Crib Notes

Time: 6:43 p.m.

Day: Sunday

I just put Sadie to sleep for the night (we hope) in her crib. She nursed for one hour and was so tired so the time seemed right. Jeff put her in her crib to nap this morning while I went to spin class, and she seemed unphased when I put her to sleep this evening. We have the CD of "falling rain" cranked up to soothe her and to deflect all the noise we make one floor below-- we're clumsy and someone always drops a fork on the way to the dinner "table" or the couch as it is more properly called in our house. It's weird to have her sleeping, but not in our room. I was able to fold some clothes and lay out an outfit for tomorrow -- for the big outing to therapy where one needs the right outfit to project inner peace, but not so peaceful that I didn't need to drag my ass out of bed to take public transportation to see a doctor about tweaking said inner peace. Tell me that's an easy outfit to find!

She seemed a little cranky today, which I totally respect, because I am not a huge fan of Sundays. Never have been. I find Sundays mournful, a little boring, and I tend to get all out of sorts during the long afternoon stretch. Looks like Sadie was feeling some of that today after our lovely morning walking to the farmers' market and having brunch at Feast. Neither one of us seemed to get any pep in our step today, but maybe a night after some great crib sleeping will restore the umph in the house. I think we have to work on our Sunday routine; I think we may be a little isolated so we are thinking of mixing things up and being more social on Sundays. I am open for ideas. We still count our blessings that she loves the Baby Bjorn so we can walk for miles with her in it. We know she's technically too young to be riding face forward, but if we so much as suggest that she ride facing inward she wails so loud I think I could get arrested for cruelty to a child. So we just hold her head and put some padding behind the straps and hope that we can avoid any "well meaning advice" from someone pointing out that we are doing it wrong, because believe me, I have plenty of that in my own head, thank you very much.

And, as for her little sun hat, it's only about 3 sizes too big. We have tried to find one in her size, but you wouldn't believe how hard that is. I am sure it will only get harder as we sink into the fall months and prepare for winter. Our hospital told us never to expose the baby to direct sunlight so you would think there is a huge market for items that will cover a baby while out during the daylight hours. Don't tell me that retailers think that parents aren't taking their children out in the sun-- that can't be, but we can't find a hat and I will be doing extensive on-line searches this evening to see if we can't find her something better than a hat that makes her look like one of the Golden Girls.

Anyway, I resisted the urge to get into my pajamas tonight at 4:00 p.m. like I did last night for our rocking Saturday night watching the last hour of the Tina Fey vehicle, Baby Mama, which I slept through when we first tried to watch it on Thursday. We were all in our pajamas pretty early here, but it's a gray Sunday so we leaned into the whole Day of Rest mythology and watched some E! Television to see who's wearing what at the Emmy's.

We are heading towards Miss Sadie's ninth week of life. Tomorrow marks 8 weeks since we got home from the hospital. If you ask me my favorite part of being Sadie's mom, I would say that the opportunity every single day to bring her comfort is the highlight of the whole thing. I used to freak out when Sadie would cry and now I take those opportunities to tell her exactly what I would like to hear when I am freaking out: "You are safe. Mommy is right here. Everything is just as it should be. You have everything you need. All is right in the world. It's healthy to cry and let the feelings out. I am proud of you. I love you. You are perfect." I love it when she finally settles down and seems to be hearing what I am saying and believing me. I actually believe what I am saying. She is safe. She does have everything she needs, and if not, we'll get it for her. All is well in the world. It is ok to cry and be upset. There is something so sublime about sharing that comfort with Sadie and creating a world where my words are true.