New Mommy Files: The Sleep Post

I may not be an expert at parenting.
Heck, I'm new at this.

But I would consider myself a sleep expert.

I have had sleep issues since I was a child.
And I have blogged about these sleep issues countless times.
Here, here and here, for example.

I can remember being in first grade.
Tossing and turning all night.
Trying different sleep positions.
Covering up any sliver of light peeking through with blankets.
Moving to the couch.

These problems only worsened as I got older.

I have read just about every article and book on sleep.
And I'm convinced these issues started as a baby.

My mom has always said that I refused to sleep as a baby.
And lucky for her, I was an all-the-time happy baby.
Even without much sleep.

However.
Just about every baby refuses to sleep at times.
They just need a little encouragement.
And I believe, like everything else, they need to be taught how to sleep.

So.
When I became pregnant, I knew right away what my number one priority would be:

Instilling healthy sleep habits.

I began talking to numerous mommy friends.
And pin-pointed those whom had babes who consistently slept through the night.
And I began to notice a recurring theme.
Over and over again.

The book, On Becoming Baby Wise by Gary Ezzo.
Moms swore by this book.

Of course I had to see what the big deal was.
So Gabe and I read this together when I was pregnant.
And my plan was to follow it religiously.

Then Lyla was born.

And reality slapped me in the face.
I realized that you can't just follow some book.

You can use it as a guide.
But not as the holy word.

Because all babies have very different needs.
And you have to relinquish all control with a newborn.
And learn to be flexible.

So.
After a few weeks of motherhood,
And after picking up another highly recommended read (Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby by Marc Weissbluth),
I made a plan.
I soaked in all the knowledge from my sleep books.
And combined it with with some good old fashioned mommy intuition (a.k.a. common sense).

After a somewhat torturous road, we finally reached what every parent desperately wants.
Sleeping through the night.
We're talking 12-13 hours every single night for over 3 months now.

There is no silver bullet.
And no plan is foolproof.
But here is a breakdown of how we successfully got where we are.

My Sleep Goals. Ultimately, what did we want?

Sleeping through the night. The holy grail of parenting. You hear this term over and over. And it means different things to different people. To me, it meant sleeping the entire night, without waking, from the moment we put baby down until wake up time in the morning. I didn't realize how badly I wanted needed this. Until I went back to work. Not only does mama need a good night's sleep, but baby needs it more. Sleeping through the night = The mecca of sleep.

An Independent Sleeper. I wanted a baby who wasn't dependent on anything to fall asleep. This meant I didn't want baby to have to rely on swinging, rocking, riding in a car, or nursing to fall asleep. Don't get me wrong. We did all of those things. Especially when Lyla was a newborn. And especially when she needed extra comforting when she had tummy flare-ups. But we made sure to switch it up. And we never relied on any one thing as a "sleep aid". We made sure to always try to put her down while sleepy, not asleep.

A Schedule. I am the epitome of a planner. I practically break out in hives when life deviates from "the plan". But, as mentioned earlier, a newborn turned this control freak's world upside down.
However, babies (and children, in general) thrive on and need routine. So, it was very important for us to try to incorporate something that at least resembled a schedule and routine.

Tricks of the Trade
I guess you could say that the following were the guidelines we lived by throughout the sleep training process. Things got really tough for awhile, but we stuck it out. The key was to NOT GIVE UP.

What We Learned from Becoming BabyWise by Gary Ezzo.
*I will say there is major controversy over the BabyWise method. Although we used it as a guide, it was by no means the end-all, be-all. Common sense trumps anything you read!

Feed/Wake/Sleep Pattern. This is the one thing we followed pretty religiously from the moment we brought baby girl home. Every time she woke up, it looked exactly the same: change diaper (to fully wake up), nurse, awake time, and then down to sleep again.
The idea here is to get into a routine early-on so baby can learn to know what to expect. *This is where the controversial part comes in.* This pattern encourages parent-directed feeding (as opposed to on-demand). This gets them in the habit of nursing for a full feeding, not just snacking throughout the day. Then they have a full belly after each feeding, which will make them less likely to wake because they're starvin marvin.
Now don't get me wrong. I fed on-demand at times. Especially when she was extra needy, or if I just thought she needed it (common sense alert). And we totally deviated from the routine at times. But the key was to always get back on track.

