A Weekend of "Firsts"

^^Pictures from right after we went on a nice 40 minute walk/jog today. Nicole loves walks, and although she usually stays wide awake for them, today we were out long enough that she fell right asleep.^^

Not for long, though.

I love that fuzzy white jacket.

In the nearly two months that we've been parents, Doug and I had never gotten away for a baby-free date... until this weekend. In fact, the longest I had ever been away from Nicole since we brought her home from the NICU was one hour last week when I went to visit a neighbor and left her with Doug. Even at night, she slept right next to me.

On Saturday, Doug and I got to see the US premiere of the new musical "The Count of Monte Cristo" at BYU. This show was kind of a big deal because, aside from the story being one of my favorites, the music is by Tony Award-Winning composer Frank Wildhorn and he chose BYU, of all places, to do the US premiere of his show and help workshop it in preparation for the show going to Broadway. The music was beautiful, I loved the lighting design... and we sat through the whole 3 hour show without a baby. Doug's sister was watching her for us (still in the same building in case she wanted to nurse) and the little angel slept for nearly the whole show. I admit, I felt some anxiety about leaving her behind for so long with someone other than Doug, but it was wonderful to sit in our front balcony seats and watch the show.

I still snuck out during intermission to give her a quick kiss on the head.

What can I say... I can't stay away from this face!

In addition to our first baby-free date, Nicole spent her first night in her crib on Saturday. Up until now, she'd been sleeping in bed with Doug and me. When we first brought her home from the hospital we tried having her sleep in a bassinet next to our bed, but she was up every 30-60 minutes and would proceed to stay up for an hour before letting me put her back down again. The first time I let her sleep in bed with me the whole night, she slept for 2-3 hour stretches. After that I was hooked on co-sleeping and we both slept much better.

Fast forward to this weekend. We've been preparing her for the transfer to the crib the past week or two by putting her down to sleep on our bed a little while before we go to bed ourselves (instead of letting her nurse to sleep in bed with me). I've also been putting her down when she's still awake a little and she's learned to soothe herself the rest of the way to sleep. When we put her in her crib on Saturday night, she fell asleep for 4 hours, woke up to eat, and then I put her back to bed while she was drowsy... and after a couple minutes of squeaking and wiggling, she fell right asleep. I thought it might be a fluke, but the pattern continued last night as well. As long as she's full and drowsy, I can put her in the crib and she will do the rest of the work and fall asleep on her own. I'm so glad that she doesn't need me to rock and shush her forever. However, if I try putting her down when she hasn't quite had her fill of breastmilk, she will be sure to let me know within a few minutes.

I miss having her right there, but it's so nice to have the bed back to ourselves. I fall asleep faster without a baby next to me, and I'm more comfy.

Now... if only I could get her to sleep in her crib for her naps. She wakes up quickly during the day unless I'm holding her - or unless she's in a forward-moving object such as a stroller or car, evidently. Exhibit A:

It makes it harder to get things done, but I love the excuse to snuggle all day.