adventures in separation anxiety

So Clara use to sleep without much difficulty, bottle, book, blanket, bed. (Altogether we use to spend about a half hour winding down together). We use to walk out when she was still awake but starting to get sleepy.

Well, that all changed about a week ago when instead of just falling asleep on her own when we left the room, she cries non-stop til we return. Standing up, screaming, and inconsolable. Part of the problem could be Clara being sick with a cold. She doesn't even want to be held,just wants to have one of us close to her crib. Last night I tried the standard "cry it out" thing for about 15 minutes and when I went back into the room she was in the middle of tasting fingers in her mouth. Unfortunately these same fingers triggered her gag reflex just in time to get vomit all over me.

The other thing is that she use to sleep 12 hours, regardless of what time she'd go to bed she'd stay in bed for 12 hours. Now, doesn't matter how late she goes to bed, she is always up by 7:30 AM (sometimes with dark circles under her eyes).

The one good thing is that overall she stays asleep once she falls asleep but the 30 minute routine has ballooned into a 2.5 hr routine. Eventually she finally falls asleep, but it's definitely a struggle. I stay in the room with her sometimes and be asleep myself by 7:30 only to wake up close to 8 PM and see her still wide awake, standing, and slightly fussing.

Any one else notice changes in their sleep patterns when your ittle one was around one year old?

11 months old

Clara is almost 11 months old!

She is getting more and more mobile. She seems to know that wooden floors are fun to crawl on, army crawling along on her tummy. She also likes to stand up and use the bars to hold onto as she walks laps inside her crib. She loves to “dance” and clap and point and sing (a very high pitched sound).

At meal times her food is scooped up into a spoon and placed on her high chair tray, then she has to put the spoon into her mouth. It’s a lot messier than when we feed her, but she does a decent job (sometimes she goes on strike and throws the spoon on the floor, knowing she’ll get spoon fed by one of us). She eats pretty much everything (we’re holding off on peanuts and eggs for now), the other night she had lasagna (she loved it) and sweet potatoes. Trying to get her to use a cup is a little more challenging, not sure if all the coordination is there yet, she can hold the cup to her mouth but sometimes misses her mouth and pours the liquid on her chin instead (we are using only water til she masters this, as milk would be even more of a mess to clean).

Her schedule has changed quite a bit, mostly as she is down to one nap per day. She wakes up after 12 hours of sleeping (usually around 8 AM or so), gets a bottle of milk then oatmeal (with cinnamon and bananas, yum!) and of course cheerios (the staple finger food). Then she gets bundled up to go out for a walk. Wednesdays is her walk to the library for Story Hour. She comes home and plays a little, often on the floor covered with mats so it’s not as hard to sit on. Around 11:30 AM she gets lunch, often a mushed up vegetable, then a fruit and maybe little pieces of cheese mixed with her cheerios. Then it’s nap time from 12 to 3 (although the first hour is often spent cruising inside the crib until she wears herself out and falls asleep). Upon waking up she is given another bottle and sits down to play again. (and of course the afternoon walk for Picaso’s sake). I get home around 5:30 and we get ready for dinner. Afterwards she gets a bath then a bottle, followed by a futile attempt of brushing her teeth (she use to like this now pushes the brush out with her tongue) a short story, then she is left to fall asleep.

We’re relieved she’s not walking yet as we still (I know I know) have not baby-proofed. But, she is under almost constant supervision so if and when she does take her first steps, one of us will be there to watch and start frantically getting things out of her way!