So the past two days, the morning has been a bit rough. She gets tired, wants her bottle and sort-of wants a nap around 9am (old first nap time). So I take her outside and she gets whiny but I keep her up until about 11am.
I give her 1/3-1/2 of her lunch just before time to go for a nap, and then the surprise. The past few months, I've been itching to just put her down to sleep and walk out. But she wasn't ready. She must have been ready for at least a month since it's been the 2nd nap that was tough to get her to relax so I could put her down. Her babysitters, both, found the same difficulty.
So, independently, both Hannah and I have put her down after only a minute or so of holding her realizing that she's not able to get comfortable in our arms. She just lays in the crib and falls asleep.
Clearly, my mother (who told me to try this last week) was right. She was ready to put herself down for a nap as long as I was smart about WHEN to do it.
In addition to this being the one-nap-a-day transition, it's also the mommy-i-can-do-it-myself transition. Both are mostly transitions for me.
I've also been considering whether or not to consider working again. But that's another story and far too early to even write anything more than what I just did.
So, baby's asleep. Time for me to relax!
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
10 months: travel, sleep, fun
While Ismael was away on business for almost 2 weeks, Carolina and I stayed with my parents. I thought it was going to be a good idea for her to spend more time with her grandparents, while I simultaneously got some intermittent babysitting so I could do my part-time PM work on the project Ismael was participating in.
The week+ was both a surprising lot of fun and total disaster. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration. I found out Carolina adores blueberries. Frozen, warm, partially frozen, on chicken, with carrots, with yogurt, whole, mushed up, whatever. At the end of our time on 'vacation' if it didn't have blueberries she almost didn't want to eat it. The only food she wanted more than something with blueberries, was something a grown up was eating.
Now, I thought this wasn't supposed to happen (table food envy) until she was older. So we had some screaming tantrums, very short lived but still, when she wanted something I had that she wasn't allowed. Like chocolate, coffee, or ice cream.
I've resisted giving her ice cream since she's not supposed to be on whole milk (vs. formula) until after she's a year old. To prevent allergies, I hear. But we were at Whole Foods and having a gelato, she was carrying on so much, and I figured -- well, a little can't hurt.
She had already eaten so much I was surprised she was hungry. She gobbled up every mini spoonful of malted-balls gelato I was willing to give her. Later that evening, she threw up. Twice. Not a lot, but enough. And on my shirt. She smelled like ice cream.
Then she had a terrible sleeping night and proceeded to poop about 8 times (seriously). So between the gelato and blueberries -- she had too much going on in her belly and it eventually all made its way out.
She also re-developed the habit of getting up for the day at 4 or 5am. Yeah. And neither my parents nor my mother-in-law have any stomach for Carolina crying out. So I had to go into the room to comfort her, which ended up being 'playing with'. So after working most of the day, and then playing with Carolina, and she not taking her normal 1-hour naps and not twice a day -- I was beyond exhausted by the end of the first 5 days. The last 3 days were the worst. She knew I'd run in there, so she took full advantage. AND AND AND she was super, super teething.
I'd like to know why when we spend time with my parents, she's always teething. They are both so quick to 'get the orajel' to relieve her pain, that we went through a whole tube in about 4-5 days. I was tired of arguing against it, so I went along with it. I think that was too much. I mean, sometimes, it's bad - yes - but sometimes nothing helps and she just has to get through it. Right? Maybe I'm wrong and cruel. I think not, but what do I know? (I've learned I know a lot but I have to keep that to myself.)
The night we came home, she slept her normal 12 hours, and only cried out twice for only a few seconds. Didn't get up until 6am, and the rest of the days she's back to a 7pm to 7am (maybe 6am) days. And she was a super-napper the first two days back. Poor thing was totally tired.
We've had a few great, fun days. Now today she's back to being irritable and chewing on everything. Frozen blueberries have helped.
I hear from other moms that after the first few teeth came in, their babies didn't complain and teeth would just come in. Yeah, not my Carolina. So I think she's working on either just tooth #7 or both #7 and #8. I can't tell. But I can tell you that the top teeth seem to be on a rampage and she's just got the bottom two in the front to represent that lower jaw. Ha!
