Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'!

It's official. We have a rolling baby. About a week ago, Gabrielle mastered the art of the back-to-front roll. She mostly goes over her left shoulder, first raising her two legs straight up in the air, pivoting over her tiny bottom, touching her toes to the floor, sliding them south and popping up on her arms. She can also roll from front to back - but she doesn't seem to like to do this one. Whatever - that's a baby's prerogative, I guess!

We now have to keep an even more careful eye on her - no longer can we lay her to rest or play on her sheep-skin rug (thank you Tante-Helene from Australia for that - she LOVES it!), as I found her under the recamier when I came back from washing dishes!

Now, this new feat does have a few disadvantages too, which I found out last night. Since Gabrielle was born, we have swaddled her at night and nap time. If we didn't "tie her up" as my dad says, then her arms would flail and she would wake herself up - or not go to sleep at all. I have become the master swaddler...lessons available for those interested. Anyhow, last night, she rolled over in bed - fully swaddled. Then she was stuck on her belly without the ability to free her hands to prop herself up. It was a restless night, as I tried twice to re swaddle her and put her back to sleep - to no avail. So, I let her cry a bit and finally she went back to sleep for a few hours - then up again, as she found herself back on her tummy. Apparently, she doesn't like to sleep on her tummy - or doesn't know that it's OK to do this!

I had about 5 hours sleep - not all in a row last night, and today was exhausting. I did have a nice walk with my mommy's group this morning. It was so great to get out and about! This afternoon my mom was a life-saver. She was putting Gabrielle down for her afternoon nap for me and decided to lie down with her. They both slept for 2.5 hours! I had a nice nap too...in anticipation of what tonight might bring.

Tonight, I knew that I couldn't swaddle her - as she did break free from one last night and I'm afraid that the might somehow entangle herself in her blanket and ...well...we won't go there. So, no swaddle, just a sleeper, a light quilt and her NooNoo. She went down at 5:45 and it is now 6:30 and I haven't heard a peep. Could it really be this easy? I'm not holding my breath, but so far so good. I've decided, on the advice of a good friend who has been through this twice, that if she does cry before she should be hungry, that I will just let her cry it out. I don't know if I can really take much of that, as it does break my heart to hear her cry - but I know that it is best for her, and in the long run, for me too! An exhausted, frustrated and berserk mother does no one any good! Daryl is away right now, which makes it very hard - but we're getting use to it, unfortunately.

And now, for some photos...