Grrrrrrr

My little sweet pea has discovered a new noise!!!! This morning we were having some floor play time and I flipped her over for some tummy time (gently, of course) and posed her teddy bear and dog in front of her. There she was, lifting that gorgeous little head of hers and "talking" to her toys...and then she breaks out with this growl! It was just too adorable! I called Dave at work and put the phone on speaker so he could hear it as well :)
Later in the afternoon my nap fighter was at it again so we moved to my bed to see if that would lull her in to sleep. Nope! She was much more interested in growling! I brought in her G-horse and it was munch, munch, Grrrr....munch, munch, Grrrrr....I couldn't help it, I was cracking up! She continued with this new noise tonight when Dave came home as well. It is just too much fun! I love how she is discovering these new tricks of her vocal cords. She is just a melody of sounds lately. :)

She rolled!!!!

...and I missed it!!!!! Oh, the agony!! Delanah, my little diva, decided to try her new skill when no one was around...figures! Little miss independent already! She was in her crib with G-horse (a giraffe that we think looks more like a horse), and she loves this animal. She'll toss it, hug it, eat it, you name it! I figure she tossed the animal to the head of the crib and was trying to get it. I was downstairs making some hot chocolate and talking to G-ma, I seriously needed just a few minutes of "me time" as Delanah has been stuck closer to me than my own skin today. Anyhoos, she went from happily talking to G-horse and her mobile to crying a very upset cry. I trek on up there and there is my little sweet pea, on her stomach! Her right arm was caught under her (a little rusty with this new skill), and G-horse was at the top of her crib...and man, did she look mad! I don't think she's too impressed with this new skill so we are going to be working on it a little more in the next few days. Hmmmm....gone are the days of leaving her in one spot on the floor? Watch out Bailey! Baby on the move!!!!!

I love the Ergo!!!

Today I got to put the Ergo carrier into practical use :) Oh what a busy day sweet pea and I had! I wanted to make sure I had plenty of diapers and food in the house before the storm came in tomorrow. They are now predicting up to 15" of snow in our area and up to 2 feet where I used to work! Needless to say, we aren't going to be wandering out in that tomorrow!
I decided that today I needed full use of the shopping cart which meant my little girl was going to ride in the Ergo. She was asleep when we got there and I was hoping she would stay in that state while I transferred her over, but twas not to be :) She had a good time while we shopped though! I'm not sure what people thought when they saw us, but I was describing every morsel of food that went into the cart and telling her how I was going to use it, and then there was the singing and dancing in the aisles. You know, I used to get embarassed so easily, but if it means I am going to make my angel happy, who cares what other people think! There was just so much for her to look at that I had a wide-eyed little girl in the pack the entire time. :) People were commenting on how cute she was...seems to happen a lot when we're out...I'm thinking we have a cute little girl on our hands!
I am now fully stocked and prepared for this storm. I still have memories of the last blizzard we had here...when my 30 min commute turned into a 3 hour commute. It was scary as heck and we weren't completely prepared at home either. With a baby in the house, when they start giving the warnings like they have been giving for this storm, I am going to listen and be prepared! I wish Dave didn't have to drive in it tomorrow, but he has a training course he has to go to...they better be prepared with the snow plows this time!
Tomorrow Delanah and I are going to fill the day with making soup from scratch, baking from scratch and playing with the toys on the floor. We might venture out into the snow as well :) I am having Dave invite over his guys from out of town for dinner. Nothing like a home to have dinner in on a snowy night :) They are both grandpa's themselves and were just cooing over Delanah tonight...she'll love the attention tomorrow!
Okay, off to bed. I am trying to get myself on a better sleeping schedule now that we have Delanah on a good one. All I can say is, thank goodness for caffeine!!!!

Funny puppies!

