After a week of sleep regression, including 3 nights of 2am wakeful time (2+ hours), we were desperate for sleep. We had been swaddling in the Miracle Blanket and putting her in the car seat (because of the reflux) in her crib.
Last night we tried something new. We swaddled her and put her in the crib, which we elevated one side with some books. And we placed her on her changing table mat, to give her at least some feeling of being surrounded by something. I'd wanted to try this a month ago, but the car seat had been working so well that we didn't want to curse anything. But lately we'd noticed that she seemed to be uncomfortable with the car seat and would be in weird positions.
She went down at 7:30p. Woke and fed at 1215a. Woke and fed at 5:30a. Woke for the day at 8a. Yes, we definitely miss the 10 hrs straight we were getting before this regression started. But we LOVED her sleeping for the better part of 12.5 hours and us getting probably 8 hours of sleep last night. Best part was not having her up for the day at 5am, after not sleeping well the night before.
Yay for Amelia being more comfortable! She's currently napping very well (1 hour so far!) in this new set up. I'm hoping as she gets away from this 4-month growth spurt, she will skip one of those overnight feedings. That, plus continuing our successful bedtime routine, would be golden.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Week 17
The week started like the same old deal. Lots of restless nights though.
On Saturday, Grandpa Larry (my dad) came to visit. I feel like those two can go weeks (8 in this case) without seeing each other, but they will always have a special bond because of her name (see next post).
My mom is in Washington state, visiting a friend. I told Amelia that this was Grandpa’s opportunity to get a “first”, something that Grandma Cathy or Gramma D usually gets. Well, he got a first! He was the first grandparent to see Amelia laugh. She laughed a few times. Don't expect a picture or video of this anytime soon. It's still a very inconsistent thing from Amelia. She's probably only done it a total of a dozen times over 3 days in the past 2 weeks.
Amelia also watched her first Ohio State game, dressed up in her gear. You can't see it, but she has Brutus on her socks :)
On Sunday, after church we went to brunch at Michelle's house. She enjoyed the company of many of mommy and daddy's friends, and sat in Michelle's papasan chair:
Tomorrow is Labor Day. In the morning, we're taking Amelia to JcPenney to get some semi-professional pictures taken (4 months). I'm just hoping that we can work the morning in such a way as to get her down to Polaris with a nap, a full tummy and a sunny disposition. Yeah right... wish us luck! Then, Chris has to go teach. Yes, on Labor Day. So Amelia and I will be having a ladies day out at the mall. I'm trying to wrangle us a lunch date, but no takers so far.
One year ago...
One year ago today, my Grandmother (Amelia) Jackie Roberts suffered a massive stroke. She passed away 12 days later. Our little Amelia had already been created, but I didn't know of her existence until 3 days from now (Labor Day of last year). These two Amelia's shared the earth for 22 days.
Bear with me if I've already blogged about this... but I always wanted a little girl named Amelia. My grandmother never went by her given name, but I always thought it was beautiful. Chris agreed, and the timing of everything turned out perfectly. I cried like I never really have before (in mourning) when my Grandmother passed away, and I cried the moment I found out that this little baby was a girl -- our Amelia.
I miss you, Grandma. But I know that you are in a wonderful place, and Grandpa is with you.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Chris
Have I mentioned what a great father he is? He takes a 50% role in this parenting thing, which is exactly how it should be, in a 2 working-parent home. But you'd be surprised at how rare that is.
The funniest story I've heard recently was from one of Chris's co-workers. She has a friend who's husband is so uninvolved that the one night of the week that she goes out to do something for herself, he frequently gets a babysitter for the kids. He can't take care of the kids for ONE night?!
Anyhow... back to Chris. We work well as a family. We pass her back and forth, trying to ensure that her needs are met and that she doesn't spend TOO much time in various pieces of equipment to keep her occupied. We like to be hands on with her so she know that she can depend on us, and hopefully develop some new skills with our assistance.
And we BOTH get up for overnight wakings. We're both asked frequently why we don't trade off? Well, for now at least, Amelia is still primarily breastfeeding, so I'm up regardless. And we're both light sleepers, and would be awakened by the noises and such anyway. Chris reasons that by him getting up to help, it makes it more efficient and (usually) ensures a successful back to sleep for Amelia.
This is our routine:
Amelia cries. Chris gets her and unswaddles and changes her diaper. He brings her to me and I nurse for about 10 minutes. I burp her and hand her back for him to swaddle. He gives her back and I nurse for another 10 minutes or so. She goes to sleep and I signal to him that she's ready. He takes her and puts her down. That's our no-fail (except these few times - knock on wood!) night time routine.
Amelia loves her Daddy, and I have to admit, I love him too!
**One quick clarification... last night through all the drama, I gave him several opportunities to go back to bed. No point in both of us suffering, right? But he stayed up.
The funniest story I've heard recently was from one of Chris's co-workers. She has a friend who's husband is so uninvolved that the one night of the week that she goes out to do something for herself, he frequently gets a babysitter for the kids. He can't take care of the kids for ONE night?!
Anyhow... back to Chris. We work well as a family. We pass her back and forth, trying to ensure that her needs are met and that she doesn't spend TOO much time in various pieces of equipment to keep her occupied. We like to be hands on with her so she know that she can depend on us, and hopefully develop some new skills with our assistance.
And we BOTH get up for overnight wakings. We're both asked frequently why we don't trade off? Well, for now at least, Amelia is still primarily breastfeeding, so I'm up regardless. And we're both light sleepers, and would be awakened by the noises and such anyway. Chris reasons that by him getting up to help, it makes it more efficient and (usually) ensures a successful back to sleep for Amelia.
This is our routine:
Amelia cries. Chris gets her and unswaddles and changes her diaper. He brings her to me and I nurse for about 10 minutes. I burp her and hand her back for him to swaddle. He gives her back and I nurse for another 10 minutes or so. She goes to sleep and I signal to him that she's ready. He takes her and puts her down. That's our no-fail (except these few times - knock on wood!) night time routine.
Amelia loves her Daddy, and I have to admit, I love him too!
**One quick clarification... last night through all the drama, I gave him several opportunities to go back to bed. No point in both of us suffering, right? But he stayed up.
It's 3:22am... do you know where your children are?
Why... yes I do! She's wiggling around on her play mat right now. She's had us up for 2 hours now.
Tomorrow (er... today) will be a rough day.
UPDATE: Soon after writing this post, I took Amelia back upstairs and swaddled her and attempted another feeding to get her to relax. She wasn't having it. So I put her back down and let her cry, which we very rarely do. Ten minutes later, I went in and put the pacifier back in her mouth. I didn't hear another peep from her for 3 hours. YAY!! So... we're working on about 6 hours of sleep, which isn't THAT bad. Amelia's already had a 2.5 hour nap today. Haha - lucky kid!
Tomorrow (er... today) will be a rough day.
UPDATE: Soon after writing this post, I took Amelia back upstairs and swaddled her and attempted another feeding to get her to relax. She wasn't having it. So I put her back down and let her cry, which we very rarely do. Ten minutes later, I went in and put the pacifier back in her mouth. I didn't hear another peep from her for 3 hours. YAY!! So... we're working on about 6 hours of sleep, which isn't THAT bad. Amelia's already had a 2.5 hour nap today. Haha - lucky kid!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Rest of Week 16
A week after Amelia went to her first baseball game, she went to her first soccer game! It was a decent night and we had no huge plans the following day, so we decided to go for it. I think she liked it :)
And the Columbus Crew won the game 3-0!
Despite the late night, she was still chipper and ready for church the next morning! It must be thanks to her snazzy outfit :)
And the Columbus Crew won the game 3-0!
Despite the late night, she was still chipper and ready for church the next morning! It must be thanks to her snazzy outfit :)
And on Monday, Amelia turned 16 weeks old!
After consulting with some other moms, I've learned that the sleeping difficulties we started having last week are normal for this age. They call this the "4-month sleeping regression" and it's thanks to the 4-month growth spurt. My little girl is getting so big! Pray that Chris and I get more sleep soon :)
See?
This is what Amelia looks like when she's crying. All this picture is missing is the crazy wild eyes. But she wasn't that upset this time. This was more of an "I'm just up from my nap and I need a snack" kind of cry.
Sad baby.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Jekyll-Hyde baby?
It's so strange how Amelia is SO wonderful in her happy moments. She is a ham, she smiles, she engages everyone around her. But when she's mad.... oh, she gets mad. Her eyes get all wild and glassy and her face gets red. Seriously, I need to get a picture of it for you all.
But her happy times definitely outweigh the bad times.
Last night, we had probably our worst night with her in a month or two. Our typical night-time problem is getting her to relax enough to go to sleep, not really the keeping her asleep part. So last night she went to bed very easily at 7:30pm (thanks to our newly instated routine of bath, books, feeding, to bed). We high-fived our awesome parenting and our highly-intelligent kid who recognized a routine on the second day, and went to bed around 10:30pm.
