Beds, Beets, Battlestar Galactica

  A friend posted something on my FB today that made me feel like a grade A kick ass parent for doing this stuff already as trouble shooting. She knows we have struggled with Aidan's sleep habits over the years and honestly we've tried every frikken thing that comes up. All options. Anything I read, we try it. Because we need a remedy for this whack waking up thirty times a night and taking over Moms side of the bed situation. Literally, he wakes me up and says "up momma", takes my hand, pulls till I get up and then walks me out of the room before climbing into my spot. SO RUDE. When you are in a super sweet sleep coma you can be led by a tiny dictator I have found. I had been sleeping on the couch on these nights because little dude would in fact fall back to sleep in my warm perfect spot with my pillows. I on the other hand had a throw blanket that often smelled like a dog fart and perhaps a hard decor pillow that had a poky down quill sticking into my head the rest of the morning until the sun came up and I made coffee. ::sigh:: I am going to spare you the list of all things tried and failed and just post this page. I really enjoyed the facts it gives and for a non-autistic child I think any one or two of these would combat sleep issues great. If you have a spectrum child like mine, you too may run the gamete before something works. And, we found what works this month may alternate with six months down the pike.  http://spectrumsmagazine.com/sensory-support-for-sleepless-nights/

 I want to mention that Aidan was out of his crib and sleeping in his race car bed like a pro at one year old. Too early you say? I would agree. But he doesn't cry when he is hurt and I got far to paranoid about him climbing to the top of the crib walls ( which he mastered at 8 months) and just simply letting go, landing onto his whole face ( which he also mastered at 8 months). So the race car rocked for a while. He could even be layed down tired and and put himself to sleep. Until we moved into a new house. The delay was short and the change in my opinion was that our new room was where his old room had been in the direction layout of houses. He could now only sooth himself to sleep in our bed. And that made transferring him back to the race car suck for him when he woke at 1,2 or 3 am. Trudging back into our room with his huge ass Linus blankie, tiny dictator started squeezing between us and then simply booting me out. One day I realized that he had a love for our comforter and big soft pillows and just the "big" bed itself. I guess I wouldn't want to stay in the race car after our bed either. I have slept in that bed btw and it sucks so bad. Like, call a chiropractor bad. It was time for a twin bed after only a couple years in the toddler bed. Again, too soon by normal developmental readiness and age and size. It did however solve the problem so far. He has a weighted blanket on top of his regular bedding setup and all 67,987 of his stuffed friends line the sides of his bed. Up against a wall and not facing anything exciting. Toys are out of his line of sight and his nightlight is on but out of reach. Blackout curtains have always helped with morning sun and nap but it seriously seems like we needed to adjust the whole package. And it's working. Knock on wood.


   I will leave you with some cute progression pics. Time flies.

        ( mobile can be found at memeandsaysay )

Also, I have started a little side project of this stuff. You can find it here KungFooKids

all up in my crib

I know. That was gangster. Made me giggle so I had to. Any how. Crib talk.

I have been stressing out like none other about the fact that things are NOT how I planned them. I wanted baby to come home to a bright, fresh, adorably perfect nature themed room. With all his furnishings just so. In a newer home with enough space for all. But, that all came to a halt with three simple facts.

1) I would have no power or control in a move as I cannot lift anything without even Hal asking what it weighs. ( really funny when she does it and it's a bag from the grocery store containing eggs, toilet paper and M&M's and she still looks all stern. )

2) We would be moving and stressing the #@%! out right before the baby came. Super not healthy for me. (especially considering item 1 ) Or others in the vicinity when I lose my mind.

3) *sigh* Our plan fell through with the house we really wanted and honestly it wont kill us to wait till I am able bodied enough to really be involved in a move. That's what I get for getting my hopes up before papers were signed.

So onto the back burner that went.

I have not stopped twitching with pangs of worry since the whole "we're not moving" thing. So now I lay awake at night thinking about where Aidan will sleep. I am annoyed that his new baby items will be stored (even though I know full well he won't really use most of them in wear or play for months yet) until we are out of this tiny house. Tiny house which seems to be eating me up and closing in on me when I measure in my minds eye where everything will NOT fit for a baby. I am a touch neurotic when it comes to furniture arrangement and decor. Feng shui, eat your heart out. And I am having a very tough time embracing the fact that my son will be in our room for the first few months because I don't know how we will fit an appropriate baby bed in there with our bedroom set. I refuse to allow his primary sleep spot to be my bed. I will nurse and put him back in his crib no matter how the bags under my eyes tell me to just lay back down with him and " rest". I know you moms out there laugh and shake your head and think "just wait till it happens" because some of you have already told me so. But out of all the stuff I swear to stay firm on, this is an easy one. The dogs sleep with us. So Baccus and Maggie win by default and I refuse to subject my son to animal co-sleeping until he is much older and crawls in after a nightmare.

Yesterday I stumbled upon the perfect compromise. I found the mini crib. It really isn't that much smaller than a normal convertible crib (which I was dead set on. they cost a million dollars, they better last a few phases) and also very nice looking. It is small enough to take up just enough space in our room yet it is not a "temp" bed and can go in his room after the move. It's not tacky looking or a play-pen solution to our space issue. The one I like is available tons of places and is very reasonably priced. It even passed the husband test (Not a death trap and doesn't look cheaply made).

Hazzah!!! Now I am free to dwell on other stresses. Like, will he be a good eater. Or, what will he wear home from the hospital. :) You know, the major stuff.


Ps. Baby Depot is my new favorite place. It has 90% of the theme and gear I chose at a little better deal. It is a Burlington Coat Factory side store and has very cool maternity stuff (wish I'd have found that before the 8th month of elastic waistbands, but oh well). I am talking jeans that look like your favorite worn specials but for 12$. Kinda awesome. Baby Depot is online as well, which may work better than driving to Clackamas for most. I repeat, Baby Depot gets two adult and two fetus thumbs up.