Piper Blue - 8 Weeks, 3 Days
Time has been slipping by quietly and nearly unnoticed. I will be returning to work in a little more than a month and will do so with mixed feelings. Taking care of Piper has been far more exhausting than I ever thought possible. I had no idea being a parent would consume virtually all of time and most of my identity. Going back to work may give me a better chance at getting some rest.
I had always assumed that there would be sleepless nights when my baby would cry and keep me awake, but I didn't know that it would drive me to the edge of sanity some nights. We try to do everything that is the best for our baby, but if you don't know what they really need it's very easy to fail. This summer has been brutally hot and Piper had been wearing just her cloth diapers all day. We would wrap her in a blanket if she seemed cold and would do the same at night. At night we were swaddling her as well, but she is a thrasher and could get out of the swaddle and kick the blanket off her completely. We figured she was hot and that the swaddle was just torture for her. Why torture our kid?
Things have gotten remarkably better over the last week or ten days. It's really hard to say how long since my days all seem to blend together, but before this 'improvement' Piper was sleeping from about 3 hours down to as little as 10 or 20 minutes at a clip at night. There were nights where she barely slept at all and, therefore, we barely slept at all. Piper sleeps in a Moses basket on the floor next to my side of the bed. During the night she would start screaming from a dead sleep and scare the heck out of me. I would pick her up nurse her until she calmed down and then wake Griffin to change her. Griffin would wake with a start like I just told him the house was on fire. He would leap out of bed before I could utter the word 'diaper'. It was as much comical as it was disturbing. This was happening 5 or 6 times every night.
So Griffin would change her diaper and return her to me to finish nursing. He would wash his hands and return to bed. Laying in bed, Griffin would try to get back to sleep while I nursed Piper. I had to have the bedside lamp on, so Griffin would balance a pillow over his eyes. One twitch and surely it would flip down and smother him. I spent a lot of time looking at him sleeping that why while Piper chewed on my nipples and spit milk all over the place. I wanted to sleep too.
So I would lie in bed with Piper and nurse her as best I could. I was struggling with a forceful letdown, actually Piper was struggling with it. Every time I would nurse her my milk would come out so hard that she would choke on it. Sometimes she choked so badly that her lips turned blue for a moment - or maybe it was my imagination; either way it scared the hell out of me every time. I kept having visions of her dying in my arms choking on my milk. How horrible it would be to go through all that we did only to lose her now! My heart would pound as I gently, but firmly patted her back until she could breathe again.
Getting her back to sleep was a challenge too. Usually, after choking a few times, Piper would get sleepy and doze off while nursing. I would try to carry her back to her basket and put her back to sleep. Some times it would work and she would stay asleep and I could crawl back to bed. Other times her eyes would POP open as soon as her head touched the sheet in her basket.
At that point, I had two choices, pick her back up and rock her until she fell asleep again, or let her lie in her basket and hope she would fall asleep on her own. I did try the latter several times. Usually it was exhaustion that drove me to try it, but it was a foolish thing to do. Piper would not go back to sleep, she would wave her arms wildly and slowly wind up her crying into a full-blown wail. Usually, I had just gotten settled back in bed and would have to leap out and pick her up again.
Then it was back to trying to soothe her to sleep all over again. This cycle would go on all night. Usually every two hours or so. Sometimes it would take an hour or more to get her to sleep again. Griffin would walk her, bounce her, rock her and she would go from being almost asleep to wailing and back again. We would try to return to her bed, but no matter how carefully we tried to get her into the basket when she was asleep, more than half the time she would wake right up. I couldn't figure out how other parents could do this. What were we doing wrong?
Since it is summer and rather hot on the second floor of our house where our bedroom is, we have an air conditioner running at night. It makes the stifling, sticky air more tolerable. Unfortunately, we didn't realize that babies like to be warm - warmer than we want to be. One day I read that 'cool sheets' could be 'trouble' for a fussy baby. The recommendation was to "put a warm towel down in the crib for a few minutes before laying the baby down". Where was I supposed to get warm towels from at three in the morning? However, I did have a heating pad that I had used for my sciatic pain when I was pregnant, so I decided to try using that to warm up her basket.