I'm having a lot of difficulty with working part time, because it turned into a bit of crisis management that entire week+ and was full time, while being a full-time mom at home. So I'm going to call a local, recommended babysitter to see how that works out. It's proven to be impossible for me to work at home and Carolina be at home, too. No matter who or what is around, she wants to be with me. So either she leaves or I leave if work is to be done.
I'm debating whether I need the aggravation and we need the money or not.
It's not THAT much money, it's a ton of aggravation so far, but - honestly - it's also nice to do something 'grown up' for a while. I might be great at project management, but I don't really enjoy it.
So, the jury is out if I'm going to continue. I'm leaning towards 'no'.
I do think, however, that having a babysitter for Carolina is still a good idea. Get her used to someone other than me, Ismael, and my parents. I'm totally against putting her in daycare, if only because those kids get colds all the bloody time -- and jesus, it's expensive.
ok, end rant here. :)
In other news, she took a decent (30 min) stroller nap after only whining/crying for about 5-10 minutes in Central Park. While Jee and I walked down 5th Ave (from 81st to 14th St), Carolina slept until about 42nd St. I was impressed that she slept with all that traffic noise for that long. Stroller naps are going to be a minimum of a once-a-week event since I gotta get this kid used to being in the stroller (not just having me carry her in the carrier all the time, she's getting heavy), and also sleeping somewhere other than her bed. Otherwise, traveling becomes complicated and stressful, and I feel we'll be doing a lot more traveling in her future.
Finally, she's developed a real like of Dora the Explorer. She is usually only interested in the opening song and animation, and maybe another 1-5 minutes more -- but she truly smiles at Dora and jumps up and down on her knees in excitement. Spongebob Squarepants is still a favorite too, but I think Dora has moved up a notch.
I've also showed her a few minutes of The Backyardigans a few times. I think they might be for slightly older kids. Actually, I know all these shows are for children older than 10 months. I'm just amused she likes Dora and Spongebob so much.
Recently, she had a growth spurt. I think she gained almost an inch in a week because she was eating like a horse and I couldn't get the food in fast enough. There were about 4 days when she was eating at least a full, adult cereal bowl full of food. I mean like chicken, carrots, apples, blueberries, rice, beef, avocados, spinach, etc. Anything I could grab to feed her, it went in and was followed by crying if I didn't get more in there fast enough.
Occasionally, when she's tired but has to eat dinner and she otherwise refuses to let me put any food in her mouth, I'll put an episode of Dora on my iphone in the kitchen. That usually gets me about 3 minutes of her opening her mouth to accept food without realizing she's doing it. Ah, the diplomatic treaty negotiations have begun...
The week+ was both a surprising lot of fun and total disaster. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration. I found out Carolina adores blueberries. Frozen, warm, partially frozen, on chicken, with carrots, with yogurt, whole, mushed up, whatever. At the end of our time on 'vacation' if it didn't have blueberries she almost didn't want to eat it. The only food she wanted more than something with blueberries, was something a grown up was eating.
Now, I thought this wasn't supposed to happen (table food envy) until she was older. So we had some screaming tantrums, very short lived but still, when she wanted something I had that she wasn't allowed. Like chocolate, coffee, or ice cream.
I've resisted giving her ice cream since she's not supposed to be on whole milk (vs. formula) until after she's a year old. To prevent allergies, I hear. But we were at Whole Foods and having a gelato, she was carrying on so much, and I figured -- well, a little can't hurt.
She had already eaten so much I was surprised she was hungry. She gobbled up every mini spoonful of malted-balls gelato I was willing to give her. Later that evening, she threw up. Twice. Not a lot, but enough. And on my shirt. She smelled like ice cream.
Then she had a terrible sleeping night and proceeded to poop about 8 times (seriously). So between the gelato and blueberries -- she had too much going on in her belly and it eventually all made its way out.
