Day two and three of being TV free.

I have to say, I might actually end up liking this whole no TV thing.  Rowan is still handling it very well, which is awesome.  He's playing with his toys more, looking at his books, and just using his imagination more in general.  It's definitely not hard to notice when he's bored though!  I am realizing just how much our TV took away from time to connect as a family.  Sad to say, but man, when there's a TV it's just so easy to get lazy in general.  It's easy to let it babysit your kid.  While I never liked for him to watch a ton of TV, when you're in the moment it's hard to switch it off.  It's so easy to rationalize with, "Well, he's entertained and not bugging me so I can get stuff done."  And I honestly didn't think we watched that much TV to begin with, well, Jon and I didn't, but Rowan loved it.  I am certainly noticing the changes without it, and we're only on day two!  Jon was off Friday so we all went to Sawyer's 2 month well visit.  He's doing awesome.  He's in the high 60's for height and weight, and high 70's for head size.  We talked to his doctor about our troubles getting him to sleep at night, often resorting to car rides around 11pm.  After hearing from the doc that it was OK to begin letting him cry it out for 15 minutes intervals before going in to soothe him with our voice, and letting that continue for 1 hour before picking him up before starting the cycle over, we were totally game to give it a shot.  Cause while Sawyer is a good baby in general, his overall sleep cycle stinks, and that's where things get hairy and frustrating with him.  I am so looking forward to getting him into a routine, and the extra sleep at night will be great too!  After the doctor's office we had lunch at McD's.  Let me rephrase.  Jon and I had lunch, while Rowan played.  I love that Rowan enjoys playing with kids even if he doesn't know them.  We were able to get him to leave without much a fight by telling him we were going to grandma's house.  Course he didn't realize grandma wasn't going to be there, but he still had fun while we visited with Aunt Megan.  Both boys fell asleep on the way home, and here's one of the great things about having no TV.  The second we got home and got Rowan inside he wasn't asking to watch a show.  He actually laid on the couch a rested for a bit longer.  We all had a chance to read and just relax.  No blaring TV in the background, just the four of us upstairs gathered together on one big bed, reading, playing, and creating memories.  Once Sawyer was fed, we put the boys into strollers and walked to Target for a few dinner groceries.  When we got home Jon continued playing with the boys, bathing Sawyer and getting him ready for his new 7pm bedtime, while I got dinner ready.  7pm was suggested by the doctor, so we're going to give it a go, although I think we need to push it up a bit.  Sawyer cried off and on until midnight, at which time I caved and fed him again.  It had been four hours since he'd eaten last and I went in to hold him and he was rooting like crazy.  He fell asleep right after, and slept pretty soundly until 9:30 am with only one other feeding in between.  Ideally he should be going 10 hours (at night) without a feeding.  So if we put him down at 7pm I shouldn't feed him until 5am.  Needless to say, we're all adjusting to changes right now as we establish new routines as a family.

Today Jon watched conference in the basement, I tried to catch what I could, and surprisingly when Rowan saw that we still had a TV and that it worked he didn't bug us too much about watching a show.  Sawyer slept a lot throughout the morning.  Gee, could that be because he cried for four hours straight the night before?  Rowan was getting restless, so as soon as the morning session was over we loaded up and hit the road.  We took the boys for a walk in the hollow.  Such a nice fall day for a walk.  Rowan had fun throwing rocks in the water.  Sawyer did what he does best when he's in his carseat and slept the entire time.  When it neared two we headed back for lunch and more conference.  Before the Priesthood session started we ran to the grocery store.  Jon is going to do the HCG diet, and needed to load up on his allowed foods.  As soon as we got home Jon changed quickly to make what was left of the Priesthood session.  I got both boys fed and dinner started.  Sawyer was down by 7:30 and Rowan by 8:30.  Rowan actually went to sleep, Sawyer cried for three hours before finally falling asleep after one last feeding before I make him hold out for ten hours.  Jon and I were able to watch some TV shows via the computer while simultaneously eating dinner and playing a game of Skip-bo.  The house is finally quiet, and we're each enjoying some individual down time before bed.   

  I couldn't help but feel like we'd made the right choice as I listened to Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk this morning.  We can still make plenty more changes as a family and as individuals, but I feel like taking away the TV is a step in the right direction for us, and I am already seeing the good things that are coming from that decision.