One night, not so long ago, I put the heating pad in when Griffin picked her up to change her (we switched the routine so that Griffin changed her first and then I nursed her back to sleep). When she was clean and dry and she ate her fill, I carried her limp, sleeping body back to the basket, yanked out the heating pad and placed her in. She stretched out, almost smiled, and fell deeper into sleep. Miracle! Of course two hours later she was up again.
After several nights of doing this it dawned on me that she might be cold at night. We sleep on our bed with comforters and sometimes it is hot, but I can't sleep unless I have something on me and I love to snuggle into the blanket as the air conditioning cools the room. When I would put a blanket on Piper and tuck it in, she would just kick it off in a matter of minutes. I thought this meant she was hot and "didn't need no stinkin' blankets", apparently, she is just a kicker. She kicked off the blanket because she likes to kick, she wasn't making a calculated choice to be cooler and remove the little cotton blanket. My mistake.
I had read over and over that a baby should wear one more layer than you wear. They need to be kept a little warmer, but this is the summer and with every crying jag she sweats up a storm. Wearing clothes just makes her sweat more when she cries - nevertheless, I decided to try putting a little sleep sack on her for the nighttime. This was the kind that has a piece of fabric you can attach to it and velcro it into a swaddle. I didn't put the swaddle on and just zipped her into the sack part. It was sleeveless, so I figured she wouldn't be too hot in it.
After feeding her that night, I put her to bed wearing the 'sack'. Low and Behold! She slept for four hours! I was so shocked when I looked at the time that I was afraid she had died in her sleep. I clicked on the light and looked at her in her basket. She was awake, but not crying, just squirming and mewling a bit. Griffin changed her, I fed her and got her back to sleep in a half hour. Didn't even need the heating pad.
The next night I dressed her in a sleep sack with sleeves and she slept for five hours! Piper was cold all this time. What horrible parents we are for not figuring this out sooner. I felt so guilty that I had been letting our baby freeze overnight and I felt stupid for thinking I was doing it because she wanted it that way.
During the day we were still just dressing her in only her diaper and a blanket. It occurred to me perhaps she is cold during the day too? Perhaps this is why her naps are so short? Perhaps. I put one of those little 'onesie' outfits on her and she slept for four hours during the day. Well, I felt doubly stupid. Of course she was cold during the day, we have been sitting in one room that has air conditioning and we try to put her into her swing to sleep and with the breeze of swinging she was turning into a popsicle!
Needless to say, we have been dressing Piper night and day now. Her sleeping has gotten so much better. Those nights of barely any sleep and feeling like a zombie during the day seem like so long ago now. I feel foolish, but in my defense, of all the advice I had gotten about how to get her to sleep longer, no one said to us, "Put some clothes on that kid!". There's so much we don't know. Live and learn. Sorry, Piper, we will try to do better.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Trial and Error and Error and Error
Piper Blue - 6 weeks old
When I think back over the last 10 months, I find it amazing how many of my ideas have changed and how many have remained the same. Parenting is all a big experiment to me; one that I cannot end, now that it has begun. I did lots of research on how to raise a baby and I had lots of preformed opinions already. Just looking back at my blog post from January 19th when I went to register at Babies 'r' Us with Griffin and my in-laws, I have to chuckle. It seems like so long ago. So what has changed and what have I stuck to my guns on? What has worked and what hasn't? Here's a small bit . . .
Two car seats - check! Plus one for our 'manny' Jan, my father-in-law's car. I just don't feel comfortable having my precious package riding in a used car seat. What I didn't know about car seats is that infants don't fit snugly in the one-size-fits-all type. I didn't want to get an infant car seat because I didn't want to carry my baby around in a bucket and I didn't want to have to buy another car seat when she got a little bigger.
Griffin installed the car seat when I was in the hospital, so I never got to inspect it or see how it worked. When I was discharged, I just got in the car and Griffin buckled her in. Piper was three days old. The car seat was sitting up at a 90 degree angle and her head flopped around like a sock puppet. I held her forehead up the entire 45 minute ride home. Griffin has since made several changes to the seat and the angle is now about 45 degrees and she can fall asleep in it very easily. In fact, when Piper won't sleep, usually at some ungodly time at night, we have resorted to driving her around until she falls asleep.
