Parents are insane

This is not a new topic for parents, and many other people have talked and written about it with more wit than I can muster but I'm going there anyway. Because HOLY CUSS, PARENTS ARE COMPLETELY INSANE!

I was at a playdate yesterday with Evelyn, who as you know is under a year old. Most of the other babies at the playdate were also under a year old. We were sitting around talking about your typical baby topics, and I was exaggerating the small difficulties I have with Evelyn's sleep so that the other moms wouldn't gang up and kill me. Actually, it was just one mom in particular, but I think that if she weren't so sleep deprived she really may have hurt me. Apparently her kid only takes two ten to twenty minute naps per day. By way of contrast, Evelyn sleeps so much that she manages to take two ten minute naps DURING her naps. Anyway, I digress.

So one of the moms asked the group if we had started looking at preschools yet, and fully half of them said that they had. Is it necessary to shop around for a preschool before your kid can even walk? One time while Alex and I were driving we saw a sign for a bi-lingual Montessori preschool which looked pretty cool, so I guess the thought has crossed my mind. Then again, another time while Alex and I were driving we saw a sign for a new KFC sandwich with bacon and cheese where instead of bread they have two pieces of fried chicken, and that looked pretty cool too.

I guess we'll have to check out some schools eventually. I haven't made a full list of my essential criteria yet, but proximity to sandwiches comprised entirely of fried food may factor in. We'll see.

Ms. Busy Legs

I know I haven't blogged in a long time, and it's really not my fault. Someone went and learned how to move around on her own, and things just haven't been the same since. My days are spent picking up all of the many, many things that Evelyn can now get her hands on and pulling them out of her mouth.

I've got a whole new appreciation for what Sisyphus went through. She crawls over to the clothes drying rack and pulls down everything on the lower levels. As I'm putting wet laundry back up, she's crawling over the the DVD player to open it and pull the discs out. I drag her away from the electronics and unplug them, and she's pulling at the dog's tail. I stop her from harassing the poor dog, and she's scooting under the coffee table to yank on the cord to the laptop.

Add a full seven seasons of Buffy* to get through and my attempts to keep up with the New Yorker (futile), and I've got about 4 and a half minutes per day which isn't spoken for.

*I'm only sorry that it took me until this year to realize how awesome teenagers fighting vampires can be. Also, it's basically a documentary. I mean, Sunnydale, Sunnyvale? It's a thin disguise, and I see right through it. Really, I'm learning history!

Feel the love

Here's Evelyn getting some attention from one of her many, many, many admirers.

Our friend Mike Sklar took this photo.

Ultimate II

Sorry Grandmamas... None of our friends can resist making the baby hold a beer bottle.

Our friend Joe Mendoza took this picture, with his iPhone, no less.

Ultimate

This was Evelyn's first season of Ultimate, and she's already tearing it up. She's even catching with both hands! I heard a rumor that someone form Fury was scouting her already...

Our friend Ken Loo took this great picture.

Sleep, part 2

I promised to update you folks on how teaching Evelyn to fall asleep on her own was going, and it's taken me so long because honestly, it was so quick and painless that I basically forgot about it a week later. Don't get me wrong, there are times when she struggles and frequent trips back into her room are made at night, but I swear by "Good Night, Sleep Tight: The Sleep Lady's Gentle Guide to Helping Your Child Go To Sleep, Stay Asleep, and Wake Up Happy." (Quite the title.)

Just now, I was reading to Evelyn on the couch and realized it was just about as late as naptime should be, so I put her in her crib with her lovey blanket, turned on her ocean sounds, and walked away. Five minutes later, she was asleep. I almost can't believe it myself: no nursing, no rocking, no car ride, no walking her up and down the hallway as she cries until she finally falls asleep (Hi us, a month ago! I don't miss you!). Granted, we were having quiet time, and she's used to having a nap at around this time, but SERIOUSLY. Her sleeping could hardly be better, and it truly only took about a week.

The thing I loved about this book, and why I found it/used it even though there are much more popular methods out there is the gentle bit, right there in the title. There is no crying it out, no listening in agony as your angel baby screams herself to sleep. This, like the Ferber and Weissbluth methods, emphasizes that babies absolutely do need to learn to soothe themselves to sleep, but allows you to stay right next to their crib reassuring them as they learn to do it. And, like Ferber and Weissbluth, this doctor stresses the importance of being consistent while still allowing you to pick up a truly screaming baby if the transition is too difficult.

I don't want to make this post too long so I won't go into much more detail, but here are the basics: you foster attachment to a lovey, stop nursing the baby to sleep, and at first, sit next to the crib soothing and patting to get the baby used to falling asleep on her own. Then, you move a few feet away. A few days later, to the door. Then, to the hall, soothing from the doorway as often as baby needs.

We never got beyond the next to the crib thing. The first three days were a bit rough, because Evelyn was understandably furious with us. She was doing her damnedest to tell us that HEY, I'm tired, rock me to sleep, morons!, and we were ignoring her and leaving her in the crib. But then, three days later, she caught on that this was the newest, coolest thing, and hello, it was like soooo last week to have to fall asleep in Daddy's arms or snuggled up to Mama. She would rub her face on her lovey, and be out within minutes. About a week after we started the whole thing, when she got too sleepy she'd squirm when she was in our arms; she wanted to be in her crib so she could sleep.

Now that we've taught Evelyn to sleep on her own, I can't believe we waited so long. There was some crying, but it was absolutely worth it. I'd trade those four nights of difficulty for these two months of peaceful bedtimes ten times over.

You might be a parent if...

Stepping anywhere in your living room, moving a shampoo bottle in the shower, getting into bed, or sitting on the couch produces a rattle, squeak, or jingle from a previously hidden toy.

You speak in children's stories. (e.g., "She ate through a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, an orange, and a piece of string cheese, but she was STILL HUNGRY!"

Your idea of a good outfit includes anything not crusty.