A Trend?

So Penny has actually slept for the last three nights now. I don't mean she has slept through the night. I mean she wakes up, I feed her, and she goes back to sleep. And, she has started going 4 hours between feedings for one of the night feedings (you count from the start of one feeding to the start of the next). To give you an example, last night I fed her at ~9:30. The whole process - fifteen minutes each side, burping after each, and then holding her upright for 10-15 minutes - takes about an hour. So she went down just before 10:30. I then ate supper and was asleep myself by 11:30. She woke up and I fed her again at 1:30. This means I got 2 whole hours of consecutive sleep. But wait, there's more! I fed her at 1:30 which means she and I went back to sleep at 2:30 and slept until 4:30! Two more hours of sleep. In the SAME night. How awesome is that? Seriously, prior to these last few days I was lucky to get 45 minutes to an hour of sleep in any three hour sleep/feeding cycle. And many cycles, I got none at all because she stayed up the whole three hours through to the next feeding. The hard part was I could never predict which cycle she would sleep and which she wouldn't which just added to my stress over when I would get any sleep. And then there were those times when she never went to sleep at all for twelve to fifteen hours straight. There's a reason sleep deprivation is a form of torture.
Anyway, last night she didn't really ever go back to sleep between the 430 and 730 feedings, but that's ok. Tray took her at 830 and I slept until the 1030 feeding. So two more hours. Yes, that makes 6 hours of sleep for me in one day. I actually feel semi-rested. It's very nice. I hope I don't jinx myself, but I hope this keeps up. I think it will though. As she gets older she'll keep getting better and better I think. I hope. :)

To the point of hilarity

Seriously, how can a 5 week old stay awake for 15 hours straight? Penny woke up at 4 am yesterday morning and did not go back to sleep until 740. At which time she slept for 20 minutes and woke up again at 8 to be fed (it was time). Craziness. However, after she ate she did sleep last night. She didn't sleep "through the night", but did sleep on a regular three hour schedule.
During her epic stay-awake episode Tray and I tried everything to get her to sleep. The swing, the bouncy seat, the sling, holding her, rocking her, bouncing her, letting her play on the gym, playing soothing music, white noise, attempting the pacifier, etc. All of these things "worked" in that they calmed her down and made her happy, but she still wouldn't go to sleep. It was like she wasn't even remotely tired. You'd have thought she would have passed out from shear exhaustion at some point right? But no, she wasn't tired. I sure was though. :) Imagine 15 hours straight of the above activities after having gotten the usual paltry amount of sleep the night before and you get the idea.
So question - how I am supposed to schedule her naps if she won't take naps??

Rain Totals

Well, just after I posted that last post our power went out. It is now back on thankfully. Also just after that post we spoke with our next door neighbors. At that time they had over 13 inches in their gauge which confirmed our suspicion that our gauge was not reflecting the real amount. An official city gauge north of our neighborhood has gotten over 15 inches, so that's probably pretty close to what we've gotten so far. No word on when our road will reopen, but it will probably be some time before things dry out enough - and it is still raining off and on.

Rain Update

We've now had 8 1/2 inches in our rain gauge. We think this is an underestimate of rain. I would guess we've had more like 10 inches. They are forecasting between 16 and 20 inches of rain for us. Streets are closed all over town according to the Tallahassee Democrat website. It's pretty crazy.

Trapped

Well, TS Fay has dropped 7 inches on us so far and we are just now starting to get into the heavy rain. Selena Road (the only way in to our neighborhood) is under water and has been officially closed. EOC has determined an emergency route out, but they are not publicizing it - if you have to get out, you have to call EOC and they will assist you. So, it looks like we are stuck here for awhile. Not that we had plans to go anywhere anyway, but it is nerve-wracking to be stuck with a new baby. She doesn't seem to mind though. :)

Sleep? And my thoughts on scheduling.

Does anyone out there know what sleep is like? Can you help me to remember? Seriously, Penny woke up at 1045 last night and did not go back to sleep until 8 am. At which point she actually slept a little bit longer than normal such that I got almost 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep. That's the most I've had in a month. Everyone says you can't put a baby on a schedule until they are 2 months of age - it just isn't neurologically possible. But, our pediatrician said that by about 2 months she should put herself on a schedule so I should see evidence of her moving toward that over the next month. I can't wait! Actually, I think last night (and today) she is having a growth spurt. She has eaten at least every two hours (with the exception of that "long" stretch this morning). It's frustrating, but right now it is very important to listen to her cues and feed her when she gets hungry. Trying to feed her on a schedule would not only be dangerous given her small size and how easily she could fall off the growth curve (and we don't want her to go below that 10th percentile mark) and also during a growth spurt it is important to feed frequently because it stimulates my milk supply to increase. I know that a lot of you out there feel differently about scheduling, but I assure you I am a very rational person and the science indicates that babies under two months can't be scheduled - and can't be spoiled. As for the book "On Becoming Babywise" I recommend that people read the American Academy of Pediatrics position on that book. A summary can be found here: http://www.ezzo.info/Aney/aneyaap.htm
I don't have anything against the book per se, but it is certainly not meant for babies Penny's age.

On the flip side, "The Happiest Baby on the Block" is awesome! I highly recommend it. So many people recommended that book and dvd, including our baby class instructor. I finally bought the dvd and it is so great. Whenever Penny is crying Tray and I can usually make her stop in a matter of seconds. Not always, but I would say the majority of the time. It doesn't necessarily make her sleep, but it will make her stop crying. It's amazing.

Three Week Checkup

Today was Penny's three week check up with the pediatrician. She now weighs 6 lbs 15 ounces! Hurray! She is still in the 10th percentile for weight (again meaning that 90 percent of all other girl babies her age are bigger than she is), but has maintained her position on the growth curve which is what the doctor really cares about. He says we are doing a great job and to keep up the good work. He was very enthusiastic about how well she is doing. I feel a lot better knowing she is a healthy baby. I laughed and told the doctor that I wished we could go once a week just because I always feel better after we go. He laughed too. :)

Hotsling

Here is a picture of Penny in her sling. Today I walked all around the yard with her in the sling. It was great.

Vanity :)

Penelope discovered her reflection in the mirror of her activity gym. I don't think she knows she is looking at herself, but she sure seems to enjoy looking at that "other baby".

First Bath

Penny had her first at home bath on Wednesday. She really seemed to enjoy it. I gave her another one yesterday and she doesn't seem to mind it at all. She likes to look at herself in the mirror.

Belly Button!

Penelope's umbilical cord fell off on Tuesday. Here is a photo of her brand new belly button!