Crying It Out. Insert more controversy. To be honest, this is the one that I had (and still have) trouble with. Crying it out is not for the faint of heart. And, well, I guess my heart is faint.
This is the idea that once the baby begins to take in more with each feeding, they are able to sleep longer periods of time. And baby should sleep when mom or dad says it's time to sleep. In other words, let them cry it out if they can't fall asleep or if they wake early (be it from nighttime sleep or a nap). After doing this multiple times, baby is supposed to learn to self-sooth.
For me, I think the longest I ever let her cry was 15 minutes. And that was only after I nursed, changed, rocked, and knew she wasn't in pain of any kind. We would let her cry for 1 minute. Go in, pat her, give a kiss, and tell her we loved her. Then, 5 minutes. Then 10. Then 15. After 15 minutes, we would rock her. And she would fall asleep right away after that.
*Side note. Once we knew she was having tummy troubles, we stopped letting her cry it out.

Routine. At around 6 weeks old, I became a routine nazi. Specifically with bedtime and wake time. I put her in bed *around* the same time every night (which at the time was between 9 and 10) and woke her up every morning around 7. We still followed the feed/wake/sleep pattern, and we were on a three hour schedule by that point. She started sleeping a little bit longer once we established bed and morning time, but still only about 6 hours at a time. **See very end of this post for sample schedules**.

Put Baby Down When Sleepy, Not Asleep. This goes back to the whole not depending on a sleep aid thing. When we did soothe Lyla to go to sleep, whether it be by rocking or a swing, we tried to put her down when she was drowsy, not already sound asleep. According to both books, if you consistently pull out all your tricks to get a baby to sleep, and then put them down, they will eventually become dependent. Then, if they wake up in the night, it is much more difficult for them to fall back asleep on their own. So although we used all the comfort tricks (and still use rocking when she's sick or needs comfort), she's not dependent on those things.

What We Learned from Healthy Sleep Habits by Marc Weissbluth.
*The moment we started implementing the following is the exact moment Ly began sleeping through the night. She hasn't woken since.

Two Hour Window of Wakefulness. Wow. This changed our world. Dr. Weissbluth says that babies really should't be awake for longer than 2 hours at a time. Thus, the two-hour window of wakefulness. Anything beyond these two hours creates an overtired baby - one who is wired, overstimulated, and ultimately has trouble sleeping. Just like adults, when a baby is overtired, they can't fall and/or stay asleep. You ever notice when you are extra tired and you get a sudden burst of energy and can't fall asleep? Babes are the same way.
So. We started putting Ly down pretty much at the two hour mark. Even if she wasn't giving any tired signals. She fought it at first. And we had to do some crying it out. But after a couple of weeks, she was practically begging us for naps.

Early Bedtime. **If you don't read anything in this post, at least read this**. This is the theory that I battled with most.  I had multiple friends who kept telling me to just try it. But I kept refusing. I even stopped reading the book because I didn't want to admit it.
Healthy Sleep Habits encourages an early bedtime over everything else. We're talking 6:00-6:30 p.m. I know. It seemed like an oxymoron to me too. I thought that surely if I kept her up later, she would sleep later. Plus the thought of putting my babe to bed that early was unbearable. I already only had 2 hours with her in the evenings when I got home from work.
But I finally reached my wit's end. Ly was so close. Sleeping from 7:30 p.m. - 4:00 a.m. We just couldn't get over that hump. And I came to terms with the fact that her sleep needs come first.
So I tried it.
We started putting her down 20 minutes earlier at night. And then the next night, 20 minutes earlier than the night before. And so on.
Until we got to the point where bedtime routine started at 6:00 p.m., and she was sound asleep by 6:30 p.m.
After a few nights of resistance, she finally started sleeping through the night. We're talking, asleep by 6:30 p.m. and doesn't make one single peep until I go in and wake her at 6:30 a.m.