She also re-developed the habit of getting up for the day at 4 or 5am. Yeah. And neither my parents nor my mother-in-law have any stomach for Carolina crying out. So I had to go into the room to comfort her, which ended up being 'playing with'. So after working most of the day, and then playing with Carolina, and she not taking her normal 1-hour naps and not twice a day -- I was beyond exhausted by the end of the first 5 days. The last 3 days were the worst. She knew I'd run in there, so she took full advantage. AND AND AND she was super, super teething.
I'd like to know why when we spend time with my parents, she's always teething. They are both so quick to 'get the orajel' to relieve her pain, that we went through a whole tube in about 4-5 days. I was tired of arguing against it, so I went along with it. I think that was too much. I mean, sometimes, it's bad - yes - but sometimes nothing helps and she just has to get through it. Right? Maybe I'm wrong and cruel. I think not, but what do I know? (I've learned I know a lot but I have to keep that to myself.)
The night we came home, she slept her normal 12 hours, and only cried out twice for only a few seconds. Didn't get up until 6am, and the rest of the days she's back to a 7pm to 7am (maybe 6am) days. And she was a super-napper the first two days back. Poor thing was totally tired.
We've had a few great, fun days. Now today she's back to being irritable and chewing on everything. Frozen blueberries have helped.
I hear from other moms that after the first few teeth came in, their babies didn't complain and teeth would just come in. Yeah, not my Carolina. So I think she's working on either just tooth #7 or both #7 and #8. I can't tell. But I can tell you that the top teeth seem to be on a rampage and she's just got the bottom two in the front to represent that lower jaw. Ha!
I'm having a lot of difficulty with working part time, because it turned into a bit of crisis management that entire week+ and was full time, while being a full-time mom at home. So I'm going to call a local, recommended babysitter to see how that works out. It's proven to be impossible for me to work at home and Carolina be at home, too. No matter who or what is around, she wants to be with me. So either she leaves or I leave if work is to be done.
I'm debating whether I need the aggravation and we need the money or not.
It's not THAT much money, it's a ton of aggravation so far, but - honestly - it's also nice to do something 'grown up' for a while. I might be great at project management, but I don't really enjoy it.
So, the jury is out if I'm going to continue. I'm leaning towards 'no'.
I do think, however, that having a babysitter for Carolina is still a good idea. Get her used to someone other than me, Ismael, and my parents. I'm totally against putting her in daycare, if only because those kids get colds all the bloody time -- and jesus, it's expensive.
ok, end rant here. :)
In other news, she took a decent (30 min) stroller nap after only whining/crying for about 5-10 minutes in Central Park. While Jee and I walked down 5th Ave (from 81st to 14th St), Carolina slept until about 42nd St. I was impressed that she slept with all that traffic noise for that long. Stroller naps are going to be a minimum of a once-a-week event since I gotta get this kid used to being in the stroller (not just having me carry her in the carrier all the time, she's getting heavy), and also sleeping somewhere other than her bed. Otherwise, traveling becomes complicated and stressful, and I feel we'll be doing a lot more traveling in her future.
Finally, she's developed a real like of Dora the Explorer. She is usually only interested in the opening song and animation, and maybe another 1-5 minutes more -- but she truly smiles at Dora and jumps up and down on her knees in excitement. Spongebob Squarepants is still a favorite too, but I think Dora has moved up a notch.
I've also showed her a few minutes of The Backyardigans a few times. I think they might be for slightly older kids. Actually, I know all these shows are for children older than 10 months. I'm just amused she likes Dora and Spongebob so much.
Recently, she had a growth spurt. I think she gained almost an inch in a week because she was eating like a horse and I couldn't get the food in fast enough. There were about 4 days when she was eating at least a full, adult cereal bowl full of food. I mean like chicken, carrots, apples, blueberries, rice, beef, avocados, spinach, etc. Anything I could grab to feed her, it went in and was followed by crying if I didn't get more in there fast enough.
Occasionally, when she's tired but has to eat dinner and she otherwise refuses to let me put any food in her mouth, I'll put an episode of Dora on my iphone in the kitchen. That usually gets me about 3 minutes of her opening her mouth to accept food without realizing she's doing it. Ah, the diplomatic treaty negotiations have begun...
