Sleep Training/Ferberizing Sucks!!

About 2 weeks ago we decided to start Brayden on some sleep training since the amount of times he would wake up each night was between 6-10; I read up on the Ferber method & decided that it sounded a bit extreme & that we would try a modified version of it & hopefully he would start to STTN very soon. What we were doing was working wonderfully & we were on a roll last week but then he caught a horrible cold & it all went down hill this past weekend! He wasn't feeling good & couldn't breath well out of his little nose (especially at night) & I was very concerned & he looked so darn pitiful that I went into check him, rock him, give him his paci...whatever I thought he wanted I did or gave to him this past weekend. I never have & never will let him cry when he is not feeling well; in my mind there is something wrong with letting my sick baby boy cry himself to sleep!

Brayden is feeling better & almost 100% again so we decided to start again on the sleep training last night.............HOLY CRAP am I tired!! He was up & screaming I think about 5 times but I managed to only get up twice. I got up the first time after he had cried for 5 minutes straight & I only went in, gave him his paci & told him I loved him & he was back to sleep in about 10 minutes. Then I got up the second time (about 2 hours later) when he had cried for 15 minutes straight....I mean non-stop screaming & yelling type crying; I got up after the 15 minutes & again only gave him his paci & tell him I love him & then I went back to our room. He screamed for about another 5 minutes & right when I was about to give in to my little man he stopped; it was so crazy he just stopped crying & started to babble a bit & then he was out. He cried (not screamed) 3 more times (I think it was 3) but these times he only did it for about 5 minutes & then he was back to sleep all on his own.

I didn't get up the last 3 times & the whole time I was watching the monitor I was trying to convince myself that I am not a bad mother for not going to him, he is not going to think I don't love him anymore.....I tried to convince myself that he was still going to smile at me with that big gummy grin & love me in the morning & you know what HE DID! He still loves his momma & gave me the same big, happy, & beautiful gummy grin I have gotten every other morning; it is crazy how his grin reassured me that I was a good mom!!!

It didn't shock me that I would have a problem with letting him cry but it shocks me on how much I felt like a bad mother for doing this; having a child is hard & making the right choices on what to do & not do is even harder......I know I am not a bad mom but look at his little face & tell me how am I supposed to let him cry??


Song of the Day: Sugarland - It Happens

I Love You Anyway....

I was catching up on blogs & came across this one at Womens Marriage Ministry; it is a really powerful post & it really made me think about Lance & I & how we have been with each other lately. I thank God that we love each other anyway & not "just because".

We have a lot going on these days between renting the old house, purchasing the new house, little man's horrible cold (which is MUCH better today) & none of us sleeping, work, packing, moving.....things have been quite stressful & tense in the Goodson household to say the least BUT even with all of the arguing & bickering that Lance & I have have been doing at the end of the day we know that we love each other anyway & nothing can change that.

I have the most wonderfully loving, caring & amazing husband & I could never have asked for a better father for Brayden, Georgia, & Bella BUT when he doesn't empty the diaper genie after changing Brayden's diaper knowing it is full & I will have to do it next time, OR when I have just cleaning the kitchen & he walks into it & puts a dirty dish in the sink & not the dishwasher, OR even when he asks me to make him something healthy for lunch the next day & I do so & then he calls me the next day & tells me that he ate out instead of eating what I have made him.........in spite all of that I love him anyway.

You are my soul mate, my one & only, the love of my life & I love you in spite of all of the little things you do that aggravate me........I love you baby wouldn't trade you in for a million dollars :)

Weekend Recap & Just Because

Our weekend started off with Brayden going to the doctor on Friday & them telling me that he just has a really bad cold & to just continue what I had been doing (Vick's on the chest, the Vick's waterless vaporizer pads at night, saline drops & booger sucker....you get the idea) BUT Brayden had no fever, no ear infection, nothing was wrong with his throat & his cough was OK as well........I should have been happy with the doctor saying that but my poor baby had a rough weekend & is still not well today! I actually think his cough is worse but he still has no fever so there isn't much I can do for him & I HATE this feeling.

I spend Friday afternoon with him at home & we had such a good time together but I could tell that as it got later he felt worse so we did our normal eat, bath, bottle & sleep & he was out at 6:30; he slept alright until around 1am & then he was up & down for the rest of the night. All I would have to do to get him back to sleep was give him is paci & turn on his aquarium but he would cry & whine in his sleep....it was pitiful!!

