Mommy Means Business Sleep Training

I think I have complained about it a couple of times but I will say it again. Vivian's sleep habits at night for the past couple of months have been EXHAUSTING. She has been getting up every 2 hours for no reason. Well, this momma is over it and ready to do something serious about it. I have tried a couple of different sleep training methods but to no avail. I am not a fan of cry-it-out so I bought the book No-Cry Sleep Solution. I tried it for a couple of nights but after just those 2 nights I felt even more exhausted. We took a couple of days off as I researched other methods including the Baby Whisperer and the Sleep Lady Shuffle. I also found helpful information and tips from a post on Baby Center; I especially liked the section on the Types of Cries. I gathered bits and pieces from the three methods and created my own sleep training method. I had my plan in place, I even wrote it down. When Derrick got home from work I quickly went over the rules I was going to follow to make sure he understood and agreed. I wanted to make sure he knew what was going on so that he could not only support me through the tears but also keep me in check and make sure I don't deviate from the plan.

The Plan:
1. Continue with our bedtime routine. Derrick gives Vivian a bottle (dinner). Bath, lotion, diaper, jammies. I top her off as we listen to her lullabies. Sing 'I See the Moon'. Lay her down sleepy, NOT asleep. *This is the first major change. I usually rock her or nurse her to sleep.*
2. Leave the room. I do this because if she sees me there is no chance of her settling down.
3. Let her be. If she begins to complain, let her for 5 minutes.
4. Go into her room and pick her up. No talking. Only shushing or humming. (Depending on her mood or how upset she is, she likes one over the other.) Hold her for 2 minutes and lay her back down even if she is still fussy. If she is past fussy and will not calm, hold her for one more minute and lay her down.
5. Repeat 2-4 until she is asleep.
*Exception: if she is peak crying and on the verge of being distressed, immediately intervene and pick her up until she is calm. My goal is to make this nonthreatening for Vivian, after all, my first rule before starting my research was that I will NOT let her cry-it-out or feel that she can't trust me to come to her rescue.*
So that's it, pretty simple rules I think.

One of the things that was repeated throughout my reading was 'Sleep begets sleep. Don't let your baby get overtired, she will not sleep well at night.' I really believe she is overtired. Right now I have her last nap around 4:00 and then bedtime routine begins at 6:00/6:30 so she doesn't actually go to sleep until around 7:30. Tonight we are taking out the last nap and beginning her bedtime routine around 5:00.

Night one started us off good. I layed her down at 6:00 and had to go in only three times. She was asleep by 6:40. She was still up about every 2 hours tonight but I did not nurse or rock her to sleep. I imagine she would have to get used to that first. I look forward to restful nights soon! Stay tuned for updates! And wish us luck!



Resources:
Baby Whisperer
Types of Cries
Sleep Lady Shuffle
No-Cry Sleep Solution

Mangia! Vivian Style

We're introducing food to Vivian using the baby led weaning theory- basically let the baby explore her food. No jarred baby food for us, just steam the veggies in the fridge and let her have fun.
Vivian tried her first food today, avocado! She wasn't a huge fan of the taste but loved the texture. She made sure to get it all over. We'll try again tomorrow and see if she changes her mind.

Tag, You're It

Vivian is obsessed with tags lately. I thought it was just something cute she did but after talking to the moms at my play group, their babies are doing the same. It's still cute. I guess she is working on fine motor development. Way to go girlie, you've got the pincer grip down!

Mangia! Creamy Polenta with Sweet Shrimp

Tonight I made a delicious Italian dish, Creamy Polenta with Sweet Shrimp. Derrick was pleasantly surprised by the turn out. It is definitely a keeper. Can't wait to make it again!

Ingredients:
Shrimp
6 strips of bacon
1 pound medium size cooked shrimp
5 cloves garlic, sliced thin
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons thinly sliced shallots
1 pint Heirloom cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian Flat leaf parsley, plus 1/2 teaspoon to garnish each serving
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
Salt

Toasted bread crumbs
1/2 cup bread crumbs
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest
Salt and pepper

Creamy polenta
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups instant polenta
1/2 cup mascarpone
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Shrimp
1. In a medium size skillet, cook bacon. Remove bacon and set aside to cool. Once cooled, chop for garnish.

2. Reduce heat, add garlic and shallots to bacon grease, and quickly sauté until lightly golden in color, about 2 to 3 minutes.

3. Add shrimp and sauté until shrimp are warmed through.

4. Add the tomatoes, parsley, salt and crushed red pepper and simmer until tomatoes are soft, about 2 to 3 minutes then remove from heat.

Toasted bread crumbs
1. In a small sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium high heat until smoking. Reduce heat, add garlic and bread crumbs, sauté tossing regularly until lightly golden in color, about 2 to 3 minutes.

2. Remove pan from heat, season to taste with salt and pepper, and set aside.

Creamy polenta
1. To make the polenta, heat milk and heavy cream in a large pot and bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Slowly add the polenta stirring constantly for 6 to 7 minutes, or until the liquid has been absorbed.

