uneventful week

So ... not much is going on this week. Dan is out of town again on his last work training trip, so Olivia and I have been trying to entertain ourselves. My mom came over and helped me clean the house in preparation for a visit from the in-laws tomorrow, which was a huge help. We had some insulation blown into our attic today as well, in the hope that it'll keep the upstairs part of our house from reaching the 90s on warm days. I'm crossing my fingers it works, because the guest bed on the main level is really uncomfortable (though sleeping in a 90-degree room is even more unpleasant).

O is currently asleep in the pack n' play upstairs. This does not happen often, as you may know. Lately she's been even harder than normal to settle down for naps: needs lots of rocking/bouncing/shushing/walking; shoots awake at the slightest noise; wakes up screaming if you try to put her down anywhere, including the swing. She seemed pretty sound asleep after I'd held her for a while, so I figured I'd give it a try. So far, so good. Fourteen minutes sleeping solo! I have to admit that my heart is racing a bit because I know she'll wake up wailing at any moment.

I read in the 90-Minute Baby Sleep Program that most babies' sleeping habits improve between four and six months of age. It even goes so far as to say that naps lengthen and bedtimes get earlier -- as in between 6-8 p.m. Two hour naps? A few hours of time to hang out with my husband in the evening? That would be an absolute dream! Somehow, I don't think I can get my hopes up. I was googling "baby sleep issues" yesterday as she took a three-hour nap (in my arms) and came across an article on the Dr. Sears website about high-needs babies. That article said that babies like that can have sleep issues for quite some time. I hate to call her high-needs, because in all other ways she's an absolute joy -- quick to smile, so alert and observant, loves people, only cries when she's hungry or tired. They also use terms like "spirited" ... maybe I'll just keep reminding myself that she's extraordinarily intelligent and that's why she's not interested in sleeping. ;)

update: she woke up at 9:45. Not too shabby.

desperately seeking sleep

Last night we went for a walk on the Monon Trail, which was fun. Olivia looked around the whole time and cracked up when we imitated the techno music of some teenager driving by. Because we'd gotten a little exercise, we decided to grab Taco Bell for dinner. What a disappointing 14-point dinner! I should have known better. To think of the many things I could have eaten for that many points ... sigh.

The night shift was not fun. After rocking, swinging, shushing, bouncing, feeding and everything else I could think of from 10 p.m. (when Olivia started rubbing her eyes and acting tired) until midnight, she slept in her bassinet until 12:30 a.m. A whole 30 minutes. I gave her another bottle and then she fell asleep again until 1-a.m.-something. From then on, I saw every.single.hour on the clock. I didn't even bother with trying to put her in the pack n' play to sleep -- it seems to instantly wake her up -- so the sleep I did get was pretty fitful with her in my arms. I got to "sleep in" until 9:45, but that's a joke, because I was up pretty much every hour all night/all morning.

I don't know if it's the fabled 4-month wakefulness period, I'm doing something terribly wrong, or I'm being punished for doing something dreadful in a past life, but I hope she starts sleeping better soon. I can't imagine having to go to work and be productive while this exhausted. My eyes are all scratchy and my brain hurts.

poker night was a bust

It was fun getting out and seeing people last night, but I wasn't able to play poker at all. Miss Olivia decided to be shy and pull out her new pouty-lip-tragic-face when I tried to hand her off to anyone else, so I spent most of the evening holding her/feeding her/trying to get her to fall asleep. Once she was asleep, my cousin's wife suggested I try to put her down so I could joint the group. I should have known better, but I thought, hey, what the heck, everyone else's babies sleep lying down! Ooops. Her back hadn't even hit the couch when her arms shot out in the startled pose and she started wailing. It was all downhill from there. It's probably for the best ... the last time I played, my $20 buy-in was gone within 10 minutes.

She didn't go to sleep until 1 a.m. This was especially distressing to me after talking to another couple at poker night whose 9-month-old baby was already in bed at 7 p.m. and home with a sitter. 7 p.m.? That's crazy talk! They did tell me that their child was a horrible sleeper until 3 weeks ago, when they let her cry it out (CIO). Ugh. I just don't like that idea AT ALL. It seems so mean: you can cry all you want, but mommy isn't coming to help you. How they could listen to their child cry hysterically for an hour straight is beyond me. Three minutes and I'm breaking out into a cold sweat and nearly crying myself.

Thankfully, she slept in the pack n' play until around 5 a.m., so I got a few hours of somewhat sound sleep -- dreams and everything! I overslept the 7:30 and 9:00 a.m. Weight Watchers meetings, so I went to the 10:15 session instead. I'm down another 2.6 pounds for a total of 8 pounds since I started 3 weeks ago. Sadly, I won't be in swimsuit shape in time for our beach vacation next month, but I suppose every little bit helps.

rain and more rain

It seems like it's been nonstop, though I guess it was sunny here yesterday. I'd planned to hit Target today to get out of the house for a bit (and pick up a Father's Day card for Olivia to give Dan), but it's pouring and looks like more bad weather is on the way. The last time I took her out when it was raining, I ended up looking like a drowned rat and got more "What kind of mother are you, dragging your baby out in this?" looks than I care to remember. I guess we're housebound for the afternoon, anyway.

Tonight we're going to my cousin's house for a poker night -- lots of people there will have their kids along, so it should be fun. The last time we went to their poker night, I was 5 days away from my due date and could barely keep my eyes open past 10 p.m. Dan finally took pity on me and went all in on a bad hand so we could head home. Or at least that was his excuse for losing. ;)

Better go -- the UPS guy just rang the doorbell and got a look at me sitting here in my bathrobe with my hair up in a towel, glamour queen that I am. Off to dry my hair while O is still sleeping ...

I get tired of explaining

If I were a little bolder, I'd make this on zazzle.com and take her out in this:No, she didn't fall down.
Nope, it's not a cut/scrape/burn, either.
I didn't drop her on her head.
I also didn't press my thumb there and leave a mark, genius.

It's not so bad when kids ask about it, but you'd think adults would know better. Maybe I'll make and order that onesie after all ...

4 months old today!

It's been the most exhausting -- but absolutely the best -- 4 months of my life.

home sweet home

What a week! Friday night, there were severe storms around 10:30 p.m. that knocked out our power and drove a crazy snapping turtle into the window well of our basement (more on that later). Saturday morning I realized that we also had no water, because despite living three stoplights away from a fancy mall, our subdivision isn't connected to city water/sewer. By Saturday afternoon, we realized that it might be a while until our power came on, so we packed up some stuff and headed to my parents' house.

I'm not sure they realized they'd have three houseguests -- including one who likes to get up at all hours of the night -- until Wednesday. Cable/phone/internet (a.k.a. Comcrap's "triple play" package) didn't make it back on until this morning.

It was so nice to be able to have somewhere to go, especially a place with fabulous home-cooked meals and clean fluffy towels. Some of our neighbors rented generators or showered at their neighbor's house. We lost all of the food in our fridge and freezer and got a little water in our basement, but it could have been much worse. It'll be a long time before I take things like basic phone service and electricity for granted again.