She woke for the first time at midnight. What?? What happened to the baby that slept between 8-10 hours in a stretch? She went back down at 12:30am and stayed asleep until 4:30am. We attempted our (usually) "never-fail" overnight back-to-sleep routine (it had literally never failed in the middle of the night before now), and I could tell it wasn't working this time. She was too wiggly. She went back down after eating, and that only worked for a few minutes. The next hour was a blur, but it was a mix of attempting to let her soothe herself with the pacifier, rocking her, feeding her again, me hiding downstairs (trying to overcome a sore throat and needed sleep), Chris walking her around in the baby bjorn..... finally she went back to bed at around 5:30am. I didn't need to be up til around 7, so I went back to sleep for a bit, but with Chris getting up at 6am most days, he was up for the day. He had maybe 4.5 hours of sleep, and I had maybe 5.5 hours. We were both nasty little zombies today. And precious Amelia? She was happy and low-key.
Tonight after work, I was sitting with her in the living room. We were just enjoying each other, no distractions. Well, something I did made her laugh. A full, hearty laugh. I quickly called Chris in, and she did it again. And then maybe a couple more times. We've heard her laugh only once before, and it wasn't this intense. This was the cutest thing either of us had ever heard. We're in love.
...and that... makes last night kinda okay.
Tonight she went down at around 7:30pm again. Woke at 8:30pm, and went back down right away after the insertion of a pacifier. Our awesome, intelligent baby recognized the routine again on day three of it. But tonight we're hoping that she is not trading the staying alseep part for an easier bedtime process, again.
Wish us luck. It's almost 10 on a Friday night, and we're going to bed.
But her happy times definitely outweigh the bad times.
Last night, we had probably our worst night with her in a month or two. Our typical night-time problem is getting her to relax enough to go to sleep, not really the keeping her asleep part. So last night she went to bed very easily at 7:30pm (thanks to our newly instated routine of bath, books, feeding, to bed). We high-fived our awesome parenting and our highly-intelligent kid who recognized a routine on the second day, and went to bed around 10:30pm.
She woke for the first time at midnight. What?? What happened to the baby that slept between 8-10 hours in a stretch? She went back down at 12:30am and stayed asleep until 4:30am. We attempted our (usually) "never-fail" overnight back-to-sleep routine (it had literally never failed in the middle of the night before now), and I could tell it wasn't working this time. She was too wiggly. She went back down after eating, and that only worked for a few minutes. The next hour was a blur, but it was a mix of attempting to let her soothe herself with the pacifier, rocking her, feeding her again, me hiding downstairs (trying to overcome a sore throat and needed sleep), Chris walking her around in the baby bjorn..... finally she went back to bed at around 5:30am. I didn't need to be up til around 7, so I went back to sleep for a bit, but with Chris getting up at 6am most days, he was up for the day. He had maybe 4.5 hours of sleep, and I had maybe 5.5 hours. We were both nasty little zombies today. And precious Amelia? She was happy and low-key.
Tonight after work, I was sitting with her in the living room. We were just enjoying each other, no distractions. Well, something I did made her laugh. A full, hearty laugh. I quickly called Chris in, and she did it again. And then maybe a couple more times. We've heard her laugh only once before, and it wasn't this intense. This was the cutest thing either of us had ever heard. We're in love.
...and that... makes last night kinda okay.
Tonight she went down at around 7:30pm again. Woke at 8:30pm, and went back down right away after the insertion of a pacifier. Our awesome, intelligent baby recognized the routine again on day three of it. But tonight we're hoping that she is not trading the staying alseep part for an easier bedtime process, again.
Wish us luck. It's almost 10 on a Friday night, and we're going to bed.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Week 16
Amelia went to her first baseball game! Chris's other favorite team (the Angels) were playing Cleveland last weekend. We got an awesome ebay deal on a pack of 4 tix, so Michelle and Kevin joined us for our road trip.
Chris and Amelia down by the field before the game (note the Angels onesie and bib):
How thrilled she was to be at a baseball game: 
Favorite shot from her 15 week photo shoot:
Mark and Cindy were passing through on Tuesday and went out to lunch with us. Cindy got up enough nerve to finally hold Amelia!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Weeks 14... and part of 15
Amelia has had a busy week and a half - or so!
Grandma Cathy came and stayed with us for 4 days last week to watch Amelia on her last week before starting with her Sitter. They enjoyed each other's company and Grandma taught her how to make the "thbbbt" noise with her tongue (for lack of a better term - a farting sound). She does it all the time now. Here's her enjoying her jumperoo.
Click on "view pictures" and then "view as slideshow" on the right.
