sleep training, part deux

a couple of months ago we sleep trained Chloë. I know how that sounds kind of mean and clinical, but truth be told, she took quite well to Dr. Weissbluth's methods, and I was finally able to get more than 3 hours of sleep at a time. Since then I've had a secret love affair with Dr. W. ..all in my mind, of course, but I had hoped my love affair would remain a thing of daydreams, and that I would not have to revisit Dr. W. for a long, long time. So much for that. Today the day finally arrived where we had to unswaddle Chloë. After almost 9 months of going to sleep all tight and cozy, we came to accept that her straitjacket days were over, for over a week she has been breaking free of her cocoon, so today was the day. Needless to say, there was a lot of crying. More updates will follow...

she looks VERY happy here, but this is because she was waking up..not going to sleep.

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fashion show

Grandma's visit includes the obligatory fashion show since she arrived with a suitcase full of new outfits for Chloë!

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she has a sixth sense

my mom arrived for a visit yesterday, or as we like to refer to it, her babysitter vacation. she's basically told us to go out as much as possible in the evenings/nighttime and enjoy the constant babysitting she can provide for the next 10 days. I didn't ask her how literally she meant her offer to be..but we went out tonight, we've got plans for Friday and Saturday night, and are still working to make plans for the other 7 days. Maybe save one day for a little R&R...but trust me, we will take advantage of this golden opportunity.

Before tonight it has been over 5 months that Josh and I had gone out without baby. Seriously.

We love Chloë and all, but wow, tonight was heaven. Though, it almost didn't happen. One of the conditions for the tremendous babysitting offer was that we please only make plans for only after Chloë has gone to bed. Well, she must have known we had made plans because for the first time in weeks the little girl decided to cry her eyes out for 30 minutes straight before finally passing out from exhaustion...we were supposed to leave the house at 7:45pm. I looked at the clock at 7:47pm and realized--yes, those piercing screams are coming from my little babe's room. We finally made it out the house at 8:08pm. We came home exhausted but it was worth it.

I'm off to bed, but already looking forward to tomorrow night.

** Oh yeah, what did we do tonight, you may ask..well, that's not really important, what's important is that we left the house without the carseat, and the diaper bag, and the million and one emergency toys in case we have a meltdown, and the BABY. (but if you really must know we went out for dinner with some wonderful friends to Union Jack's in Ballston. It was raffle night, so it was craaaaazy!)

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a very tutu playdate

today, on our second day of playing Stay At Home Mom, we had an amazing, truly magical, playdate with Caitlin and Allison. We enjoyed lunch at Sweet Life Cafe, followed by much hanging out, gabbing, and playing back at home. In the late afternoon we dressed both girls in beautiful tutus, one of which was a http://myallisonswonderland.etsy.com creation by Caitlin (!!) and took lots of pictures, some of which may end up on the interweb promoting Caitlin's amazing creations.

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smiles and no pants

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Play, play, PLAY!

This week our nanny is on vacation, so other than the 3-4 hrs of work I can get done when my little babe is napping, I'm pretty much off--playing, and having fun. Today was our first day, and I can honestly say I think it'll be incredibly hard to go back to my routine once the week is over. I'm not going to think about it for now. Instead, I will continue to enjoy every moment, every smile, all the giggles, and babbles. I will enjoy every moment.

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getting ready to play

today was a day spent in anticipation of playing...well, we spent most of today getting the office ready for its transformation into Chloë's playroom. It now sits empty as it waits the arrival of its wall decor, as well as for us to get our asses in gear and start painting. picture will be available when the fun begins! meanwhile, I need to crash...am exhausted!

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i feel her pain

Wednesdays are the days I go into the office to work, unlike all of the other days of the week, where I can work from the comfort of my bed, under the covers, in my PJs. ALL DAY. So, it goes without saying that on Wednesdays, I'm usually a little bit more tired than say, a random Monday, when maybe I am able to sneak in a 20 minute nap during my lunch hour. Either way..being that is is Wednesday, instead of writing my own post, I'll send you to a really good post..one which, really, I could have written myself, but being that it is Wednesday..I didn't.

So here you go. Her Bad Mother said it best.

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a baby's laugh

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the lady in purple (i know it's st. patrick's day and all..but look how cute in purple!)

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how things change--happy st. patty's day!

St. Patrick's Day 2007 (I was pregnant and throwing up in 2008...)

St. Patrick's Day 2009

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i don't care what they say, i love nursing!

Here's an interesting article on breastfeeding that initially seems to indicate it is not all it's cracked up to be, but deep down, it still suggests breast is best. whatever it says, my mind is made up: I love nursing!

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a better day

While Chloë's temperature was nothing like yesterday, she's still not herself, and depending on what tomorrow brings, a trip to Dr. S. will follow. She did sleep well through the night, though opened her eyes and stared at me in confusion when I went in twice in the middle of the night to check whether she had a temperature. She was fine, but I did wake her up slightly. She happily went back to sleep both times.

