Week in Review: Remember our old friend Sleep?

And I thought last week was long...... wow. This was the week of coming down with pink eye (me and David), having high blood pressure at my doctor's appointment and having to have lab work and monitor my BP at home, Jude having a double ear infection and then Fifth Disease with an awful, itchy rash, and very little sleep. I also came down with a cold, and I just wasn't feeling my best. It took me literally a week to shake the pink eye -- I think my immune system is just working on over-drive :-/ Thankfully, we're all MUCH better now. After we were sure Jude was feeling better, we had to do some sleep training. It was actually more like "sleep reminding" since he's already sleep trained. We just had to remind him that he can sleep without being rocked for hours, and that he feels much better when he sleeps through the night. I REALLY didn't want to have to let him cry and I really agonized over it, but we were all running on fumes. When we finally decided to go for it (the sleep training) had one hard bedtime and one hard naptime, and he's done great ever since. He's been a lot happier since he started sleeping again, so I know it was what was best for him. Good sleep is definitely making things better for everyone in this family :) We're praying for a better week now that all the sickness is hopefully behind us!

Sunday: The kids had been under the weather over the weekend, so David stayed home from church with them while I went to church and Sunday School. It was great to be at church, but it's always a little sad to go by myself. When I got home, David had started our lunch (I gave him instructions before I left), and had already fed Jude and put him down for his nap. I finished lunch, and as soon as David, Aubrey, and I sat down to eat, Jude woke up. We took turns scarfing our lunch and rocking Jude. He wasn't happy and he wasn't going back to sleep. By that point, we were pretty sure he had an ear infection, and we almost called the after-hours clinic to take him to the doctor that day, but he perked up just enough to convince us to wait until the next day so that we could see our own doctor. David said he would rock Jude and try to get him to nap so that I could nap. I was just about to take a nap when Aubrey started calling me up to her room. I went in to check on her, and she had pooped in her panties. I was SO shocked because this has happened only once that I can remember even when she was potty training. Bless her heart, she seemed just as shocked by it as I was, and she explained why it happened (I'll spare you the details -- haha!). I got her cleaned up (I just threw the panties in the trash), but then I noticed that there was water all over her bathroom floor and knew something was leaking. I knew that was a job for David, so I went and got him out of Jude's room. Jude was wide awake, so I took him while David went to figure out the bathroom situation. He stopped the leak, and then he got the water cleaned up. After that craziness, I figured there was no way I was getting a nap that day, but Aubrey stayed in her room, and David took Jude, so I did get to take a nap. When I got up, both kids were asleep. Apparently, David got Jude to take a really late nap. David got ready because he was going to church that night. I woke Aubrey up so that she would still sleep that night, and then David left. I finally had to wake Jude up too. We watched a Veggie Tales movie, and then I fed the kids dinner. We played a little, and then I bathed Aubrey and Jude. David got home and brought a pizza from Newk's to me for dinner. I ate, and then we put the kids to bed. The weather was supposed to be bad that night, so I was worried we wouldn't get any good sleep. Turns out, it wasn't the weather that kept us up... it was Jude. He had an awful night, and we knew for sure that we needed to take him to the doctor on Monday.

Monday: Even after a long night, I had to get up early for an 8:00 OB appointment. I also woke up to a lovely little case of pink eye. Ughh, yuck! It was a pretty quick appointment, but it was stressful since I found out that my blood pressure was elevated. The kids were with David, and I was expecting to meet him at the pediatrician's office when I left my appointment, but the nurse hadn't even called David back yet to set up an appointment time. Boo! I went home, and I was just pretty stressed by that point with the blood pressure issues, having to do the 24 hour urine test, very little sleep, and a sick and FUSSY baby. We had gotten Jude an appointment for 10:20, and David was just going to go to work and I was going to take the kids, but he saw how stressed I was and offered to wait and go with us. I was very thankful for that! We went to the doctor, and Jude did, in fact, have a double ear infection. It sounds horrible, but I was so relieved to hear that and to have a prescription for some medicine that would make him feel better! Dr. Phillippi also looked at Aubrey since she had fever over the weekend, but she checked out just fine! David went to work after that, and the kids and I went to pick up the medicine. They told me it would be 10 minutes, so we walked around the store and then went back to get the medicine, and it still wasn't ready. By this point, Jude was DONE. Apparently the pharmacy had a question about the dosage and they had called the doctor and were waiting for them to call back. I decided to go get icees for the kids, and I thought SURELY by the time we walked back over, our medicine would be ready. Umm, no. Y'all, we literally waited for that medicine for over an hour. All with a sick child who is pretty much wailing by this point. I was SO stressed and frustrated that I almost had a meltdown myself. I know it wasn't the pharmacy's fault, but I was still just super annoyed. They finally called the doctor back (I think they were ready to get us out of there!), and we got our meds. By the time we got home, it was well past lunch and naptime. And I'm pretty sure my BP was probably insane after that experience. I got the kids fed and gave Jude his first dose of the antibiotic and then I put them to bed. Jude had a rough time going to sleep (of course... that was the story of his life for the past week and a half), so I rocked him to sleep. I rested that afternoon and monitored my blood pressure. When the kids got up, we played and hung out at home. Jude seemed to be feeling a little better. I cooked chicken and wild rice soup for dinner, and David got home to eat dinner with us. He didn't go to karate that night because he knew I could use his help! He had come down with pink eye, too, by this point. We entertained the kids until bedtime, and for the first time in DAYS, Jude went to sleep easily on his own. David and I had high hopes that the medicine was working already and that we would have a much better night. We went to bed really early because we were exhausted from the night before. It's a good thing we did, because Jude had probably the worst night of his life that night.

