Anti-Shower Doors

Home improvements have been taking place since the day we moved in.  Usually, they are little things like hanging a shelf or putting a piece of furniture together.  With me taking care of Alessia and Kevin at work 9-10 hours a day (or on the road), our home is no where near where I wish it was though. 

I've been trying to do little things around the house when she naps, but sometimes she wakes up and interrupts what I am doing.  So, I have a little helper...or distraction.

This past weekend, Kevin was in Minneapolis and I decided that I wanted to take the shower doors off and put up a curtain.  I had planned on doing it when my mom was here in a week, but I couldn't take it anymore.  I despise shower doors.  They are a breeding ground for mold, mildew, and all kinds of yucky stuff.  And honestly, no matter what I do, I cannot keep them clean.

I started the project while Alessia was asleep, but didn't get far before I heard her high-pitched chatter coming from the other room.  The remainder of the job was completed with her help.  A few hours later and with only one trip to Lowe's, we had a curtain up.

Before

A huge improvement already.

My helper was as grossed out as I was by what was hiding under the doors.

Alessia did not want to give up the shower curtain.

After

Our project isn't entirely complete because we still need to scrape off some glue that was left on the shower walls and we need to fill the holes where the screws were.  But I am so much happier with the curtain and I vow to never put shower doors up.

Luckily, this weekend Kevin is around and I have a serious list of things I want to get done.  I'll be sure to take more pictures of our projects and hopefully some of you can come see them in person soon. 

Walking Until Winter

I love our neighborhood.  It is quiet, yet full of kids.  Our neighbor to the left, to the right, and across the street all have children.  And their neighbors have kids and their neighbors have kids...and so on and so on.  Right now, with Alessia being so young, she obviously doesn't go out and play with them, but I look forward to them "hanging out" in the years to come.

For now, my favorite thing about our neighborhood is the amazing walking/biking trails.  It goes through and around the neighborhood.  It takes you to the playground and pool and around the ponds. Both Alessia and I look forward to our daily walk...sometimes walks.  The weather lately has been gorgeous so I've been taking full advantage of it.  We've been walking 45 minutes to an hour everyday.  It's a win-win situation.  Alessia gets some fresh air, we both get out of the house, and I burn some calories (I say that as I'm downing a Coke).

We love to feed the ducks and geese!

She's gone from hating the stroller to loving it.

All bundled up for a chilly walk.

Sometimes our walk puts Alessia to sleep.

I'm starting to get nervous though.  The weather isn't going to stay gorgeous for long and I obviously can't take her out once winter gets here.  What are we going to do?  I got the idea of swim lessons.  Maybe go once or twice a week.  Perfect...right?  Wrong!  Swim lessons are almost $80 a month.  That's C-R-A-Z-Y!  She's 7 months old.  All we're going to do is float around in the pool while she pees in it.

I'm not trying to be cheap, but doesn't that seem unreasonable?  I thought maybe $50, at the most.  So, for now, we will walk until winter.  Don't worry...I'll bundle her up.

It's Been a Little While

The other night as I was laying in bed, I remembered I had a blog and it occurred to me that maybe I should use some of my free time the time when Alessia is asleep and Kevin is gone to start writing again.  Considering I pretty much spend every waking moment with a 7 month old, it would be nice to "talk" to an audience that actually comprehends what I am saying.

Basically, the last month has been C-R-A-Z-Y!  We packed and moved...again.  But hopefully we are here for awhile.  We've unpacked...almost.  The totes in the garage don't count since they technically are not in the house.  We need about a thousand things, but hopefully we'll get those purchased in the next year or two.  I've learned to manage without a colander and a can opener for now.

Alessia has her own room, which makes both of us happy.  I really do think she likes it since she loves to play with her toys in there.  However, since moving she hasn't started sleeping any better.  It varies day to day.  Before we moved, I was doing so well with the sleep training, but somehow we got away from it.  I no longer nurse her to sleep, but instead we picked up a new habit of patting her bottom and back whenever she wouldn't fall asleep or if she woke up in the middle of the night.  I don't know why it started, who started it, or how it started, but now she wants it.  And I want it to stop because now she can't put herself back to sleep when she wakes up.

So, we started the sleep training again yesterday and it is miserable listening to her cry.  I check on her and try to reassure her that I'm still here, but I feel like the worst person in the world.  I just can't keep getting up two, three times a night.  And sometimes staying up for two to three hours at a time. 

