First Real Word & 8 Weeks

Natalie’s becoming very brave- she’s now cruising along the furniture and will often let go of her hands for a few moments and balance on her feet. Then she usually plops down on her bum and starts over.

She says “Hi!” regularly now- and not only within context but it’s also often accompanied with a wave! It’s so fun to see her learning and understanding. She’s also started shaking her head to acknowledge when I tell her “No.” Then I repeat, “That’s a no-no honey” and she shakes her head.

Starting around day 12 of sleep training, Natalie has been going down for bed very easily. After her book, we rock her for a moment, say our goodnights, then put her in her crib, turn out the light and leave the room without her crying! This has been such a welcome change to our exhausting routine of trying to get this child to sleep. Granted, we’re still working on the nighttime wakings, but we do see a lot of improvement. She’s sleeping through until at least 3am before I nurse her. Hopefully we’ll have her night weaned shortly. But it has been so nice to simply see a little bit of change and improvement!

Halloween is right around the corner and I’m still searching for the energy to make her Halloween costume… I know it won’t be too hard, since all I really have to do is sew together the flamingo body, head and neck and then stuff it and attach it to her hoodie. I'm sure I'll get it done, I just feel bad that it hasn't happened yet.

I’m running on absolutely zero energy these days. I’m having a hard time doing much of anything, like showering and keeping up with the housework, let alone working on additional side projects. I remember being exhausted last time around and going to bed a lot sooner than I would usually, but I think it’s worse this time around. I have been going to bed slightly earlier and sleeping better because of Natalie’s somewhat improved sleeping habits, but I don’t know that it’s making a difference. I just hope my energy levels return soon so I can resume taking baby for her walks and getting things done as usual!