Tuesday: One of us was in Jude's room rocking him from 1-5 AM. He just seemed so uncomfortable and fidgety, and we had no idea what to do for him. We gave him Tylenol and just rocked him. He kept grabbing at his arms, but we didn't know why. When it was time to get up that morning, we were all SO TIRED. David and I had an appointment that morning, and between the sleepless night and our pink eye, I was VERY tempted to cancel. We decided not to, though, and I got ready and took the kids to my mom's house to play. I noticed that Jude was still grabbing at his arms and he had a little rash. I met David, and we had a good appointment. I picked up some lunch on my way to get the kids, and when I got to my mom's house, Jude's rash was worse and his cheeks were all red. I was worried he was having a reaction to his antibiotic, so I called the doctor. They told me that fifth disease was going around, but they wanted to switch his medicine just to be safe. I googled fifth disease and was pretty positive that's what it was. It starts out as a cold, which he had the week before, and by the time you get the rash, you're no longer contagious. I called to tell my doctor that I had been exposed to fifth disease since it can be dangerous when you're pregnant, and they were able to use some of the blood they had drawn the day before to test my immunity. Jude fell asleep in the car on the way home from my mom's, so I transferred him to his bed, and he took a really good nap. Aubrey also slept. I didn't expect Jude to sleep very long since he was so bothered by his rash, so I didn't nap, and I really regretted that when he ended up sleeping 3 hours! I watched TV and rested while they slept. I was coming down with a cold and not feeling very well. I kept getting super hot, and I was worried I had fever, but when I checked, it was below normal (I think our thermometer was broken). David picked up Jude's new medicine on his way home ($45 wasted since it did turn out to be fifth disease), and then we got Mazzios for dinner. I didn't feel up to cooking anything. We actually had a nice evening together in spite of not feeling great. Jude had a hard time going to sleep again. I felt pretty bad that evening, so we went to bed really early again.

Wednesday: David did all the night time rocking since I was feeling bad. Jude did better than the night before, but that's not saying much. I think he was only up 2 solid hours instead of 4 :-/ Aubrey was up early, so I got up with her. Jude slept until after 8, and I know he needed that sleep. He was a GRUMP when he woke up, though. It was just meltdown after meltdown all morning. I was feeling a little better than the night before, but still not my best. Aubrey got to watch 2 movies that morning so that I could just sit around. We played in Aubrey's room for a while, and then we ate lunch. Finally it was naptime! I took a shower after I put the kids down, and Jude was still crying when I got out. I went up and rocked him to sleep and he took a good nap after that. I was tired and took a nap. When we got up, it was about time for David to get home. When he did, he took the kids outside to play.The flash was really bothering him. His facial expression cracks me up! Oh, and yes, he's wearing pajamas. We pretty much lived in our pj's all week.
I went outside with them and talked to David for a little while, and then I came back inside and enjoyed the quiet. Sarah Denley had offered to bring us some dinner that night since she knew we were having a rough week. I thought that was so so sweet. I'm SO thankful for such a great friend! It was perfect since we normally eat at church on Wednesdays, and I didn't have a meal planned for that night. SD dropped the food off, and after a little while, I called David and the kids inside and we ate. We really enjoyed the meal! :) After dinner, we played for a while, and then we put the kids to bed. Getting Jude to bed was an ordeal again, and David and I decided that we were going to break the horrible sleep habits that he had formed over the weekend. We went to bed early again.

Thursday: David was up again with Jude in the night. I feel terrible that I let him do all the night time stuff, but I was really not feeling well. Especially at night. Jude woke up for the day at 6:15, and I got up with him so that David could get a little more sleep. I mean, that was the least I could do, right? Ha! Jude was in a good mood at least. We stayed in his room until around 7, and then we came downstairs. David was getting ready for work, and I fed Jude breakfast. I felt better after I was up. I guess all the drainage from my cold just made me feel bad at night. David went to work, and Aubrey slept until after 8. I promise my kids tag team on purpose ;) We hung out at home, and I was starting to go so stir-crazy. The kids and I loaded up in the car in our pajamas and drove around for a little while. We drove through our old neighborhood, and I showed Aubrey our old house. Then we went through Chick-Fil-A and got some lunch for the kids. When we got home, Aubrey and Jude ate and I fixed myself some couscous for lunch. I then put them down for naps. I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but Jude had trouble going to sleep and I ended up rocking him to sleep. Aubrey didn't sleep that day since she had gotten up so late. While they were in their rooms, I watched an episode of Sweet Home Alabama on the laptop. When it was time to get Aubrey up, we watched some Food Network. I didn't fix the settings on the camera before I took this picture, but I thought she looked so sweet sitting in in the window :)