Today we took a field trip to g-ma's house :) I was going to get a sewing lesson and Delanah was going to get a lot of cuddles. Late start as little missy decided that 4:30am was an awesome time to wake up this morning....YAWN! A little milk later she went down in her crib again, I fell asleep and woke to her morning conversation at 8:30! I figured we would be out of the house and on our way by 9:45am.....why do I jinx myself by stating a departure time out loud?! So at 10:45 we were on our way!
Oh the fun we had in the fabric store! I found a pattern and lots of great fabric...and I bought everything I needed to make Delanah's dedication gown! I saw a pattern and just loved it and then found the most beautiful lace for it! Now comes the scary part...actually making it! Eeeeek!!!!!!! I am going to only work on it when g-ma is around :)
While we are there and I am happily pattern tracing, g-ma is playing the upside-down game with sweet pea (she loves this game!)and Murry and Bruiser are hanging around and Murry starts barking. Now Delanah is used to Bailey barking, but we weren't sure how she was going to react to this...didn't phase her one bit. She had been tracking the boys all day long (g-ma and I were second best when the dogs were around) so g-ma decided to sit her on the floor so she could see the dogs better. Oh my goodness!!!! Murry would come up and drop his toy near her feet then grab it and run...and Delanah was letting out the most adorable belly laughs!!!!! Then Bruiser and Murry started playing tug of war with a toy and boy did Delanah love that as well :) Anytime the boys walked near her she was cracking up...it was the most wonderful thing to hear and see...I wish I had taken the video camera with me! She likes watching both dogs, but Murry sure captured her attention today, and he even gave her kisses for the first time!
Tonight we all sat on the floor and she was just staring at Bailey, and when Bay would turn away, Delanah would start calling her and blowing raspberries at her to get her attention. Yes, our sweet pea is a dog lover from the start!
The weather is looking to turn tomorrow, we are to get snow tomorrow night, all day Thursday into Friday....good thing she likes the dog as we are all going to be cooped up together!

What are these...?

...these things that mom grabs when my diaper is changed? Why am I just noticing them? Wow! They are SO much cooler when mom takes my shoes and socks off! Hmmm, I can grab them too with mom's help....interesting....
This is what I gathered from facial expressions is going on in Delanah's head :) She discovered her feet! I was changing her diaper this morning and she began focusing on her feet and became quite interested in them. I now have a foot song that I sing to her, yes, I can make a song out of anything these days...you should hear my poopy diaper song! Anyhoos, I was singing the song and doing the dance (yes, a dance for everything as well) and she started grabbing for these interesting things that mom was playing with. Take the socks off and toes and fingers are now curling around each other and she is smiling and laughing away! We had lots of fun with feet yesterday. She liked playing with them while on her changing table...and she made sure she had plenty of time on that changing table yesterday!
Monday was a rough day. She was up at 5:30am, which by default meant I was up at 5am, and then decided that neither one of us needed a nap. One small sanity break and a caffeinated beverage later, I was on my second wind and the fun with feet day began :)We finally got a nap break after our field to get some Easter bibs (I couldn't resist!) and then it was time to introduce daddy to the foot game. Ahhh, isn't it amazing how through the eyes of a child we can all be entertained by feet?

Godparents

Yesterday we had Abbey and Paul over and after praying over our invitation, they have accepted the role as Delanah's godparents and we couldn't be more thrilled! They are an awesome couple and I know they will be a wonderful influence in our precious daughters life :)
I think the busy Saturday did Delanah in though....stim overload!!! She got quite fussy and cranky, but Dave and I took her on a little drive, us in the front not talking and just the radio on and she was great after that! Sometimes she just needs some "me" time...I can understand that :)
My back is loving me tonight! We went out this arvo and finally got the Ergo baby carrier that we have been talking about getting for a month. Yay! I was going to order it online, but found a place in Denver that carried it and decided to pick it up in person...woo-hoo! It took me back when we got there as it was in a little shopping area that we used to frequent for food when I was in grad school....then - burritos and caffeine, now - baby carriers, baby shoes and infant toys! My how things change in just a few years!
While we were in there I took note of all the different "baby bumps" that were in there and although I loved being pregnant, I wouldn't trade what I have for anything. I love my little sweet pea so much! We had a scary moment this afternoon, I won't go into details, but I was so glad my mom was there to give me guidance! Ahh...what would we do without our moms?!
I have adopted! No, not what you think, I adopted an adult! Didn't think you could do that, did ya'? I found a great organization called Adopt a US Soldier. Soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan can sign up and then you sign up and they assign 7-10 people to a soldier. You write letters, emails, send care packages, pretty much anything you can do to show them that they have support here at home. Some soldiers are single, some married, some with families. Some may write back, some may not. I am very excited to be a part of this. I know how much Teague loved getting packages and letters when he was over there and I want to show those stationed over there that they are cared about. Tomorrow Delanah and I are going to write our first letter and get it sent out. I have an excuse to bake now...and it won't be around to tempt me to eat it! How awesome is that?!

