Supernanny would be so proud!

SNEAK PEEK OF WEDDING PHOTOS - more to come as soon as I get them

I am so, so, so glad that Pierce did AWESOME with the cry-it-out method!!! It only took 3 nights to completely extinguish the crying. I was shocked. And, in those 3 nights he probably cried less than 2o minutes. Knowing this now, I wish I would have done this months ago. I feel like a new woman. I'm not really getting that many more hours of sleep but the sleep I am getting is uninterrupted. And, I have at least 2 times during the day where I can lay him down in his crib to nap and I can get stuff done. What a relief! He is such a big boy. He turned 7 months on the 29th. I can't believe it. He's even holding his own bottle now - which helps tremendously. I was counting the days until he could feed himself. That just gives me 20 minutes x 4 times a day that I have 2 free hands to fold clothes or wash dishes.

Back to the whole sleep issue. I did not sleep train Emerson when she was a baby because, let's face it, she was just plain spoiled. I picked her up at the slightest whimper. With Reagan, I wasn't about to make that mistake twice so I started sleep training her at 2 months and she is the best little sleeper. With Pierce, I had every intention on sleep training him early as well but couldn't because of his reflux. When he outgrew his wedge, I was terrified to put him in his room, afraid I wouldn't hear him if he were to choke. So, he slept in bed with us - me, Jamie, and Emerson (yes, most nights Emerson would make her way into our bed and I never took her back to her own room - another big no-no!). So when he started rolling over on his tummy to sleep on his own, I knew it was time for his own bed but I procrastinated until Jamie put his foot down. What can I say, I hate to hear my children cry and Pierce is my last baby, he is going to be a mama's-boy. I mean, who would want to see this beautiful smile turn upside down? By the way, he loves to swing outside with his sisters on their swing set from Santa.

Well, if we were going to kick Pierce out of our bed than Emerson needed to go too! Too bad that hasn't gone as smoothly. But, I am proud to say that we have not caved and she has slept in her bed all night the last 3 nights. Wahoo! I seem to wake up feeling a little more energized and with a few less neck and back aches.

2010 seems to be the year where I stop letting my kids "run the show" so to speak. I admit, I have been kind of a push-over and not really a stickler for rules. I am still really laid back when it comes to parenting, but having a 3rd child really added to my stress level and I'm not as lenient as I once was. Emerson is sent to her room, Reagan sits in time out, and sometimes Pierce has to cry when I have ANOTHER load of laundry to do and can't hold him. I mean really, I think Supernanny would be so proud. A few weeks ago she would have ripped me to shreds. Maybe it has something to do with having a four year-old who now talks back to me or child entering the terrible twos or a baby who cries whenever he can't see me. Sometimes I just want to lock myself in my room and never come out. There are lots of those days, but there are many more filled with pure joy. I also have a four year-old that is absolutely brilliant and an almost two year-old that is just as smart and adorable as she imitates everything her big sister does and a baby who just loves to snuggle.

Emerson is going back to school tomorrow after Jamie and I decided to keep her home the month of January to give her little body some R&R after her procedures. I think she is excited but she is worried she is going to miss me too much. Isn't that so sweet!?! I am having reservations because I am worried about her immune system and all the germs that come with preschoolers. I let her play in the play area at the mall 2 weeks ago and she got a stomach virus....that traveled throughout the house- so NOT fun! It seems her body can't fight off anything. And the last thing we need is to be constantly taking all 3 kids to the pediatrician every week - that can get expensive quick. I am, however, looking for those 2 days a week with just the babies. It's weird, the difference between 2 and 3 kids is tremendous. But if you were to throw a 4th in there I don't think it would be all that much harder. No, don't get any ideas. I have no desire to have 4 children.

Okay, here I am typing away instead of going to bed. I have found myself these last few nights (of which I finally have all the kids in bed before 9) staying up late doing not much of anything. Instead, I need to be catching up on some much needed zzzzz's. So, I'm off to dreamland - hopefully filled with pleasant ones.

Finally Recovered

Well, I think I may have finally recovered from last weekend's festivities. Heather is now officially Mr. Tyler Lyons Jones. It has a nice ring to it don't you think!?! What a beautiful wedding it was too! I had the best time and Heather was gorgeous. Emerson made the CUTEST flower girl EVER and was such a ham. I really think she thought the whole shindig was all for her. We are really looking forward to doing it all again September 18th when Michele gets married.

We were fortunate enough to have a night sans any kiddos the night of the wedding and I could really enjoy myself. I didn't have to worry about drinking one too many glasses of champagne because I knew I was going to get to sleep in. Boy, was that a great feeling!!! We enjoyed that so much that Jamie and I have decided to take a weekend at the W Hotel in February. CAN'T WAIT. I typically am not one for dancing but I found myself having a blast on the dance floor with a great group of girls. Heather has some great friends that she has had since grade school and I just think that is so cool that they are still best friends. That is truly a rarity to have such genuine friendships. It was weird, for a couple of hours I was not in mommy-mode and was able to let loose. I felt free. Not to say that I don't LOVE every second of being a mom, but I really needed some time without any kids.

The next day we celebrated Emerson's 4th birthday with family and friends. Yep, she turned 4. I can't believe it. She is growing way too fast. She is so bright and has such a sweet spirit. I really hit the jackpot with her! She is already talking about turning 5 and having another party. Poor thing doesn't realize and year isn't just next weekend. However, for me it may seem like time will pass that quickly. Next on my mommy agenda is to plan Reagan's 2nd birthday party.

