Week Twenty Three

This week was pretty awesome.  You started "wooing," this weird almost humming noise that is very forceful.  You are trying so hard to communicate with us and I wish that I knew what you are trying to say!  You have long wooing conversations with me and you Dad, although if I try to video tape you you immediately stop!

This week was also your first Halloween.  You were pretty fussy Halloween itself, but you finally woke up from a late nap and I changed you into your super cute Strawberry costume, we took some pictures, you Trick or Treated with the neighbors (we gave the candy back) and then back inside for a few more photos and then bed.  We also dressed you up on the weekend for some better pictures and also took you to Sprouts and took even more pictures there.  You were SOOOOO cute.  My darling girl you stop people in their tracks with your cuteness.

We also had a really good visit with Grandma this week.  She was really alert and talking about how nusy she had been working.  She remembered your name, which at her stage of Alzheimer's is amazing.  She told us that everyone she told your name to just loved it and wanted to remember it to use when they have another baby in a few years.  So in a few years there will be hundreds of Rosabellas!  You grabbed her hand and she said how strong you were.  I also let another resident hold you (don't tell your Dad).  It was a stand out visit.  I hope that we have more like that!

Week Twenty Two

Holy Moly how time goes by!  It has been more than a month since my last post here.  Between taking care of you, working, pumping breast milk, chores around the house, taking pictures of you and captioning them I have not had the time to blog about you.  You are amazing and more so every day!  I have been taking notes about what happened during certain weeks so that when I have a moment I can write about them here.

During your 22nd week we started sleep training.  Ugh it was awful, you cried and cried.  I knew that you needed to get more sleep and I could not go to bed with you at 7 pm since I only get home from work at 6:30 pm, so I knew that you needed to be able to go to sleep and stay asleep without me nursing you.  I read so many books about it: The No Cry Sleep Solution (should be called the no sleep solution), Sleeping Through the Night, The Sleepeasy Solution, Good Night Sleep Tight and I have downloaded Solving Your Child's Sleep Problems, but have not had the chance to listen to it yet.  I knew that you would cry, I was following the Sleep easy rules in which I could comfort you with my voice, but not touch you.  I did not however leave you alone I laid next to your bassinet while you cried.  The first night was awful you cried for 1 hour and 5 minutes before going to sleep, your Dad went to sleep in the studio since he could not handle it.  I was in tears and shaking by the end and so wired I could not sleep even after you drifted off.  The second night 20 minutes of crying, the third 3 minutes and the fourth 1 minute.  I would love to say that you can go to sleep in 1 minute now, but we have had some set backs.  I do think that you are sleeping better though and naps are easier too.

I wish that there was another way to teach you to sleep.  I could not find one, and despite the tears (yours and mine) I do think that it was worth it in the end.  Now you sleep for 1.5 to 2 hours before waking up to eat, and once you wake up I bring you into bed with me and we co-sleep and nurse the rest of the night.  I was not ready to give that up yet and honestly I could not take any more of your sweet baby tears.  Plus waking up with you cuddled against me is one of the sweetest starts to the day that I could ever imagine.