2. Remove from heat, stir in mascarpone and parmesan, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Portion the polenta into bowls, top with shrimp, and garnish with toasted bread crumbs, bacon and fresh parsley. Serve immediately.

MANGIA!

Recipe adapted from The Today Show's Scottos

Practice Makes Perfect

Vivian has been practicing hard at crawling. She's been dong the same thing for about a week.

Up on her hands and knees, to her toes and a big push forward and onto her belly..........


Although she doesn't go forward very well, she has figured out how to get from point A to B in her own roundabout way. Usually when she pushes she falls to the right of where she was. Then she'll either roll or back to her knees and a push to the right again. She hasn't figured out how to move her legs and arms simultaneously yet and sometimes it makes her very frustrated very quickly. But we just take a break and start over. Practice makes perfect; I think she'll get it soon!

Portland Visit

We just got back from a quick trip up to Portland. Vivian and I tagged along while Derrick was there for an interview. Although it was a quick, busy couple of days we had a great time. It was like a mini vacation. We got to visit most of our friends and eat some great Portland food. As you know we've been fighting Vivian's 2-hour sleep at night. Well we were so busy she didn't really have an opportunity to take great naps which meant she actually slept 6 and 8 hours at night. You might be thinking, "well then just keep her up during the day." Easier said than done. Although she was up most of the day, she was not the happiest baby. I'd rather have a happy baby!

Bonus - while we were there it decided to snow, which means Vivian got to see her first snow. :) It was the first snow of the season and we were not expecting it. Luckily we brought a coat for Vivian - but no shoes. We went up to Washington Park and I took a couple of pictures of Vivian and Derrick.

Shenanigans!

Best Buds!

Expensive Taste!

Time to baby proof!

Mangia! Pistachio Crusted Salmon

One of my New Years resolutions is to be better at planning and cooking dinner. Well, I have to say, I think I out did myself today. Tonight we had Pistachio Crusted Salmon. We love salmon and are always looking for new ways to prepare it. With Pistachios is now my favorite. It was such an easy dinner to prepare which makes me double happy. So not only did I make a killer dinner tonight but tomorrow's dinner is already prepped and ready to go. I think I deserve a high-5!


Ingredients:
2 to 3-pound salmon (I used 2 1-pound salmon steaks)
2 lemons, juiced
4 tablespoons stone-ground mustard
1 cup shelled pistachios
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Arrange the side of salmon in a glass baking dish, skin side down. Mix the lemon juice and mustard together in a small bowl and spread over the top of the salmon.

Coarsely grind the pistachios in a food processor. Add the panko bread crumbs, the oil and salt and pepper, to taste. (The bread crumbs should be slightly wet, as it helps the stick to the salmon.)

Press the pistachio mixture over the mustard to cover the salmon evenly.

Put in the preheated oven and bake until the salmon reaches about 130 degrees, about 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven to a serving platter.

Allow salmon to rest for at least 5 minutes. The salmon will continue to cook.

If using salmon steaks, put mustard and pistachio mixture on both sides.

MANGIA!

Recipe adapted from The Food Network.

Sleep Update

The rice cereal had no effect on Vivian's sleep. We tried it for one week and it was the same routine- up every two hours. Oh well, at least we can say we gave it a try. As for me, the effect of her not sleeping consecutive hours is exhaustion and emotional. I think Derrick forgets sometimes that I am up 4 or 5 times a night for 30-45 minutes at a time because he will frequently ask why I'm so grumpy. :) Silly boy, I'M TIRED! So just like I did with her nap schedule, I will just accept it for now. This mind set seemed to work for her naps because she has gone from 30 minute naps every hour to 1 hour naps every 2 hours. I just need to relax and understand it is not the end of the world and I am not a bad mommy because my baby doesn't sleep through the night. We will continue trying a method that works until we succeed. Wish us luck!

By the way, she surprised me the other day by putting herself to sleep on the floor! It was too cute watching her do it. Thumb in mouth and blanket in hand against her face. ♥

Cheers!

Vivian is working on drinking from anything other than me. :)

Her eyes light up every time she sees a glass or her sippy cup. ♥

Daddy's Co-Pilot

Derrick took Vivian and I on a tour of the Grand Canyon back at the end of October. I just found the picture! She did great in the helicopter - the vibration put her to sleep. :) The scenery was more beautiful than I was expecting. If you ever go to Las Vegas be sure to take a tour.

Happy New Year and 5 Months

Vivian turns 5 months old today! She worked really hard on sitting up by herself this past month and was able to do so just a few days ago. Now she's working on crawling. She gets on her knees and pushes herself face down and rolls. She gets on her hands and kicks her feet. She hasn't been able to put the two together yet but she's a fast learner, I'm sure she'll be on the go soon. The real problem is that she has such high expectations for herself that after only a couple of tries she is so frustrated. Sleep has been a fight for the last two months and we're hoping to get that back to a full nights sleep this month. We will be trying rice cereal at night to try to keep her belly full and stop waking for feedings. She's pretty good at putting herself back to sleep so that's not a real issue. She keeps us tired for sure. Although, she does add color to our life!

♥ those sweet cheeks!

Happy 5 months Vivian!

Wishing everyone a fantastic 2012!