Weekend Fun and a Growth Spurt

This weekend will be a hard one to top. Grammy and Grampy came into town Thursday night to spend Friday and Saturday with us!

Friday morning I had a dentist appointment, got my eyebrows waxed and picked up some yummy cake balls at our local bakery on the way home while G&G watched Scarlett. By the time I got home she had napped, had a bottle, and was ready to be nursed to sleep by her Momma. She had a good long nap once I got home and I dyed mom's hair while the 3 of us watched Ferris Bueler's Day Off. My parents had never seen it! 

That evening we all went to dinner at Red Robin then headed into the mall to find Texan some running shoes, his gift from G&G. Remember when you could go to Finish Line or Foot Locker and find good shoes for any athletic purpose? Not anymore! Everything is NIKE and it's all fashion statements. I'm not saying it's wrong to love fashionable NIKE sneakers, but both places were like, "These are popular in GREEN AND BLUE! Only $225!" Ok, what about good support for someone with moderate arches who runs long distance? We quickly decided to head to Academy. But first we went to the Disney store and mom picked out the cutest Minnie Mouse Halloween costume for Scarlett. She also got a Minnie sun bonnet. It goes without saying, but that place is a proverbial gold mine of Minnie Mouse themed merch. Next we went by the Brighton store, which I had only been in to pick out charms for mom's bracelet. I said, "Let's go in there. It's shiny." So as we looked Texan asked which bracelet I liked and which charms stuck out. After Scarlett was born he had mentioned that he would like to get me one so I could get a charm each Mother's Day. I figured he was getting ideas for then. The store clerk was shopping right along side us as mom and I "oo'ed and ahhed" and fell in LOVE with the new line, My Flat In London. Then Texan said to the clerk, "Well, she's going to pick a bracelet and 4 charms." 

"When?" I asked.

"Now," he said. "We'll call it a late birthday gift." 

There was a squeal (from somewhere) and I kissed his cheek and (might have) squealed again. I love surprises, what can I say? 

Mom said, "Well, you could've knocked me over with a feather!" She's always good for an old-lady catch phrase at the most appropriate times. 

I chose a silver clock from the My Flat In London collection, a white blinged-out heart, and a blingy spacer. I was actually too overwhelmed with choices to pick a fourth, so I'll wait for next time. 

You must know, during all of this mall time, Dad pushed Scarlett around in her stroller. She slept and slept and was the best shopping buddy ever. Dad doesn't go into stores until mom says, "Dave, come and pay!" Wait, maybe HE is the best shopping buddy ever...

We went to Academy and got Texan some real running shoes, fluorescent socks, and me a chevron tote. (I have NO IDEA how I got that bag. I put it in the cart expecting someone to say something like, get this outta here. But no one did. And now it's mine. Shhh). Next, ice cream and sleep was had by all.

Here he is ready to run. You can't tell, but the shoes have that same bright green running through them. He loves that color. And that color loves him, honestly. Saturday morning we all hit the trails so he could break in his new duds while Mom, Dad, Scarlett and I walked. The weather was clear blue skies and 70! I love spring in Texas. It's unbeatable. 

We relaxed in the yard, the guys worked on our new fence, and we cooked a big dinner before G&G went home that night. It was the perfect weekend. 

Scarlett had a growth spurt from Sunday to Thursday. Friday night she finally slept 8 straight hours, then 9 Saturday night. She also napped like a champ all weekend. She took 3 one-hour naps each day! We took a 3 hour nap together today and she's been sleeping in my arms since 8 o'clock tonight. She spent all of church in nursery and I went down to nurse her once because when I peeked in she was fussy from having hiccups. But she did take a bottle from the sweet old lady in there around 10. I was proud. But after church we went to lunch with 13 people and Scarlett had had ENOUGH by half way through lunch. She wailed until Texan started the car. Then she slept all the way home where I immediately layed her in bed to nurse and we took a 3 hour nap. Keep in mind that between the time her crying began and the time the car was driving home was 20 of the longest and loudest of my life. I was sitting in the car waiting for him to pay while she refused every effort for comfort. She just wanted to sleep and I knew that. Once she was sleeping in the car I cried for a few minutes. I just needed to let off some steam and felt guilty for going to lunch because it kept her from her nap. Oh, motherhood. Most of the time I feel she would be better off if she never had to go anywhere. But then today I met a woman in the cry room before service began who said her 8 month old has never slept through the night. (!) She said she just puts him in bed with her and he nurses 3 times a night and she sometimes sleeps through it. When I told her how old Scarlett was she called me "poor thing" and asked if things were getting easier. When I told her Scarlett had been sleeping through the night (except for during growth spurts) for weeks now she acted confused. Poor thing? Me? No way. 

This weekend, even with the public meltdown, has made me feel like the richest girl around! Besides, nothing looks bad from the other side of a three-hour Sunday nap. Not even boxing up your quesadilla and running out of Chili's to avoid glares from a nearby shrew.