First solo swing!

The weather was just beautiful today! We took Bay to the park to play in the creek, with Delanah in the Moby, and had a great time :) Poor Delanah was trying to track Bailey and was absolutely exhausted by the end of the trek as Bay was running all over the place :)
The days are getting longer now and after Dave came home from work we all headed over to the close park to let Delanah have her first solo swing ride! She rode forward facing in her stroller....my big girl!!!! When we got there she was positively dwarfed in the swing! :) One blanket and my hoodie later, she was nicely secured in the swing :) A few pushes into it and there was a happy squeal and smile. She was catching the attention of another woman in the park and the evening walkers as she was sporting her pink "bling" sunnies and looking very stylish ;) We took about 20 pics, some video and made absolute fools of ourselves gushing over our big girl...as parents should!
We also took some turns going down the slide, although by this point, I think Delanah was exhausted from her busy day and it was more for mom and dad rather than daughter. We just can't get over how quickly she is developing her muscles. Now if we could only figure out how to develop her sleep area to get more naps in at night.....

Wow! Head control!

Tuesday we took Bay to the vet. An adventure when it's just Bailey and I (she had a bad experience there last summer), but now we have Delanah in tow. Bay did so well! She didn't like the idea of people coming too close to Delanah, and gave Delanah several kisses while we were there, but did quite well :) Delanah was quite the charmer and gave several smiles :)
While we were there, with Delanah in her car seat, I was quite surprised to see her lift her head off of the seat several times! The first time she did that!!! We did some tummy time and she was showing some great control with that as well. It's amazing how quickly things change overnight. Seriously, am I going to wake up at some point next week to find her asking to borrow the car keys?!

Where has the week gone?!

Is it seriously Friday already? Where have the days gone? Okay, so I have gone through a lot of this week in a haze...still recovering from the flu and I haven't been getting a lot of sleep. Little missy decided the other night that sleep was over rated and was helping Dave and I remember what our house looked like at midnight, 1am, 2am and then 6am! It was an incredibly long night :) Yesterday There was some great napping though!
Okay, what do you get when you toss in a creek, excited dogs and a baby in a stroller? One happy, wet and muddy Bailey and a mud splattered stroller and a smiling baby with some mud spots on her cheek :) Then the fun began...our car smelled on the way home, oh yeah, Bailey found some great dirt piles to roll in on the way to the car :) When we got home, Delanah was asleep (which I wish she was doing right now) and Bay spread her mud love throughout the house...sigh!!!! Delanah finally asleep, me tired as heck, the dog locked outside and barking every minute or two....for 2 hours!!! It was one of the best naps Delanah has taken and I couldn't take advantage of it! Needless to say I was extremely tired last night!

Rice and eggs

Rice and eggs...that's all I can eat at the moment...oh wait! Don't forget the dry toast! The sad thing is, it's really quite tasty to have that for every meal :) I made the brown rice in vegetable broth so there is some flavor there, and the combination of scrambled eggs and rice is quite yummy! It doesn't seem to be affecting Delanah's meals, so all is good there!
I had more energy today at least! I managed to get some laundry done, some cleaning done and occupy a very fussy little girl! Picture it....an exhausted mom who went to bed way too late last night, a bright, sunny day, and an adorable little girl who felt it necessary to "talk" in her "outside voice" all morning long.....oh, while the exhausted mom was attempting to get a nap in to feel human...it was not a pretty mix!
Our morning was developing into an ugly situation with mom and baby crying and bird doing her best to join in (lucky dog was at daycare), so I placed my sweet girl in her crib to cry and took myself off to the shower to cry and decided that there was no place for "crying, scary mom" in our day. I have no idea where I got the energy from, but I managed to pull some out and make my darling girl smile and laugh.
Nap time was oh-so-fun today (typed with as much sarcasm as possible), but there were things I needed to get done and Delanah needed a nap so it was into the crib and she tested the max volume of her vocal cords! I felt as if I was close to getting the "mom of the year" award (again, said dripping with sarcasm) as when I went to check on my quiet, sleeping girl, she was still recovering from her crying, with sad little hiccups in her sleep. Talk about stabbing me in the heart!
The afternoon went much better. My little stinker just wanted to be with her mommy. As soon as she ate some lunch she crashed out in my arms and slept for over an hour. I was too guilt ridden from earlier to try to move her. We also worked on rolling over on our new area rug...she was not impressed :) Oh well, there's always tomorrow! We are having spring-like weather here again this week so I am planning some outdoor adventures for us. I think we're going to head out to the dog park at Cherry Creek State Park tomorrow...let Bailey swim and give Delanah and I some sun. Now that she has sunnies that she'll wear...we're set!

