we spent most of our week searching for a dresser for our bedroom and a desk for my little crafting space. but no luck (yet). we got to see these good friends in concert thursday evening and caught up over dinner with them earlier in the week. saturday we spent a good portion of our day over on U street which is always a fun place to explore. and we worked a lot on our sleep training with eleanor this week, too. somehow, at the six month mark she’s forgotten how she used to sleep 8 hours a night in her crib and just wants to cuddle all night long with mama or papa in our bed. i don’t blame her but neither of us can sleep well when she’s in our bed. (do you have any tips, seasoned and wise mothers?)
also, we unfortunately caught a mouse in the kitchen this weekend which was such a bummer. i do not like those critters although i do believe kingsley finds them entertaining (anything to take his mind off this heat). he’s been playing “guard dog” all week long in the kitchen sniffing under the cabinets and barking at the wall where i think the mouse came from. here’s to hoping he can keep any cousins of the critter away… go kingsley!
this blistering hot week also made me really excited for autumn…summer, i love you but you have got to go. we’re ready for crisp air, tweed blazers, apple cider and colorful leaves on the tree. any day now, right? ;)
oh, I adore the second picture of Kingsley. And every single picture of E, of course<3
fall is my favorite season. i support your anti-summer sentiments.
and eleanor is 6 months?! when did that happen!?
you and your fam bam. soooo cute!!!! happy august xxo
i LOVE the 5 Browns! Thats very cool you know them!
i love all these pictures so much. makes me miss the dc area.
sweet photos…i'm ready for autumn too!
I have been daydreaming about autumn for weeks now. Poor august always gets jipped in this house. What's not to love about cider, tartan and babies in sweaters?
oh how I will miss the beach once summer is over but the fall is my favorite season as well so it will be a fair seasonal trade :)
I'm still trying to get my daughter to sleep through the night. From what I've heard and tried, crying it out works best. But that is a very hard thing to do. Good luck!
I am with you on this heat! I hate to complain about summer…but I am desperate for some fall weather!
i was just saying to andrew that i am starting to feel pretty ready for autumn. its been a hot summer.
miss you guys!
I think we're all ready for some fall weather in the D.C. area. That's my favorite time of the year! Can't wait to take my little pumpkin to all the fall festivals!
Just read this wonderful post on sleep training – hope it helps!! http://www.domesticadventure.com/2011/08/on-sleep-training/
With Kirby, we do a lot of sleep feeding. He would sleep through the night for a while, and then at 6 months he started waking up. So at about 2am, when my husband gets home, we feed him while he is sleeping. It works really well because he gets what he needs and stays asleep. Then I do it again when I leave for work at 5am. He'll sleep till about 7am that way. YAY!
my 4 month old also used to sleep long (12 hour!) stretches and that suddenly stopped. I just got The No Cry Sleep Solution so we are trying that out. Hope it works. Good luck to you!!
Ohhh, I can't believe you would wish away summer. In Canada, we've had the worst summer. Actually we've had a terrible 18 months. I guess that's Canada though, eh?
Anyway, as a mom of four I have one tiny piece of advice for you about babies sleeping in your bed. Some people like that and that's fine but if you DON'T want baby in your bed then the only solution is to NEVER ever bring baby into the bed. Never. Then it's never an option and she'll never know. Stop it now, if that's what you want or it'll just be harder when she's older and knows it's so nice in there.
She's so cute though, I see you dilemma.
Cotton Halo Sleepsack. Sleeps all night every night since she started wearing it at six months old.
Head scarf… Dig it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mmm, that smoothie looks so good!
http://breatheandhush.blogspot.com/
Oh, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful family!!! I love your photos! :)
The sleep advice I have is the most difficult part of parenting – to be consistent … but then I think, you can't be consistent with sleep b/c it's ever changing, esp with teething. So, really, I guess I don't have any advice :) I haven't slept through the night in more than 3 years. I'm also really looking forward to Fall.
So fun. I love these pictures!