Friday, April 2, 2010
A working mom, injured
Earlier this week I threw out my neck. It's a super old injury that just never goes away and occasionally pops up to haunt me when I've either been stressed, curling my hair too much, or holding my shoulders/neck wrong. Usually because of too much work, late into the night. That was this week and last week. Part time freelance, you'd think I could handle that without throwing myself into a tizzy.
Thought I was doing so well, and the last two days my mom had to come over to help me with Carolina since it was impossible for me to lift her up, carry her or even stand up on the first day.
Today I'm much better. Carolina, on the other hand, has refused to take her afternoon naps for the 'full amount'. I think the last two days she was worried why I wasn't carrying her around.
But very interestingly, last night at about 5pm we started to give her dinner. A little bit of chicken and filling from a spinach pie. She scarfed it down! Was crying for more! Unheard of. So I hurried up to make her more. Same thing. Cried for more! So we went on to: apples, blueberries semi frozen, yogurt snacks, rice cracker snack, and something else I can't remember.
She ate for about 50 minutes. Not every second of it, of course, but a damn lot of the time.
I think she finally realized that it was the last stop on the train before bedtime and a bottle. Last night was the first night she didn't make a peep between 7pm and 7am.
She's now getting used to not having a bottle before her afternoon nap. I think that's a lot to do with why she's not doing the afternoon nap so well. She's tired, trust me. But not so much on being able to relax. I'm still working out what her 'routine' should be. Right now I'm trying to hold her sideways, sing her the bedtime song we have, with the chupon in her mouth. It sort of works, until she feels the crib mattress under her and then it's all crying.
Day 3, so far still working it out.
Any suggestions?
In the meantime, I'm still assessing my ability to keep better boundaries between work and home and considering if I should have any work at all. The income will be nice. I'll be calling a babysitter based on a mom-friend recommendation. I'm going to try having someone come over once or twice a week for like 2-3 hours to take Carolina out for a walk, park, whatever.
She can handle being away from me if I'm not there. If I'm in the apartment, I must be playing with her at some point. I can't work while she entertains herself with someone else. Sang proved that to be true!
Thought I was doing so well, and the last two days my mom had to come over to help me with Carolina since it was impossible for me to lift her up, carry her or even stand up on the first day.
Today I'm much better. Carolina, on the other hand, has refused to take her afternoon naps for the 'full amount'. I think the last two days she was worried why I wasn't carrying her around.
But very interestingly, last night at about 5pm we started to give her dinner. A little bit of chicken and filling from a spinach pie. She scarfed it down! Was crying for more! Unheard of. So I hurried up to make her more. Same thing. Cried for more! So we went on to: apples, blueberries semi frozen, yogurt snacks, rice cracker snack, and something else I can't remember.
She ate for about 50 minutes. Not every second of it, of course, but a damn lot of the time.
I think she finally realized that it was the last stop on the train before bedtime and a bottle. Last night was the first night she didn't make a peep between 7pm and 7am.
She's now getting used to not having a bottle before her afternoon nap. I think that's a lot to do with why she's not doing the afternoon nap so well. She's tired, trust me. But not so much on being able to relax. I'm still working out what her 'routine' should be. Right now I'm trying to hold her sideways, sing her the bedtime song we have, with the chupon in her mouth. It sort of works, until she feels the crib mattress under her and then it's all crying.
Day 3, so far still working it out.
Any suggestions?
In the meantime, I'm still assessing my ability to keep better boundaries between work and home and considering if I should have any work at all. The income will be nice. I'll be calling a babysitter based on a mom-friend recommendation. I'm going to try having someone come over once or twice a week for like 2-3 hours to take Carolina out for a walk, park, whatever.
She can handle being away from me if I'm not there. If I'm in the apartment, I must be playing with her at some point. I can't work while she entertains herself with someone else. Sang proved that to be true!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
after the no sleep, there is sleep
Yesterday, we were blessed with almost 16 hours of sleep from Miss Carolina. I've continued the no-change-diaper-unless-absolutely-necessary (making up what 'necessary' means on the fly). She's had her diaper changed 2 fewer times than usual and got an extra hour of sleep in the day. She also SLEPT THROUGH THE USUAL 4AM FEED. That's right people, you hear me. She "missed" a feed. Her 3am was only a few minutes and not much of an effort at that. Maybe there is something to this magical "3 month mark" since she's going to be 12 weeks on Saturday. Hooray!
She went to sleep at about 6am, and her feeds from then until 1am were for 6-10 minutes a piece. All by herself she made the valiant effort to eat more and sleep more. And I made the effort not to disturb the peace by not changing her. There were still 4 wake up times, but I was glad to see even a shimmer of hope for sleeping more hours at night. She did, of course, wake up with an awesomely poop-filled diaper. But it was more pride than disgust. (Is she going to cower in horror and embarrassment that I speak of her this way, when she is older? Probably. Sorry, kid!)
In fact, I was waking myself up to see if she was making any noise, when she wasn't. And then I found myself being glad to see her little sleepy face when she was hungry. What the hell is wrong with me? I must have napped too much yesterday! I wanted to see her during the night? Delusional!
It must be Spike Lee talkin'
Right now, she's well into nap #2 of the morning and it's already been about 2 hours. It's still too hot and the air quality is too poor to go for a walk today. So maybe she'll sleep through it. Maybe she'll smile through it. She was being very smiley this morning again.
Funnily enough, yesterday and today, when I try to talk to my dad on the phone while she's in my arms she starts to make noise and disrupts the call. I'm wondering if this is a new trend. Complaining while I'm on the phone with her grandpa. Hmm...
This may be a good time to start asking myself this question: What will I do once she has a regular sleep schedule and I have a few hours to myself every day?
Will I work?
Will I write?
Will I become a Facebook junkie?
Will I cook burgers daily?
Will I become a professional napper?
I still think I should copy edit take out menus from the local area restaurants who have owners that write English as their second language. Some menus are awesome in their bad grammar and some are just bad. Only for the ones who are interested, I'd like to help them out by correcting them. In exchange, of course, for a quantity of food over a period of time. Say, free dinner for two adults, once-a-week for the next month? I wonder how you break into that business...
She went to sleep at about 6am, and her feeds from then until 1am were for 6-10 minutes a piece. All by herself she made the valiant effort to eat more and sleep more. And I made the effort not to disturb the peace by not changing her. There were still 4 wake up times, but I was glad to see even a shimmer of hope for sleeping more hours at night. She did, of course, wake up with an awesomely poop-filled diaper. But it was more pride than disgust. (Is she going to cower in horror and embarrassment that I speak of her this way, when she is older? Probably. Sorry, kid!)
In fact, I was waking myself up to see if she was making any noise, when she wasn't. And then I found myself being glad to see her little sleepy face when she was hungry. What the hell is wrong with me? I must have napped too much yesterday! I wanted to see her during the night? Delusional!
It must be Spike Lee talkin'
Right now, she's well into nap #2 of the morning and it's already been about 2 hours. It's still too hot and the air quality is too poor to go for a walk today. So maybe she'll sleep through it. Maybe she'll smile through it. She was being very smiley this morning again.
Funnily enough, yesterday and today, when I try to talk to my dad on the phone while she's in my arms she starts to make noise and disrupts the call. I'm wondering if this is a new trend. Complaining while I'm on the phone with her grandpa. Hmm...
This may be a good time to start asking myself this question: What will I do once she has a regular sleep schedule and I have a few hours to myself every day?
Will I work?
Will I write?
Will I become a Facebook junkie?
Will I cook burgers daily?
Will I become a professional napper?
I still think I should copy edit take out menus from the local area restaurants who have owners that write English as their second language. Some menus are awesome in their bad grammar and some are just bad. Only for the ones who are interested, I'd like to help them out by correcting them. In exchange, of course, for a quantity of food over a period of time. Say, free dinner for two adults, once-a-week for the next month? I wonder how you break into that business...
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