Muscle Memory

Here is me at 23 weeks along. Pregnant with Anslee (October 2008)



Here is me at 15.5 weeks along with #2



When I talk about comparing, let me just say, the 23 week photo was the first belly shot we ever took with Anslee. At 15.5 weeks with her, It would have just been a picture of nothing.

I feel like muscle memory is good when speaking in terms of exercise. Not in terms of pregnancy!

Good Grief!

Follow Up

Well,

Today was good. Honestly, I prayed so much that I would just relax and take a step back. I got so much good feedback, all of which I am more than thankful. It was calming to me, to just hear from other moms. To be reminded I am clearly not the only one who has gone through this. I took everything that was said into serious consideration....as most of the comments I received had a similar message.

Today Anslee went down at the same time for nap. Since I am a stickler to the routine, I decided to keep up with what I was doing...but just not stress out about it. She had lunch at 11:15, and at 12:30 it was time to go down, so she did. I did not hear from her until I went into her room to get her at 3 pm.

Tonight, she had dinner at 6 pm, and then was put to bed by 7:30. She was finally asleep before 8 pm. I was happy with that. Very happy with that.

Here is what I changed for today. I am almost embarrassed to admit it.

I am a TV junkie. Mostly reality TV. None the less...the TV lately has been on a whole lot. Even though I usually am just getting bits and pieces of my shows (hello 18 month old) its still on. More than it should be.

Today. There was no TV. I had read an article mentioning that TV can be SUPER stimulating.

She got to watch her 20 minute show, Yo Gabba Gabba, in the afternoon. That was it.

I really believe this could be the culprit, because, The last few months the TV has really been on more, and I have let her watch more of the age appropriate shows off of Nick Jr.

I just decided last night, what would it hurt to see if the TV played any part. It may just have ironic that it worked today. I will see again after tomorrow if I get the same outcome!

Again, Thanks to everyone who offered help. It felt good today, to just relax...to know that our routine is good for her, and that she is not really being hurt in any major way by the little less sleep she was getting.

I am one lucky Mom!

HELP!

Moms:

I might very well be loosing my mind. I need/welcome all suggestions about what to do.

Here is our problem.

Anslee, 18 months old, used to sleep at nap time and at bedtime like a little champ. Seriously. I worked so hard to make sure that she got 12+ hours of sleep at night and 2+ hours of sleep during the day. It was like clockwork. A science even! I laid her down at between 7:15-7:30 every night and within seconds she was sound asleep until sometimes 8:15 am. When we went to 1 nap during the day, I was laying her down right after lunch, at 12:30. 2:45-3 pm was when she was up and ready. The girl woke up happy, energized and ready for whatever we had planned.

A little over a month ago, Anslee started waking up during her nap at 1.5 hours into it. I never went and got her, making her "rest" until nap time was over. I remember the line "mom decides when nap begins and when it ends" and stuck to it. Come to find out, 7 out of 10 times the culprit was a stinky diaper. UGHHH. Also come to find, that when waking early from nap started, so did not going down easily for bedtime. She was never really fussy or cranky...just would not fall asleep. I would seriously hear her in her crib talking for over an hour.

This is still happening. I tried it all. Pushing the nap back some (thinking she was not tired enough at nap time) Then when that totally backfired, I tried putting her down earlier for nap (thinking maybe she had been overtired). That didn't work either. Then I tried calming down with morning activities, (thinking she was getting too much stimulation) That did not seem to help us any either.

I made sure her room temp was good
I made sure her diaper was clean and dry
I checked for more teeth even (like she can even get any more at this point)
I thought about her diet. No changes there (except maybe she eats better now)

I tried putting her down earlier for bedtime. Nope. Still up for over an hour, and the nap issues continued.

Nothing in our routine has changed. People, I have been dealing with this Since the last week and a half of June. Its August 1st, and I everything I used to try to tweak when this would happen before has not helped us.

I know 18 months is a developmental leap time.

I want to pull my hair out, because I have worked way too hard to give her what she needs to sleep enough for proper brain development. She was a total success story from 6 weeks on. Phases would happen every now and again, lasting a day or two. Not a month or two.

I have no idea where to go next. So here is my desperate plea via the blog. Any suggestions, references, ideas would be SOOOOOO appreciated!

No sweeter Words!

Several weeks ago, Anslee started repeating "I love you" back to us when we said it to her. Now, she says it fairly clearly...and does not have to repeat it! She will just walk up to us and say it! You can imagine how special this is for a parent to hear from their baby. There are no sweeter words!

I love you too, my sweet Anslee!

Fashionably L&D

Of course you can carry out good style and give birth all at the same time!





I found lots of different patterns of these maternity hospital gowns to wear during labor and delivery on etsy and will certainly be purchasing one for delivery day. I think I will feel a LITTLE bit better about being in pictures if I am wearing one of these rather than those not so cute ones that give you at the hospital :)

A capacity for Love

Although I was on a lot of drugs and coming off of general anesthesia after my C-section, I can vividly remember the tremendous amount of love I felt when holding Anslee for the very first time. I remember thinking, I don't think its possible that I could ever feel this love for anyone else ever. It was overwhelming emotion. The kind that takes your breath away. The kind that makes the minutes draw out into hours without you knowing. I literally felt like the rest of the world had stopped spinning.

So, is it true that I have the blessing and honor of feeling that way all over again? Even though I know exactly what it feels like, to love that much, I still just can't believe that it will happen again. I love no one like I do Anslee, and so it just does not seem like it could be real that I will love like that for another. I know full well that its real, and that the exact same rush of emotion will come right back over me. I can't fully prepare for it though. You can't. I look forward to it. I look forward to reliving that emotion that only a mother knows all over again.

Just look at this sweet baby growing in me. This will be the object of my love just months from now. We are so very excited. We feel so blessed. God is so good to give us the precious gift of life!







Our capacity for Love is about to grow! By leaps and bounds!

Another GiveAway! :)

The babywise mom is doing another giveaway! She does them a lot, which I think is really awesome.

This particular item is one that her husband invented to help their baby girl sleep better. It worked for them, and I am a mom who clearly will go to wits end to help baby to sleep with ease! In other words, I want this item!!

Here is a link to her blog, and the giveaway of the SnuggleU!