zzzzzz

Oh, sleep.  The one thing I wish I could totally change about parenting.  I mean, if we were given the luxury of a full night's sleep from the moment a child arrives, I think a lot of the parenting frustrations and mishaps could be avoided.  Or at least dealt with in a more energetic, positive, and enthusiastic manner.  I can handle the tantrums and the messes and the total overhaul of what life used to be life pre-kids, but the change in sleep patterns is the one thing I have a hard time dealing with.  And I can't really complain.  Ella learned to sleep through the night very early on, and still clocks an average of 10-12 hours a night.  Both my kids stopped having to nurse during the night by 2 months.  So it's not like I have had it really hard.  I actually think we sleep a lot for being parents of such young children.  But Gavin posed a challenge I wasn't expecting--needing a pacifier at night, which led to needing comforting every time he woke up.  So by the time we came back from Hawaii (where he slept by my side every single night), I was ready to make a change.  Before Hawaii he had been going down in his crib every night, but would always end up in bed with us by 2 am.  It was just easier to get him and have him next to me than to keep going to his room every other hour to replace his lost pacifier.  But I had had enough.  I wasn't sleeping well, and I definitely did not like the idea of co-sleeping this long (even though I did love feeling his little hands hug my arm every night).  So I asked the pediatrician, and per her recommendation, buckled down, downloaded the above book, and committed to 14 days of solid sleep training. I was definitely doubtful it would work, and was overwhelmed by the challenge of consistent napping (something I haven't been very good at implementing with E).

It took all of 4 days for G to be sleep trained.  He cried a lot the first couple of nights, but by the third, he cried for 2 minutes, rolled over, and slept from 7 pm to 7 am.  He also started taking 2 hour morning naps, 1 1/2-2 hour afternoon naps, and was weaned from taking a pacifier.  I am a convert.  And I feel like a new mom.  It's amazing.  And it's still going strong.  I know there will be off nights, especially when milestones are hit and the little guy goes through some growing pains, but all in all, I am one happy customer.  So much so that I just had to share.

make room for baby

I never did get a chance to post pictures of Gavin's nursery due to poor second child syndrome + arriving 2 weeks early.  We still have some little items to hang up, but for the most part, we (eventually) got everything set up.  There was definitely a marked difference this time around, since with Ella, I wanted everything in place before her arrival.  With Gavin, I wasn't in such a rush (probably because we knew he wouldn't be using the nursery for a couple months while he co-slept with us).  I did really enjoy decorating for a little boy and had a lot of fun getting boy clothes and finding more "boyish" decor.  We chose a more industrial theme, softening it with a muted color palette and adding a navy blue accent (which you can't really see from the pictures).  My favorite part of his nursery is definitely the striped ceiling (which we decided to make the main focus by keeping the walls neutral).  And I think the metal chandelier adds a nice masculine touch.  I'm still considering a chevron patterned rug to add a little more weight and interest to the center of the room.  But all in all, we're excited for Gavin to grow into his room!   

I'm still getting used to the panorama function on the iPhone camera, so the proportions are a bit distorted.

Bookshelf, lighting and accessories: Restoration Hardware Baby & Child
Crib & drapes: Pottery Barn Kids
Glider: Oilo
Ottoman and dresser: Room & Board

For now, he's pretty content bunking with us.  While he'll sleep a solid three hours in the co-sleeper, he'll clock 4-5 hours in our bed.  Too bad I don't get to fully enjoy those hours when he's sleeping next to me.  But he looks content, doesn't he?

and now, a sleeping montage

I'm truly thankful that newborn babies sleep so much.  I can stare at this face all day.

Someone is having a good dream.

Donald Trump, eat your heart out. 

Leaps and Bounds

I know I keep saying this, but I can't believe how fast Ella is growing.  Every day is something new and I love experiencing it all with her.  She's been playing more with her toys and really taking an interest in interacting with them.  Here she is cuddling, grabbing and eating her alligator.

During the last few weeks, Ella's been going through another developmental leap, which has made her clingy, cranky and restless.  She's generally a really good baby, so when she makes a leap, we really notice her change in behavior.  The most obvious challenge has been her waking in the middle of night and being difficult to console back to sleep.  Having a baby who normally sleeps 10-12 hours straight through the night but then starts waking up crying at 3 am has been challenging.  I know we're pretty spoiled with a good sleeper, but it's still difficult nonetheless.  We started putting her back into her co-sleeper by our bed when she wakes in the middle of the night so we both could get some sleep, and sometimes we had to pull her into bed with us.  I've noticed how differently she sleeps now, signifying how much she's grown.  I used to have to cradle her in my arms while we slept, but now she just lays on the mattress and snuggles up on us.  She'll reach her hand out to feel us there and fall asleep next to us.  While I was pregnant, I swore I'd never sleep with her in bed with us, but parenthood makes you do a lot of "take-backs" and this has been one of them.  She's been a cuddlier since she was a newborn and it's been a bit of a challenge not to indulge her all the time.

Sleeping in one morning in our bed.

