AUG.20

It is amazing how a milestone in your child's life can be both happy and tearful. I don't know how I can have such mixed feelings about an event, but I guess it is part of being a mother.

We have had Cora sleeping in our room in her beautiful, handmade cradle since she was born. Lately, I've had a really hard time getting her to sleep soundly at night, and I attributed part of her restlessness to our "sleeping" sounds (aka Dustin snoring!). However, I think I was contributing to the problem by nursing her in our bed and letting her stay in the bed for an hour or two; how long she stayed was determined by how long I could rest comfortably with her there. She got where she would be sound asleep in bed with us, but as soon as I lifted her into her cradle, she would wake up and want to nurse, even though she wasn't hungry. I was turning into Zombie Mommy, and she wasn't sleeping like she needed to be.

My solution for lack of sleep was to move her into her own room. We started putting Lane in his room when he was three months old also, so I decided it was time for Cora to migrate across the hall. I expected our first night, Sunday, to be a little tough while she was getting used to it. We did our usual bedtime routine, and after putting Lane down, I rocked Cora in her room and laid her down. It took one more round of rocking, and she was out cold. I didn't hear a PEEP out of her until 1:30 a.m. I nursed her in the rocking chair in her room instead of our bed, and right back to sleep in her bed she went. 5:30 rolled around; another nursing session and back to sleep! Thus, a new routine was born. This girl is such a good baby!

I must admit, I did cry the first night when I walked into my room and saw her empty cradle. It's still in there, waiting for the perfect opportunity to be used. I'm not ready to pack it away yet... she can use it for naps on days that I want to sleep in the same room with her. I'm sure she won't mind!

AUG.5

When I was pregnant with Cora, I wasn't really sure how much Lane understood "baby in mommy's belly". I talked about her to him every day, and he loved to come kiss my belly and lay his head on it. He knew to point at my stomach when asked where baby Cora was. I wondered how he would act when she was born and no longer living inside of mommy! The day he was brought to the hospital to meet Cora, I found out! We introduced Lane to his new sister, and after a few minutes, asked him where Cora was. He pointed to his new baby girl! Never once after meeting her did he point to my belly in reference to Cora.

Now, all Lane wants to do is kiss Cora and love on her, just like when she was in my stomach. He begs to hold her, and when he REALLY wants to hold her, he runs to his Elmo couch, flops down, and puts his hands up, asking, "Hold you, Cora!" It is so sweet, and watching them interact is even sweeter. I love the bond that they have had from the start!