The Corner Slice

“awkward photos circa 2010”

laurie — Mon, 28 May 2012 05:39:18 +0000

or: “what I took pictures of before Allie”

or: “the days Sampson was our only ‘child’”

I’m not sure why my Fall 2010 folder was open on my computer, but the pictures sure gave me a laugh.

Warning: I am slightly sleep-deprived, so even I might not find them quite as funny tomorrow. But in hindsight, it appears I was going through some sort of awkward phase.

What? You mean, it’s not a phase?

bake sale? more like bake FAIL

(what on earth? oh, to know the context)

(after he got too close to boiling bacon grease)

Done. Promise.

friday favs: simple joys

laurie — Fri, 25 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Lately, I’ve had a lot of simple joys in my life. I’ve found that the Lord has a way of revealing Himself to me in these moments, lifting me up and whispering peace and happiness just when I need it the most. Yeah, He’s great like that!

Here are some examples:

Lunch with friends. Darla is leaving to work at a camp all summer, so Allie and I had lunch with her this week. Sometimes I don’t know if it’s the food or the conversation that feeds me better

Chicken Soup for the Soul. Like I’ve mentioned before, there’s no food more comforting to me than this chicken soup from Ri Le. (Okay, cookie dough and frozen yogurt win a lot, but this is just a LITTLE bit better for me!) Some weeknights, I just need to scrap my planned recipe and visit this place, where the food is clean, the family that works there remembers our favorites, and the owner and namesake is a kind Vietnamese man with smiling eyes.

Retail therapy. I don’t buy shoes. I buy cool food. Healthy and/or adventurous foods. Allie and I stopped by the Brookside Farmers Market on Wednesday morning, a first for me. We normally go to the Cherry Street Farmers Market, but we have missed it the last several Saturday mornings being out of town or otherwise occupied. We got rainbow chard, basil, squash, potatoes, local jam, and local honey here. This Farmers Market just so happens to be right next to Whole Foods, where I intended to just stop in and get some yogurt and lamb and lentils for Allie to try, but somehow corn, grapes, tomatoes, chia seeds, stew beef, and cheese somehow JUMPED into my cart. It was the weirdest thing. Luckily most of it was on sale or else this retail therapy could have gotten way out of control!

My daily bread. Jenna actually introduced me to this collective Bible study going on. A group of girls on the internet are doing the Soul Detox on YouVersion and sharing their thoughts on Twitter under the hashtag #SheReadsTruth.

My second yoga session! Our gym has a class called Living Well yoga, which is Hatha yoga infused with a Christian message. I left relaxed, inspired, and my hamstrings still hurt so good today!

Coffee shop creativity. I love working, studying, reading, writing, and fellowshipping at coffee shops. What is it about them? The fact that your hair and clothes smell like coffee goodness hours later? The hum of conversation? The occasional whir of espresso machines? Does the scent of coffee in the air have good effects on the bloodstream? Either way, I got to work for a few hours at a coffee shop and I got a lot done. That always feels good.

Dancing is good for the soul. The other day while Allie and I were cleaning the kitchen, I turned on the nursery rhyme station on Pandora and we had so much fun dancing, using the best kind of microphone (wooden spoon) and the best kind of percussion (dry lentils, baby!), and laughing our heads off. I think I will remember that moment forever.

Sleeping baby watching. One of the things on my to-do list this weekend was to cuddle with Allie during her nap, but unfortunately, I never got the chance. We did capture this image of her, completely worn out –probably from the aforementioned dancing. It makes me smile every time.

During my yoga class, the instructor mentioned the commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself,” but a lot of us don’t love/take care of ourselves the way we should. What I’m learning, at the ripe young age 26, is that what makes me feel the best – what makes me come alive – is simple joys. And for me, what that looks like, is making healthy decisions, doing life alongside good people, keeping a constant line of prayer, and taking every opportunity to laugh, savor, and appreciate.

about a girl: 8 months

laurie — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:30:20 +0000

Allie turned 8 months old this past weekend! I can’t believe in 4 short months, she’ll be 1. It doesn’t seem possible that I’m already getting ideas for her party or that she’s already showing so much personality:

(“I know, right?”)