Then my mom stopped my to drop off some stuff (pillows, window seat cushions, and a Roman shade for Alaina's room) that my grandmother had made for the kids' rooms. It all looks great! Jude woke up after my mom had been here for a few minutes, so she got him up. She stayed and visited with me for a while. It was nice to have some company :) Not too long after she left, David was on his way home. When he got here, we ate some BBQ chicken that I had cooked in the crockpot earlier. My silly family! :) Love them!

Since Jude had been acting normal and was feeling much better that day, we decided to go ahead with the sleep training that night. I was really dreading it, but no one was getting good rest, and something had to change. It was frustrating that I felt like we were starting at square one with him in the sleep department. David put him to bed and went into his room at intervals to comfort him. I'm not good with sleep training, and I got on the internet and listened to music so that I couldn't hear what was going on. If I didn't believe 100% that good sleep is in Jude's best interest, I couldn't handle it. He finally went to sleep on his after a good bit of crying :( After we were sure he was asleep, David and I went to bed.

Friday: Jude woke up at one point in the night, and David went to his room, and then he cried for about 6 minutes and went back to sleep on his own. SO MUCH BETTER than the hours it had been taking to get him back to sleep. That confirmed to me that we were doing the right thing for all of us. Jude slept better than he has in 2 weeks, and we ended up waking him up at 8:30 that morning. Aubrey was up bright and early, though :) All night long and that morning, my throat had been killing me. It hurt so bad that I couldn't even sleep very well, and I didn't have much voice when I got up. I really thought I would be going to the doctor that day it was so bad. I gargled with some salt water, and it started feeling MUCH better and my voice got stronger. The kids and I hung out at home, and then I bathed Aubrey and took a shower. I then put Jude in the tub, and he pooped. Yuck! I put him in the shower and got him clean, and he hated that. We then all got dressed and went to Hobby Lobby and Ross. I got a few supplies for a craft I'm doing for Alaina's room. It was just so nice to be out! When we got home, we ate lunch, and then it was naptime. I was so worried about how naptime would go for Jude without rocking him to sleep, and it was rough. (I feel like I need to clarify that I DO still rock Jude before I put him to bed. His bedtime/naptime routine is for me to rock him and say a prayer and sing him a song. I then put him to bed awake, and he goes to sleep on his own. We still do all of that. I wanted to make sure that it didn't sound like I'm anti-rocking. I just don't want to have to rock him until he is sound asleep every time he needs to go to sleep.) Anyway, Jude cried for a while, and I went up to his room many, many times. I had decided on how long I would let him cry before I went to get him and said naptime was over. We were just about to that point when he went to sleep. Whew! Aubrey was sleeping too, so I was so thankful for some quiet! I glued some trim onto some shades for the nursery and got on the internet for a a little while. Jude woke up first, and David got home while I was getting Jude up. So we all went and woke Aubrey up. She was a little grumpy, but she snapped out of it after a while. That evening, we went to Kismet's for dinner. Yay for being on the mend and out of the house! After we ate, I went in Target and David took the kids in Pet's Mart. They LOVE going in there :) We came home for bedtime, and Jude went to sleep with very little crying that night. I was SO thankful for that!! I watched Sweet Home Alabama and played around on the internet until going to bed.

Saturday: Jude woke up pretty early, but he slept through the night, so that was wonderful! David got up with the kids, and they played until I got up. We had kind of a lazy Saturday morning. David went upstairs to move the blinds in Alaina's room so that we could hang her window treatment later. He also fixed the window treatment in Jude's room that was a little crooked. I stayed downstairs with Jude and fed him lunch. David and Aubrey came downstairs for lunch, and then it was time for naps. Jude went down without crying! Yay! I took a shower and got ready, and then I met my mom to shop for a little while. We went to several stores, and then we came back home so that my mom could help hang the window treatment in the nursery. Jude was still sleeping when we got here. Crazy! He woke up not too long after that, though. The window ended up taking forever, and we didn't even get it looking just right. At least it was a start, and we'll get it fixed soon :) My mom left, and David and I got the kids dressed and we went to eat dinner at a Mexican restaurant. We made a Kroger run after dinner, and then we came home for bed. Jude went down really easily again. I'm SO thankful that he is sleeping so much better and going to sleep on his own. It makes a HUGE difference on my stress level! After the kids were in bed, David watched some TV and I played around on the internet, and then we went to bed.