Wake, Nap, Nap, Nap, Sleep

People like to talk about babies' sleeping habits. I noticed it with Louisa and now with Cora. In a close second to the question, Is she sleeping through the night? comes the question, Is she on a good napping schedule? I know the answer to the first question for Cora, but until now, I didn't have a good grasp on her daytime naps. So I decided to collect some data. Here it is:

Monday
Wake: 7:30
Nap: 9:30-11:30
Nap: 1:50-3:20
Sleep: 7:45
Tuesday
Wake: 7:45
Nap: 10:15-11:30
Nap: 2-2:45
Nap: 4:30-5:30
Sleep: 8:00
Wednesday
Wake: 7:30
Nap: 10:00-10:30
Nap: 12:00-12:30
Nap: 2:00-3:30
Sleep: 7:30
Thursday
Wake: 6:30
Nap: 7:00-10:00
Nap: 11:30-12:15
Nap: 2:30-4:00
Sleep: 8:30
Friday
Wake: 7:00
Nap: 9:40-10:20
Nap: 1:00-1:20
Nap: 3:30-5:15
Sleep: 8:30
Saturday
Wake: 7:00
Nap: 8:30-9:15
Nap: 10:20-10:50
Nap: 1:30-2:00
Nap: 6:00-6:30
Sleep: 8:30
Sunday
Wake: 6:30
Nap: 7:15-7:55
Nap: 9:30-10:20
Nap: 12:45-2
Nap: 5:15-5:45
Sleep: 8:30

Hopefully you didn't feel compelled to read the data. It's not very interesting. BUT it was a great exercise for me. It confirmed that Cora's daytime sleeping is not awesome. The only sleep book on my shelf is Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth. He says that short naps (less than one hour, for a 5 month old, at least) are NOT restorative. Oh boy. Cora's data above shows that 13 out of 22 naps last week were less than 60 minutes. Ugh.

Another thing the author says is that if your baby wakes up once at night to eat or get a new diaper, you can still count it as continuous sleep (i.e., don't consider it a nap if they wake up but then go back to sleep from 4:30 to 6:30 am, for example). So you'll notice that I don't list a break in night-time sleep even though she did wake around 3:30 am three or four times last week.

After asking Nate how to mathematically average time, I did some calculations to arrive at Cora's averages. Here they are:

Average wake time: 7:20 am
Average total nap time: 3 hours, 7 minutes
Average going-to-sleep time: 8:07 pm

So what do I do with this data? Well, it definitely helps me to do my best to put her to bed at 8 pm. She falls asleep amazingly if I put her down when she's tired, but not overtired. So knowing her average helps me to anticipate what she needs. The next step is to figure out how to help her have two 1.5 hour naps each day. I'm afraid that might require letting her cry it out. Hmmph. It's so hard! Here's how I would prefer to let her sleep -- on the go -- but I think that's why her naps aren't restorative. I'll be thinking about how to slow down and make naps more of a priority...

Nice nap during a run in August (I found some free peppers along the way)

**Update on September 18:

I'm sitting in the kitchen thinking of things to do to distract myself. Cora is in her crib screaming and has been for the last 27 minutes. I'm supposed to let her do this for an hour?!? My sense of humor is being challenged because right when I resolved to let her cry, Lou learned how to climb out of her pack n' play. This handy pop-up crib has been our back up for times when she wouldn't stay in bed. Oh boy. What did I sign up for? I'll be okay. I'll be okay. I'll survive. Cora is safe. I love her so much that I'm helping her get the sleep she needs. 31 minutes. She stopped! Started again. I love you Cora babe. Cora Bean. You'll be okay. I'll be okay. In the long run, this is better. Can I just start crying too?

At least Louisa is still in bed. After she climbed out, I folded up the pack n' play and put her in bed. The book I referenced earlier recommends the "silent return to bed" method. Nate and I laughed when we read the case study about a 2 1/2 year old who had to be put back to bed, sans emotion, 69 times the first night, 145 times the second night, but stayed in bed the third night and every night after. We laughed out of nervousness, I think. Would we even have the patience to do it 35 times? I was excited to try it, but after something like 6 times the first night, Cora needed to eat and Nate wasn't home, so I put Lou in the crib. Now that that's no longer an option, I'm not sure what I'll do. Hire a put-the-kids-to-bed nanny when Nate isn't home at bed time?

