Life is Good

Our lives just got a whole lot easier.

On Friday, I started letting Maryn cry herself to sleep. When she was younger we tried this for a couple of weeks and it never worked. I felt she wasn't ready, but now believe she is. Plus, she's shown signs of exhaustion since I started babysitting but is unable to sleep for long downstairs.

She cried for 45 minutes before her first nap, but slept for almost three hours. Then she cried for 15 minutes before her next nap and slept for two hours. She cried for five minutes before bed last night, and five minutes before her nap today. And she's been sleeping for an hour and a half.

Last night she slept in her bed for just a few hours, then I brought her to bed with me. I'm still a little too lazy, I guess. But as long as I get to fall asleep with John, I'm all right with that. He leaves for work at 3:30 am so it's not a big deal anyway, and I get some good cuddle time with my baby. I love mornings in bed with my smiley Maryn. :)

We also started giving her oatmeal, which means I nurse less often. So with the naps and eating oatmeal, I've had time to pump some bottles. Which means we were able to practice bottle feeding (she was unwilling for a while) and she has been drinking bottles like a champ!

And THIS all means that John and I have a lot more time together. We can start hiring babysitters. I can start keeping the house a little bit cleaner. I can spend more time in God's Word. I can spend more time focused on the kids I babysit.

Score! I love it!

Here's Maryn in her new exersaucer. She LOVES it! Thank you, Michele!

She was so serious as she inspected this little bear and figured out
how to make him move. She looked like a little scientist.

And here she is with her new friend, Sophie the Giraffe, a rubber
teething toy that is SO cool. Thanks, Teri, for recommending it.
It's perfect!

Oh! Last night we visited one of our favorite restaurants, Buca di Beppo. I think everyone should go there. But beware of the naked people on some of the walls. They were bought out by Planet Hollywood and have a slightly different menu. We had a GREAT meal, and Maryn was an angel. One slight drawback: They don't have Sweet n' Low. So if you ever go there, Mom, don't get iced tea!

Whenever I eat Italian food, I feel like I have to have iced tea with it. I think this is because my Italian relatives ALWAYS drink iced tea. Do any of you have this same idea of drinking iced tea with Italian food, or is that just my family?

Then we visited Nathan and Stacie, who had their baby London two days before Maryn was born. London was sleeping, but Maryn had fun showing off her skills. I hope Nathan and Stacie don't feel too bad that Maryn is "ahead" of London on some things. At least London is sleeping through the night!