And we're going on over 3 months of this.

Bottom line. Sleep begets sleep. The more they sleep at night = equals the better naps they'll take = the more they sleep at night.

Most Important Things I Learned. 

Early bedtime. See above.

Don't rush in at first whimper. This one is super important. If they weren't fully awake before, they're fully awake the moment you barge in there. Much like adults, babies have various cycles of sleep. Sometimes they stir and make noise...even if they're not fully awake. If she ever does start to make noise, we do not go in her room (unless she's really crying hard). And she eventually just puts herself back to sleep.

Schedule. Now that Ly is 6 months old, we are on a pretty solid schedule. But again, this (somewhat) started from day one. She knows what to expect. We know what to expect. Everybody wins.

Accomplishments. 
*So what are the results of all this?

A Sleeping Baby. I mean, sure. Sometimes we get sad that we can't bring her out at 8:00 p.m. because girlfriend needs her sleep. But, the tradeoff of sleeping through the night completely trumps those sad feelings. She sleeps 12-13 hours every single night and takes 2 solid naps every day.

Back on Track. If we do get off schedule, or if we do have a bad night, it's so much easier to get back on track. And honestly, we had our first bad couple of nights for the first time in three months because Ly has been sick. But it only took 2 nights, and then she was back to sleeping through the night again.

Falls Asleep and Stays Asleep. As long as there is a bed, we can take Lyla anywhere, anytime. We take her to friends' all the time and put her to sleep. When it's time to go home, we put her in the carseat, get home, put her in her crib, and she sleeps until morning. And she's getting much better about napping if we're out and about!

Puts Herself to Sleep. She does not depend on anything but herself to fall asleep. Even if she wakes up early from a nap or in the middle of the night, she babbles for a bit and then puts herself back to sleep. Although I get a little teary about this at times (because sometimes I desperately want to rock her), she is our little independent sleeper. And that was a goal...remember?

Predictability. Everyone knows what to expect. Some would say that we aren't so flexible because we stay home during nap time or bed time, but it actually makes life easier. We know what and when to expect it!

Happy Baby. Lyla is happy. I mean, incredibly happy. Except when she's ready for a nap. Girlfriend let's you know it. She practically begs us to sleep when she needs it. And we give it to her. And then she wakes up happy again. And then mom and dad are happy. Win-Win.

The key is doing what works best for YOUR baby. What worked for us now may not work with another baby. But we have at least introduced healthy sleep habits. Which will hopefully carry over into toddlerhood  adulthood.

And believe me, I get a lot of ridicule for putting Lyla to bed so early and for being so protective of her sleep. And I do get sad when she can't stay up late to hang. But the tradeoff is so completely worth it. A happy, sleeping baby.
I'll take it.

**After submitting this post, I had multiple mamas e-mail me asking for examples of a daily schedule. I remember looking for the same thing when Ly was a newborn. So, I've included three example schedules that will hopefully help.

However, please remember (this note is also is to my future self when we have baby number 2), use any of this info with flexibility. I got to a point where I got obsessed with sticking to the schedule, and I do not recommend that. I began to relax a bit and realized Lyla would sleep through the night when she was ready (and with my commitment to encourage healthy sleep habits). I know that many die-hard BabyWise followers do strictly follow a three-hour schedule, and I did that for awhile. But, it just didn't work with Miss Beans all the time. I had to remind myself that she's a baby for Pete's sake. And honestly, there were times when I just felt like nursing on-demand was necessary, rather than sticking exactly to our schedule. (Sidenote: BabyWise does warn mamas to be aware of growth spurts, and how things go haywire and schedules get all-kinds-of chaotic during those times.)

I say all that to say, when I post these sample schedules, just remember,  mother instinct > guidelines in a book.

