Maree's Room

While I was pregnant, I had so much fun decorating Maree's room. I planned the whole room around the bedding from my mother-in-law and the chandelier from my mom.  I also made crafts that I learned from my Grandmother Tom Tom almost everyday.   Once the room was completed, I could hardly wait for Maree to arrive so I would have a reason to be in there!  However, Maree has not slept one night in this pretty, pretty room.... until this week!

As you probably know, Maree was diagnosed by an Upper GI test  that showed she had severe reflux at just 16 days old.  Apparently it is genetic because I learned Marc was also a very spitty baby and even ruined a velvet chair all on his own back in the day.  Miss Maree, in turn, is also well on her way to "milkifying" Marc's chair, our couch, and of course, the carpet.   Because of this problem, we were told that she was at a higher risk for SIDS.  Yes.. SIDS!!!! Who tells a new mother that their child is at a high risk for sudden infant death - as if I wasn't already lacking in the sleep department with nighttime feedings!!!  So of course, to help me sleep better, I kept Maree in our room.

After a few weeks of no sleep, I discovered a miracle product - the nap nanny.  This little device allowed Maree to sleep at a 45 degree angle and it improved her sleep drastically because it kept the milk in her belly!  Ahhh... sleep.

However, after a few months, Maree got stronger and she would thrash her whole body and head in her sleep.  This would keep me up for hours even though she was still sleeping!  So in the end, it was ironic - I kept Maree close to me to help me sleep better, but in reality, it made me sleep worse.  This meant it was time to risk moving her to her own room. I had such mixed feelings about this - a case of the "what if's" rolled through my brain every night as I talked myself out of doing it.  Finally, this past week, I decided that most all babies sleep in their crib and survive... so Maree could too.  Luckily, it wasn't as bad as I thought.  I put her to sleep, turned the video monitor on, and we both slept good :)  I did momentarily panic though, because when I woke up and looked at the monitor, Maree was no longer in view!!  I didn't realize Maree was a mobile sleeper- I was used to her being strapped in her nap nanny - but apparently with more freedom, she moves around!

She starts upright...

And ends up scrunched up sideways - always has her hands up!

Had to include this... just a few days old - she looks so tiny in her crib