Seven Minutes

This afternoon it took a little longer. It always seems like it will last forever...

Three Minutes

I have been struggling with the nap routine this week at the house where I'm babysitting this summer... not wanting to stress Erica out by leaving her in a strange place but knowing it was hard to settle her down for the same reason. I knew that in the five days between yesterday and next Wednesday I would need to practice laying her down awake to settle herself down. It is hard. I hate it. I question myself. I knew she was tired, she was falling apart on our walk with Nanette. She wouldn't even let me read one time, "Goodnight Moon" or sing all the way through "Jesus Loves Me." I had to put her down. She cried so loud. I didn't want to do it. Then I sat down with the computer and looked at the time. Three minutes and she was silent as a sweet dream.

I hear

• the fan coming through the baby monitor while she is sleeping
• all her fun little new words she says: Da da, Ma Ma, blah blah, puh puh, blub blub, hi!
• new way of crying, very soft blub blub, really brings a new meaning to the word "blubbering"
• very faint clapping sounds
• drumming on many different toys
• at least a few little barking frogs, making Russell crack up laughing (passing gas)

I smell

• yummy yummy baby bath smell on her hair
• telltale signs that she has filled her diaper

I taste

• any food that I'm not sure is cool enough for baby
• formula on the occasion there is a blocked bottle nipple
• any food stuck to her hair or skin when I don't have a washcloth handy (like a mommy kitten)

I see

• sweetest eyes
• most precious little rose lips
• yellow golden gorgeous hair
• learning new skills all the time like sitting up from face down position

I feel

• soft skin
• slippery after bath
• warm hugs
• getting heavier all the time
• awesome settled down baby rocking for bed
• strong pulling against my turning pages when she wants to turn her own pages
• sweet little hands on my legs now that she can scoot her way into the bathroom while I'm getting ready

This week's fun milestones

Erica is working hard on one big milestone -- crawling. She isn't quite there, but it is only a matter of days. For a few weeks she has been leaning over, reaching for toys, and almost acting like she is ready to crawl, only to forget to put her arms out front and fall right on her face. Ouch! She sometimes cries, sometimes just lays there. I can only imagine she's thinking, "Doh, not again." That is if she is thinking in Homer Simpson's language, which I hope not. Or the Simpson Dad, can't remember his name. She's also had a hard time figuring out what to do with one of her legs, which gets stuck up under her bottom when she's trying to lean over into the all-fours position.

I saw a video on Babycenter.com about developmental steps that lead to crawling. When a baby can get from tummy down position into the sitting up position, she is physically ready to crawl. This week Erica figured that out for the first time! AND she clapped for the first time right after doing it. The whole family is very good about cheering for Erica whenever she accomplishes absolutely anything, so she is used to people clapping for her. My guess is that she has been wanting to somehow get up from the "fell on my face" position, and when she did it, she was also ready to cheer for herself. So cute. Just the best.

Another fun thing Erica did this week was to melt her Daddy's heart into hot butter. She has said similar things in the past, but one day this week it was the most clear-sounding full sentence ever heard from an eight-and-a-half month-old. Erica was sitting in her high chair when Russell walked in the door after work. She just as plain as a big kid said, "Hi Dad-dy!" I really thought Russell was going to fall on the floor. His reaction was as cute as her little feat.

One last milestone really is a work in progress. Whenever Erica falls asleep in the car, even if for just a couple of minutes, she wakes up when we bring her inside and take her out of her car seat. She just can't seem to transfer. We have left her in the car seat for short periods of time, but she still wakes up after no more than 10 or 15 minutes. Today after a long outing and no real morning nap, I thought she just might be tired enough to stay asleep if I took her out. She did! Then she slept about 45 minutes which was a nice little nap.

