2 Weeks and Counting

Frank has been gone now for a week, but only 2 more to go! And when he comes back, he will be coming home with Uwe and Lori, and we will be heading to Croatia for some fun in the sun. Cannot wait.

Meghan and I have been getting out more this week which has been nice. Dog walks NOT in the rain and dinner outside even in the bustling downtown. Cooper loves going out for dinner and is so good now!

I have read now about 3 books on sleep training! There are CIO methods (Cry it Out) and NCIO (Non Cry It Out) Methods, and all kinds of methods recommended by the various authors (Weissbluth, Ferber, Pantley, Hogg, Sears) etc.. Obviously, getting babies to sleep more is a BIG priority for parents. I was stressing and freaking out about it earlier this month, but now have just decided to relax more. Cooper does not know how to fall asleep on his own yet. He depends either on motion (the swing) or me nursing him to fall asleep. And, he is not the most relaxed baby per se. The boy has a LOT of energy and wakes up talking and kicking in the night quite easily. Maya is no help, nor is Maple since storms make them freak and pant and pitter patter all over my parquet floors. And Maya likes to hop on and of the bed about 4 times a night. Oh, and Cooper is a Cosleeper. His crib is attached safely to my bed without a railing. I do not know how moms have the energy to go to another room to get their babies out of cribs when they wake up. Or how they put them down into cribs without them waking! I have tried unsuccessfully many times now. Right now, I am attempting the NCIO of Elizabeth Pantley. We'll see how it goes. All about gradually getting your baby to learn to sleep on his own, and then to gradually getting him sleeping on his own.

Unfortunately, Meghan will be leaving at the end of August :( We are going to really miss her. Don't know what to do next, but am brainstorming already. I think a live-in nanny is the way to go for us with Frank travelling so much.

Another unfortunate is that Maya had a seizure last night. I thought the medicine (phenobarbital) might prevent one from ever happening again. I was wrong. I was nursing Cooper in bed, and Maya came running up scared to death of the storm and hopped on at the end. I felt the bed start shaking a few minutes later and looked up to see her pawing her face with a stiff leg. I jumped and yelled down to Meghan who raced me up the rectal valium. I inserted it immediately, and the seizure stopped within a minute. Thank God! I could barely sleep all night worrying about her, looking at her every hour to make sure she was fine (thus the reason I always let her sleep in the room even though she wakes me and Cooper up all the time). Also a reason to have a live-in nanny. I have been giving her medicine to her on time every day too, so it is upsetting to think that her seizures can happen any time... I think the storm was the trigger, but don't really know. Only positive was that it was much more mild than ever before, and the valium worked. Praise God for that!