Sleeping in an unfamiliar place: Baby G's got this!

Baby G, her dad, and I went to Wichita this weekend to visit some friends and family. We've taken a few day trips during Baby G's first year, but we haven't braved an overnight stay since she was about 3 months old (still swaddled, still sleeping in a bassinet, much easier to trick her into thinking she was still at home and not in some weird hotel). We've been putting it off (aka: dreading it terribly) for several months but with my hubby's nudging we decided to see how it went putting Baby G in a strange environment and expecting her to sleep all night long in her pack 'n play.

We brought several familiar things: her night-night binky, a night-night diaper, her Pony Lovey, and her sound machine. The plan was for Baby G and I to sleep in Toddler B's room (Toddler B being the adorable 2 year old son of the friends we stayed with) and for my beloved hubby to crash on the couch in the living room. Basically, I booted my hubby out of the room before he ever had a chance because I was so scared of Baby G's refusal to sleep if my hubby was feeling particularly "snore-y" that night. I was already concerned the night would consist of Baby G standing up in her pack 'n play staring at me for hours on end (like those scenes in Paranormal, but FAR cuter and less murder-y) and now that Baby G sleeps through the night like a champ, the prospect of anything less than that terrifies me.

The majority of the day was spent either in the car (with a roughly 30 minute nap for the kiddo, who refused to miss a single thing on our trip until she basically passed out... right before the city limits. Sigh.), playing with Toddler B, or running around "meeting" all of the adults, cats, and dogs in the house. I had high hopes that Baby G would be so tired by bedtime she would fall asleep mid-step and pass out into a pile of pillows. We did our usual pre-bedtime bottle in the rocking chair and I put her down with all of her familiar things. She was OUT in minutes. YAY! I stayed up for a while until it got late (late, for me, seems to be about 10:30) and then I snuck back into the room as quietly as I could.

*pop*

That *pop* was the sound of Baby G instantly waking up and standing in her pack 'n play, looking at me with her binky in her mouth and her Pony Lovey in her hands. It was as if to say, "What the heck are you doing here? Also, where the heck are we?" I picked her up, snuggled her for a second or two, then put her back down before crawling into bed. I heard her get back up and silently stare at me for a little bit, then I heard a THUD!

The THUD was the sound of a still-tired Baby G going from standing up to laying flat and sound asleep in one fluid motion. It was hilarious and I had to stifle my laughter else risk the chance of re-animating the baby. Throughout the night Baby G flopped around like a fish out of water. Having not shared a room with her since she was swaddled and in a bassinet, I'm not sure if this was normal for her or a result of a less-than-comfy pack 'n play, but I assume it is fairly normal for her. Occasionally I would hear her get back up, stand there staring at me for a little bit, then THUD! Instantly asleep again! Apparently our sleep training overrode her curiosity about sharing the room with me. We both got an acceptable amount of sleep considering the "out of the ordinary" conditions. The hubby? Well, he stayed up super late and slept on a couch. Heh... His sleep wasn't quite as acceptable. Oops!

The trip was more or less a success as Baby G and Toddler B had hours and hours of play time and we adults got to interact with some friends and family. The hubby and I even got to go to dinner Saturday afternoon without the kiddo as our friends wanted more Baby G time! BONUS! Toddler B and Baby G bonded over Yo Gabba Gabba, the love of food, the love of completely destroying a living room by setting off a toy-box bomb (metaphorical, of course), and randomly yelling things when adults were still trying to sleep. Overall, they got along swimmingly!

As we were leaving town Saturday morning (okay... more like LATE Saturday morning... Baby Time was in effect!) to head to Wichita I made a comment to my hubby: "This time tomorrow we will either be praising Baby G for doing so well, or that we will promise to never ever do this again."

While the trip wasn't ideal, it was certainly better than I thought it would be! It turns out Baby G is a "roll with the punches" baby and has a great time no matter what situation we find ourselves in. Baby G, you are such a good baby. We're totally lucky to have you!

One year check up!

So, I had a list of questions to take to the doctor for Baby G's one-year well-baby check.

First question: Do we finally get to get rid of formula?

Subtext: Because I frickin' hate that stuff! It's expensive, smells bad, and I hate mixing it!

Answer: Yup. Have at it! Start mixing whole milk with your remaining formula to get her used to the switch.

Response: YESSSSSSS!!!!

Second question: How on earth do we start weaning this baby entirely off of bottles?