Bottles and Nipples - check! I did get a set of glass bottles and silicone nipples and have been using them to let others feed Piper. I was informed by a lactation consultant that I should be pumping milk and having someone give her a bottle once a day so she gets used to it while she is small. The consultant said there was a chance that if we waited until September to do this she may reject the bottle all together. What would we do if she wouldn't take the bottle? I couldn't go back to work, I guess. That was not part of the plan.
So, I purchased the breast pump that my research told me was the best one, an Ameda, and I used it pretty successfully the first time. The pump dumps the milk into a plastic bottle, BPA-free, and in turn I poured the milk into our fancy glass bottles. Griffin had washed all the parts for the bottles and put them into a bag. I looked at the nipples and other bits and could get the bottle together, but I didn't use a few pieces. Oh, well. I brought Piper's very first bottle to Griffin and he fed her. She sucked the milk down like a whino with a bottle of Thunderbird. In 30 seconds it was all gone, almost 3 ounces! Griffin later informed me that those other bits to the bottle were to help slow the flow of milk so she couldn't gulp it down. Whoops.
Still skipping the infant bathtub? - check! Piper has had a total of four baths in six weeks - once in the tub with me and then all the rest in our kitchen sink. The first two baths we didn't even use soap of any kind and still she smells, well, like nothing. Not like soap or powder or perfumes from disposable diapers. I love it. For some reason, I cannot stop sniffing her. When she snuggles up and lays on my chest with hr head under my chin, I will kiss the top of her head and have a sniff every few minutes. What am I sniffing if she doesn't smell like anything? Pheromones would be my guess. I am compulsive about it.
Nail clipper - check! Used it once when she was about a week old. Griffin and I tried to cut her teeny-tiny nails together. I held her, he clipped. At one point he thought he cut the tip of her finger off. He jumped, I jumped, Piper slept. I don't know how he had the nerve to keep cutting, but he did. Since then we haven't used it again. Her nails seem to peel off when they get a little long and until then, I simply endure her scratching my breast like a wild cat. She doesn't seem to scratch her face too often, just mine.
Thermometer - check! We have used it several times now. When Piper goes into a crying fit she sweats profusely, it feels like she has a fever. The thermometer reassures us that she is not sick and just heating herself up and not crying because she is already hot. Of course, why she was screaming was a mystery, but we could resolve it with a trip in the car. See above.
Brush - X. Still have not used that brush. Piper's hair is getting longer and longer. It is getting thicker too, but just not enough to warrant using a brush on her tender little head. Maybe in a few months. Maybe just for kicks.
No stroller - check! I didn't want to use a stroller and 'push my baby away from me' and I still don't. We have taken her out to her grandparents' house, food shopping, the doctors' (hers and mine) and even to Sears. No stroller, in fact, so far no carrier of any kind except my arms. She is still small and fairly light and easy to carry. I will start using our Ergo Baby Carrier soon since Piper is now a chunky 11 pounds and packing on the chub all the time. I love just taking her out of the car seat and carrying her off to whatever we are doing. She loves to be held, really loves it. I almost think that it would be sheer torture for her to be in a stroller and so far away from our loving arms.
No baby vibrating bouncy seats - check! These wouldn't work for little Miss Clingy anyhow. Oftentimes she won't even tolerate lying on a pillow right next to us. She wants to be on one of us. I can't imagine her being happy in a vibrating baby seat on the floor. Can all that vibration be good for a baby anyhow? It would be like sitting on a jackhammer all day, sounds like fun, right?
Boon Flair highchair - check! It looks awesome! The hydraulic lift is very cool and it wheels around like a sleeping robot. It is the perfect highchair . . . to pile a whole bunch of baby junk on. I guess I wasn't thinking when I ordered it; we won't be using this until Piper is four or five months old. And she won't even be eating anything then, it just will take that long until she can fit into it. Until then, I will pile and unpile various baby items and other crap on it. I hope I can still find it when she is ready to use it.
Crib and Cradle - X. So far, the only thing Piper's beautiful crib has been good for is as a holding cage while I wash my hands after changing her diaper. It is very effective for that purpose, but not for much else. Since she doesn't like to be put down on a soft pillow, she really doesn't like to be in a fancy wooden cage either, but eventually, she will, right?
I ended up nixing the cradle for a moses basket. It was a good decision, I think. I love the reed basket and Piper will sleep in it pretty well during the night. I also liked it because it a 'safe' place to stow her when I need to put her down and do something. Although, I have to admit, I am at the point where I just lay her on the floor wherever I am to do whatever I need to do with two hands. Running to get the basket was a short lived plan. Good thing I am flexible and not too concerned about letting the dog press her wet nose on my child's delicate forehead while I butter a bagel for myself.
