A Fresh New Look

I logged onto Blogger today and looked at my blog and... huh?  My background was gone.  Not sure what happened.  My guess?  P was hitting buttons while it was up last time and deleted it.  I had some time today while she napped with my MIL so I headed over to my favorite template site The Cutest Blog On The Block to see what if I could find a quick fix.  I fell in love with this background and header.  I love that you can customize the header with a title or photos.  Just save it to your computer, then use any photo editing program (I use fotoflexer.com) and make it your own.  I really hope that liking the look will help me get back into the swing of things.  I was sad when I saw that I only had one post in the month of May.

Banana Bread... As Promised!

Apparently my banana bread is much loved.  It's the one thing I make from scratch, with the exception of a recent attempt at Eggless Cupcakes *surprisingly good*.

And I have promised to share my recipe with several people.  And I keep forgetting.

Here it is ladies!

1/2 cup butter, melted  *sometimes substitute applesauce*
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream
2-3 medium bananas, mashed

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x5 baking pan

2.  In a large bowl stir together the melted butter and the sugar.  Add the eggs and vanilla, mix well.

3. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt.  Stir into the butter mixture until smooth

4. Mix in the sour cream and the bananas and stir until mixed thoroughly.  Spread evenly into the baking pan.

5. Bake at 350 for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.

Night Weaning Derailed

That heartbreaking sobbing is what started to break me down.  But what really did me in was the Bug saying Maaammmmmaaaa and signing "help". 

She is cutting her canine teeth on the top.  You know, those sharp ones.  They must hurt and I gave in on the "boob juice" as she now calls in.

I'll let you know when we try again, hopefully these teeth don't take too long.  It's tough to see your baby in pain.  If the one thing that makes her feel better is breastfeeding then that is what I'm going to give her.

Night Weaning Continues

Ok so I have been super tired the past two days.  I spent most of Sunday with a headache and worked today and haven't really been on the laptop.

(On a side note, Dear Blogger: Get an app for Blackberry please)

The past two nights have gone quite well.  About the same as Night Two, Bug woke up twice, had a bottle of homo milk and went back to sleep.  She slept in yesterday until about 11am and then today I had to wake her up to get ready to leave at 9:45am. 

Next step, getting rid of the bottle at night.  Not sure if it's going to happen tonight but that is the next rung on our ladder to sleeping through the night.

Night Weaning #2

Night Two went well.  I worked until 9:30 so DH had to pick the Bug up from daycare at 9 when they close.  They are awesome, they will bring her out to the car for him and strap her in!  By the time I got out to the car at 9:40 she was asleep!  When we got home she woke up a little on the way into the house so I nursed her back to sleep and we went to bed together.

Not much of a schedule for the rest of the night::

3:15am - Bug rolled over with a long whine, I gave her a bottle of homo milk and she went back to sleep within 10 minutes
7:20am - she woke up and wanted to nurse and I figured it was close enough to 8 so I gave it to her.
10:30am - we got up and came downstairs for breakfast!

Overall a great night.  Bring on Night Three.

Night Weaning #1

Last night was the first night of weaning and it went so much better than I thought it would.  I was prepared for the worst.  Endless hours of screaming, hitting and pinching, trying to take my shirt off.  I was pleasantly surprised.  None of that happened.

10:30pm- nursed the Bug to sleep in bed
1:15am- she woke up wanting to nurse, she cryed for about 15 minutes
1:30am- DH came up with a bottle of homo milk, I was skeptical as she has NEVER taken a bottle.  Well she did and went back to sleep
1:55am- out cold and I was able to take the empty bottle from her
5:25am- she woke up wanting to nurse, gave her another bottle only half full of milk and she went back to sleep!
7:54am- she woke up wanting to nurse and got it.  I said I wouldn't give in before 8am but 6 minutes is fine with me.  She was done and asleep again in about 20 minutes
11:15am- we woke up and came down for some breakfast!

Working in retail my schedule is so varied from week to week that we decided long ago that the Bug would not have a 7 or 8pm bedtime.  And I work until 9:30 tonight so this schedule works out pretty well.  She will hopefully have a nap around 3, get dropped off at daycare at 4:45 and then be ready for bed when I pick her up.

Here's hoping night #2 goes as smoothly!

Reclaiming Sleep

From the second night after the Bug was born we have co-slept.  That first night in the hospital was awful, they wouldn't let DH stay with us and I was tired and emotional and they took her to the nursery.  I stood my ground after that and she stayed with me every night thereafter. 

I love co-sleeping and before Bug got teeth, nursing at night was fine by me.  It meant sleep.  Now that she has teeth, not so much sleep for me.  It's not that she bites me, she is really good about that.  Once she falls asleep after nursing she doesn't quite let go, and she tends to rub her teeth in her sleep.  Not so nice after awhile.  It wakes me up quite a bit, I have to switch sides A LOT and I get up in the morning sore and tender.

Last night was particularly rough.  Bug woke up around 3:30 and I mean wide awake.  I was sore, I didn't want to let her nurse.  So she whined for an hour and a half before I finally gave in.  And only because my MIL was sleeping (trying to) downstairs and hubby was getting frustrated.

Tonight will be different.  I will not give in.

DH and I have talked about it, he's in.  No matter how much crying, no "boob juice" as Bug calls it.  No more night nursing.

Our goal is to have her weaned off feeding at night before we are ready to buy a new house (crossing my fingers it will be soon!).  Then once we move we plan to convert her crib to a toddler bed and make a big deal of her new bedroom.

So I just finished nursing her to sleep in bed.  That is it now until morning.  I am praying for the strength and patience to stand my ground and not give in.  Wish me luck!

Night one, here I come.