Comfort in Co-Sleeping

When I started getting sore hips from our co-sleeping arrangement, we rearranged our bed furniture to allow Naomi and I to sleep on the other side of the bed. For awhile this worked out fine. But not long after, our once easy sleeper started cranking and tossing, fussing and struggling before finally falling asleep. It might take up an hour for this.

We decided that perhaps it was time to rearrange our bed once more, but with an addition: the crib.

With a little rearrangement, we pushed the crib up against the wall, the bed up against the crib, and gave it a try.



To our absolute delight, it worked wonders. We have rearranged our nap and bedtime routines as such: After a diaper change, we put her in a sleep sack and turn on our crashing waves CD. Then we settle her in and I curl up beside her, and we quietly nurse. When Naomi has nursed enough, she simply rolls away from me and goes to sleep. Peaceful, quiet, pleasant, loving.



How about you? How do you co-sleep with your baby?

Also, for any who have encountered arguements against co-sleeping from uncooperative spouses, family members, or friends, here's an excellent article detailing the many benefits, backed up by science.

Menu Plan Monday

Unfortunately for us, this is a week thick with medical appointments. A dentist appointment, blood work, a doctor's visit, oh my!

But we will get to enjoy a visit with Grampy and with Great Nannie as well. We look forward to that!

Dec 13 - Monday
Smoothie (Breakfast)
Oat Bran (Breakfast)
Broccoli Soup (Lunch)
Skillet Meat Loaves (Dinner)
Leftover Potatoes (Dinner)

Dec 14 - Tuesday -- Dentist Appointment Day
Smoothie (Breakfast)
Oatmeal (Breakfast)
Butternut Squash Soup (Lunch)
Roasted Chicken (Dinner)
Tossed Salad (Dinner)

Dec 15 - Wednesday -- Blood Work Appointment Day
Smoothie (Breakfast)
Oat Bran (Breakfast)
Carrot Soup (Lunch)
Chicken Pizza (Dinner)
Caesar Salad (Dinner)

Dec 16 - Thursday -- Doctor Appointment Day
Smoothie (Breakfast)
Oatmeal (Breakfast)
Cauliflower Soup (Lunch)
Cold Pasta Salad With Chicken (Dinner)
Tossed Salad (Dinner)

Dec 17 - Friday
Smoothie (Breakfast)
Oat Bran (Breakfast)
Sweet Potato Soup (Lunch)
French Fries (Dinner)
BBQ Beef Sandwiches (Dinner)

Dec 18 - Saturday
Smoothie (Breakfast)
Weekend Breakfast (Breakfast)
Spaghetti (Lunch)
Dinner With Family (Dinner)

Dec 19 - Sunday
Smoothie (Breakfast)
Pancakes (Breakfast)
Chicken Fingers And Fries (Lunch)
Spanish Rice (Dinner)

Simply Be Thursdays: Sidecar Cribs

We noticed recently that Little Sheep was having trouble sleeping in our family bed. Straining, rolling, flipping, growling...she seemed so uncomfortable and disrupted.

As we also shared our bed with several pool noodles acting as a bed barrier, we often found ourselves quite squished. A queen sized bed doesn't really have the space needed.

Therefore, the idea of having our crib sidecarred to our bed looked promising. Our lovely crib is a wooden Italian creation given to us by a relative who owned a baby store. We arranged it so that it squished nice and tight between our bed and the wall.




The result? Bedtime begins with a brief exploration of the crib and then a nice restful nurse, and once content, Little Sheep flops herself over and dozes away to delicious baby dreams. I in turn role over and cuddle my loving husband, knowing my dear girl will call to me when she next requires my attention.

It is a wonderful, peaceful ritual we have come to love. All three of us relax, sleep well, and enjoy our rest.

Adventures in Baby Food

Our sweet baby has been enjoying various homemade baby foods for about two weeks now. It's been so interesting to see her reactions to different tastes and textures. So far she has tasted rice cereal, butternut squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and broccoli.




We have learned some surprising things from this experience. For one, we were surprised to learn that despite their sweet and juicy consistency, berries are not her favorite food. We smiled to discover she preferred them mixed with banana and cereal. We also were secretly delighted at her love for the veggies -- the sweet potato, carrot and butternut squash have been a big hit.

Broccoli, not surprisingly,is best mixed with another vegetable, but doesn't go well on its own. And she does not like peas.

We were pleased to find Wholesome Baby Food had a cornicopia (accurate choice of words, no?) of information for us to peruse before deciding what to give Little Sheep. We have learned a lot so far and are excited to see what she will think of the next thing we give her.