Every day is a new trick and I believe that all this activity is also making Erica grow! Yesterday I dressed her in a new one-piece playsuit and Russell noticed it was too tight around her thighs. Now she doesn't seem to be a real fat baby, but that suit was definitely not going to work. We have lots of beautiful dresses for her to wear that still fit, but dresses have been getting really tangled during her crawling attempts, so we are putting together play outfits of t-shirts and shorts in her NEW size.... drumroll... 18 months! Now most of her 12 month clothes still fit, just not one-piece suits. Yikes.

We are really looking forward to what the next milestones will be like. Crawling, here we come!

How Everything Relates Back to Erica

I always wanted to be a Mommy, from the very first doll I held, it was my dream. There were many things I didn't know, which could be a post all their own. Today I will write about this fact I did not know before becoming a Mommy: Everything somehow relates back to Erica.

Simple things relate back to Erica -- Can I stay a little late at work if needed? NO! I want to get home and see Erica. Can I go to CVS and rob them (as my father says because of my amazing deals)? Not yet! I have to wait until either after bedtime, in between naptime, or some appropriate Erica-time.

More complicated things relate back to Erica. This is how I thought of the topic of this post. I will listen to something on the news and wonder how it effects Erica. Kidnapping? Must protect Erica. Swine Flu? What if one of us gets it, including Erica?

Speaking of being sick, I Don't Have The Swine Flu, but I am pretty sick with some awful allergies and respiratory stuff. Hope Erica doesn't get it! Sorry, boring post. Three weeks to write it and it still isn't the exciting "Everything relates back to Erica" post I had planned.

Better Day, Yippee!

When I left the blog yesterday, Erica ended up taking about a one hour nap.  I was so proud of her.  It was hard work but she did it.  Today has been the miracle day from heaven, and I think we might have both learned something.  I adjusted the schedule to a longer time in between eating and naps and she must be grown up enough to handle it!  Two hour nap in the AM and now she's almost hit one hour for her late afternoon nap.  Seems like 4:10 is quite late for her PM nap, but I will take it for today and adjust when possible.  She went to bed great last night so I know she was exhausted.  We will get there. Mommies have been helping babies nap ever since Eve helped Cain and Abel I suppose.  Sometimes I wonder what kind of grief (if any) Jesus gave Mary.  Doesn't seem possible:)

Maybe some babies never learn to nap

I really don't want to portray glum negativity, but I am wondering this afternoon if Erica will EVER EVER EVER learn to take good naps.  Who are these kids who take 2 hour naps in the morning and then more 2 hour naps in the afternoon and then go on and sleep for 12 hours at night?  Can someone please give me remedial lessons?  Am I that unskilled that I can't even teach my sweet little girl to get the rest she needs??  I am very sad and frustrated at our progress.

Today I am home for day one of my short spring break.  Since I usually work Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday and I am off Thursday this week, it is almost having a whole week off even though it is just one work day off.  Get it?  So I thought this would be a good week to work with Erica on scheduling and napping.  Disaster already.  What am I doing wrong?  Does she have something missing from her brain that doesn't allow her to learn this?

Here are direct quotes from the notebook I am keeping:

Wednesday schedule fixing day 1

March 18

6:30 woke up

6:45 6 oz.

9:00 nap after 17 min cry (kept crying 30 min)

9:25 two more tries - put in bed asleep :(

slept 5 or 10 min

cried another 15 - I give up

10:45 6 oz.

11:25 down crying for nap

11:45 finally asleep

12:25 woke up

2:45 6 oz.

fell asleep 10 min on shoulder woke up when I put down :(

3:42 in bed wide awake

wrapped in blanket

Now it is 4:03 and she started crying about 3 min after I put her in bed.  Now what do I do?  She isn't going to sleep!  I am a terrible sleep trainer.  I honestly need help.

**** UPDATE **** Maybe I am just impatient and it is my issue, not hers.  Here is the rest of the notebook for this nap:

4:07 I'm not holding my breath, which is good b/c by the time I wrote this sentence she was crying again.

4:09 maybe? no.

4:10 possible?

OK this is promising 3:42 to 4:10 cried 28 min.