And just a few side notes. Sorry. I'm a talker.

*The first couple of weeks were spent getting to know our newborn. Although we had her sleeping in her crib the day we brought her home, we didn't follow any sort of schedule. I did however, stick to the routine of feed/wake/sleep. Every time she woke from a nap, I changed her diaper, nursed her, "played", and put her back down. And I nursed on demand at that point.

*I didn't really follow an exact schedule until about 6 weeks - this is when newborns begin to form sleep patterns on their own. Until 6 weeks, I really let her decide when she wanted to wake in the morning (and let's be honest, I was exhausted), and then our day followed a three hour schedule from there.

*When we started following a three hour schedule, there were times when Lyla refused to nap. So, I just reinforced "quiet time". This mean that even if she refused to sleep, it was still "nap time". And for awhile, I had her napping in the pack-n-play in the living room so she could be near me, or on the couch next to me, or in our bed. I wanted her to get used to napping anywhere.

Newborn Schedule (Before going back to work): 6 Weeks - 12 Weeks

7:00 a.m. - Wake, change diaper, nurse, awake time
8:30 - Nap
10:00 - Wake, change diaper, nurse, awake time
11:30 - Nap
1:00 - Wake, change diaper, nurse, awake time
2:30 - Nap
4:00 - Wake, change diaper, nurse, awake time
5:30 - Nap
7:00 - Wake, change diaper, nurse
7:30 - Play time - Found this to be the most important time to try to keep her awake. If we kept her awake, she could usually make it by only waking once (sometimes twice) to nurse in the middle of the night.
9:00 - Start bedtime routine: bath (every other night), lotion, massage, bedtime story, prayers
10:00 - Bedtime

Newborn Schedule (After going back to work): 13 Weeks - 4 1/2 months

6:30 a.m. - Wake up, change diaper/nurse.
7:00 a.m. - Put Lyla in bouncy seat while I pump with a hands-free nursing bra. (I found this pumping session was crucial as it helped keep up my milk supply).
7:30 - Sleep in carseat on the way to GiGi's and nap in carseat
9:30 - wake up/change diaper/bottle/play
11:00 - down for nap
12:30 - wakeup/change diaper/bottle/play
1:30 (ish) - down for nap
3:30 - wakeup/change diaper/bottle/play
4:30 - pick Ly up/nurse/head home
5:00 - short cat nap
5:30 - play
6:15 - start bedtime routine7:00-8:00 ish - Bedtime

After a few weeks of being back at work, Lyla was sleeping (almost) through the night. She was waking at 4:00 a.m.  But I was desperate for that extra hour and a half of sleep...as was she. So, I referred back to my Healthy Sleep Habits book and talked to several mom friends. 

In my "research", I found that it is actually better to put baby down earlier rather than let them catnap at night (which Ly usually had a short cat nap every night around 5:00 because she couldn't stay awake until bedtime). And that's when I started putting her to bed earlier. Then, voila! She started sleeping through the night. Every.single.night.

Also, she was taking in more during her feedings and able to stay awake longer to play. So a four hour schedule just naturally evolved.

Big Girl Schedule (4 1/2 months - now) *In terms of naps, sometimes she gets a really good morning nap and a not-so-good afternoon nap or vice versa. So, this is just an example or pie-in-the-sky schedule. However, we are usually right on the money with wake-for-the-day time and bedtime. I let her sort of control that at this point. Some nights, she goes down at 6:00, while some nights it's 6:45.  

6:30 a.m. - Wake up, change diaper/nurse

8:30-9:00 ish - Nap

11:00 - Wake/bottle/play

1:00 - Nap

3:00 - Wake/bottle/play

4:30 - Nurse

5:30 - Start bedtime routine

6:00 - Nurse

6:30 - Bedtime

Then my personal schedule kicks in.

6:45 - Dinner for mom and dad

7:30 - Lesson plan and get some work done

9:00 - Hang with Gabe, blog, read...the possibilities are endless

9:30 - Mama's bedtime

Week 20: Back to the Grind

Week 20: 12/30/12 - 01/05/13

Mama headed back to work after an incredible 2 weeks off.

