Loving the Beach

Recently we've discovered how close we actually are to the beach. We went to the beach for the first time just last week since living in Florida and I would venture to say that we're addicted. We have gone in groups and we've gone as a family and we've even taken Grandpa with us. Eden has her own little tent (as seen above!) in order to keep her out of the sun and allow her to veg while Mommy and Daddy enjoy the sun, water, and beach sports - we've purchased bocce ball and corn hole to take to the beach with us.

The next time you see us, we'll be nice and bronze! Until then, enjoy the beautiful weather that this time of year provides us!

Living Hour by Hour

So I've come to realize that I don't ever know what time it is, only how many hours have passed since the last important event of our day - eating, sleeping, waking, etc. As Eden and I face the days ahead (because Lane is back at work now) we live one hour at a time. Here's how our days go:

Wake up and Eden eats breakfast in bed with Lane (she nurses and he eats a bowl of cereal) and then Eden and I go back to sleep
A few hours later Eden and I wake up and watch The Price is Right while she eats again
Eden stays awake for about an hour - during this time she and I usually laugh and play with each other
Eden then goes back to sleep for a couple hours
Again, Eden will wake up and eat, stay awake for an hour and then go to sleep again...for the remaining hours of the day
Once dinner has occurred for Lane and I we will give Eden a bath
After bath time Eden and I start her bedtime routine and then Daddy helps us finish it before she eats one last time before bedtime
Once Eden is down for the evening she typically wakes up at 1:00 and 5:30 and we then start it all over again!

There's your insight to our daily lives as a family!

To Sleep or Not to Sleep?!

HA HA, Well, it isn't really up to us I guess! Eden is sleeping pretty well at night these days (knock on wood). Last night she had her last feeding of the day at 11:00 and didn't wake up again until 4:00-ish and then again around 9:00. I never thought that I would think that was enough sleep, but I feel pretty good day after day...until it becomes bed time!

Even though sleep is coming pretty easily and in long(er) bouts than it was before, we're still facing one slight problem...Eden is sleeping in the bed with us :( We're trying real hard to get her out of the bed and into her cradle, bassinet, or crib, but it isn't working out very well right now. I keep telling myself that patience is what will pay off in this case, but for right now, I feel that sleep is SO much more important! We've tried putting her car seat in the cradle beside the bed because she seems to be comfortable in her car seat - that didn't work. We've tried letting her sleep in different positions, with and without her wedges to hold her in place, and we've even tried letting her fall asleep in the bed and transferring her to different places...nothing seems to work! I'm also holding out on the crib sleeping because our room is on the opposite side of the house from her room. This isn't too far away, but in the middle of the night it seems like its MILES away! With all the effort that it can take sometimes to get her to fall asleep and stay asleep I like being closer to my bed (or even in my bed) as we're trying to get her to stay asleep in the middle of the night.

Right now Little Miss Priss is sleeping in her crib for her nap. We are trying to let her stay awake for about 2 hours at a time - if she will even stay awake that long - and then putting her down for "naps" in her crib. Today has been the most successful day with the crib napping. It took her about 30 minutes of fussing and crying with us patting her back before she fell asleep and she's only been asleep for about 20 minutes now, so we'll see how long it lasts. I read an article in a baby magazine about sleeping schedules and napping that said we should make her stay in the crib for an hour no even if she's awake (with constant comforting from us, but not taking her out of the crib) and put her back down for another nap in 2 hours if she stays awake that long to help establish a routine and get her into a napping schedule. Of course, if she goes to sleep and stays asleep we'll let her sleep for as long as she needs.

Hopefully these crib naps will help us establish a good sleeping habit and we'll be able to keep her in her crib at night so that Lane and I can get more restful sleep without worrying about the covers coming up close to her face, our pillows being to close to her, us rolling on her, etc. We'll make sure to keep you posted to let you know how everything works out with our sleeping habits around here! I hope to be able to report some kind of progress sooner than later!