Christmas morning at Bruce and Heidi's
Coranelle's awesome new turtle toy!
Checking out the giraffe in daddy's new mug
Facinated by the wrapping paper, and not so much her presents.
Playing with dad at our Munson family gathering in Colorado Springs
Getting up on those knees and rocking, trying to crawl.
Enjoying the bowl- once again more interested in everything but her toys and gifts.
Talking to her new book at Gammadele and GPS's (Grandpa Steve) houseWe are recovering today from Coranelle's first Christmas. We have been all over the place in the past four days and today we're finally home for walks, naps, and unpacking gifts and cleaning. Coranelle did a great job. We spent Christmas eve and morning with Ryan's parents. Coranelle loved the wrapping paper and the lights. She got all sorts of great new books, toys and clothes and is a spoiled baby! Grandparents, aunts, and uncles more than made up for the fact that Ryan and I didn't buy her anything.
We had a great time with family over the last few days! We went up to Longmont for Christmas dinner and got to see Amanda (who is back from Haiti for a quick break), Stefan, Rebecca, Rachael and mom and Steve. We had a good time catching up and playing catch phrase. Saturday, we went to a graduation/engagement party in Louisville and then we went back to Longmont to have dinner with my parents and some old family friends. Yesterday, we spent the whole day down in Colorado Springs with my mom's side of the family. We went for a beautiful walk and got to see all the aunts, uncles and cousins. So, it has been busy. But, Coranelle held up really well. She still did not really want to be held by anyone. My mom held her for about half and hour Christmas day while we were playing a game. That was a great break for me, but I wish she would do it more often. My mom and I agreed that Coranelle has a lot of love. She is affectionate with Ryan and me, giving us lots of smiles and laughs. But, she just needs to share that love. I truly wonder when this clingy, stranger anxiety phase will end. It has been going on since early October. I know it won't last forever, but I am anxious for others to be able to take her and enjoy her.
We truly enjoyed her on her first Christmas. Despite the weariness that all the driving, packing up, and family time can bring- we had a wonderful Christmas. We enjoyed every minute of our time together as a new family. On Christmas eve, Coranelle had an outfit on that made her look like a little present. Ryan and I agreed that she was our best gift this Christmas and we are so thankful for our squirmy, stubborn, energetic, adorable baby.
In other news, Coranelle is now getting up on her knees and rocking. She wants to crawl, but cannot lift her arm up and stay up. She just flops back onto her belly. I am also slowly working on getting her down for naps and eventually bedtime without being swaddled. She sleeps so well swaddled. Actually, she nurses really well when I get her up and just nurse her swaddled too. That way, she cannot be reaching for my hair, my watch, my sleeves- everything, while nursing. But, I know I cannot keep swaddling her forever. It seems time. I have tried a few naps in her crib without swaddling her. She rolls over onto her tummy and can put her pacifier in and pass out. The first few times I tried, she cried for 12-16 minutes and then fell asleep. But, she only slept for 1/2 an hour and woke up crying- startled. I would love advice from any of you moms on how you went about training your babies to sleep without being a little glow worm.
This week, we have another busy week. I have some great girlfriends home for the holidays that I will be catching up with. It is also Josh's birthday. We'll be headed up to Estes Park for a New Years eve party and then we have a wedding to attend to on Saturday. Go go go!
I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! Lots of love and hugs!
4 comments:
sounds like a fun christmas! samuel was the same way with his gifts...chuck the present and stick the wrapping paper into his mouth instead!
regarding swaddling....well, i love my little glo-worms. and they both love(d) being swaddled. tristan, especially. we tried weaning him from the swaddle several times and the same thing happened that you mentioned..he'd jolt awake either at 30 min or 45 min and wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. so i always went back to swaddling cuz it seemed easier. something you might want to try is unswaddling her for bedtime. they seem to have less "jolts" then. anyhow, i finally gave up on weaning the darn thing and i think he was swaddled till he was a year and a half!! its funny now to remember the lengths i went to to make sure he couldn't get out of it. it made a few things easier, like he never went through the phase of pulling himself up to standing by his crib rails cuz he couldn't stand up with his swaddle on! samuel is still swaddled because i've tried to wean him and he just won't fall asleep! he "talks" with his fist in his mouth and giggles....for like an hour! i figure its one of those things that isn't a big deal to keep doing for me. its part of our bedtime routine and i know the swaddle keeps him nice and cozy in this colder winter weather. but if you're set on getting rid of it, i know that starting with only one arm is supposed to help, and make sure that she has something to hold onto, like a little lovey with a paci sewn onto it so its easier to find. good luck and let me know how it goes!
Well, I can't give you any advice on naps! But for bedtime, we stopped swaddling Leah a few months ago. I think if you want to do it, do it before she learns how to crawl, because if she rolls onto her tummy, her first instinct will be to crawl even if she's tired. With Leah, we decided it was time to stop swaddling because she could roll onto her tummy even in her swaddle and it made me nervous that she was on her tummy all bound up. She didn't seem to have too hard of a time transitioning. She would fall asleep eating and we'd put her down. Sometimes she'd stay asleep and other times she would wake up shortly after. We would just go in and comfort her and put her back on her back, and we did this over and over until she fell asleep. Now she's used to it and almost always sleeps on her tummy. But we did lower her crib to the lowest setting because she started pulling herself up on it. It took Leah about a week to adjust to not being swaddled. I hope it goes well for you!
no advice on swaddling from grandma Adele, because you and Stefan were never swaddled....but I love your blog and hope you continue to write it for a long time. It will be a lovely journal about Coranelle for a very long time! Christmas was wonderful for many reasons, but it was especially "special" because of Coranelle! Have a great busy week!
Hi Kari!
I have no advice for you on swaddling- Noah refused to be swaddled from day 1. We have pictures from when he was a day old with his arms hanging out. It was amazing how he managed to get those little arms above his head- we blame it on the fact he was born during Monday Night Football and he was practicing his touchdown signal! ;-)
Regarding nursing un-swaddled, they actually have nursing necklaces that you can wear when nursing your baby. They're designed to keep them occupied and give them something to play with while nursing other than your hair and face. I'm not sure where you can get them, though. You might google it or a cheaper way would be to make your own.
Sounds like you all had a great Christmas! Don't worry, she'll go to other people eventually, just in her own time. That's the hardest thing to remember about babies, isn't it?
Have a GREAT New Year!
Love, Amy
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