Of course I am sick *again* only four days into the semester.
Being a teacher is either going to give me an immune system of steel or kill me.

Week 20 brought some fun new things.

A new squeal, for example.
This new squeal is 8 kinds of octaves too high. Girlfriend is going to be a soprano. (The singer, not the mobster).

And you like to bite.
Everything in sight.
Sometimes you even do a sneak attack and grab my fingers for a little snack.

And you do this adorable thing where I get really close to your face so I can hear and mimic your cute little breaths, and then you just erupt into laughter.

Then the other day, I came home from work. I was greeted by your dad *because he's back on a normal-human-being schedule*, and I quickly scanned the room to find you. I spotted this teeny little body sitting, being engulfed by our living room chair. You must have heard me come in because you completely turned your body, made eye contact with me, and gave the biggest smile I've ever seen. Over and over again.
Talk about melting mama's heart.

Oh. And we've gotten some good use out of the new toys and outfits that Santa brought you.

You've gotten to model some handmade things, and you even sported your new snowsuit.

But you are especially obsessed with your new ball. This little gem was an after-Christmas-sale special at Target for $4.00.

Entertainment for hours.

But your most favorite of all? That silly little thumb of yours.

I mean seriously.

So.cute.

And can we just stop and talk a second about your sleep habits? 

I can't even believe it. 

Your sleep habits definitely deserve a solo post all to themselves. 

But girl, you sleep so well.

Like.a.champ.

As of the last month and a half, you have consistently slept 12 hours at night and 13 hours on the weekends. 

And you usually take two 2-hour naps during the day. 

Holy.guacamole.

We've come so far. 

And though I get sad sometimes that you party-poop out at 6:30 at night...every night...it's quite the even trade-off for a good night's sleep. Consistently. 

Thank you, Chunkin.

Gonna soak it up while it lasts.

Now, although we've had some *fun* this week, we've also been dealing with your "reflux". Which we've come to find out isn't reflux at all. But something that is causing you extreme pain and making you quite miserable. We are currently in the process of an every-day-for-two-weeks treatment by a chiropractor. 

Praying this works. 

A much more detailed post is soon to come.

Hopefully with a happy ending. 

Four Months

Four Months Old

12/19/12

13.6 lbs. and 25 inches long

I'm going to make these monthly posts a bit more detailed as my weekly posts have gotten a bit more...un-detailed.
*That's what happens when mommies go back to work.*

But this month has been my most favorite yet.
It is absolutely amazing how much you've changed.
You are seriously your own little person now.
With a *big* personality.
And an even *bigger* smile.

You're our sweet Baby Ly.
Lyla Beans.
Miss Beans.
Beans.
Little Miss.
Chunkin.
Chunks.
Puddin' Pop.

You've reached so many milestones this month.

Social Skills. I don't know whether you smile or talk more. You are such a happy baby, and it makes my heart burst. You are no longer just making coos, but you've added all kinds of silly noises to your repertoire. Grunts. Squeals. Oohs. Aahhs. And when we talk to you, you talk back. We have the most wonderful little conversations. It's so cute to see you studying our mouths when we talk. You're a little sponge learning the basics of language. Amazing.

Core Strength. This is where you have made the most strides. You are no longer the scrawny little bean who needed support at all times. In fact, if your little legs could hold all your chunkin-ness, you'd get right up and sprint all over the house. You kick your legs all day long, and you use your entire body to scan the room when someone is holding you.

You sat in your Bumbo for the first time this month and love it. And you get downright giddy in your "Happy Seat" at Gi-Gis. This is one of those little exersaucer things where you can push down on your legs and play with all kinds of toys. When we put you on your tummy, you support yourself on your arms - no problem. However, you seem to have forgotten how to roll over. You went from rolling over all the time at two months old...to never. I think you forgot how. **Update on this. Your doctor told us you are probably having troubles being on your tummy/rolling because of your reflux...which is a whole other story in itself. Reflux.is.awful.

