I haven't written a follow-up post about Sierra's sleep training because I didn't want to "count my chickens before they hatched." However, since Memorial Day, when we started sleep training, she has been sleeping through the night! Praise God! I feel like a new, well-rested woman!!!
Sierra is such a good baby. I don't really know what a "bad baby" looks like though. Let's just say, she is well-trained. Her schedule is wonderful and she is always soooo happy! You can definitely tell that she is a good sleeper. She is a joy to be around and we enjoy sharing her happy sleep habits with everyone who asks, "how is she sleeping?".
This weekend was spent with many of Brian's extended family members (on his Dad's side). Of course they all asked how she was sleeping and we happily exclaimed "She sleeps through the night! Goes down around 8pm and sleeps till 6am." Usually the response to this statement brings shock, a lot of people can't believe that an 8 week old baby is sleeping so well. Then of course we explain how we trained her and it only took about 3 days, but after that, she now likes to sleep just like the rest of us.
Then Saturday evening came and we were all together for Brian's cousin's graduation party. 7:30 pm rolls around, so I nursed Sierra and then laid her in the pack 'n play to go to bed. (The party was suppose to last until at least 10pm and we wanted to stay and visit with family we don't see very often). Like normal, Sierra cried. She usually does this for about 5-10 minutes when we put her down. Well, after 20 minutes of crying I went in to soothe her for a few minutes. She was acting hungry still (she had fallen asleep nursing the first time) so I nursed her for about 10 more minutes and put her back down. She started to cry and I walked away. She might have actually cried herself to sleep that time, but some lady that was attending the party went in and took her out of her crib! (I am sure this lady meant well, but seriously people, don't take a kid you don't know out of it's crib!). As I was coming out of the restroom, I saw a lady (that we are not related to and had never met) walking through the kitchen with my daughter in her arms. At first I was shocked and then the lady said, "is this your baby?" and I responded "um, yes" and she said, "oh, she was crying and so I picked her up" and I said, "yeah, we just put her down for bed." She replied, "oh, no! I busted it, she has heard your voice now" and she handed Sierra to me. Basically after that, for the rest of the evening, Sierra screamed at the top of her lungs (even when Brian and I were in there with her). Both Brian and I missed most of the party because we were taking turns tending to her inside.
Needless to say, the drive home was a little somber. Brian said he was feeling discouraged that we won't be able to take her any where, if she will only sleep in her own room and her own crib. I had not mentioned it, but I was feeling the same way. We weren't sure if maybe it was the busy day and lack of good naps (maybe she was overtired), or if the 105 degree heat was making her irritable, or the different environment, or all the new faces...we have no clue. But we do know that Sierra made us look like big liars! The funny thing is, as soon as we gave up on the sleeping and brought her outside to pack up and go home, she was all smiles! Talking and laughing with everyone, like she had NOT just been screaming the 2 hours prior. When we got home Saturday night, we changed her and put her right to bed, she was asleep in less than 6 minutes! Sunday night was fine too! UGH....not sure what her deal was!
Brian and I have many trips planned and events this summer that will require the kid to be flexible in where she sleeps, we are hoping this weekend was just a fluke and she will do well for us the next time. We don't want to be those parents that are stuck at home and can't go anywhere because their kid determines what will happen next.
We are headed to Richmond this weekend for Father's day, so I guess we will see how it goes! :)
Us with the Great Graduate!
Sierra with her Great Grandparents! Sierra is so blessed to have 3 sets of Great Grandparents! Of course she was excited to meet them...this is the first pair of Great Grandparents she has met since she was born. These are Brian's Grandparents on his Father's side. They live in NY and came down for the graduation. It was so wonderful to see them, as always!
I think you can click on it to read it in bigger print, but if you can't....
Sierra turned 2 months old today! What a blessing she is! Aside from God's Grace, she is the most amazing gift we have ever been given!!!
She seems to have her mouth open a lot lately, trying to talk and making new sounds all the time.
I think she might become a thumb sucker. She is constantly trying to put her thumb in her mouth. I think once her coordination gets a little better she will achieve success. We will see. Of course this is not something we are hoping for. She wouldn't take a pacifier, even though she loves to suck all the time, she seems happier with her hand.
This is her serious face. :) She is definitely starting to show her personality more! :)
Sierra with Mimi & Papa
Pretty Sierra (with Daddy, who did not want to be photographed at the time)
Smiley Girl
Laughing at Daddy
Mimi got to feed Sierra. We have been giving her a bottle every few days, now that breast feeding is going wonderfully. 1) To let Daddy and others take part in feeding and 2) Because we ran out of room in our freezer with an over abundance of breast milk and I would hate to see it go to waste.
Papa was burping her
