Vacation in Orlando Continued

Tuesday morning started off much like Monday except rather than comment on being bored Rebekah asked how long we had been there because it felt like a week. Ha!

 We decided to just hang out around the hotel and the pools!

 

Yup, Bradley got to experience a big pool for the first time. He was honestly too cool to comment on the matter. Personally, I think he enjoyed the bath afterward a little bit more, but he will neither confirm nor deny those thoughts. 

The video of his first time in the kiddy pool is below! (Warning: It's long. I'm really white. And I use the word rectal. Yup, I have no boundaries.)

That evening Rebekah and I decided to run the running trail outside.

Before I tell this story you should know a couple of things.

1. Rebekah and I are basically the same person except she got all the athletic genes and dark skin (see above).

2. I like to torture myself and in that mindset signed up for a 5k race.

So I needed to run and Rebekah wanted to run. Got it?

Well, we first went by the front desk to get a map of the trail. The kind hostess told us that the trail was well lit and had signs marking where to go.It sounded super simple.

We started at the water fountain. I told her my plan was a walk/run method. She said that she'd meet me back at the fountain cause let's get real. She was going to smoke me. And we were off.

I kept up with Rebekah pretty well at the beginning. Then , about 1/4 of a mile in she was gone and I was walking. Oh, and I do wish I was kidding.

Then, about half a mile in the trail seemed to disappear. There was a sign pointing left with a sign saying 3.3 miles out of 10. Umm... the hostess said the running trail was 1.5 miles. That 10 mile trail was not for me. So  I decided to follow the sidewalk and go straight which led me past the security gate, out of the hotel, and on to a main street with no signs for the trail!


I decided to continue to follow the sidewalk to the left until it ended. I turned around and decided that the trail must be to the right. But then it never turned back to the hotel.

And then I realized that I was semi-lost.


And since Rebekah and I are the same person, she was lost too. My baby sister was lost!


I quickly decided to turn around and head back. I'd been running/walking for a mile at that point so Rebekah should already be back or coming close to being back. If she wasn't, I was going to steal the valet's golf cart and find her.

Being the good sister I am, I attempted to run the whole way until I realized that the whole way was up hill. That's when I decided it was okay to walk back too... as long as I was fast at it.

Thankfully, just as I got to the water fountain I noticed Rebekah was coming my way. Whew!! No need to steal that golf cart.

And what would you know? The first thing she said was, "Did you get lost?? Cause I ran past the security guard, out of the hotel, and then went one way until the sidewalk ended and then went this long way around. I think we need to study the map before our next run."

Yup. We are the same person. The funniest part, though, was that she actually thought I was going to run with her again. Ha!

Vacation in Orlando

A few months ago, Jeremy told me that he had training for work in Orlando and thought it would be fun for Bradley and I to go along.

A few months ago, I feared doing anything outside of our home.

But I didn't have any reason not to go since being a stay-at-home mom basically makes my schedule flexible.

So I told Jeremy, we'd see. (Classic non-committal response, right?)

Well, two months ago, he brought it up again.

Two months ago, I was more confident as a parent.

Two months ago, I was smart and asked my little sister to come along.

And two weeks ago, we went!

Before we left, I broke out in hives and wondered what I had gotten myself into. Packing for three people is slightly nightmarish add in a dog and you might as well say a prayer that you survive the event of packing. We looked like we were going cross-country not 6 hours away. And poor Rebekah had to fit all her belongings in a carry-on sized suitcase. Thankfully, Parker and all his things were being left with my other sister, Megan, and so that gave Rebekah a little more room.


The hotel we stayed in was really nice.

(view from our room)

It had four pools (a lap, kiddy, family, and adult), a golf course, running trails, and security guards at the entrance. But the best part was that within 10 miles was two outlet malls, one regular mall, IKEA, Universal Studios, and Disney.

(view from our room)

Yes, shopping was number one on my list.

We woke up a little late on Monday and so we ended up spending the morning in the hotel room while Bradley napped. I told Rebekah we'd go to the first outlet that afternoon.

