It's Always Something

Our weeks around here just seem to get a little crazier each week. But I somehow survive them and then look back and can hardly remember them. Sometimes I'm glad I can't remember the first month besides tons of crying and not enough sleep. Sometimes I wish I could because should we choose to have another child I'm afraid I won't know what to do when he or she is born and I have Audra running circles around us. Maybe that's the wonderful part of Motherhood. You can't remember all the bad stuff so you have more kiddos. And the species lives on. I also think that with every kid you have you loose a little more of your sanity. Moms of more than one is this true? You just get a little crazier as you add more chicks to the nest?

First up was the answer to the question on my mind for weeks. Whether or not Audra was teething. She had all the signs and I'd been told by several people that she was but I wasn't convinced. "Wouldn't/Shouldn't I have a mother's intuition on this stuff? Shouldn't I be the first to see it?" Apparently not. Apparently I was clueless as to why Audra was so stinking fussy the last 3 weeks. Teeth. Two of them. Coming up like daisies. Nice and early too. I am so not ready for a teether. I thought I had months to get ready for this stuff. But Audra continues to throw me curveballs and all I can do is catch them or get hit. Feels like I get hit more than catch. Ha. So here we are waiting for the teeth to officially emerge and then hopefully the rest of them will follow suit quickly rather than slowly. Unfortunately teething before the baby can properly hold or put an object in her mouth makes for more work for momma. But it's only for a short time so we'll survive.

Cradle cap has also entered our life. I've gone back and forth between not washing her hair very often to washing it everyday. Everyday seems to work better for us. I know this is normal and harmless but it just bugs me personally. Haha.

Swaddling. A parent's favorite home-run move for comfort and sleeping. Audra was swaddled for every single nap and every night for sleep until she started out growing her Swaddle Me blanket and I truly didn't want to buy another one because she'll be rolling over soon and then we'll have to stop anyway. So I've been trying over the last few weeks to break the swaddle...cue dramatic music. I feel like this is a moment all parents become anxious over because this means babies will have their hands free to fly! This causes them to wake themselves up. So it has been about a month and a half in the making but we are getting closer to her sleeping with no swaddle. I started during naptime only doing a half swaddle (no arms) that way I wouldn't loose any sleep when she kept waking up. At night I started only swaddling one arm. This worked great for a long time. Last Monday I started putting her to bed half swaddled. The first 3-4 nights were rough I'm not going to lie. She was up every 3 hours and I was loosing my mind. But then she had her first 5 hour stretch and then a 6 hour stretch and I was beginning to see the light. Sunday night I put her to bed with no swaddle and I'm not sure if it was the no-swaddle, the teething or the constipation but she was up 3 or 4 times that night. I did not get a lot of sleep.

Oh yes last but not least, constipation. No fun as an adult. Even worse as an infant. She was grunting so long and so hard I thought she was going to hurt herself. I ended up giving her equal parts of 100% apple juice and water and that did the trick. I don't think were out of the woods yet but were definitely getting closer.

So it just seems that it's always something with her. I can't even keep up these days. If it's not one of the above topics it's the fact that 4 month sleep regression is setting in I think and I'm getting less and less sleep these nights. I do count myself lucky that should I need a nap I can always take one when she naps or we can nap together. Coffee continues to be my best friend.

On the positive side of things Audra is getting crazy close to rolling over from back to belly. She starts to stare at her toes more often but has yet to realize they are hers. And her personality is all me. No idea what she wants and when we find out what she wants she never wants it for long.

Of course I didn't get a lot of pictures of our week last week. As I was busy just trying to tread water some days. But here are the few I did get.

Our morning snuggle

First family hike. Audra. That stare. 

She doesn't lay on my chest very often. I'm very quick to put her in her swing once she is asleep. But this time I decided to snuggle her and soak it up. 

Here's hoping for a better week this week. If not I still have my rip-your-skin-off orange arm floaties and I'll be over here doggy paddling my way to the shore. Of a desert island. With endless ice cream sundaes and naps.