Yes, Cora is still crying. 37 minutes. I changed her and fed her before I started this, I promise. I've checked in on her to make sure her arm or leg isn't awkwardly stuck in the rungs of the crib. I'll be fine. She'll be fine. Better than fine, right? Well rested, loved, stronger, better at self soothing...

So more about the "silent return to sleep" method for Louisa. Let's call it SRTS. The thinking is that if you show emotion, whether positive (hey babe, it's really time to go to sleep...) or negative (if you get out of your bed one more time, I'll take away your doll...), they learn that coming out of bed earns attention, which is precisely why they come out of bed. The times I have done SRTS with Lou, I've felt calmer and free. Yes, I had to assume I'd be doing it for the next little while, but before adopting the practice, I would get so worked up and angry. (Cora? Yes, still crying. 45 minutes. Going to check those arms and legs again...still okay, still safe). I had forgotten that she's two and not necessarily doing it to be "naughty" but more because she is curious about what's going on outside her room. The author also recommends a SLEEPING RULES sign, designed by the child, framed and hung triumphantly. By the age of 3, they should be able to recite the rules and be proud when they follow them. Here are the rules:

At bedtime we...
1) Stay in bed
2) Close our eyes
3) Stay very quiet
4) Go to sleep

We'll be making our poster soon. WOAH. She's quiet! Cora is quiet. Six minutes shy of one very difficult hour. I love you Cora babe. I love you so much, I let you cry yourself to sleep today.

Terrific Two's

Nate has been gone this week, so Marcia generously rescheduled her week to spend time with Cora, Louisa and me. We've had lots of fun...walks, naps, sharing meals, and taking turns on stay-at-home child duty while the other one worked or ran errands. Today, the first day without work for me, we all went on an outing to the mall. I know. The mall? Why? Well, it's true what they say: it's really fun buying clothes for little girls. And it's easy to justify buying new cloths for the older girl when you know the younger one will get to wear them too. Plus there are some really cute stores that I've never lived near before, like Hannah Anderson and Naartjie.

I've never tried clothes on Louisa in a store, mostly because I try to shop alone. It's much more enjoyable that way. Today Marcia decided it was worth trying things on. It was about 12:30, which is prime nap time for a 2.5 year old whose been up since seven. Tiredness often hides behind silliness, and today was no exception. She was running out of the dressing room, giggling and squealing, in her PANTIES...all the way out the store into the mall. While I was pretty embarrassed, I'm also couldn't help but enjoy the stage Louisa's in: one that knows no embarrassment and comes with seemingly endless amounts of joy and confidence.

Of course there are days where I want to put my face in a pillow and scream because I don't understand this two-year-old-transition we're going through, but generally the rough times are mirrored by sweet or funny times. For example: we're working on staying in bed once you've been put to bed. We have a pack n' play set up in Louisa's room though and if she comes out of her room, she goes in the pack n' play in a "silent return to bed" fashion. I knew Louisa understood the routine, but I was surprised (and wanted to laugh a lot) when she was able to articulate it yesterday. Out of bed one time?...go in pack n' play, is what she told me. I thought for sure her stating the rule meant she'd stay in bed. Not at all.

Another example: using poop as a procrastination tool at bedtime. She has learned that we'll listen if she mentions poop. This is frustrating because I can't think of many things more potentially damaging than telling your newly potty-trained child that they are lying about having to poop (or pee) when they actually have to use the potty. So usually I get her out of bed and let her sit on the potty, only to be disappointed by a teaspoon of pee in the little plastic bowl. But the sweet/funny part of this bed-time evasion is that when she does poop (which she's done in the potty ever since my last blog post) she is so proud and happy.

I'll leave you with one more funny thing Lou said lately and a sweet picture. Without any obvious reminders of her Aunt Georgia, Louisa said, Love Georgia. Love Pat too. Here's a photo from a few weeks ago that I should bring to mind when I want to scream. Who's heart can't be softened by unprompted hand holding?

Photo Overflow

Here are some pictures...each worth at least 2,000 words. :) Love to you, my loyal readers.

