Into the Depths of My Closet

My bedroom closet was a disaster zone.  I still am not 100% sure what came out of there.  Over the last year or so it had become the dumping ground.  Too many pillows on the bed?  Toss them in the closet and I'll get them out tomorrow.  Tomorrow never came.  Where do we hide the kid's Christmas gifts?  The closet looks like a good place.  Good thing we got them all out before Christmas morning 2013.  I have too many pajama pants, can we put some in the closet?  Sure!  I'll remember they are there.  I didn't.

It go to the point where the floor had disappeared, the door wouldn't shut, and I couldn't find my clothes for work.  I couldn't put any laundry away and the couch became the new dresser/closet.  The bedroom closet had become a huge subject of stress and Steven and I were fighting about it almost daily.  My style is more "a place for everything and everything in its place" while Steven follows more of a "frat boy just moved away from home" style of organization.  Sigh.

So the other day I decided it was time.  I knew it was going to be rough.  I knew I would find a lot of "lost" goodies.  I knew I would have the demanding baby in my arms most of the time.  But I was determined.  I wanted my couch back and to be able to see my clothing hanging up.  I didn't want to use a shovel to find my shoes...okay so maybe I didn't need a shovel, but in hindsight, it would have been useful.

I should have taken before pictures to show how hard I worked and justify the almost 2 days it took to finish everything.  I could make excuses, but really, I was embarrassed.  A lot.

The first thing I did was to strip the bed down to the mattress.  I knew that I would be finding pillows, Steven's crocheted blanket, and even the box full of sheets.  That, and Persephone barfed all the bed before we started.

In the beginning Persephone chilled out in her co-sleeper while I pulled random items out of the closet and played peek-a-boo with at least half of them.  After a while, she wanted to be fed so I gave her a little bit of cereal and nursed her.  Still wide awake, I placed her on the mattress in the middle of the mess and continued the bizarre game of peek-a-boo.

Somehow she tired herself out and fell asleep.  I kicked it into high gear and had the closet mostly empty.  I also spent an inordinate amount of time organizing my jewelry box, although I rarely wear jewelry anymore.

When she woke up after 45 minutes we played, nursed, and got her changed.  This is where progressed slowed a bit.  I set her in her bouncy and she started playing.  She was making the most adorable cooing noises as she played and I had to get video.  As soon as I started the video, she started yelling and making that "I'm getting pissed off" noise.  Fortunately, I got it on video.

By this time, the closet was empty with the exception of the area behind the door as Persephone didn't like when she couldn't see me.

I picked up the baby and together we started clearing and rearranging things in the closet.  We stopped for a selfie to document the process and text daddy to tell him this was her 4th outfit so far.

When Steven got home from work, he played with his little princess and I finished getting things put back together.  Before I could finish hanging up laundry it was dinner time, which soon leads to the "witching hour" for baby.  But tomorrow is always another day.








The next day I concentrated on returning the couch to its former position as a place to sit and relax.  I also hammered in nails to hold his hats, which includes a large sombrero...don't ask.  I also went through papers that were found and had Steven get all the stuff he wanted put away into his safe.  I still have a few loads of laundry to do and put away, but it looks so much better!

My side

Behind the Door

Even more shoes and accessories

Steven's side including sombrero

Why I Gave My Baby Solids Before Six Months

The AAP suggests introducing solid foods to infants at 6 months of age and continuing breastfeeding until the first birthday.  I planned on following this advice and waiting although my other children started rice cereal a little after 3 months.  At Persephone's two month check-up, the doctor suggested letting her start solids around 3 months.  I told her that we planned to breastfeed (with the occasional formula supplement) until 6 months.  She agreed that was a good plan, but reminded us that our little girl had problems putting on weight when she was still a newborn.  Her blood sugar also had troubles staying in the healthy range and tended to drop.  It ended up in a trip to the emergency room and a 2 day hospital stay.  She gave us some guidelines for us to follow baby's queues and let us decide when to introduce solids after 3 months.

Persephone became very interested in our food.  She watched as the fork went from the bowl to my mouth.  Then she started smacking her lips as she watched me eat.  The biggest sign, however, was when she went from nursing on both sides or a 4oz bottle to nursing on both sides and a 4oz bottle and was still hungry.  She also was waking up to nurse more often at night.  Her doctor told us this could be a growth spurt, but if it lasted more than a few days, it was a sign that she was ready for solids.

I won't lie.  Part of me wondered if giving her cereal would help her sleep at night.  She used to sleep for a 5-6 hour stretch, wake up to nurse, and then sleep another 2-3 hours.  Suddenly, she started to wake up every 1-2 hours to nurse and my supply wasn't keeping up.  So we tried giving her formula or milk I had expressed while at work after nursing, yet she was still waking up numerous times in the night.

We gave it some thought, and research, and made a decision (backed by our trusted medical professional) to give her some baby cereal.  She wasn't sure what to think about it, but she was able to use her tongue to mush the food against the roof of her mouth (another sign that she was ready) and swallow without problem.  We took a video to record this milestone.

As you can see, that first bite was awkward, yet amusing.  We then remembered to put a bib on the baby (new parent brain in full effect at my house) and gave her a second bite and she took it like an old pro.  She now enjoys her "bite-bites" once a day.  She still nurses frequently during the day and her nighttime habits have not changed yet.  Perhaps we need to work on a more structured nighttime routine to help her sleep at night.

Taggie Balls!!

Perry is getting so big. She reaches for things she wants (my glasses, my food, my hair etc.,) with a determined grasp. And everything goes directly to her mouth. When MamaMade started selling these adorable taggie balls, Troy was a little too old for one,  but I wanted one.

A few years later,  Persephone surprises us and a friend gave us the taggie balls from her son. 

These baby toys are adorable, washable, and very baby-friendly.  I want more fabric toys!  I mean Persephone wants more fabric toys. The stackable rings has been on my list forever and fabric Ollie Blocks would be adorable.

Granny Square Blanket for Perry

After my rant and questioning of my self today,  I decided that I needed some crafty therapy.

I give you the start of Perry's new blanket.  It is a simple granny square that will keep going until the three balls of yarn are gone. Bernat Baby in the colorway Little Petunias with a size N hook. It is going quickly as this was about 10 minutes including time to refresh my memory on granny squares. Hopefully I can grab another 10 minutes or so tomorrow while the kiddos sleep.