#3's First Work of Art!

This week is Parent Appreciation Week at #3's wonderful day care. Monday the teachers decorated a bulletin board with pictures of all the babies. Yesterday they had breakfast for parents, and today I got a beautiful finger-painted gift bag with the above picture as a gift tag. Inside was the beautiful pencil holder you see #3 painting above. I love her first work of art and it is displayed proudly on my desk. I also love that she apparently thought the red paint tasted pretty good!

Where I was When . . .meme

Stolen from PT Law-Mom, who stole it from LS Part-Timer, who stole it from New Kid on the Hallway.

WHERE I WAS WHEN .....

1.) Challenger space shuttle exploded (1986): I was sixteen and a junior in high school. There was a TV in my class, so we watched it live. Seeing it just vanish into thin air all of a sudden was horrifying. I will never forget that image.

2.) Berlin Wall falls down (1989): I was partying hard in college back then and was pretty much oblivious of most events outside my shallow little world of beer, boys, pledging a sorority, and studying just enough to get by. Yes, I know how pathetic I was.

3.) Oklahoma City federal building bombing (1995): The year before I got married. Saw it on TV, it was pretty upsetting, especially hearing there was a day care center in the building. I will always remember the image of the firefighter carrying an injured child away from the debris.

4.) OJ Verdict (1995): I was at work. They brought a TV to my department and hooked it up so everyone could see it live. I wound up leaving work and went home for my lunch hour to watch it. There were very strong (and differing) opinions among my co-workers as to whether he was guilty, and I just wanted to watch it by myself without people looking to see my reaction to tell what "side" I was on.

5.) Princess Diana dies (1997): I was at the Shore with my family for Labor Day weekend, and JV and I were returning to my parents' place after seeing the Sylvester Stallone movie "Cop Land" on the boardwalk. We walked in the door and my brother, who was watching the coverage, told us. I have always been a huge Princess Diana fan so I was devastated. A few days later I stayed up all night tearfully watching the live broadcast of her funeral. It was even sadder to remember that I had also stayed up all night (at a slumber party) to watch her wedding on TV when I was 11. That was when my adoration of Princess Diana started - way back in 1981.

6.) Columbine massacre (1999): I remember watching the coverage but I don’t remember when I first heard or what I was doing. I was probably at work.

7.) JFK Jr. Plane crash (1999): I was in Dewey Beach, Delaware for a Girls' weekend with some former college roommates. I remember we kept checking the news hoping to hear that they had been safely rescued.

8.) Bush/Gore crazy election (2000): We were in the process of moving to Palm Beach County, Florida during that time, right smack in the middle of where all the "hanging chad" drama was unfolding. I did not vote in the election as I did not like either candidate. Stupid reason not to vote, I know, but I just couldn't pick one.

9.) September 11, (2001): Living in Florida. I was at work when I heard, and thought it was an accident at first. Shock turned to a pit of fear in my stomach when I learned it was not just a tragic accident. My boss at the time addressed our department with tears in his eyes, and choked up as he told us to go home, be with our families, and hug our children. I couldn't get to Diva's day care fast enough. The next few nights were eerie as we could hear (and see) F16's patrolling the Florida coast. I remember thinking those F16's made me feel a little bit safer.

10.) Space ship Columbia disintegrates (2003): Still living in Florida. I saw the coverage on TV, but don't remember where I was when this happened. Again, I was likely at work.

11.) Hurricane Katrina hits (2005): I was "down the Shore" again for Labor Day weekend at my parents' place. I was shocked to see the devastation and disappointed in our government's response, or lack thereof. JV has a cousin in New Orleans, and we were relieved to learn she and her husband had evacuated and were safe.

Dr. Ferber Rocks!

As of late, we've (meaning I) have had a little problem with #3 not sleeping very much at night. Prior to my return to work, she was sleeping 6-7 hours at night at a stretch. Since I returned, I'm lucky if I get a 4 hour stretch. I say this is my problem, because I'm still nursing and have been doing night feedings.

I know this is partly my fault - I have indulged her with feedings when she wakes up at night. It's partly due to guilt since I went back to work. But I can't function at work on 4 hours sleep (or sometimes less). I've determined that this wakefulness is not due to hunger. She is almost 6 months old, eats cereal baby fruits and veggies 3 times a day and gets plenty of milk, so it's not a hunger issue.

It's now time for a little tough love. I vaguely remember the Ferber method working for me with the previous 2, so I reviewed the Dr. Ferber rules online yesterday in preparation for our first night of Ferber Boot Camp. In a nutshell, they are:

• Put the baby down drowsy but awake.
• If she cries, check on her in 5 minutes. Comfort, but do not pick her up, and then leave the room.
• If she is still crying, repeat in 10 minutes, then 15 minutes, and so on until she's asleep.
• The next night, stretch the intervals by 5 minutes: first 10, then 15, then 20, and so on.
• By the third night, the baby should have learned to fall asleep on her own, and put herself back to sleep if she wakes up during the night.

So we tried this last night. I nursed her, and as usual she fell asleep around 10:30 p.m. I usually just put her down when this happens, but this time I woke her up gently, and put her in the crib. As soon as I walked away she started crying.

I left and came back 5 minutes later. She was happy to see me but started crying again as soon as I left. Then I came back 10 minutes later. Still crying, but I could tell she was wearing down - her eyelids were drooping. I comforted her again and left. That's the last we heard from her - until 4:30 a.m. Woo-hoo! I got almost 6 HOURS of uninterrupted sleep!

She started fussing at 4:30 a.m., and I was getting ready to get up and get her since I get up at 4:45 anyway, but as I walked down the hall all of a sudden I didn't hear anything. She had fallen back asleep, and slept until I woke her up to get ready for day care. Thank you, Dr. Ferber! We will be trying this regimen again tonight!

Update: Night 2: Again put her down drowsy but awake and happy. She started crying about 5 minutes later. I came back 10 minutes later after that and comforted her and left. She started crying agian, and I came back 15 minutes later, and although she was fussing, I could tell she was on her way to dreamland. I comforted and left, and she was asleep less than 10 minutes later. SHE SLEPT FOR 8 STRAIGHT HOURS. Woo-hoo!