Adventures in Napping

As I sit here at the dining room table writing this post I can hear Abby fussing upstairs. She was exhausted so I put her down for a nap. This entailed putting her in her sleep sack (we finally broke the swaddle habit!!!!), rocking her, and holding her pacifier in her mouth because somehow she never learned to keep it in very well. All this labor resulted in a nap that has now totaled 20 minutes. Such an exercise in frustration.

I think Abby's sleeping, or lack thereof, has been the hardest part about motherhood. She has never been a good or consistent napper, she is just now slowly beginning to put herself to sleep, and she doesn't sleep through the night. I want to tell her, "Enjoy your naps, soon it won't be socially acceptable to sleep three times a day and, trust me, you'll really want to sometimes."

So, off I go to try to get her back down. Then I think I'll read another chapter or two in my most recent riveting book -- "How to Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems" by Dr. Ferber. Might as well add that one to the list of sleep books that I've already read.

Abby's First Easter

Although we didn't do an easter egg hunt, Abby had one heck of a first Easter. On Sunday morning we woke up and hung out at home. I got her a small Easter basket with a few goodies. It might be hard to see in the picture, but I got her a cute little bath mitt/puppet that looks like a dog. We couldn't figure out why our dog Chloe was barking like crazy at Abby's basket until we realized she was actually barking at the "dog" in the basket. Yeah, watch out for those terrycloth puppets. They're vicious.



After Abby got her basket we headed off for church and then to my parents' house for dinner. Of course, Grandma had to get in on the Easter basket action.



Abby and the family had a great time hanging out.




I think Abby's favorite part was playing with the wrapping paper from the gifts in her basket.

Yum, Yum

We fed Abby her first "food" on Saturday, the day she turned five months old. I'm not sure how much she likes the rice cereal, but I don't know how much I'd like it either!

Back to Work Update

Whew. Day one is over and it went quite well. I even managed to make it through the day without shedding a single tear. Admittedly, I only worked for four hours, but it was still quite an accomplishment. Abby had a great time meeting new friends at her daycare, and when I arrived she was contentedly kicking away on a blanket on the floor. She even napped better than she does for me! To be quite honest, I enjoyed my time with her in the afternoon so much more than I have been recently. I cherished it in a way that I haven't in a while. Don't know if that's good or bad, or if it makes any sense, but it's how I felt. So far, score one for the working mom.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off to Work I Go

Today is my last day of maternity leave. I start back to work part-time this week. I'll be part-time for two weeks, then will start back up full-time after that. To be honest, up until tonight I've been exceedingly excited about the prospect. Now, although I'm still excited, I'm also a ball of nerves and anxiety. I'm gonna miss my little girl so much. But it helps knowing that I have prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed about this and feel a strong sense of peace about my decision. I feel like I'm going to be a much better mom by working than I would be if I stayed at home. And I'm totally excited to see Abby light up when she sees me at the end of the day. We'll see how it goes....

Help!!!

Okay, so I've mentioned before that Abby is not a fan of her car seat and is a very active baby. Well, the truth is she's not fond of anything that confines her. At least nothing that we own. This includes her stroller. I've also mentioned that she is a big girl. Close to 20 lbs. at almost five months. For anyone reading who doesn't know, I'm NOT a big girl; even post-pregnancy. I'm 5'1" and, while I won't tell you my exact weight, let's just say it's not that high. The point? My back is KILLING me from carrying Abby all the time. I'm one of those people who goes stir crazy staying in the house, so we try to go out every day. In order to do so I must carry Abby or put her in the Bjorn since she screams in anything else. Thus, a back that is close to giving out. I have a doctor's appointment next week, and we're looking into buying a different stroller, but I thought I'd throw it out there to any moms or people with bad backs who are reading. Any suggestions on how to keep Abby happy in something other than the Bjorn? Any tips on how to deal with a bad back?