Swaddling outfits and baby clothes - check! and X. The swaddling outfits are great for Piper if you take off the wings that do the swaddling. She prefers to be hugged rather than wrapped like a psycho in a straitjacket. I don't blame her. And since it is the middle of summer, wearing anything other than a diaper seems a bit ridiculous. Her cloth diapers are like little shorts, so she looks sort of dressed. Of course, not wanting to look like a 'bad mother' I do put a little outfit on her when we go somewhere. It's not like I am putting cover-up on bruises, but I do feel like I am hiding our 'neglect of using clothing'. I guess I don't want strangers to think we let our wee one run around, okay, flop around at home half naked. But I'll admit it - she is just a diaper away from being a nudist all day.
One final note - cloth diapers, a big CHECK! there. We love them. We have now found the brand that works best for us, Fuzzi Bunz, and will be using them until she is potty trained. Griffin washes them every other day. It's just one load of laundry, we do her blankets and the flat diapers that I use during feeding in that load as well. It feels so good not to be throwing bags full of plastic diapers into the trash. I also love the fact that Piper doesn't 'crinkle' when I hold her and she doesn't smell like a cheap air freshener. I have a feeling that Piper will be out of diapers a lot sooner than babies that wear the disposable kind anyhow. She lets us know when she is wet right away; she doesn't like sitting around in her own excrement, so I think, given the opportunity, she will gladly pee and poop somewhere else rather than in her own pants, but wouldn't we all?
When I think back over the last 10 months, I find it amazing how many of my ideas have changed and how many have remained the same. Parenting is all a big experiment to me; one that I cannot end, now that it has begun. I did lots of research on how to raise a baby and I had lots of preformed opinions already. Just looking back at my blog post from January 19th when I went to register at Babies 'r' Us with Griffin and my in-laws, I have to chuckle. It seems like so long ago. So what has changed and what have I stuck to my guns on? What has worked and what hasn't? Here's a small bit . . .
Two car seats - check! Plus one for our 'manny' Jan, my father-in-law's car. I just don't feel comfortable having my precious package riding in a used car seat. What I didn't know about car seats is that infants don't fit snugly in the one-size-fits-all type. I didn't want to get an infant car seat because I didn't want to carry my baby around in a bucket and I didn't want to have to buy another car seat when she got a little bigger.
Griffin installed the car seat when I was in the hospital, so I never got to inspect it or see how it worked. When I was discharged, I just got in the car and Griffin buckled her in. Piper was three days old. The car seat was sitting up at a 90 degree angle and her head flopped around like a sock puppet. I held her forehead up the entire 45 minute ride home. Griffin has since made several changes to the seat and the angle is now about 45 degrees and she can fall asleep in it very easily. In fact, when Piper won't sleep, usually at some ungodly time at night, we have resorted to driving her around until she falls asleep.
Bottles and Nipples - check! I did get a set of glass bottles and silicone nipples and have been using them to let others feed Piper. I was informed by a lactation consultant that I should be pumping milk and having someone give her a bottle once a day so she gets used to it while she is small. The consultant said there was a chance that if we waited until September to do this she may reject the bottle all together. What would we do if she wouldn't take the bottle? I couldn't go back to work, I guess. That was not part of the plan.
So, I purchased the breast pump that my research told me was the best one, an Ameda, and I used it pretty successfully the first time. The pump dumps the milk into a plastic bottle, BPA-free, and in turn I poured the milk into our fancy glass bottles. Griffin had washed all the parts for the bottles and put them into a bag. I looked at the nipples and other bits and could get the bottle together, but I didn't use a few pieces. Oh, well. I brought Piper's very first bottle to Griffin and he fed her. She sucked the milk down like a whino with a bottle of Thunderbird. In 30 seconds it was all gone, almost 3 ounces! Griffin later informed me that those other bits to the bottle were to help slow the flow of milk so she couldn't gulp it down. Whoops.
