Wordless Wednesday: At the beach!

Maybe I should just do a picture blog...

Wordless Wednesday: Watermelon & Cat Chasing

I'm good at these.

This week I couldn't choose just a couple pictures, so indulge me.

Elusive and Mysterious Toddler Sleep Schedules

Last night we had friends over for a birthday dinner.  They have a two month old who could not be more different from Olivia at that age in terms of sleep.  Their baby literally went to sleep on his own.  Just, fell asleep.  He squawked a couple times, which evidently is a fussy evening for him.  I know.  Strange but true!  Trust me, I am not categorizing babies into easy versus difficult, as kids change constantly.  However, Olivia went through some rough sleep periods, where Josh and I would discuss whether or not she had colic.  I do not believe she did.  I do believe she was (and still is) a bit sensitive and needs some extra attention.  She has always needed to be rocked to sleep, and now nursed to sleep.  We have never, ever cried it out.  She has cried in my arms, I think at times it's how she deals with the stress of a day.  But CIO has never been an option.  I think of it this way: I'm 29 years old.  If I went to my mom today crying, it would break my heart if she put me in a bedroom by myself and waited until I was done, even if I was crying so hard I threw up.  Why would I do this to my baby?  (Off soapbox)

And no, my 14 month old does not sleep through the night. 

Lately she has been awake at 3am every morning.  I am completely and totally perplexed by this.  Often I am able to get her back to sleep, but it can take over an hour.  Other times we have to get up out of bed and come into the living room, which can take over two hours.  I grasp at straws for a reason for this.  Molars?  Developmental milestone?  Habit?  Who knows?  For the record - this is the MOST elusive and mysterious part.  I have no idea why this happens with such rigid regularity.

We've also recently transitioned from two naps to one.  Some days there is a glorious 2.5 hour nap.  Yesterday there was a sucky 45 minute nap.  I guess we're still working out the kinks. 

For some reason there is some guilt attached to thinking your kid is more needy than others.  I haven't yet figured out why this is.  I suppose the whole point of my post is that I've thought about this a lot recently, often bleary-eyed over a cup of coffee, and my conclusion is that there probably is no point in trying to figure out why we're having a toddler party in the middle of the night again.  Despite the sleep difficulties we have had I enjoy every single moment with my girl.  In addition to being sensitive (she is her mother's daughter, after all), she is incredibly bright, fun, and happy.  She'll grow up with all this determination and an adventurous spirit.  She has no fear, albeit she is a bit shy (just like her mama, again).  She makes me proud every day.  And I'm pretty sure she'll eventually sleep through the night.

Wordless Wednesday!