Reading "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer" saved my life, when it came to sleep. I don't agree with everything in the book, but most of it is spot-on, and even better, it WORKS. I cannot sleep with a kid in my bed. No matter how much I love my children, I need my own space at night. Good luck!
first off, agreed with the sleepsack comment!! my son, now 3!!, went through the dreaded 6 month phase. right when you think you've got everything almost under control, they switch it up on you. he has always been a great sleeper, after the 6 month point. we never really brought him in bed with us, and now that he is 3 and saturday mornings come way too soon, he still wont really hang out in bed with us. only advise, only because you asked is, try and let them cry through the mid-night wakeups. they get through it sooner than you would expect. good luck! she is a doll! :)
Hello, i a great fan of you blog and also a mother of a two year old beautiful girl.
Martina used to sleep really well tin she was six months, then she started waking up virtually every hour and breastfeeding would be the only way to get her back to sleep, so we used to sleep together while her father would sleep in a different room as he needed to get up early for work.
I strongly believe that cryign out methods are really cruel and our babies do not deserve to be treated with such cruelness, but with love and patience. Think there will be a time when you will miss these days, she will not always need your attention as much as she does now. I know it is hard, but it will pass sooner than you think.
It has only been a week now that Martina is sleeping in her own room, in her own bed, and everything has worked out just fine. She is very happy and she keeps saying that she is older now and that she has her own bed in her room.
Things started to get better when she became one year old and now she only wakes up once or twice and i rest much better because i dont get kicked by my princess anymore.
I advice you to be patient, reald more info in http://www.pantley.com/elizabeth/ or http://www.askdrsears.com/
and please dont let such a beatiful baby cry out to sleep.
Good luck,
greetings from Spain,
Lorena
Your iphone pictures are the best. They always look so good, and your family is so cute! I wish I had that bowl of raspberries now!
oh we were looking at that high chair over the weekend! i love the wooden chair – those plastic ones drive me a little crazy.
sorry about the mouse. luckily you have kingsley to protect you and eleanor!
i've had mice in my house in dc before and the best solution i've found is to put steel wool in any crevices you might find. they can't chew through it and it's not chemicals so it's baby and doggie safe.
i don't want summer to end! fall is lovely, but so short & then bam… winter ughness.
anyway, as far as her not sleeping in her crib, i do suggest you let her cry. some people view the crying method as mean but truly, it is a matter of degree. of course i don't suggest letting them cry for hours on end. but i HAD to implement the crying method when i was thru with breastfeeding, my son was 18 months and it upset him so much. but after a few days, it greatly lessened and then a couple days more, and no more crying. same thing when he needed to get out of our bed, he cried in the beginning, but after a few days, it diminished and now we all are a way happier famil. i can actually turn in my bed. and move my leg. and then my other leg.
crying is not cruel unless it is for too long. every one has their opinion of too long, mine was nothing over an hour.
most babies will cry in the "take away" stages, but as long as your there to comfort, speak softly, & let her know everything's ok, it'll be fine.
xx
Wow, I can't believe she is that old already!
The hardest, but quickest way for them to learn is crying it out, it sounds mean and it's so sad to listen too, but they get it really fast. We did it with our son at about 8months and it worked. he's almost 3 now and he comes into our room to sleep with us in the morning for about an hour and that is fun cuddle time, but he's old enough now to understand that he has his own bed.
Best wishes, it's hard, you'll more than likely cry with her…but if you want to sleep, that is a way to teach them!
ugh I hate mice as well we found one in our kitchen this past winter. Loving instagram myself, it makes pics look so much cooler!
Fashionable Collections
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child saved me and my family. My oldest is six now and people are constantly amazed at how well my kids sleep. Good luck!
Love the pictures! E just gets cuter and cuter! I hope you find some cure for her sleeping problems. :) Good luck!
I would love to have fall too, I'm ready for the crisp air and lovely fall clothes! I do like summer but the heat is too much for me. Love the pictures!
I feel your pain with the sleep problems. My daughter is 6 months old and a terrible sleeper. I've listened to everyone's advice, "crying it out is cruel" "just be patient." This book is key, this book isn't, etc. but the biggest saving grace was turning inward and doing the research for myself. The Ferber CIO technique? The one that everyone says is cruel? If you read his book, it's the most sane, educated and researched info available! You just have to research and take what you need from each book/ advice. At least that's my theory. Good luck!
Gorgeous photos! You really make me want an iphone. That food looks absolutely delicious! now I'm hungry!
