Sweet, sweet sleep

I never realized before becoming a mom, or pregnant really, how amazing sleep is.  Thing is, in the past year, I've become very aware of how precious and amazing sleep is...and how much I miss it sometimes. 

Now, don't get me wrong, Neva is a fantastic sleeper...most of the time.  The exact days she started walking, was the exact day she started sleeping all night.  And it was amazing.  And it has been most nights...aside from teething and colds and staying out too late with her crazy parents.

This past week was one of those 'not so good' weeks.  I am not much of a morning person, so being woken at 5:00am, does not work well for me.  By the time I get to work, I'm ready for a nap.  There's not enough coffee in the world to help me get through my day.  And we had a few of those days last week.

On top of that, we had some middle of the night wakings.  Snot sucking, teething gel and a little bit of 'Little Fevers' were our go-to helpers.  Even then, after rocking her back to sleep, the second I crept towards her crib and started to gently lay her down...screaming, bloody murder. 

And then there's nap time.  Napping doesn't always go great on the weekends, you know because her parents totally kick ass and she wants to spend as much time with us as humanly possible.  But when she's not feeling well, holy moly.  It can seriously take and hour, hour and a half to get her to finally lie down and fall asleep.  And then she sleeps for about 45 minutes.  On a good day we can get a little more than an hour.

But yesterday, after fighting this cold for a week...she napped.  Like a champ.  For 3 whole hours.  It was rough to get her to go down and I thought, 'Oh great...here we go again!'  And then she did not move her tiny body for 3 solid hours. 

And last night?  Again, with the screaming.  And again with me thinking, 'This is going to be another one of THOSE nights.'  So I held her and rocked her and sucked some more snot.  And she slept for 13.5 glorious hours.  We were all running late this morning, but I'll take it. 

I'm also going to give some credit to the amazing blanket I knit for her before she was born.  I swapped out blankets during nap time, as I was looking for any possible solution.  Wrapped it around her tininess and she didn't move.  And at bedtime, same thing.  She wads it up and sleeps on it, like her own little body pillow.  Made with some good ol' fashioned motherly love.  Apparently, that will do the trick!

Sweet, sweet sleep.

My Favorite Time of Day

As a full-time working Mom, I have learned that my time with Neva is extremely limited.  We have a little over an hour in the mornings and in the evenings to spend time with her.  I hate that and I'd do anything to change it, but fact of the matter is...that's just not an option for us. 

I'm not a morning person, by any stretch of the imagination, but it is my new favorite time of the day.  We usually sleep until 6:30 or so, then she comes into our bed for a pre-breakfast snack!  After that, she is just the most fun!  She is so talkative and funny in the mornings.  She will repeat nearly anything we ask her to and will snuggle a bit as well!

This morning, she repeated names of everyone in our families, all the kids at daycare, all her friends, etc.  My favorites were the names with "L" in them.  I don't know what it is about them, but the way she said those names...kills me! 

She is learning new things everyday!  She is starting to recognize some shapes.  Knows stars and gets that one right every single time.  Also starting to get hearts and circles.  Smart, smart, smart.

On Tuesday night, we were doing our regular nightly routine (which is my other favorite time of the day).  We said our prayer, the same one we say every night..."Now I lay me down to sleep..."  And at the end, completely unprompted, she said "Amen!"  Following that we sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star".  Little Miss took the lead on this one.  As I stood up to turn on her star light, she started swaying and babbling and ended every sentence with the word "stars".  She was trying to sing it herself!  She just amazes me!!!  I don't know where she gets it, but this kid is smart!!!

Over the weekend we got to celebrate a friend's birthday.  Neva LOVED to hear the kids singing "Happy Birthday" and tried to chime in!  Ever since then she will just stop what she's doing, start swaying and sing "HAPPY" repeatedly.  Again, trying to sing the song all by herself.

She is just amazing.  She's learning so much right now and is starting to express herself so much more.  It makes my heart full!!!!

Happy F***ing New Year

Okay, okay...I know I should have a better attitude.  See below for resolutions...  But one comment yesterday just sent me into a state of being super mad.  And super hurt.

I had a great day yesterday.  I took a day off...completely.  My office was closed for the holiday, but I decided to send Neva to daycare so that I could have a much needed, and in my opinion much deserved, day off.  I laid on the couch and drank my coffee, watched some crappy TV, drank wine at lunch and did some shopping.  All in all, it was a great day. 

I wanted to get some exercise, so decided to walk to Rebecca's to pick Neva up for the day.  I was walking with a friend and saw an old co-worker across the street.  We waved and said hello...no biggie.  I saw her again after picking up Neva and this is where things went south.  She came over and put her hand on my stomach and said, "It looks like it, so I just have to ask.  Are you pregnant again?"  I mustered up all the strength I add to not cry and laugh it off, explaining that I'm just carrying a little extra weight, I guess.  She laughed and told me it must just be my coat, which is not puffy or padded or anything.  She carried on, while my mind was spinning.  Do I look pregnant?  Is this what people think of me?  How are these few extra pounds that I'm carrying making me look like I may be pregnant?  Her final response being, "I knew you wouldn't get mad, so I thought I'd ask you."  Who doesn't get mad about a comment like that? 

Why is this a comment that's okay to say to people?  I really don't think this is a comment that should be said aloud, unless you are actually watching a woman give birth.  It's hurtful and stupid and can completely kill a woman's self confidence.

Such a crappy ending to such a great day.  I hope the rest of 2012 is better than the first day.