THANKFULLY, her leap is coming to an end, and she's been back in her crib, sleeping through the night, for the past three days.  It's been so wonderful waking up to find her still sound asleep in her crib and getting our room back!  I really recommend "The Wonder Weeks" for new parents because it helps to know the reason for the changes in behavior in your infant.  Knowing what to expect and understanding why Ella is acting a certain way has helped us be more confident parents.  So far, she's been pretty on schedule with her leaps, and it's just nice to have some insight in how she's growing.  The leaps are rough (and getting rougher) but it's amazing to watch her develop new skills.  That being said, I'm more than happy to enjoy this upswing until she hits her next leap.

But It's Not Morning Yet!

Ella is usually a great nighttime sleeper.  (Napping?  Not so much.)  But we've found that after every round of vaccinations, she has a week of interrupted sleep.  These past three nights she's been waking at around 3 am.  I guess I've been pretty spoiled having her sleep through the night so early, but it's been rough having to wake up again.  I'm walking the tightrope between comforting her while she adjusts to whatever's happening in her little body and allowing her to learn to soothe herself back to sleep.  Usually she just rolls over, sucks her hand, and talks herself to sleep again.  But the past few nights she's been crying and wanting to nurse.  I'm really crossing my fingers that it's a result of her shots, because then I know she'll fall into her old routine again.  Usually her sleep gets disrupted a couple nights after her doctor's visit, but this time around, it didn't start until Saturday night (five nights later).   I've read about the four month wakeful period, which, if that's the case, I'm in for a rude awakening (pun totally intended).  I never realized how obsessed you get with sleep when you're a parent (your sleep and your child's sleep).  I'm constantly trying to figure out ways to get her to nap consistently and for longer stretches, and every night is a game of "When Can We Catch Ella at the Right Moment to Start Her Bedtime Routine."  Aaah, parenthood.

Sleeping Through the Night

As of two weeks ago, Ella started to sleep through the night consistently.  She eventually clocked ten hours by the time we were up at our cabin during Labor Day weekend.  I figured that sleeping in her Pack 'n Play up there would be a good transition for sleeping in her crib when we got home.  The first night (the night we got back) was a total fail because of the long car ride and how exhausted we all were.  She ended up waking up 15 minutes after we put her down, and subsequently throwing up all over Adam.  A quick bath later we decided to put her in her co-sleeper so we could all go to bed with no further drama.  

The next day, we tried putting her in her crib again.  I anticipated that it would take at least week to get her acclimated to the new bedtime routine.  I expected she'd cry and wake up various times through the night, and that I wouldn't be getting a lot of sleep as we navigated through this new phase.  That being said, I was pleasantly surprised that she not only slept through the night in her crib, but that she soothed herself to sleep every time we put her in it (and when she occasionally woke up in the middle of the night).

She now sleeps next to me via video monitor screen.

I can tell she's maturing so much now that she sleeps so many hours at night.  Because she gets very noisy in the early morning, I end up waking up before she does.  I have to wait until she fully wakes up before taking her out of the crib.  My favorite thing about this new routine (other than a full night's sleep) is when she sees me looking down at her and smiles right back up at me.

She some how managed to roll onto her side, then break dance her way so that her head is where her feet should be.

I wish I could taken credit for sleep training her, but she did it all on her own.  I realize how fortunate we are to have such a good and easy baby.  Ella loves routine, and is slowly developing her own (making all of our lives and schedules a lot easier).  I know that babies are unpredictable, and who knows, tonight she may decide to wake up every three hours, but I am relishing it for as long as I can!

Morning Naps

What a difference a week makes.  Last week, Ella was taking back her six-hour stretch of sleep during the night and being overall very needy.  This week, she's sleeping through the night (last night she clocked eight hours!) and being a more independent baby.  She's smiling, laughing, and talking A TON.  She's so animated and expressive.  I feel like we chat all day long, but then I have to remind myself that she's just cooing and not actually saying real words.  She's definitely at a really playful stage and her personality is starting to show through her interactions with us.

All this week she's been falling into a nice little routine where she wakes up around six or seven o'clock, nurses, and hangs out in her Rock 'n Play while we make coffee and feed the pugs.  Soon after Adam leaves for work, Ella will fall asleep on her own in her rocker.

It probably doesn't sound like a big deal (and chances are she'll take it all back next week and need to be held all morning), but Ella has always been a cuddle bug and usually needs to be held and walked around to fall asleep during the day.  She was especially resistant to sleep on her own when I put her down (versus Adam, who has the magic touch of getting her to nod off in her bassinet or rocker).  Her morning naps give me the use of my two hands and some time to start the day.  At the same time, I look at her sleeping and I think, "Wow, she's growing so fast!"   And it's only been eleven weeks tomorrow.  I already miss her little spastic, newborn ways, but am definitely embracing this "easier" phase.

Earlier this week, Ashley and I took Ella to scout some gear for our upcoming trip to the lake.  Ella slept through the entire shopping excursion, even when we had to drive back with a car full of wake boards and water skis.  (We barely fit her car seat in!)

We are definitely looking forward to Ella's first trip to our cabin!