14 Weeks

The Runty Royalty turns 14 weeks tomorrow. Here's an update on her:

She's trying to sit up! Her legs come up when she contracts her abdominal muscles, so instead of sitting up she does baby crunches, but that's okay. It'll strengthen her muscles, and she'll figure out the coordination soon enough.

If we let her hold our fingers, she can pull herself into a sitting position. She's very proud of herself for this, and rightly so.

This past Friday morning she discovered her toes. Since then she's forgotten and rediscovered them a few times.

There's a spot of white on her lower gum that I swear is a tooth just starting to break the surface. I think this explains the random fussiness we've been encountering and the return of sleeping problems.

She's sleeping at night, but only if I'm next to her and she falls asleep nursing. I just downloaded The No Cry Sleep Solution and I'm starting some of the suggestions in the book to hopefully help her to learn that she can get herself to sleep. It's not off to a smooth start, though, because she's being fussy and not napping well today. I finally got her to sleep in my lap. I'm definitely her touchstone for sleep - she just woke up, looked me in the eyes, and went right back to sleep as soon as she knew I was here.

I'm working on getting her to take pacifiers again. She's not only taking them, but she's getting much better at keeping them in her mouth. I know it's a habit we'll have to break later, but for now they're helping her to sleep and that's more important at the moment. Also, it's easier to get them off pacifiers than to stop sucking their thumbs. I sucked mine until I was 6, despite the very best efforts of my mom.

I'm worried about next week, when I go back to work. Sharon is wonderful, and Her Runty Royalty seems to get along with her fine, but it's still going to be a huge adjustment. For both of us.

Steve probably won't get home with her until 5:45 or 6. We start her bedtime routine at 7:30 with the goal of having her asleep by 8. I'm going to go from having all day with her to having roughly two hours. Should I go pick her up early? Should I go home and get all of the cleaning and cooking done so that when she's home I can spend my time with her and just her? Steve is looking into the possibility of going in to work early, so he'll leave the house when I do in the morning, and then leaving work early. It would give us another hour with her.