I didn't know what Sleep Training was before Riggs was born, but Cal is 3.5 mos and we are READY! After our friend Jen gave me a 20 minute pep talk, we started sleep training on Monday night and.........it's going well!!!! The gist is that we're attempting to teach Cal to self-soothe (hands to mouth, rolling around, whatever keeps him calm) and removing one night feeding at a time. So if he typically wakes up to eat at 12am, 3am, 5am, we first eliminate the 12am feeding. And yes...for us, that means letting him Cry It Out (CIO). The first night he cried for 45 mins, the second night about the same, and last night only 20 mins and it was a really light cry. Hopefully he is getting the hang of it! After he masters sleeping through that 12am feeding, we'll do the same process to eliminate the 3am feeding, etc.
Per Jen's recommendation, we bought a video monitor. BEST INVESTMENT EVER!!! It is such a relief to be able to SEE Cal in his crib and know he is okay (i.e. he isn't stuck in the corner or have something wrapped around him). We got the most basic one ($80 on sale at Babies'R'Us) and it's just perfect. No need for anything fancy, just something that works!
Anyways, wanted to share this excitement as I feel like my sanity will return very soon now that sleep is (almost) here!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Cross Country with Cal
We did it! We took the little guy to CT and Charleston to visit family...and survived the flights! We had a full rig set up with his mobile. During the last few weeks, he's been totally enamored with this one particular "guy" on his Stim-Mobile. We dubbed him "Big Boy" because he looks just like the Big Boy Hamburger image. For whatever reason, the mobile (which we typically have above his changing table) will spin around, then when it gets to "Big Boy", Cal starts CHEESING so hard! He'll then follow that particular circle around and just keep smiling, smiling smiling. So cute!
Here was our rig for the airplane. The flight attendant said that never in her 25 years of flying had she seen anything like this - ha!
This is Cal's reaction to his BFF:
Anyways, we got to CT first and Cal saw his first snow! He was not very impressed, but we thought it was beautiful. We had a fantastic week visiting with Dave's family (all 2,000 of them!). His parents even took Cal overnight...twice! The first night I was a wreck (crying as I left him...I mean COME ON!!!) and the second night I was running out the door! How quickly we adjust. Our plan for the first night (Dave and I were staying at the neighbors' house two doors down who don't live there during the winter) was to go out BIG with Dave's sister and cousins, who are all about our age. We get a great start with martinis, then had a wonderful dinner at Luce's in Middletown. While we were discussing which bar to hit first after dinner, it was 9:45pm and all I could think was B-E-D. I haven't had a full, uninterrupted night of sleep since November 14th and I just couldn't pass it up! Fortunately, Dave's sister and hubby were heading home too, so I hitched a ride and was asleep before my head even hit the pillow!
Here are some pics from the week in CT:
SOME of Dave's cousins!
The Bryand Men
The onesie says, "My Dad Is Rad" - love it!
Grandma hanging with Cal and Cal meeting his GREAT-grandparents!
And then here are some pics we took of Cal one morning when we woke up....
We had an AWESOME trip to the east coast. It was so wonderful to be with family, family, family! After CT, we headed to Charleston and loved introducing Cal to the Dirrrrty South. He had his fill of beautiful Southern women, accents and foooood! I'm not sure why, but we hardly took any pics in Charleston! Here are a couple from a delicious dinner at Rue du Jean:
Can't wait to go back (minus the 6-hour flight...5 of which were spent with one of us Bjorning Cal and pacing the aisles!!!).
Here was our rig for the airplane. The flight attendant said that never in her 25 years of flying had she seen anything like this - ha!
This is Cal's reaction to his BFF:
Anyways, we got to CT first and Cal saw his first snow! He was not very impressed, but we thought it was beautiful. We had a fantastic week visiting with Dave's family (all 2,000 of them!). His parents even took Cal overnight...twice! The first night I was a wreck (crying as I left him...I mean COME ON!!!) and the second night I was running out the door! How quickly we adjust. Our plan for the first night (Dave and I were staying at the neighbors' house two doors down who don't live there during the winter) was to go out BIG with Dave's sister and cousins, who are all about our age. We get a great start with martinis, then had a wonderful dinner at Luce's in Middletown. While we were discussing which bar to hit first after dinner, it was 9:45pm and all I could think was B-E-D. I haven't had a full, uninterrupted night of sleep since November 14th and I just couldn't pass it up! Fortunately, Dave's sister and hubby were heading home too, so I hitched a ride and was asleep before my head even hit the pillow!
