What a great night

We had a great night last night. Lately the sleeping has gotten better and I have been able to see signs of drowsiness before bedtime. I don't know if all the stars in the sky were aligned or this is the new sleeping arrangements, but last night I got sleep. The kind of sleep that I can actually function with the next day...and go back to work with. I bathed Isabel at 6:30, fed her at 6:45, and she began showing signs of sleepiness at 7:00. So I put her in her crib and not 5 minutes later, she was sound asleep. She slept from 7:00pm to 1:00am (6 hours). So I went to bed at 9:30 and woke up at 1:00 to feed her. Then she went back down without any problems from 1:20am to 5:40 am. (another 4 hours and 20 minutes). Right now it is 6:25 am and she is taking a cat nap in the swing. I am so proud of her and cross my fingers that this is not just a fluke.

In the meantime, napping during the day is still a working progress. She is not a big napper in her crib. Sleeps great at time as you can read above and goes to bed in the crib self-soothing herself to sleep, the during the day it is a different story. She really likes her swing, as I have mentioned in a previous post. I am still enforcing at least one nap a day to be in the crib, but the others I am letting slide. I've realized that at 8 weeks old, the most important thing is that she naps during the day to allow her to be rested at night. I read that if she gets optimal nap time then she is prone to sleeping better at night time and possibly all night through. I thought I would put a picture of my precious Isabel at nap time.

After fifteen minutes of soothing (rocking, patting, sucking on paci). I put her down drowsy but awake, like the books say; and yes, I let her cry for 5 minutes. Then started the cycle again. After the third cycle, she finally fell asleep...but only for 45 minutes. This is a great picture of what torture it was to see her crying in the crib. She is even cute when she cries.

moving on up....

We are making progress...Isabel moved to her big girl crib in her room last week. She is doing so great...waking about 2:oo and then around 5:45. We have a video monitor, which I continuously check throughout the night. She is also taking at least one nap a day in the crib. This week I am going to try two a day. I am trying to ween her off napping in the swing. She LOVES her swing and is already dependent on the motion to sleep during the day.

We had a big weekend with our best friends "The Garrity's". They drove in from Dallas to visit. Isabel did wonderful and went everywhere with us. We took her to Fratesis on Friday night, to eat crawfish outside Saturday during the day, a stroll outside at Renaissance, and Walkers for dinner on Saturday night. Then on Sunday, we went to church for the first time. She was like an angel the entire weekend.

She is growing like a weed. And starting to interact a little...with an occasional smile. We are trying to soak in every minute with her as a baby. Stay tuned for details about napping in the crib. Here are some pictures of her from this past week.

My special Valentine

Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine. Phillips and I are in love with our little cutie...however, mommy and daddy needed some alone time. So, we had a DATE on Friday at Ruth's Chris. Grandparents came in town to get some Isabel love and we headed to feel somewhat like a couple again. Things have been so busy with the baby, visitors, and stress of getting ready to move; it was great to get out and have fun together. Pictured above is Isabel at 6 weeks with her Valentine heart pants and also a plate that we made a couple of weeks ago with her little 5 week old feet. Lots of love to all!!

Isabel meets Gianna

My dear friend Maria Tartamella Lewis drove all the way from Lake Charles to Jackson with her precious 7 month old Gianna to visit us this week. We had a wonderful time and Gianna was such a good baby!! It was so fun watching Gianna interact with Isabel...she would giggle and reach out to touch Isabel's face...she really wanted Isabel to play back. Maria and I took the girls out for a stroll at an outside mall...so we can say that they had their first retail/shopping experience together and the pictures tell it all. After a couple of hours of strolling and shopping...they were spent!!! Both of the girls fell fast asleep long enough for Maria and I to grab a bite to eat. Thank you Maria for coming to visit...we had such a good time!!

My 10 1/2 pound trooper

We had Isabel's 6 week check up this past week. It went great and guess what...Isabel now weighs 10 pounds and 9 ounces. She is in the 50th percentile for her weight and 50-60 percentile for height. At 6 weeks it is standard to receive SHOTS!! I thought I would have a hard time watching my baby cry getting the shots...but to my surprise she was such a good sport. She let out a BIG yell and that was it!!! She started fussing when we got in the car, but I looked at the clock and it was because she was starving...it had been three hours since she ate. I am so proud of my 10 and 1/2 pound trooper!!!

Facial expressions

Well we have passed the one month mark and we are doing great!! Isabel is sleeping a little better at night and is now going like 3-4 hours before eating instead of 2-3. I am so anxious to weigh her next week at the six week check up...I know she is growing because I have already had to box up some of her pjs that are too small. Phillips is on a great rotation this month and is home fairly early, which helps me out alot. I thought I would post some pics of this childs many facial expressions. She is so cute and constantly moving her mouth. Here are some random pics from this past week.