Cling to Me

These past two days have been very draining. And much of it is my fault. It was my choice to walk for almost 90 minutes yesterday and get a sunburn, then lift weights and walk for an hour today...

It started Sunday night with Scarlett sleeping 10-2 in her crib. She never sleeps for long in her crib, so I chalked it up to that. But after bringing her back to her bassinet in our room, she woke up every 2 hours until around 11. We haven't had a night (morning?) like that in a long while. Oh, my brain. Just the night before she had championed out 9 straight hours! And ever since Sunday night it's been 3 cranky evenings. It's like the clock strikes 5pm and she is the unhappiest, most exhausted she has ever been. For the past.three.evenings. I try to lay her down for an evening nap, which she desperately needs, but she is so clingy these past few days it just winds her up even more--all the crying, that is. 

So tonight I gave her an early bath and laid down with her and let her fall asleep with me at 8 o'clock. I didn't sleep, of course, because my nerves were shot. The kitchen was still full of dirty dishes from my homemade white artichoke chicken lasagna, her tub needed to be scrubbed because she pooped in it, and 3 loads of laundry needed to be folded. But my baby needed sleep more than I needed a clean house. So all evening I let her nurse and sleep. She had about a 30 minute wakeful period from 10:15-10:45 then passed out again, this time on the couch. I waited until she was in a deep enough  sleep and moved her to her bassinet where she is presently cooing in her sleep. I am so exhausted but I can't  sleep because I'm so distraught over this clingy fussiness. It's so unlike her to cry so much over being put down. No tummy time, no swing, no crib nap. She Even cried the last 10 minutes of our walk today! This is harder than all those sleepless nights in the beginning because I wasn't expecting this. It seems like a growth spurt but at the same time it seems like she is exhausted and upset. I know God will give me the wisdom to care for her the way she needs, but I feel so frazzled. Tomorrow will be better. Nothing changes her happy morning mood, even growth spurts. So there's that I look forward to! 

Here's a photo of our Sunday nap. It was a great day, what with Scarlett sleeping in nursery.

 I hope my girl feels more like herself soon. I hate that she is unhappy when Texan gets home from work. She doesn't get to enjoy him as much. In this picture you can see that she has found her right ear. She messes with it a lot and my ear infection paranoia kicks in. But her doc say her ears are great, so I'll just keep my eye out for elevated temps and extra crankiness.

I often hear the loud sound of smacking and find Scarlett intently sucking her right thumb. Only the right one, and only when she is sleepy or hungry. I don't mind since she can't keep a paci in her mouth. I find it sooths her and melts my heart. Two birds, one stone.

On Becoming an Expert

When I was Pregnant, I read a funny article that poked fun at the 476 Kajillion ways to sleep train a baby. And I thought, "It must be impossible; I'll play it by ear." And in doing so, we're sleeping pretty well around here. The average is 11-7 with a few variations: 10:30-7:30, 10:15-6 and so on...but today was a first that I plan to duplicate tomorrow. Scarlett went down for a nap completely awake in her crib and was sound asleep in 10 minutes. It was only a 40 minute nap, but it was such an exciting time! I recently started scouring sleep-training material online as well as the book On Becoming Baby Wise. I don't care for some of the opinions expressed in that book, namely the one that states, (paraphrase) "if you think nursing your child whenever she cries is showing her some special kind of love, it's not. You're suppressing a cry, not treating the issue." I reserve the right to nurse on demand, and the fact that this book sees it as a parenting flaw kind of makes me want to chuck it out the window of a moving car. But I love my state too much to litter. 

I'm working on nighttime crib--an idea made to sound quite crucial by one of the sources-- but after 20 minutes she is more awake than before, and Texan says, "Ok, Mommy. Bring me my baby." He hates to hear her fuss at me and prefers to snuggle with her while I do my evening chores. So, we'll see how long it takes to get her to go down in her crib instead of her bassinet. But since the bassinet is going so well at night, I'm happy with just crib napping for now.

Naturally, I photographed the moment. And don't worry, The monitor stayed in the crib because 1) she doesn't know how to use her hands and was swaddled up tight 2) I checked on her every 5 minutes because of my sheer joy! 3) There's no dangerous cord. 

It wasn't one of those naps where I went and had "me time" and pretended I was on vacation. It was an experiment, people! A closely-monitored experiment.

Here's an interesting moment we had the other night. She just wanted to snuggle, so I wrapped her up in my sling and made dinner while she hung out--quite literally. She even nursed for the second half of the cooking process! And yes, we are in our pajamas. That's because I shower after my afternoon workout and if I have nowhere to be, I put on clean pajamas at one o'clock....because I can, that's why. And she's in her pajamas because, well, she's a baby. And sometimes it's fun to just hang out in your pjs instead of getting dressed.

Speaking of getting dressed, we went to church as a family this Sunday for the first time. Texan left us home each Sunday (spare one or two) and now he was able to bring his girls. Scarlett was quite a hit with the elderly in the church. We have to walk down the hallway where they meet for Sunday school and you would've thought they'd never seen such beauty--let's face it, they probably hadn't! She slept through praise and worship in my arms and woke up 10 minutes into service quite cantankerous. So I took her to the cry room and nursed and changed her. She also nursed (slept, really) through Sunday school. Thank God for my nursing cover. I would've been hiding in the cry room all day without it. 

