Too much to do, too little time

I remember the time when I could write my thoughts for the day. It was rewarding. Enjoyable. And otherwise entertaining to others. But then I returned to work. And now time just seems to fly. I have no time to reflect on my day, or my night. I have no time to sit and breath and appreciate the good things of the day, let go of the bad, and move on with the ability to remember what has happened in my life. Instead, the days and nights run together. And Daddy and I are just keeping our heads above water. But here we go again. Let's try to piece together the past few weeks. At least the important parts.

I'll start with the biggest and most important event. E was Baptised. My precious little baby girl was baptised on Easter. It was a wonderful occasion. Daddy and I had argued for months now over the need or the non existent need of a matching sweater go with her baptism gown. Wouldn't you figure Daddy was feeling pretty smug as the weather was so beautiful the sweater was not needed. We were surrounded by many friends and family. And it was truly wonderful. We have video and many pictures so that the event should go down in history. E's dressed was complimented by many people. Even those questioning if it was an heirloom. To which I said yes. I mean come on, someday it would be right? E was passed around at lunch like a precious little sack of potatoes. She met her cousins, and she met her Uncles and Aunts and extended family. She was whisked away from me shortly after the entrees had been served, and didn't return until well after dessert. I never once heard a peep. She was happy as could be. I really couldn't have had a more wonderful day.

Then I can back up a few days before the Baptism. When I woke up one morning I was struck that E seemed to have a little cough. It sounded "productive" as though she was coughing up mucous. But it didn't otherwise bother her, and she was otherwise acting like herself. So I didn't think much of it. By that afternoon it sounded much worse. So I decided to call the pediatrician and have them check her out. Seemed better safe then sorry. We had an appointment for 6:40 that evening. And a good thing we did, because by 5 my little princess sounded like a little seal. Many parents out there will now know exactly what she had. Croup. Something that primarily strikes infants and is a narrowing of their airways which makes them sound kind of like a seal when they cough. Or in her case, exactly like a seal. For the most part croup isn't a big deal. Though in some rare cases it can be problematic. It was no biggie for E. We got something to give her for a few days and after that the cough seemed to worry Mommy more than her. I was however told that she would be contagious for a week. So we kept her out of daycare for a week. That was fun. I got to spend LOTS of time with little bit, but it was a little stressful as well.

E can eat! Yes, E has finally taken to solids. I'm not sure she ever couldn't eat, so much as she was NOT a big fan of what I was feeding her. At the eager encouragement of a colleague, I decided to stop trying to force feed E Sweet Potatoes, and to try a fruit. So on to Applesauce we went. Much to my shock and delight, she loved it. No more spitting it out. No more clenched mouth to wiggle the spoon over. She swallowed most of it down, spit very little of it out, and opened her mouth WIDE for more. She's also begun taking cereal at daycare for lunch. So E now eats. She loves her applesauce. We tried some banana this weekend. She seemed to like that as well. But we're still leaning more towards applesauce. It's fun to sit in the kitchen while Daddy cooks dinner and help her eat. She's got applesauce from head to toe when she's done. But she's happy. And if you give her a spoon of her own she'll bang it against the tray and then SHOVE the spoon end in her mouth.

What else has E accomplished? She's been VERY busy.

During the last very warm spell I finally took a chance with a walker that had been passed down to us from her favorite Aunt. We took it outside onto the driveway on I put E in it. She looked like she thought this was a good idea. With a good sturdy pair of shoes with protection on the toes, she pushed herself right across the driveway. And then again this weekend she motored around the driveway while Daddy and I did some chores in the yard. She'll only get better at it, but she's already pretty good. And I get so excited! I just want to cry and cheer her on! GO E! GO E! She's getting so big and developing in so many ways. It'll be fun this summer to be outside with her. And the outside is so new to her. Being a winter baby, E hasn't really SEEN the outside so much as passed through it on her way to someplace else.

E has also decided she is ready to roll. (So to speak) Starting Saturday she suddenly began rolling around. She hasn't put together that if she keeps rolling one direction she can actually GO somewhere but she's realized she can fairly easily roll from her back to her tummy and then back to her back. We visited Grandma and Grandpa this weekend when she started doing it. Grandma was so excited every time E did it, Grandma would cheer her on. Now that she is home, every time she rolls over she looks eagerly for whoever is in the room to clap and praise her. (Thanks Grandma) But to see her smile when she does it? Priceless. We do now have to be careful. Can't just put her down and walk away. She is beginning to get into things even if they weren't right next to her when you put her down. I suppose it was bound to happen.

E doesn't sleep... or does she? After weeks and weeks of sleepless nights, and complete desperation Daddy and I decided maybe it was time for sleep training. But after a night where Daddy was up trying to get E to soothe herself to sleep for 2 hours in the middle of the night. Mommy caved, and decided maybe she should read the WHOLE book before I started on this venture. Continuing on the pure desperation train of thought, Mommy decided to see if E wanted to be back in her swaddle blanket. No way this child who was so physically developed and mobile, would want to be strapped into a blanket. She'd scream for sure. But we tried anyway, after her bath, we did her usual night time routine, and then into her swaddle blanket she went. She quieted down. She took her whole bedtime bottle, which was the first time in a long time that she'd done that. Daddy put her down in the crib. And she went to sleep. No crying, no additional trips upstairs. Just to sleep. She slept for 4.5 hours, then she woke up. I fed her. And she went right back into her crib. Fast asleep. Didn't cry when she dropped her pacifier, just slept. Slept for another 4.5 hours, and then awoke again, ate again, went to sleep again. And woke up at 6 AM when we all needed to start getting ready for the day. In fact, if Daddy had not been coughing all night. Mommy and Daddy might actually feel a little rested. So E gave up her swaddle, and has now taken it back. More to come on sleep training. E apparently doesn't need her nighttime feedings anymore, so we'll need to work on getting her to give those up! And someday we'll have to figure out how to give up the swaddle. But for now. If it works. It's staying!

So that's all for now. Thanks for reading, and your interest in my little E. Have a good day Mommies and Daddies and as always - Who dropped the pacifier.