A Girl's Day

A couple days ago, Mama asked me if I could babysit K while she was at an appointment, and of course, I jumped at the chance. Cause really, Diesel sleeps all day when I spend the day with her, so I could use a little entertainment.

K and I have been hanging out for the last couple of hours. We snoozed (ok, she snoozed), we ate, we changed her diaper, we played, took some pictures together, and she's snoozing again right now. It's possible we may have cried, too, but I'm pretending like we didn't. I found out that she really likes to listen to Gavin DeGraw's "Chariot" album (we've listened to it twice now, from start to finish, with the exception of "Chemical Party" cause really, I don't think a baby should listen to that, and also, I don't like that song cause I don't think a grown-up Auntie S should listen to it either). It's good that she likes it since it's the only one of my CDs that I have in the house, instead of my car. She really likes when I look straight at her, smile, and sing along. She seemed amazed that I could make the same noise as the music with my mouth. And of course, the amazement on her face seemed to amaze me, so all were easily amused if the Pags house this morning.

Grandma and I can't seem to get over how pretty she is. (I called Grandma to ask where the formula was and her first response was, "Oh, K's so pretty!", to which I responded, "Yes, she is, now where's the formula?") I'll try to post some of the pictures I took later, when I'm not on my work computer.

Update

K and I have been up since 5:30. She slept all night, and has been wide awake and playful. She has spent a lot of time smiling and talking. It's all pretty amazing, though she hasn't done anything new except pull on my beard...or at least what she could grab of it.

This is what it feels like!

I had forgotten what a full night's sleep felt like! K went to bed a little before 11 and woke up just before 8am. She even greeted me with a huge smile this morning! Who knows what will happen tonight since she got her shots today. She was a very brave girl. She is now 11 lbs. 1 oz, and 23 inches in length, putting her in the 75th percentile for height! Where did she get that from?? However, she has a little peanut head, only the 15th percentile. She definitely gets that from me!

Sleepless- er, Sleeping through the night #2

Well, it wasn't exactly how I had hoped, but not too bad. Here's the short and long of it (not really sure what that phrase means but it seems to go).
2:50am - K wakes up. Her eyes are closed as she cries. I think, hmm. Maybe she's still tired. I re-swaddle her (she is constantly breaking free, that little Houdini). I ESP to her "You don't need a bottle. You went eight hours last night without a bottle. No bottle for you." She appears to understand. I bounce her for a little bit. She appears to be asleep. I put her down. Eyes open.
3:00am - Attempt number 2. The glider. I rock her for a few minutes. I'm quite surprised that she hasn't screamed at me for a bottle yet. I continue my ESP. "No bottle. You aren't hungry." I'm pleased that I did not go through the bottle warming process. She appears to be asleep. I put her down. She struggles a little. Then, eyes open. Hmm. At this point I'm thinking, I could have just given her the bottle by now. But, I'm trying to prove a point here. No bottle needed at 3am.
3:10ish - Attempt number 3. Bounce, walk, rock. She likes this combination. I think about building some sort of contraption that would do all these things at once. Or possibly grow about 3 extra arms. A few minutes later, she is snoring. Snoring does not always indicate sleeping. However, when I put her down again, she cranes her neck a little (she does this quite well), and then relaxes. Finally, asleep.
3:18- Back in bed. Wondering when she will wake up for real.
4:15- Crying. I think, let's try the same trick. Maybe something startled her. But no, she has broken her hands free from the swaddle and started gnawing on them. And we all know what gnawing on hands means: I'm hungry.
So, she did approximately 6 hours without a bottle. It's not exactly progress but it could have been worse. I could have given her the bottle at 3am. I still have hope for tonight.

Sleeping throught the night

So for a new parent, this is probably the most exciting thing to happen (and I hope I'm not jinxing it now).. K finally slept through the night! (You say finally, when it's only been two months.. but when you're the one doing it every night, you would agree). Unfortunatley, mom (me) did not quite sleep through the night along with the little one. Why not you ask? Well, probably because my listening skills are way too good right now. As it is, I wake up pretty much every hour wondering, "Is it time? Will I have to rocket out of bed and get the bottle ready all while quieting a screaming infant?" Around 3:15 I heard some muttering but I was told, "Do not get her until she is crying." I said okay. I will not get up. I closed my eyes and when I opened them, another hour had passed. 4:15! I thought, wow. This has to be it. Just then I heard a little yell, and I said to myself, better hurry up and get the bottle before full fledged screaming ensues and wake up the husband - who I assume will be quite furious to be awakened only one hour before having to officially get out of bed himself. (Note: this happened during my pregancy when I really had to pee around 4 am). So I rush to the fridge, measure out the appropriate amount of water to perfectly warm the bottle, and wait. I wonder again why we can't use the microwave to warm the bottle (because it will create "hot spots" ... even though all you have to do is shake the bottle to mix it all together!) Still, I hear nothing. I assume she'll cry any minute so I use the bathroom (who knows when I will be able to do that again), and listen. Nothing. It's now approaching 4:30. Hmm. I contemplate getting back into my bed at the risk of waking C .. and of course I'm sure she'll cry as soon as I get back in bed, or tough it out on the couch. I chose option B. Now any smart person would get some extra sleep while waiting. Me? No, instead I'm thinking of all the possibilities. First, I'm positive that the second I fall asleep she will wake up. And then there's the bottle issue. Right now the bottle is at a perfect temperature for drinking. But it can only stay unrefrigerated for 2 hours. So as the minutes pass, I'm thinking, should I go put it in the fridge (only to have to go through the entire bottle warming business again) or just leave it. What if she sleeps for two hours. Will it really still be good by then? And once she puts her lips to the bottle it is only good for another hour. Does that include the two hours of sitting out time? This went on for a while. Suddenly, the dog appears, and C walks out. It's 5:15. "Is she alive?" he asks me. "Yes, she is alive." I decide to go back into my bed. At this point I am certain she will be up at any minute. I continue to contemplate this fact. C goes in to make sure she's breathing. Meanwhile I'm a little perturbed that I didn't stay in bed at 4:15 and get an extra hour of sleep. (It would have been the most hours of consecutive sleep I've gotten since before K was born). Still nothing. C comes in at 6:00 to say goodbye. Still nothing! I'm in shock. I decide to try to get a few minutes of sleep. I go to sleep and dream that K wakes up, and is walking around. I say to her, "You're walking?" She says to me (that's right, she can talk, too) "I just picked it up." At which point I jolt awake and finally hear an actual cry that says, "I'm hungry now. I slept for 8 hours and you didn't." Sigh. It's true that new mothers do not get any sleep.. even when the baby sleeps through the night!!!