Sounds and looks like another fabulous summer weekend. You will find a dresser!!! Raspberries are so delicious in the summer. What are your travel beauty essentials?
http://www.MrsCapretta.com
Recipes Fashion Marriage
Oh dear! Iris has started doing this too! I felt so proud with the baby who'd slept through the night from six weeks on. But now she's up at the very least 2-3 times a night not because she's hungry just because she simply wants to be held!
I wish my phone took pictures like that! Your life never fails to amuse me, so cute!
I love all your pictures :) They are so cute! :) Looks like you had a great weekend!!
beautiful pictures, beautiful family. as far as sleep goes, you'll get a million + 1 opinions on this subject. my daughter (now 11 mos) stopped her long stretches at around this time too. teething, i think. when i was too exhausted to sit with her in our chair to nurse back to sleep she would end up in our bed, but like you said–mama and papa don't get very good sleep that way.
at around 9 months i started trying to -gently- wean the night feeds. meaning, i would rock her instead of going straight to nursing. i started with a 3 hour increment of not feeding, then after a few days to 3.25, etc. Right away she was able to do 5+ hrs no problem, and it took a little longer to get to 9+ hrs but within a few weeks she was there, and the night wakings nearly stopped altogether.
but…then teething rears its ugly head again. right now my poor girl's molars are coming in (it is awful!) and she wakes up several times a night. if i see she's in pain (hands in mouth, different kind of cry, swollen gums), I'll nurse after a dose of tylenol. if not we'll just try to rock back to sleep. my husband helps with a lot of the night wakings, too–i think that's helpful both for mama's sanity and i really think they smell your milk if it is you trying to get them back to sleep. good luck, poor sleep is tough. sorry if this answer is all over the place, am typing fast before my baby wakes from her nap!
Oh, the sleep issues. Probably one of the hardest things to deal with/experience as parents of littles.
I won't give advice. People on opposing sides will swear by their own methods.
I'll just suggest to you to trust your gut on what Eleanor needs. It can be hard to tune out the nay-sayers and the well-wishers, but you and your husband get to claim divine right to be inspired on what will best work for your family, which is awesome.
John 14:18 was a helpful verse for me when in the thick of the sleep battles with my kiddos.
Good luck! May the force be with you!
My sister is having the same issue with her 7 month old. Thanks to the other lovely comments, I've got some book ideas to give her! If anything works for you I will let you know. Hang in there, though! You're not alone, and from what my sister tells me (and from the sound of these comments) it's a normal baby phase.
Where did you get your kitchen table?! And where can I find one?:) That is EXACTLY the type of table I have been looking for!
Check out the book Baby Wise, it teaches parents how to teach their babies to sleep
Agreed! Fall can't come soon enough! Plus… fall marks 1 year until my wedding :D Any advice?
Looks like you had a great weekend! Kingsley sounds like how our dogs are with spiders. I hate those creepy crawlers and the summer sun just drives them inside. Yuck! Our dogs do a good job of clawing and pawing at them, though. :) You're lucky you live in a place that actually has an autumn season. I love being in Southern California, but we don't get the whole fall season, leaves changing, crisper air thing. I'll look forward to seeing autumn through your pictures!
~ Angela
grahamandangela.blogspot.com
P.S. I simply love your taste in fashion. Everytime I see a picture of you, I get ideas for things I want to wear. :)
Love your little family! :)
i'm not a seasoned mommy but i'm a seasoned nanny. best bet is to do the cry it out technique. it is hard. but she needs to know that is where she sleeps. i've noticed (from the gazillion kids i've taken care of) that when they start learning more and more new things they tend to be too excited to sleep. its understandable that at 6 months she would just want to keep going.
love, little.
I had a son a couple weeks before you had your daughter so they are basically the same age… My son, Brooks also started to not sleep through the night and would only sleep when in our bed. I chatted with my dr. and he said to let the baby cry for 15 minutes, then go in and check in on him/her but do not take them out of the crib or pick them up at all, rub there back etc. to comfort them, but no longer than 1 min in time… and then repeat the cycle- 4 times before giving in. I will say it was very difficult and so hard to leave him in there upset, but just like the dr said after two sets of 15 minutes he went back to sleep- three nights of this and he is sleeping again!!! It's worth a shot! Good Luck and I love your Blog!!
i love all the fresh foods y'all eat! so much inspiration, thanks! xo
Kingsley is so cute, I love him! I love it when you post your Iphone photos; they're my favorite!