Luckily for us, our horrible sleeper is a great eater.  She LOVES food.  Everything is puréed for now, except for her bananas.  I've tried to give her some chunky stuff, but that really gets her gag reflex going.  The only thing she isn't a fan of is apples, which I thought most babies loved. 

Unfortunately, we haven't really had a chance to venture out and explore our new surroundings.  Since hockey season is in full swing, Kevin is beyond busy.  An adventure for us is hitting up Kroger with a 7 month old or trying to find a stud in the wall to hang a shelf (which we are horrible at).  We are planning a trip to the pumpkin patch soon so I'm super excited for that. 

Sleep Training

After my post last week, I decided something had to be done with Alessia not sleeping. During my late night feeding sessions I got a lot of Googling done and saw an article that said there were three types of sleepers: good sleepers, bad sleepers, and good sleepers with bad habits.  I immediately knew that Alessia was a good sleeper with bad habits.  She had been a good sleeper for almost two months, but then we got into horrible habits to put her to bed and, in turn, created a monster. 

Between me nursing her to sleep, my mom bouncing her to sleep, and Kevin walking/patting her to sleep, she would NEVER go down on her own.  We didn't mean to create these bad habits, but with everything going on with getting ready for the move, it happened.  And I was the one who paying for it.  I knew things needed to change so I decided to start sleep training.

I used to nanny for a family that had seven month old twins and in addition to me, they had another nanny.  The other nanny would always go and get the babies if they started crying in their crib.  I, on the other hand, would let them cry, at least for awhile.  I always told her to just let them cry it out and never understood why she had to go and comfort them after only a few seconds of crying.  Now I get it...but it took me having my own child to figure it out.  

I didn't want to go full steam ahead with just letting her "cry it out" so I went with the progressive waiting approach (kind of).  I always wait for her to show signs that she is tired: gets fussy, rubs her eyes, yawns, or melts into me when I hold her.  Then I tell her what I am doing: It's time for a nap; Mommy will be here when you wake up; I love you...something along those lines.  I turn on her white noise machine, put the fan on, and leave the room. 

As soon as I lay her down, she immediately cries...every time.  I usually let her cry for about ten minutes before going in and reassuring her that I haven't gone anywhere and that it is time for nap.  I usually straighten her out at this time and give her back a rub.  I only stay for about thirty seconds though.  If she continues crying another ten minutes, I go back and do the exact same thing....and so on and so on.

I've gotten really lucky though.  The longest she has cried is nineteen minutes.  And thank goodness because after that long I was starting to make excuses up: Maybe she isn't tired; Maybe she is still hungry; Maybe she has a wet diaper; Maybe her teeth hurt.  I have stuck to my guns though and that is saying a lot.

Do I want to run in there and grab her sometimes?  Absolutely.  Is this one of the hardest things I've ever had to do?  You betcha.  But I am able to get through it because I know she is crying because she is tired.  And when she wakes up, she is so happy to see me so I know that there are no hard feelings between us.

Overall, I think it has been successful, especially at night.  Since we started sleep training, she has slept 7 1/2 twice (one night she woke up for about 10 minutes but I let her put herself back to sleep) and 8 1/2.  She is no longer taking the 20 min naps too.  The naps still aren't where I'd like them to be, but anything is an improvement.  For now, I am not going to worry about a schedule because we still have people coming in and out for visits and are going to have a time change once we move.  But as soon as we are in our home, I have vowed to get on a schedule that works for both of us.

Someone is a much happier baby when they sleep at night.

My Baby Hate Me

It is official...my baby hates me.  OK, maybe not, but sometimes I feel like it.  Alessia went from sleeping 8-11 hours straight every night almost every night for two months to getting up 2-4 times a night.

Up until this Monday, I was able to cope because Kevin and my mom would watch her for an hour or two so I could nap.  Now that Kevin has moved to Ann Arbor and my mom is back at work, I am exhausted.

Of course everyone offers their tips.
 1. Let her put herself back to sleep when she wakes up...I tried that at about 4 o'clock this morning and instead she rolled around for 20 minutes and then wouldn't go back down.
2. Let her cry it out...tried that too, but after five minutes of listening to her gag and scream, I can't take it.
3. Fill her up before bed...I switched to giving her bottles so I know exactly how much she is eating...she still wakes up.
4. Put her to bed earlier...we cut out her suppertime nap and now she goes down at 7:30-8:00.  She wakes up after being asleep for about an hour and I have to put her back down.
5. Don't let her take long daytime naps...she never has and if she does, I never let her sleep over two hours.
 
