Teething?

Since we got home from Wisconsin, we've had a whole different baby. He's fussy, he doesn't sleep as well, and he isn't easily calmed. Logically, I'm sure the change means he's teething, but he seems to be missing the classic signs. His gums aren't swollen and have only been red in one small spot a few times. He isn't drooling to much, either. So I can't solidly say he's teething. I give him Tylenol but that just brings a whole new set of problems. Every time I give him a dose, he goes to sleep. The only time he sleeps through the night is if I give him a dose. I called his doctor's office to see if it was ok to give him regular doses and don't feel like I got any help. The nurse told me I don't want to "dose him around the clock" and not to exceed 5 doses in 24 hours. No answer on whether or not it's ok to give him a dose (or three) every single day. I don't know what's normal fussy and what's teething fussy. I feel more lost than I have since he finally came home from the hospital.

Pimp My Mobile

So today I finally finished Little Man's mobile of awesomeness. I wanted it to be more interesting for him, so I went to Hobby Lobby a couple months ago in search of things that caught my eye. This is what I ended up with.

Now, I'm not nearly creative enough to make the mobile myself. This was a chintzy peice of trash we ordered off of Amazon. I bought it because it matched the theme of his room, but I regret it. It had little stuffed creatures that hung funny and were kind of creepy. And it felt flimsy. So I turned this:

Lambs and Ivy Enchanted Forest Musical Mobile

into something far more fitting. I plan to add some of the foam stickers to the top white peice, but haven't gotten that far yet.

The point of a mobile is to keep a baby entertained in the crib. When he looked up at this, he saw creepy stuffed butts and white plastic sticks. So I took it on myself to make it more interesting. I added a mirror at the center, brightly colored foam shapes, so sparklies and of course new cool danglers.

To start I wrapped the plastic arms in gold duck tape to reinforce it and make it stronger. Then I added the mirror, hot gluing it to the arms. I found a bowl in the kitchen slightly smaller than the mirror and traced around it on the back side of the foam, then cut it out. I hot glued the mirror to the foam, then wrapped the edges around the frame to secure the mirror in place. Finally I attached interesting objects at the end of each arm: mirrored disco balls, foil twist ties, a toy pompom, and strings of beads. Since some items were heavier than others, I used magnets to balance the arms.

Sorry it's overly bright, but it was a hard angle to shoot and this is the best of the lot.

Once that was all done, I added the foam cutouts and the rhinestone flowers. There are four colored butterflies, four dragonflies, two lady bugs, two rhinestone flowers and four foam flowers with leaves. I chose simple shapes that it was easy for Little MAn to understand and bright colors that would draw his attention. I have it hanging out of his crib wight now until I'm certain the whole thing isn't going to come crashing down on him. It was a chintzy mobile to start with after all. 

If you find yourself shopping for a mobile, remember, it's for baby not you. A quick search on Amazon reveled tons of cute ones, like this classic one, or this awesome flower one.

Road Trippin'

When Little Man first came home, he hated his car seat. We'd get him in it and he would just wail. Thank god he's gotten better. Now he'll fuss if we sit still too long (screw the red light Mom, go!) or if we go too slow. Well, heading to Wisconsin to visit my in laws (a five hour drive without a baby) I discovered he also gets fussy if he's in the car too long. I discovered if I recline my seat back as far as it goes (irritating in my husband's car since it's a knob you have to turn forever!) and turn sideways in my seat, I can soothe him until the motion of the car works its magic. And it does now, within ten minutes of constant motion, out he goes. But the twisted position led to a scary moment. Some testosterone soaked pickup truck was weaving in and out of traffic. My husband had to swerve into another lane and all I could think was "This is gonna hurt." Thankfully we didn't get in a wreck and I am now safely turned in my seat with my seat belt fitted properly. Little Man is sound asleep in the backseat and home is less than an hour away. Life is good for the moment.

Bedtime Routine is God

At my inlaws this weekend, I discovered just how important the bed time routine is. We were at a family barbeque an hour after his bedtime. He slept five hours before waking tyen woke every hour and a half to two hours after that. I was not a happy camper. I was angry at the guy who hosted for not starting dinner sooner. I was angry with my husband's family for not trusting us with a key. I was angry at my husband for not.advocating for his son. I still am. I kept saying.I needed to be gone before 7:30. Am I unreasonable to expect people to let me stick with Little Man's routine? It's not fair that I'm the only one losing sleep.