Sleep and Other Updates

So, looking back, I see it has been two weeks to the day since I last posted. Time really does fly once you have a child (well... on some days more than others)!

I can't write long, and Grace is napping on my (rapidly diminishing) lap, but I do have a few moments for some updates in our house in the past bit, and some pictures too.



The biggest, life altering news is about Grace's sleeping habits. We were referred the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child  by our birth class instructor, and it is truly amazing how effective their advice was the first night we tried it.

She had been going to bed around 9-9:30, waking up at night, and then getting up around 5-6.
Now, she goes to bed around 7-7:20, sleeps more soundly, and wakes up after 7 usually. Way better for us, and better for her too. We have noticed that overall, she is a lot happier since we changed her sleep schedule.

The biggest thing the book taught us was to look for her drowsy signs. This seems obvious, but we were totally missing her drowsy signs, and were waiting for what we now know are her overtired signs. Over tired children don't go down easily, and don't sleep as soundly, and we were hurting ourselves because it kept the cycle going, where she kept being overtired because we weren't fixing it.

Now, with just drowsy signs, she goes down easy, sleeps better and longer. We are also able to change her schedule from two naps to one, because she doesn't need a morning nap most days since she sleeps so well at night.

But when I called it life altering, I meant it. Before, we were making dinner together, with her in the kitchen, and then eating together, all three of us. But now, we make dinner after she is asleep. We eat later, but it is nice to have dinner with just us. She eats right when Blake gets home, around 6. Before, we would have friends over, and they could join us for dinner, with her, but now, she would be asleep before they can come. Even though people have offered, I don't think Blake and I can do a dinner out just the two of us, because we would have to be back in time for her bedtime routine (adoption books emphasize to not leave while they are sleeping, very bad connection wise if they wake up and you aren't there, but someone else is).

Her early afternoon nap means that I can't schedule events in the early afternoon, and have to make sure that morning play times end in time for her to get that nap.

All of these mean adjustments to our lifestyle, but as the book emphasizes, her sleep should take precedence over what we might want to do, or would be more convenient for us.

In other news, I have baked with Grace on two different occasions now. She likes to feel the texture of the sugar and flour as we measure them.

The first time we made boysenberry muffins, but the only picture I got of that was the finished muffins.









The second time we made oatmeal cookies, and I was more purposeful of taking pictures of her helping while we made them.


This is Grace playing with a big hit of a toy... with a very small cost. They are just the little pom poms you can buy at a craft store or dollar store, and three little white containers (also from a dollar store for the set of 3). She loves putting them in, taking them out, pouring them from one to the other, putting them in the bag, etc. Just goes to show that it doesn't take a lot of money or an expensive toy to easily keep a toddler amused for a while. She also likes playing with her "blocks" which are just boxes that we decided to let her reuse as blocks instead of recycling.

I have been purposefully giving her more chances for creative play, and I do love seeing the results.







Grace's first painting, quite the masterpiece.

Her hair is getting longer, and last week I did her first hairstyle (not much, but a start) of a flat rope twist, and then a little clip. Special thing about the clip is that it is the first thing I bought for her when I found out about her last August.




And lastly, just because I love this picture: