Confessions of a Co-Sleeper...

One of our biggest struggles as first time parents has been dealing with sleep issues. When Sadie was a newborn the girl could sleep anywhere, anytime. It was glorious. We developed a nice little schedule loosely following the Baby Wise routine of Eat Awake Sleep. She was sleeping in her crib, nursing on cue like a champ! And then she hit four months.
do not let this image of a peaceful sleeping baby fool you

It all started when I attempted to cut one of her night nursing sessions (at the time she was waking up twice a night). That attempt backfired and spiraled into hourly night wakings so quickly that I don't even know how it happened. I try looking back to pinpoint something I did or didn't do but even at the time it was a blur (probably due to sleep depravation, am I right?).

For the next four months I awoke every hour to two hours to nurse and put her back in her crib. It was a terrible habit that I was allowing but at the time I was tired, not willing to allow her to "cry it out" and determined to keep her in her own bed and that was the quickest way to get her back to sleep. Meanwhile everyone I talked to who had children close to Sadie's age had babies that slept through the night without any trouble and had been doing so for months. That is where a very important parenting lesson comes into play: Do NOT compare your child to other children or your parenting to that of other parents. Every one parents differently, every child is different. Period. Sounds like common sense right? Then why is it such a hard concept to grasp?

At eight months we went on a lovely beach vacation with my in-laws and I knew sleep was going to be an even bigger issue there. After many failed attempts to get Sadie back to sleep the first night I did what I swore I would never do... I brought her in bed with me. And guess what? She slept. After sleeping in bed with me for a week on vacation my body had gotten used to actually sleeping when it was supposed to so when we got home I simply could not physically go back to waking up every hour to go into her room, nurse her, and put her back to bed.
on vacation, super happy to get her down for a nap!

Thus began the co-sleeping. She sleeps in her crib for naps and starts bedtime there every night (waking every couple of hours while there) until I am ready for bed and then she joins us and sleeps until 7:30/8am. For a long time I was embarrassed to admit this for it is something I have always sworn I would not do (you notice as a parent that is a reoccurring theme). But it is what works for our family. We all get sleep this way. It is certainly not something I want to last for much longer (more on the plan for that later) although I will certainly miss waking up to Sadie snuggles and giggles every morning.
how can you not like seeing that first thing in the morning

The underlying moral of the story (other than the simple fact that we all really do need sleep) is to own your decisions. As moms we are often criticized and judged for the way we do things, especially by other moms. But the truth of the matter is that your way is the right way. It may not be the right way for your co-worker or your best friend but it is right for your family so be confident in that because at the end of the day you are caring for your family and doing the best you can and that's all there is to it.

We're Alive!!

I realize that I have not written anything on this poor neglected blog in a longer time than I care to admit. Honestly it became a chore for a time and I wasn't enjoying it like I did previously. I have had the intention to rejoin the blogging world so many times but always got sidetracked (you know, by things like tea parties and nap time). So there probably isn't a single person left to see this but WE ARE BACK!

One night last week, after putting Sadiebug to bed, I walked out onto the back patio to find the hubs sitting there reading old blog posts of mine. I was shocked since I hadn't given this little piece of the internet a single thought in the longest time. But there he was, reading Sadie's birth story. I realized in that moment how thankful I am to have captured so many moments not only with pictures, but with my own commentary to go along with them. Little details that a single photo could not hold and that would surely get lost in my ever fading memory (I blame mommyhood for that one!). And I don't know if you know this about kids or not, but they grow every single day! They are always changing and learning and doing these crazy things that I want so desperately to engrave into my brain forever. So I plan to do my best to keep those moments alive right here.

Now, the last time I blog Sadie was only 4 months old. She is now almost FOURTEEN months! Yikes! How does that happen? Since it would take me forever to catch you up on everything that has happened in the past year, I will just bullet point a few highlights for now and gradually go over some of the big stuff in there own time.

Our Love Bug

  • We call her our love bug because she is such a lover! She is obsessed with hugs and kisses and gives them to all of her stuffed animals as well as us as often as we will take them (which is always).
  • She started walking at 9.5 months. Crazy early. And ever since then she has been such a busy little girl. Always moving, playing, running, laughing, talking, smiling, yelling, singing, dancing.
  • Books are constantly being read in this house. Over and over and over again. 
  • Sadie doesn't have a large variety of words that she actually says at this poiny but she communicates in sign language without a problem. And when she "says" please... you just can't resist. 
  • Some of her favorite activities include: playing outside, tea parties with her stuffed animals (especially Minnie and her baby), megablocks, and hiding in the curtains.
  • We took her to Disney World for her first birthday and she loved it  (there will definitely be a post on that later).
  • She is sweet and feisty, with more personality than any tiny little human I have ever met!
The Hubs & I
  • I have been training for the Disney Princess Half Marathon (which is only 18 days away!!!). Although it hasn't been easy with a toddler who doesn't like to sleep.
  • The hubs got a promotion at work (go hubby!!) which has allowed me to stay home with Sadie full time. Such a blessing and I cannot imagine it any other way.
  • We drink a lot of coffee and have developed the philosophy of making time for the memories. Sometimes the house is left a mess all weekend so we can take Sadie to the park or to visit her grandparents and do the grocery shopping as a family instead of one of us staying behind to clean. 
  • Although my etsy shop has been closed for quite some time, I have been sewing again! Mostly making dresses for Sadie which I will share later for sure.
  • Last month we celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary <3 li="">
  • Our lives revolve around our beautiful baby girl and our little family and we are so incredibly happy because of that. 

I will stop now before these updates get out of hand. If you are a former reader, thanks for sticking around and if you are stumbling upon us for the first time, welcome! I am excited to be back! Of course, I will leave you with a couple of pictures because that tiny four month old baby you see in the previous post has been replaced with a crazy toddler!!




4 Months




My Sweet Sadiebug,

  This stage with you has been my absolute favorite thus far. Every day is filled with laughter and yours is so contagious. You start with an airy giggle but that quickly turns into a high pitched squeal when you are really excited. I just love the way you greet everyone and everything with the most beautiful smile. It is the one thing I hoped you inherited from me and you have ten fold.
 
  We recently discovered your absolute favorite thing to do. SWIM! From the first moment we put you in the pool until we took you out you were laughing and squealing! We knew you would like it because of how much you love to splash around in the tub but the pure joy on your face still surprised us. You have a tiny red float that you still need help sitting in but it allows you to kick your feet to you hearts content. The combination of your feet kicking under the water, your tiny fists splashing around on the surface, and your uncontrollable laughter is almost too much for my heart to handle.

  You are still incredibly talkative ( I have no idea where you get that from ;) ) and have become much more demanding in your "conversations". Your voice is louder now and your sounds have such variety. But you still use those sweet whispers from time to time.

  There is a special little spot on your neck that you love to get kisses. It makes you smile and giggle every single time. Daddy and I cannot resist kissing you there every chance we get. Your appetite is incredible. You eat every chance you get! And you reach for my food with determination even though you have had nothing but breastmilk at this point. This is part of the reason why you are still no where near sleeping through the night.

  You amaze us with all that you can do. You can almost sit by yourself, love to roll around, put everything in reach straight in your mouth, hold your feet, try to sing back to me before bed time, stand up with help and stomp your feet. You are growing so fast and I love to watch you learn new things and take in the world around you. But please don't grow too fast. Take your time being this sweet baby girl, there is no rush.

  I love you more and more every day. I am looking forward to what tomorrow brings for us. And all of the days after that...

Love,
Mommy






Our week in iPhone Photos

Our week has been pretty busy. My Mam-maw was at my moms during the beginning of the week so Sadie and I drove back and forth quite a bit and stayed one night there so we could take her to the airport Wednesday morning. It was so sad to see her leave but oh so nice having her so close for a week.

Miss Sadie has been learning so many new things every single day! She reaches for things with such determination and purpose now and wants to put everything in her mouth. That probably has to do with the three little teeth I feel in there pushing on her poor little gums. We tried mulitple times taking her to our neighborhood pool but each time it was closed so we played in the tub instead :)

Baseball season is officially here and Sadiebug could not be more excited. As you can tell from her picture in her World Series onesie with Fredbird! (who is exactly the same size as her at the moment).

That coffee mug there in the center. How awesome is that? Your eyes do not deceive you, there is in fact a unicorn sharing a pot of honey with a bear under a rainbow. I may have begged my mom to let me take that home from her house.

In other news I want to say a big Happy Birthday to my Momma-in-law! We are headed to visit them this weekend and I don't know who is more excited about that out of the three of us.

I hope you all have a lovely Easter weekend!

Me vs. The AC Repair Man

If you are a fellow Floridian than you understand the importance of a working air conditioner in April. If you are not a Floridian than you will just have to trust me on this one. A broken AC unit on an 86 degree day challenges my sanity. I think it is winning.

The little ladie and I had a nice little day planned out. A lunch out with one of friends and then a playdate for Sadie and her bestie after that. But we pushed them back so we could wait for the AC repair guy. Because we love our AC so we do what he tells us!

He was supposed to be here this morning. We have been waiting. and sweating. all. day.

Yuck.

Now we have officially canceled our plans and are patiently awaiting the man who speaks magic words to our air conditioning... under the ceiling fan...

Please hurry AC Repair Man. Before this heat truly takes my sanity.


Steppin' Out Saturday 3.31.12

On Momma
top: Francesca's Collection
jeans: AE
watch: Birghton
earrings: Lucky Brand
nails: Essie - turquoise & caicos 


On the Little Lady
romper: Old Navy
headband: Target



Saturday Sadie and I stepped out for brunch with some of my favorite ladies. She loved seeing all of the girls and pretty much anyone and anything in sight. She was also obsessed with trying to reach my sweet potato fries. Like I had to move them out of eyesight because she would not give up. Maybe she really likes orange? 

Then we picked up the hubs and headed to my Momma's house to hang out and have dinner. Have I mentioned that my Mam-maw is in town and that she is wonderful? I wish she lived closer, I just love seeing her with Sadie.


Although lugging a 3 1/2 month old all over the place the whole day is exhausting, it is also a lot of fun. Sadie loves being out and about and I love watching her take in new places and people. She is developing such a personality and quite the attitude, I should probably be scared for what is to come with this little one!

I will leave you with one last adorable and goofy picture. It pretty much sums up Sadie. Beauty, silliness, her loves: Sophie and her paci, and lots and lots of drool!
Try not to want to eat her. Just try.  

Birthday Week :)

What this week entailed: Sadie smiles, date night on my birthday with the hubs (first one since Miss Sadie), trading in my badge for my super momma cape, spring polish, ruffle butt + baby legwarmers, nap time, and some baby love for Mommy and Daddy.

It has been a wonderful week! I have been working on setting a better schedule for myself now that I am staying home full time. I am no where near figuring that out yet but I will get there. I got to celebrate my birthday with my wonderful family. I am so in love with being a stay at home mom.

Have a great weekend!

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