Brutal.....

So I wake up Thursday morning not feeling the greatest, figured it was just because I didn't get enough sleep....oh naive little Moni... Now on day 3 of the flu I have had enough! I raise the white flag, I surrender!!!! Seriously...anyone listening? I give! No more torture!
Dave was in Florida and expected home at 11pm that night...okay, I can do this. Delanah was awesome! She took a nice long nap with me, was content to just relax in the afternoon...sweet! Considering my temp was on the rise and I was achy, had the chills, you name it! I kept Dave updated and he caught an earlier flight home, Yay! My neighbor was awesome and took Delanah from me for about an hour to let me get a little nap in, and I was able to last until Dave got home that night.
Woke up Friday feeling like I had been hit by a truck, a smaller truck than Thursday, but a truck nonetheless. Dave stayed late in the morning to let me get ready for the day and was only at the office a few hours before he came home to take care of us. My husband rocks! He cared for Delanah, bringing her to me to nurse and then taking her to go play so I could try to get some rest. :) Delanah and I went to bed at the same time last night.
This morning I woke up feeling great! I was hungry (for the first time in 2 days) and had some energy. Well, as typical Moni style, I overdid it and have paid for it the rest of the day. Oh, I didn't help that this afternoon I decided that Chinese food was a good idea. Really? Chinese food? Honestly! Sometimes I wonder if I am really thinking.....sigh!!!! So Dave has been taking care of Delanah and myself...and the dog and the bird...oh yeah, and he has to take care of himself as well! At the moment he is trying to put an overtired and cranky Delanah to bed. I really have been blessed with the most wonderful and loving husband!

Now if I could only figure out how to get better quickly.....

Tears and shots...

I think the majority of the tears were mine! Delanah had her 4 month boosters this afternoon, and I am still recovering. Delanah was a champ! She cried when the shots were given, and had some sporadic crying afterwards, but did quite well this afternoon! There was napping (for both of us) and we "swam" in the bath tub! Okay, I was in my bathing suit, but as we haven't found one for her yet, she was skinny dipping :) Tonight was rough getting her to sleep, boy was she fighting it! Another bath and many cuddles later, she is finally asleep. The injection sites look great! I am keeping a close eye on her, but I hope things continue going this well :)
My girl is a high achiever! 14.3lbs, 25" long, 75-90th percentile for height, 50-75th percentile for weight, and Dr. Stanford said she looks great! Delanah was quite the ham during her examination...what a giggle monster! She laughed pretty much every time Dr. Stanford touched her :)
Tomorrow we are going to take it easy...I am exhausted! It takes a lot of energy to fret and stress over her! I think we might have another "swimming" session...that was fun! As soon as we got in her legs were floating...I don't think she knew quite what to do! I can hardly wait until we get to swim in a pool!

Lip smacks

Delanah has a new trick! She was more than happy to share it with me this morning. As she was sitting in her swing, I detected a new, strange (and loud) noise coming from her direction. As soon as we made eye contact she shot me a gummy grin, stuck her tongue out a little and...smack, smack, smack. There goes my girl who has discovered a fun new noise to make! Oh how she loved "talking smack" with me this morning ;) We had some great conversations as she was relaxing on her changing table (we visited that place a lot this morning, but that's another story)and she found amusement in the fact that I was making the noise back to her. What an awesome kid!
Ahh, this afternoon we had adventures in the post office...Delanah charmed woman after woman as the line passed us by :) Ever notice how there are always more women than men in the post office? Anyhoos, she was sporting her new sunnies and was stylin'! I had to make sure she was looking good for her passport photo; she keeps it for 5 years! I tried to show off her new skills to Dave when he got there, but Delanah reminded me once again that she is not a trained animal and refused to perform her new trick. Instead we had lots of raspberries :)
All questioned were answered about the passport photos. There was a white board on the ground and Delanah got to relax on the floor for her picture. She was quite the smiling girl! Just as the postal worker was about to take the photo, she would turn her head to check out the room. That's my girl! Do things on your own time kiddo! We got a great pic though and she was in such a good mood! When it came time to put her in her car seat again though, miss fussypants made an appearance; and at the same time, and in the same tone, the postal worker and I said "okay". We chuckled and she said it's because she's a mom as well...we figure it's the universal mom "okay" that's uttered when a baby has decided that enough is enough.
Now we just wait 3-6 weeks and our little sweet pea has her first passport! I didn't get mine until I was in high school!

