A full weekend

Well, I took Charli to the pediatrician on Friday to discuss her sleep issues. He first did an exam to make sure she wasn't sick as that of course can hinder sleep. Fortunately she is fine. He reassured me that this is normal for her age and that he agrees it stems from all the changes that occured around the same time, starting daycare, getting sick etc. He doesn't feel it is an attachment issue of any kind. I didn't think it was either. We talked about her routine and the fact she's very bright and understands what you say to her. He said that since she was sleeping in her crib by herself prior to this, re-educating her should not be too much of a problem. He suggested using the Ferber method for this. It's a modification of the "cry it out" approach. You start by putting her to bed and if she's crying wait 5 minutes, go in soothe her then wait 10, go in and this time wait 20 and then wait 30. If after that time she hasn't settled down/gone to sleep, she can come back to bed with me, but then do it again the next night. After a couple of nights, she will understand that it's okay to be in her bed. He also said that she may be ready for a toddler bed. She's a tad younger than usual but because she likes to sleep on my bed and with pillows, he thinks this is something to consider. Oh, another thing we discussed was that she has had a few night terrors. He told me that they can be re-occurring and that many children who have them end up as sleep walkers. Great. Won't that be my luck???

I told him we had a busy weekend and he agreed, to wait to try this until it was a more "normal" week. I am hoping to give it a go starting Thursday night as I don't work on Fridays. I'll keep you posted.

Saturday was a big day. I dropped Charli off at mom and dad's around 8:30AM. I then proceeded on to get gas in my car and pick up my order at Sam's Club. Then off to Duluth to co-host a bridal shower for Katie Pillsbury. We held it at her mom's house in Duluth. Charli rode up later with my mom, dad and Jane. I guess she did quite well in the car, but of course only fell asleep 15 minutes from Holly's house. Katie ended up with a fantastic turnout - 30+ women and a few kiddos. I didn't get to participate in the games or see too much of the gift opening but from what I heard it was fun. I had one of Katie's friends and her cousin do the games as they would know what is the "in" thing now a days. That also freed me up to stay in the kitchen on food detail. I am really thankful that Jane was there as she was able to watch Charli for me - this was a true blessing. Being as she had no real nap, I was convinced she'd fall asleep on the way home. Boy was I wrong. She cried from just north of Hinckley to Rush City (about 45 minutes). After that, she was fine and didn't fall asleep until 5 minutes from home. And of course once I got her in the house she woke up. It took me over an hour to get her to sleep (9:20PM)

Thankfully, she slept in yesterday until 7:20 and was not as energetic as she normally is. I think the excitement of the day before was still tiring. She ran a low grade fever and took a 3 hour nap. Needless to say, I enjoyed this time, read the paper and caught up on some laundry. Last night was a good night as was this morning. Maybe we are turning the corner and getting her into her bed won't be too bad.