Here’s what she’s up to this month:

She still has 2 teeth, but I think she’s working on another because she is constantly a faucet and has a fun, new habit: biting. Ouch!
Her slow crawl has become much faster! Before, I couldn’t leave her alone for a second. Now I can’t even turn around for a second unless she is strategically distracted with her favorite things or sitting in her walker.
She has been pulling up and cruising for a few weeks, and while last month, I mentioned that she didn’t quite know how to get down when she stood up in her crib, after just a few days, she learned how to plop down on her bottom. A few days after that, she learned how to plop on her bottom without bumping her face on whatever she’d pulled up to!
She has stood up on her own 1-2 times for a few seconds, and can walk holding our hands like a pro. I think it’s only a matter of weeks until she is taking her first steps, but I know there’s no way to predict these things.
Her favorite toys are her anything of Sampson’s, her new walker, my cheap white plastic measuring spoons, some fun standing toys we inherited from the church, and of course, the remote:

She can wave hello and bye-bye. (Must get video of this cuteness soon!)
Her “vocabulary” of babble has become much more diverse. A recent favorite has been asking “Wha’s dat?” over and over again. Though I doubt she knows what she’s saying, I try to answer her every time in case
She is still nursing every 3-4 hours, but her favorite real foods are yogurt, avocado, banana, and surprisingly, she loves asparagus. We are trying ground lamb and lentils with her soon. (The lentils are soaking as we speak.)
The things that make her light up with fascination are children, animals of any kind, water, and most of all, music. She still adores music and is honing her singing skills more every month.
Like I said, I basically have to keep a close eye on her all the time, or else stuff like this happens:

Though with teething, she is getting a twinge of separation anxiety (I secretly adore that she just wants to be with her mama sometimes), she still has a sweet spirit it seems like everyone notices off the bat. She will smile and practically bat her long eyelashes at people. One man at the grocery store told me his entire day was made through her smile, which made me so proud to hear! But I bet that smile is going to get us into BIG trouble down the road

You may have noticed I didn’t mention our status on the S word, and that’s on purpose. Let’s just say I definitely don’t want to jinx things. But this new adjustment, which I think has to do with solid foods and increased mobility, has helped make this stage of motherhood the absolute best yet.

I am just over the moon with this curious, enthusiastic, and lovely little lady as her personality unfolds more and more every month!

new + old + old + new weekend

laurie — Tue, 22 May 2012 13:15:32 +0000

This weekend started in the best possible way:

Last week, JT surprised me while we were at the bookstore. He’d been doing research on eReaders and said he wanted to get me a NEW Nook. I was super surprised! First of all, in the past, I’ve been adamantly against eReaders, preserving the paper book. I was a lit major, after all. Well, given the fact that I typically read a book in an evening (well, not so typically now that baby is in the picture), I figured this Nook will probably pay for itself in a few months with the lower book prices. Plus I’m a very impatient person, so the whole instant download thing is wonderful. So grateful for this gift!

Friday, we had the privilege of listening to a friend of my parents who serves overseas. It was so interesting to hear about what’s going on in his country, and we got to see some amazing friends, too. We also had breakfast for him on Saturday, followed by a really good workout at the gym. Do you know what will make you sweat? Bursts of speedy intervals on the treadmill. Yep, that will do it. I tweeted afterwards that I was so grateful to be able to pick Allie up from the gym nursery and tell her all about the importance of working hard to get stronger. Hopefully I will set a good example for her in this arena!

Speaking of Allie, Saturday she turned 8 months OLD! I can’t believe she’s no longer the tiny baby in that picture I see every time I open my BabyGeek app. (PS: I don’t use it to track sleep or diapers, so ignore those numbers haha) I’ll post later this week about the fun and exciting things she’s up to.

After the gym, we visited some friends who were in town from Los Angeles. A bunch of old friends were there, and Allie got to finally meet her cute friend, Ezra! He was born in January. When they first met, they held hands. It was SO cute We celebrated Allie’s 8-month birthday by leaving her to play with her grandparents and going to see Battleship. Even though it got horrible reviews, we thought it was good…if you like cheesy, very unrealistic science fiction – which we totally do.

On Sunday after church, we went to lunch with Obed and Meseidy. Allie didn’t nap much that day, and as a result, I had a little extension of my legs all day while I tried to clean. She would crawl over to me and pull up on my legs as I scrubbed. Sweet baby girl was so sleepy! She ended up taking a little nap before her BIG, new adventure!

Her first time in the pool! Allie has always been fascinated by the water, so we decided it was time to introduce her to the fun and excitement of swimming.

Unfortunately, Sampson wasn’t invited and had to watch with anticipation as his baby played in his pool. He was so sad, but got to play later.

Meanwhile, Allie had so much fun splashing around and playing with her duckies and her daddy in her tiny little swimsuit. I can’t wait to get her in the water again!

This was such a fun weekend of old friends, new friends, and new experiences

twins, tactics, and other tidbits

laurie — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:31:18 +0000

*Allie looks exactly like her dad’s baby pictures in this shot. Spitting image! Maybe someday I’ll know what it’s like to have a child that looks like me

*I have done pretty good about sticking to “the plan” this week, but last night, as I was wandering through the aisles of the grocery store, talking to Allie, a recipe idea popped into my head. I’d seen variations of it before, so I decided to grab some pizza crust, some shallots and prosciutto, and a bag of salad. Even though I had perfectly delicious recipes planned for this week, I made a game-time decision and didn’t regret it one bit. I rolled out the pizza dough and baked it while I caramelized a few shallots in a pan.

When the crust came out, I spread some local honey almond goat cheese from the farmer’s market right onto the crust, spooned on my caramelized shallots, and then sprinkled chopped prosciutto and some spinach from the bag of salad. I dripped some of the flavorful oil from the shallot pan on top of the spinach and then put it back in the oven for maybe 2 minutes. SO delicious! Then I served it with the salad, which had dried blueberries, quinoa, and balsamic vinegar. I guess sometimes it’s good to deviate from schedule and fly by the seat of your pants!

*I’m really excited about my new toy that’s currently on its way to me right now! I’ll give you a hint: it starts with N and rhymes with Book. My husband is the best!

*Also, I’m guest posting about what’s in my diaper bag over at Real Life Travels today. Feel free to stop by and say hello

mother’s day weekend & beyond

laurie — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:15:21 +0000

I’ve been a little MIA lately because we got to take a fun little getaway to the Dallas area this past weekend. My dad got tickets to see my beloved Rangers, and in order for me to get away, I had to spend the week prior getting all of my work done to make this happen! Between that and chasing a baby girl around, things have been blissfully hectic and fun. Here’s what we’ve been up to lately:

I turned around for literally 2 seconds and found her standing on her stroller. She is everywhere!

Weekend before last (our 2nd of 3 weekends to be out of town!), Allie and I got to go to our fran Kacie’s baby shower. We’re looking forward to meeting Baby Roslyn so soon! Kacie is going to be an amazing mom, and I know Rossy will be so sweet and beautiful!

We got to Dallas on Thursday, and Allie got to have her first In-n-Out Burger experience (unless you count San Francisco when I was 12 weeks pregnant with her). I think the burgers are delicious, but I’m perfectly happy with my Whataburgers

She took her love of climbing to the next level at the REI climbing wall. REI is definitely a must when we go to bigger cities. We have a membership and take full advantage of it every year.

Later, we met up for seafood at Big Shucks with one of my dearest friends, Candace, and we finally got to meet her fiance, Justin. Since I didn’t take any pictures (they’re being held hostage on Candace’s camera , I stole one of them from her Facebook. Aren’t they cute? I can’t wait to be in her wedding in August!

The next morning, per Em’s recommendation, we checked out Hypnotic Donuts, where they have excellent donut flavor combinations and the best chicken biscuits. Delicious!

We met up with my parents at my grandparents’ house, where I tried to keep Allie from terrorizing their pristine house. So much for her to explore this weekend!

Then it was time to catch the Rangers in action. There was a 2-hour rain delay, but luckily, our tickets were under the stands by the right field foul pole, so we were pretty sheltered.