Better to start early...

...at teaching Delanah how to bargain shop! Yesterday we stopped by Children's Place and got heaps of new sleepers (in 6-9 month size for my long baby!) and got them for less than 1/2 of the original price! High on our savings, I convinced Dave and the g-parents (who brought us up a high chair g-ma's coworker gave to us for free!) that we should check out Pumpkin Patch and get some clearanced winter items for our growing girl and stock up for next year. Off we go! With a pit stop in the Nordstrom Mother's room, we were full, clean and ready to find some good deals. And good deals we did find! We got heaps of long sleeved and short sleeved tops, pants and bibs for 1/4 of the original prices! I wouldn't buy things full price there for the most part, but when they have sales, man, do they have sales!
One long shopping trip later we were home and my little angel finally protested her long day. She was so good for us while we were out! I might just get her interested in bargain hunting.....hmmm...first we have to lose her fascination with watching the elevator go between the 1st and 2nd floor in the mall....

Mommy's helper

My girl is a helper at 4 months old! On the drive to church this morning we were sitting in the back seat together communicating through raspberries. Hers were definitely more full of spit than mine could ever be :) After most raspberries I would wipe the drool off and she would look at me for a moment and do it all over again. It's our game :) I had placed the burp cloth on her legs, along with baterfly, and she grabbed baterfly in her left hand and the burp cloth in her right and the next drool fest she had she brought the burp cloth to her mouth and wiped her mouth for me! Sweet! I have a genius daughter! Wipes her own drool away at a mere four months and 1 day old...I should keep this under wraps though...wouldn't want the other moms to get jealous over my daughters superior helping ability :)

Where has the time gone?

How can 4 months have passed already since I experienced the most awesome thing in the world...the birth of my daughter? Some days it seems like she has been with us forever, and other days it seems as if we are still getting to know each other. In reality I know this experience is a little of both. Delanah and I get to know each other more and more each day. She is giving us insight into her personality a little more each day. What a fun little girl she is! She loves to be the center of attention, she loves movement, she loves talking...to you, her mobile, her baterfly, and she loves cuddles. I believe I have said every day this week that she is an awesome little girl and I just love her so much!
Don't get me wrong, life isn't always rainbows and roses, we have our trying moments, but a gummy grin, a spit filled raspberry, her laugh, and I melt. How did I get so lucky? My goodness, she is an awesome kid!
Today we got to "help" Daddy move to his new office. My darling girl was so overcome by the warm, moving car that she fell asleep on the way there and stayed asleep for almost 3 hours! Then it was a feed, a foosh and some intense light staring. Delanah was awesome and now Dave is going to have the memory of his daughter sitting on his desk, blowing him raspberries from the floor and drooling on him as he stood in the doorway to his new office. Thankfully Delanah didn't leave any permanent marks...:)
Tonight we told the Oz g-parents that we will be there in a little over two months...to say they were surprised would be an understatement! So I have a little over 2 months to prepare myself and Delanah for a looooong plane ride...wish me luck!

Oh the pain!

So this morning I attended my first aerobics class post baby...okay, let's be honest, it's my first class in like a year! We chose to attend an 8:15am set aerobics class. I drove and we got there at 8:14 and the room was packed! Who knew so many people were gluttons for punishment on a Saturday morning! So we get started, I start sweating, breathing hard, but things are going well...then the warm-up stops and the combinations begin.....AAAUUUUGGGGHHHHH!!!!
Okay, I wasn't the only one who was getting lost occasionally, but there were very few of us! I would look over and Stephanie and I would just look at each other, desperate for the other one to lead us back! About 20 min into it my left knee started hurting...and then I just got cranky. You ever notice that in every aerobics class there is one woman, about 60 years old, who while you are drenched in sweat, breathing hard and losing the rhythm, has nary a glow to the skin, seems to be breathing the same as one would when walking the aisles of a grocery store and never loses her rhythm and makes it all seem to effortless? Well, I typically try to stay away from these types, as I get annoyed in class, but today she was right in front of me. Oye! That was it, 15 min before class was over my knee hurt, I wasn't haven't much fun anymore and the lady was really starting to irritate me...:)
Off to stretch I went and was joined quickly by Stephanie whose response to the class..."I didn't like that..." :) We're going to try a different class next Saturday morning. This Monday we are going to try a kick boxing class. It was one I was addicted to pre-pregnancy so I am looking forward to getting back. It kicked my butt then and I am expecting to hurt Monday night.....
I felt so accomplished to have worked out, showered and fed my daughter twice before 10am! Woo hoo! On my way to get back in shape!

