Trouble with Sleep

  One of the best things about mothering the third time around is my mommy confidence.  I still second guess myself a little, but I find myself much more self-assured in what I am doing as a mom.  Its so much easier to cuddle, dress, change, wash, feed and generally deal with a baby after having done it twice prior.  I remember my super caution when Lilly was born, being ever so gentle with her, afraid she might break.  Now, I am much more at ease with myself and my parenting. I know all babies, and all kids, are different, and we have already dealt with two starkly contrasting personalities with Lilly and then Ryley.  I know Avery will be different still, but it is nice to have been down this road before. 

  That being said, I could use some advice from my mommy (and daddy!) friends out there.  My pediatrician is a tried and true believer in the "Ferberizing" method for sleep.  It seems really extreme, but when you actually research the term, it isn't about totally letting baby cry it out for an endless amount of time.  Instead, its about helping baby learn to soothe themselves to sleep.  My pediatrician recommends waiting until baby is about 4 months old.  He says this is the perfect time to help Avery learn to soothe herself, and that it will get harder to break bad sleep habits if you wait until after the 6 month mark or so.  Don't get me wrong, I am actually a little sad about it.  I like cuddling her, letting her fall asleep in my arms.  It's just that during the day, I have trouble getting her to take a nap on her own.  I rock her to sleep, put her down.  It is always 20 minutes or less, and she is awake, crying, and still tired.  At night, she sleeps like a dream.  Twelve solid hours a night.  But during the day, she consistently wakes up, still tired.  If I hold her, she sleeps.  If I put her down, she wakes.  Without fail.  I don't remember ever having trouble with the other girls napping as a baby.  I've been wondering if trying to help her soothe herself to sleep will help her sleep more soundly during the day.  Sure I could put her in my sling and cart her around while she sleeps, and sometimes I do.  That is just not an everyday solution.  At least not to me it isn't. It would be really nice to get Miss Avery into a better sleeping routine for daytime!  Any ideas? 

My first book review!~read and win a copy!

   A few months ago, MOPS posted on their Facebook page an opportunity to join in their Mom Blogger Book Tour.  If you had an active blog, and were willing to read, review and post on your blog, they would mail you two free copies of Tracey Bianchi's Mom Connection: Creating Vibrant Relationships in the Midst of Motherhood.  Two copies, one to read and one to give away!!  So guess what?!  I joined, read and now I am reviewing the book.  It felt a bit like a high school assignment to write a book review, but I really enjoyed reading Bianchi's book!   Read on for a chance to win a copy of your own!!

Check out how ear-marked and note-filled my copy is!!

  The author brilliantly divided up her chapters into sub chapters and those, into what I am calling mini-chapters.  This made her book very easy to read, with short one-half to one page mini-chapters.  Easy for a busy momma like me to squeeze in some reading!  Bianichi is incredibly relatable and knowledgeable, without being condescending.  She made me feel drawn into her stories, ideas and solutions, and really made me feel like bringing some changes into my life was completely doable!!  In fact, one of my favorite mini-chapter headings was titled Never Alone But Lonely. This really spoke to my heart, I could have written that passage when Lilly (my oldest) was a newborn.  Becoming a MOPS mom has helped, but even five years and three kids later, its very easy to feel overwhelmingly crowded at home, but still very lonely.  Bianchi offers ideas on how to live intentionally, offering real world inspiration for all moms.  Even if you feel like you are already living a wonderfully connected life full of meaningful relationships, this book still has something to offer you.  The author reminds us that even while "we may have connected lives, not everyone has that same treasure.  Many of us moms are lonely, so reaching out from your place of abundance helps tremendously."  What great advice for all of us.  Just a small smile or kind word for the mom struggling with her child in the checkout line may make her day.  Making a meal for a mom with a new baby, or a phone call to the new mom down the block.  Offering help to the obviously overwhelmed momma at the doctors office or shopping mall.  All these ideas can be a starting block for investing in new and deeper relationships among other moms.  The ideas and narratives of Bianchi's book really were inspiring, fun to read and have been easy to incorporate into my own life and family.  I encourage you to pick up a copy and read it yourself!  Better yet, follow me over to The Playdate Crashers for a chance to win a free copy!  My friends Krista and Jamie are more expert than I at the give-away process, so they've offered to post my review on their blog as well as the run the randomized give-away!!  If you are interested on more info about the author, Tracey Bianchi, feel free to check out her website and blog at http://traceybianchi.com/!!

 

Into the trenches!

   I love my journal.  It's an actual bound notebook full of lined pages that I started when my husband and I found out we were pregnant with our first daughter, Lilly.  It was February 2006.  I kept that journal religiously throughout the entire pregnancy, and into her first years.  Slowly, the entries became fewer and further between.  I started having to jot down dates and notes on scrap paper, and eventually transfer them to the journal.  I continued to journal through the birth of our second daughter, the purchase of our second home, and lots of highs and lows in between.  I love to write down funny little things the girls say or do, describe things that we did or places we went.  Its a nice compilation of feelings and thoughts, notes to my daughters.  Anyone have a grandparent that has a family bible that has births and deaths written on the inside cover?  (Maybe its a country thing?)  My journal has been this for me, a place to see who's babies have entered the world, and losses our family has suffered.  You can read about the daily frustrations and joys of my motherhood experience. 
   So why should I put this journaling skill into a blog, you might ask?  I can't really explain it.  I am little addicted to the internet.  Sometimes, it gives me a feeling of being connected to other moms, other people like me, even if they are perfect stranger's.  Will I give up my pen and paper journal?  No way.  Its so important to me, I really should keep it in a fireproof safe.  I consider my journal a gift to my girls, something for them to some day read and enjoy.  This blog, it's a gift to myself.  Will anyone else read it?  I don't care.  Will they like it?  I don't care about that either.  But I have something to share with myself and maybe the world, and this seems like a nice place start.
  So, welcome to my blog! I hope you enjoy reading about my adventures in the mommyhood trenches as much as I enjoy experiencing (and living) them!