Updates abound

Ok, so, we have Anne's naps, fun with yarn, and my nipples. Where to start, where to start...

Yesterday, I got Anne to nap in her crib for about 20 minutes. This was definitely a highlight. She loves to kick around watching her mobile in there while she's awake and I need my hands free for a short time. But sleep in there? Pshaw! Never. She still sleeps at night in our room in her bassinette, and I plan to keep her in there until she's about 4 months. We've got a good nighttime routine going; she goes to bed between 7 and 8 pm, and we're loving it. (She gets up on a usual night 2 times between then and 6 am. So, she's doing very well). I get to knit at night, read, and chat with Mike. I don't want to mess with the routine until we absolutely have to, when she's older and more over her gas issues, since the bassinette is inclined while the crib is, of course, flat. Plus, while she's still getting up twice a night, it's wonderful to have her right next to me. I don't even have to get out of bed to nurse and burb her. How I dread making the cold walk down the hall to the nursery once she sleeps in her own room.

So, today, I pushed the issue again. At first, she was very resistant, as always. She'll doze off in my arms, but the instant her butt hits the crib mattress, she's not only awake, but screaming. Finally, I realized the problem. She keeps startling herself. You would think this would have been obvious to me much earlier, since all babies have this startle reflex. You would think. But with 2 small children, my brain is operating at *maybe* 40% capacity at all times. And that's when my thought process is uninterrupted. When Henry is around, I'm down to about 25%.

Anyway, it's the summer, and there's no a/c in her bedroom, so on some days it's too warm to swaddle her in the middle of the day, but today it's pretty nice. So I swaddled her. She's been up there napping for over an hour.

*angels sing*

I really want her to get used to that being a "sleep place," so that hopefully the autumn transition to the crib all the time isn't so painful. For all of us.

So that's that. What's next? Oh yes, yarn! Well, I felted for the first time yesterday. I will devote a whole post to this in the next few days, complete with pictures. I'm waiting for my creation to dry right now, and need to put the finishing touches on today. Keep your eye out for that one. :) But also, my ball winder came yesterday, and Mike and I tested it out last night.

Oh, such bliss! I got my hank of merino wool/silk and placed it over Mike's outstretched hands. The ball winder itself is very easy to put together and use, I highly recommend it. Knitpicks. They're wonderful. It was tremendously fun, although I had the funner job, no doubt about it. Mike had to go through some contortions to keep the yarn moving and eventually had to take a break due to shoulder soreness. :) And towards the end, things fell apart a bit. Well, Anne woke up, that didn't help. I went upstairs and picked her up, and she burbed and spit up all over me. By time I got back down, Mike had developed a knot. It was towards the end of the hank, and he suggested we just cut it off, which I didn't even consider. This is silk; we're untangling the knot.

It only took a few minutes, and voila! I had a beautiful center-pull ball of yarn. I've started my scarf, and I'm perfectly thrilled with it. But I think I'm asking for a real swift for Christmas. :)

And then of course, my breastfeeding woes. I know you were just waiting to hear more personal details about my nipples. At Cam's suggestion (thanks Cam!) I checked out nipple shields. I had heard of them, but didn't really know much about them. They're thin silicone-ish shields that you place over your nipple while the baby nurses. This way, your nipple doesn't take as much abuse and can heal, but the baby is still getting milk. I went to Target yesterday with Henry (while Mike gave Anne a bottle of pumped milk, giving my breasts a break) and found a nipple shield for $7.50. I snapped it up. The only quandry was the size indicators on the package; are my nipples small or medium sized? I had never thought about it before. That decision made, I brought it home and tried it out.

Anne, of course, was pretty skeptical at first. She didn't seem to be a fan, but once she latched on it was fine. And what sweet relief! No contemplation of a shot of whiskey prior to latch-on. It was getting bad there on my right breast. I'm hoping that with a few days of use, my nipples will heal and I won't have to use it anymore. We'll see.

So, that's the latest in my world. I go back to work in about 2 and a half weeks, and needless to say, this is causing a lot of mixed emotions within me. I'll post about that more at length coming up here. I miss my work friends, especially my knitting girls, and I'll be so glad to see them again, but it's tearing me up to leave Mike and the kids at home. I'm happy to know that Anne will be home with Mike the majority of the time. She'll only be in daycare 2 days a week. And if Mike doesn't find a full-time job soon, she'll be home with him 5 days a week. We'll see. I'm feeling a tad anxious about everything, but not nearly as bad as I would have expected out of the level of Type A personality that I have. I know that God has a plan for us, and that something will work out. Somehow.