Found The Right Time Zone

I think it's safe to say we've gotten our days and nights straightened out. We've had two very successful nights in a row.

Thursday night Mia was in bed from 9pm until 7am the next morning. Now she did have a middle of the night party that lasted about 2 hours. We had to do the diaper change, rock a little and then just some basic laying in bed goofing off instead of closing the eyes. But we both still got 8 hours of sleep... just in two shifts. I'll take it though.

Last night she started melting down at 7pm so I threw in the towel and put her to bed without her last bottle of the day. I figured we'd just get to it during the night sometime. She was awake from 10p-12a. But the bottle, diaper change, rocking then letting her lay there and babble seemed to work and she slept through until 7am!!

Hallelujah! My good sleeper is coming back around.

Right now we're co-sleeping in my bed. Because that's what works to get both of us good sleep. And that's the most important thing right now during our first week home and all these adjustments. We'll see where this ends up. But for now... I'm sticking with what works.

She's still pretty tired though. I don't think we've worked out all the kinks yet. Maybe some lingering jet lag. And we definitely haven't mastered naps either. The last 2 days in a row she's taken self imposed 9am naps. She just konks out on her own while playing.

My sunshine girl gets all grumpy right before the konk out. So mommy has finally figured out that means she's ready for the nap. I'm still learning, you know. But in the last 2 days she's taught me that she's good for about 2 hours in the morning...then needs a nap break.

I've yet to figure out the afternoon routine cuz we've been on the run the last 3 days in a row. We had to go turn in some paperwork for mommy's leave from work on Wednesday. There she charmed my co-workers with her giant personality and dimpled grin. We had her first doctor's appointment Thursday where she passed with flying colors. Then Friday we had lunch with my cousin and an appointment with the HR dept to get her insurance worked out. It's been nice to get out of the house for a few hours each day.

Mommy is doing really good with handling that. Much better than I thought I would. It's a little intimidating trying to figure out what to do to get ready, the order of doing that to be the most effective in being on time and not have the baby flipping out before you're even out the door, packing the diaper bag and not forgetting essentials, etc etc.

I had a lot of help from my sister in China with all that stuff. Now I'm on my own. And I'm really proud of myself. I'm handling it like a pro and it's not been as hard as I expected. Of course, I haven't figured out how to get my hair done yet. The ball hat has become my new BFF. But I'm managing showers and make up. It's all a learning process but that's pretty good, right? LOL! My girl, on the other hand, always looks fabulous. :)

Speaking of her pediatrician, the appointment went well. Mia's in the 99th percentile for weight on the American size charts and 84% for height. I've been carrying her around for 2 weeks so I already knew that. LOL!

The doc thinks she looks great and isn't concerned at all about her developmental stuff. We both think she'll catch up quickly. She wanted to hold off on the blood draw until next month. Just too much transition right now and didn't want to stress her any more than she already is. We're also gonna wait on starting solid foods. She certainly doesn't need the extra nutrition. LOL!

And it's just another new thing. We both think we should give her an opportunity to adjust to the other major life changes before throwing even more new stuff at her. I really like her pediatrician. She definitely listens and encourages me to parent from my instincts instead of what society preaches is the "right way".

So far so good. We're slowly but surely finding our groove. I expect things to continue to improve as we both figure out our new life together. And I can tell you one thing... this new life is a lot harder and a lot more work but a lot happier. This little girl has rocked my world .... and I'm loving every second of it.