Estelle's Room finally finished!

Sweet Success

Last night Estelle slept for a full 7 hours! I couldn't believe it when I woke up and it was 5:30 am! We'd gone to bed at 10:00 and Estelle finally fell asleep around 10:30. I still can't believe she slept that long without nursing. I have no idea if this is going to last or not, but I'll take it while I can. This was night five of the ban on nightime nursing. Hopefully she's realized that waking at night isn't worth it and she'll let me get my sleep at night.

Night Progress

The second night that I refused to nurse Estelle when she woke up went much better than the first. Estelle only woke up 2 times and both times her crying with brief. She did have a little trouble with her stuffy nose though. Poor thing couldn't keep her binkie in and breathe at the same time.
On night 3 Estelle hardly woke up at all. I fed her at 11:00 and she woke up once at around 1:00 but only for a few minutes. I didn't nurse her, but soothed her back to sleep. After that, she slept until 5:00 am! That's quite possibly one of the longest stretches of sleep she's ever given me.
So last night, night 4 of no-nursing, we had a bit of a relapse. Estelle woke up more often again. I finally gave her water in a bottle and she took it quite willingly. She's normally not one to take a bottle so I guess it surprized me. Perhaps she was just thirsty and not really needing to nurse. After that I rocked her and sung to her until she fell asleep and she slept until around 4:00 in the morning. I would have liked to hold her off until at least 5:00 am, but it was a rough night so I let her eat a little early.

Nightime is for sleeping, not eating

Estelle is old enough to sleep though the night, but she doesn't. I've been far to generous in feeding her at night and she's come to take advantage of that. At nearly 9 months old, she still wakes up two or three times a night to eat. And it's time this came to an end. She has to start sleeping through the night. Or, if nothing else, at least learn how to get back to sleep on her own without nursing.

So last night was the first night withtout nursing. She woke at around 1:00 in the morning, hoping to nurse and I didn't feed her. The little stinker spit her binky out every time I put it in. She proceeded to cry and kick her legs in frustraition for the next 7 minutes followed by sniffling for another 40 minutes before she finally went back to sleep...only to wake up exactly one hour later. Fortunately her second night waking was a little easier than the first. Her fit was shorter and she fell asleep more quickly. I plan on continuing the nursing-free nights, so I hope she does better tonight.

Ladybugs and Toilets

Estelle ate a ladybug the other day! She was on the floor playing while I was getting some work done there at the table next to her. I looked down and saw that she was chewing on something, but my attempts to remove the offending object failed. Whatever it was that she put in her mouth was swallowed before I could get to it. And then I smelled her breath....ladybug. The distinct smell of ladybug is unmistakable...strong and earthy. Upon a quick inspection of the area, I found a couple lady bug shells on the floor by the window. Darn critters were all over the place last fall. And then yesterday, I was made certain of my theory. Estelle pooped out a ladybug shell. Yep. She ate a ladybug.

If that's not enough to gross you out, that very same day I caught Estelle splashing in the toilet...clean of course, but still gross. She's only recently been able to pull herself up on things, so I didn't think anything of her playing the bathroom. Then I heard the splashing. The stinker was having a jolly ole time splashing in the toilet. I guess I'll have to remember to shut the toilet lid when I'm done from now on. Lol.