Saturday Lance went to work & his mom came over to see little man in the morning & it was nice to have 2 sets of hands since he still wasn't feeling well; Saturday night was a repeat of Friday night so poor baby didn't sleep well at all again but he took a great morning nap Sunday & then napped on & off through out the day while we were out & about shopping.

Sunday we went shopping/looking for a bedroom suite for the new house..........that's right WE GOT THE HOUSE & will be closing on it on or before March 31st. I am so excited I could scream but I won't since I am at work :) Anyway, we were out looking for a new bedroom suite for the spare bedroom down stairs; we found it at American Signature Furniture & it is going to look perfect!! We also found a new living room suite; I actually have looked the set for about a year now & I think that we have finally decided to get it. The new house is of course bigger than ours now & we will have 2 separate sitting/family rooms..........the new set will look great in the downstairs family room & I will finally get the purple accented room that I have always dreamed of!!

We got home from lunch & shopping & little man at dinner (he had chicken for the 1st time & loved it!!) & then it was off to take a hot steam shower with his dad! We thought that the steam plus the saline drops would help clear out his little nose & it did but only until around 11:30 that night & then he was up a down for the rest of the night! I am very tired today; exhausted actually & can't wait for this day to end but only because I get to go pick up our little man (who is hopefully in a good mood & feeling better) take him home for a walk & then our normal nightly routine & once he is down for HOPEFULLY the night the packing begins!!! I love to pack; I know it sounds crazy but packing is fun......moving sucks....BUT packing it fun & a way to get organized right before you move :)

Hope everyone had a great weekend & just because here is our little man!!

The Duck Tub & The Doctor

He loved bath time before the duck, NOW he REALLY loves it; his little face lights up every night when he has finished eating & I ask him if he wants to take a bath. We start to walk back toward our bedroom & he starts to kick his feet & just gets so excited!




We are heading to the doctor this afternoon to make sure that he is OK & that he just has a cold. This morning he woke up with an even worse runny nose, now he has a cough & I think he is also pulling at his ear.......my poor baby was is so pitiful. He sneezed this morning & his nose looked like it exploded. Thankfully he has no fever but I would rather be safe than have him get worse & it be the weekend & we end up in the ER!!

Song for today - Kings of Leon - Use Somebody

Alright Ladies.....

You have to check this blog out gentsguidetoraisingachild; it is just now up & running. A guy that I work with & one of his friends started it but I think that it will be informative as well as hilarious to follow!

More 7 Months

This is how B started off his 7 month birthday; he looked cute & was yelling at our boxer, Bella.......

This is what he looked like when I got to school to pick him up yesterday; he has a cold so he spit up mucous all day & on all his spare clothes. I had to walk him to the car in this onsie, a hat & wrapped in a blanket.....can I just say I felt like a failure as a mom on this walk of shame!! Today his diaper bag has 2 full sets of clothes down to spare socks just in case he has another bad spit up day (I have a call in to the pediatrician too to see if I should bring him in).

It is becoming harder & harder to get him to look at the camera; he would rather look at the always moving dogs, his hands, feet, a shadow, his dad.......he would rather look at anything other than the damn flashing thing that mommy is holding all the time!




I was so happy that I finally got a picture of B with both dogs but looking at it now it seems that they might have had this planned out......Bella you block mom so I can get the kids ears!!

Georgia LOVES to clean ears!!

This is B clapping; he loves to clap & does it all the time......he tried to get his hands together but it just seems to end up that he claps his belly more than his hands!



He is in size 4 diapers, 9 month clothes, eats almost all fruits & veggies (still HATES green beans) & will be trying chicken for the 1st time this weekend. He is getting the hang of holding & drinking from his sippy cup & bottle & loves to play with his spoon after he has finished eating; he gets it to his mouth but he & the kitchen would be a mess if I tried to let him feed himself :) He hasn't had much interest in crawling but loves to play on his belly so we are just waiting for that to come; we are also waiting for his teeth! At this point he doesn't have any & other than the drool & can't see that any are even threatening popping out. His favorite time of the day is still bath time & that makes his mommy & daddy happy because we are hoping that he will love the pool & lake this summer!! He is NOT STTN; however as of last night we are changing some things & we are hoping that will change VERY soon!!

I would have to say that our son is a tiny piece of God's perfection & we love him more & more everyday!

