Rocky Mountain Health Plan managed to screw us again

We got notification from them in the mail yesterday that they weren't going to cover Gage's well child check up even though he did have their coverage at the time. I guess since they credited back his totally exorbitant premium they figured they wouldn't cover one little, under $200 charge.

I can tell you this much - I would've probably taken my telling everyone I know in Colorado to avoid RMHP like the plague down a notch if they'd covered his well-child check. But now, I loathe them even more. They're everything bad about the insurance industry. All I wanted was TWO months of coverage for my healthy child for a reasonable premium. Not a ridiculous premium that was never disclosed before they took it straight out of our bank account.

So I'll say it again. If you're in the market for health insurance in CO, run, don't walk, away from Rocky Mountain Health Plan. They will lure you with the promise of low rates then raise them as soon as you've signed up for coverage. They're a slimy, predatory company. Stay away!

Sleep training... night whatever this is

Well, tonight and last night are pretty much just like every other night has been... no new developments, no further progress. And we're getting really discouraged.

It doesn't help that I'm having some hormonal issues that may or may not be related to my IUD and I'm exhausted all the time, feel crazy emotional, and nauseas more often than not. Ugh. Just a discouraging couple of nights filled with stressful moments.

Fortunately, my clogged milk duct seems to have worked itself out with the homeopathic methods, hot and cold compresses, etc. So that's something to be thankful for. If you have any insights into sleep training, I would be happy to consider them.  We're just feeling like no improvements are going on at all and we're wondering when if ever we're going to see progress.

Sleep Training, Night 5... Great success!

So if I do say so myself, I'm feeling pretty proud of the way tonight's sleep training went. Now don't get me wrong, the truth is in the amount of time the little fella stays asleep - but the putting to bed part was remarkably better than it has been in the past two nights.

We went through our bedtime routine (which, in case you're curious, consists of putting on clean diaper/pajamas, brushing teeth, reading some stories, then rocking and nursing in the dark) but tonight, Gage was really drowsy during and after reading books. I decided to try doing lights out, and then just rocking him to sleep. I'm at the point where I believe he's about ready to wean, so I'm not too concerned about any time he doesn't nurse. He gets nutrients from the foods he eats each day; he eats a variety of solids and tries new things virtually every day. He is a great water drinker. We need to bump up his milk intake, but as of now he doesn't much like milk, and since he's still a strong breast feeder, I'm not yet terribly concerned. So, back to the matter at hand, his sleep training.

He got cuddled into my arms about 9:00, after reading stories, saying goodnight to his daddy, and turning off the light. It was much later than we usually like to start his bedtime routine, but today was Brian's late day at work, meaning by the time we ate dinner and whatnot it was already about 8:30. After only about 10 minutes of rocking, Gage nodded off to sleep, and I started my internal 20 minute countdown to trying to put him down.

As a side note (or two)... the reason for the 20 minute wait to put him down is sleep cycling. After 20 minutes, he will have passed through the first sleep cycle to the second, deeper sleep cycle. It is much easier to get him to stay asleep through the transition if he is in this deeper, second part of the sleep cycle. I know that putting him to sleep and then putting him down is not optimal, rather, the goal is for him to be able to put himself to sleep. We're not at that point yet. Right now, we are much more concerned with getting to sleep in his crib than getting him to GO to sleep in his crib. We are also more concerned with getting him to be able to soothe himself back to sleep. Second side note, tonight I was trying a variation on the last two nights. See, the first two nights we started sleep training, I would just sit quietly for the twenty minutes, then put him down. The last two nights, I played with my phone catching up on blogs, surfing the web, etc. Now, if you're familiar with Droids in the dark, you know they emit a pretty powerful light... so I wondered if maybe the presence of a bright light close to his face was causing trouble with him entering the second sleep cycle.

So tonight, I took my iPod in instead of my phone. I put on a sermon from Sagebrush Community Church in Albuquerque (really liked Sagebrush teachings when we lived in Albq) and listened to that for the twenty minutes instead of playing with my phone. The time flew, I enjoyed the first part of a really great teaching, and there was no light, as my iPod screen was turned off.

At the end of the first twenty minutes, I was able to turn off my iPod, take off my headphones, and move Gage carefully from my lap to his crib. He woke up just a little bit as I lay him down, and I patted his tummy to relax him back down. He closed his eyes and went back to sleep. Then I moved my arm out from under him, and he woke up a bit more. I patted his tummy for a little while longer, and he relaxed back to sleep. I was able to turn on his monitor and get out of his room without any stirring.

He has now been down since 9:30. It's 9:53. 30 minutes is the true test to a somewhat lengthy sleep, and if you've been paying attention, you know two hours is OUR true test. We'll see how the remainder of the night goes... I hope it goes well! Sure would love to have a good night's sleep for us all! We're all beat.

On a totally seperate note, I had phone drama today. If you know me, you know that I loooove my Motorola Droid 2. It is absolutely awesome as it does just about everything. Incidently, the fact that it does everything is also an issue in that it makes the phone all kinds of glitchy. If you're familiar with smart phones, you know they all have weird little things that they do that isn't quite what you'd like. Today my phone started locking up like crazy and I had to do a master reset. I ended up with a Droid 2 after I bricked my Droid 1... by doing a master reset. It took me a little while to get my phone back under control, so there was a little bit of nervousness. It all worked out though, and I got the perfect opportunity to do a little home screen redesigning. Ah, Droids. I sure do love them. So exciting, my life. Just how I like it!