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sad, sad rainy saturday

This morning I woke up at 8:15am and something didn't seem right..Chloë was STILL sleeping...she woke up not long after, and was a little quieter than usual, but nothing too out of the ordinary. She went down for a 1 hr nap at 10am, and when she woke up she was burning up--103.6! We spent most of the day trying to get her temperature to go down, and she was cranky and clingy, and wouldn't nap well. Finally, as we approached her bed time, we followed the same routine, and put her to bed after giving her some infant tylenol. Her temperature was down to 100.6. Fingers crossed she sleeps well...

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sleeping beauty

Every night before I go to bed, I check in on Chloë to make sure she's doing well, and most importantly to check on her positioning in the crib--sometimes she's all turned around, her legs up on the sides--which can sometimes cause her to wake up earlier than usual. The best alignment to encourage sleep for her is when she is lying with her head closest to the end, about 5-7 inches away from the 'headboard', and perfectly centered. (I know, I am THAT paranoid mother!) No matter how perfectly we lay her there, by 11pm she's managed to scoot halfway down, and is turned sideways, so her legs are cramped, or other times she's all scrunched up on the side railings. If she gets too close to the 'end headboard' of the crib, and too close to one side or another she wakes up VERY annoyed because there is nowhere else to go..sooooo (forgive me for the long description, I almost forgot my point) when I went in to re-align her tonight, she opened up her eyes, very, very wide, cooed at me, and as I pretended to not have noticed sleeping beauty coming to life, she continued to coo and smile. Somehow, I managed to ignore the cuteness the lay in front of me, and walked out of the room, as she followed me with her eyes. For sure I thought she'd cry before falling back asleep. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that after a few minutes of more cooing, she went about her business and fell back asleep.

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the return of the shopaholic

when I was pregnant I was very good about resisting my urge to splurge. I didn't buy the $200+ Seven maternity jeans, or the $150 Japanese Weekend maternity dresses, and eventhough I was tempted, I did not succumb to all the gorgeous maternity clothes at Apple Seed Boutique and the million and one pregnancy books at Barnes and Noble (I swear I only bought about 5 books!)

I really did curb much of my shopping addiction in the spirit of 'saving for the baby'..I knew that much like purchasing our first home, having our first child would definitely result in some big bills.

So, really, I was good.

But it's all over now. I can't help it, baby clothes are so cute, so small, so ASKING TO BE BOUGHT. It's like they are testing me. Same with accessories, and toys, and anything baby related. At first I behaved..but slowly, I'm losing it.

In the last week alone I have bought: five pairs of leggings, 3 adorable bows for Chloë's gorgeous curls, a couple of unique pacifier clips, and etsy.com is seriously playing with my emotions with too many things for me to list here.

I'm starting to think this might become a problem.

PS. I almost forgot. Today I bought two board books.

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truer words have not been spoken...

"no matter how little sleep you had the night before or how many times you had to make the trek to the nursery to replace a pacifier, tighten the swaddle, feed the baby or change a diaper, it is impossible to not be a morning person when your baby greets you every day with a smile that makes your heart melt."

-Jill BabyRabies.com "When you are a mother, you will understand"

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in celebration

today Chloë is 8 months!

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i knew she'd come around

so after months of indifference, Kyra has finally realized that having Chloë around is a big, BIG plus. While I was grabbing a burp cloth to wipe some of the mess Chloë was making with her peas, Kyra walked on by the highchair close enough that Chloë was able to lean over the side and see her...Kyra quickly realized Chloë had food ALL over her face, and proceeded to lick it off--both of them were beyond excited at this discovery--Kyra was happy to get food, and Chloë was just in heaven with the attention, she couldn't stop laughing. Later in the day, I think Kyra remembered that she better be nice to the little munchkin and she actually allowed Chloë to sit close to her and pet her for a significant amount of time. It was all very sweet, and I'm sure soon enough Kyra will be glad she finally made friends with Chloë. Like when more substantial scraps of food find their way onto the floor.

Chloë's face moments after Kyra licked her.

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dining out

in celebration of the gorgeous day we decided to take Chloë to eat out--this included nursing in the patio at Sweet Life Cafe with the breeze in her face, and having some squash and mangos afterwards. It all went very well, except for when we went to get changed in the ladies' room. Chloë had behaved so well, so lady like all throughout lunch, but she couldn't contain herself. As I was getting ready to leave the ladies' room, she barfed all over my sweater and her dress. We almost had it--it was almost too perfect, so she had to throw me that curve ball. We did not let that deter us from our day of fun, so after showing Josh the mess we made, and wiping out mango barf from our pretty clothes, we proceeded to go to the art gallery and window shopping in Old Town Fairfax.

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the happiest girl in the world!

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sunday afternoon

before the snow started falling today, we headed out to lunch and Chloë threw a tantrum because she wanted my ice cream. It was homemade (sweet life cafe!) peanut butter ice cream, so I get the minor freak out over it, but she was making a bit of a scene so after quickly settling our bill, we headed home. She promptly ate and fell asleep, and woke up in the late afternoon to the falling snow. all in all, a nice sunday afternoon.

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