Still skipping the infant bathtub? - check! Piper has had a total of four baths in six weeks - once in the tub with me and then all the rest in our kitchen sink. The first two baths we didn't even use soap of any kind and still she smells, well, like nothing. Not like soap or powder or perfumes from disposable diapers. I love it. For some reason, I cannot stop sniffing her. When she snuggles up and lays on my chest with hr head under my chin, I will kiss the top of her head and have a sniff every few minutes. What am I sniffing if she doesn't smell like anything? Pheromones would be my guess. I am compulsive about it.
Nail clipper - check! Used it once when she was about a week old. Griffin and I tried to cut her teeny-tiny nails together. I held her, he clipped. At one point he thought he cut the tip of her finger off. He jumped, I jumped, Piper slept. I don't know how he had the nerve to keep cutting, but he did. Since then we haven't used it again. Her nails seem to peel off when they get a little long and until then, I simply endure her scratching my breast like a wild cat. She doesn't seem to scratch her face too often, just mine.
Thermometer - check! We have used it several times now. When Piper goes into a crying fit she sweats profusely, it feels like she has a fever. The thermometer reassures us that she is not sick and just heating herself up and not crying because she is already hot. Of course, why she was screaming was a mystery, but we could resolve it with a trip in the car. See above.
Brush - X. Still have not used that brush. Piper's hair is getting longer and longer. It is getting thicker too, but just not enough to warrant using a brush on her tender little head. Maybe in a few months. Maybe just for kicks.
No stroller - check! I didn't want to use a stroller and 'push my baby away from me' and I still don't. We have taken her out to her grandparents' house, food shopping, the doctors' (hers and mine) and even to Sears. No stroller, in fact, so far no carrier of any kind except my arms. She is still small and fairly light and easy to carry. I will start using our Ergo Baby Carrier soon since Piper is now a chunky 11 pounds and packing on the chub all the time. I love just taking her out of the car seat and carrying her off to whatever we are doing. She loves to be held, really loves it. I almost think that it would be sheer torture for her to be in a stroller and so far away from our loving arms.
No baby vibrating bouncy seats - check! These wouldn't work for little Miss Clingy anyhow. Oftentimes she won't even tolerate lying on a pillow right next to us. She wants to be on one of us. I can't imagine her being happy in a vibrating baby seat on the floor. Can all that vibration be good for a baby anyhow? It would be like sitting on a jackhammer all day, sounds like fun, right?
Boon Flair highchair - check! It looks awesome! The hydraulic lift is very cool and it wheels around like a sleeping robot. It is the perfect highchair . . . to pile a whole bunch of baby junk on. I guess I wasn't thinking when I ordered it; we won't be using this until Piper is four or five months old. And she won't even be eating anything then, it just will take that long until she can fit into it. Until then, I will pile and unpile various baby items and other crap on it. I hope I can still find it when she is ready to use it.
Crib and Cradle - X. So far, the only thing Piper's beautiful crib has been good for is as a holding cage while I wash my hands after changing her diaper. It is very effective for that purpose, but not for much else. Since she doesn't like to be put down on a soft pillow, she really doesn't like to be in a fancy wooden cage either, but eventually, she will, right?
I ended up nixing the cradle for a moses basket. It was a good decision, I think. I love the reed basket and Piper will sleep in it pretty well during the night. I also liked it because it a 'safe' place to stow her when I need to put her down and do something. Although, I have to admit, I am at the point where I just lay her on the floor wherever I am to do whatever I need to do with two hands. Running to get the basket was a short lived plan. Good thing I am flexible and not too concerned about letting the dog press her wet nose on my child's delicate forehead while I butter a bagel for myself.
Swaddling outfits and baby clothes - check! and X. The swaddling outfits are great for Piper if you take off the wings that do the swaddling. She prefers to be hugged rather than wrapped like a psycho in a straitjacket. I don't blame her. And since it is the middle of summer, wearing anything other than a diaper seems a bit ridiculous. Her cloth diapers are like little shorts, so she looks sort of dressed. Of course, not wanting to look like a 'bad mother' I do put a little outfit on her when we go somewhere. It's not like I am putting cover-up on bruises, but I do feel like I am hiding our 'neglect of using clothing'. I guess I don't want strangers to think we let our wee one run around, okay, flop around at home half naked. But I'll admit it - she is just a diaper away from being a nudist all day.
