We had a wonderful, L-O-N-G weekend. It had a rough start and end, but the in between was fantastic.

Friday we had to take Maebry to the doctor at our daycare lady's request. She had been screaming (that's unusual) and had "thrown-up" three times (she's a very, very spitty baby so I had my doubts). I picked her up around 2, and once we got to the doctor we waited in the 10x10 exam room for over 45 minutes. The first 15 went fine, but there's only so much for a 3.5 month old to observe before getting antsy. Let alone hungry. Luckily the daycare provider had thrown the remaining breastmilk into the diaper bag. I gave her that and she chowed down. Whining ensued, so I dug around and found 3 more ounces of formula, and made a quick second bottle. Sheesh - so stressful! I will never, ever again make a late-afternoon appointment unless she truly seems sick. There ended up being nothing wrong with her, and she was totally happy and content and slept fine that evening. Oh well, better safe than sorry going into a long weekend, I suppose.

Friday night we entered our "let's test this out" mode and put Maebry to bed sans swaddle sack, and in her crib. She fell asleep right away with her little hands up by her head and we thought to ourselves "We did it!"

Should've knocked on wood. Lesson: never gloat. NEVER.

Chica woke up about a half-hour later, and was rolling all over the place. She rolled so much in the crib that we saw an arm poke out of the slats (we have a monitor, and we're "those" parents who aren't using bumpers), followed swiftly by her right LEG. Not just a foot, her LEG! Skinny girl was practically hugging the mattress! So we swept her up and tried again. Knowing that my husband had to wake up at 3 a.m. for work, and knowing how tired we already were from the week, we decided to swaddle her and give it a try another time.

Basically - because she sleeps SO well and content - we decided to continue swaddling. I spoke with three or four friends who also swaddled their babies (for anywhere from 6 months to 18 months!) and I decided it's just fine to keep swaddling her. She fights getting in it, but she sleeps like an angel and is happy when she wakes up in the morning. So our small victory: Maebry is sleeping in her crib and wears a sleeper under her swaddle sack. So long, newborn-bassinet and swaddling blankets. Hello . . . . . semi-swaddled girl :)


Saturday was a gloomy, rainy day but we made the most of it. We started the day at the Hope Ministries Walk A Mile in Their Shoes event in Pleasant Hill. It was awesome how the rain held off until most people had finished/almost finished the walk. We then spent some quality time with Maebry's cousin Isaiah who is 3 and a half, and that boy is adorable!! Isaiah started preschool recently, and he is talking so much more clearly and interacts differently. It's amazing. We had a blast, but I asked myself all afternoon "How do people REALLY do life with more than one child??? Especially when you can't be outside!"

Sunday was full of good intentions of going to church which were thwarted again with Maebry's schedule. Ugh, I wish we had multiple services! She is ready for her nap around 9:00 or 9:30 and church starts at 10. I'd love to just jump in the car and have her sleep while we're at church, but she wakes up. Immediately. She is not (so far) one of those babies who sleeps in the car and stays asleep in her car seat when you arrive to your destination. Nor does she go back down for a nap well, after having a mini cat-nap. So we enjoyed a quiet, cool (the weather was phenomenal!) morning at home and went out to run our errands later. We need to figure out how to navigate Sunday mornings better/differently. Chica may just have to miss her nap time and deal with it :)

Yesterday we dealt with a fussy baby almost all day. After trying everything we could think of, and getting her out and about and with different people, even going for a walk (which usually works like magic, but this time I ended up carrying her 10 minutes home while Marcus pushed the stroller) we put her to bed and crashed on the couch in exhaustion. Sometimes babies just wear.you.out. I told Marcus that I think I could handle it if a) she wasn't spitting up or b) she wasn't so fussy or c) she wasn't so clingy. When you combine all three of those at the same time, you have exhausted parents. But it's our current season, and we're trying to find moments of good to cling to! Like remembering how cuddly she was when she woke up and while we had breakfast. Or how she giggles when you tickle her pits. Or the stupid things I do that make Marcus and I laugh for minutes on end. We do have good times, they're just clouded by hectic baby-raising-ness right now :)


Alas, today it's back to work. I'm not going to lie, I was kind of grateful when I got in my car to go to work. Work has become a bit of a "break" for me. But only after a long or rough weekend. Most days I wish I could just be at home all day with Maebry, and taking care of home-things while Marcus works. I'm learning to strive to enjoy today for what it is, because when I think the grass is greener on the other side, it's usually just the same shade.