Trying to get the laughing video to have sound!

This video is not that exciting, except for the moment when Tim winks at the camera, which cracks us up. Does it crack you up too??

Ben laughing with green beans in his mouth

Sleep update

Let me bore you some more with our favorite subject: Sleep.

We went to see our beloved pediatrician, Dr. Callie Black, on Friday and she referred us to a behavior specialist who has had 100% success with all the sleep problems referred to her. We're very excited for someone to give us a plan and hold us accountable for sticking to it. Let's all cross our fingers.

I feel the need to qualify some of my comments in my previous Cry It Out post:

• When I say Tim commandeered the night time, I supported him and was in agreement that it was time to try that method. I made it sound like he was being like a dictator, but he wasn't.
• I do try to keep perspective and I do realize that these sleep problems will seem minor and so inconsequential when it comes time to deal with tantrums, peer pressure, puberty, bullying, school violence, drugs and sex, broken hearts, etc etc etc. It's just that the not sleeping takes on enormous proportions when you are tired and it seems like it will never end.

So a quick update: Ben goes to bed pretty easily in his crib at 7:30 0r 8:00 and on bad nights proceeds to wake up EVERY FIFTEEN MINUTES, and on good nights every hour. The good result from our cry it out week is that Tim actually soothes him back to sleep faster than I do, so Tim goes in and finds him sitting up and lays him back down and he goes back to sleep. Tim is responsible until about midnight, and then it's my turn, and I usually end up sleepwalking with him back to our bed, where he proceeds to wake up every hour (in ideal conditions (next to Mommy)). He wakes up kinda violently, with arms and legs flailing, and then can't seem to get comfortable again, tossing and turning. It's weird. He actually slept for 2.5 hours straight last week and since it made us worried about him, we went in to check on him and found him asleep sitting up!

So, I really hope the behavior specialist can help us! We're exhausted!

Have I said yet during this post that he is the sweetest baby ever and I love him so much!!

Vomit and poop!

What parenting blog would be without entries on vomit and poop? I've already read several others, believe it or not. Let me join the ranks! And what will the poor kids think when they grow up and learn that their bodily functions were discussed on the Internet?

Something made Benny sick on Friday night, and he threw up every hour from Friday midnight to Saturday at 5:00. He didn't seem to have a fever, so I just kept putting towels over the wet spots on the bed and going back to sleep. By morning, we had several wet layers of icky-smelling sour milk and he was covered in it. He acted the same as when we first gave him rice cereal at about 5 1/2 months and he got sick - after throwing up each time, he basically passed out. So different from the usual sleep struggle. He was pretty lethargic and had no appetite until dinner on Saturday, but we tried to get him hydrated. He seemed all better today (Sunday), but he was sitting in the hall and I walked by and noticed that his diaper had overflowed onto the floor! That's the first blowout we've had in forever, since he's been apparently very constipated for several months. (meaning something was still bothering his stomach.)
He's a tough little guy - nausea and vomiting and dried puke in his nose all night long and he didn't even cry.
Have I mentioned during this post yet that he is the sweetest baby ever and I love him so much?

Ben's lame Halloween

We had the best intentions! We liked the teddy bear costumes best, but every store seemed to be sold out, so we thought "oh, we'll just take the stuffing out of a teddy bear and put Ben in it." See the decapitated teddy. And then see the next photos that show that it had the potential to be really cute, but it was way too small (and he wasn't happy about it anyway). Oh well, we went to two Halloween parties with his jack-o-lantern hat on, and then our daycare provider dressed him in one of her old pumpkin costumes and painted his face orange, so he did end up with a costume on Halloween. Next year, I promise to do better, Benny!

So cute the way he looks at one piece of fruit and puts it back for a cheerio...