Guess who slept through the night last night?!
During the past couple of weeks, I would nurse Ellie and put her down between 10:30 and 11:00. She would wake up around 3:30 for another feeding and then sleep til morning. That was actually a really good schedule for us. And since I never have any trouble putting her down, we would be awake thirty minutes at most and then asleep again. Last night I did the same thing. I nursed Ellie closer to 10:00 and put her down to sleep. I remember waking up twice, both times catching my breath so I could listen for her breathing. When my alarm clock went off at 5:30 this morning, I immediately jumped out of bed and ran to her cradle to check on her because I realized we hadn't been up during the night to nurse. And, of course, she was sleeping soundly. I remember doing the same thing with Mason . . . being so nervous those first few nights that he slept through the night. He was around six weeks old at the time. And Hannah Kate, well, I never had that experience with her because she never really slept!
I can't wait to see if she can do it again tonight. But something tells me that if she does, the same thing will happen. I'll still wake up several times to check on her. I'll be glad when I can get a good night's sleep though. I began to realize this week how tired I am. I am not exhausted. As long as I'm busy and active, which I am most all day, I am fine. But if I slow down and take a break, I begin to notice that I really am tired. I was reading a book to Hannah Kate earlier this week, and I kept dozing off in the middle of the book! It was crazy. Poor Hannah Kate kept yelling, "READ, Mama!" Well, not yelling really. But she was rather emphatic about it, and I don't guess I blame her. And then yesterday she wanted to play a couple of board games, and I kept falling asleep during her turn! And then when it was my turn, all of a sudden I'd hear, "It's YOUR turn, Mama!"
Oh, these are such fun times! Really, they are. Ellie is just the lovliest little thing, such a good baby! And my biggies are so sweet. I think we're all a little tired as we've had to adjust to our new schedule now that Mason is back in school, and we have homework and dance lessons and a new routine to get used to. I wouldn't change any of it!
Today was definitely one of "those days" for sure! Mason has been complaining the past couple of days about his ear again (you know, the one he got the end of a q-tip stuck in for who knows how long!) so I'd made an appointment for him to see the pediatrician this morning. She wanted us to follow up with her in two weeks anyway, but now it's been three weeks because I just couldn't fit a doctor's appointment in last week. With school and the doctor's office being in two different towns in two totally opposite directions, it isn't easy. After I got dressed this morning, I had a few extra minutes before waking the children. For some reason, I checked the news, which I NEVER do. But I'm so glad I did. There was an accident at 4:00am this morning that closed the interstate both ways. If you're from here, you know what I'm talking about. If you're not, just imagine I-75 in the middle of downtown Atlanta being closed both north and south bound . . . during rush hour traffic when everyone is trying to get to work and to school . . . and just imagine the side streets. I debated on whether or not to cancel the appointment, but when I checked the traffic cameras, I thought I could get to where I was going without any problems. Of course, I didn't think it all the way through. What would normally take us 20 minutes took an hour and 20 minutes. We were 20 minutes late for our scheduled appointment time. It didn't matter though. Our pediatrician hadn't even made it there yet! Our appointment was at 8:15. She arrived a little after 9:30. The good news is that Mason's ear is comletely healed from the last incident. But he did have some more wax in there that was bothering him so that had to be removed. We were out of the office before 10:00 and then I had to figure out how to get us back across to the portion of the interstate that was open and to school. I finally dropped him off at 10:38. That was a miracle considering how bad traffic was. I hate that he missed two hours of school, but there was just nothing I could do about that. And then, after all that, I forgot to get a doctor's excuse for school! So now I have to go back. Needless to say, it was a frustrating morning. And just in case you're wondering, the interstate is still closed and will be closed through the night. What a mess!
So at five weeks and one day old, Ellie slept through the night for the first time! She's such a sweet girl. She's smiling at me more and more now, especially in the morning times and when I'm changing her diaper. I tried to capture her smile on camera today, but I couldn't quite get it. She's holding her head up really good now and focusing on objects. She enjoys her play mat. And so does someone else, as you can see. Let's just say Ellie gets a lot of "face time!"
Ellie and I went to church again on Sunday. We aren't going to Sunday School yet because she's always nursing during that time. But it works out because then I'm able to play the piano and sit through the worship service without having to leave to nurse her. This past Sunday I noticed that she got a little fussy in her infant carrier so Seth had to hold her. He is an usher, and I knew it was nearing time to take up the offering. I wasn't sure if he was going to put her back in the carrier or motion to someone else to take his place. Since my back was to where we sit, I didn't know until I saw him come to the front of the sanctuary that he was going to take up the offering. I half expected to see Ellie in his arms, but she was not. I figured he put her back in the infant carrier. So after I finishing playing the offertory, I got up to go sit down. Imagine my surprise when I saw Mason sitting on the front pew holding Ellie! It was the sweetest thing ever! So, of course, I had to get a picture. Ellie has the best brother ever!
