Meredith Carson... Across the Pond and Back Again...

I  have complained in the past about the fact that three out of five people at my house don't seem to require as much sleep as ordinary humans.  I am not one of those people.  (I also have one eight year old daughter who is normal with regard to her sleep needs.)  Here is the biggest dilemma:  In addition to requiring 7-8 hours of sleep each night, I am also an introvert.  Of course this does not mean that I hate people or that I am terribly socially awkward, but it does mean that I need time alone to recharge my batteries.  So help me out here.  How am I supposed to get time to myself when all of these people are always awake and chattering? My husband can and does often entertain himself late into the night.  My ten year old can also be persuaded to go to her own room and read, write, or draw, but my two year old is a real problem.  A wide awake two year old should not be left unsupervised even if Mama needs her 'alone time'.  ...

I am feeling terribly uninspired lately.  We are continuing to adjust to life on a schedule.  We really embraced summer time this year.  Early mornings and routines have not been embraced with great zeal so far.  I have also been spending a LOT of my energy trying to prevent this person from doing THIS in the middle of the day... Sure, it looks lovely, BUT if Lili sleeps at all during the day, she doesn't want to go to bed until 10 or 11 o'clock at night.  Not cool.  So chances are, you might find me playing "Hide Seek," hostessing a bubble bath/ tea party, or singing the Elmo's World theme song repeatedly at about 5 pm each evening.  Things could certainly be worse. Sweet Dreams, Friends.

I am beginning to wonder if I will ever sleep through the night again.  Seriously.  I cannot remember the last time I slept through the night without being woken up by my third baby who requires some sort of attention that awakens and disturbs me.  I am certain it has been over a year since I have slept through the night .  I was always told that "third babies are so easy and laid back."  Really?  Lili apparently did not receive that memo as she is a right pain in the backside when it comes to sleeping...day and night! Since my older girls have been at school this week, I have been trying to encourage Lili to take a nap in her crib in the afternoon... to which she replied, "Mama, Say WHAT??"  Those weren't her exact words.  Mostly she just screamed every time we came anywhere near the crib.  She has grown so accustomed to catching cat naps here and there as I have shuttled her big sisters around, that she thinks I am completely nu...

At long last... after a week of very disturbed sleep, buckets of snot and a full round of antibiotics, our sweet buddy is back!  Our sweet buddy was so excited to be feeling better that she was up celebrating it after midnight last night.  Luckily for her tired mother, she DID sleep in this morning and woke up after 9 am in the arms of her fabulous big sister... Part of the excitement may have also been due to the fact that Dad is back, AND we spent all day yesterday at Michigan's Adventure theme park.  This is all terribly exciting even if one is too little to ride any of the rides... Sophie and Emma enjoyed all of the rides and fun even if little Lili couldn't join in.  Emma, once again, pushed the limits of her bravery by riding the enormous Shivering Timbers roller coaster.  She also tolerated a few of the smaller rides with the other kids... Ok... barely tolerated. After this last adventure we are all officially ready to head back to school...

Today, in an attempt to be ironic, I dressed Lili in a cheerful yellow t-shirt which reads, "Make Every Day Happy."  The shirt looks especially fabulous when it is being worn by a moaning child with snot bubbling out of both nostrils.  After two unbearable nights with Lili thrashing about and yowling in our bed with us, I decided it was time to go and see our wonderful new pediatrician.  I just had one of those "Mama Feelings;"  I knew it was an ear infection before the otoscope even got involved. Dr. G. says that waiting almost eleven months to have her first round of antibiotics as a third-born child is a pretty remarkable feat.  Nevertheless I am disappointed.  I am, of course, planning to follow doctor's orders and am looking forward to having my cheerful Lili-pie back on the scene again soon!! On another note, there is absolutely no problem with her growth.  She weighs just over 20 pounds, which I believe to be f...

Lili and I are having a bit of a battle of wills.  She doesn't know this, which is probably why she is winning.  Sharon, I love ya, but I am tired.  On three of the six nights since I started refusing mid-night snacks to Lili, she has decided that playtime is just as good as snacktime.  Anywhere from 3:30 a.m. on, she wakes up, coos, laughs, gurgles, cries a bit, blows raspberries, kicks fiercly and rolls around like a crazy person until the break of dawn.  Life was easier when I was just giving her the milk and sending her back to sleep. I think I have been beaten at this game by a six month old cutie britches.  Last night when she woke up, I didn't even bother to look at the clock.  I just gave her the milk and then went back to sleep.  (And she did too...until 8:30!!)  Today I am happy and rested again.  So judge me if you will, but I have decided that with a looming trip to the US, with hours on a plane followed by jetlag...

Dearest Lili, I still love you more than life itself, and I still believe you are just about the cutest little chicken there ever was, but I am tired... and I think I am done with giving you a full bottle of milk in the middle of the night EVERY night!  (Happy Lil' in her cot!! The fact that she is not in my bed is HUGE.   I also just realised that it looks like a circus in there-- complete with El Elefante looking on from the corner.) Several weeks ago I foolishly bragged about how Lili had slept through the night, but obviously that didn't last.  Yesterday when my favorite health visitor, Sharon, came for a visit, she confirmed that my roly-poly, Botticelli baby really shouldn't require night feeds anymore.  She weighs nearly seventeen pounds, for heaven's sake!  So last night...or this morning, rather, just before 4 am, Lili was offered a nice bottle of water when she woke up.  She drank a few ounces and drifted back to ...