Mommy Nuggets

If you know me or have read these blogs... then you know that my daughter has never been a big sleeper. I have been seriously envious of the moms whose babies slept all the time! I wish I had done this sooner! It would've probably been easier if she was younger. Better late than never! We had made it to the point where Em slept 7 or 8 hours a few nights a week & the other nights she would wake up 1-4 times. She napped a couple hours about half of week days.  And quite frankly... I was satisfied with that after a year of living with hardly any sleep (insomnia during pregnancy straight to a baby that hated sleep).  But around her 6 month mark when she started getting VERY spoiled... that changed. She wanted ME all the time & of course I gave her what she wanted. Sleeping became a struggle for her. She started to wake up every time I laid her down. Night & day. She would only sleep with me. I was growing weary. She would nap 10-30 mins at a time, a few times a day....

We all know how much is involved when packing for a day out. It's absurd! It takes forever and the amount of stuff you have to take is just ridiculous! If we have to leave early the next morning we must pack the bag the night before. Yes, washing all the bottles before bed is so much fun! We recently went on our first overnight trip. Just one night. I stuffed tons of bibs, formula, diapers, burp rags and outfits in our luggage. For just one night... because you never know how much they will need and you DO NOT wanna run out.  When Brad is working nights & asks what I'm doing... I usually say "Poppin' bottles!" I mentally went through the list over and over on the way to our destination 2 hours away (6 hours in baby time). Amazingly the only thing we forgot was the bottle brush and soap. I was proud. Brad just had to run to the gas station to get dish soap... and I'm glad he did! He came back with Palmolive. We had only used Dawn up until this point....

Would I ever see it again? A couple weeks ago, I didn't think I would. I missed it like a long lost love. I thought about it all the time. My 3 month old didn't seem to need it... So, why did I? It toyed with my delirious mind. When my baby would finally go down for a few hours I would get in bed so tired but I couldn't find my way to Neverland. Why, oh why? As soon as I would finally drift off, the baby would wake. I would daydream at night about the few 7 hour nights she had slept. I didn't know why she had sleep regression. I searched the Internet high and low about what to do. Reading about the "4 month leap" and how they can go through that early. Must've been it!  Trying the crib out. Watching her like a hawk! Something has happened the past week though. Prayers have been answered. She has slept 6-7 hours every night! Last night she slept 9. NINE!!! A big leap from 2-4 hours at a time! It seems we finally have a routine established. M...

#1. You smell bad & you don't care. Sometimes maybe you wipe your arm pits with a wipe while changing the baby. You'll get around to showering or you have already & you've broken quite a sweat taking care of the baby! Work hard, smell bad. Isn't that how the saying goes?  #2. You're gonna floss next time you brush your teeth... every time.   At times you secretly wonder if your baby was fussy because she had to smell your bad breath in the middle of the night ... Or day.  #3. If you do get to shower you don't hardly wash your hair or shave.  Only if you're getting out of the house does your hair & face get attention. Your children need to know what natural beauty is anyway, right? Husband too... just trying this European thing honey! #4. You're no longer afraid of substances the come out of your child's orifices.   That major booger/snot phobia of your younger days is no longer. Maybe you've even ...

I am asked this on a regular basis. I always answer, "I love it, but ______." Depending on how it's been going lately determines what fills the blank space. Today it would be, "I'm sleep deprived and borderline insane."  In the last 24 hours I've had about 5 hours of sleep... and that wasn't all together. My baby has yet to turn into a good sleeper. We've had several 7/8 hour nights of sleep without interruption, they were glorious!!! I didn't realize how little sleep I could "function" on. I had a breakdown last night  at 2am  when Emry woke up for the 3rd time since I first put her down  at 11:45 . Bless her heart and bless mine. I know the long sleeping nights are coming but it's hard to see the pot of gold at the end of the sleepless rainbow when it's  2am  the next night and still no sleep for me. She just slept for 2 hours and I slept none. I'm so tired that my mind won't turn off. Exhaustion at its finest!...