Rise & Shine!

For the first 6 months of her life, it seemed that every time Charlotte woke up - from a nap, during the night, or in the morning - she'd start crying immediately if she didn't see someone near her. Lately, though, she wakes up much happier! Maybe it's because she's finally starting to sleep better (not great, but MUCH better) so she's more rested, or maybe her memory & trust are maturing and she understands that even if we're not with her, we're in another room & will come if she needs us.

This morning, I woke up at 7:30 to the sounds of her babbling to her stuffed animals. I laid there, smiling at the baby monitor, and listened to her playing quietly for about 20 minutes. She'd even activated the kick piano (which she plays with her hands now). Of course I wanted to jump out of bed to see her smiling face, get those first "Good morning!" cuddles, and start our day of play and exploration. But I think this new routine is a good one. If we can build this habit of letting her wake up slowly with a period of independent play, she may just keep it up through the toddler years??? I don't know, since we're pretty much flying blindly through this whole parenthood thing. But I know enough stories of "my toddler wails and/or trashes the room if we don't get him/her after a nap" to know that what she's doing now is a MUCH BETTER alternative. I totally understand she's not old enough to "trash" anything, and I still have a while until she can get out of her crib, but a mom can dream, right??

This is how I found Charlotte this morning!

Yesterday morning, Ben and I laid awake listening to her play in her crib. She was babbling, cooing, sometimes squealing at her stuffed animals, we could hear her clapping & moving about her crib. Her favorite thing to do, though, is "read." In the last week, I'd say I've caught her "reading" after a nap or in the morning about 10 times! She LOVES books and will usually sit through a couple at a time. She looks at the pictures, knows to turn the pages, and Ben thinks she's starting to understand that the writing on each page tells something about the pictures. I don't want to claim "genius baby" just yet - but she is! :o) 

Okay, okay... let's get it out in the open. I know she's less than a year old and there's stuff in her crib. I put 3 small stuffed animals in there, plus her penguin (you can see him under the book - it's a squirt toy...), and a touch-and-feel book in there. She also has a mobile (which is coming down soon) and the kick piano. And yes, that is a blanket (gasp!) you see. Right. We're not following the rules. And it's working out just fine. Thank you. 

PS - lowering the crib mattress is on Ben's to-do list for tomorrow. 

PPS - For all you baby mommas out there - get yourself a fleece or flannel crib sheet - especially for the cold months. I'm pretty much convinced that that one modification has improved Charlotte's sleep immensely in the last 3 or 4 months.