The speed of change

MAN – what they don’t tell you is how just when you think you’ve got it, it is time to do the next step/thing.  As a matter of fact, the FACT that your child has gotten comfortable with something is the *sign* that you need to move on to something new.  Sigh.

So -WCB is finally sleeping “through the night” in her own crib*. Um, well, for the following definitions of “through the night” and “in her crib”:

• WCB has learned to go to sleep in 5-15 mins after lights out, and can be transferred from mom’s arms to crib in about 45mins (although it is often an hour to 1.5 hrs later as I fall asleep at about the same time that WCB does and then OLM has to be wakened by Daddy-N to put WCB to bed).  
• WCB sleeps completely through the night 1-2 times per week, has only one wake up 3-4 times per week and has multiple wakings per night only 1-2 times per week.  
• Upon night waking, she can return to sleep in her crib with between 2-10 mins of pats and/or “hold my hand” 4 times out of 5, and needs to sleep a chunk of the night with an adult only maybe 1-2 times a week. 
•  MOM spends 65-70% of her sleep time IN HER OWN BED, in chunks of 4-6 hours at a time – whoop!
• Daddy-N has successfully taken several “Friday nights” with WCB to give mom a break (usually to pack, do bills, or be sick). And WCB is OK with this.

SO – can we celebrate? Noooooo – now we have to teach her to fall asleep in her own bed.  And to go through her bedtime routine/go to sleep with a Daddy (with no mommy at all). That’s September’s project.  And part of me asks – why?  What we have is working SO WELL!  And the answer is – because we are GOOD parents. We want her to develop independence, adaptability, and good sleep habits.  If we were bad parents, we’d only do what was convenient for US – not what was best for WCB (or at least a compromise between the two that allows us to stay sane).

Similarly, WCB has pretty much gotten used to stage 2 foods served to her 3 times a day.  She can eat easily dissolved crackers/cookies by herself.  She drinks ALL her formula bottles without much trauma (I wish I could tell the lady that was me back in Month #2 that this would EVER happen).  So now we have to give her chunkier foods and teach her to use a sippy cup [both of which changes she is resisting, of course].   She likes her food and formula tepid to warm – cold food is not food.  So we have to get her used to cold foods. She can’t move on to the Toddler room in daycare at age 1 unless she can feed herself fairly independently.  That’s about a month away – so MORE stuff to do in September….Sigh.

She’s walking like a trooper and investigating EVERYTHING – so now we have to get her used to shoes. And limits, and gates, and child-proofing of drawers and cupboards.  She can climb out of the big bathtub (smart girl!) so now we have to teach her the word NO!  Sigh.

Being a parent is hard.  And mean.  Being a toddler is hard. And stressful.  And there are no vacations. Change is constant, and FAST.

Good thing we love each other  🙂  Cuteness RULES!

*part of the yet-to-be-written “SLEEP SAGA.”  I’ll get there, I’ll get there – just let me get this room clean, and change this diaper, and pay this bill, and…