Week 62: March 18 - 24

Not much going on this week--or rather, there's been one thing that's been HUGE on our minds, and I will get to that first thing!

SLEEP!
I am forever writing about, commenting about, thinking about -- probably DREAMING about -- Madeleine's sleep. I use an online program to track her sleep. I spend time every awake period debating when she should go back down, either for a nap or for bed. It's exhausting, but it's something I believe STRONGLY in. I've read books, and they all say the same thing: babies need sleep. Then there's the "Sleep Bible," called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, where the writer is a doctor who has been researching and studying children and babies and SLEEP for like, 25 years or something. He goes to great lengths to list all the benefits of good sleep and the detriments of bad sleep.

What can I say, I'm a sucker for a randomized, controlled trial! I'm sold -- sleep is gold for babies.

Plus, I have seen the effects when Madeleine doesn't get her usual amount of sleep. She's tired, less energetic, less interested in things. Less happy! A well-rested Madeleine is a HAPPY Madeleine. So Matt and I have become somewhat obsessed with sleep. I go back and forth with how I feel about that, but I will do whatever is in my power to ensure that she gets the rest she needs (within reason of course).

Why am I talking about sleep? Because we finally think Madeleine is really and truly ready for just one nap. Or, at least, two naps are no longer working. I think she easily gets overtired, so we are constantly battling with that. Madeleine went seven days in a row with only 1 nap. 6 of those days, she got an AM nap and then just didn't sleep for her PM nap, but on Sunday, she only got put down for one nap (after church). She had a yucky day this week where she woke 45 minutes after going asleep for bedtime and was awake for 2 hours. The next day, she took 2 naps, including a super huge on in the AM, but that was all make-up sleep. It doesn't count. The next two days, she skipped her AM nap, which was a total first. We then put her down around lunchtime, and she took a great nap the first day, an okay nap the second day.

Going into week 63, our plan is to go to 1 nap. This is a process, I've read, and we are definitely in the "yuck zone." BEEN THERE! Some days she'll get 1 nap, some days 2. It just depends on how things go. I honestly DO NOT CARE so long as she gets the sleep she needs!

EC
On 2 different days, we caught a poop and then a pee (not together) after naps! YAY! I love how easy it is to clean up, especially a poop. SO much nicer than dealing with a diaper! I so wish I'd known about this when Madeleine was a newborn. Some days, we don't do anything with EC, and other days, we have many successes. I define success as any time there is communication about potty stuff. Even if she tells me AFTER she's gone, it still means she's noticed and is aware.

On Thursday, I was lying on the couch while she played. She came up to me without any toys or anything and was looking at me. I asked her what was up, and she kinda squatted and pointed to her diaper. I swept her up and went to the potty, but she had just peed in her diaper. Still, success!

WORDS & SIGNS
Where did my list of words go?? Oh, there it is!

Word tally: Layla, Dog, Mama, Poppi (once), ball, here, eat, shoes, ow, boo-boo, hat.

Signs tally: eat, drink, bath, tree, up, down(?), light (once or twice), shoes, book, more (kinda), all done (kinda), hat, potty, shirt (kinda).
New signs this week: shirt, light

She said "owl" this week, but she's said "ow" in the past, so I don't know if it's actually a new word. In Peek-A-Who?, the first page is an owl, so she says it when we look at that book. This week, she learned the signs for shirt and light. Light is really neat, and to see her tiny fingers make the sign is awesome.

BATH TIME!!
This was a week of change for baby bath time---we moved Madeleine into the big bathtub! We certainly don't have our system down yet, but we've made the move. Madeleine didn't really know what to do. She just sat in one place and kinda looked around her, holding onto a toy. She got into the bubbles a little bit, but I think the whole thing was just so new. She knows that mommy and daddy go in the tub to take showers (she kinda says shower? but it just sounds like "ow" and "owl"), and she would point to or look at the showerhead and said "ow." Or really, it's more like "ahh-woo." Hopefully, she'll start to enjoy bath time more as she gets to really play in the water.

One funny thing: We clean the tub before every bath. Just the bottom, but Matt doesn't want her sitting in a tub that's had our showers in it. I find it amusing. I commented that I don't remember my mom ever cleaning the tub before we took a bath, and he agreed, but here we are. I think it will eventually go by the wayside, but for now, we clean the tub! :)

LITTLE THINGS
Teeth update: I wrote in week 56 that I thought Madeleine was getting some new teeth. I've even looked and seen what I thought were teeth. But she still has only 8 teeth, even though every day she gnaws on her fingers and drools. Those things need to come IN already so that she can get some relief! There are days where they don't seem to bother her as much.

Walking update: we've done some walk workouts, and Madeleine enjoys getting the hugs at the end of each walk, but she's still not too interested in walking on her own. And why should she, when there are parent fingers around?

Light switches! Madeleine finally got the gist of both off AND on this week! She was so pleased when she did it, too.

Many months ago, Mimi bought Madeleine a set of little books, about 2in x 2in. She put them in her mouth at the time, and they started to come apart. We put them away for awhile, until she could play without trying to eat them. Well, she can play with them now, and she loves them. She loves carrying one around, sitting down to look at it.

Matt did something new with baby this week. While playing on the bed, he put the blankets all the way over her. I was a little concerned, just because I didn't know how she'd react (didn't want her to be scared), but she did great! She pulled them off, and we made a big deal of it, and she grinned and laughed and tried to pull the blankets back over her head. :)

I really enjoy nursing Madeleine right now. She's just so sweet, and she really lets me know that she enjoys that time together. I love it when she puts her little hand on my face while she's nursing. Sometimes she gives my cheek a gentle pat, which she also does when she isn't nursing and is in a sweet mood. I wish that I could capture those moments and feel and keep them forever.

Madeleine still LOVES her blanket. She doesn't have a word for it yet, just holds her arm out and goes "uhhuhh," one syllable but with a change in tone in the middle. It starts high and then drops. Anyway, it's not really possible to describe or make it onomatopoeic. Lately she's been bringing her blanket out of her room more and more, carrying it with her through the house and when she plays sometimes. This week, she'd fine her blanket on the floor somewhere, then immediately drop her face onto the floor and make her little sound. Seriously, so cute.

And finally, speaking of sounds, Madeleine has a special sound she makes whenever she's being sweet. She does it whenever she kisses and hugs, and she also says "Mama" in a special voice. It completely melts my heart.


SLIDESHOW!