Here are some pics from the week in CT:
SOME of Dave's cousins!
The Bryand Men
The onesie says, "My Dad Is Rad" - love it!
Grandma hanging with Cal and Cal meeting his GREAT-grandparents!
And then here are some pics we took of Cal one morning when we woke up....
We had an AWESOME trip to the east coast. It was so wonderful to be with family, family, family! After CT, we headed to Charleston and loved introducing Cal to the Dirrrrty South. He had his fill of beautiful Southern women, accents and foooood! I'm not sure why, but we hardly took any pics in Charleston! Here are a couple from a delicious dinner at Rue du Jean:
Can't wait to go back (minus the 6-hour flight...5 of which were spent with one of us Bjorning Cal and pacing the aisles!!!).
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Mama Dianne and Dionne
Oh yes. It happened. Mama Dianne (aka Nana) came up to SF at the beginning of February for THE concert. We planned it months ago - DIONNE WARWICK WAS HERE!!!! Yes, THE Dionne Warwick. "Say a Little Prayer"..."You've Got a Friend"...and about a million other huge hits. And yes, Whitney Houston's aunt. She was OUT OF THIS WORLD. We splurged and got 4th row seats (thank you, Mom!) and just loved the theater (Castro Theater...in the Castro, which is known as the largely gay section of SF). The crowd was totally pumped about Dionne, including a 10 MINUTE standing ovation! Here are Mom and me outside the theater:
Mom also cooked over the weekend (yummmmmm) and generally just held Cal as much as possible! Uncle Jon & Auntie Lindsay sent Cal this cute hat, so we snapped a few with him in it:
So grateful for family!
Mom also cooked over the weekend (yummmmmm) and generally just held Cal as much as possible! Uncle Jon & Auntie Lindsay sent Cal this cute hat, so we snapped a few with him in it:
So grateful for family!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Cal-i-licious Updates
Yes, that is what I've become. Or rather, what this blog has become. Updates on a human that can't walk, talk or do anything of "substance", yet captures our complete attention and hearts. But who could resist this little guy??
Elizabeth in Raleigh drew on this diaper for Cal - so cute!
Dave rocked a few pull-ups with him last week too. Whoever invented the Bjorn is a godsend!
I/we hosted the mom's group today that I mentioned in the previous post! It was absolutely great to have everyone over today (although a weeeee bit crowded with 30+ women + babies in our apartment!). I've never seen so many carseats and diaper bags in my life!!! I just started thinking...what do we do when they start CRAWLING in a few months??? We'll adjust.
While they were here, I decided to snap a few pics of the kiddos and used Cal as my test model. I just love that smile of his! He is giving us more and more everyday, which is a blast to watch.
I took two classes with Cal last week...one was about SLEEP (how to help babies sleep through the night) and the other was called PLAYFUL PARENTING (what to do with babies when it seems they can't "do" anything). Both were great! We have been trying to put suggestions into practice (routines at night, napping in his crib, etc.), but it's easier said than done as that means we have to be HOME for those items to occur. Instead, we're going about normal life and integrating when we can. Fingers crossed!
That's all from here for now, though I did want to share this video of my adorable nephew, Riggs. He's been crawling since 4 months (is about to be 9 months in a week) and is a MINI-JON!!!
Elizabeth in Raleigh drew on this diaper for Cal - so cute!
Dave rocked a few pull-ups with him last week too. Whoever invented the Bjorn is a godsend!
I/we hosted the mom's group today that I mentioned in the previous post! It was absolutely great to have everyone over today (although a weeeee bit crowded with 30+ women + babies in our apartment!). I've never seen so many carseats and diaper bags in my life!!! I just started thinking...what do we do when they start CRAWLING in a few months??? We'll adjust.
While they were here, I decided to snap a few pics of the kiddos and used Cal as my test model. I just love that smile of his! He is giving us more and more everyday, which is a blast to watch.
I took two classes with Cal last week...one was about SLEEP (how to help babies sleep through the night) and the other was called PLAYFUL PARENTING (what to do with babies when it seems they can't "do" anything). Both were great! We have been trying to put suggestions into practice (routines at night, napping in his crib, etc.), but it's easier said than done as that means we have to be HOME for those items to occur. Instead, we're going about normal life and integrating when we can. Fingers crossed!
