We always have some sort of "operation" going on here!

When we got back from Austin we started "Operation Crib" in the Wood household. The first night was a bust, as Carter screamed his way to victory in the pack in play in our room by 11 pm. The next day I spent hours reading books and  on the internet reading about baby sleep patterns and ways to get them in their cribs. However, the absolute BEST advice I got was from a good friend and very wise mother (get ready for lots of advice asking, Joce!) at playgroup. She highly recommended a bedtime routine--for their family they do "bath, bottle, bed" and no matter how crazy the kids are at bathtime, they realize the routine and it's almost bedtime, settle down, and go to bed. Allright, Carter loves his bath, so let's give it a shot. People...it WORKED. And you better believe that for now 8 nights in a row he has had a bath and may have just a bit of a rash (we're now just giving him a water bath every 2 nights) ,but by golly he's happy and we're happy and he's IN HIS CRIB! I would venture to say operation crib is a success! We give him a bath, lotion him up, put on his swaddler, nurse him (or give him bottle...more on this below), say bedtime prayers, turn on the mobile, turn on the humidifer, and put him in bed (pretty extensive routine, but it's working!). Does he go down without fussing at all? Of course not, we'll (hopefully!) get there. We usually have to go up and pat him 1-2 times, but that is NOTHING compared to the screaming agony of being in the crib at night just 2 weeks ago. Whew. Operation crib was a success.
Sidenote: Last week I had a work shower over here and someone asked if we had created new "rules" with Carter as Caleb and I thrive off routine and "rules" (have 10 seconds to make the bed, new towel days, etc)...the answer, of course! We don't even realize we do it but oh we do. The other night he was crying in bed and we were watching him on the video monitor. I was going to go pat him and Caleb said to wait 2 minutes, it had only been a minute and 37 seconds...basically, this is a "rule" Caleb has that I have now adopted:  he has to cry for 2 minutes to be patted. If he stops and settles down, the 2 minutes starts over again. Ha. Believe it or not, he fell asleep in those 23 seconds :). Haha, very quirky things we do around here but they work for us....

Allright, so I was thinking operation crib was a success, I start work next week, we're golden. Ha. Carter has a different plan. Without going into details, I had a case of mastitis over the weekend and the doctor told me  to nurse him exclusively (don't pump, don't give him bottle) to help with the infection. So, Carter did not get a bottle from Saturday afternoon to this morning. I'm feeling much better (love the miracle of antibiotics!) so last night Caleb took the 2nd feed (another rule--I take first feed of the night, he takes 2nd) which ended up being around 7 am. Carter wanted nothing to do with the bottle. After screaming, took about 2 ounces and was done. Whatever--maybe he wasn't that hungry. I get up at 7:30 and pump and then he starts acting hungry about 8:30. I decide to give him a bottle since I just pumped and guess what---he FREAKED OUT. Yes, my child of all children started refusing the bottle. So, we start "Operation Bottle" in the Wood household and you better believe I'm throwing lots o feeding therapy his way. So far he's taken 2 bottles but he does not go after them or take to them in the typical Carter fashion (whatever temp, immediately down the thing). We're now doing every other feed nurse with the bottle at the other feedings and hopefully he will re-figure out he LOVES the bottle... pronto. I told him we have 6 days to work on this. If it means staying home for the next 6 days and doing feeding therapy 6x/day, we'll do it. We will get there. I'm pretty sure he lost his suck reflex (typically integrates around 3 months) so he just needs to figure it all out again....but that boy, definitely our child with his routines already! Although it is annoying he won't take to the bottle like the champ I know he is (power of positive thinking!), I can't complain much about HAVING to stay home and snuggle and play with the little guy all day with a little "therapy" thrown in every 3 hours :).

Hope to update with a success post soon! :)