I baked bread last night, delicious Amish white/wheat bread. It didn't rise quite right, but it sure is tasty. Baking at high altitude is a bit tricky, and back when I baked four loaves a week in Albuquerque, I had the yeast quantities down to a science. Now... I'm quite rusty. I can't seem to quite get the yeast quantities just right, even for a single batch. Tonight I made some delicious spaghetti for dinner, and some garlic bread with my homemade bread. It was a very tasty dinner!

Sleep training, night 4

Last night was pretty much a bust, due to my milk duct and need for sleep. It was a pretty crappy night of sleep all around anyway, but at least we'd all go back to sleep when we awoke.

Tonight, starting at 7:10, I rocked and held Gage and watched his eyes get drowsier and drowsier. I thought we'd have a victory of his falling asleep without breastfeeding... it didn't happen. I tried BFing him for another 15 minutes to no avail. So at 7:50, I lay him down to much crying and sobbing as soon as we got close to his crib.

I laid him down and tried rubbing his back, also to no avail. He would jump right up, clutch the sides of his crib, and fuss. So now, it is 8:22 and he is just quietly fussing from time to time. I'm hoping that what that means is that he is laying quietly and falling asleep. He is being very quiet now, haven't heard him for a few minutes. Here's hoping tonight will be the magical night that he stays asleep on his own. Just heard a little fuss from in there, but no more angry crying. Praying for resolution for our little guy. He needs the quality sleep that comes from sleeping by himself. The cosleeping has worked for so long but it needs to come to an end, especially for Gage's sake!

Pray for Gage to learn how to sleep on his own quickly, and pray for us to have the wisdom to help him through this tough time and do right by him!

Oh how I love my life

Despite the sleeplessness, despite the struggles, despite it all... I love this life that I've been given. I love this path I've been placed upon. I love being Brian's wife, I love being Gage's mother, and I even love our little tiny apartment! It's just so nice to finally start our life in Colorado. It seems like a brand new beginning.

I don't have any other news of import, just feeling grateful for this life I've been given.

I'm finally adjusting to Gage's new haircut though, so that's nice. I have thought it was cute since Sunday, when it got cut, but I've been having trouble bidding goodbye to his adorable crazy baby hair. I'm finally at that point where I think I can be happy about how good his hair looks without mourning the baby hair look.

Sleep training... night 3

And it's pretty much just like last night. We got about 2 hours last night before he cried and we took him back to bed with us. I have a clogged milk duct, so one very sore right breast. I needed a little rest! He had a VERY poor night of sleep last night and therefore, I did too. So when he woke up at 7 this morning, it felt pretty darn early. We were both exhausted, him so much he didn't want to take his morning nap.

He fought it for an hour and a half which killed me because I really wanted to nap, too, as well as alternate the cold and warm compresses on my boob. When he finally fell asleep, I thought it would be best for both of us. We had a nap, and awoke feeling much better.

Then... he refused afternoon nap. He wouldn't stay asleep when I tried to put him to bed tonight. He'd fall asleep, but as soon as I'd move him, he'd pop up, wide awake. So now, we're back to him crying in his room. So awful! Wonder how things will go for the rest of the night? I'm sooooo tired and I know Gage is too. A good night's sleep for all of us sure would be nice!

Sleep training... night 2

Well, last night was both encouraging and a total failure. After his 25 minutes of crying, Gage fell asleep. I went to check on him, and accidentally woke him back up. I picked him up and cuddled him, and he went right back to sleep. I held him and rocked him for 20 minutes, and then laid him down. He awoke briefly, and then fell back asleep - a good sign! He slept from 8:10 to 10:10, when he awoke crying. I cuddled, rocked, and breastfed him off and on for another two hours, but I couldn't get him to stay asleep. At that point, it was after midnight, we all needed solid sleep, so I took him into bed with us. He slept until 7:30 this morning.

I'm not starting naps alone until next week; I feel it's vitally important that he has quality of naps this week to avoid overtiring. So tonight, after we went to free pancake night at IHOP (please don't let your jealousy of my exciting life get to you) we came home and started bedtime a little later than I'd hoped for. It is now 8:49, and after 20 minutes of rocking, breastfeeding, and cuddling, he was still refusing sleep. So I told him it was time for bed, and lay him down.

In 13 minutes, he stopped crying. I am not going to go check on him tonight, because I don't want to risk awakening him again. He's been quiet approximately 10 minutes. He does wake up and fuss a bit, but I am hoping that he'll go back to sleep and stay asleep in a comfortable position. We shall see what the remainder of this night holds for him and his sleep training. I so badly want him to learn to sleep all on his own. I wish we'd have done this when he was an infant.

Update: he would not calm down and go back to sleep. So I'm trying to cuddle/rock him back to sleep then I'll lay him down. It is 9:34 right now so we'll see!