7 Quick Takes (Sick and Not in Bed Edition)

--- 1 ---

Last night I decided to ask B to start doing the first wake-up with the baby so I could sleep and hopefully she would start night-weaning. At 11:30pm, all I heard was screaming. Creaking floors. And then screaming some more. After about 20 minutes, B came in and said, "Maybe we shouldn't start this night-weaning thing when she's sick?" I nursed her back to sleep in about 10 minutes.
Point taken.
(We've all had a case of the sniffles this week, but I think we're almost recovered.)

--- 2 ---

So as much as I didn't want to, I think we may be starting a cry-it-out soon. (Yes, I just said a whopping 2 days ago that I don't do this.) I probably wouldn't do it on a baby less than 6 months old, but she's 11 months old and I have so many regrets on how we've been getting her to sleep for the past 8 months or so. I mean, she only napped in her swing for 6 months. Just...yikes.

I was trying to find a different book on the library website and stumbled upon this one:  5 Days to a Perfect Night's Sleep for Your Child. It was available for the Kindle, so I figured why not? We're going down to Indy for the weekend, but whatever this book says will be implemented starting Monday.

I have already read No-Cry Sleep Solution, and honestly, that one just looked like it took too much work. Between having visitors/teething/staying at the in-laws' house for the week of Christmas/teething again/being sick, it was impossible to start logging for 10 days to see any consistency. Also, No-Cry made me feel like I was ahead of the game since it talked a lot about co-sleeping babies who wake like 8 times a night. We have 2 wakings, but some of those we're up for over an hour, and that's when I start losing my mind.

--- 3 ---

Okay, enough about sleep. Baby Cora started swim lessons this week. Okay, I guess we BOTH are doing them, since she's not even a year old. We learned about "kicks and scoops," blowing bubbles, and I learned lots of fun things to do with her in the water. She did really well for her first lesson. She loved the pool down in Florida, so I had no doubts about this.

--- 4 ---

B gave me a belated Christmas gift (yes, it was beyond Epiphany at that). He originally got me us a heater for our bedroom since it's so cold in there, but he said that I deserved a gift for myself, too. I think it has to do with his commute. The exit where he works only has two things on it: the GM plant where he works, and the Vera Bradley headquarters. Since he wasn't planning on getting me a truck, I guess he thought this was a good idea:

a wallet, and it's in Georgia colors!

For what it's worth, I never actually asked him for Vera Bradley anything, so this was a neat surprise. (I had mentioned going to the big outlet sale they do here every spring though, to stock up on gifts or get some deals for friends. Still looking forward to that!)

--- 5 ---

I'm going to see Jersey Boys tomorrow! My in-laws had an extra ticket for the matinee, and they knew I'd be interested. B will be doing his Reserve thing, and baby will be left in the hopefully-capable hands of B's littlest brother and his girlfriend. Yes, my babysitters are high-schoolers. I'm sure they'll be fine. If anything, B gets off work at 4ish and will be home to rescue her.

--- 6 ---

I'm starting to plan my little princess's first birthday party! I've settled on a pink and brown 'theme' and even got one of B's relatives to let us use their house since our apartment is too small. I had an invitation made up on Wal-Mart's website and was about to get it printed, but then my friends at Shutterfly sent me a $20 credit in my email. Jumping ship has never been so easy!

--- 7 ---

She looks so classy in her blazer.
She was also rocking skinny jeans with a big cloth-diapered booty.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Borderline Crunch

I breastfeed.
I use cloth diapers.
I babywear.
We don't do cry-it-out.
My baby doesn't eat purees from jars.
My baby doesn't use a pacifier.
We rarely use OTC medicines.

I say all of this to see if you consider me a "crunchy" mom. You might. But I don't think so.

