Did you know it costs $60 to use the Babies ‘R Us nursing room?!
I knew it was getting to be about “that time” so we stopped in to grab some jammies and use the mother’s room, which has a couch, glider, and changing table, and walked out with some more goodies. They’re tricky like that 
We grabbed some sparkly headbands, a new swaddle (the Swaddle Me ones have been working really well for nighttime) and some zipper jammies, which save the day. They make the night changes a little easier when my glasses are falling off my face and I’m trying to button a thousand buttons
I also picked up a Halo sleep sack, because as I mentioned before, we’re trying to get her to take one nap in her pack n’ play, since she only naps really well if I’m holding or wearing her. As much as I love to hold her while she sleeps, I’d rather get work and things around the house done while she’s sleeping. The computer stays closed while she’s awake, and it would be awesome to work out while she naps so that I don’t have to go at night when Tom is home- I’d rather hang out with both of them.
Yesterday she lasted about 10 minutes in the pack n’ play before her flailing arms woke her up, and today about 15 minutes. As soon as she wakes up and cries, I pick her up and put her in the Moby or lay on the couch and hold her for the rest of her nap, but would love to have an option to keep her arms from going crazy without swaddling. (We’re trying to save swaddling for a nighttime only thing, so she doesn’t get confused.) Enter the sleep sack. According to the internets, if you safety-pin the arm holes closed, it’s like a very loose swaddle. The baby will have free movement of her legs, and her arms will stay closer to her sides instead of shooting up into the air to wake her up. We’ll see how it goes! 
After some awesome sleeping over here, the past few of nights have been a little rough. We’ve been up every 2 hours or so, mostly to eat, other times to change diapers or cuddle, and Tom has been flying. I’m positive she’s going through a growth spurt (grow baby, grow!), and after lots of wake-ups last night, we lounged in bed all morning, put on some real clothes, dropped Bell at the groomer’s, went to Babies ‘R Us, and met that one guy we’re both crazy about for lunch.
It was a great day <3
Something to read:
Saving my baby (thank you to Brittany for the link!)
10 things everyone should consider before having a baby
Hi, I'm Gina. Welcome to The Fitnessista! I love blogging about my adventures as a new mom, military wife and fitness instructor, as well as sharing new workouts and recipes. Check out the About page for more info - thanks for stopping by!
Oh man, I remember these days so well! I would blog at 3am with one finger while the little one took her time nursing. It was a whole new (much lower) level of productivity…and still is
I really thought Babies ‘R Us charged $60 to use the nursing room when I first read that, and I was outraged, haha. That’s so nice you got to meet the Pilot for lunch
I hope you get some more (uninterrupted) sleep soon!
I thought the same thing about the 60$ and I , too, was totally outraged at first. Spaz!!!
Haha I though the same thing too!
Love the cupcake pj’s! So sweet
I absolutely loved zipper pj’s for nightime. I could never get those darn buttons to match up in the middle of the night. The elastic bottom night gowns are fav too. Just slip them up, quick change, and your set
I’ll tell you what though … we swaddled during naptime and it worked so well. When she was ready to sleep unswaddled it was a seamless transition … no problems whatsoever. Just a thought if you get desperate
Okay, just read both the links you recommended at the bottom…about choked up and started crying at work, followed by a dose of laughter immediately after….I’m sure my coworkers think I’m crazy! Great reads!
Agree. I have no words for the first link. I can’t even imagine that! And the second one was pretty hilarious.
I am the Brittany who sent her the link and just like you girls, I got so choked up. I love reading how the little things that mothers do can save their baby in the long run.
Haha, oh no! Those sneaky guys. Sounds like you have some pretty serious plans in action for getting Livi to sleep, hope they work out!!
I feel like an idiot, I totally thought they actually changed $60 to use the nursing room until I read the first comment. wow.
Adorable swaddle btw.
Looked like a great day! Lots of cute stuff!