That's all from here for now, though I did want to share this video of my adorable nephew, Riggs. He's been crawling since 4 months (is about to be 9 months in a week) and is a MINI-JON!!!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Rewards....
Cal is SMILING!!! Not the "we got lucky because we take 4,000 pictures a day" smile, but REAL smiles!
We did a quick 30s video last night at the end of one of his smile-fests. We are overcome with how darn CUTE this kiddo is!
Things are going well. B-feeding has improved DRAMATICALLY (as in, it actually works now and is (gasp) a pleasant experience for all involved!) and Cal and I are finding a groove of our day-to-day activities. I went to my first Mom's Group with 19 other women (!) and loooooved it! We are meeting once a month with the big group, then we have smaller groups that are closer to our neighborhood. All of the babies were born in Nov/Dec/Jan and there are actually 72 women (!!!) in the group that live in SF, but "only" 20 made it this week. Upon meeting these ladies, I definitely found several that I'm scoping out as new-friend-material...very exciting!
PS - one more video...because I'm completely obsessed!
We did a quick 30s video last night at the end of one of his smile-fests. We are overcome with how darn CUTE this kiddo is!
Things are going well. B-feeding has improved DRAMATICALLY (as in, it actually works now and is (gasp) a pleasant experience for all involved!) and Cal and I are finding a groove of our day-to-day activities. I went to my first Mom's Group with 19 other women (!) and loooooved it! We are meeting once a month with the big group, then we have smaller groups that are closer to our neighborhood. All of the babies were born in Nov/Dec/Jan and there are actually 72 women (!!!) in the group that live in SF, but "only" 20 made it this week. Upon meeting these ladies, I definitely found several that I'm scoping out as new-friend-material...very exciting!
PS - one more video...because I'm completely obsessed!
Monday, January 4, 2010
New Years Eve...It Ain't What It Used To Be....
Nope, it ain't what it used to be.... As in, I was ready to fall asleep by 8:00pm! We have Lindsay, Jon, Riggs, Dad & Carolyn in SF for New Years this year. It has been GREAT! On New Years Eve, we have just two traditions. One is resolutions and the other are OYSTER SHOOTERS! They are absolutely disgusting...we cringe every year...we always say we can't do it again...and here we are!
Oyster Shooters:
Note that Carolyn asks, "is this vodka?" at the end, as if she has never done one before!!!
Here are some pics of the fun activities we've been doing in SF this week:
Grandpa hanging with Cal
Cruisin' in Pac Heights
Lovin' on the cutest little boy!
Riggs' first time in a swing! He was...confused
...so we put BOTH boys in the swing!
After a walking tour of Pacific Heights Mansions, we took a breather on the steps for a pic
It has been awesome to be a tourist in my own city and to get to know San Francisco better and better! There are FREE walking tours from SF City Guides. We did the Pac Heights one and one for Chinatown so far! I think I've found my outings for the rest of maternity leave....
As is tradition, we all wrote our New Years Resolutions to present to the family. Dave mentioned (and I agree) that this is his favorite tradition. We all look forward to this time of year because Dad gives us our resolutions from the previous year and then we go around individually and "present" what we accomplished (there are no rules...you can glaze over all of the things you didn't accomplish!),then share what we'd like to do in the next year. Again, there are no rules, but we tend to break the goals into various categories. Here are some of mine for 2010:
So there you have it! Keep me accountable to rock out in 2010. The weight goal kicks off on Monday with a 50 DAY CHALLENGE with my "personal trainer" (i.e. DAVE!). He loves workouts by Ross Boxing and I know it is going to KICK MY BOOTIE!!! I am ready to start fitting into non-maternity jeans again, so goodbye pints of Ben & Jerry's (I'll still eat the goods...just won't eat the entire container! Ha ha!), hello ME!
Oyster Shooters:
Note that Carolyn asks, "is this vodka?" at the end, as if she has never done one before!!!
Here are some pics of the fun activities we've been doing in SF this week:
Grandpa hanging with Cal
Cruisin' in Pac Heights
Lovin' on the cutest little boy!
Riggs' first time in a swing! He was...confused
...so we put BOTH boys in the swing!
After a walking tour of Pacific Heights Mansions, we took a breather on the steps for a pic
It has been awesome to be a tourist in my own city and to get to know San Francisco better and better! There are FREE walking tours from SF City Guides. We did the Pac Heights one and one for Chinatown so far! I think I've found my outings for the rest of maternity leave....