Thank the Lord I'm not the only one who desperately wants fall! I can't wait to wear light jackets and jeans again. :)
Though I'm pretty sure you don't want to hear this, but I believe that I've grown closer to my mom because of the bond we had when we shared when I was younger. I'm not a mother yet (I'm still in high school!), but I do believe that since I slept with my mom for most of my life, I share a closer bond with her. But it's totally up to you! I wouldn't rule out making Eleanor sleep in her own room yet, but you're the mom! :)
You guys are so adorable and I love reading your blog!
Can't believe you know the Browns! I was in the Juilliard Pre-College program with them and even then, they were magnetic. Hope you have a great week!
i'm a co-sleeper for all 5 of my kids. i can't let them "cry it out". she is prob. starting the teething thing. just get comfy with her in your bed, its so much easier and makes for happier more secure babies! or so i say! good luck.
your baby will be secure cuz she has you as her wonderful mother! don't believe the hype about "ruining your child" if you let them cry. there's a name for kids whose parents never let them cry, brats. security comes from love & discipline. not from giving them everything they want. what comes from giving them everything they want is what our society is turning into, role reversal, kids who run the show, parents who cry themselves to sleep.
i'm finding myself using my iPhone wayyyy more than any other camera. i have a love/hate with the convenience of it. don't you?
teri
http://www.bockting.blogspot.com
Ok, I'm expecting our first baby, and I can only pray our babester is as cute as yours has been from day one! Though probably not quite the fashionista as we live in rural Eastern Oregon…
http://ealougee.blogspot.com
I LOVE your blog and think you are just about the coolest thing ever! Can we be friends? :)
Lauren
http://www.gavinandlauren.blogspot.com
oooh i would be feeling the same way about the mouse. i am not ok with any kind of critters in the house! hopefully that was the only one :)
xo
Love the pics, looks like a splendid week you had :)
I love the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child! My babe is only 2 months old and we haven't sleep trained yet but everything I've read in the book makes total sense and all the mom's I know who have read it swear by it!
Good luck, I know how desperately a mama needs her sleep!
My little Cashy did that! It's very common for this age. I let him cry for 10 minutes at a time. Most of the time he would fall back asleep at around 7 minutes. It's no fun hearing them cry!!! But it worked for us! Good luck!!
I know I don't comment a lot on your blog… mostly for giveaways. Sorry. But I thought I'd give my two cents (for what it's worth) on the sleeping situation.
My son went through the same thing right around six months, and I know this isn't what you want to hear, but I mostly waited it out until he went back to his normal sleep schedule/patterns. I did try letting him cry for up to 15 minutes (depending on how hard he cried), then I would console him a little before laying him back down for another 15 minutes. If it got to be too much I would simply cuddle with him 'til he fell asleep before laying him back down. It was a lot of reading his cues to understand what he truly needed at the time, which is why I say I "waited it out" as well as did "controlled crying."
Of course, all babies are different so you never know what might work as well as how long this will last. I hope things turn around in the sleeping department soon!
oh i so agree! it is sweltering in boston and it makes me look forward to my first autumn here! it is so close i can almost taste the pumpkin flavored things in the distance! :)
I am a nanny who specializes in sleep training. I have read all the sleep training books, Secrets of Baby Whisperer, Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Baby, No Cry Sleep Solution, etc etc. and I have to say the most useful book I have read is Babywise.
I started sleep training my daughter at 6 weeks and she was sleeping 12 hours thru the night at 13 weeks old. She is now 19 months and she sleeps 12-13 hours consistently every night. I highly recommend reading Babywise and learning how you can help your daughter develop healthy sleep habits that will last her a lifetime.
Some people feel that its cruel to let your baby learn to self-soothe. Other people feel that it is cruel to let your child get used to sleeping with their parents only to evict the child from the family bed when mommy and daddy decide it is no longer convenient. There are two sides to almost every parenting issue. Its all how you look at it. In the end every parent loves their child and are just trying to do what they think is best. So don't let anyone try to make you feel guilty for whatever path you choose is right for eleanor.
I would kill for your heat wave! It is FREEZING here in my part of the world (Victoria in Australia). Grass is always greener right?!
I love seeing your pictures of your family, your little girl is so cute!
I recently got an iPhone (one of the reasons was seeing the nice pictures you take with it) and I was wondering wich apps you use? I'm a bit confused as there are so many! You probably already said this somewhere, hope you don't mind me asking!