Speaking of Reagan, you won't believe what she has been doing. Drum roll please.......using the big girl potty. I have done nothing as far as potty training, gosh she is only 21 months. I thought I still had a good 6 months at least to even consider starting it. She has done it all on her own. For now we are still keeping her in diapers and going to gradually transition but she knows exactly what to do. So glad I can check that off my to-do list. GO REAGS!

The time has come that I need to sleep train Pierce but I am procrastinating because there is going to be many, many tears from both my little man and me. My husband will be the first to tell you that our kids have me trained. I admit that I give in way too easily because I hate to see any of them cry. I am horrible at discipline and I know sleep training Pierce is going to be pure torture. Wish me luck and the strength not to cave.

A quick update on Emerson. Her biopsies came back normal-Great! They still don't know where she is bleeding from (and yes, as of today we are still seeing blood)-BAD! Jamie and I have decided to put a hold on all the testing unless we see a decline in her health. The pediatrician agrees and as long as Emerson maintains her weight and her hemoglobin levels don't dangerously drop we are going to stop torturing the poor child. I really don't have enough confidence with the medical professionals these days to find the answer and I am unwilling for Emerson to be treated like a lab rat. Hopefully everything will work out for the best. At this point that is all I can do.

I May Need to Rethink My Last Blog Title

Well, the New Year has not started off on the right foot and we didn't really end 2009 that great either. All 5 of us are sick.....fun times. 5 co-pays later, along with 8 prescriptions and 2 steroid shots, this nasty little bug we passed around got pretty expensive. The worst part is feeling awful all the while having to take care of 3 sick babies. Why is it that when I am sick all I want to do is sleep the day and night away, but my sick children do not want to sleep AT ALL!?!? I am just hoping that this isn't a sign of what 2010 has in store for the Luna family. On a positive note, it looks like we are going to meet our family deductible for medical insurance pretty early this year! Emerson is scheduled for ANOTHER colonoscopy/endoscopy this Friday. They are still searching for the source of the GI bleed which is causing her anemia and bloody diarrhea. Unfortunately they are suspecting she may have Crohn's disease. However, I am hoping they are wrong like they have been about pretty much everything else. Last Monday they did a Meckel scan where she had to be put to sleep and be scanned for an hour after they injected her with some dye to look for diverticulitis....but yet again found nothing. I just want the testing to stop because I just don't know how much more my sweet baby girl can take. Every time they put her to sleep she just gets so sick. If I could, I would take away all her pain and fear and undergo all the testing for her. I wish she was old enough to understand that we don't want her to go through all this but it is in her best interest. And I know I should be grateful that she is not battling cancer or some other horrible life threatening illness, but my heart still breaks for her.

In other news, Pierce had his 6 month check-up. I am in shock that my sweet, sweet boy is already 6 months but so excited. I really love the 6-9 month age range. SO FUN! Pierce is such a happy baby and is a real big flirt. Poor little guy is going to have to have some testing done too. It just never ends with 3 kids I guess. Anyway, the doctor is not pleased with his growth patterns and feels that his reflux is starting to prevent him from thriving like he should. I have to take him tomorrow to get a bunch a blood work done (definitely going to have us both in tears) and we started increasing his calorie intake by mixing less water with his formula. I will take him back at the end of the week to check his weight and reevaluate from there. His spitting up has been quite colorful these days between the pink amoxicillan and green beans we tried before he got sick. Thank goodness we only have carpet in the bedrooms! At least he is not bothered by the reflux which is a relief. In fact, the pediatrician said some babies are happy spitters and do fine to where there are no concerns. It is when it starts to affect their weight gain that it becomes an issue. He is rolling over more and more and last night was the first night I found he had rolled onto his tummy to sleep. He outgrew his tucker wedge/sling for reflux and is now in bed with us. Some people may judge, but with the amount he is spitting up I don't feel comfortable putting him in his room yet. Throughout the night I am frequently having to wipe up spit up and put his pacifier back in. It is so much easier to have him right next to me than walking across to the other side of the house several times a night (not to mention the fact that he would wake up his sisters). We are working on him sitting but he is not a big fan because it just makes the reflux worse, which is weird because it should help it. He is also not a big fan of eating solids either. He refuses to eat rice cereal (I don't blame him) and was not thrilled about green beans. Both the girls were so eager to start solids so it is a little strange that he is not interested.

We had a great Christmas! We stayed home this year because the thought of traveling with the kids was a little scary. It turned out fabulous. We just enjoyed our time together and spent most of the weekend in pajamas relaxing. Pierce was pretty much clueless as to be expected and only wanted to eat the tissue paper from his gifts. Reagan was still a little overwhelmed this year but was very excited about all her new Dora toys. And Emerson was beyond ecstatic! This was the first year I think she really understood the whole concept which made it SO fun for me. Upon Emerson's request, Santa brought the kids a swing set and the girls are having a ton of fun swinging and sliding. It is great for me too because I can sit and watch from inside where it is warm! Santa had me in mind too when purchasing this gift. It has been a little too cold to let Pierce swing but I am sure he is going to love it too.

I hope everyone had a great holiday season. I will try my best to keep you updated on Emerson's test results as soon as we know anything. The next few weeks are going to be a little bit hectic with Emerson's birthday and Heather's wedding. We are really excited to have some FUN distraction away from all the doctor visits and testing!