Help! I Need Sleep!

I would really welcome any comments pertaining to how I can get my baby to sleep better at night so that I can get more than 3 hours of sleep at one time. Marty suggests trying rice cereal since she's old enough now. Maybe that will keep her little tummy so full that she'll sleep more deeply.

I'm so exhausted that I can hardly think straight. Some nights are better than others -- 2 nights ago she slept from 1:30 to 5:00 am. But last night she ate at 11:00 pm, was up crying at 12:30, hungry at 3:00 am, then again at 5:00 and 7:00!

And then, on the nights when Luke wakes up, too, it's crazy! Usually I can get him back to sleep pretty easily... he just needs a diaper change and maybe some milk.

Lexie seems to either need re-swaddled and her binky popped back in to get back to sleep. Or she needs to eat. I've never seen a hungrier baby! And we can't let her cry it out because she's in our room! Our pediatrician recommended not letting her cry it out until she's 6 months old. She said that at 4 months of age Lexie probably still needs to eat 1-2 times a night.

So... I need thoughts and prayers, please! Thanks!

Lexie's 4 Month Checkup

Lexie now weighs 14 pounds, which is the 75th percentile, and the crazy thing is that Luke weighed 15 pounds at this age. I think she seems bigger than him because she's shorter. She is 24" long and her head circumference is 42 cm. She's very healthy, other than the acid reflux and itchy skin on her head. We had lots of screaming once her tylenol wore off after the shots. Thank God she settled down and we had a nice long walk last evening, which Luke loved.

I guess I won't get to update this blog as often as I'd like now that I have 2 kids under age 2. Life is very busy. I barely get to check my email once a week, so I know it's unrealistic to expect to get to write something here regularly. (If you need to reach me quickly, it's best to call me at home instead of emailing!) Oh well. I'm hoping things will get better once Lexie decides she doesn't need to eat every 4 hours at night. Some nights it's every 3 hours, so I'm exhausted most days and have to nap when they do. Thank God for that option!

For any of you with one child who are considering having a second... I recommend waiting until your first one is at least 2 years old before getting pregnant again. I think that having them 2 1/2 to 3 years apart would be ideal. Then the first born would understand better why you have to hold the baby so much and about nursing all the time. (Susan said that having hers 3 1/2 years apart is great.) Just something to consider...

Well, it's 9:30 pm and both kids are asleep, so I'd better go to bed myself. If Lexie does what she did the last couple of nights, she'll be up at 1:00 am and then again at 4 or 5. Please pray that I'll get to sleep longer than a 4 hour stretch sometime soon! Thanks!

Feeling Good!

Even though we had a busy night last night, I feel really good today. Thank God!

Luke was up at 3:30, and again a little after 4:00 am. He kept crying when I put him back to bed so I brought him into our bed. The only problem with that is that he kept moving around and wouldn't go to sleep. Marty tried to put him back in his crib at 5:00, but he was crying again by 5:30 am. I think his teeth are hurting. Then Lexie got up about 15 minutes later. So we all got up... Luke and I ate breakfast while watching a Barney video, then I nursed Lexie. We all went back to bed at 7:00 am and got to sleep for 3 more hours, so it wasn't that bad.

Luke got up at 10:45 am, then we went to the park in our neighborhood. Lexie was a good sport and was content to stay in the stroller playing with her toys. So I was able to climb on the playground equipment with Luke for about 20 minutes. Then we walked to Goodwill and had a pleasant shopping experience, which is really rare. Luke was happy in the stroller because he was holding onto 2 new Barney videos and Lexie slept the whole walk home. All in all, a very nice day. And the weather is absolutely beautiful!

Now it's after 2:30 and Luke is in for a late nap. So now I gotta' go feed a hungry little girl!

A Cute Shot of Luke

Here is Luke at 22 months old. While we were at his cousins' house, Luke kept sitting on this old tree stump since it was just his size!

Luke with His Cousins Last Weekend

Here's a cute picture of Luke with his cousins, Ali and Alyss. I don't know why they all look so serious!

A Hectic Week

It's been a crazy couple of weeks. Apparently our entire family has been under spiritual attack. (We must be doing something right in serving the Lord!) It started almost 2 weeks ago with Marty breaking out in the worst case of hives we've ever seen. Then Luke ended up at Urgent Care with a high fever on Monday. Fortunately, his fever is practically gone now and he's doing much better. He shouldn't be contagious past tomorrow.

I've had Mastitis twice now, and it's been really painful this time around. I have 2 more doses of antibiotics which I hope will knock it out once and for all. Then I ended up with a yeast infection on top of that. And yesterday I messed up my upper back which has been causing horrible headaches.

I'm also in the midst of food allergy testing. So far, I'm allergic to eggs and corn which is in almost everything. I'll find out later today if I'm allergic to milk, soy, wheat, and a few others. They've discovered that I reacted so badly to allergy shots in the past because I'm allergic to glycerin, which is in most lotion, soap and shampoo. I'm already allergic to dust, mold, pollen, trees and especially grass. I'm hoping to continue the shots on a regular basis starting next week. I pray that this will get rid of my sinus pressure and allergy headaches once and for all!

Lexie is doing well and staying healthy. She's growing like a weed. I'm guessing she's around 14-15 pounds now. Her 4 month checkup is in 2 weeks.

So, after all the sickness that's been hitting us, we did the only thing we could... prayed. Hard! I'm hoping that those of you who are prayer warriors will pray for our family, too. After Marty prayed and read some key verses about healing in the Bible, my spirit felt so much lighter! Thank God that I woke up this morning feeling stronger and healthier. God is good, and apparently we're doing something right for the enemy to want to attack so badly! God bless you all!