Over Half a Year Already!

It has been a while since I have written about what Sophie has been up to lately.  It may be in part that both Ryan and I are suffering from sleep deprivation.  Our little angel has not really improved on her sleeping habits since the entry where I mentioned that she didn't like to sleep at all.  Over the past two months, there always seems to be something that is keeping her from learning how to have a good night's sleep.  After our camping trips, those 4 weekends in a row, I thought it was best to stick around home for the month of August in hopes of developing a stable and predictable routine which would lead to better sleeping.  This is what "they" told me to do ("they" being the 101 books that I have read on parenting and half of them being specifically on sleep).  So we did.  First week home, Sophie got her first cold.  This of course doesn't help anyone sleep well.  After she got over her cold, she went through her six month growth spurt, where she was feeding every two hours all night long; just like when we brought her home from the hospital!  "They" say this should only last a few days, but it lasted a couple weeks with Sophie.  We couldn't seem to get her on solids fast enough, in hopes of keeping her asleep longer.  Last week, there were a couple nights where we thought things were really starting to improve and as quickly as they came, it fell apart.  She now has another cold and is so stuffed up that the other night I had to sleep sitting up, holding her, supported by pillows all around us.  I never would have thought I could sleep that way, but I did.   We also continue teething but with no teeth to show for it.  She sometimes wakes up in the night screaming.  She is not hungry, nor does she want cuddles, the only thing that calms her down is orajel on her bottom gums.  Poor girl, it really shouldn't be this bad.  So she sleeps from 8 pm to 6:30 or 7 am with 3 or more wake ups a night and has 3 naps a day (still ranging from 40 minutes to an hour and 20 minutes depending on the day).  As far as Ryan and I go, it is funny how you just learn to function on no sleep, but we do continue to be hopeful that eventually she will get it.  I have followed all the advice "they" have to offer on no-cry sleep training and I'm just waiting for it to pay off.

Despite the fact that she is depriving us of sleep, we really are enjoying Sophie as she continues to learn and grow.  It's amazing how one smile first thing in the morning can make you completely forget the frustrations of the night before.  We are finding this stage a lot of fun since she has become so social and is quickly learning the different uses of all her limbs.  She has been sitting up unassisted for weeks now.  When she wasn't sick, I could put her down on her playmat and she could entertain herself for a while.  That was great for both of us.  Whenever possible, she likes us to walk her around.  She has figured out the concept of putting one foot in front of the other; she just lacks the balance to get anywhere on her own.  Her most favorite thing is when her dad walks her around the house chasing Baron.  Poor Baron!  Ryan is teaching her to torment him at an early age.  She still hates being on her belly so crawling doesn't seem to be an option for her yet.  We are trying though.  I don't think it will be long before she figures out some way to get herself around.

Feeding Sophie solids has been a slow process.  The first month was painful; she didn't seem anymore interested in eating solids from one week to the next.  But we persisted, continued to make food, only for it to often end up in the garbage or in Baron's dish.  Now things are much better and we even have a few options as to what to feed her at meal times.  She doesn't like rice cereal (can you blame her?) and only now seems to be interested in purees, only the vegetable ones though.  She mostly likes finger foods, avacado being at the top of her list and bananas second.  Also she really likes plain yogurt.  For some reason, Sophie has not really taken to fruits, other than banana chunks.  "They" told me to feed her vegetables first, for fear that once she tasted something sweet, she may never want to eat her veggies.  But so far this hasn't happened; she doesn't seem to have her mother's sweet tooth at all.

During the week, Sophie and I try to stay busy by visiting with other moms and babies.  We try and see Lori and Nixon, and Tannis and Gabby once a week, as well Candice and Caiden, from Baby and Me class.  We either end up at someone's house, chatting and letting the kids play and share germs, or we meet up at a park for a walk.  There have been weeks where Sophie and I have had to skip outings due to colds or mere exhaustion from a rough night.  However, we do try hard to get out of the house or have visitors as much as we can.

That pretty much sums up what Sophie and I have been up to these last two months.  Hopefully my next entry will be about her becoming mobile or teeth!  I have also added a few more pictures to our August album.