Cosleeper Day 2 & 3

The battle of the cosleeper rages on! Well, it's not really a battle so much as an attempt to figure out a strategy that works. That last two nights have gone pretty well. I've been able to get her to sleep with less effort each night and she's been sleeping for good 3 to 4 hour chunks. I was a bit nervous after yesterday. She probably only slept about 3 hours total all day and was pretty alert and awake most of the day. I tried feeding her, taking her for a walk in the stoller, driving her, leaving her in the swing but she was just alert and checking out the world all day. Luckily when it got to bed time she conked out after a good feeding and only woke up twice before 9 this morning.

So, now that I'm able to get her to sleep in her cosleeper, I have some new challenges.

1. Nighttime feedings. There's not really a headboard left on our bed because of the boxspring so I end up sitting hunched over on the edge of the bed to breast feed. My neck is killing me. I need to figure out a way to feed her where I don't end up stiff by the morning.
2. Pacifier control! I'm trying to ween her off the binky a bit, but she is really attached to it. I would like to get to where she can go to sleep without me having to lie there reinserting her binky every two minutes because she's lost it and starts to fuss.
3. Keeping her in her bed through the whole night. After her feeding usually around 6 or 7am she won't go back to sleep. She constantly spits out her binky and her hands and feet are usually freezing no matter how much I pile on the blankets and try to cover them with mittens and socks. (they always end up off anyway) So I end up pulling her into bed with me because she falls right to sleep probably because she's warm enough. I'm thinking about putting a heating pad under the towel she sleeps on and putting on the lowest setting, but I'm a bit nervous that this would overheat her and she'd get dehydrated. 

In other news, I was telling my mom yesterday about how she's more chattery, how she's on the verge of smiling intentionally, and how she's starting to spend more time looking at my face and staring at stuff. Then I get an e-mail that says : Your baby is learning that she has hands and fingers and feet and toes. She's also starting to talk more. Not with words, of course, but by cooing — with increasing goos, gurgles, and grunts. Good timing babycenter!

She came to watch Charlotte while I went for an interview with New Seasons. It was nice to have an honest conversation with my interviewer. We ultimately agreed that I wasn't going to be the best employee if I had to commute from Clackamas to Hillsboro. So he said he'd keep my application on file for a closer store and when a job opens up they'll give me a call again. I'm kind of bummed that I don't have a sure thing there, but I agreed with him that I would definitely be around longer if I wasn't miserable from such a long commute.

Now I've got the kiddo strapped into her carseat so we can go for a walk, so off we go!