Lotus Blossom: Sleep vs. Shower

After 4 weeks as a stay-at-home family, Jim returned to work last week. While I'm eternally grateful that we had the opportunity for him to stay home as long as he did, we loved it so much it was tough to have him go back!

I have yet to figure out how to shower while I'm home by myself, so I try to get up with Jim before the girls (Stella is still climbing in bed with us most nights) and get a shower in/make coffee/start Stella's cocoa. It does wonders for how I feel throughout the day, BUT most days I'd really just rather get an extra half an hour of sleep! I shouldn't complain, two nights ago Lucy slept for 6 hours straight and last night it was 7. I don't know if it's a sign of things to come of if she's luring me into a sense of bliss only to revert, but for now I'm thrilled about it! (Though I'd give a lot to get to sleep kidless in a king sized bed for a night!)

(Stella loving making Daddy's birthday cake)

Lucy is quite different than Stella. Stella ONLY cried if she was hungry. She didn't get crabby, she didn't care if she was wet/dirty, nothing. Though when we talk about the girls as they grow and we seem to think that Lucy is going to be a bit quieter and less dramatic, I have no idea why because so far she's definitely louder and more dramatic! Stella was a champ at the Dr - Lucy screams at you for ages if you dare to let someone look at her. She gets mad when we change her, mad if we don't, mad if she's hungry (which is ALL OF THE TIME, her nickname is bruiser), crabby in the evenings, mad because she wants to be able to lay on her back and stretch, mad because you left her laying on her back for too long. I could go on and on... I thought perhaps she had a dairy issue or reflux, but the Dr seems to just think it's her being crabby. I'm hoping!

At 5 weeks I've had my eye on beginning to get her to take a bottle. I've pumping a bit over the weeks and decided to give it a try Sunday. They usually tell you to have someone else try because if Mama is doing the feeding they'll want to nurse. Jim wasn't available so I decided to give it a go. No need to have worried, she doesn't maintain her Chunky Monkey status by being a picky eater! She took it like a pro on the first try.

The other think we're working on is her napping without being held or driving. We're not having quite as much success in this area. Sunday she slept for about 1.5 hours in her basinette and I was thrilled, yesterday it was 10 minutes in her crib. We'll keep working on it. Stella was an AWFUL napper and I really want to get into a better routine with Lucy. It makes a world of difference when I have a little bit of time to get some cleaning done and spend a little time one-on-one with Stella. We are all happier girls!

We spent Easter weekend at the beach with my family. It was so fun to get out of town for a bit, we stayed in an awesome townhouse, and there were tons of people willing to do a bit o baby holding. Stella had SO much fun with her cousins, hopefully there will be many more similar trips in the future.