It has been awhile since I have been able to sit down and update the blog when it comes to Claire and my Being a Mommy posts. Let me just say things have been pretty all over the place, Claire has been growing new teeth, not sleeping, finally sleeping and being the best daughter around.
497 days.
SLEEP: I am happy to say that as I write this I feel rested! Its been awhile haha For a few days Claire had an even earlier wake up time of 3am, it was rough. Ryan is so helpful but with his new job I didn't want him to have to get up that early. So we made extra coffee and dealt with it. I am not sure if she was just getting new teeth, dealing with her cough or just really wanted to watch Peter Pan Live for the 9th time. Whatever it was has passed, I have to thank Zarbees cough syrup and Highland Teething Tablets because they really helped her with pain when she was getting ready for bed. Sleep with a child is tougher for us than I had imagined it would be before she was born. With work and just life I could always use more sleep. She has two sleep overs planned in the next few weeks and I know that I will lovelove the extra hours [if I can make myself stay in bed and not clean the house]. If you have a new baby or even a 16 month who wont sleep I wish you patience and send you sleepy good wishes. It will pass, but hey it might come back again I can't promise this will be the last update about 3am wake ups.
BREASTFEEDING: Extended breastfeeding is here to stay. I have to say I am so so happy with breastfeeding right now. I look back at how HARD it was, how scary and overwhelming times were and its such a distant memory. I love the rose colored glasses haha but I am thankful for this blog and the fact that I can pull from those hard times to help any friends who are in the thick of it. I am not kidding, I love it. So text me anytime, day or night I promise I won't be bothered. Right now Claire loves to nurse, she nurses once or twice in the morning before I go to work or she heads to day care, she nurses before bedtime and occasionally in the middle of the night. Night weaning occurred but if I can tell she is sad or in pain I throw it out the window, I love that I can help her. On the weekends it is much more frequent, up to 10 times during the day. Now she likes to grab the top of my shirt, point inside and say "that, that" I hope she comes up with a cuter nickname haha. No plan on weaning her, just let it run its course. I love it so I think I will be sad when she moves on.
WORKING & BEING A MOMMY: Well, I have removed the 'pumping' part of this section. I decided to say Goodbye to my work pump when Claire turned 15 months. I can't say I have missed it too much :) It is nice to not have one more thing to carry around every day. The only downside has been not having enough milk to send with Claire to Patsy's but she has been ok with it. When I do have enough pumped for a bottle I send it or I save it for a night I know I won't be able to put her to bed. Her night time mommas milk is not something she is really ok with missing. Work has been good, I still miss Claire during the day and ask for pictures when I am away. When I drop her off she barely says "goodbye" now she just runs in and wants to play with her friends, this morning she ran right in and served herself some tea. It was adorable. I am glad she is loved and she enjoys her time while we are both at work.
xoxo
Nikol