Cold Turkey

Well, we've done it. After advice from family and friends, books and the Internet, we were convinced that Gabrielle should be able to sleep through the night by now without waking for a feed from mama. Following my sister's advice, when Gabrielle woke in the night, I went to her and gave her back her soother or offered her a bottle of water. For two nights she refused both, so I left the room with her crying - which lasted less than 5 minutes both times! She slept from then (1am) to 6:30am both nights. For the last two nights, she didn't wake once. She's in bed between 6:30 and 7, and wakes 12 hours later. Pardon? Is it really that easy? I know that things will change in a few days again...but for now, I'll take the uninterrupted nights! Mama is overjoyed, and starting to catch up on her sleep deprivation. I think I actually had some normal conversations today!

With less than 2 weeks before our departure, I'll take all the sleep I can get. I hope that when we arrive down-under she'll fall back into this sleep pattern.
Gabrielle is growing in leaps and bounds these days. She is crawling all over the place and we have to be constantly looking underfoot to make sure we're not going to step on her. She is pulling herself up on to everything, and gets so frustrated when she gets "stuck". She is developing such a personality, laughing and talking, and comes to Mama with such gusto. It is so amazing to watch this little person become her own self. I'm so lucky to be able to witness her daily actions.
On a side note - I've finally been in contact with the photographer from our wedding, over 3 years ago, and our wedding album is almost ready! The delay is totally my fault, and I'm so anxious to see the results! All we've had so far has been the proofs! Soon, we'll have wedding pictures to go along with the ones of the wee one!