And here's a favorite from her 14-week photo shoot:
When we got home, she rewarded Chris and I with her first laugh!! It was so cute.
Grandma Cathy came and stayed with us for 4 days last week to watch Amelia on her last week before starting with her Sitter. They enjoyed each other's company and Grandma taught her how to make the "thbbbt" noise with her tongue (for lack of a better term - a farting sound). She does it all the time now. Here's her enjoying her jumperoo.
Then we took Amelia to York, PA to visit her extended family. She has 4 great-grandparents, 2 sets of great-aunts/uncles, numerous second and third cousins, and even 1 great-great-grandmother living in York. It was a busy trip and she was QUITE the trooper with all the travelling, but it was worth the effort. The family just loved every minute with her, and it made us happy to see them so happy.
Click on "view pictures" and then "view as slideshow" on the right.
And here's a favorite from her 14-week photo shoot:
So far this week, Amelia started with her Sitter. It's been a change for her, but I don't hear many complaints from either of them. :)
Today, Amelia and I met my friend, Anya, and her precious daughter Vienna at the zoo. Anya smuggled us in on her guest pass and we spent almost 4 hours walking around! Amelia didn't seem too thrilled with most of the animals, because they tended to be too far away. But she LOVED the aquarium! The fishies swam by her head and she watched them go back and forth with a smile on her face. And her little legs just wiggled!
When we got home, she rewarded Chris and I with her first laugh!! It was so cute.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Videos!
Amelia's music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJRLpfkYzbk If you get bored watching her dance for 4 minutes, scroll to the end to see what 4 minutes of dancing does to a baby (spitup galore!)
Amelia on her 3-month birthday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I06FDolRIkM
Amelia in her new Jumperoo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55OWvXiaCT0 She's still a bit short for it, so we were amazed at how she caught on and how much she likes it!
Amelia on her 3-month birthday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I06FDolRIkM
Amelia in her new Jumperoo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55OWvXiaCT0 She's still a bit short for it, so we were amazed at how she caught on and how much she likes it!
3 months old!
Amelia was 3 months old on Tuesday! Chris took her to the pediatrician's office to get weighed (we were curious) and she is 11 pounds, 4 ounces! She's finally wearing her 0-3 months clothing full-time and I wistfully packed away her newborn stuff. We're happy that she's catching up on weight though.
Every Monday, we do a photo shoot, to document and celebrate that she's another week older. This Monday, she turned 13 weeks old!
I think it's funny to go through the pictures we take, because we probably take 20 and I delete half for one reason or another. But what's left really shows her personality these days. So here's what's left of her 13 week shoot.... Click: share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0QaNm7FwzcMX0A
Click on "view pictures" and then "view as slideshow" on the right. You get to see her work the camera.
Every Monday, we do a photo shoot, to document and celebrate that she's another week older. This Monday, she turned 13 weeks old!
I think it's funny to go through the pictures we take, because we probably take 20 and I delete half for one reason or another. But what's left really shows her personality these days. So here's what's left of her 13 week shoot.... Click: share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0QaNm7FwzcMX0A
Click on "view pictures" and then "view as slideshow" on the right. You get to see her work the camera.
Pictures from last week
I forgot one big moment of Amelia's week last week!!! She went to a scooter event and became an official member of the Easy Peasey Scooter Posse (daddy and mommy's scooter group). Their motto is "no dues, no meetings, no cry-babies". Well, Amelia was granted an age-appropriate waiver on that last bit, though we hope she grows out of that! She went on her first and only ride (for many, many years) the day before I found out I was pregnant.
A pic from Amelia's play-date at the park:
And a pic from the Irish Festival:
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Week 13
Amelia had a fun week this week. "Uncle" Mark was here from Sunday to Tuesday. Chris and Mark went to a Tigers (vs. Indians) game, so this is how Amelia was dressed the day of the game. Unfortunately, it did not help the Tigers win.
Here's some proof that our kid smiles now:
Then, later in the week, Amelia and I went on our first "play date", with 4 other mommies and 3 little boys and 3 other little girls. Finishing out the week, Gramma D was down for her *fourth* visit since Amelia was born! We enjoyed First Friday (Amelia's 2nd out of the womb) and the Irish Festival (Amelia's 1st ever!).
Here's some proof that our kid smiles now:
Then, later in the week, Amelia and I went on our first "play date", with 4 other mommies and 3 little boys and 3 other little girls. Finishing out the week, Gramma D was down for her *fourth* visit since Amelia was born! We enjoyed First Friday (Amelia's 2nd out of the womb) and the Irish Festival (Amelia's 1st ever!).I'll try to post some pictures from her adventures later.
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