Five on Friday!

Happy Friday everyone!  Here's 5 things that went on this week :)

1. Sleep drama
For months now Gabriella has been a fantastic sleeper. I had honestly not remembered the last time she woke in the night. She would go down around 7 and sleep soundly until 6:30-7 the next morning. We were spoiled and loving it.

And then she turned 14 months old. And got a cold with a wicked cough. And all the holidays happened which turned her schedule upside down. The perfect storm leading up to a sleep disaster. The first hit of this storm happened the Saturday after New Year's when we had a sleepover at my parent's house so that Gianni and Thierry could throw a welcome/ bachelor/ get to know you/ man party for Alex. (You didn't have to ask me twice to leave the house when I saw pounds of meat to be grilled and the ping pong table being set up for beer pong...). Gabriella and I were in the same room, me in a bed, and her in her pack and play. She screamed, tried to climb out, and finally ended up in a twin bed with me so we wouldn't wake up Ben and Sandy who were also sleeping over and in the next room. The night was spent with her climbing on me, shoving her fingers into my mouth and saying "tee" (yes, Gabriella, Mommy's teeth are still there), and up my nose (yes, Gabriella, that's Mom's nose).  I was hopeful that it was a freak night simply due to being so excited that we were at her grandparents house, in the same room, with her cousin, etc. But that was not the case. Things were just heating up.

On Monday night, she woke up at 11:45 pm and would not go to sleep unless I was holding her. She finally went to bed at 5:15 am. She would scream like it was the end of the world and then I would  walk in the room, and she would be all smiles. We were exhausted and didn't know  what to do. On Tuesday I went to the library and checked out 2 books with the hope that they would give us some tips on how to fix this sleep drama. The books I chose were The Happiest Toddler on the Block, and Super Nanny. My reasons for picking these two were simple; the show Super Nanny used to make me laugh and I figured that maybe the book would make me see some humor in this situation, and The Happiest Baby on the Block author is well known for his famous 5 S's of newborns (shushing, swaddling, etc).

Both books offered similar tips for getting your young toddler to sleep and I loved their theories. I didn't want to let her simply cry and cry, but knew that something had to change. The first thing I had to change was to stop rocking her all the way to sleep. In my heart, I knew this had to come to an end but I just loved it so much. So on Tuesday night, after her bath, we all played quietly in her room and read books. She had her bottle in the dark, on my lap, in the rocking chair. We then did her normal bedtime routine; prayers, and a cuddle. Instead of rocking her all the way to sleep though, I gave her a big hug and kiss and told her I loved her and it was time to go to sleep. I put her in her crib, rubbed her back and left the room.

And she lost her mind.

We set a timer for exactly one minute (which felt like an eternity) and then I went back in, of course she stopped crying as soon as I walked in), didn't pick her up, instead just rubbed her back, kissed her cheek and said the same thing, "I love you and it's time to go to sleep". She started screaming again as I left the room, this time setting the timer for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, I repeated the same routine, leaving the room and setting the timer for 4 minutes. During the 4 minutes, her crying changed from a scream to a protesting cry. I went in again after 4 minutes, repeated, and came out to set the timer for 8 minutes. All of a sudden, she was crying less and less. She was playing with her stuffed doll, chewing on her blanket, and then she put her head down and by 7 minutes in, she was sound asleep! And guess what, she slept through the night.

I repeated these same techniques since during naps and bedtime and since the first night, there has been NO crying! I rock her for a minute or two, kiss her, hug her, and tell her it's time to go to sleep. She often plays quietly for a little bit but then she puts herself to sleep. It's amazing.

For my mom friends, I highly recommend these books for sleep troubles! They are lighthearted, make you feel completely normal, and offer useful, practical tips that actually work.

2. Pigtails
Someone finally has just enough hair for little pigtails!! Or one slightly bigger "whale spout". I love it!

Pushing my bag around the library

3. The cat
Gabriella has always loved the cat. The cat drives Gianni and I up the wall. But deep down we love her and just when she is getting on my last nerve, she and Gabriella do something funny. She really is good with Gabriella and lets her roll on her, hug her, pull on her, etc. Yesterday, Gabriella decided she wanted to lift the cat. Needless to say it didn't work because I'm pretty sure the cat weighs more.

Trying to get Leila to come with her

4. Looking big
The story of parenthood. One day  you have a tiny baby and the next minute they look so grown up.

5. Full House on Netflix
If you were a child of the 80s/90s, you most likely loved Full House. It was a cheesy TV show about 3 sisters being raised by their single dad, uncle, and best friend and it was fabulous. The cast has reunited for a new show called Fuller House and I am way too excited to watch it. It's probably going to be just as cheesy but honestly, who doesn't love some childhood flashbacks. I sent Sandy and Diane a text saying that I want to have a small viewing party (may be just us haha), and they both wrote back immediately with an enthousiastic yes (along with a "I'll bring the wine".) Love my sisters.

Have a great weekend!!
xo,
Mary