The End of a Long Day

Oh, what a day. Nothing particularly exciting or new happened, but I'm just dead tired. One of the biggest things to prepare yourself for when you're expecting a child is...be ready to be extremely exhausted!! I have been extremely lucky with Angelina, as she was sleeping through nearly the entire night by the age of two months. I know there are many, many mothers out there who are not as fortunate. So I try not to complain. But after working all day and everything else that goes on in between and after work, it's good to be able to say tomorrow is Friday.

I thought while I'm on the topic about sleeping, which I am about to do here very shortly, I would give some tips about helping your baby fall asleep and stay asleep better at night. I realize there are countless tips and ideas out there, but I thought I would name a few that seem to work for me. Perhaps some other time I will share more ideas with you that I have heard about helping babies fall asleep, because believe me, I've heard and read about a lot of them. As for tonight, I'm simply too exhausted to get into all of that. Sorry everyone.

One important thing to do (at least for Angelina and me) is to keep a routine. A daily routine that is consistent but also flexible enough to meet your baby's changing needs helps your baby know that you will be there when they need you. This comforts them, because they know they can "count on you". That comforts all of us, doesn't it? Routine helps build the trust needed so your baby can feel secure and loved. Once again, something we all want.

Having a transition time also seems to help with Angelina. A consistent bedtime routine helps your baby through the gradual transition of being away from you at night. This transition period may consist of anything (but not limited to) bathtime, feeding, cuddling, singing a lullaby, and (of course) tucking your baby in. I do most of these things with Angelina almost every night. The only thing that changes in our routine is bathtime, as I don't give her a bath every, single day. I usually give her a bath once every two days. I have heard that giving babies baths too often can dry out their skin. I realize this is probably more crucial when they are newborn, but this is simply part of our routine. And our routine seems to work pretty well for us, so I'm not going to mess with that unless I have to. Your baby may develop an attachment to a blankie or another comforting object. This is perfectly normal and acceptable.

It is also important to practice routines that help your baby learn how to settle themself or return to sleep on their own. There have been several times Angelina has woken up or hasn't been completely asleep when I've put her to bed. As long as you know there is nothing wrong with your baby, it is perfectly all right to let them put themself to sleep (whether it's the "beginning" of bedtime or when they happen to wake up). You learn to decipher when they actually need something or when something is bothering them by the sounds they make and such. Trust me. You will learn all of this very quickly. Your baby is a part of you, and most of us know ourselves very well (as silly as that sounds). Like I said before, do not automatically reward your baby with a feeding or by rocking them back to sleep when they happen to wake up. Try (as hard as it may seem at first) to keep your interaction with them brief when nighttime waking occurs. This will be best for the both of you in the end. Like I said, you'll know if there is actually something seriously wrong with your little one. A little fussing and such is not going to hurt them when they wake up in the night. If you play your cards right, they will usually learn just fine on their own how to put themselves back to sleep.

There are obviously so many other tips and bits of advice I could give you-things I've learned on my own and read and heard from other sources (as I said before). But mommy is very tired and needs her sleep now that baby has gone to bed. My nighttime "chores" (dishes, cleaning up, laundry, etc.) are finished. I'm going to bed. I hope this information has been helpful to some of you out there. Babies are people, and they are all so different from one another. So something that works for one baby may not work for another. That is why the tips I have given tonight are "common" tips that generally help all babies fall asleep, no matter what their personality is. And while all babies are different, just like all of us "grown ups" are different...they all have one thing in common-they are all perfect, even when they're being "not so perfect".

She Finally Rolled Over!

Angelina has finally conquered rolling over from back to front on her own. She hasn't quite figured out how to roll from front to back, however. I'm sure she will learn this step in a fairly short period of time. She's also attempting to being crawling from the looks of it. I'm sure she will conquer that task before I know it, as well. She seems to learn very quickly. While they can begin rolling over on their own even by the time they are only 1-3 months old, I'm still very proud of my little girl. The first time she did it, she lifted her head up and looked around with this expression that said, "Did anybody see me do that? Aren't you proud of me?" It was so cute! She's going to be walking before I know it! She has changed so much in such a short period of time! It's hard to believe. It seems like she was just born a few days ago, and she's already 5 1/2 months old and doing so many things all by herself. They really do grow up way too fast! I never really believed that phrase when I heard other parents say that before I had Angelina, but oh yes, it's very true. It's actually extremely amazing to just watch little babies and how quickly they learn and take in information and actions. I love it, but at the same time it saddens me because I feel like she's already growing up way too fast.

I have done my research, as well, about what babies should be doing at certain stages. There are so many different sources out there. It's very hard to figure out where to go for the right information. I have compiled a list for everyone telling you all what babies should be doing at certain stages from 0-6 months. It comes from a reputable source, so hopefully this will help some of you (just in case you'd like to know what you're child should be doing and when). I would list what they should be doing from 6 months on, but this is already an awful lot of information. I will post that information as we go. I'm just another first time mother trying to share my experiences with all of you. As I'm sure all of you mothers have found out, you learn so much when you have a child. You just continue learning as they grow up and as/if you have more children. Being a parent is a long educational (but fun) process. A process I wouldn't give up for the world. Below you will find my list telling you what most babies are doing at certain ages.

