Not that I'm biased or anything...

... but Beanie is pretty damn cute. I know every mom thinks that her child is adorable, but Bean really is. I've seen a couple of kids that I acknowledged were as cute as Bean, so obviously I have an impartial eye!

My Little Mini-Me

I have to admit, I love having a daughter (mental note to self: remember to delete this post if you ever have a son). Besides the obvious fun of dressing her up, I'm looking forward to developing a mother-daughter relationship with Bean. I have visions of us shopping together, hanging out, and having wonderful conversations about life. Of course, this all has to be done before she's eleven and goes through that phase where she'll think I'm the second uncoolest person in the world (first will be her dad, of course!).

It's exciting yet stressful at the same time. I want to be a strong role model for her, and I'm really working on those parts I think need, well... work. First on that list is to stop obsessing about my weight. I've had a lifelong struggle with body image, and I definitely don't want to pass that on to Bean. I've vowed to never say "I'm fat" in front of her, and more importantly, never even jokingly call her fat, chubby, or plump. She's going to know how perfect she is, without, hopefully, being a big bloaty head :)

Happy Mother's Day

Dear Baby,

You're too young to understand this yet, and you probably won't understand until you have a child of your own, but the day you were born I got the best Mother's Day gift in the whole world. I love you so much it breaks my heart to think I ever lived without you.

Love,
Mommy

To sleep, perchance to dream...

I'm afraid to even post this lest I jinx myself, but Bean has been… sleeping through the night! In her bassinette, no less!

For those of you whom don't know the story, Beanie has slept in our bed since we brought her home. She'd sleep like a baby (hee!) in her bassinette for naps but would scream like a banshee if we put her there at night. How does that song go? We fought the Bean, and the Bean won… It actually worked out better that she was in bed with us since she was waking up 3x in the night to nurse. I had resigned myself to her sleeping with us until she outgrew her crib (and therefore rendering the money spent on crib bedding, etc., a complete waste) and not getting a full night's sleep until, well, ever again.

Jim had been telling me for weeks, "She'll be sleeping through the night soon, and things will get better." Tell this to a sleep-deprived mommy, and your liable to get kicked in the nuts. I'd fire back, "Oh, yeah? Easy for you to say! What makes you think she'll sleep through the night anytime soon? I'm the one that wakes up with her! How would you know if her sleep habits are getting better? You're sleeping!" Let's just say I had just a wee bit of frustration built up...

About a week and a half ago, Jim and I decided to try the bassinette again. Her caregivers at daycare have been successfully putting her in her crib for naps, so we thought it'd be worth a try. Miraculously, she went down without a fight and slept until 5 AM. Jim didn't say anything, but I knew what he was thinking. "Oh, yeah,? Well I'm sure it's a fluke, don't get your hopes up, buddy!" The second night, she slept until 5 again. And again the third night. She's now sleeping until the alarm goes off at 6:30. I feel like I've hit the baby lotto.

I have to admit, the one time Jim's been right about something, I'm glad it was about this ;-)