Future 1/2 marathoner (and chocolate milk lover)

Sophie, you silly $17 giraffe

Loubear hug is coming

Cora surprises Lou with an open mouth kiss

Not convinced on this whole tummy time thing

Much happier on my back, thank you

A run/walk with all the girls

Because the last picture was Ries' best (worst) "BEFORE" shot

The frisbee fields in Santa Cruz (Nate's team won the tournament!)

Hair Cuttin' & Library Scootin'

We recently took a great, girls-only trip back to Wisconsin. I didn't plan on haircuts, but both the girls ended up coming home with less hair than when we left California. I think for the better. No offense, Cora, but your hair, while surprisingly dark and in excess at birth, wasn't looking very good. So with a little electric clipper, I buzzed it. Not that she didn't already look like a baby, but I think she looks even more like a baby-baby now.

The best (worst) BEFORE picture

After

After

After

In contrast, Louisa's haircut makes her look older. She's also seeming older now that she's 70% potty trained. Thanks mostly to Oma and the great book that I mentioned before, we no longer have to worry about buying diapers or getting rash-y in cloth "dipes" (as we call them around here). Okay, yes, I still do have to worry about these things for Cora, but luckily she hasn't developed any rashes with cloth diapers, so I haven't yet been forced to place large, expensive diaper orders on Amazon.

My favorite new picture. Not post-related, except for the view of Lou's hair

I'm calling Louisa's potty training 70% complete because of the poop part. Pee is easy. She knows when she has to go and can hold it (knocking on wood now). She even peed in a big potty at the airport and in the potty on the airplane. But pooping - HELP! For the first two weeks she just went in her panties in order to avoid the potty. Then she held it in for 2-3 days and finally on the third day started to complain that her tummy hurd and that she needed to fro up. I assured her that she would feel better as soon as she pushed it out, but she really didn't want to sit down and do it. Eventually she pooped on the floor. We celebrated because she instantly felt better and I instantly stopped worrying about impacted stool. I think the celebration was a mistake though, because today she definitely was looking forward to pooping on the floor and when she did, she celebrated, saying, daddy happy and yay, Towa! poop came out!  Oh my. Is this really want I want to be blogging about? To wrap things up, a video:

All Done Growing

Our garden is not aesthetically awesome, but boy do we have some food growing. Louisa likes to pick things and declare that they are all done growing before she eats them. I wonder if she first learned that sentence a few months ago after I, very frustrated, pulled her away from the immature blueberries, telling her they were not done growing. I usually regret my moments of frustration with her a few moments after I act frustrated. On the bad days, I don't regret those moments until after Nate is home and the girls are both asleep. Kids are so innocent and sweet once they're asleep, you know?

But back to the growing grub. The blueberries are done growing. So are lots of the cucumbers. We've picked some eggplant, summer squash, jalapeños, bell peppers, heirloom tomatoes, granny smith apples and banana peppers already too. We're still waiting to see some baby watermelon or zucchini, but I'm thinking we may not. Meyer lemons in the backyard still have a few months to go and we're contemplating removing the non-producing orange tree in the back to make way for a grassy play space. This is definitely one of the perks of living in California!

The first, of many, cucumber harvest

To reiterate the size of these beasts (Armenian Grey Ghost cucumbers)

Sweating the tomatoes to make fried green tomato BLTs

Then there's Cora and Louisa, who are obviously not done growing. Both are growing up fast though! Louisa is apparently old enough to fly across the country without her parents, because she did it today. No, not by herself, but with her Oma. I drove them to the airport and Lou got a brief nap in on the way, waking up to me asking, "Lou, do you see where we are? It's time to fly with Oma" She opened her eyes and said, "Bye Ries," who was not in the car with us. I guess we can see who she's going to miss the most. It was no big deal saying by to Nate this morning, nor was it difficult for her to say goodbye to me today. Big girl! (another phrase that's been exclaimed a lot in our house this week, as Lou started serious potty training)

For those of you looking for a potty training book, I'd highly recommend this one. And don't think that if your child is only 3 months old that you're off the hook. The author recommends starting at 6 months. I know what you're thinking: hippy, crazy, dumb. But really, check out the book. I wish I would have read it when Louisa was a baby.

How does she already have a mop for hair again?