Splish, splash...what's that in the bath?

Tonight I decided to fill Delanah's bath with more water to let her splash. We now put her infant bath in the bath tub, so splash away! There was enough water that her chubby little legs were floating! It took her a little bit to figure out what to do with all of this extra water, but as she was getting her shampoo/head massage, the legs turned on and she was splashing away! Dave and I were having another intriguing conversation about Delanah's gas and bowel movements when lo and behold, Delanah actually lifted her bum off the bottom of the tub and started making her own jacuzzi tub...but wait...there was more to this than merely bubbles. Hold your hats...we have some floaters!!!
I was cracking up, Dave was diving in to get Delanah out, I went to get a towel to wrap her, and Delanah was either embarrassed or frightened or both because she started crying. Well, I'm sure it didn't help that Dave was holding her away from him and out over the tub...poor thing just wanted cuddles! This started an unsettled Delanah for the night.
Now one question...is it wrong that I am recording this in her baby book?

We have the certificate!

Well, I finally made it to Tri-County Health and picked up some copies of Delanah's birth certificate...only 4 months after she was born! Ooops...! We needed it as we are going to apply for her passport on Monday. Now, here's my question. With all of the restrictions they have for passport photos, no smiling, forward facing...how am I supposed to convince a 4th month old to follow the rules? Hmmm...glad I'm not the one who has to take the picture! Oh, and good thing Delanah is used to having her picture taken :)

This has been a long week! We are still trying to get a bedtime pattern established and are starting the process at 7:30pm. Tonight was a bad night. Delanah just didn't seem like she was feeling very well and was incredibly fussy. Dave took over bedtime and I was told to get out of the house for awhile :) I found some jeans that hopefully won't fall off when I'm walking!!! Yay Old Navy! They have a really good sale going on right now :)

Tomorrow I have comitted to doing something I haven't done in a year...I'm not too sure about it, but I have promised my neighbor that I will go with her...and being that she's right next door, it's a bit hard to hide. Yes, I have agreed to go to a step aerobics class...what was I thinking?! :p Stephanie has joined the gym I have a membership to. We have been talking about going to classes together for awhile and now we are going to go. Dave said he would come home early on the nights that Stephanie and I want to go to classes so I don't have to take Delanah to the child care there. I'm just not sure about the teens they have working there. Tomorrow I am going to "interview" some of the childcare staff and see what kind of feeling I get from them. I have a list of questions for them. There are just some classes I would love to take that are during the day and there's no one else to watch her. We'll see...it's easy for me to talk the talk, but not walk the walk!
Okay, I should go rest up for my day tomorrow. Oh, did I mention the class was at 8:15am!!! Hmmm, well, Delanah is up by 6am anyway!

I love my daughter's laugh

I truly do. It is a very unique laugh and I believe hearing it could melt the hardest heart. She doesn't chuckle, the has a bit of a squeal and gurgle to her laugh. I really can't put words to describe her laugh. It's the most amazing sound and anyone she shares it with feels so special. Tonight I was bouncing her on my knees and lifting her up in the air and she just loved it! I was getting gummy smiles and lots of laughing. She got my dad and I laughing so much this week that we were in tears.
I notice more and more what an amazing little girl she is and I am so blessed and feel so special to be a part of her life. I love when she looks for me, when she smiles at me and when she shares that glorious laugh with me. How lucky I am to be her mom!

Why do I do this?

