Why Haven't We Written Sooner?

The simple answer to why I've not written sooner is that we've been very busy! From visitors, socializing with our new mommy friends, keeping the house in order, and getting Kate used to a regular schedule, it's just been so hard to find time to write about all of the exciting things that are happening. As a new mommy, I've learned that each day is filled with choices: shower or baseball hat? Lunch or pay bills? Do a load of clothes or empty dishwasher? Write blog or work on memory books? Now that Kate is going down around 9p, I'm finding some time to breathe and catch up!

Visitors, Visitors, and More Visitors
Before Kate reached 3 months old, she had met all of her grandparents (not every little girl has 4 grandmothers so this was harder than it sounds!). She also met all seven of her aunts and 5 uncles, almost all of her cousins, her Great Aunt Betty (and Godmother) & Uncle Ken as well as all of mommy and daddy's closest pals who never thought we'd be parents! And, Kate and I have quite a full social calendar...we are very busy with our new friends from our Breastfeeding Friendship Network!

A bit of Magic:
Of course, I couldn't wait for Kate to visit Disney World. We spent a couple of days in Epcot and Animal Kingdom with Aunt Betty & Uncle Ken when she was just 8 weeks old! We saved Magic Kingdom for Daddy. Daddy said she would have to wait until she was 10 to visit the kingdom of the mouse, but since we live so close and have free access, how could we wait???? Kate was an angel baby both days in the parks: despite the heat, she never fussed. The photo is Kate and mommy at Animal Kingdom. She watched her first concert (Arlo Guthrie), saw gorillas and butterflies and was simply perfect. At the end of June, Kate will visit Universal Studios--watch out Hulk, we're grooming a new coaster fan!



Schedule, Schedule, Schedule
By the time May rolled around, mommy was ready to settle Kate into a schedule. The question is, was Kate ready for a schedule? Of course! I read two books that I found extremely helpful: Babywise and The Baby Whisperer. Both focus on teaching a newborn to expect what's next by following a pattern: Eat Activity Sleep... By May, (actually much sooner), Kate was falling into a natural 3-hour feeding schedule. She was ready to sleep through the night early on, but it wasn't until 8 weeks that I stopped waking her in the wee hours for a feeding. Now, it's hard to believe, but I can hardly remember the late night feedings and sleep deprivation!

It's not all rosy, though. Kate is still struggling with her naptime and isn't exactly falling asleep on her own. Instead of a nice 1-1/2 hour nap as the books promise, Kate's only taking 45 minute naps during the day. We like to have storytime and then put her to bed, but a good 50% of the time, Kate falls asleep during the story! Let's hope by month 4 we work the kinks out of her schedule!!