Oh, and after a lovely Spring we skipped Summer here in Belgium and are already having Fall …
My Lucy (she's only 2 weeks older than E) was a horrible sleeper for her first 4 months and depended on nursing to get her to dreamland. Unfortunately that also meant lots of wake ups during the night, so at 4 months old I started putting her down in her crib awake for all naps and for bedtime. The first week or so was hard, as she had no self-soothing skills (and wouldn't take a pacifier), but once she learned to fall asleep on her own it made a HUGE difference at night as well. If we stick to a good nap routine during the day, she sleeps 11-12 hours(!) at night without ever waking up. I did start putting a soft bunny/blanket in the crib with her when we started training, and now that is her security and cuddle bunny anytime she is in her crib. I made sure to sleep with it for a few nights so that it had my scent, so if she wakes during the night she smells me and isn't crying out for us anymore.
Some days she goes right down for her naps, some days she cries for a while. Usually by bedtime she doesn't cry at all! It's all hit or miss, especially once teething starts, but the best thing you can do for her is teach her to self-sooth on her own, even if hearing her cry is hard (it is!). She will become a great night sleeper and will be all smiles in the morning when you greet her!
PS.. I second the Babywise recommendation. I read lots of negative reviews from other mom's, but all my friends swore by it. I didn't get serious about following it until 4 months, but once you start following the schedule it really does work.
Read the book "The No Cry Sleep Solution". I used her techniques with both of my boys and it worked wonders. Good luck to you!
Seasoned mommy… I would not do the cry it out approach, but a variation of it based on what the "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer" said. It totally worked with my child, and my sisters. They are awesome sleepers, unless sick, dirty diaper, or teething. It's an alternative inbetween crying it out methods (like the Ferber method) and no tears methods (like the No Cry Sleep Solution). And it is loving for your child, but effective for you. ;-)
Hope it helps!
http://www.baby-sleep-advice.com/baby-whisperer.html
xx
Lisa A.
http://tattoosandhighheels.blogspot.com
We caught a mouse in our trap this weekend too! It is shocking, disgusting, and sad all at once. I actually felt guilty even though I cannot tolerate living with mice at all.
i just can't get over how cute your family is. :)
I absolutely love this Blog. It reminds me so much of my home in DC. Thank you for bringing home to my dorm room each time I read this.
Suuuuuch a cute baby!!
strawberry freckleface
I am not a mother quite yet. Of my own child that is. I am a stepmom however at the very young age of 21 of a beautiful 3 year old. But, I would not trade it for the world! I can't wait until I have my very own little one. Eleanor however is one of the most adorable babies i've ever seen! :)
I imagine Fall in D.C. would be beautiful. In Arizona is cools off but there is no falling of leaves. :( When it comes to baby sleeping through the night, you have to do whats right for you. Whatever that may be. We're co-sleepers at our house and that's what works for me. (It's so much easier to roll over and nurse rather than wake up and go to another room.) I have a 5 and 3 1/2 year old who sleep in their own bed no problem. Maybe you could try putting her in her crib for naptime and then snuggling with her at night? Or snuggle her in your bed then take her to her crib? Good Luck!
Love your family. :o)You're very inspiring!
Love your family. :o)You're very inspiring!
i love that sweater! where is it from?
we finally got our son to sleep through the night by feeding him SO MUCH rice cereal that he could barely stand it. once he was full, he'd sleep so much better. we didn't want him to cry himself to sleep, so when he woke up periodically during the night we started out rocking him back to sleep, but by six months we would just pat him in his crib until he fell back asleep. finally around 10 months he started putting himself to sleep and staying asleep for the whole night.
it's exhausting if you do it this way, but we felt like it was worth it. whatever you do, i'm sure you'll do what's right for your family. babies need lots of sleep, so don't feel guilty for trying out different methods.
sorry to give so much advice, but i remember being totally mystified and stressed with this concept before we figured out what worked for us. good luck!!!
love your pictures! i too am ready for fall. DC is a lot more humid than where i grew up in CA!
This comment has been removed by the author.
i wanted to let you know how special this blog has been to me. this post brought so much joy to my heart, and i'm so happy to see the same joy in your family. xo
Read the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" (and Happy Mom and Dad I might add! :)