Friday, December 26, 2008

Whew! 1st Christmas down!


Well the Baby's first Christmas went over without a hitch.... she of course got way too many presents for a 4-month-old... my mom discovered the Leap Frog website, so at least we got some age-appropriate, "learning" toys :)
And my mother-in-law was actually very pleasant and thoughtful this year: she gave Ali her  baby ring from when she was little- I'm not much for sentiments- but it was a very sweet gesture and I think it meant a lot to pass it down to her.  
She also gave me some cute clothes- which I was totally surprised at... but she bought me size XL!!! I usually wear a medium to a large- NEVER an XL, not even when I was pregnant!  I asked Kris if she thinks I'm fat- and he said she probably has no idea- but I still took it a little personal... I also noticed that she wrote "love, mom" or love, grandma" on all of Kris and Ali's presents, but just wrote "linda" on mine.  Maybe I'm reading into it a little bit but I swear that woman wishes she was KK's wife and Ali's mom- I'm just a mindless diversion she has to deal with or something...BUT ANYWAY- (I'm working on letting things go with her, so I don't drive myself crazy..so I'll stop talking about it now)  
My parents bought KK and I a camcorder- which I am so excited about!  I've been taping Ali's cuteness on my camera- which only allows for 2 minutes of recording.  The camcorder is one that records to a photo chip card thingy, so it will be easy to edit and download to share with family and friends- I can't wait to use it! 
Oh yeah- and the best part of Christmas... KK did 3 loads of laundry, and folded them!  I couldn't believe it!!! Man, that guy knows how to turn me on :-)=

We also started the Ferber Method with Ali last night- and it actually went pretty well, and it made me feel so happy and liberated as a parent.  Every night it takes Ali about 15-20 minutes of crying and whining to fall asleep- with KK or I holding her and rocking her and walking around the house.  She drops her binkie about 5 bazillion times during the process, and both Kris and I were getting so sick of the routine.  So last night I researched how to lovingly let our child soothe herself to sleep.  I put her to bed at 7:50, went in at 4 minutes the first time and stroked her head. I then waited 6 minutes the 2nd time and went in again. The next time I waited until 10 minutes had passed, and that was the last time I had to go in and tell her I was there- she then fell asleep, in her crib, on her own, without KK or I soothing her!  When she was crying in there it never got intense, and every time I went in I checked her eyes for tear drops (whaddya know, not a one fell!).  I did the same thing when she woke up at 3 this morning- didn't pick her up, but put the binker back in her mouth and stroked her head... that time it only took two times of me going in!
 So I think our stubborn betty is figuring out how to put herself to sleep= I layed her down for a nap this morning and she fussed for a few seconds and went out!  I'm sooo happy and I hope she keeps it up tonight- it is so much easier for the whole family and it feels good to have a method KK and I can agree on and work together with.  I think we will all be improving our sleeping habits in a few shorts days- and teaching Ali the life long skill of soothing herself to sleep :)

3 comments:

Kim said...

Good for you for teaching Ali to fall asleep on her own! You will be SO grateful you did that. I have friends that still lie down with their 3 year olds until they fall asleep, seriously WTH?

Morgan brushes his teeth, gets 2 stories and that's that.

Callie has a bottle in her room then puts her head on my shoulder and I put her in the crib. At nap time she cries for about 1 minute (if that) and then is out cold.

We teach them how to eat, talk, walk - some people forget to teach their kids to fall asleep on their own and it's equally as important!

Glad to hear you guys had a great Christmas! Callie is now half crawling/half commando and into everything of Morgan's, driving everyone crazy!

Sweetbabs said...

I am glad to see that your Holidays went well and that the baby is learning to go to sleep by herself. You deserve some rest.

Andréa said...

Oh God, you know you're married when 3 loads of laundry (AND FOLDED) is hte best present a girl could ask for... hee hee! Can he call my hubs and tell him that BTW?
Glad you had a great Christmas!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...