It's always darkest...AKA Day 3

I'll just cut to the chase, this is miserable.  Miserable like you're running over hot coals with your shoes off.

 Last night Lucy cried from 6:45 until 11:00.  She took a 10 minute break every 45 minutes.  The really awesome part was the older girls couldn't sleep with all that screaming.  Fun times.

The rest of the night was pretty good with her only getting up twice to nurse between 11 and 7.

Today-
Nap 1- laid down at 9:20, slept until 9:40, cried until 10:40
Nap 2- laid down at 1:10 cried until 2:07
Thank God we had 6 grandparents here all afternoon.  It was a lifesaver, we are so lucky!

She went to bed at 5:30 she was so incredibly tired that she feel asleep after nursing for 3 minutes, she would not wake up, so I laid her down.   She woke up at 6:15, had to be hungry, so I  nursed her and put her back down at 6:30 she cried until 7:05....she is still asleep at 8:20.

35 and Day 2

35?!  A great day was had ringing in the first day of Kevin's new year.  Even after 15 years of birthdays together I still think he's tops.   Happy Birthday to my thoughtful, handsome, generous, super smart husband.  I love you!

Day 2 of the Weissbluth plan

Good news for last night.  We put Lucy down at 7, she cried until 7:05.  Babysitter came.  We told her to let Lu cry for a few more minutes then to go and pick her up.  Texted sitter at 7:45, baby was still asleep!! Got home at 9:45, baby was still asleep!!  Lucy slept until 1:30!  Fed her then she slept until 5:30!  Fed her, then she slept until 8!

Today-
Nap 1- 9:45, cried for 3 minutes, slept until 11:37

Nap 2- 2:15, cried 5 minutes, slept until 4:15

Bed- Down at 6:45, screaming like a banshee as I write this at 7:05.  Oh boy.

Day 1 of the Weissbluth Plan

We've resorted to a sleep plan, a plan other than our own failing one.  It's Dr. Weissbluth's, his book was recommended to us.  The multiple copies at the library are currently checked out (looks like there are a few other parents in St. Louis hoping for sleep) so we bought a Kindle copy for my phone.   We've agreed to try it for the next week.

Here is what we have to do:

- put Lucy down for 2 naps a day, work on putting her down at about the same time

-let her cry when we put down for her naps, up to 1 hour, without going in to check on her :(

-follow night time routine, put her down, let her cry...for as long as it takes


Day 1-
Nap 1-  Laid her down at 9:48, got her up at 10:58 after an hour of crying

Nap 2- Laid her down at 1:45, cried until 1:52, slept until 4:20 :)

We have a babysitter coming tonight so we're not going to let her cry...way to follow our plan!

We'll resume the plan tomorrow morning.

 I know, I know, exciting stuff!


                     In other news we visited the library today.  As you can see, everyone was delighted.

Confessions of a sleep deprived mother

When Emma was in preschool I knew a sweet mom of 4 who was early to pick up every day and napped in her van right outside of the school.  2 of the 4 kids snoozing right along with her.  She said between dropping off and picking up kids it was just easier that way.  Fast forward two years...I'm so incredibly sleep deprived that this way of thinking makes complete sense.
Sleeping in small blocks of time for more than a few days makes the brain a little fuzzy.  Sleeping this way for months makes you feel like you can't quite comprehend the world around you.  I've fully entered into the latter.   Take for instance the day we were out of coffee.  I stopped at Starbucks.  I ordered a latte as well as a pound to take home.  The barista asked me if I wanted the coffee whole bean or ground.  Totally perplexed I said "I didn't think you could make it unless you ground the beans" thinking he was asking me if he should grind the beans before making my latte.  There was the day I forgot to open the van door for Ellie and then drove off (ok, just to the edge of the driveway) without her.  I've developed a terrible habit of wearing two pairs of sunglasses, one on my face, one on top of my head.  All of this I blame on my extreme sleep deprivation.  Today though, today, takes the cake.  Clayton Schools have a once a month late start day, a day where schools start an hour late in order for teachers to participate in staff development.  I write these dates on the calendar, just like every other parent, lest I ever forget.  Well, guess what?  I forgot that today was a late start day and I brought Emma to school at 8:30, not 9:30.  We said our good byes and I pulled away.   I got about 3 minutes down the road and it hit me...I just dropped my little girl off an hour early at school.  OH MY GOSH I'M THAT PARENT, that nutty parent that can't even keep her calendar straight!  So, if you see me sleeping outside of school in my van, let me be, it just might be easier that way.

         She's cute when she sleeps, isn't she?  Too bad she can't log a few more hours every night!

5 months

Hold the phone.....Lulu is 5 months today! 

                  
                                                                      5 month stats

Weight- 15 lbs. 11 ozs

Length- Not sure

Eyes- Blue/hazel?  Our only light eyed girl

Hair- Red

Dimples- 1

Tricks- She's discovered her feet so you might as well just forget about putting socks on her, they're going to come off! 

Boo Hiss News- Both ears are still infected.  That's right, over a month.  She's on her third antibiotic.  Look at that girl though, you'd never know it (other than the slightly sleepless nights, baby with ear infections= baby that needs extra nighttime cuddles).

  My girls. My heart.  My soul.  Oh my.

Simple and Sweet

I go to the bank once, maybe twice a month--and by bank I mean the ATM.  This morning we stopped at the ATM---ugh, it was out of service.   I had to use the dinosaur drive-up teller.  Who the heck uses that thing?   Ellie was curious about what in the world we were doing.  I explained step by step, she was  mesmerized as she watched me open up the plastic capsule, place my deposit inside and send it away.  We both watched as the plastic tube swallowed up our capsule and delivered it to the lady behind the window.  As I watched, I remembered with fondness the Saturday morning ritual of going to the bank as a kid...and the lollipop..the best part.  And just like that, our friendly bank teller asked "how many lollipops do we need " I turned around in time to catch the most fabulously huge smile on Ellie's face.  After a lovely red lollipop was delivered in our tube and we drove away,  Ellie and I decided the ATM is totally old news, we're drive up window girls.

We always have the best New Year's Eve plans!