Sleep Habits

She's lucky she's cute, because this little girl is testing me. I'm usually reluctant to talk about baby sleep habits when things are going well for fear that I'll jinx myself. Well, nighttime sleep with Alice can't possibly get any worse so here it goes. The sleeping through the night stopped about four months ago (it was short lived). After successfully working with her to go down for naps and bedtime while still awake and putting herself to sleep, I was hopeful. She naps okay, sometimes they're short but most of the time she sleeps fine during the day- it's the night that is the problem. She usually goes down fine, sometimes going into the crib completely awake and talking herself to sleep. Sometimes there are tears, and sometimes I'm too tired so I nurse her to sleep. All these scenarios tend to have the same result: multiple wakings during the night.

It's 9:30 now,  she went to bed at 7 and has already been up twice. The first time, I tried to soothe her in the crib without picking her up, but that was a bust so she nursed and went back to sleep. Just now she woke up again and cried for a minute then went back to sleep. I feel like I've tried everything. I've consistently been playing music during the night for background noise in hopes that outside noises won't wake her up. But she's still waking up and the music is grating so I just decided to stop that tonight. When I go to bed, I usually have an hour or two before she's up again.

I hate to complain, but I just don't know what to do. I'm tired! She's eating solid foods now, which I thought would help but offered not change. Any tips from you mamas for me?

Running in the New Year

Stepping into 2013 is exciting. I'm excited to set new goals and have fun. After taking 2012 off from running any races, I'm excited to toe the line this year. I added up my miles from 2012- 463. I thought I'd be able to reach 500, but between sick kids and sick mama, miles in December just didn't happen. I used the treadmill at the gym on New Year's Day and covered three miles. After 2 1/2 weeks with no running, it was tough. I'm hoping to get outside runs in this weekend, with temps finally above ten degrees. I'll let you know how it goes!

Away In A Manger

 

Over a month since his birthday, but I wanted to share. I'm a little behind in downloading the photos off my camera.

Sweet Alice is now five (and a half) months old and I'm not wondering why time is flying by- it's hard to believe she's only been here for five months. Life without her seems so long ago.

She is such a happy baby, even through the cold she's been battling the past couple of weeks. The doctor said I can expect her to have a runny nose for the remainder of the winter. I was wondering how she's already been sick a couple times and then realized I can't keep her in the bubble I kept Jack in when he was a baby. She has a preschooler slobbering all over her every day.

Jack is loving helping in the kitchen, and although I'm not much of a baker (or cook for that matter), we've managed to make Christmas cookies a few times this holiday season. He's just as obsessed with making and decorating them as he is with eating them.

Once again we got a tree that was way too tall for our ceiling. Adam cut some trunk off the bottom, then had to screw some of the stump back on because the base was too short for our tree stand.

We tried to take a family picture, not sure what I was thinking as Alice is covered in drool and Jack has pizza sauce all over his face. Look closely and you'll see food stuck in my teeth.

Jack had his first Christmas concert! They sang "Away in a Manger" and it was pretty much the most adorable thing I've ever seen.

And there you go... some of what I've been up to this month. And if you're wondering... still not much running going on.

What Miles?

Last week I proclaimed that I had gotten into a great running schedule and was going to make December a high (for me) mileage month. Then last week came and went and I ran twice- five and three miles, and it's Wednesday and I haven't run since Saturday. What have I done? Eaten far too many Christmas cookies and had pizza for dinner more times than I'd like to admit. I can't even blame Christmas, because I just started shopping yesterday. I do know that running makes me happy, even though it's hard to get out the door sometimes. It needs to be a priority again.

12.14.12

I heard the news of what happened in Newtown, Connecticut before I left work on Friday. Crying on the way home, I couldn't get there fast enough to hold Jack and Alice. I couldn't hug them tight enough. The events that occurred are so gruesome that I (along with everyone else) can't seem to wrap my head around it. Working in a kindergarten classroom myself, I cannot comprehend the chaos that must have gone on and I can't help but wonder how I might act in that situation. I'm sure every person walking into a school tomorrow, whether they are a student or staff, are thinking the same thing.

I'm not one to talk politics, and I know I don't have the answer, but this is ridiculous. It's not just gun control that needs to be reformed, but something in our society needs to change. I read somewhere to just love, and that's what I'm going to do. Being scared and angry won't help or change anything.

It's amazing how a tragedy puts everything into perspective. As a mom this weekend, I was so aware. Aware of every little giggle made by Alice, and every little comment that came out of Jack's mouth. Everything else seemed so insignificant. Savoring every single moment, because, as cliche as it is, you never know when it will be your last.

December So Far

I've found a nice groove in runs this week, even though each one has been so different.

Sunday: 6 miles

It was a super hilly route and was beyond windy. There were times when I felt like I wasn't even moving. I think it took me 1:10 to finish.

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: 4 miles with Alice when I came home from work (Jack was taking a nap).

Wednesday: yoga! It felt so good.

Thursday: 6 miles on the treadmill

I felt like a rockstar! I was feeling the stress from a drama-filled week at work and it felt good to hammer out a run with music blasting in my headphones.

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 4 easy miles

Sunday (today): 3.1

I normally don't count decimal points on my regular runs but I am today!

It's December?

As the days are getting shorter, it's getting harder and harder to fit runs in during daylight hours- and I will not run in the dark alone. I ended up running 71 miles in November- a number I'm pretty proud of. It takes a lot of work to get two kids bundled up and put in the jogger when I get home from work (especially when I'm trying to beat the sunset), but totally worth it. I started out December with three miles today and am ready to make this month an active one, including more yoga in my routine.