Irelyn has grown so much in the last month. Not really size wise, but smarts wise! She went from worrying her mama when she refused to roll over, stand on her legs, or sleep through the night, to doing all three! About two weeks ago she realized that her little wet noodles were actually weight bearing legs that were fun to jump and stand on! Needless to say, she loves her jumperoo now! She will jump so much that she tuckers herself right out!!
That same week she realized that she could easily get out of tummy time by rolling over, and there was no stopping her after that. About a week later she mastered back to tummy and now she is getting around everywhere!
Something clicked for her on February 1st, and she slept 11 hours. That has never happened in her 7 months. It was A.MAZ.ING! Well except that I still woke up three times to check on her. She surprised us again by sleeping another 11 hours the next night. I did better, and only woke up twice. The third night she only made it 9 1/2 hours, but at least she slept until 7:00am, so I felt rested. That night I only woke up once. Tonight, I hope to sleep through the night myself for the first time in 10+ months.
I'm wondering what changed...a couple things happened prior to this. Sunday, I needed sleep because we had been out late, and I had to get up early and drive to SLC. That night she didn't want to sleep. She cried and cried in her crib...I decided to just let her cry. I've tried this before, but it has only lasted about 20 minutes. Then, Billy would usually get up with her, which would end with him bringing her into our bed to nurse, as that is all that would soothe her. So this night I just let her cry, and told Billy he couldn't go get her. She basically cried the entire night, but I was able to get a little sleep. (I think poor Billy was up all night though!) The next night I did the same thing, and she cried a little less. The next night, a little less. The next night was our first sleep all nighter. Another thing that changed was she use to love to be cuddled to sleep. My doctor had said she needs to fall asleep on her own, but I loved our night time cuddle session. In the last week she has been fighting our cuddle session, so I have just been putting her in her crib awake. She has put herself to sleep for a week now, so who knows what it was. Let's hope it isn't just a fluke!
She has also started showing more interested in her toys. She's always been interested in putting them in her mouth, but now she seems curious about what they do. This teapot makes noises when you do different things with it. She will tip it to hear the noises, and loves nibbling on the tasty treats! :)
A few of her favorite things: playing peekaboo with Daddy. He can always get her laughing! She loves dancing and singing with mommy. She gets the cutest little giggles when I sing to her. I tell myself it's because she loves my voice, not because she's laughing at how terrible of a singer I am! One of her favorites to sing and dance to is "Moves Like Jagger" by Maroon 5. I took her to a dance concert at Covey Center for the Arts, and she was fast asleep until the music started. Once it started, she was up watching and singing along! The faster the music, the more she would kick her legs. I think we for sure have a dancer on our hands! She still loves just about any food you put in her mouth. She loves gnawing on pizza crust.
Seven months with this beauty, and I am still smitten with her. Everyday she does something new that melts my heart! I love watching her daddy sitting on the floor playing with her, making funny faces and noises just to hear her laugh. I love that he loves her so much! It kills me that she is growing so fast, but every new thing is so much fun!