Motor Skills. You love to reach out and bat, swipe, and grab things. You really like things that are the perfect size to put in your mouth. It always startles me when you grab my hand and start gnawing on it. You don't seem to like any kind of cloth material in your mouth - you make this hideous grimace face. It's hilarious. And you LOVE playing on your activity mat. You reach out and grab the little animals with one hand, and just study them for hours.

Sleep. Yep. I'm counting this as a milestone. This was the month you started (and stopped) sleeping through the night. You started off making it all the way from 7:30 p.m. to about 4-5:00 a.m. This lasted for a couple of weeks. Then one night, you finally just slept until I woke you at 6:30 a.m. I couldn't believe it. You slept through the night for an entire week.
Then I got sick. And my anti-biotics messed you all up. And you were back to spotty sleeping. And waking throughout the night. However. We started putting you down earlier (about 6:30 p.m.), and you've been sleeping through the night again. We're going on two weeks sleeping 12 hours everynight. Woo-hoo!! *Fingers Crossed*...

You are not a fan of:

Reflux. You've been doing so well the past 2 months. In fact, I thought you had outgrown it. I even tried to wean you off your medicine. Terrible idea. It has been bad this last week. So heartbreaking.
The car seat. You just hate being confined. I think you may be a control freak like mom...
Being woken up. This whole sleeping-through-the-night-business has you loving sleep. To the point where you really, really do not enjoy being woken up. At least from your naps. *You do love being woken up in the mornings. You are ALL giggles and smiles first thing in the morning*
Missing out on fun. You want to socialize and be where all the fun is at all times. You get so upset when we stop playing.

Your Loves:

Your thumb. This is currently your biggest love of all. You've got that thing in your mouth all the time. I have to admit, it's pretty darn cute.
Getting clothes on. Not sure when this happened exactly. But you think getting your clothes on is absolutely the most hilarious thing ever. Seriously. You crack up.
Being tickled. You really love your tummy and feet being tickled. You light up and burst out in giggles.
Being sung to. Your current favorite is Jingle Bells. You.are.obsessed. You also like the ABC's and Jesus Loves Me.
Crinkle Bug and Teething Rings. The Crinkle Bug is a little toy that hangs from your carseat. You grab it, crinkle it, and start chewing on it. You think it's the most interesting thing you've ever laid your mouth on. You also love your little teething rings. Or anything that you can put in your mouth...
Bumbo/Happy Seat/Activity Mat. You just like to sit up. And play. Period.
Airplane. The moment Daddy makes you fly as an airplane, you are just giddy. Adorable.

Amazing month. Best age yet. Can't wait to see how you continue to grow.

Love you, Sweet Beans.

Week 17: Going Solo

Week 17: 12/09/12 - 12/15/12

Oh my goodness, have I gained a ton of respect for single moms out there. 

I can't imagine. 

I was solo for the week.

Gabe was out of town for work.

Boy.oh.boy. What a week.

I was sick.

Lyla stopped sleeping. 

I got an average of 3-4 hours of sleep every night. 

I had three early morning meetings before school.

And the daily tasks continued to pile.

Thank the good Lord for my amazing Mother-in-Law. 

Couldn't have done it without her. 

She came and got Lyla every morning and even did some laundry for me.

She's a saint.

But things sure are easier when Gabe is here. 

Like the night Lyla woke up from a dead sleep. 

Screaming. 

Hadn't heard those lungs in weeks. 

She had peed all over herself.

And she was freezing.

What a fiasco getting her changed in the middle of the night.

She was not happy. 

Neither was I. 

But those little things don't seem so stressful when Gabe is here. 

But by Wednesday, we had our little routine down.

I was feeling better.

And she started sleeping through the night again.

She just had to get my anti-biotics out of her little system. 

In fact, we're on night number 4 of sleeping through the night again.

Hallelujah. 

