My Discovery

Here is one of Bella posing for the camera!

Here is our VERY unhappy lady bug!

And here is one of the pictures that Natalie will eventually hate me for, but you've got to have!

I have made a discovery - 5 AM! That is right, I said 5 AM! It is the answer to one of my biggest questions since Natalie was born. How do I get myself ready for the day with a toddler and an infant? The answer is, you get in the shower after Natalie's 5 AM feeding and start your day from there!

You see, I was getting tired of looking like a worn out mommy with no make-up all the time, and I am sure that Anthony and the girls were too, I NEEDED a solution! I wanted to look like me again. I am not positive how long my body can keep up with this solution, but while it can I will continue to do it. I am sure one of these days Natalie won't wake up at 5 AM for a feeding anymore (and I am hoping that is soon), then I will have to decide if I still get up at 5 or if I can adjust my clock back a bit and get a little more shut eye.

Natalie's doing better at sleeping. I am really trying to be patient with her and not push too hard considering she was a preemie and generally you're supposed to give them how ever many weeks they were early to reach milestones. Meaning, most books on infants say that at 6 weeks an infant begins to sleep longer periods at night. Well, since she was 4 weeks early it could take her up to 4 extra weeks to reach that milestone. But she isn't doing badly. The hardest part is to get her to settle down and go to sleep at night. She is a very gassy baby and often times she'll have a tummy ache and just can't seem to relax. I am going to try giving her some more Mylecon Drops during the day and then talk to the doctor about it when we go to her 2 month check up. On a typical night she'll be asleep somewhere between 8:30 and 9 PM and then get up between 1:30 and 2 AM. Then she also gets up at 5am. I am thinking that near the end of next week I may try to soothe her through the 5am feeding and get her back asleep without eating b/c she always just snacks at that feeding, which to me says she really doesn't need it. I wish she would take a binkie, b/c it would make that process alot easier. The goal is to move her into her crib when she is 8 weeks, so that is one week from Sunday. We'll see how that goes.

As for the rest of us, we're doing well. Isabella still loves her baby sister and always wants to be near her, sometimes she's a little rough, but not in a mean way - she's just not aware of her own strength sometimes. Anthony is pushing through the last few weeks of the semester. It is a really stressful time for him (and everyone else in Law School). We're just being supportive of him and allow him all the time he needs to study without interruptions. With Natalie not being on a schedule yet it is actually easiest for him to study at the school, which means we see less of him, so needless to say we're all very much looking forward to his Christmas break!

Well, I'd better go tend to a few things before the rest of the house is awake and I lose my precious quiet time! Have a great week!

~jen