7 Months Already......Really??

Brayden is growing & changing more & more with each day that passes & it is crazy but our loves grows more & more too. I thought when he was born I knew what love was but everyday I have with our little man I learn that my heart grows bigger & the love I feel for Brayden gets stronger........it really does take my breath away sometimes!!



"SOOOOO BIG"

I Am An Awful Person!!!!

Brayden received a wonderful gift from a blogger friend about 2.5 weeks ago & I am just now getting around to posting about it.....geez I really need to get on the ball!!

Anyway, Brayden was sent this wonderful (nursery matching) blankie from Eli & his mommy over at Our Road to Parenthood; E's mom was afraid that Brayden wouldn't be able to use it but it is the perfect size for him to sleep with at night. Brayden says thank you VERY, VERY much & he loves it soooooo very much!!


Song Of the Day: Lady Antebellum - Need You Now

Oprah's No Phone Zone Pledge

I was just reading about this over at Jenn's blog.......Blonde Ambition & I love the idea & signed the pledge immediately!!

Go here to Sign The Pledge yourself.

Weekend Recap

My weekend started on Friday since I was off work to spend time with Brayden & it just so happened that Lance's day off fell on Friday as well so we went house shopping.......that's right we are hopefully moving very soon!!! This is the house that we found & LOVE so I will post this one picture & but I am not going to talk about it until we know something just in case I jinx us; if I could ask though will you all to cross your fingers & pray for us about this house.......THANK YOU!!

Anyway, we were out looking at houses early that morning & B was a trooper all day he was packed up & ready in his seat with Sophie in tow & we were good to go!! We took a break to go have lunch with Lance's parents & then we went shopping to get B some new clothes since his 6 months don't fit him anymore.......can't believe my baby boy is wearing 9 month clothes, but he is!

Poor baby was so tired after his big day I set him on our bed while I changed clothes & he passed out.......

Lance ran out while he was napping & I was cleaning up to get Brayden his new bath & all I can say is B loves this darn duck. He just likes to sit & chill in it & screamed that night when I took him out!


Saturday Lance had to work & B & I went to the Stone Mountain Big Apple Circus with his cousins, JuJu & PaPa.......it didn't go over very well once it started so B spent the day with his PaPa walking around for a bit & then in the car napping; maybe next year will be better!!




Sunday we had lunch for Sonny's (Lance's father)retirement; we went to Olive Garden with that whole side of the family & other than the fact that it was 150 degrees in the resturant it was nice to see everyone!


When we got home I was ready to relax but had to make B's food for the week so I got busy in the kitchen while the boys played; Lance thought it would be funny to see what B thought about him sucking on one of his binky's & as you can see Brayden knows what is his :)


This is my baby boy bending himself in half to get a toy rather than try to crawl to get!!

All in all we had a great weekend but it sure was a busy one........I have to play catch up on sleep this week for sure!!

Song of the Day - Kris Allen Live Like We're Dying

30 Weeks

Brayden is 30 weeks old today & will celebrate his 7 month birthday this Wednesday........our little boy is growing up so fast & we can't believe how fast time is flying by!! When he was in my belly it seemed to take forever to get to 30 weeks but now time is going by way too fast; I am trying to cherish & absorb every single moment that happens!

What 30 Weeks Old In My Belly Looked Like!
























What 30 weeks Old Out of My Belly Looks Like!

Delirious......

That is how I would describe myself right now; I am sitting at my desk at work & feel like my head is going to drop at any moment!! I am so tired & on top of that I think that I am catching what all these bozos that I work with brought here last week; I HATE when people come to work sick with a fever & get everyone else sick.......HATE IT!!! I fought not getting it but I think our long & busy weekend did me in & I would go home & rest while B is at school but I was off Friday & have so much to catch up on PLUS close out the month........so here I will sit with my door closed (so as not to get anyone else sick) working away & hoping that this day goes by very quickly!!!

Here is my song choice for today......Black Eyed Peas - Boom Boom Pow

Song of the Day.....

Kenny Chesney - You Save Me

This is "our" song; we danced our first dance as husband & wife to this beautiful song!

Song of the Day.....

Hallelujah - Kate Voegele

Sippy Cup & Puffs.........

Brayden is working very hard at drinking out of his sippy cup by himself & also grabbing his puffs. He doesn't get the puffs into his mouth yet the the pups sure love when he tries!!