Christmas 2009

We began celebrating Tuesday at home. We opened our presents from each other and presents that were sent to us by friends and family. Then Wednesday morning we drove to Detroit. Liam was very good in the car and we arrived after 10 hours. It was a quick visit but we saw a lot of friends and family. Even my mom drove in from GA to spend Christmas with Liam. Here are some pictures. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of visiting with my Mom and her family Christmas day.

While on our trip we made two new discoveries. One, I think we finally solved the food mystery. We switched to a lactose free formula mid trip and Liam has been eating bottles in 15 minutes. No more spending an hour to an hour and a half feeding him!!! We also thought we would try a gentle CIO method for Liam’s naps. Our nighttime routine is bath, last bottle, and then holding him until he falls asleep. Then he will sleep about 10 hours. However, it is always a struggle with naps. Since we were going to be with him for a week straight it seemed like a good opportunity to try. I read that getting babies to fall asleep on their own is key. The first night we tried to put him down without holding him and he fell right asleep. So the next day we tried it for naps. When he was starting to get sleepy we put him down for a nap, without holding him until he was asleep. The first time he fussed for about 2 minutes, I went in gave him his pacifier and he fell asleep. The next nap we put him down and he fell right asleep and has been doing it ever since. Since we used to spend at least an hour feeding him 5 times a day (now its 20 minutes) and holding him before bed and each nap (about 20 minutes 4 times a day.) I have gained at least 3 hours a day back!!! What will I do with all of my free time :)

Now its time to tackle food.