I am hoping and praying that once we get into our house, things change for the better.  She'll have her own room, she'll be in a crib, and we'll be able to get into a better routine.  If not, I'm going to have to do some serious reading up on sleep training because I can't live like this, especially when Kevin will be traveling so much.

And, as we speak, I am watching Alessia on the monitor eat her blanket after taking a 20 minute nap.  I seriously hope she takes a longer second nap because I'm planning on laying down for that one too. 

News Flash: I'm Still Alive

As you all know, my blog has taken a back seat since we got home from Italy.  Things have just been way too busy and hectic.  I always vow that I'm going to quit slacking and make time to blog at least once a week and then something else comes up or I find something else to do.  But I'm going to make that vow again and seriously try to stick to it.

For now, I'll catch you up to speed on what is going on in our lives in as few words as possible.  We are not going back to Europe, Kevin got a job as the goalie coach for the USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, we bought a house in Ann Arbor outside of Ann Arbor, and we move in on Sept 6.  If  you haven't already seen the release of Kevin's hiring, please check it out: Reiter Tabbed as Goalie Coach for NTDP. 

In Alessia news, she is now rolling and doing the army crawl.  She loves to scream and talk, especially when we are watching movies.  And she started solids last week...right now she is only having sweet potatoes (not a big fan) and bananas. 

Sweet potatoes are not a favorite of Alessia's.

In Tricia news, I'm just trying to stay sane until we move in.  I've learned to function on practically no sleep again since Alessia is waking up multiple times at night and boycotting naps and I'm probably going to leave my parents' house ten pounds heavier than when I came because my Dad won't quit buying candy bars (and I have no willpower).  In all seriousness though, I am SO EXCITED to finally have a place to call home.  I'm already decorating the place in my head and cannot wait to reopen all our wedding gifts to see what we got.


I'll leave you for now with the promise of being back in a few days.  And if I break my promise, which is quite possible, then I'll be back in a few months.  

Catch Us If You Can

I've pretty much been working on this same post for the last 10 days.  It seems like every time I get started Alessia wakes up, wants to eat, or has a poop diaper.  Basically, my life revolves around whatever Alessia wants to do and that is usually be held or eat.  By boobs and back are paying dearly...just saying.

Since we are pretty hard to keep track of I will start by telling you that we are back in Pittsburgh.  Before heading here, we made an overnight stop in Rockford to see my best friends Jana and Barrie.  And then a quick stop in Chicago to see Gabs...and to eat deep dish pizza.  We hadn't seen Gabs since our wedding so our reunion, even though it was short, was amazing.  Alessia was a trooper, like usual and it looks like her sleep schedule hasn't been effected with the traveling.  Knock on wood.  

Love all these people and wish we saw them more often.

We only had a quick stop in Chicago, but it was great to see Gabs and meet Martin.

Alessia doesn't seem to like deep dish pizza nearly as much as her parents. 

Traveling back and forth isn't as easy as it used to be though.  Kevin and I used to be able to pack our bags, jump in the car, and go.  Now we have to make sure we have extra clothes, diapers, milk, the breast pump, hot water, blankets, a white noise maker, and toys.  We stop a lot more often due to diaper changes and feedings.  And unlike most babies that fall asleep as soon as they get put in a car, Alessia isn't really a fan.  Honestly, I think she hates the car seat.  But I would too...those things look so freaking uncomfortable.

Other things Alessia seems to hate are pacifiers, strollers, and naps.  She will take a pacifier once out of about every one hundred tries.  She won't keep it in for long though and she has to be almost completely content to even let you put it in her mouth.  As for the stroller, Kevin and I are those people who push the stroller and carry the baby.  Naps are a tough one since she needs them.  She does nap, but usually they are only cat naps...around 30-40 minutes long.  Occasionally, we get lucky about once a week and she'll lay down for a few hours.  That time is like heaven.  The past few days I've been laying her on her belly for naps and the result has been positive with over 2 hour naps each time.  But I am constantly checking on her to make sure she is still breathing so it isn't a very relaxing time for me.  Fingers crossed that this all changes soon.  I can live without her taking a pacifier, but the other two we have got to work on.