Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Halloween

J.T. picked her costume and made her props.  I just added the hair bow.  I think he did a great job. 

It was fun going trick or treating with friends from the neighborhood.  I thought Isabella would get a kick out of all the kids in costume but she really just treated it like a normal, everyday walk through the neighborhood:).



Friday, October 27, 2017

Best.Birthday.Gift.Ever.

Isabella slept trough the night!!!!  6:45pm-4:45am.  Yeah, we gotta work on that 4:45, but the important part is that I got 8 solid hours of sleep.




39 is going to be a good year...I can feel it:).

Monday, October 23, 2017

A New Addition

When I cut H loose from childcare in August it left me with a bit of a dilemma.  There was a particular figure I had worked out to allow our family budget to work.  Without a full time kiddo to take his place I run short.  Unfortunately now that school is in full swing and after experimenting with two full timers (plus the part timers) I didn't know if adding another full time kid was such a great idea.

I looked into other means of making money, but they all led to dead ends.


As I was working on my take home stats midterm an answer seemed to appear.  Through the neighbor next door app I got connected with a neighbor who was looking for care for their 16 month old 2-3 days a week.

So not a baby and not full time-yay!  So far she naps, is a good listener and seems content to play in our playroom or on the sunporch.   Seems like a keeper to me:).

Still running a bit short in the budget department.  Time to look for things to slash I guess-no fun:(.

Friday, October 13, 2017

6 months

Happy Half Birthday, Sweet Girl!  The many faces of Isabella at 6 months:).









Wednesday, October 11, 2017

6 month Sleep Regression

So my daughter seems to think participation in all sleep regressions is a requirement. We are currently experiencing what seems to be the 6 month sleep regression. We sleep trained at the 4 month regression and it worked within a week or so. Those same strategies are no longer effective.

She has continued to need to eat at least once-twice a night since then but had been eating and going
back to sleep without any fuss. The overnight feeding is done in the dark with no talking and have tried both no diaper and diaper changes (prior to this spell we had no diaper change overnight). We use white noise, a sleep sack, and she sleeps in a crib in her own room.

She will now only stay asleep after the overnight feeding if held and today has begun revolting against her naps. Co-sleeping is not an option for us though I did try sleeping on the floor of her room last night. She would still only go to sleep if I was holding her on the floor.  Punk!

Send survival tips and wine!



Sunday, October 8, 2017

On the Road Again

We made another trek to PA this weekend.  A college roommate is turning 40 at the end of the month and her sisters were throwing her a party.  It was an all day event scouring local vineyards and capped
off with dinner.  It was a blast visiting the with old friends and meeting some new people who are special to her.

My brother traveled with us again since JT had to stay behind due to work.  The good traveler streak continued.  Though this time we traveled up at night.  Well we left at around 5, drove for a bit, ate, changed her into her pajamas and she fell asleep around her normal bedtime.  She did a great job in the car; however, once we got to my parents it was a different story.  The whole production of getting of the car and going into the house along with being plopped into a pack n' play in a strange room did not make for a smooth transition.  After about an hour of trying to get her to sleep around 2 am, she and I ended up sleeping the rest of the night in the recliner downstairs.  Not the most comfortable thing but it at least allowed us to get some sleep.

We actually ended up in the recliner the next night as well.  Google tells me there is a 6 month sleep regression.  I am REALLY hoping it is the traveling that has her jacked up and NOT another regression. 

The birthday bash was a day long event, so it was the longest I had been away from Isabella.  I may have gotten a bit teary upon leaving but only checked in with my family once.  They were visiting a brewery and were hanging out on its patio so all was well;).  My mom put her to sleep without much trouble and the little stinker slept without trouble until 4am.  My mom was quite proud of herself!

The trip back was uneventful though we have learned that the car has to stay in motion when Isabella is asleep or she may wake up.  We hit a backup on the highway so took an alternate route to keep her asleep.  It was funny watching my brother try to keep the car in constant motion with red lights.