Next week we will pick up some new produce. Chickpeas, lentils, peaches, pears, avacados, oh my!

To Do Tuesday -- 07/12/10 - 14/12/10

There isn't much planned outside our home this week. I plan to try some extra housecleaning and get Little Sheep comfortable with napping in her crib again, which I accidentally stopped doing (hope we didn't lose it!).

Tuesday
- morning prayers
- morning routine
- fold laundry
- 15 minutes cleaning
- bake bread
- look up how to soak lentils
- take out beef for tomorrow's supper
- peel carrots -- didn't get to before bed
- continue knitting Christmas
stocking -- Stuck on a new stitch. Get to learn something new!
- evening routine
- evening prayers
+ move crib to bedroom
+ set up sidecar crib

Wednesday
- morning prayers
- morning routine
- fold laundry
- 15 minutes cleaning
- take stock of freezer
- clean out fridge
- take out chicken for tomorrow's supper
- steam/blend/freeze green beans
- prep salad
- continue knitting Christmas
stocking
- evening routine
- evening prayers

Thursday
- morning prayers
- morning routine
- fold laundry
- 15 minutes cleaning
+ Baby Massage, then coffee with a friend
- make menu for next week
- make grocery list
- bake bread
- continue knitting Christmas
stocking
- evening routine
- evening prayers

Friday
- morning prayers
- morning routine
- fold laundry
- 15 minutes cleaning
- pay bills
- groceries/errands
- prep salad
- take out meat for Mike's lunch
- continue knitting Christmas
stocking
- evening routine
- evening prayers

Saturday
- morning prayers
- morning routine
- Mass
- fold laundry
- take out two pkgs hamburger for tomorrow's lunch and supper
- cook meat for Mike's lunch
- family Christmas party at my grandmother's
- continue knitting Christmas
stocking
- evening routine
- evening prayers

Sunday
- morning prayers
- morning routine
- fold laundry
- wash bedsheets
- finish prepping Mike's lunch
- continue knitting Christmas
stocking
- evening routine
- evening prayers

Monday
- morning prayers
- morning routine
- fold laundry
- 15 minutes cleaning
- Dentist Tomorrow! Make sure everything you need is ready!
- continue knitting Christmas
stocking
- evening routine
- evening prayers

Menu Plan Monday

Trying some new recipes this week in order to broaden our tastebuds' experiences!


Dec 06 - Monday
Smoothie (Breakfast)
Sweet Potato Soup (Lunch)
Popcorn (Lunch)
Chicken Fingers And Fries (Dinner)

Dec 07 - Tuesday
Smoothie (Breakfast)
Oat Bran (Breakfast)
Broccoli Soup (Lunch)
Italian Wedding Soup (Dinner)
Whole Wheat Bread (Dinner)
Tossed Salad (Dinner)

Dec 08 - Wednesday
Smoothie (Breakfast)
Oatmeal (Breakfast)
Carrot Soup (Lunch)
Minced Beef Sandwiches (Dinner)
Caesar Salad (Dinner)

Dec 09 - Thursday
Smoothie (Breakfast)
Oat Bran (Breakfast)
Cauliflower Soup (Lunch)
Chicken Noodle Soup (Dinner)
Whole Wheat Bread (Dinner)

Dec 10 - Friday
Smoothie (Breakfast)
Oatmeal (Breakfast)
Butternut Squash Soup (Lunch)
Supper At CostCo (Dinner)

Dec 11 - Saturday
Smoothie (Breakfast)
Pancakes (Breakfast)
Spaghetti (Lunch)
Skillet Meat Loaves (Dinner)
Tossed Salad (Dinner)

Dec 12 - Sunday
Smoothie (Breakfast)
Weekend Breakfast (Breakfast)
Spanish Rice (Lunch)
Creamy Beef And Noodles (Dinner)
Caesar Salad (Dinner)

Advent Celebrations

For many years now, every weekend in December has been celebrated by my mother's family in the form of a holiday party. Each weekend one of the family members hosts a party at their home. We eat, socialize, play games, have a couple drinks (if you drink!) and enjoy each other's company.

This year is especially exciting, as it is the first year with a new baby. Everyone has been cooing and cuddling Little Sheep and she has been thoroughly enjoying having so many people to play and cuddle with.

We are so blessed, as we sip warm tea, nibble delicious treats, play rounds of Christmas trivia and Cranium, and catch up with each other while we celebrate the coming holidays. It brings great joy and knits our family closer.