Since Scarlett usually sleeps until 11 or 11:30, church (which is 9:15-12) was a huge inconvenience for her. I'm sure once she gets older and her patterns become more normal she'll be less of a zombie during church. By then I'll feel fine leaving her in nursery. But at this point she can't be soothed by a bottle when she's that tired. Don't tell Baby Wise, they'll say I'm perpetuating poor habits. How presumptuous of my baby to want to be soothed! The madness! *grumble grumble*

Oh, her church dress. Black tutu around the bottom and the black and white pattern up top...a drop-waist...black tights that are a little too big because her legs are so tiny! Yikes, I wanted to just eat her up. I'll get a good picture next time she wears it.

Well-Baby: Two Months

Today my earth angel had her first set of immunizations. We're thrilled to report that she is in the 75th percentile all across the board. (My little proportionate lady). She weighed in at 11 lbs 6.5 oz and 23 inches long. She got 3 shots on her right leg and 2 on her left, and one oral vaccine which she was very confused by. Why, this isn't milk...

Here she is before her shots. "What does a girl have to do around here to get some milk?" 

The shots

The band aids. "Mom, grab my pants and lets get out of here before she comes back with another needle."

Sad little sleepy head back in her carseat driving home. "Turn it up, Mom, this is my song."

She cried for about a minute after the shots, was quiet going to the car, then passed out as soon as we got on the road. At home we went on a long walk, for which she slept, then it was as if she realized around 6 o'clock that her legs hurt. She cried, slept and nursed for 3 straight hours--in that order. Just too sore not to tell us about it, too tired to stay awake for long, and too sad not to be comforted by mommy. I'll admit, I cried too when she was really telling her sad stories. I wish I could've taken all the pain. But she is asleep now and I even got to finish folding laundry, cleaning the kitchen, and sat down to a snack and a glass of milk. Genuine mommy time! I needed it after the fitful evening I had with her. It's so nice to relax when the house is dark, the dishwasher is running and husband and baby (and even the hounds) are asleep. I get such peace knowing my poor sweet baby is getting some much-needed rest after wearing herself out. Now in worn out. 

G'night!

8 Weeks

Here's some advice one of my favorite people gave me recently. She said, "I loved being a stay at home mom. Enjoy every minute." Now, I've been given this advice before in regards to motherhood. And while it's a bit on the hyperbolic side--no one enjoys EVERY moment of every day--I have no problem stopping, capturing a moment in my day and realizing, "I am SO enjoying this day and everything about it." I think because the advice came from someone whose kids are almost grown and all but one has left the nest, I can imagine now that she has a full time job and a granddaughter, she looks back on the days of being a young mother at home with her babies and thinks, "Those were the best days of my life." At least, that's what I think I will think when I'm her age. All this to say, being a stay at home mom rocks. It is the best job in the world. What other job can a person have where God (the ultimate and greatest parent) is their boss, their husband is their only coworker, and their biggest and most important clients are their own creations--their babies?! All the late nights and poo-stained comforters (don't judge) and milk-smelling EVERYTHING is for the glory of God and to make a happy healthy child out of this helpless and perfectly lovable baby. 

My Scarlett Jane, or as Texan refers to her, Sugars, is 8 weeks now. She will be 2 months in just a couple days, so I'm combining the post because from here on our we're basically going to be measuring her age in months, right? *sniff sniff*

She is Awake almost all day, with a few cat naps here and there. Some days she naps for a couple hours, but it's not routine.

She saves her biggest smiles for mirror time, welcoming Daddy home, and first thing when she wakes up. 

Her most popular "word" is "gaaa." 

She holds her head up for extended periods. And she supports herself on her elbows during tummy time. 

She rolls over seamlessly, but gets tired after a while and let's me know she's done with tummy time.

She always lets me know when she needs a diaper change and smiles during the entire changing process. She loves to be clean! She also loves her bath except for when it's time to get out. Her Nana gave her a bath during her visit Thursday and Scarlett was so happy to see her that she forgot how much she hates getting out of the bath.

She is moving up to 0-3 month clothes. And depending on the brand, 3 month fits her too with room to spare. Some brands of her newborn clothes are way too snug. Her footsie pajamas in newborn size don't allow her to fully extend her legs anymore. So sad. 

She loves her swing. Last night our friends came over, and when Karen took Scarlett out of her swing to hold her, she cried until Karen put her back. It's that serious. She spent the evening cooing and giggling in her swing.

She is not as deep of a sleeper as she was, though if she falls asleep with music or tv on she will sleep through anything. It's nighttime we have to be quiet.

She found her tongue recently and loves to wag it around for us.

Here she is after being so over zealous with her binky, that she gave herself a red mark around her mouth. 

Snuggling on the couch during her noon nap.

Good morning, smiley!