As is tradition, we all wrote our New Years Resolutions to present to the family. Dave mentioned (and I agree) that this is his favorite tradition. We all look forward to this time of year because Dad gives us our resolutions from the previous year and then we go around individually and "present" what we accomplished (there are no rules...you can glaze over all of the things you didn't accomplish!),then share what we'd like to do in the next year. Again, there are no rules, but we tend to break the goals into various categories. Here are some of mine for 2010:
- Body:
- Get to pre-pregnancy weight of 145 lbs by July 1, 2010!
- Complete La Jolla Half Marathon in April 2010
- Love/Family:
- Visit CT & Charleston at least once each
- Join one Mom’s Group to connect with other new mommies
- Work
- Find a fulfilling way to pursue a career AND balance "mommyhood"!
- Redo Brooke Bryand Photography website with new portfolio pieces
- Start BLOG for Brooke Bryand Photography
So there you have it! Keep me accountable to rock out in 2010. The weight goal kicks off on Monday with a 50 DAY CHALLENGE with my "personal trainer" (i.e. DAVE!). He loves workouts by Ross Boxing and I know it is going to KICK MY BOOTIE!!! I am ready to start fitting into non-maternity jeans again, so goodbye pints of Ben & Jerry's (I'll still eat the goods...just won't eat the entire container! Ha ha!), hello ME!
Friday, January 1, 2010
Visit from Santa in San Diego
Santa was very good to us this year!!! As if he knew it was Christmas, Cal woke up at 5:00am (okay, so he always wakes up at 4:00 or 5:00am right now), so we waited until 7:00am and decided it was time to wake Daddy up too:
Riggs, Lindsay & Jon spent the night at Mom's house too, so Riggs had the Pack'N'Play (he can crawl...Cal is still a lump of adorable sugar). So we did it the old fashioned way...in one of mom's drawers!
Cal and Riggs were of course adorable...we decided Cal needed a little accessory:
Cal's bow accessory
Riggs enjoying some Daddy Time
We also took a long walk along La Jolla's waterfront to show Cal & Riggs the seals as well as where their mommies trained for their sprint triathlon (which feels like a lifetime ago):
Mama Dianne made a kick-a$$ Christmas dinner...everything to the Nines as usual!
Family Photo in front of Mom's Christmas Tree
The next day, Mom, Lindsay and I took the babies and were at Anthropologie at 7:00AM!!! Wow. We shopped/strolled for several hours and enjoyed ourselves, but left as soon as the real crowds came in - PHEW!
Lindsay and I goofing off at the mall's photo booth
We went to Stone Brewery for lunch and enjoyed learning what life is like taking two babies to a restaurant and attempting to avoid the stares. Lindsay & Jon did a LOT of walking around/bouncing/stroller-ing to make sure Riggs stayed entertained. Cal...well...he slept.
I love this pic of Riggs...it was from another brewery we went to and Jon was just messing around, holding Riggs up high. So cute!
Fantastic Christmas!!! We loved every moment.
Riggs, Lindsay & Jon spent the night at Mom's house too, so Riggs had the Pack'N'Play (he can crawl...Cal is still a lump of adorable sugar). So we did it the old fashioned way...in one of mom's drawers!
Cal and Riggs were of course adorable...we decided Cal needed a little accessory:
Cal's bow accessory
Riggs enjoying some Daddy Time
We also took a long walk along La Jolla's waterfront to show Cal & Riggs the seals as well as where their mommies trained for their sprint triathlon (which feels like a lifetime ago):
Mama Dianne made a kick-a$$ Christmas dinner...everything to the Nines as usual!
Family Photo in front of Mom's Christmas Tree
The next day, Mom, Lindsay and I took the babies and were at Anthropologie at 7:00AM!!! Wow. We shopped/strolled for several hours and enjoyed ourselves, but left as soon as the real crowds came in - PHEW!
Lindsay and I goofing off at the mall's photo booth
We went to Stone Brewery for lunch and enjoyed learning what life is like taking two babies to a restaurant and attempting to avoid the stares. Lindsay & Jon did a LOT of walking around/bouncing/stroller-ing to make sure Riggs stayed entertained. Cal...well...he slept.
I love this pic of Riggs...it was from another brewery we went to and Jon was just messing around, holding Riggs up high. So cute!
Fantastic Christmas!!! We loved every moment.
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