New Year - New Sleep Routines

Last Friday, Ashley came to visit us from Washington DC.  I helped her get her baby fix & we had a great time during her visit.  We went into Manayunk for lunch & Ashley even gave me an afternoon bottle before she & Mommy went for coffee and a stroll down Germantown Ave. 

 After she headed back to DC, we all cleaned the house in preparation for Saturday's luncheon.  Saturday morning we prepared butternut squash soup & Cuban sandwiches for Grandma & Grandpa Snyder, Uncle Jon & Ann Marie, Great Aunt Louisa (she's visiting us from Washington DC), Great Aunt Suzy & Great Uncle Toni (they're visting us from San Diego).  I was really excited to meet my Great Aunts & Great Uncles.  Today was also the first day we got real snow in Chestnut Hill. Mommy took me outside so I can experience snow first hand (she was so excited & worried that it would stop that she forgot to put my gloves & jacket on - it's alright we were just outside for two minutes).  

 What fun!! We had a really nice lunch & I even got some presents from Aunt Louisa.  After lunch Dad, Mom & I vegged out until dinner at Great Aunt Faeze & Great Uncle Richards.  I let Mommy enjoy cocktail hour, but really wanted to go to bed before dinner started.  Dad set up my crib in the study, but once I got there I just couldn't sleep.  I knew there was a lot of excitement in the other room, so I cried and cried until Mom brought me back to the party.  We left right after dinner because I was getting really fussy & really, really just wanted my own bed.  Unfortunately, this night started my aversion to sleep.  Mom nearly lost her mind in the days that followed - thank goodness that Daddy can block out my crying.  Mom cried a little when we got home from Richard & Faeze's when I refused to sleep, but instead cried & shrieked at the top of my lungs.  Mom & Dad disagreed on how to help me get to sleep.  Dad remembered reading that I should cry it out, but Mom insisted that method was extremely harsh.  We managed to get through the night & on Sunday went to Merion Cricket for brunch with the Snyder & Woodville gang.  This was my first trip to the Cricket Club & Mommy taught me all about proper etiquette on the way there.  She told me that I would need to behave & that it was unacceptable to nurse at the table.  Daddy gave me a bottle during brunch, but I still got fussy when I wanted nap time.  After brunch Mom, Dad & I hung out at home.  I refused to take all my naps, but we still managed to have a nice afternoon.  Mommy let me do lots of naked baby time so I could practice my hip rolls which will help me roll over soon.  Check out my cool water mat:

Sunday night was really, really tough on us all.  Mom cried a little more, as I wailed for half the night.  Mommy was exhausted on New Years Eve while Dad went into the office, but was determined to get us to the Touch Museum for their kids Countdown to Noon.  I had other plans.  I didn't take my morning nap & was fussy the entire afternoon.  We skipped the countdown at the museum, but were determined to head to the seaport for the 6PM firework show.  We picked Dad up from work & went to the Independence Seaport Museum for the kids firework show.  I was so well behaved - despite being exhausted from refusing to nap.  The firework show was mesmerizing.  I laughed & smile in awe.  Here are some photos from our pre-New Years Eve party: 

When we got home from the seaport Mom & Dad tried to put me to bed.  I screamed & cried (I really wanted them to let me stay up to watch the ball drop).  Mommy was really frustrated & Dad didn't help (which got Mom a bit annoyed) because he was making dog food & prepping for homemade gnocchi.  After she got me to sleep she took a nap for an hour or so to help her decompress after a very stressful & trying day.  She really wanted to sleep through New Years, but didn't think it was nice to leave Dad alone for the ball drop.  They ended up having a very lovely New Years Eve dinner - homemade gnocchi, a lovely bottle of Gloria Ferrer champagne, party hats & favors - plus their comfy PJ's.  Ten minutes after 2013 - I woke up & wanted to say "Happy New Year" - I got to stay up and watch an episode of "The Walking Dead" with Mommy & Daddy (I'm a secret couch potato) for a few minutes.  

On New Years Day, we all slept in & watched the Mummers Parade.  Again I did not nap well & Mommy was growing increasingly more frustrated.  They decided to give the "Cry It Out" method a shot, which did not work well.  In the middle of the night, I screamed for 45 minutes before I stopped crying & Mommy was so upset that they let me cry.  She gave up & brought  me into their bed for the rest of the night.  She & Dad disagreed with how to get me to sleep & I'm pretty sure Dad was annoyed at her for letting me sleep in their bed & not sticking with the plan.  Mommy decided that they would not go another night with the "Cry It Out" method & spent the day searching for an alternative.  She ended up researching Kim West's book "Good Night, Sleep Tight - Gentle Sleep Coaching" & downloaded it to the Kindle.  We spent the day reading through the book & made a plan for bedtime.  Mommy & Daddy both created the plan & agreed to give it a shot before Mom lost her mind.  Dad also said that she had to buy ear plugs for herself, so that she could deal with my middle of the night scream fests.  Our first night of sleep training went better than we all expected.  I went to bed within ten minutes & woke up twice in the middle of the night.  Mom took the first shift and sat by my bed soothing me for 45 minutes before I went back to sleep.  Dad took the second shift & helped soothe me back to sleep in 1 hour.  On Thursday morning Mommy decided that we needed to get back on our workout routine, so that we could all raise our serotonin levels.  We headed to the third floor to get in shape.  Check out my workout & when I got bored I worked on my fine motor skills, by trying to get my pacifier into my mouth. 

We spent the next few days working hard on sleep raining.  Mom's figured out that I can self soothe myself with my Tiger Angel Dear blankie & my Sarah Silk scarf.  We all know that I'm not supposed to sleep with anything in my crib until I'm six months old, but I really love to squeeze them with my hands.  I think Mommy sneaks in once I've fallen asleep to make sure they're moved out of my way.  

Now that we're finally getting our sleep back under control, we can focus on developing my skills.  I've been working hard trying to roll over and am practicing picking up toys with my hands.  Mom is extremely encouraging with helping me learn to roll over.  I practice while I'm having naked baby time because I can wiggle my hips and kick my feet around much better than clothed & with my diaper on.  Here's a great shot Mommy can share with my future wife: 

Sunday we all went grocery shopping and Mommy finally got her flu shot.  The sun was shining & it was fifty degrees, so we took a walk in Morris Arboretum.  It was beautiful and so refreshing to walk outside.  We finished the weekend out with a surprise visit from Aunt Shana.  She stopped over to play with me, help with bedtime & stayed for dinner.  I showed her my new moves & we had so much fun playing together.