One final note - cloth diapers, a big CHECK! there. We love them. We have now found the brand that works best for us, Fuzzi Bunz, and will be using them until she is potty trained. Griffin washes them every other day. It's just one load of laundry, we do her blankets and the flat diapers that I use during feeding in that load as well. It feels so good not to be throwing bags full of plastic diapers into the trash. I also love the fact that Piper doesn't 'crinkle' when I hold her and she doesn't smell like a cheap air freshener. I have a feeling that Piper will be out of diapers a lot sooner than babies that wear the disposable kind anyhow. She lets us know when she is wet right away; she doesn't like sitting around in her own excrement, so I think, given the opportunity, she will gladly pee and poop somewhere else rather than in her own pants, but wouldn't we all?
Saturday, July 10, 2010
The Six Week Recap
Piper Blue - 5 weeks, 6 days Time is flying by for our little family. I can't believe Piper will be six weeks old tomorrow. She is so time consuming that I haven't been able to get much done. One thing that is quick and easy to do is the status updates on Facebook. These are the updates I wrote along with a smattering of comments from others. I thought this would be an interesting way to look at the last six weeks in written 'snapshots'. I will start from the day before Piper was born:
Six years today! Can't believe we are married for six years! Time went by so fast - well except for the last nine months - that has been taking forever!
Congrats! Wait 'til you see how fast the next 40+ go!
Piper Blue was born on May 30th - twice! Will have to write a blog post to explain... we are all now home safe and sound. Thanks for all of the well wishes.
Congrats!! Irony is that you'd be having your party at this very time! So now, going forward there will be more to celebrate - the birth of your wonderful daughter, so happy for you both!!
Piper's Wild Ride . . . . http://pregnantafterprom.blogspot.com/
What a wonderful story, my eyes welled up with tears at the end..I was waiting for this final entry to your blog..Or is it the final entry? So happy for you guys! and Piper is one lucky little girl to have parents that just loved and wanted her so very much. Like a little miracle.
I Heart my Uterus. . . http://pregnantafterprom.blogspot.com/
Calling all moms who nursed! Anyone have such a strong letdown that their baby would choke and wheeze? Any advice?
Sounds like you have a good supply! Piper could be reacting to either an overabundant supply or an forceful let down. Do you have a pump? If so, can you pump for a couple of minutes just prior to nursing her? This may help her by allowing your milk to let down-she won't have to gulp to adjust for the flow. Try nursing Piper with her head higher than your nipple line to ensure that she can handle the milk. Some mamas with over abundant supplies or forceful letdowns have found success with nursing this way as well as using the football hold. (which is great post c-section) You can lean back and the baby's head will fall into a natural upward position. You can try nursing her on one side only, then offering her the same breast for two feedings in a row (then switch to the other side for a couple of feedings) This can help your body adjust to an over abundant supply.
Thanks for the advice Mary - I am currently doing all of those things - I don't have a pump, but have hand expressed to lessen the flow. I am starting to get a handle on getting her into a good position - but sometimes she still chokes once or twice during the feeding and drops the nipple. I sit her up right when she chokes and tap and rub her back...
We have our first pediatrician appointment tomorrow - hopefully they can eliminate some of our concerns . .. thanks for your encouragement!
Seems like things are leveling out . . . except for Piper's weight - she is up to 7lbs 1oz. Already 5oz over her birth weight at 9 days old! My little piggy . . .
That's a beautiful thing - she will be a good sleeper :o)
Last night was a little better. I have a lactation consultant coming tomorrow - hopefully she will give me some tips to make things easier....
Piper gained 7oz in 4 days! She is up to 7lbs 8oz. And I have lost 25lbs in 11 days. She is sucking the weight off me. Zowie!!
The beauty of breast feeding... good for child GREAT for mom!
Why are we still awake?
oh Piper. http://pregnantafterprom.blogspot.com/
Newborns are like cars: If it makes a bad noise, its either
1. intake....needs food
2. combustion.....needs to be burped
3. exhaust.....wet or nasty diaper
4. operating temperature.....too hot or too cold...
if it's not one of those things, report to maintenance.
Where do I find this 'maintenance' place? Can I drop her off for a couple hours?
7 sherwood forest drive.....its called gramma's house.... :)
You go, Melissa!
You say that now Jan - she has had QUITE a day already! And if she is an angel when we get to your place I will eat my hat!!
ah, Kerri - I promise you will go through MANY hats.......