It's amazing how different I feel when I get a good night's sleep. 

And now Daddy is back.

So life is good again. 

He's a big ol' sweetheart.

I think I hear him packing my lunch now...

Week 16: Not-So-Sweet

Week 16: 12/02/12 - 12/08/12

Oh Miss Beans.

I'm sorry 16 weeks was not-so-sweet.

Last week was physically one of the toughest weeks I've had in a long, long time.

I got sick for a second time in 3 weeks.
*Joys of being a teacher.*
But this time, things were bad.
I had an upper respiratory infection, a sinus infection, and bronchitis.

And I have absolutely no days to take off work.
You know, because I used them all to give birth and hang out with you. :)
Oh. And after sleeping through the night for the first time for an entire week straight,
you decided to wake multiple times a night the moment I got sick.

Figures.

I was working. Pumping. Nursing. Waking up all hours of the night.
All while trying to fight some nasty infections.

I seriously felt like I wouldn't survive.

Luckily, I was able to take one and a half sick days (holy moly was my salary deducted). So I got lots of extra cuddles.

And also luckily, you slept until 5 am one day. This allowed me to get a *teensy* bit of sleep.

*You know you're a mom when you do cartwheels of joy over the fact that you get to "sleep in" until 5:00 a.m. Sheesh. *

But I learned two very important things:

1). I will continue to pray every.single.day. you find a man just like your dad to marry someday. Seriously, Chunk. He's amazing. I couldn't have gotten through last week without him.

He cooked. Cleaned. Took care of you. Played with you. Washed bottles. Did Laundry. Ran errands. Stuffed diapers. Packed my lunch. Picked up my medicine.
I must say, he made one cute stay-at-home dad.

2). When dad gets sick, the world pretty much stops. When mom gets sick, life gets busier than ever.

(Seriously. Gabe caught what I had a few weeks ago, and he was so miserable in bed one day that he just looked up at me and said, "I can't believe you have to keep going when you feel like this.") And it made me think. Yep. Life doesn't stop when moms get sick. In fact, I felt like I had more meetings, planning, and work to do than ever before.
Not to mention, a baby still has to eat. Therefore, mommy is not able to rest like before.

But I got better. Finally.
And I have to say, having you to make me feel better makes sick days a whole lot better.

Week 15: Oh What Fun

Week 15: 11/25/12 - 12/1/12

Oh, Lyla Beans.
Who knew you could be so much fun?

Seriously.
You're like a little person.

Grabbing things.
Laughing at our jokes.
Squealing with delight.
Concentrating on your work. (Which currently involves holding and studying a dangling elephant).
Watching every move we make.
Making carpet snowangels every time you get excited.
Thumping your legs so hard, we feel you might break one.

You even started hanging in your Bumbo this week.
Which you love.
Because you feel like such an adult.

Oh. And you started balding this week.
You've got a giant circular line of no hair from where you rub your head.
Don't worry.
Mommy is practically balding too.
My "thick" pregnancy hair was fun while it lasted.
*Sigh*.

And can we talk about sleep?

I was all excited to discuss how you finally started sleeping through the night.
You were (key word: were) sleeping from 7:30 at night until I had to go in and wake you at 6:30.
For an entire week.
Words cannot describe what a happy mama I was.
I actually felt rested.
(My boobs, however, had a different opinion on your sleeping through the night.)

Then, Mom and Dad realized we needed a night out, and you decided to wake up a few times at night. Now, you're back to waking at 4:30 a.m. for a quick feed and back down until 6:30. It doesn't help that this week, Mom is sick. Very sick. But we'll focus on the positives for now.

We're having so much fun with you. And it makes my heart happy because you're so bubbly for that hour and a half we have together at home in the evenings.
You better believe I savor every last second.

And guess what?
Dad starts working a *somewhat* normal schedule in January.
We're going to have evenings and weekends together.
We just love our family time.
And it's not family time without dad.

Love you, Chunkity-Chunk.

P.S. You love your hands more than anything in the whole-wide world.