Three Cheers for Ingrid! And Babies!

After a harrowing first night of no nuks, we are now settling into our new big girl routine.  Ingrid has stopped asking for her nuks for the most part, except when she wakes up at 5am.  After reminding her we don't have them anymore, she calms down and goes back to sleep for another hour, although I'm not able to.  Oh well.  Better than screaming for hours, right?

There was even a nap yesterday, how amazing is that? 

This just goes to show that I think we parents make more of a deal of things than the kids do.  I was SO worried about how it would go, SO worried that Ingrid would have a really hard time with this transition.  I was the same with her giving up bottles, and her crib, and both of those times it was a short couple days of getting used to things and then back to normal.  Kids are pretty resilient. 

In other news, I think I felt a wee kick in my belly this weekend.  I'm a little over 15 weeks so I'm not sure I'm supposed to feel it yet, but I swear it wasn't gas, it was in the same spot way down low where I know my uterus is, and since I know what it feels like from Ingrid, I don't think I'm imagining it!  This is exciting, because I was just starting to get that feeling that I'm not really pregnant, I'm really just fat and lazy and tired and sick.  This first part where you don't look pregnant and there's nothing going on internally to remind you you're pregnant is so hard!  It's hard to be excited, it's hard to think of the positives.  But when that kicking starts, oh boy!  All the sudden it comes crashing down--there is a human being in there.  That is so strange and cool!

UUUUGGGGHHHH.

Last night was our first night of no nuks.  Since Ingrid didn't take a nap yesterday she was tired and whiny by 6pm.  She was in bed by 7:30, crying but yawning in between howls, so I figured she'd calm down and zonk out.  She did.  Aaaahhh!  She actually fell asleep better than she usually does, actually.  Success!  Or was it???

Around 10:30 she woke up crying for her "green nuk!!"  Yes, she had a favorite one, and it broke my heart to hear her ask for it knowing I couldn't give it to her.  We have been offering her hugs or a song instead of a nuk if she needs comforting, so I went in and rubbed her back, sang her a lullaby, gave her a kiss.  She was up crying so pathetically for the next two hours!  Oh, it just broke my heart, but this is why we threw them in the actual garbage outside the house, so at 2am we wouldn't be going to find one stashed away somewhere.  We wanted them gone, they are gone.  Now we just have to deal with the consequences! 

Ingrid wouldn't come to bed with me at first, she was saying "stay in Ingrid's bed!  You go to Mama's bed, bye Mama!"  And then as soon as I'd leave she'd wail "I need my mama!"  Oh my god, kid, my heart is already breaking, please spare me the theatrics!  Finally I convinced her to come into my bed, I sang her back to sleep and she slept for a few hours.  Then she got up at 5 and has been so fun since then...It's been one of those days you'd like to fast forward.  Luckily I have a haircut appointment this afternoon so I can escape my crabby house for a couple hours!

Here's to a better night tonight.  And a less crabby day tomorrow.

So Long, Nuks.

I threw away Ingrid's nuks (pacifiers) this morning.  Just cold turkey, say good bye to them, honey, in the trash they go!  We've been talking about how babies use nuks but not big girls and she's really into being a big girl.  And Brendan and I wanted her to have it gone before the baby gets here, and she was up screaming for it twice last night, so...time to go!  I have always disliked seeing kids walking around trying to talk around their pacifiers, and she was starting to do that.  She only had it at naptime and bedtime, it usually didn't leave her bedroom, so it wasn't like it was affecting her speech, but it drove me nuts when she'd spit her words out while sucking on that thing. 

Naptime wasn't happening today, even though I tried to wear her out.  We had to go to the car place to get a part put on, bright and early at 8am.  Then we went to run errands, stopped at a park, and came home to pack a picnic and go to the pool.  By 12:30 she was laying her head down on my shoulder and asking to go home.  Of course, once we got there she was all engines go again, go figure...So we're trying to do the one hour rest time, I gave her books and a bottle of water and told her she had to be quiet and rest.  Ha!  That kid does not sit still if she doesn't feel like it.  I kind of rested but mostly just kept hearing her banging things around in her room, knocking the fan over, jumping on the bed, singing songs.  Sigh...is it really the end of naptime?  Or will she learn how to zonk out without a piece of plastic in her mouth?

Bedtime tonight should be interesting.  Hopefully without a nap she'll be okay, but who knows.  Eventually she'll have to sleep, right?