Sleep: A thing of the past

John and I had our second anniversary this past weekend. 2 years of marriage, where did the time go?
We had been trying to figure out what to do, but with a baby things are a little limited. Especially when said baby is breastfed and absolutely refuses a bottle.
At first I thought we'll put her to sleep then go out while someone stayed with her. Great plan, except a few weeks ago she started waking up about an hour after putting her to sleep, to eat.
So that plan was out. We start bedtime routine around 7 and she can go between 2 and 4 hours without eating but I never know when it will be 2 and when it will be 4, so we had 2 hours. We had John's friend and his wife watch her and we went out to dinner... sushi of course :)
Surprisingly Olivia did GREAT and we enjoyed a night out alone together. We can actually go on dates now! WOOHOO!

On another note, sleep. This word has no meaning for me now. Since Olivia was a few weeks old she would sleep at least 6 hours, eat then sleep more. After two months she was sleeping all the way through the night. The past month or two she has been the most eradict sleeper, including naps. Waking every 1, 2 , 3 hours, taking no nap or napping for only 30 minutes. A few nights ago she woke up an hour after she woke up and then every two hours the rest of the night, also, 30 minutes before she actually would wake up she would wake up and make noises and so I would get up and then as soon as I walked into her room she would fall back asleep, then 30 minutes later she would be awake.

Needless to say I have been exhausted! Well last night, I was tired and felt horrible and John made me go to bed right after Olivia. She woke up twice and had a hard time going back to sleep but I finally caught up on sleep and now I feel great! Basically, my husband is amazing.

The progression of the day

When Olivia wakes up in the morning she is the happiest baby there ever could be. She loves life, loves me, and it's just so great. Everything is exciting, everything is funny. She wants to explore.

A few hours later she gets extremely irritable. Everything is horrible and sad. It's nap time.

Scenario one: she eats and thinks she's ready for fun.

Scenario two: she falls asleep. 30 minutes later she wakes up. (yes, if she naps at all its for 30 minutes, not a minute more. Yes, I realize she is 7 months and should be taking longer naps. No, there is nothing I can do to make her nap longer. Earlier nap, later nap, nurse to sleep, don't nurse to sleep, dark room, quiet time. She does what she wants.)

Either way an hour later she's grumpy, mad, screaming over everything.

Finally, lunchtime. Most days we visit John. She loves John. So while she hates everything, the second she sees him she is back to the early morning, happy, loves everything Olivia. Often she gives me this looks while she's grabbing his face and giggling that says "hey mama, look how much I love daddy. Daddy makes me happy."

The daddy high usually lasts an hour, sometimes two, after we leave him.

Then she's angry. Give me your books, it's mine I want to eat it. Give me the pillow it's mine, I want to eat it. No that's mine. WHERE ARE YOU GOING? To the bathroom? How dare you! Pick me up! Don't touch me. (I feel like she is already in her terrible two stage)

OK let's try for another (or first) nap. Same results. She either eats and is ready to play or sleeps for 30 minutes.

Either way 30 minutes to an hour later... Anger.

Sometimes we go for a drive with the hopes that she'll fall asleep, nope. But she loves looking out the window. Or for a walk, no sleep, but she loves looking at the trees.

Around 5 I start dinner, sometimes earlier because there is a window where she can play in the kitchen and is happy and talks to herself and its adorable. If I don't cook fast enough I end up holding her while trying to finish. Which is really ineffective because she grabs everything. I give her taste tests and she opens her mouth for more. She loves cooking with me.

Daddy gets home and as long as it's before 7 she is happy and excited and gives me that look again. We eat together and I almost always end up giving her all my mushrooms. She loves them! (and we do to. I sneak them into almost everything I make)

Sometimes she can't make it through dinner without starting to get irritable again. Sometimes after dinner she is happy and just wants to play. Either way around 730 bedtime begins. She screams as we lotion her down, screams as we change her, giggles and grabs at her medicine.

Then into the room. If she is angry and irritable she usually eats and falls fast asleep. If she was playing she climbs all over me all the while eating, it's a circus. Then she sleeps.

One and a half to 2 hours later she wakes up, eats some more and is usually down for the night. Unless she wakes up at 2,3,4, or 5 to eat again.

And then we start over.

When she is happy I try to quickly get ready for the day. We play, sing songs, read books, I tickle her. I follow her around the house as she explores. When she is irritable I try all that and it makes her more mad.

I get frustrated, I get tired, but I love this little girl. She is very determined and very strong willed and though that makes parenting hard I hope she stays that way and I hope I can help her learn to use that to strive and succeed in whatever she decides to do in her life.