Check Out Care.com for FREE this Weekend

The nice folks over at Care.com wanted me to tell you all that this weekend only, you can check out the site for FREE! What is Care.com you ask? It's like a cross between Google and Facebook that us mamas can use to search for babysitters. You can search for babysitters in your area by zip code, and then narrow the results by age, experience, fee, etc. Each babysitter has a profile which also contains reviews from other mamas. I haven't used any of the babysitters I've found on Care.com so far, but it's reassuring to know a resource like this exists. Thanks for the head's up, Care.com!!

Ummm. Thanks?

While I was prego, I didn't really mind people asking me when I was due, touching my belly, or offering advice. The exception would be the horrendous people who commented on my wedding photos (My Body Is Not My Own: Reality Setting In   AND let's not forget this gem - De Ja Vu of the Worst Kind)

So now as I travel around town with a 12-week old baby, I've been encountering a new situation - the nosey stranger. And sometimes not even just nosey, but know-it-alls, too! Here are my top 5 "best" comments (and yes, people REALLY said these things to me... no exaggeration required!)

 5. "Did you velcro that to her head?"
Scene of the Crime: J. Christopher's restaurant
While I was enjoying breakfast with my besties, a women popped her head over the booth to take a peek at Paige. Yes, I had a bow in her hair. But she has A LOT of hair! The woman obviously didn't appreciate my baby-style very much...

4. "Excuse me, but you can't use boiling water in a bottle."
Scene of the Crime: Starbucks
Maybe I look stupid or something? I was out running errands and was only halfway through when Paige needed a bottle. In these circumstances, instead of running home, I usually pop by a Starbucks and order a cup of hot water along with my Venti Skinny Vanilla Latte. I mix the hot water with the cold water bottle I brought along to make Paige's bottle. The barista was very concerned, obviously. I went ahead and explained my methods to her (to her relief), but I SHOULD have said: "Oh really? I think the tequila and margarita mix I'm mixing it with should dilute it enough, don't ya think?"

3. "What a big head she has! You must have had fun pushing her out!"
Scene of the Crime: Hallmark
All I was doing was looking for a new 2010 calendar. And what did I get? An assessment of my post-baby va-jay-jay. Thanks.

2. "Are you going to leave her in the trunk?"
Scene of the Crime: Target parking lot
I live in the South. It's pretty warm here. So when I need to change Paige's diaper while I'm out running errands, I do it in the trunk of my Jeep. What can I say - I just get realllllllly sceeved out by the changing stations in women's bathrooms. So while I was doing a quick diaper change, a woman walking by asked that ridiculous question. And she was dead serious. The look of fear/concern in her eyes was priceless. My response? "Yup! Just loading up for the trip home!"

And now, the best one of all...

1. "I guess you aren't breastfeeding. It really would have helped with losing the baby weight."
Scene of the Crime: Location to remain nameless to protect the innocent
I don't think this one requires any more explanation.... : )

Oh, Mr. Sandman...

Let me start by saying - HALLELUIA!!!! It is official. Paige is sleeping through the night. Which really means, MAMA is sleeping through the night! I've waited until a full week passed with successful full-night sleeps to determine that this isn't a fluke. And as we approach the 9th night in a row, I think I'm ready to acknowledge that this is our new reality. YAHOOOOOOOOOOO! I'm back, Mr. Sandman.

I wish I could take credit for getting Paige to sleep through the night, but I'm pretty convinced she did it on her own. Yes, I loosely followed the "Baby Wise" methodology of "eat, awake time, sleep time", but ultimately - I fed Paige on demand, which she decided early on was every 2-3 hours. I did try and keep her awake after feedings, but that was successful about 60% of the time. I think it's true what they say in all the books and magazine articles - babies will sleep through the night when THEY are ready. And each baby is different.

So here's the play-by-play on how it happened on Monday, March 1 - the fateful night I will celebrate annually as "Mama's Day of Rest." My husband had to wake up early the next morning for work, so he asked if I would mind staying up with the Peanut so he could go to bed early. Up until that night, she wouldn't go down until around 11:30 p.m., and sleep 3-4 hours, then wake up around 3:00-ish to eat, and again at 6:30-ish, and finally wake up for the day around 9:00-ish. So I agreed to stay up. Keep in mind, this conversation happened at 9:15 p.m. After Daniel went up to bed, I made Paige a bottle, fed her, and before I knew it she was fast asleep. I thought maybe it was one of her cat-naps, but figured I would try and put her in her crib anyway. I put her down, turned on her "Sleep Sheep" and with fingers crossed, tip-toed out of the room. At around 9:45 p.m., I bee-bopped into the bedroom where Daniel was still awake reading. He said, "Where's the baby?" And with an ear-to-ear grin, I said, "Sleeping!!!" And that was basically it. She slept that night (any every night since) until about 5 a.m. Then she eats, and takes a nap a little while later until around 8:30 a.m. For the past 8 nights, we give the Peanut a bath around 8:30 p.m., put on her PJs, feed her, and she falls asleep at 9:30 pm on the dot. Every night. Not a minute before.

So what do we do now with this new found freedom in the evenings? SLEEP! As soon as she goes down, so do we. And it is ahhhh-mazing.