Gemma is seven months old!

This month has been all about sleep! After a mini breakdown just before Easter I just couldn't do the every 1-2 hour night wakings. But I honestly didn't know what to do. I didn't want to let her cry it out but the no-cry solution wasn't working either. I begged Vince for help and he stepped up. He took the monitor and slept on the couch for 3 nights while he helped Gemma learn to sleep the hard way. He put her down in her crib awake and if she cried (of course she did) he went in to soothe her in intervals until she fell asleep on her own. The first night I balled and balled and she fell asleep in half and hour. The same the next night and the next. The fourth night she fell asleep in 15 mins and now it takes her maybe 2 mins?! But the best part is she is sleeping 11-12 hours a night with no feedings. If she does wake up in the night she fusses a bit but puts her self right back to sleep.

We are new women. She smiles all day and so do I! Now we are working on naps. That is harder but we have seen major progress there too. She hardly cries when it's time for her nap and falls asleep in 3 mins or less but she only stays alseep for 35-45 mins. :( The other thing is I'm having a hard time indentifying her sleepy signals. But it's all good, we're in it together me and Gem.

She's also getting better at drinking from a bottle. She takes an average of 3 full bottles a day now. I think she was refusing them before because she was so damn tired. She wanted my boobie for comfort. Now that's she's well rested she has the energy and enthusiasm to learn something new. It's wonderful!

Other than that she is now sitting up and has a total of 7 teeth. We're still doing Baby Lead Weaning and she is loving every minute of it. Dinner time is definitely her favourite.

A few of her other favourites are shaking her Bright Starts activity balls, pressing the buttons on her play smart phone and laughing at herself in the mirror.

And honestly there really isn't anything on her 'Not' list. She likes it all!

Love and Hugs

Is self care important to new Moms?

Remember that Times cover article intitled "Are you Mom enough?" Well even tough I never read it I understood it loud and clear. And after the first 3-4 months of Gemma's life I certainly wasn't feeling "Mom enough."
 As you know Gemma isn't a big sleeper and she also started teething early. (She has 7 teeth now at almost 7 months old) Of course I was and still am blissfully in love with her but taking care of her is another story. It's hard work and I was feeling pretty mad and guilty for not being able to do it all myself. But at the same time I was desperate for help. I started searching the internet late at night for anything and came along this article called, "A simple self-care contract for Mothers" on Babble.com. A bell went off. I asked Vince to come home earlier and stop going to the gym, I asked Mom and Dad to make the long drive to help on Wednesdays and Saturdays and finally I called these guys:

My neighbour was literally the Nurse Next Door. Her name is Victoria and when I was feeling over exhausted she was the first person I thought of. She came over the next day and we signed a contract for a nurse to come help with Gemma for 3 hours once a week.

And guess what? I got a massage and it felt damn good! Best thing I've ever done.

So I just want to know, am I the only exhausted Mom out there who couldn't hack it?

Love and Hugs