Abby’s Saturday // One Hundred Twenty Nine

Highlight of the Week

This has been a BIG week for us and we’ve finally hit a BIG milestone!! Braelynn has always been a pretty good sleeper (naps have never really been an issue) but sleeping thru the night has been another story. She has only slept thru the night a few times (maybe not even 5 times in her whole life!) Obviously, that’s really hard on me & on her. She has a fantastic bedtime routine, goes down in her own bed to sleep with no problem, but then she consistently would wake up after a few hours (or less) and cry. We tried the whole “let her cry it out” thing – but that was exhausting and she would literally cry forever. So, in an effort to simply get some sleep, she’d end up in our bed. That was fine to a point, but we were way past the line of when she should have moved into her own bed for the whole night. And even when she was in our bed, she would consistently wake up every 2-3 hours, so we still weren’t getting the greatest sleep.

SO – this week was it. Not only had Mama had enough (I was waking up super stiff, sore neck, arm asleep), but I was seriously getting worried about her sleeping with us (what if she would roll off the bed?) so I decided it was time. Like I said, we’ve tried the “cry it out” method & it simply wasn’t getting us anywhere, so this week I decided to simply go in and talk to her. She’s almost 2 years old and she’s to the point where she can understand and be reasoned with (most of the time and on most topics). So, we kicked it off Tuesday night. Whenever she would wake up & cry, I’d go in and reassure her that I love her, but she’s a big girl & she needed to go back to sleep in her own bed. I’d get her to lay back down, give her all her babies & washcloths, and leave. I was shocked the first time I tried it because even though she did whine for another 2 minutes or so, she actually went back to sleep!! Each night got progressively better with less waking up and less crying and then last night: she slept the WHOLE night through in her OWN bed without waking up once!! I could literally hear the angels singing this morning. Hallelujah! So, fingers crossed that it wasn’t just a fluke & that this will continue! WOOHOO!!

Yes, This Happened

• We celebrated Christmas & New Years with Derrick’s parents last weekend. It was such a fun trip!
• While we were there, I photographed a snowy engagement session in New York – the first time I’ve ever done engagement photos in the snow! It was AWESOME & so much fun! Now I just want to do more snowy photos!
• Ellen & Jonathan’s wedding countdown: 2 weeks from today!!
• Speaking of the wedding, I’ve started dreaming about it: first I dreamt that it was time for me to give my Matron of Honor Toast, and I didn’t have anything prepared. Then I dreamt that I missed the wedding completely. Ugh.

Feeling Blessed

It’s amazing what just a few hours of consistent sleep can do for you (both mentally & physically)! Shortly after I had Braelynn, I remember reading a Mom blog where she was talking about how just 6 hours of consistent sleep will change your life as a new Mom. I remember thinking, “I’m never going to get 6 hours of sleep ever again”. It might have taken almost 2 years, but I think that day has finally arrived & the future suddenly looks so bright!

PS – if you missed the Abby’s Saturday Bloopers from 2016 that I posted this past week, you are so missing out! You must go read that post – it’s hilarious!!