*Yawn!*

Raegan's 7 month birthday came and went on the 12th. I was out of town on a business trip to Richmond, but still thought of my little girl that day. It's been a difficult month to say the least. Everyone says each child is different, and it's so very true. Raegan has been unusually fussy this month, and extraordinarily clingy. My friend, Brandy, my sounding board for all things parenting, made me feel a bit better yesterday. She pointed out that the 6-9 month stage is the clingy, "don't get out of my sight!" phase every baby goes through. I really need to read up again on the developmental stages again. Clearly, I have forgotten so much since Pyper was this age, just 2 years ago. Any time Raegan is put down, she screams. Especially at bed time. She wants to be held 24/7, and it's exhausting. I wear her as much as possible, but the lack of sleep is really taking it's toll on all involved. My mom, dad, and sister watched the girls this week while I was out of town. They said they can't do it again. At least not watch them at the same time. Raegan was waking every hour or two at night crying as though her heart would break. Mom couldn't take her eyes off Pyper because Pyper has a tendency to try to murder Raegan when left unattended. Mom and dad asked me time and again how I did it, and questioning my sanity as to how I want more children. This is the typical "after work" routine. She craves being touched, comforted and soothed. I do love attachment parenting, but it's exhausting all the same.

At the park with my Itty Bit.

Easter morning bunny. She and Shannon were the only ones to go to church as Pyper had a stomach bug. Raegan cut her bottom two teeth on March 30th. She's very proud of those two teeth.

Easter morning. The only pic I got before my camera battery died.

Finally successful at back wearing. It's still a work in progress, but I am able to get so much more done around the house and outside now. This particular day, I cleaned up the chicken coop, fed and watered the chickies, loved on the horses and cleaned the house. All while wearing her.

Sleeping (or lack thereof) has been an uphill climb for us as well. Raegan is by far, the laziest baby ever. She can roll over, I have seen her, but she refuses to. Shannon and I both think that if she would just roll over onto her tummy, she would probably sleep better. She can also hold her own bottle, but doesn't. She will instead scream until you give in and hold it for her, and then instantly latches on and drains it. While feeding, she loves to reach her little arm up and pull your hair. She's sitting up now, too, and liked to sit on the floor and play with toys until about 2 weeks ago. Now, she just wants to be held or worn. Oh, well. I try to keep telling myself that one day I will miss holding her little body and feeling her soft breathing as she falls asleep in my arms.

I was given a quote and tell anyone that will listen:

This year wherever possible I will announce in word & deed, "Hey! My children aren't burdens. In my eyes they are weightless."

Compromise is Key

I have always heard nightmares of suffocating your child while co-sleeping. When I started working for the health department, I toured the Va State Medical Examiner's Office during a training in Richmond. They stated the #1 cause of death in infants was caused by co-sleeping. That scared the poo out of me! I would nap with Pyper, but never falling into a restful sleep scared of rolling over and suffocating her. She slept in her crib as an infant from day one. She didn't even like sleeping in the cradle my dad made for her. I am ashamed to say we let her "cry it out" as that's what everyone told us to do when she woke us in the middle of the night. I still harbour guilt over that. Things have changed this time around. I don't know why, but the idea of having Raegan "cry it out" makes my skin crawl. I can't imagine not responding to her every time she needs comfort, food, or just to hear our voice to reassure her. I am still a bit frightened of co-sleeping, so my friend Brandy (a true mentor to me), blogged about how they incorporated a sidecarred crib into their bedroom for both her children. Doing as I always do, I Googled it. Anyone that knows me, knows I am the Google Queen! This (below) is a version of a crib that is sidecarred to our bed. It's the perfect compromise of co-sleeping and safety wrapped into one. Having said that, I don't doubt that co-sleeping can be done safely, I just can't fully rest with my infant next to me, afraid of smothering her like I did my love bird in high school...that's a different story for another post...ANYWAYS! I put an extra crib mattress in the crib, lowered the railing as far as it would go (some people even remove it all together) and bumped it up against our bed. It's perfect for the middle of the night comforts and not having to get out of bed completely and not being able to get back to sleep. Pyper likes to crawl up in Raegan's crib and play while we read stories or just have fun.
Sisterly lovin'

If I weren't so lazy, I, too, would remove the side railing and bungee the crib to our mattress. Perhaps when Raegan gets older and really starts moving around. Right now, she's still swaddled at night, like a little Glow Worm.

Kicking their legs up in the air. Pyper displays perfect gymnast pointy toes...

So next time you hear a debate about co-sleeping, perhaps you can suggest this wonderful and safe compromise! We love it!