Sleeping longer at night

So, you wouldn't believe it if you saw how tall and chubby Eden is, but she's actually not a fantastic eater. She gets distracted easily and often stops eating if we take a break to burp or switch sides. I think it's because she's so content and wants to smile and talk so much. So, I've been less diligent about getting her to take a full feeding at each nursing session (because smiling and talking are so fun for me too!!). Buuuuut I think this is why she's not sleeping through the night yet. When she does wake at night to eat, she eats very well, I guess because she's sleeping and not distracted. So, I think she may even be getting more calories in during the night than during the day. 

Moses started sleeping through the night (i.e. 6-7 hours at a stretch) on Babywise at 7 weeks. Eden has been on Babywise, except for the part about really getting a full feeding at each session... So I decided to up my game this week because I think I'll be a zombie at work if I still have to get up 2-3 times a night. 

I have been pushing her to eat more during the day and trying to only give her one side when we wake at night. And you know what? We almost made it to 6 hours the night before last!!! 6 glorious hours. I know she's old enough and big enough to sleep longer at night, so I'll keep pressing on to get it!! :) 

And an update about the swaddle, haha, she'll be just fine:

Oh, and an update about the end of the day. Just about two short weeks later, Eden is now able to stay up to eat at 7 and have a bath and go to sleep on her own, with no crying, somewhere between 7:30 and 8. Things change so fast. And the morning wake up is getting better. I've tried a bit to let her cry it out, but if she is congested, I pick her up, give her saline in her nose, hold her until she stops crying and her breathing sounds better, and put her down. She's been able to sleep until 7 or so for a few mornings this week! Yay. :)  

The end of maternity leave

I feel so so lucky to be able to have spent the last 11 weeks with Eden. It went by too quickly. I'm trying to move more slowly and really drink in and savor these last moments with out sweet girl. I love holding her little body, heavy with milk and sleep and I wish I could just pause life for a little while. 

I visited daycare yesterday to drop off Moses and get oriented with the infant room. It was peaceful and there were about 8 babies in there with 2 teachers. Lots of simple, matching cribs lined the walls, and each one had a baby's photo denoting who was to sleep where. A couple of babies were sleeping, but most of them were playing in the center of the room. No swaddles. No sleeping in car seats, swings, or toys. Not much crying either, honestly. 

I decided to try back off the swaddling right away when we got home, because I have a feeling this transition will be tough on everyone, and it'd be better not to go cold turkey on the swaddle with the start of daycare. I left her swaddle loose and one arm out. And you know what happened? Nothing. She napped just the same as usual. Babies change and grow so quickly. I'm sad I won't be able to watch every moment of Eden growing. But I have to trust, as I did with Moses, that because God's plan for me right now is to work, His plan for Eden is to be cared for by others. He is doing a work in of our lives, even now. But it's still hard on this momma's heart. I already miss her, even though I'm lying right next to her as she sweetly slumbers in her little bassinet. 

doctor's visit (10.5 weeks)

she is "advanced for a 2 month old" according to the doctor. and i'm bursting with pride! :)

her stats:

• Height: 25.5" (99th percentile)
• Weight: 14 lbs, 1 oz (97th percentile)
• Head Circumference: 15.75" (70th percentile)

we talked about her cradle cap, her smiles, her eating, her mucus in her stool, her occasional gasps for air, cleaning her little girl parts, and her stuffy nose. everything seems regular and good! :) 

babywise update: week 10

so, the good news is that baby girl can go down for naps with virtually no crying. it's wonderful!

the bad news is that the end of the day is still quite bumpy. and i've been nursing her to sleep at the end of the day. we've had times where she's cried for an hour+ if i've done it other ways (like ending with the bath), or going down too late (after 7:15 or so). so i'm a little shy to try something different again. i'm not sure what to do, because i really don't want to nurse her to sleep forever and ever amen.

the other bad news is that she wakes up in the five or six o'clock hour in the morning. it's too close to my goal of making it to 7am (plus or minus 15 minutes) to give her a proper feeding. and she falls asleep after just a few minutes of eating anyway. so i've started to let her cry it out. it's so hard because it's early morning, and i just feel so bad that she's crying so loudly (potentially) waking everyone up. but she does drift in and out of sleep, so that's good. it's been just a couple of days.

i'm sure we'll figure out these kinks over the next couple of weeks. i'll keep you updated.

YouTube, what would i have done without you?

so, as it turns out, YouTube has been the one that has taught me all the baby essentials: changing diapers, bathing, swaddling (and double swaddling), now even breastfeeding (latching on using the flipple technique). wow. what a great resource. what did people do before the internet? look in the encyclopedia? go to the library? i'd be lost.

officially the worst maternity leave

not at all because of my time with Eden--that has been glorious. :)

but because i got my period this week. my hair has started to fall out by the handful. and yes, it has only been 10 weeks. smh. and my breast is sore again. might become mastitis again if i'm not careful. bah. i don't want to go on antibiotics again. poor eden has had enough drugs.

but more than that, my mother is back in the hospital. her brain is swelling causing her to go back and forth between laughing uncontrollably and being unresponsive. she's on steroids, which i'm guessing has quieted her down, but she's not really even able to feed herself anymore. i'm sad. sad doesn't really describe it adequately, but that's what i've got.

also, we got into a car accident last week. our van has been out of commission this week. bah.

so, that's three more things to add to the list that i started at week 6 or so. i'm ready for things to get better already.

the upside is that i decided Moses should go back to daycare for my last two weeks of maternity leave, so i could really regroup and get some rest before going back to work. i miss him terribly, but it was/is a good choice for me. i think it will really help our relationship too, because all this time together has really been tough on both of us, i think.

and beautiful eden, please sleep through the night. please. pretty please?

Size 3 diapers

II was putting off going up another size, but honestly, everytime she pooped, I held the back of her diaper down so that it wouldn't blow out. Even so, we still ruined multiple outfits and pajamas. I was procrastinating because she's not yet 16 pounds (the low end of the weight range of size 3), but now that we've gone up, I see that they fit great, and I have peace of mind that we're protected against pool once again. According to our bathroom scale, she's about 14 pounds, but I guess it's the distribution of weight that must be making a difference. :9 #chubbybaby