Subtext: Because I'm scared, damnit. I'm really really scared of this process. Don't let the baby know how much she intimidates me at times, okay?

Answer: Just drop a bottle feeding here and there and don't give one to her until she demands one. It's okay to keep giving them to her at naps and bedtime for a while. Those are the hardest ones to let go of for both baby and parents. I'll want to see her off of bottles by about 15 months or so.

Response: Phew... I have some time and I'm not a terrible parent for NOT dropping bottles cold turkey right at 12 months! YAY!

Third question: Why won't this child hold her own bottles or sippy cup?

Subtext: I know why she won't do it. She's got a good thing going right now. She gets her bottle and/or sippy contents and has to do absolutely no work on her part! But, I'm not going to tell you that because then you'll know that we *occasionally* indulge our child and her demands. Ok... more than occasionally, but still...

Answer: Actually, it's okay. She'll get it. One day she'll just decide that she is done with having things done for her and she'll demand to do it herself.

Response: Ok good. I can cross this off of my list of, "Things I'm doing to terribly ruin and/or destroy my child's life."

Fourth question: How many bananas is too many bananas? Can my child suffer from over-exposure to yellow curved fruits?

Subtext: Because this does not seem natural or healthy. It is the only food she asks for BY NAME at this point. If I sat her down with a bunch of bananas it would be like that one scene in Jurassic Park with the goat and the Tyrannosaurus. Not a pretty sight.

Answer: As long as she doesn't get constipated and as long as she's willingly eating other things, too, it should be fine.

Response: Thank goodness! Again, I can cross that off of my "How to improperly raise a child" list!

Fifth question: When my kid is self feeding, can she possibly overeat at this stage or will she stop eating when she's full?

Subtext: ...unlike both her father and her mother.

Answer: Yep, babies are way better at stopping when they are satisfied than adults are. She shouldn't over-stuff herself.

Response: Are you sure? That kid can EAT!

Subtext 2: Seriously, that kid can E-A-T!

Answer 2: Yes, I'm sure.

Phew... At least I now know I'm not ruining my child in various ways. Thanks Doc!

Baby G, you terrify me... part 2

Ok Baby G, one more thing to add to the list of times you have terrified your poor mom (who may be developing a heart condition due to extreme levels of terror, just so you know...)

Sunday morning I was shocked to wake up and see it was nearly 9:00 am and you hadn't set off the baby alarm (aka: Nonstop Babble) to let me know you were ready to get up and start your day. I suppose I should mention that you DID wake up around 5:30 for your "I'm thirsty/hungry" bottle, which you normally consume then go right back to sleep until around 8-8:30 or so. But, 8:30 is usually the latest you'll let anyone in the house sleep, which is why I was immediately suspect when I saw it was 9:00. I have that Angelcare monitor that monitors breathing movement so I rarely go flying down the hallway in terror thinking something awful has happened as long as that thing continues to show movement/breathing. So, even though I was surprised you were still asleep, I figured, "well, I guess she needs the sleep" and got about getting up myself.

Around 9:20 or so your dad woke up so I figured it was high time for you to drag your lazy butt out of bed! I went down to the nursery, turned off the monitor, and then turned off your sound machine (which usually rouses you from sleep in a gentle way as opposed to turning all of the blazing lights on in the near-black room). I turned off the sound machine and you didn't wake up.

Hmmm...

So, I went over to the crib and saw that you were smooshed up against the bumpers of the crib face-first (which isn't at all uncommon in our house. I have a theory that your nose gets chilly, or, that you're like your father who sleeps face down on his pillows sometimes. You're both very strange like that). So, I put my hand lightly on your back to wake you up and you still didn't move.

Ummm....

By now, my normal methods of waking you up had both failed and I was actually starting to get a bit panicky. This was very unlike you and terrible thoughts started flooding my brain. I put my hand back on your back again and shook you gently but firmly several times. STILL NOTHING!

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG..........

I took a deep breath, tried to keep the tears from welling up in my eyes, tried to keep from thinking the absolute worst, and pulled you away from the bumpers while rolling you onto your back. You looked up at me, blinked your eyes several times as if to say, "hey... what gives?" rubbed your eyes, sat up, and I have never in my life been so happy to see an awake baby. Never.

I scooped you up, hugged you tightly, and before I could even change your diaper I had to take you down to our bedroom and tell dad what happened. My hands were shaking terribly and I felt like I could barely breathe for a minute or two. I was a hot mess.

Baby G, please don't do that to me ever again. I don't think my heart can take it.