One Month with Claire!

          It really is hard to believe that a month has already passed since Claire was born.  She has been such a joy in our lives and is really doing great.  I was doing great, too, until just this past week!

          Audrey got sick last weekend and ran a fever for 2 days.  I was so worried that Claire would get sick that I didn't even think about me... until I started running a low grade fever late one night this week.  Yuk.  Thankfully, Barbara and Scott (Matt's dad and step-mom) were in town visiting.  With their help, I was able to sleep during the day and recoup a bit.

          I was still tired but feeling better when Audrey started having sleep issues.  Now, she has generally been a great sleeper.  Of course, this is due, in large part, to all of the work we did when she was a baby to make her a great sleeper (thank you, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child," my sleep bible).  Recently, she has started to try to draw out her bedtime routine - more water, I need to go potty (for the 4th time), more kisses and hugs, just one more book, etc.  You get the idea.  We had just decided that we really needed to get her bed time routine in check when she started waking up in the middle of the night - usually smack dab in between Claire's feeding times!  Ugh.  Even LESS sleep more me (and Matt, who would graciously get up and help as much as he safely could without jeopardizing his flying).  In the past, she might wake up, go to the bathroom, then go right back to sleep.  This week, she'd wake up, go to the bathroom, and then scream and cry for us to stay with her.  For a long, long, long time.  No, she's not sick.  She just wants us.  My guess?  It's an easy way for her to get a bit of attention - something she must desire now that a new sibling has arrived in her life.

          So, last night, while Matt was flying late completing a check ride, I instituted "sleep rules" and began to re-sleep train our 3 year old.  I put her to bed and ignored her pleas to stay, to give her water, to take her potty... She cried for almost 1/2 an hour then yelled "Mommy!" off and on for another ten minutes before going to sleep.  She did NOT wake up last night in the middle of the night (praise God).  I am confident she'll cry less tonight (maybe not at all) and hopeful she'll sleep through the night again!

          And I'm trying to catch up on sleep...

          We also put up our Korean Christmas tree this past weekend!  We bought it while we were stationed at Osan and decided to use it this year.  We will replace it after this holiday season, but it makes us smile and Audrey loved decorating it!
 

Audrey proudly displaying her decorating skills

Claire, 3 weeks old

Sister-bonding time

Claire making faces at Daddy