Why do I get caught up in a good book and stay up way past my bedtime? Thus was my night last night and I am paying for it today! Delanah went down with minimal fussing last night. She would fuss for a few minutes, play with her baterfly and talk to herself, then fuss again, and was asleep within 20 min. I went to bed an hour later and finally fell asleep about 3 hours later! Ooops! She was kind enough to let me sleep until a little after 6 this morning. I tried napping mid-morning, but never quite fell into a deep sleep.
Tonight Dave came home!!!! Delanah and I hung out with g-pa until g-ma got home at 4:30. We were going to leave around lunch time, but I thought it would be nice for g-ma to have a few more cuddles with her. We left a little after 5 and Dave sent a text saying he was landing about 6:40! Yay!!!! We had time to get home, unpack most of the car (you would have thought we were moving) and before we knew it, Delanah was getting Daddy cuddles :) Our schedule was off by about an hour tonight, but it is 10:46 and my darling girl is asleep! More fussing than normal tonight, but she was very overtired and that affects her a lot.
I need to get myself to sleep now!

Ouch!!

Since Delanah was a little more than a week old I have had right wrist pain. It was the same hand that I hyperextended my thumb on, so I wasn't sure where exactly the pain was coming from. Well, my thumb healed awhile ago and the pain in my wrist is getting more and more intense. I think it's about time that I go and have this checked out. I am going to try to convince one or more of my PT friends to take a look at it first and see what they recommend. Yes, I should be able to diagnose this myself, but I have mommy brain!!!
This afternoon was one of the worst and I had to just have Delanah sit on my lap for awhile and hope and pray that she would be happy there for a bit as I didn't think I would be able to pick her up. This is starting to affect how I interact with her....sigh...I hate being the patient!

Better tonight?

Tonight is night #3 of letting Delanah fuss it out. We started at 8:50pm and it is now 9:28pm. She has fallen asleep twice and woken herself up twice. Actually, she's been quiet for a few minutes now, so maybe this is it! She had a great day today and should be plenty tired!
This morning she was up, bright eyed and bushy tailed, at 5:40am :) eeek! She had some cuddle time with g-pa and g-ma and was asleep in her swing by 7:15 :) I decided to try for a little nap myself (Delanah is a loud sleeper! She is in a pack and play in the room I am sleeping in while we're down here and I don't think I got more than a few hours of sleep last night), but just as I was drifting off she woke up! Figures! Yes, I have already gotten the "talks" today from well meaning, experienced moms on how I should let her entertain herself and I should have slept. Oh well, she was so happy I just had to get up and play with her! She was hungry anyway :) She had another good nap on g-pa while I was getting some "me" time :) It was such a beautiful day today that we went into the backyard with the dogs and then decided to take a little walk to the park.
Delanah had her first ride in the "big girl" part of the stroller! No car seat needed! She started off in her baseball hat and sunnies, but was quite unhappy so we switched to just the sunhat and ditched the sunnies. I went to swings in the park and sat Delanah on my lap and we did a gentle sway for some time. She watched people for awhile and then we saw g-pa drive by and decided to head back. We had enough time to have a feed and a change and then took off with Bailey for our walk to meet mom at her school. I was expecting it to be a lot longer, but we made good time and Bay did so well!
Tonight I took a little cat nap on the couch and Delanah was propped in a recliner with heaps of toys and g-ma and g-pa to entertain her. She had a great time! She played for almost an hour and then needed a change and a feed and then it was off to bed.
Okay, it's now 9:43pm and I haven't heard a peep...do we have success? Can I go to bed?!

I did it!!!!

I let Delanah fuss herself to sleep tonight! And I survived!!! Last night was the first time we decided to let her fuss herself to sleep. I say fuss and not cry because in reality she wasn't crying, but man, was she throwing a tantrum! She has my temper :) Last night it took 40min and this was after we had tried to put her down several times. 11:30pm...I really don't want to be forced to be awake at that time anymore! Tonight I started the bedtime process a little too late as well and 32 min after I put her down, she was out! Only 10:32pm tonight!!! What makes tonight even more momentous is the fact that we're at my parents house and she is in her pack and play and not her crib...very different places and yet we did it!!!!!
I admit, there were tears, only on my part though. I stayed in the living room and got some great support from my mom, who has been through it twice herself :) I just feel so proud of myself right now...like a "real" mom. I know, I know, I am a real mom...but now I am making decisions that I know are good for her even though they are tough for me. I know every mom goes through this, I guess I just figured that my sweet child would never fuss and I wouldn't have this difficulty. Oh, wait, she's my daughter, not that I will admit that I am a drama queen, but she had to have gotten it from somewhere!