Hotdog, I think she's got it!

Cupcake started rolling over about 3 weeks ago stomach to back. She would ball up her legs underneath her and kick so she would flip over on her back. It's the funniest thing! But of course, that opened up a whole new can of worms in the sleep department. I've gone against the rules and put all of my reflux babies on their stomach's early. They've all learned to roll over stomach to back fairly quickly. But the problem is, it's usually MONTHS before they learned to roll back to stomach so in the mean time they're like turtle's on their backs and their eyes pop wide open and they will not go back to sleep. None of my kids got used to sleeping on their back until they were old enough to roll onto their tummy if they weren't comfy.

I stopped swaddling Cupcake about a week and a half ago and moved her to her bedroom four nights ago. I started putting her on her stomach to sleep at night instead of swaddled on her back, resigned to the fact she probably still wouldn't sleep through the night since she can still flip over. Surprisingly, the night she turned 3 months old, October 17th, she's slept through the night and hasn't offered to flip over in her sleep...YET. I know it's probably coming, though.

Cupcake is a certified thumb sucker. I've always wanted a thumb sucker as it insanely adorable and it keeps them little longer. I know I'll regret this when she's say 12 and still doing it, but right now it's nice. She refuses pacifiers now and only needs her thumb to go to sleep. I don't even have to rock her although I admit I do just to have some one on one time with her. Life is too short to stress about her getting used to falling asleep on me every day. I know she won't. After three kids, holding her a few times a week until she falls asleep will not a habit make. All of my kids have healthy sleep habits.

So for four nights now, she's slept through the night, 7 am to 7 pm. Four nights is her record, we'll see tonight if she's got it for sure. Unfortunately for me, I'm suffering from some kind of allergy crud (we all are except Hubby, the lucky dog), and I haven't got to really feel rested yet. It'll be nice when I'm feeling better and can wake up all refreshed. Right now I still feel like I've been hit by a truck. Cupcake even has it, too, as I suctioned bloody snot from her nose this morning. Looks like she's going to have the family allergies, too. And of course, a stopped up nose in an infant has the potential to break our new pattern of sleep, so I'm really hoping it doesn't get any worse than it is right now!

I can't believe it. Wait, yes I can.

Most of you know that I'm a die hard "Baby Whisperer".  All three of my kiddos were whispered and I LOVE the ideals in the book.  It meshed perfectly with my personality and how I viewed infanthood and parenthood.  Punky was whispered from about 6 weeks on and slept through the night at 14 weeks.  With Chicken I was lazy, confused with how to deal with 2 kids and didn't implement whispering with him until he was 3 months.  By 4, he slept through the night.  What most of you don't know is that I was determined to start New Baby on this from day one.

Low and behold, she was born at 7:17 am.  Well, the book recommends a 7 am - 7pm schedule for babies so she was born right on schedule.  :oD (that really has nothing to do with it, but it certainly made for good conversation, right?).  I started as soon as we got home from the hospital getting her on track.  She's such an easy baby, I think that's part of it, but I'm not complaining.  We're not 100% there, but she's mostly on target, although her bedtime is around 8 pm right now instead of 7.

3 nights ago, New Baby starting sleeping a whopping 7 hour stretch for me at night, 8 pm to 3 am.  I'm just tickled pink.  But you know what?  I KNOW she's doing this because I've been working hard on getting her on schedule (I don't brag about much, but I think I've earned the rights with this one).  With three very different children (personality wise), it can't be a fluke.  People tell me, "Oh you got lucky with her sleeping so well."  No, I didn't.  It's like discipline.  You don't get lucky with good kids, you make them.  Babies aren't born knowing how to sleep, you have to train them.

Therefore, my new motto is:  Good sleep habits are not born, they're made.  What do you think?  Do you agree?

Potty Training

So, I was one of those mom's who foolishly believed I would stick to potty training at an early age.  My goal was to have Punky potty trained by 12 months using the methods outlined in the Baby Whisperer.  Above is a picture of Punky at 10 months old using the potty.  Believe it or not, I think this definitely aided in the process because by 11 or 12 months, she KNEW what she was doing.  She regularly peed and pooped in the potty and identified it.  Not on command mind you, but I watched her signs and took her when I thought she needed to go.  

That was over a year ago.  I'm still buying diapers and I'm still trying to convince her that BIG GIRLS pee pee in the potty.  Today, I've began the "cold turkey" technique and she's been in big girl panties all day.  So far no accidents, but she hasn't gone in over 2 hours so I know it's coming.  If she tells me, it'll be a miracle.  She's been showing signs of being ready...telling me 2 or 3 times a day she needs to go and actually going, trying to take her diaper off after she poops because she's uncomfortable.

Of course, I'm about to have three in diapers if I can't get her potty trained, so I really want to get this done before #3 comes along.  Punky is capable, I know.  She's just lazy like every other 2 year old and would rather play with her toys than waste her time sitting on the potty.  Chicken is 13 months old and been put on the potty ONCE in his entire life.  I have a feeling it's going to be bad when I have to start with him since I hear boys are much harder.  I guess we'll see.

Say a prayer for us.  Potty training isn't as easy as I imagined.  I thought once they were ready, they'd just decide to tell you and that would be that.  I didn't anticipate all the accidents, the stubbornness, or the tears.  I have, however, enlisted the help of gummy bears to keep her interested and so far so good with that.  I'm sure we'll have to change it up occasionally to make sure she maintains interest.  Here's to pee pee and poo poo in the potty!!!