Toothless Wonder

My sister, Jess, still has my camera cord hook up dongle thingamajigger, so I have no visual updates of The Andersons (read: Lucy). Jess is promising me, though, that she will bring it to Bowie, Maryland this weekend, as we all venture down for MELISSA AND JACK'S ENGAGEMENT PARTY. WAHOO! I'm excited to celebrate Melissa and Jack, and moreover, to meet Jack's family.

So I'll bring my laptop, and during the down time (??) I'll try to upload some pics.

I'm sleepy this morning. I stare down into my empty coffee mug, and somehow can't remember chugging the caffeine. But I did. I needed it! Lucy had a rough night last night...

Now first let me say, Lucy is a great sleeper. Wayyyy back (refresh yourselves by checking out the blog posts from August - November) she struggled a bit with sleeping. But let's face it - she was a newborn. They have a lot of learning to do about sleeping, because sleeping "right" doesn't come naturally to a baby. After she finally learned to nap (that was a hard one) around Week 5, things got a little easier. A few weeks later, she stretched her night spans (only getting up 1 or 2 times to feed), and started sleeping through the night around 3 months. I can't complain. During months 4-6, though, we had a rough go with daytime napping. While she continued to sleep well at night (waking me with the occasional, "My paci fell out, it's dark, and my limbs are not coordinated enough yet to find it and put it back in. Help."), she started napping for, at most, 40 minutes, maybe 2 or 3 times a day. It was a far cry from the 2-3 hour naps I would get out of her previously. I didn't know what to do! I worried that she wasn't getting enough rest and that this would somehow do serious damage to her mind and body. I scoured every forum, baby website and friend I had for advice. I tried EVERYTHING. The best advice I heard (which seemingly worked) was, "Wait it out."

So I did.

And it worked.

I also started running a fan (mostly for white noise, but it's good practice to have something that circulates the air in a baby's room) during her naps. Suddenly the naps stretched out - and most days she is going 1 - 1.5 hours 2 times a day (with a 30 minute catnap around dinnertime). I've really been thankful to God - because I prayed a LOT about this. It has also helped to establish a more regular routine, which helps me a lot!

That said, she's been fussy recently.

And last night, she woke up every hour and whined a bit. For a few minutes. And eventually went back to sleep each time. But with the monitor 12 inches from my head, you can bet I was up every time she was.

At this stage of the game (she's eating well, she's napping well, she's 7 months old), I can only assume that she is beginning to teethe. There is nothing yet coming out of those gums, not even a sign of anything erupting underneath. But she's been fussy - not like, "I have gas" or "I'm hungry/wet/dirty/bored" fussy. Rather, the, "I think I'm uncomfortable in a new way," kind of fussy.

So we're waiting, hoping that at some point these teeth will show themselves. And Lucy will get a reprieve!

(I could use a reprieve too...)

Visual updates to follow!