired or weary or anything...truly I should just stop complaining and remember it is indeed a baby whom I've been blessed with caring for. He surely won't be a baby for long and so it's pretty much a gift that I get to hang out with this little baby in the middle of the night....right?

3. Oh! And he (finally) has a tooth! It only took him ten loooong months, six of which we were positive his fussiness or having trouble sleeping "must just be teething..."  Why, yes, we are first time parents, why?

4. This weekend's weather doesn't exactly look....promising. -25 for the "RealFeel"? I think that means that the RealFeel for my weekend will be 71, because I don't want to leave my house. But, to look on the sunny side, this must be one of the last frigidly cold weekends we have, right!? I mean...the Polar Vortex will need to move on and visit other planets soon, right?! This arctic weather definitely makes me anticipate spring that much more. Think of how much we're going to enjoy it once it hits even 50 degrees. I'm positive you will see people sunbathing and running in shorts...

5. Lent begins on Wednesday and Brandon and I have been discussing what we'd like to do together this year to prepare ourselves and our souls for Easter. Our #1 goal is to be upstairs by 9pm so that we're asleep by 10. For some reason it always takes us right around an hour to get ready for bed. What is wrong with us? Well, actually it's because this is when we get in the bulk of our chatting for the day. Which leads to our #2 goal: no smartphoning after 9pm. Both will be quite the challenge for us.

6. Yesterday I blogged about FUDs and how they can get in the way of positive thinking and living in the present moment. We all struggle with FUDs. Can you think of a fear, uncertainty, or doubt you're experiencing right at this moment in life? 

Now here's a little inspiration for your weekend. What I want you to do is take the next minute and a half to watch the video below. Overcome that wolf within--you can do it!

7. Happy last Friday of Ordinary Time! Feel free to indulge all weekend and party like it's Fat Tuesday! ;)

Today's post is linked to Jen twice (and has anyone else ever noticed that her link-ups are all about the number 7?!) Number 5 for 7 posts, 7 days and an addition to the 7 Quick Takes link-up.

Five Favorites (vol. 5)

Linking up with the fabulous Hallie for five favs.

This here blog has been a little bit lacking with picture updates of the small child in my life.  So here are my favorite photos and happenings of Mr. Silas as-of-late.

-1-

A little less than two weeks ago we celebrated Brandon's birthday on the very same day as a surprise birthday party for my grandma.  Don't worry, the birthday boy woke up to freshly baked rhubarb pie, had an ice cream cake later, and his very own party hat to wear all day (all thanks to my wonderful mom!) In his words, the best birthday gift he had was sharing the day with his son.  (awww!)

-2-

Silas is always sweet, but aren't babies just the sweetest when they're sleeping? Whenever he wakes up he has a great big smile for his momma--pretty much a day-maker. 

-3-

He's getting to be quite the handful at a whopping 17.8 lbs!  He likes to grab onto our arms and neck and face whenever possible and has a mighty strong grip! Paired with those fingernails which seem to grow faster than dandelions, I have quite a few places where he's left a mark. Battle scars... Also, his hair is falling out a little bit and is seemingly being replaced with very light-colored hair. Hence appearing as though he has a mohawk in the above photo.

-4-

Great-gramps has been in the hospital since last week after quadruple bypass heart surgery.  We sure have been thinking about and praying for him a lot!  We did a little photo shoot of Si-guy with this sign so that gramps could have a photo of him in the room.  It took a lot of effort to keep Silas from eating the sign (as evidenced by the crinkles in it), because obviously paper is the new milk.  We had him propped up in the corner of this chair, but he pulled himself forward and held himself up with that front hand--sitting on his own for the first time.  

Another first is that later this same day he laughed more than a chuckle for the first time when Aunt Allison was holding him.  Melted my heart into a puddle of love.  I sat there reveling at all that cuteness!

-5-

Actually everything is the new milk because we can officially say that little man is teething.  After helping dad win this card game by about a bajillion, Silas grabbed the box of cards and chomped on that a little bit. We're experiencing lottsss of drool, like enough to raise the Mississippi, and a runny nose and him trying to use momma's finger as a teething ring.  Poor guy. I'm pretty sure this is just the beginning of a very long road of teething. But I suppose we want the boy to have teeth.

Well that's all for now, hope you enjoyed catching up with the cutest member of our household.

~Danielle