We're all gettin' there. It's taken a few weeks of getting to know one another, which has had its own fun & frustrations, but I can confidently say that both sides of our newly enlarged family have learned more about the other. Alissa and I have probably enjoyed the results of this process more than Nora, as we have employed a CIO strategy, otherwise known as Cry It Out. The first week and a half at home, we would try to comfort Nora almost every time she let out a significant cry. At least for me, that became very, very old and frustrating, especially around 3 in the morning! She might settle down for a little bit, but a minute or two after laying her back down she would get fussy again. Thus, the cycle would continue. I know Alissa struggled with it as well. Well, following a little more research and asking around, we decided to be a bit more selective as to when we would comfort her. Quite a bit more selective!
While it may take Nora a few more weeks or months to figure out that it's in her best interest that we're doing this, we've already seen the benefit for both her and us. It's actually good for her, for one thing, to have a good cry. We're giving her a good 15-20 minutes of solid crying before we go in and comfort her. It's hard to wait that long; it feels like we should be going in and doing something well before this. But we've seen her sleeping patterns improve at night, her naps improve during the day, her feeding times be a lot less stressful (there were other factors involved with this), and her overall demeanor progress in a positive direction. We've also been reassured many times by family & friends that this strategy will be very beneficial down the road.
Beyond this technical adjustment in the family life, we've been enjoying Nora so much and are truly amazed at this little person. I like to just go in her room and watch her sleep sometimes and just stand in awe of her amazing little body. How does it all work? What does she think about? Dream about? She is doing so well, and we're glad she is back up to her birth weight once again. Though only in the 10th percentile of newborns weight wise, the doctor said that doesn't really matter as long as she keeps growing well. In fact, I love how cute and little she is.
Our friend Dave has been doing so well. He has been moved to rehab and the doctors went from a 6-week stay prognosis to a 4-week stay in the matter of 2 days. God is good! It also helps that Dave has a strong personality that doesn't want to stay down. He can now feed himself, walk short distances, and even pick his own nose. He also can now dial his own cell phone, which results often in more video editing work for me, but I wouldn't trade that for anything. Seeing him progress like he has has been a real encouragement and the least I can do is help relieve his mind that things are being taken care of back home while he relearns the ropes of movement all over again.
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