Having another off night. I am so tired - why isn't she?
Kerri, I am sorry that you are not sleeping, but she will get used to nights and days, eventually.
Haha.
Eventually. I feel like she is using me as an "all you cat eat - 24 hour buffet".
Those little ones like to play with you. They sleep great in the beginning and then they get all confused!
They sleep like angels during the day and stay up all night! It will get better...just takes time. Best advice, nap when she naps!
Patience. You will look back at these days in years from now and wish they were back. I'm so so happy for you sweetie!
Funny how taking a few hundred photos makes everything alright again. LOL
2:07. Yawn. Please sleep more than an hour....
Oh, no! I remember those days! I hope Piper starts sleeping better for you!
Desperate times, desperate measures.
uhoh ---
We bought a baby swing, because Mommy's arms are ready to fall off.
She was good overnight and so far this morning. Hope I am not jinxing it!
The cats love Piper. They just left her a dead chipmunk in her room. Nice.
I know that is supposed to mean that they accept, and welcome her......but that is gross!!!!
isn't that sweet, you have taught your kitties to share so well. . .( P.S. Double Yuck!)
At least they didn't rip it apart. It looked like it was sleeping. A sweet little toy....
Waaaa. waaaaa WAAAAA. (And the baby cries a lot too.)
2:22
I will never be ready for Sunday, but Piper was born ready.
Don't ask me if Piper slept. It's another cranky night.
LIAR!!! She was a little darling all afternoon...
I don't think I've had a good nights sleep in 5 years
4:25am. Piper, Piper, Piper. Mommy needs her beauty sleep she is turning into a crabby hag!
of course she is going to be cranky, it's the day before the party. That's always the way.
Megan is right there will be plenty of people to hold her, just keep "utilizing your resources". This is a win win for all.
Piper is sleeping, finally, after an hour of tired crying. Shhhhhhhhhh.
WooHoo! Yeeeaaaahhhh baby! :-)
Nevermind. Up and screaming again.
She was great at the party though...... yeah-she slept so much at the party she's gonna be up all night!
My daughter, the yoyo. Now she is sleeping on me, but wants nothing to do with her bed. :(
Just give me a ring and I will be over to put her to sleep!!!
Jenn is "Super Nanny" in disguise! :-)
Still in bed at 9:43. Piper is snoozing. After hollering for an hour last night she had the best sleep ever! And now she is smiling at me. Awwww.
The miracle of fresh air an sunshine!
She likes parties.
Someone must have slipped her some booze - she is still sleeping!
Anytime you want a group of us to come over and hold her, just let us know, LOL!
Who's taking bets? Sleep or no sleep?
sleep! hopefully..
So far, so good. 4 hour stretch
But 45 minutes later she is still wide awake.
Let's see. Asleep at 11, up at 3. Asleep at 4:30, up at 5:30. Asleep at 6, up at 7:30. Back asleep and up at 9:30. No crying fits, just periods of wide awake.
Sleeping now. Angel.
Just getting to sleep at 1am. Going to be a long night.
5am. Driving Piper around to get her to sleep. tWas a long night.
ooooh :(
Oh, Piper!
try putting her on the dryer. I know that your tired, so remember, ON the dryer.
ahh, the dryer, the same principal as the vacuum cleaner.
Piper is going to become very familiar with our appliances, very soon!
I don't know the vacuum cleaner thing. . .please share?
When my daughter was an infant, she was crying, but I had company coming and had to vacuum the rugs. I was holding her in one arm and started the vacuum at which point her head went down on my shoulder and she went to sleep. Ask Jan and Claire, we went everywhere with our vacuum. Studies show dryers, blow dryers and vacuums remind infants of the sounds of the womb, so they go to sleep. I worked with a psychologist one time that recorded his vacuum for his infant daughter. Also, "shushing " softly in their ear does the same thing.
Oh yes. I am a shushing queen now. You should see me shush and bob!
Is this a Festivus in July miracle? Piper has gone back to sleep after 40 minutes! Yippee.
Ooh... I need to pull out my list for the airing of grievances!
We are going to do the feats of strength today - how many times can I hoist an 11 pound baby?
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It has been a long six weeks and it has also flown by so quickly. I appreciate all of the love and support from our family and friends. Piper is snoozing on my chest now - these are the moments that make it all worth while . . .
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