a major career change.

big news: i officially let my employer know that i'm leaving to be a stay at home mom! my last day of work will be december 19th. while that's still almost 3 months away, i'm so excited to have it out in the open! well, mostly. i still have to tell our daycare provider. i'm for sure more nervous to tell her than i was to tell my boss! we've only had bennett in her care for 2 months, so i feel badly that we're going to be leaving so quickly. fortunately, in-home daycare for kiddos under 2 is in high demand, so i'm certain she won't have any problem filling his spot.

i'm looking forward to having a few months home full time with bennett before baby #2 comes along in late-march. it'll be helpful, i think, for both of us to adjust to being with each other day in and day out before we add a new friend to the mix. i know that this new "career" will bring with it many challenges, as does any job, but i'm excited and thankful for the opportunity to truly soak up the time with my babes while they're little. all i've heard is how fast they grow up and i've already learned how true that is!

practicing his lion roar

speaking of growing fast... i'm 14 weeks pregnant today and officially into the 2nd trimester. [insert hallelujah chorus here.] i'm feeling so much better (minus coming down with a cold) and feel like i got some of my energy back finally. it's a beautiful thing.

baby: size of a lemon. 

cravings: nothing major. yogurt is still sounding really good.

aversions: none, really! you know, except pickles and olives, but those are gross even when i'm not pregnant.

aches/pains: just have a cold. mostly i can't complain!

body: in the last week or so i've started feeling some little movements! i don't think i felt bennett move until more like 16-18 weeks, but now that i know the feeling i think i'm more aware. oh, and i've gained 10 lbs. already. awesome.

boy or girl? scheduled my ultrasound for november 7th! just 6 weeks til we find out! we're both still thinking  it's a girl!

as for bennett and our adventures with nighttime waking, we're still working on it. he's continued waking up about half the nights. finally yesterday we brought him in to see our pediatrician as a last ditch effort to get some answers. our pediatrician is great- very thorough, reassuring, and tells it like it is. she did an exam and said bennett looks great. she didn't see any signs of teething, his ears were clear, and there was no indication of any other physical issues. she basically explained to us that because he seems to be waking up around the same time of night (between 4-5am), she thinks it's habitual. she said it's a very remote chance that he'd be hungry and there doesn't appear to be any other reason he'd be waking up consistently.

so, dr. berry's suggestion was that we let him cry it out. she said bennett's a determined little guy (so true!) and that he knows that if he cries long enough and hard enough, we will come. we need to help him learn that he can put himself back to sleep without us and that we aren't going to come in despite his persistence. she said to think of it like a tantrum. he's not getting his way and he doesn't like it. we need to be a "wall" and make sure he learns that we're not going to budge. it sounds harsh, but i think it's what we needed to hear. we've let him cry many nights, but only for so long. she said it's essentially a battle of willpower at this point and that to get it to stop, we need to outlast him. fortunately she said this will only take 3-4 nights max.

while this might not be the right thing for every child or every situation, it's right for us. because this has been going on nearly 2 months and it's clear there isn't any organic issue going on, we need to break the habit for the sake of his need for sleep (and our's too!).

wouldn't you know it, bennett woke up last night at 1:20am, cried (more like moaned softly) for less than 5 minutes and then slept until after 7am. our little buddy sure has a mind of his own... i'm not counting my chickens that we're done with sleepless nights, but i'm thankful we have a plan in place if/when we need it.