We got super close to the pitchers as they warmed up, including our favorites Matt Harrison and Derek Holland (#45 with the super hott mullet). It was so fun seeing the players in person, not to mention the super loud crowd!

This also happened, the 2-foot boomstick my brother is modeling. 24 inches of hot dog goodness, polished off by about 6 of us. Ballpark dogs are pretty much the best thing in the world, the reason it’s important to leave the comfort of your living room for a live game every once in awhile!

On Saturday, we visited Northpark Mall, where Allie got to see her favorite attraction, a bright blue water feature with fuzzy ducks and squirmy turtles. She loves water so much!

Though mall shopping isn’t normally my thing, I also picked out this super cute Vera Bradley wallet for Mother’s Day.

Later that day, we met at Campisi’s for pizza with most of my dad’s side of the family. Allie got to see lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins that day, including Russell, the baby boy on the left who is about two months younger but much bigger. She had lots of fun “talking” to him and playing with his toys when she fell asleep. He belongs to my beautiful cousin, Ashley, who is all of three weeks older than me. It’s been so fun going through pregnancy and motherhood together. She is a fantastic mama!

Then it was sadly time to fly home. Allie was phenomenal on the flights again. We are so blessed with such a good-natured baby!

Sunday was my first Mother’s Day, and what a day it was! We sadly had our last church service at SoCo and then said goodbye in the best possible way: a huge Mother’s Day lunch from a local Mexican restaurant. Yum! After that, I sent JT off to go see The Avengers, and it was time for Allie to give me her gift: an unprecedented 2-hour nap!

During that time, I watched The Notebook in its entirety and read my new Cooking Light. It was SO glorious! What a present from baby girl

We ended the evening with a sunset dinner on the patio of one of my favorite restaurants, Red Rock Canyon Grill. My little family sure made sure I felt blessed this Mother’s Day Weekend!

Now it’s back to the real world, but it’s a pretty fantastic world to return to

having a baby (with eczema) changes everything

laurie — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:33:33 +0000

It started out small, just a patch around Allie’s temples and some colorless bumps on her legs. We thought it might have been a reaction to a recent cold and fever. Though it seemed harmless, we took her in when it didn’t go away and appeared to be spreading to her cheeks.

“A heat rash,” the doctor filling in for ours told us. And it made sense with the weird Oklahoma weather alternating between hot and cold in early February.

But by that next Monday, my tiny baby had learned how to scratch herself by necessity. She was so miserable she couldn’t sleep. I knew this was no heat rash.

I made another appointment as soon as possible, and in the meantime, a combination of Dr. Google and mom friends led us to strongly suspect that eczema was the culprit. One look at our baby, and our doctor confirmed the diagnosis. He prescribed Benadryl and a steroid foam, and for the next several months, JT and I tried every combination to get our baby’s skin some relief.

It broke our hearts to see her literally ripping out her hair, devising a Riverdance of sorts to scratch the backs of her knees with her toenails. So we asked around, bought countless lotions, tried everything from rubbing banana peel on her skin (which did seem to help a little!), and dutifully put the steroid foam on our baby girl. Here’s what we found at least quelled her symptoms and relieved her itching:

We switched to Tide Free AND Bounce Free, washing all of her clothes, bedding, blankets, and our clothes in it. We at first didn’t think about switching fabric softener, but it really is necessary. New moms, don’t even bother buying Dreft. It’s more expensive, and though it claims to be good for sensitive skin, the fragrances in it are not!
We washed her with special eczema baby wash (Gentle Naturals brand, if you’re curious) and per the advice of the doctor, put fragrance-free cream on her when she was still wet and then patted her dry. He advised us to look for fragrance-free creams instead of lotions. Stelatopia, Aquafor, and Cetaphil seem to calm her symptoms the best.
We bought sensitive diapers and wipes.
We continued applying her steroid foam once a day and giving her Benadryl to ease the itch at night when it seemed the worst. (It didn’t help her sleep, in case you’re wondering .)

