Happy Halloween

Yesterday was Sophia's first Halloween. I must say I don't think I could be any prouder. My mom (Mommom) bought her first costume. She was a mama Kangaroo with the baby kangaroo in her pouch. Really she was absolutely precious. We went with my sister, her daughter, her friends, an old student of mine and many parents. After about two hours of trick or treating, we were off to Sophia's first Halloween party where she stole the hearts of all. But this is the informational part of the post. Even though it was nice to be out and about, and even though Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, we still stuck to her schedule. One thing that all children need, school age or babies, is consistency. It's no fun to through them off. Everyone suffers. So Sophia was bathed and fed and in bed by 7:30. We went a half hour past the "schedule". Because of our careful timing, we even had a good night of sleeping after her very over stimulating day. Thank goodness. Pictures to come.

What Day is is?

Well, sleep has escaped us these past few nights. Sophia went to the beach on Saturday and she was an angel. Sleep was good not great that night. It was definite improvement. It must have been the fresh sea air.

We have thought about letting her cry. We even made a plan, but it was too difficult. I waited way too long to have this little peanut. I don't want to let her cry. I am trying to watch her tired signs to see when she's tired so we can avoid protest cries. She's just too precious.

Yesterday I found out that next week was September. SEPTEMBER! WHAT! I feel like I just got out of the hospital. The time goes so quickly. Maybe when the sandman comes back to live at our house I will have a better hold on reality and the date.

We All Need This Book

One of my clients told me about this book: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Weissbluth. I really didn't think I'd want to read it because Sophia sleeps well at night, but it's great. It will tell you how much sleep a child needs depending on their age. It covers infancy to toddlers. It talks about keeping naps and bedtime sacred and cry-free.

The intro. will tell you to read this book when you are pregnant. It also tells you how to read it if your baby has already been born or if you are dealing with a toddler. I love that. Instead of reading from cover to cover, they give you an action plan of how to dissect the book in order to maximize the amount of information received in a minimal amount of time.

Some topics it covers:
Colic
Fussiness
Bottle fedding
Breast feeding
Co-sleeping
Naps
Sleeping through the night
Importance of sleep for the whole family

I think this would be a valuable read for anyone who interacts with children on a daily basis. After one night of reading, Sophia improved her sleeping at night, and I didn't even think she needed to.

38 weeks and counting!

Yesterday I hit the 38 week point in my pregnancy. It was very exciting! Jeff and I continue to complete many items on the TO DO list, and with every CHECK OFF, I hope she is closer to coming. Last night we were talking about the long journey, and we are so excited to start a new type of journey very shortly.

If you have read my first post, you all may know that this pregnancy truly is a miracle. Through our three years of trying we knew we would get pregnant by God's blessing, but we always wanted to have two children, so we filed to adopt a daughter from China. We feel so blessed to have two daughters on the way.

Right now this is where the long journey has taken us. In 2010, somewhere between April and June, we will be matched with an infant girl to become our daughter. Everything is completed and waiting is our only job. God's deliver of her will be wonderful!

In the meantime, we are here in 2008. In two weeks time, or hopefully sooner, our first daughter will be born to us. No paperwork was filed for her, but the years of devout prayer and faith have brought us to this point. We soon shall meet Sophia in all her grace.

In these next two weeks, I'll keep you all updated on our progress. Pregnancy has been so beautiful. Feeling Sophia's slight fetal movements are the highlight of my days. Nurturing her and caring for her has been a priviledge. Listening to her heartbeat every week with Jeff is magical. But, now...now we are ready to do all that and so much more for her out of the womb. Say your prayers that her last 2 weeks are healthy and that her delivery is safe and smooth. In the meantime, I continue to swaddle her in the womb and continue to fold the blankets that will swaddle her in her crib.

The best baby item; The Glider

Last night, Jeff assembled our glider. My parents were generous enough to buy us our glider, our bumper set and help my sister pay for the shower. By far the best is the glider. It looks great which is a miracle because they could resemble a piece of hospital
furniture. The color of the wood really looks nice against our light walls, and the cushions bring out the girly colors in our unisex bumper set.

I have to admit, that little piece of furniture truly got me excited. The thought that soon, Sophia will be rocking with me in the chair is amazing. We never planned to have a foo foo nursery, but it's the little items that make it all special.

We ordered the Dutailier Glider and ottoman. It was definitely the best one on the floor at Babies R Us. While he was assembling the chair, he remarked on the quality. The best feature was how easy it was to put both pieces together. It took him under 25 minutes, and that's including eating his fudge pop.

I have some new adds along the side, some of which will help you find the best priced glider. Good Luck.

Remember for those other organic and made in the USA products for mommy and baby, go to Little Baby Headquarters.