One Month
- Most babies should be able to lift their head, respond to sound, and stare at faces.
- About 50 percent of babies will be able to follow objects, make ooohh and ahhh sounds, and can also see black-and-white patterns.
- A few babies can smile, laugh, and hold their head at a 45-degree angle.

Two Months
- Most babies can vocalize sounds - gurgling and cooing, follow objects, and hold their head up for short periods of time.
- About 50 percent of babies will be able to smile, laugh, hold their head at a 45-degree angle, and their movements may start becoming smoother at this point.
- A few babies can hold their head steady, bear the weight of their body on their legs, and may be able to lift their head and shoulders with their arms (a mini-pushup).

Three Months
- Most babies can laugh, hold their head steady, and recognize their parent's voice and scent.
- About 50 percent of babies will be able to squeal, gurgle, coo, recognize a parent's voice, and do mini-pushups.
- A few babies can turn toward loud sounds, bring hands together and may bat at toys, and might also be able to roll over by this time.

Four Months
- Most babies can hold their head up steadily, can bear the weight of their body on their legs, and coos when you talk to them.
- About 50 percent of babies can grasp a toy by now, reach out for objects, and can roll over.
- A few babies can imitate speech sounds - baba and dada, may cut their first tooth, and might be ready for solid foods.

Five Months
- Most babies can distinguish between different bold colors and are working on more subtle differences in pastels, can roll over on their own, and can amuse themself by playing with their hands and feet.
- About 50 percent of babies can turn toward new sounds and can also recognize their own name.
- A few babies may sit momentarily without support at this stage, mouth objects, and stranger anxiety may begin now, as well.

Six Months
- Most babies can turn toward sounds and voices, imitate sounds and blow bubbles, and roll in both directions by now.
- About 50 percent of babies can reach for objects and mouth them, sit without support, and are definitely ready for solid foods.
- A few babies may lunge forward or start crawling, may jabber or combine syllables, and may drag an object toward themself.

I hope all of this has been of some benefit to many of you. I plan to continue to update all of you what babies should be doing every month now as my daughter grows. I know, I know. It's all focused around my baby. But it helps me remember this information as well as benefit the rest of you. And for those of you who have looked at this list and think that some of your children are "behind" or "slow". DON'T! My daughter has done some of the things on this list early while some of them she still hasn't even gotten to yet. Angelina was laughing and turning toward sounds at such a very early stage (at about two months), but she just now figured out how to roll over. She wasn't too far behind, but believe me when I say these charts are nothing but a guideline. If you're child isn't doing something exactly when the chart says they should be, it doesn't mean you're baby isn't smart or anything of the sort.

That's all for today. I hope this has helped some of you or even just entertained or amused you. Have a good day (or night) everyone!

Tylenol Infants' Drops

I would like to discuss Tylenol Infants' Drop today. My daughter was recently ill. She had a pretty stuffy nose and was also coughing a little too much for me to be comfortable. She was about 4 1/2 months old at the time. I took her to see her doctor, and he recommended giving her a nebulizer treatment every four hours and giving her about 0.12 mL of the Tylenol Infants' Drops (Cold and Cough). This all actually worked very well. She was coughing less and breather much easier within minutes after giving her the nebulizer treatment, and the Tylenol seemed to kick in within approximately 20 minutes.

I was actually wondering if any of you have experienced a problem I came across concerning the Tylenol Infants' Drops. When she was running low on her drops, I attempted to get more from our local Wal-Mart. It was around 9:20 p.m. on a Saturday night, and the pharmacy was closed. I couldn't get any. I couldn't get a tiny little bottle of her drops because of the new system they have to try to prevent people from using one of the ingredients in it to make drugs. In order to purchase the Tylenol, you need to get it directly from a pharmacist and let them see your photo I.D. I asked if someone else could help me with it. I was more than willing to let them see my photo I.D. I just needed some medicine for my sick, little 4 1/2 month old daughter. The answer was "no". A pharmacist had to get it for me, and the pharmacy, as I mentioned before, was closed until Tuesday. The pharmacy is always closed on Sundays, and Monday was a holiday. I couldn't believe it, to say the very least. I am all for stopping the manufacture of drugs and what not, but when my daughter is sick and needs medicine, a mother should be able to get her the medicine she needs. I promptly informed them of this, and it, as I'm sure you can assume, did absolutely no good. Not only did they not help me, they were actually very rude to me, as well.

After this "incident", I stopped off at the grocery store on my way back home. I wanted to see if, by chance, the pharmacy was open until 10:00 p.m. there so I could get her medicine. There was no way she could make it two days without that medicine. The pharmacy at the grocery was turned out to be closed. However, I was able to buy her drops without a problems. They were sitting out on the shelves, and I wasn't "carded" or anything of the sort when I checked out. This made me feel a lot better, but at the same time it really disappointed me what Wal-Mart had done. If every store in town had been following that "system", I would have had to take my daughter to the emergency room simply to get some over-the-counter Tylenol Infants' Drops!! How ridiculous is that?!

I am wondering if anyone else has gone through this or something like it. I would like to know. And I would also like to know if anyone believes I am over-reacting on this subject. I think it's ridiculous. The Tylenol Infants' Drops bottles are so tiny that you would have to buy at least a dozen to actually do anything with them when it comes to "manufacturing drugs". I guess sometimes I just wonder what this world is coming to and what I am bringing my daughter into. It saddens me at times. Why do certain people out there have to "ruin" the world for everyone else? That's life, isn't it?