These calmed her symptoms some, but we had to maintain a rigorous routine and hated using the steroid foam because it seemed so harsh for a little baby. If we deviated off track, she’d wake up with angry red bumps all over her body…

Until we had a friend and mother of 7 over for dinner, and she advised the magic solution: cod liver oil. I’d read about its benefits and thought it couldn’t hurt, so I bought some the next morning at Whole Foods.

Allie’s skin cleared up within two days.

I’m obviously not a doctor, and I’m not getting paid to endorse any one of these products. What worked for us might not work for everyone else. But I know for a fact that the cod liver oil is what caused a significant difference in Allie’s skin! I bought it in pill form because I have a strong gag reflex, and I’ve learned to take it at night so I don’t have to deal with the fish burps (sorry). Allie gets the cod liver oil through nursing, but I’m not sure how old babies have to be before they can take it if they’re not nursing. Here’s an article with more information on giving babies CLO directly.

Though I’m no professional, I sure hope it will work for your baby! And if not, there are numerous other benefits CLO/omega-3 have that can help with other health aspects.

Please let me know if you try it!

lately

laurie — Thu, 03 May 2012 15:27:49 +0000

Since I’ve skipped two weekend updates IN. A. ROW. here’s a little glimpse as to what’s been going on in our lives!

We officially have a quick-crawling, precious, puller-upper who is starting to cruise and trying her hardest to stand up by herself.

It’s definitely time to babyproof the house, because despite a million and one cool toys, Allie’s new favorite things are the fireplace key, electronics and wires, and anything and everything that belongs to Sampson (the silver tags on his collar and his disgusting ball, in particular)

Speaking of Sampson, last week we had a pretty big scare with him. In the middle of the night, I woke up to him scratching ferociously. He’s the itchiest puppy I’ve ever seen anyway, so I didn’t think too much of it since we’d been outside a lot that night. Until I woke up the next morning and saw this…

His muzzle was swollen, his eyes extremely red, and there were bumps all over his body. He was itchy and miserable, poor guy. And he could only breathe out of his mouth I was so sad for him. We rushed him to the vet, who gave him a massive steroid shot and a Benadryl shot and he was much better the next day.

So grateful my yellow puppy is feeling better!!

I know I shared about the OKC memorial marathon a little in my april recap, but I have to say how incredible of an experience it was! The atmosphere that comes from doing something in the memory of such a horrific event to this state was just electrifying, and I can’t wait to run the half marathon in the future

While we were in town for the race, Allie finally was reunited with her beautiful best friend, Addison. Addie’s mom, Kali, and I were next door neighbors in college, and we joke that our babies were having fun in heaven together before they were born. Our due dates were 3 days apart, and the girls were born 3 days apart…both 3 days late! It was nice to talk in person with Kali; we text each other sometimes several times a day: “How many ounces is your baby eating?” “Is her diaper supposed to be this color?” We love them and had so much fun playing at their house!

Allie had fun trying out Addison’s cool toys! In fact, we were inspired to get Allie a walker since she’s outgrown both her swing and her Bumbo and needed something so she can help me cook in the kitchen!

I think that’s pretty much all I have to report that I haven’t already covered. April was a fantastic month with a special anniversary, huge milestones that have made life with Allie even more fun, and lots of fun with our friends and family! I can’t wait to see what the rest of May has in store

PS: Pretty sure Allie went through a growth spurt last week. What do you think (aside from the fact that she’s dressed like a boy)?

make it happen april [recap]

laurie — Tue, 01 May 2012 17:06:34 +0000

April is over and a brand new month has begun! I’m still working out my May goals, but for now, here’s how April panned out.

1. Make weekly and daily lists. I made lists for every week and every day of work except for this past week. And I could definitely tell a difference! Things were busy, yes, but I think I made dinner once that entire week? It’s much less stressful when I’m not flying by the seat of my pants!

2. Drink more water. While I didn’t exactly cut out the sugary drinks as well as I could have, I was more cognizant of how much water I was consuming and how much better I felt. Keeping my trusty water bottle around helps loads with this!

3. Be more efficient at work: I’d give myself an A+ on this front. Making the daily lists helped keep me on track, especially last week, when I had probably 120% of my normal workload.

