Ups and Downs

We have learned, from the beginning, there are ups and downs to this whole parenting thing. It seems like as soon as you figure out one pattern, one trick, one "sure thing"...she up and changes on us. Whether it be sleeping or eating or playing - she keeps us on our toes. Luckily, the downs are not too terrible, and don't last too long, and the ups are amazing!! This last 4-5 weeks has had quite a few downs. Lila's sleep got to its all time worst. She was back to taking sometimes hours to go down at night, waking many times at night wanting to nurse, or play, or just cry. Up early, not napping hardly at all. She was at times going a full day of school napping less than an hour total, then awake for 2 hours or so in the middle of the night, not to mention a late bedtime and early morning. This baby was getting far far less sleep than she should have, which of course was leading to fussiness and crankiness. On top of that (or perhaps causing that), Lila was sick over Thanksgiving with an ear infection and upper respiratory infection, leading to an antibiotic...which apparently didn't work. A couple of weeks later, at her regular 6 month check up, she had an ear infection in both ears, even though the antibiotic had just finished! So on to another, stronger antibiotic (which at least she will take this one without a screaming fit!). And, icing on the cake, it turns out she dropped from 37th percentile in weight at 4 months to 13th percentile at 6 months. Our little bean weighed 14lbs 5oz, gaining less than a pound in two months. So of course, guilt ensues...
However, the ups have come finally! We have had a great 10 days! After desperation, and the cliff notes version of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Kids (or whatever it is called - I am now reading it more thoroughly), I put Lila in her crib on Monday night after two hours of attempting to get her to sleep...and I walked out of the room. She was fed, she was dry, she was warm, she was loved. She was also tired. 20 minutes later, Lila fell asleep and slept for the next 10 hours. The longest stretch of sleep she had had in months (also, it should be noted, the longest stretch of sleep I had gotten in months!!!). The following night, at bedtime, I nursed her, hugged and kissed her, and laid her in her crib and walked out of the room. 5 minutes later - asleep...for the next 12 hours. We have been on a roll ever since. One of the most important things I have learned is that sleep really does beget sleep. And as Lila still does not nap much at daycare (and I have no control over this), we go to bed very very early. Like sometimes at 5;30pm. And she has been sleeping until some time between 5:45 and 6:30am. And while our evening time together is cut very short (we are on a strict schedule of dinner, bath, book, nurse, bed) she is happy the whole time. And usually gives us some fun play time in the morning. Joe and I are like new people. We have gotten some good sleep, and so has Lila. This past weekend she napped for 4-5 hours between two naps both days. Good catch up after tiresome daycare. Clearly she is feeling better, and the sleep is helping as well. We also learned our lesson after the previous weekend, and when we wanted to go to a Christmas party on Friday night that started at 7, we got a babysitter. And on Sat night's Christmas party, Joe went and I stayed home and wrapped presents. There will be other parties in other years.
So now we are working on the eating thing. Lila has never had a huge appetite...she moved to eating every 3 hours before being 3 months old, and still doesn't have more than 5 oz at a time. In fact these days she sometimes goes 4 hours between bottles (though we're hoping her appetite might pick up once her antibiotics finish up). She is now eating solids twice a day, so that helps, and I mix cereal in when she will let me (not a big cereal fan!) to add some calories to her fruit and veggies. We go back for a checkup in a couple of weeks to check her ears, and her weight to see if we need to go any further than offering food often. Hopefully she will gain a little holiday weight =)
The other ups? Lila is sooo much fun these days! She sits up so well, playing, bending around, reaching for toys. Occasionally falls straight backwards if she is looking up at you, and sometimes falls on her face when reaching for a far away toy. Not interested in moving yet, but getting more motivated to reach for things she wants lately, so I think movement will come soon. No teeth yet, but we keep thinking they are coming. Lila loves Sage, and laughs and laughs when he is around. She likes to pet him and play with his collar. She loves jumping, loves musical toys, and loves playing with plastic spoons. She grabs for the spoon as soon as she is done eating dinner, and carries it around the rest of the night. We cannot wait to spend Christmas weekend with my family, and watch Lila and Margaret play together.
We are grateful to be in the "ups" right now, and know enough now not to take them for granted!!

Six Months Old!

Wow, Lila. This was such an exciting month! You are such a big girl. We had a lot of visitors this month, which was very fun. I think you liked having some new faces to look at, and you got a bit spoiled by being held all the time! You also got your first ear infection, resulting in your first antibiotic. The next morning, you got a really strange rash all over your belly, chest and arms which resulted in a visit to the pediatrician and then dermatologist. No one knew what it was, but definitely not an allergy, thank goodness, and it went away in a couple of days. It was brown and pigmented, and thankfully not itchy or scaly. Only missed one day of school for that one.
Perhaps it was all the visitors, and perhaps it was the sickness, and it definitely was the teething, but this was a terrible month for sleep! You were waking every two hours for a couple of weeks, and due to pure exhaustion, I nursed you back to sleep almost every time. (Time to dig in and do some sleep training I think!) You also had many nights of being wide awake for an hour or two in the wee hours of the night which made it very hard for Mommy and Daddy to get it together for work the next morning. A couple of nights before your 6mo birthday, things started to go a little better, and we also moved you into your own room now that all our visitors are gone. The first couple of nights we slept with you in your room, and you did pretty well. The first night with us in separate rooms, you slept through the night! You woke around midnight, but fussed yourself back to sleep without ever really crying in about 20 minutes. It was the best sleep I have had since you were born. It was amazing. You made up for it the next night, which was back to every 2 hours with a 2 hour play time from 2:30 - 4:30. Here's hoping we have fewer and fewer of those this month!
A few other major things this month...you are sitting up! You love sitting and playing, but you are also very excited about reaching for anything that catches your eye which makes you tip over at times. You also fall straight backwards every once in awhile, especially when you are excited, so we try to keep something soft behind you just in case! You are still not a big fan of the belly time, you just immediately flip to your back. So we'll see if the crawling ever comes =)
The week of Thanksgiving we started solid foods. You have had cereal, sweet potatoes, peas and green beans. Next on the agenda is carrots, squash, then we will move to some fruits. I am making your food right now, which is pretty easy and quick, and definitely cheap. We'll see how long it lasts =)
I am starting to stop coming to nurse you at lunchtime at work. You like enjoying your mealtime with coos and smiles and playing, which makes nursing you last longer than the amount of time I really have. It is also harder to predict when you eat, since we started solids. You had been eating 5 oz bottles every 3 hours. Lately, you have been eating 2-4 oz of solids per day in 1-2 meals, as well as 3.5 - 5 oz bottles every 3-4 oz. It seems like the amount you eat is a little on the low side, but you seem satisfied, and you are gaining weight, so I'm not worried.
We are so excited about this month - trying new foods, sitting and playing with new toys, sleeping in your own room, and of course Christmas. Can't believe it has been 6 months!!