We forgot how cute it is when they learn "happy baby" pose

Camp Belle & Papa

Nate and I were driving to work today and saw a billboard for Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy. It had a picturesque midwestern lake with a dock and a kid(?) running off the end. It reminded him of a picture - a similar midwest lake scene - that someone had on their desktop in a factory in China. Both made him miss the midwest. I had my moment too, when I glanced at our sidewalk chalk art today and thought, wow - that's going to be there for a long time. I miss the rain. To help us remember our trip to the midwest, here are those Oconomowoc pictures I promised a few posts ago. The trip was quite like a week at your favorite summer (family) camp. Lou loved every minute.

Lou insisted on helping...she must be two

I'm biased, but I think we'd make a better Leinenkugel billboard

Anne, Andrew & Marcia cruise the bay with my Dad in Joy Too

Want milk?

Hoist the sail, Papa!

Can't get this in California

I didn't even throw her off

Parade preparation

Louisa - the smallest MSI General representative

Max and Louisa basking

Getting so brave

Mo! Mo! (more! more!)

Say cheese, Papa!

3 months ago

3 months and 2 days ago, Cora was born. The most common comment I've heard when people meet her is, wow - she doesn't look anything like Louisa. They've also usually said that she doesn't particularly look like Nate, nor does she look like me. It's funny because people have said the same thing about me and my parents. John Paul and Matthew looks loads like my dad and Sarah and my mom are mistaken as sisters. So there we have it! In that sense, Cora "looks" a lot like me. Done.

Louisa at 3 months                                                                      Cora at 3 months

We will survive

I'm pretty sure that anticipation of something difficult in life is usually harder than the something itself. Of course, this battle (Nate's China trip) isn't over yet, but I already feel like we're coasting along just fine. I've been elevating our busy-ness and lowering my expectations. I've also been totally blessed by friends paying extra special attention to us (i.e. invites for dinner and a frozen yogurt drive-by). So now I feel silly for worrying/anticipating so much before Nate's departure.

During a pleasant walk through town tonight, with both girls in the bike trailer/stroller, Cora started to fuss so I asked Louisa to sing her a song. A two-year-old version of ABC's was sung and !POOF! Cora was happy again. Awesome. Back at home, we ate dinner (tasty salad piled with pecans, blueberries, grilled chicken, carrots, cucumbers, dried cranberries and avocado) and then the girlies had a bath together. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that the night wasn't quite perfect: after the bath, Cora cried for 30 minutes while Lou tried to comb her own hair and put her own pajamas on. I walked out of her room during her attempts and when I came back in, she had her swimsuit on instead. Oh Loubear.

In hindsight, Cora's sad spell is all so clear. She just needed to be topped off before going to sleep. I always feel so silly when I try everything else - a new diaper, bouncing, going outside, laying her flat...only to realize that she just wanted to eat...again. Perhaps that's how she keeps her roly-poly figure!

Mom! Don't take pictures, stop her!

Hoping I'd turn the shower on?

Two in April, Two in June

I'm a bit disappointed in my June blogging record. Two posts? Really? So despite the fact that it's already July 11th, I'm going to make an effort to beat last month's correspondence. I can't even blame the fact that we were in Wisconsin because we didn't leave California until June 29.

To kick things off, I sat down tonight to post my favorite pictures from our trip to Madison and Oconomowoc last week. There are too many, so I'll break it down. Today: Madison memories. It was a fantastic trip. Cora and Wren met each other and others for the first time and Louisa picked up right where she left off with her aunts and Oma. I'd even go so far as to say she developed quite an affection for Uncle Andrew, who used to be scary because of his beard. After reading Emote time and time again over the past year and then playing with Auntie Anne's homemade playdough last week, they've bonded.

The picture below of Cora and Emmett is one-fifth of the whole baby story. We met five semi-newborns last week: Zera Cizek, Wren Ooms, Emmett Doran, Cordelia Both and Lennon Hampton. I'd say Madison is a fertile place, but half of the babes, including Cora, were born elsewhere. What a fun time in our lives!

Lou and Aunt Georgia

A da! (What you say when you don't know the word for something)

Recommendation: drink wine while you breastfeed

My favorite part of vacation: lazy mornings and extra diaper help from Nate

Sweet girls

Cora and Emmett

I love our generation of involved fathers

See you Soon

We're all very excited for our upcoming visit with friends and family!