Sylvia Sleeps...some more! YAY!

Such a wonderful thing!

One of the cutest pictures I have ever seen!

Well this week has definately had its ups and downs regarding Sylvia's sleeping.  We had a really great night in the middle of the week where she slept all night and even late! Last night was a not so great night where she treated bed time like it was nap time, and got up after 45 minutes of sleep and stayed awake until almost 11 p.m, then got up two hours later, and again at 6:30.  Today was a new day though, and that's how we have to approach this. One day at a time.  Sylvia has been successfully taking naps without being swaddled, but refusing to do it at night.  In case you didn't know, she is WAY to old to still need swaddling.  In the beginning the swaddling is to remind them of the tightness of the womb and to keep their startle reflex at bay.  We are way past that now.  She has been using swaddling as a pacifier of sorts.  It has comforted her and helped her sleep.  Well, she is a growing girl, and she is now about 1/2 a centimeter away from being too long for the biggest velcro-swaddler they sell. We considered cutting holes in the bottom of the current swaddler, but the truth is we just need to help her sleep without it.  We also need her to be able to fall asleep on her own, instead of us rocking her to sleep for all naps and bedtime.  Recently we made two purchases to assist in our efforts. We bought a wearable blanket to help keep Sylvia warm and comfortable at night We purchased a white noise/lullaby machine to replace the music from her swing, and to have something to travel with us for trips to Sturgeon.  It has been a lifesaver and I'm so glad we bought it! It also has a rotating projection that displays on the ceiling.

Today, for her afternoon nap she wasn't wanting to calm down to fall asleep.  I was rocking her in the rocking chair to no avail.  She wanted to pull my hair and give me kisses.  Which don't get me wrong, is pretty darn cute , but not at nap time.  So, I put her down in the crib and turned on her projector and walked out of the room.  She played by herself, babbling away for a good solid ten minutes minutes before she realized I wasn't coming back.  Then she fussed, but it was a mild fuss.  No screaming, and it lasted only about two minutes.  Then there was silence.  I waited a few minutes and then crept into the room to find my beautiful baby girl asleep with the little stuff dog we bought her on her arm. See the picture above!

I had no expectations of being able to duplicate the success for bedtime, but I gave it a try, and again to my utter surprise it worked! We read our bedtime stories, said our prayers and did kisses, but I put her in the crib while she was wide awake and walked out of the room.  Again, there was some mild fussing, and it was about five minutes worth this time, but sure enough she fell asleep on her own without having to be rocked to sleep. 

Now, as I've been typing this blog she did wake up once crying.  I picked her up and patted her back a few times and then laid her back in the crib and knelt beside the crib for no longer than three minutes until she was fast asleep again!

It feels good to have the starts of  a truly successful bedtime.  I only hope it lasts. We shall see!

Today was the Babies and Books program at the library.  It went really well! I had a lot of babies come and we had a lot of fun.  Some of the moms even requested that we run the program again.  My supervisor seemed impressed and she has asked me to do it monthly! So, it's kind of going to be my thing! :) I'm really excited about it.  It was a great feeling doing something I love today.  Sylvia and Allen were able to be there too which was very special. 

My friend Michelle and I opted out a hot and sunny walk in the park , for a nice indoor play date. The adorable picture above was snapped by Michelle.  Her baby boy crawled right up to Sylvia and put his forehead against hers.  It was one of the cutest things I think I have ever seen.  They talked to each other today too!

Well, I hope this lengthy blog makes up for the lack of blogs this week. I will try to do better next week!

Have a great weekend everyone!