The dill-hole that decided to institute Daylight Savings Time must not have had children.

I don’t care about energy conservation…I care about sleep. I’m seriously about ready to pick up and move to Arizona or Indiana!

Employers warned to watch out for bogus job applicants.

As my hubby so cleverly pointed out, “You know what the kicker is. Someone bright enough to dream that up would probably be an asset to a company if they’d just get a real job.”

No kidding?

So many of the comments have made me think about parenting techniques. I, too, spent a great deal of time reading in my pregnancy and still read quite a bit. I also get a weekly e-mail newsletter which has proved to be helpful more than once.

Attachment Parenting was mentioned a couple of times. You know, I’m all for this, to a point. To the point of “common sense”…okay, I’m all for common sense parenting. There are so many factors that play into this. They mentioned the bonding and catch-up bonding. I was one of those parents that didn’t get to hold my son until 24 hours after delivery because of medical complications. Even after I could have him in the room, I was still week and limited. Honestly, I don’t think it made that much of a difference. When I was able, I held him whenever I could. I doted, and loved on him and all was well. I’ll admit, I felt a little gypped, but it didn’t seem to have any impact on our relationship. You do what you can.

Then…breastfeeding. Okay, let me tell you right now, this isn’t so easy for everyone. Many women cannot breastfeed due to low production, massive engorgement or low pain threshold. I did get engorged but fortunately was able to use a pump to reduce the swelling and pain and was eventually able to breastfeed. It wasn’t easy. We had a terrible time getting a latch…and then once I went back to work, Gabe wouldn’t take the breast anymore. He preferred the bottle. I know so many women that felt guilt, because they couldn’t breastfeed. Guilt is a parent’s nemesis. Guilt can lead to lack of parenting and more. So, again, do what you can.

Co-sleeping was mentioned. When we brought Gabe home, we didn’t sleep for two nights. If he was crying, we were tending to him. If he was too quiet we were checking to see if he was breathing. We were new parents that definitely bordered on paranoid. We found comfort when we slept with Gabe. It just made life easier. I was doing a lot of reading on the “Family Bed” and my younger sister does have a “Family Bed”. They also have another bedroom, where she and her husband can’t take care of their more personal matters. I don’t have an issue with the Family Bed. I think it can be a great thing for the right family. However, we have reached a point where we need to have a separate sleeping area from our child. Now, when Gabey is acclimated to his crib, I will probably let him sleep with me on occasion. We both enjoy the closeness. You do what you can.

They discussed wearing your baby as part of the Attachment Parenting. For the record, I decided to “wear” Gabe long before I read about attachment parenting. My sister-in-law is Korean. It is common practice for Koreans to use a Podaegi to harness their baby on their body. While visiting, we saw my nephew, Albert, inconsolably upset. So, she grabbed her Podaegi and strapped him on. He was instantly quiet. It has always worked the same for Gabriel. There is some truth to this. Babies like to be carried and it doesn’t have to be in your arms, anywhere on your body will work just fine for them. I’d recommend to all…get a Podaegi. It is the most primitive garment…just a blanket with long ties, but it was so much easier than the baby pack we bought at a local department store and he felt more secure. It takes some practice to use it, but you can Google some excellent instructions. You can wear your baby on the front (facing forward or facing the parent) or back. Now, I presume, not everyone can wear their child because of either size or physical limitations that might prevent it. Do what you can.

I could go on, but it all boils down to doing what you can. Use your common sense and parent to the best of your abilities. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. I know there are some great things about Attachment Parenting. I also know that it just wouldn’t work for everyone…but some aspects might. I’ve also discovered that you can plan your parenting techniques…but when you actually bring the baby home…it’s a whole new ball game. I’ve even heard that after having a second child, you basically have to start over. Not everything will work for every child. So, we can study and hone up our parenting skills…AND WE SHOULD…but our children are the best study guides of all.

Yiddle, yiddle boy.

Last night, Sleeperfly slept all night long without a screaming fit!

Since I quoted a couple of negative stories that could make a person furious�I thought it might be time for happy, fluffy news.

Thanks to everyone for their advice. For those of you that might Google my blog while looking for ways to deal with a similar situation…this is what we are doing:

Well, I�ve gone back and forth all week. One thing I can say for certain is that Gabe screams unless he�s in our bed. Now there is a selfish part of me that wants him in bed with me because a.) I don�t like sleeping alone and my husband works nights and b.) It is much easier than listening to him scream. On the other hand, I don�t want him to get accustomed to sleeping in our bed, because on the weekend, I want I need to be able to cuddle with my husband and get some alone time. Our time together is so limited since we work opposite shifts. When I get home from work, we have a little time together, but he�s usually pretty tired and soon thereafter takes a nap before work. We do pretty well with it though, because we both love being parents so much. It is a hard to miss each other when our time apart is occupied by our son. I still long for any time we can get on the weekends�even the couple hours during the weeknights after he comes home from work, before I have to get up for work. I just need to feel him close to me.

I also worry that if I start giving into Gabe�s demands when he is merely 7 months old, we are in for a lifetime of trouble. We tried Tracy�s suggestion and it worked�ONCE. Then our kid was like, �No way, you aren�t pulling that one on me again.� While I rubbed his tummy, tried to sooth him… anyone want to guess what he did? He screamed. He was like, �WHAAAAAAAA, put me in your bed, WHAAAAAAAAA, NOW! WHAAAAAAAAAAA!�

Last night, I gave up and put him in bed (I know, I know�that is poor form as a parent)�but I was feeling flu-ish and had even thrown up and I had to get some sleep. In fact, I think lack of sleep was the reason I wasn�t feeling well to begin with. So, when Mike came home from work, he took him upstairs at 1:30 am. Gabe started screaming immediately. After about 30 minutes, I turned off the monitor in the bedroom, but I could still here him pretty clearly through the monitor in the kitchen. It was close to 3:00 am before he stopped and Mike came to bed. I might as well have gotten up at 1:30 am and hung out with my husband�because I pretty much just laid there and tried to sleep without much luck. So, basically we both lost an hour and a half of sleep, plus tack on the time I lost trying to get him to sleep between 9:30 pm-10:30 pm, when I finally gave in.

The crazy thing is that just two weeks ago, I would have bragged to you about how well he slept. He would sleep in his play yard by himself, he�d sleep in his crib. Most of the time I didn�t have to �put him to sleep� in the evening, he fell asleep on his own. Then all of the sudden he decided he just wasn�t into that any more. What happened between then and now?

So, basically, we have two options�put him in bed, which is really the easy way out. The better but more difficult option�let him scream until he realizes that it isn�t going to get him out of his crib. My husband brought up a very good point though. He typically falls asleep around 7:00-7:30 pm. I�ve either held him until 9:00 pm or put him in his play yard until I was ready for bed. I need to take him up to his crib at bedtime�.no later. That way if he decides to scream, it happens during at a time when I don�t have to be sleeping. I can turn the monitor off in the bedroom where his Dad is sleeping and muffle the monitor in the kitchen. I think he�ll be asleep by 9:00 pm, if not earlier.

Wish us luck.