4. Exercise 4-5 times a week. Again, I worked out at least 4 times each week, alternating between the gym and running outside and even throwing in the elliptical when I didn’t have time for anything else. I’m starting to condition myself so that every time I hear my voice speak, “I didn’t have time for that,” I tell myself, “Laurie, you didn’t make time.” It’s very true 1) that you can do a lot when you put your mind to it, and 2) it sure feels good to push yourself to your physical limits!

5. Run the Oklahoma City Memorial 5K. Done! I ran with Darla Sue. We felt strong and ran the entire time, which is something I hadn’t been able to do since Allie was born. My muscles are slowly remembering how to do their thing, and I’m hoping this little milestone has opened a floodgate of running addiction!

6. Rein in my out-of-control portions. I definitely wasn’t perfect, but at least I was cognizant for the most part. I have a feeling this is going to have to be a goal every single day of my life and a decision I make every time I look at food. But as long as I make more good decisions than bad ones, I think I’ll be okay

7. Get Allie on a good schedule. Oh, goodness. Where do I even begin? I have no idea what I’m doing on this front, but she is sleeping a little better at night. You can read more about it in this post. I’m so incredibly grateful for all of the encouraging comments! You all are the very best!

8. Take JT up on his offer and spend more alone time. I didn’t succeed in setting aside a designated time, but did have more alone time, even going to work by myself during the day. It’s something I will try to continue improving.

9. Dial down social media/iPhone use. Maybe some improvement, but still a long ways to go. I did put down my iPhone long enough to read 2 books for fun this month! That’s monumental, even if it meant letting Allie play in her crib a little longer so I could finish a chapter here or there

10. Celebrate my marriage! I arrived home on our anniversary to find my “card” in the driveway from JT. We then had a great date night out! JT took me to the Chalkboard, a really nice restaurant in the hotel where we spent our wedding night. We drank wine, discussed our goals for the next year of marriage, I had luscious lobster bisque and the most melt-in-your-mouth, succulent, cherry-glazed pork chops and citrus polenta I’ve ever tasted, and we enjoyed each other’s company sans baby for a peaceful evening. They even brought out a complimentary bread pudding since it was our anniversary. Then he took me to the bookstore, one of my very favorite places, and we sipped Starbucks while I picked out a book. I can’t believe it’s been 4 years, and I’ve never been more excited to see where we’ll be in another 4 years!

Even though I got off track on some of my goals, I really enjoyed laying out monthly goals like this! I’ll be sure to post my May goals as soon as they’re solidified before the end of this week. Thanks for all of the encouragement – you friends sure know how to make a girl smile!

the sleep training taboo

laurie — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:56:52 +0000

: edit :: So I’ve been a little MIA this week. That’s because I wrote the post below on Sunday and scheduled it to go up on Wednesday. I had my doubts about discussing sleep, because it seems any time I publicly celebrate, things backfire dramatically. So I was hesitant to write about it in the first place.

Apparently it doesn’t take going live to activate the bad sleep juju.

Here’s the original post with new edits.

We have been doing sleep training for about 3 weeks now (maybe a month?) and I’ve learned these things to be true:

