A Perfect Day

Today really took me by surprise.  I'll admit that I've been having a tough time lately.  I've been feeling pretty down about being away from HH with a busy work schedule and feeling like I was missing out on so many important things going on with her, and it was starting to affect the time I spent with her at home.  I felt like any time she was fussy or cried, it was somehow my fault.  Something lacking in my parenting that was causing her to be upset. Maybe if I was home more or nursing more often or whatever my irrational mind decided was important at the time, she'd be happier.  That's a lot of pressure to put on yourself. Long story short, I have not been the most pleasant person to be around lately because of it.  But today helped me to put things in perspective a little.  All because of a trip to the pumpkin patch.

The weather was beautiful, the company was excellent, and we had a wonderful day.  I just got to enjoy being with my baby and relishing in one of her firsts, even if Baby's First Pumpkin isn't a milestone in the baby book, it was special to me.  I may miss things like her first step, her first word, the first time rolling over, or the first time she found her feet (which, by the way, I did miss this week), but I can still be a part of some special firsts, even if they are a little silly.

So here's to the Working Mommy Milestones, starting with Harbor's First Trip to the Pumpkin Patch.

Sleep, What's That?

I'll be the first to admit that I'm a clueless first time mom.  When we first brought Harbor home, I was perfectly happy to sit and hold her every second of the day (or night).  Everyone said, "Don't worry, you can't spoil a baby this young!" Wrong.  You guys were wrong, all of you. Because my adorable baby now refuses to fall and/or stay asleep when not being held.  This causes a teensy problem for this working mama when she's up most of the night trying begging to get this tiny baby to sleep.  I will say that we've got a rockin' bedtime routine down and Little Miss drifts off into dreamland very quickly with (usually) minimal to no fussing involved.  However, Josh and I are trying to perfect the fine art of gracefully placing a sleeping baby in her crib without jostling her awake.  After she goes to bed around 7:30, we spend the next 3 hours taking turns going back into her room to re-insert the paci or rock her as needed.  I have flat refused to nurse her to sleep, she has enough bad habits we will have to break her of later.  I leave her in her room until she wakes up for the first time to eat, which conveniently is right about the time we go to bed.  I've stopped fighting the Pack n Play fight and just let the little spoiled baby sleep in our bed for the rest of the night.  We've mastered side lying nursing, which helps me to get a little extra sleep.  But this kid is the floppiest, snortiest, squirmiest sleeper ever. And she refuses to sleep anywhere but right.up.against.me. So I basically cat nap.  Let's not forget about the 4+ times she wakes up to eat and snuggle back to sleep.  So sweet and precious that she loves and needs me that much, but geez I'm tired! Well this weekend I've resigned myself to end what I call the Sleep Cycle of Shame.  I read this fantastic book:

Much to our surprise, it turns out that Josh and I have some pretty hippy ideas when it comes to parenting, such as co-sleeping and babywearing, so it's no surprise that we are 100% against the cry it out method of sleep training.  That's where this gem comes in.  Starting tomorrow, we will be completing a nap log, pre-bedtime log, and nightwaking log. Based on this we can create a plan to help her go to bed without a huge Broadway production and *hopefully* stay asleep for more than 2 hours at a time.  

Here was the scene a couple nights ago when HH was still awake at 11:00 (I'm blaming teething).

Wish us luck!