I breastfeed, BUT I hope to wean my baby by 13 months for various reasons. And I'm okay with cow's milk--I drink it every day.
I use cloth diapers, BUT I have disposables in my diaper bag that she goes into when we're out or for the childcare at the gym. Cloth diapers are just cheaper in the long-run.
I babywear, BUT not that often any more. I love both my Boba and my stroller.
We don't do cry-it-out, BUT we do let her fuss a bit, which she often does when she's just changing her sleeping position. Mostly, it's just ME that can't handle the crying.
We don't generally do purees, BUT I do feed my baby off of a spoon often (that's a no-no in BLW if you're wondering). She loves applesauce, and Mott's natural is fine with me. She has been self-feeding since 6 months as well.
My baby doesn't take a pacifier, BUT Sometimes I wish she did. She thinks it is a teething toy to chew on. At least we won't have to paci-wean.
I had never given my baby infant Tylenol until recently, BUT I have two containers of it. She just had never really needed it until 11 months old. I originally bought it to use after her shots, but she has taken them all like a champ. With that said, I'm obviously not anti-vax either.
We don't co-sleep. Our baby only sleeps in the same room as us when we travel.
I loved my epidural, and I will probably get one again.
Oh, and you couldn't pay me enough to home school. (Not sure if that's a crunchy thing, but it seems to be running rampant on the mom-blogs I read.)

Something I've noticed is the link between "crunchy" mama and "attachment parents." I'm definitely more of the former than the latter. However, I also think that most of my own crunchiness is just frugality in disguise. I'm also kinda lazy--no bottles to wash, no trips to the store for diapers or baby food. As for you and what you do with your baby, I honestly do not care. Do what works, as long as you're not abusing them. Yeah yeah, I have a degree in Child & Family Development (which has since been thankfully renamed). I took one class on infant development and the words "crunchy" and "attachment parenting" were never used. Well, attachment itself was discussed (as in every class), but the Dr. Sears-style of parenting was never discussed. It most likely does not matter.

When I'm getting too invested in this parenting choice or another, I remind myself that in 5 years, nobody will know. If you go to a playground on a Saturday afternoon and watch a bunch of 5-year-olds run around without seeing their parents, will you know which ones were given formula instead of breast milk? Will you know which of them co-slept or weren't immediately held skin-to-skin after birth? Which ones wore cloth diapers or sucked a paci until they were 2?

Yeah, you won't know. So everybody just calm down, okay?

And if you want to laugh at crunchy attachment parents, see this video:
There's a part 2 also if you just can't get enough.

[That is seriously what almost every La Leche League meeting sounded like in Pensacola. SMH.]

So am I "crunchy around the edges"? Chewy? Just a lazy cheapskate of a mom?
Probably.

Note: For those reading this later, we eventually DID do cry-it-out [a few weeks after I wrote this, mostly thanks to an email conversation with a commenter on this post], and it was hands-down one of the best decisions I've made. You can read a little more about that decision here and here.

One Little Word

Instead of actual resolutions, many people (read: bloggers) are just choosing one word to focus on in the new year. I picked a word in my 12 in '12 post, but as the night went on after that, I ended up changing it.

My word for 2013?

s t r e n g t h

It starts with physical strength. B and I have been lifting weights at the gym, and I am verrrrrrry slowly adding more weight to the bar. I have some number goals in mind for that, and hopefully by the end of the year, I will just feel strong and confident about lifting.

Beyond the physical, there are other areas that need strengthening:

• Strength in family life. Admitting wrongs, fixing problems peacefully, and embracing my vocation of motherhood. I also realize that I will need to be learning how to discipline a toddler and be a consistently good role model. I have always thought that babies are physically exhausting while older children are mentally exhausting; the thought of a toddler who requires both types of attention is a scary thought for me.
• Strength for my faith life. More devotions, Bible-reading, and learning what it really means to be a Catholic woman today. We also should probably commit to and join a new church already. We keep going to the same one anyway, so I guess we should become members.
• Strength in numbers. I need friends here. Good ones. My goal is to have two trustworthy women nearby that I can call my friend by year's end.

I'm sure there are other areas that I will find as the year progresses, but this is a good start.

(Also, for the word nerds, STRENGTH is fascinating. Only one vowel, one syllable, but eight letters long!)

Do you have a "word" for the year?