Months of sleepless nights in a row are not good for anyone’s well-being. We had definitely reached a point where something had to give.
When you ask about sleep training, many twiddle their thumbs, avoid eye contact, stutter and stammer – especially doctors and other professionals (unless you’re paying them for sleep training). The methods that work best for babies are all. over. the. place. All of the books say different things. Every parent seems to have a different story. And I think their hesitation is well-founded. It’s hard to tell a new mom what to do for her baby, especially when there’s no proven science. Especially when that solution may be the form of torture known as letting her beloved baby cry.
Those books are right about one thing: The eat, play, sleep “schedule” has worked wonders. Allie does so much better with eating and sleeping when she takes good naps during the day, consequently spacing her feedings out. Getting there has been easier said than done for us, though.
Those books are wrong about some things. I don’t think that nursing on demand has made my child a clingy, fussy baby. Besides her sleep fighting, she is sweet and happy by nature, whether she gets a full night’s sleep and two naps or not. She is developing and growing normally, at the top of the percentiles for her age and hitting milestones on time or early. I don’t think nursing her on demand for 6 months has hurt her at all. Also, the whole “works in 3-5 nights thing” hasn’t been true in our case; Allie still cries to sleep most of the time, but we’re pressing on.
I’m hesitant to use the word “schedule” in terms of what we’re doing with Allie. None of the books address what working moms should do for daytime sleep. I unfortunately don’t have the time to take off work to train her for naps at our house. I don’t think training her for naps at my parents’ house is working because it’s not her bed.
So I’ve been maintaining a 3-4 hour eat, play, sleep pattern for her, doing whatever it takes to get good naps (even if it means putting her down when she’s more asleep than awake), putting her to bed at the same time each night, eliminating all night feedings when/if she does wake up, waiting 15 minutes before I go check on her, and checking/reassuring every 15 mins until her next feeding time if she doesn’t go to sleep after that. In the rare event that she has a dirty diaper, has a foot stuck in her jammies, or is crying for some reason other than being mad/tired/fighting sleep, I remedy the problem and put her back in bed.
Most nights, she goes to sleep at 8, wakes once around 11-1 and then puts herself back to sleep until about 6-7. Even though it’s not several hours of consecutive sleep, it’s SUCH a refreshing change. Hopefully it will last!

Here’s where I’m not really sure what I’m doing…

Allie wakes up at different times every day, usually between 6-7, but sometimes as early as 4, and will not go back to sleep. This unpredictable starting time makes putting her a precise, hour-by-hour schedule kind of hard, even if I tried.
Perhaps the biggest struggle has been knowing when to put her down for her nap. There is a magical window in which, if I put her down, she will maybe whimper for 30 seconds and then fall asleep before I’m down the stairs, or she’ll just curl up on her side and drift to sleep without a sound. If I put her down before she’s adequately sleepy, she would cry for an hour if I let her. Same if she’s too sleepy. And if she sits up or pulls up on her crib bars, it’s all over. Sometimes, if that happens, I will pick her up and rock her momentarily until she calms down and then put her back in bed.
There no good info out there about how long to let a sleep training baby cry before intervening or just scrapping the nap for good.
I’m not sure how much sleep Allie needs. What if she isn’t napping well because she’s getting enough sleep otherwise?

For now, I’m watching her cues, trying to do what’s best for her, but letting her behaviors show me what she needs. I know she probably would be going down without a hitch every time if we had the luxury of napping at home. Still, I’m thrilled with her progress and taking it day by day, even if we aren’t as rigid about structure and predictability as “the experts” call for { :: edit :: I think it’s this last sentence that did us in }

I welcome and would appreciate any thoughts/ideas/experiences, but I will go all Mama Bear on you and delete disrespectful, mean-spirited comments. There is no room for haters here at The Corner Slice blog!!<3 <3 <3

:: edit :: Since I wrote this post 5 days ago, our bedtimes have been rough for all parties involved. Our anniversary date night Saturday put Allie an hour past her bedtime, and we stayed up late having fun with my in-laws the next night. Since then, Allie has been fighting bedtime with serial killer movie-caliber screams. And now that she’s standing up in her crib and doesn’t quite know how to get down, she could cry for hours if we let her. So we have “regressed” to rocking her to sleep and practicing sitting down so hopefully she’ll remember how to do it at night. Because of our Bedtime Battles, we are working to get her "schedule” back on track, and she has been wanting to eat every 2 hours instead of our normal 3. So I wonder if she’s fighting sleep so hard because she’s still hungry, but I really don’t want to go back to feeding her at night. I also suspect some teething, though she has never taken it this hard with her first two teeth!

Last night, we tried putting her down an hour earlier around 7 to see if that would help. She slept until 750 and then was up for a good 30 mins until JT finally got her down. When she woke up at around 11 last night, I tried letting her cry it out again, and she went right back to sleep after my 15-minute check. So we do have some hope in this arena!

I found great encouragement from @jenluit with this tweet:

“Truth: if you’re thinking about how to be a better mom, you’re probably already a really good one. Trust yourself.”