Survival Mode

After a weekend which included daddy being gone for 2 nights with his shift, plus working the game, we're hanging on by a thread at this point! Addison still hasn't figured out how to get back to sleep on her own. I'm not a believer in the "cry it out" method, I just can't do that to her. I've learned too much about the physical stresses that occur in their brains (specifically cortisol that is released) when they cry themselves into a frenzy. Addison is also an "escalator" which means that when she starts crying, she escalates until she is out of control, coughing, gagging and turning purple. Knowing this, I just can't let her cry it out. You wouldn't believe the many people who have told us to just close her door and let her cry. She will go to sleep just fine in her own crib, and then about 4 hours later, she's awake and can't get back to sleep on her own. After tons of nursing, rocking and begs/pleads...I've gone into "survival mode" and brought her into bed, swaddled and all, with me. She nurses and then she's asleep. This has been the ONLY way either one of us has survived these last few nights. I'm not a good sleeper if I can't toss and turn, so it's been difficult for me to get good sleep because I'm worried about waking her up if I move the mattress! I'm getting better at sleeping with a little person beside me, I'm definitely in tune with her sleep cycle now! I know that her light stages of sleep are around 4-5 am, and she makes little purring noises, which are the cutest.

Yesterday we fed her SWEET POTATOES! She gobbled them down! However today she has a diaper rash, so I'm not sure if it's a result of the new food, or a combination of teething (lots of saliva is swallowed and changes the pH of her stomach contents) new food and maybe my neglect to change her at 6 am today. Hopefully it's NOT the food, because she sure loved it!

I'm posting some more pictures on Addison's "live spaces site" so take a peek!