Alexandra Update for the Fam

I realized that as much time that I have devoted to posting pictures of sweet Alexandra, I really haven't done that much by way of posting how she is developing from a teeny newborn into a sweet-hearted little girl.

My girl started day care last week....boy, was that ever an adjustment!! I've been back to work now about 5 weeks or so. Day care couldn't get Alexandra in till the first full week of August, so Mom, Dad and Jackie stepped up to the plate and really helped us out by watching Alexandra while I was at work until a spot opened up at daycare. We are taking Alexandra to St. Joseph Child Development Center, a lovely daycare facility in Louisville that came highly recommended to us. Alexandra is in the "Nemo" room, I guess a reference to the kid's flick "Finding Nemo." Alexandra's teachers are Miss Nita and Miss Dorothy, who I think have a combined 40 years of experience in taking care of babies! They are both very sweet and have a genuine interest in the welfare of their wards, including Alexandra.

So.....I took Alexandra by for a couple of hours last Monday, just so we could meet her "teachers." No surprise here, but I cried. Fast forward to last Tuesday, when I took her to daycare for a 1/2 day - I cried like a baby again! Her first full day was last Wednesday, and I consider it a small miracle that I have not cried since and have not been calling up during the middle of the day to check on her! It is true what they say - it is SO much harder on the Mom than it is on the baby to drop the baby off at daycare.

Alexandra is doing great in class, except she refuses to nap in her crib! The first week they let her sleep where ever she chose (bouncy seat, in their arms, etc.) because she was still transitioning. Yesterday, Miss Nita and Miss Dorothy decided they were going to up the ante and that Alexandra would sleep only in her crib. When I was told this, I thought "good luck, ladies, because you're going to need it." In case I haven't regaled you with stories of my daughter's sleep patterns (or lack thereof), let me just narrow it down to state that Alexandra is the queen of cat naps, and is one of the lightest sleepers I have ever met. Plus, she doesn't really like to sleep in her crib yet - I imagine this is a hold out from our days battling colic, as the only thing that seemed to soothe her was to cuddle her and carry her around. With that in mind, I walked into daycare yesterday with my breath held, wondering what the day had been like. I was told that Alexandra had taken two naps in her crib, the longest of which was 30 minutes!!! Yes, my daughter slept about an hour ALL DAY yesterday - she cried non stop on the way home, which is not a shock since she was so damn tired!! I think that a new environment, with noise, other crying babies, and different care providers have combined to take a toll on my daughter's daytime sleep.

There is a silver lining in all of this though, thankfully. Since we started daycare, Alexandra is doing much, much better with sleeping in her crib at night. In just a week, Alexandra went from not sleeping in her crib at all to sleeping for 4 hours last night, waking up to eat, and then sleeping another 2 hours in her crib - yeah!! Of course, this was probably because she was exhausted from the complete absence of sleep during the day, but beggars can't be choosers and this exhausted mom is just going to look at this as a positive thing.

Other than sleep issues, our little girl is doing great! She smiles all the time and lets out little shrieks of laughter which entertain us to no end and warm our hearts. She is able to roll from her back onto her side pretty easily - in fact, she is quite the little mover and shaker. Last night, when she finally awoke from her 4 hour rest in her crib, I walked in to find her facing the completely opposite direction in her crib from where I had initially placed her, and she was at the foot of the crib! When she is on her tummy, she can do baby push-ups and push her head and upper chest up off the ground with her hands. Alexandra also tracks us with her eyes as we walk around the room, and seems delighted by bubbles being blown in front of her at daycare by Miss Nita. She has started enjoying bath time, as well, and likes admiring her image in the mirror of her activity mat.

It's amazing to witness how much she has grown in the past 3 months, and we cannot wait to see what the next 3 months will bring!