At about 10:30 a.m., Rebekah commented that she was bored. I told her sorry. We have a baby. Go wonder the hotel.

At around 11:30 a.m., we left for the outlet.

At 4:00 p.m., we left to meet Jeremy at IKEA.

At 6:00 p.m., we went to the regular mall.

At 8:30 p.m., I suggested we take it easy the next day and just hang around the hotel and at the pools. Rebekah said that sounded like a great idea.

Yes, I am glad that Rebekah came along. Not only was she a wonderful help and fun company while Jeremy was so busy, but she was also great humor.

Can't wait to share more with you!

The Doctor and I had a talk

We are blessed with a really easy baby. He sleeps great, eats well, and honestly there just aren't many complaints. It is great; we praise Jesus.

So when my easy baby stopped sleeping at night, I just knew he had to be sick. Why else would he go from sleeping 12 hours to waking up every hour?

Sickness. Yup, that was the answer.

So off to the doctor we went.

And after giving Bradley a thorough look over, our doctor concluded that he was indeed not sick.

My first thought: How do I make him go back to being easy??

However, this is what actually came out:

Me: So why isn't he sleeping??

Doctor: Well, typically during this time a baby's sleep patterns change. They sleep lighter and start to realize that if they cry, you come.

Me: So what do I do? I need sleep.

Doctor: I think it's time you make him cry it out.

Me: I what?

Doctor: Let him cry until he exhausts himself and falls to sleep on his own.

Me: How long does that take?

Doctor: Well, it depends. It may be an hour or it may be two.

Me: You mean, I have to let him cry for two hours... without going in there and making it stop.

Doctor: Yes. You have to let him get to the point where he does that hiccup cry and wears himself out to the point that he falls to sleep on his own. He needs to learn how to soothe himself.

Me: I can't.

Doctor: But you must.

Me: No, I don't think you understand. I really can't.

Doctor (laughs): If you want to sleep, you really have to. You have a couple of options. You can just let him fully cry it out. Or you can do the Ferber method, However, sometimes babies catch on that eventually you will come get them and so it may take  longer to get them to go the whole night. Or you can put him in bed with you, but he may never leave your bed.

Me: So hold on. You mean, I have to just let him cry until he falls back to sleep.

Doctor: Yes. I recommend you get a sound machine for his room to help drown out other noise and then one for your room to drown out his sound machine and his crying. I also usually suggest you do this over a 3 day weekend like this past weekend.

Me: So this is going to take a few nights??

Doctor: Yes, it usually takes 3 nights. How do you soothe him now?

Me: Well, we try a pacifier first, then rocking, and then we've been putting him in our bed once we are too tired to get up anymore.

Doctor: I'd put as many pacifiers as you can in his bed. That way he can always grab one and soothe himself first.

Me: So let me get this straight, I have to let him cry until he falls asleep?

Doctor: Yes. You can do this.

Me: I don't know...

Doctor: You have to.

Me: I suppose...

And so I went home and talked with Jeremy. We decided to give it a try and let him cry it out that night. We put three pacifiers in his crib and I put my teddy bear, Ziggy, that I had when I was little. I figured Ziggy comforted me and he probably still smelled like me so why not.

Bradley went to bed at 7:30 p.m.

At 8:30 p.m. I hear a blood-curdling cry.

This cry was not a cry that said, "I need to cry it out." This cry said "I'm dying. I need my mommy now."

I ran upstairs as quickly as possible to find that Ziggy had fallen on top of Bradley. This caused Bradley to think that Ziggy was going to eat him. With Ziggy removed, I kissed Bradley convinced that in the morning he would no longer let me within 10 feet of him since I will be the mother that abandoned him.

And our official crying it out night began.

At 1 a.m., he started crying.

At 2 a.m., I started crying.

At 3 a.m., Bradley fell asleep.

At 4 a.m., I fell asleep.

At 7 a.m., Bradley woke up and smiled at me. Thankfully, he inherited his short-term memory from his father.

And you know what? That was the only night we had to make him cry it out. I'm telling you, we are so fortunate and very aware that we probably won't get this lucky twice...