Girl I used to be able to burn up money like there was no tomorrow in BRU. Go in for wipes, come out with wipes + a whole lot more
Love the baby and daddy pic <3
I love the Swaddleme blankets! My daughter is 3 months old and we’ve been swaddling her for naps for probably close to 2 months now. It’s the only way I can get her to take a decent nap. She doesn’t seem to have any confusion with nights because of it.
You are welcome Gina! I had a feeling you would like it.
Totally adorable picture!
I feel you on the short naps thing. Until we learned about sleep cycles, my kids did the same thing. I am not at all a cry it out person and when they are young, like Livi, you DO need to go and get them when they start to cry after fifteen minutes of napping or whatever the scenario. When they get a little older however, you can make sure they are as comfortable as possible in whatever you normally put them in for bed then when they start to make that first waking noise….you do whatever you can to keep them asleep to get them through the brief wakening and to a deep REM sleep. That information saved us! The book, “The No Cry SLeep Solution” goes into greater detail and gives more ideas on how to get them through those brief wakenings as well as how to recognize a brief wake period from the real thing. I still use it when something gets them off kilter like teething or travel. LIfesaver! http://www.amazon.com/No-Cry-Sleep-Solution-Gentle-Through/dp/0071381392
I used the swing for both of my boys during nap times. It was a life saver. I let a friend use it because she was having issues with her daughter – problem solved. This is similar to the one I have – http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000I5UZ1Q/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=heamomsexwif-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000I5UZ1Q
LOL, I thought they charged $60 to use the room too! I thought, “what on earth could be in there that they are charging so much?!”
Glad you got to have a fun lunch with the Pilot!
that “10 things every one should consider before having a baby” link totally cracked me up. and it’s so true! but i still have baby fever. ha!
Love the photo of Tom and Livi, you have to post some photos that include all the family, I mean, you, tom and the pretty little lady
Nice headbands!
What a precious picture of the Pilot and Livi! That must melt your heart!
We started off using the swing for naps when my son was a newborn. We still occasionally use it and he is 8 months old. He only sleeps for a couple hours at a time when he is in his pack n play or crib. In some ways, I wish I would have started off putting him in his crib for naps (after the initial 4-6 weeks of sleeping with us). It makes sense to try and get you daughter to take naps in the pack n play. The sleep sheep or other white noise seems to help in our house. Good luck.
My sister and I just spent half a day replacing all of her babies buttons with velcro. GENIUS. She learned it from her maid (in Switzerland, ‘maid’ is a respectable job). Honestly, if you have a little bit of craftiness, you should do it. Just patch over the domes or buttons and buttonholes with a velcro patch. So easy, and so much easier when dealing with a wriggly baby.
Love that picture of the Pilot. He looks so proud
I know people with 4th graders who still sleep with them! I remember being so resentful after a while of having to lie down with my daughter for her naps (and that’s what it turns into when they’re too heavy to carry sleeping). Eventually you say “enough” and demand that time for yourself and the baby learns it’s ok to sleep alone. Maybe even better!
I just bought that same Halo Sleep Sack for my cousin’s baby shower (:
Just curious, why did you decide to only swaddle at night time? If you swaddle every time it’s ‘bed time’ they’ll associate that feeling with sleep. She won’t confuse the daytime nap with nighttime sleep. I guarantee if you start swaddling her at nap time, she’ll sleep without you holding her.
Totally agree with this. My son was swaddled at nap time too, my midwife suggested it to give me some free time. Worked like a charm and having those hours free’d up was a life saver!
ok, i might have to go for it
Haha ok that makes sense, I was worried that they really did charge that much for using their nursing room and I was ready to call for a protest! Lol
Since I’m not ready for a little one yet, I’m enjoying living vicariously through your family page and getting my baby fix.
On a side note I think it’s hilarious that you referred to the internet as the “internets”. My boyfriend and I say that all the time. And whenever one of us is unsure of the answer to something we’ll say “Let’s… ASK THE GOOGLE” all Eureka!-like and whip out our phone. We also occassionally answer the phone by saying “Internet” when we call each other. I think it’s hilarious. Nice to know I’m not the only one 
haha i love it!
Once our daughter was able to lift and turn her head well we started letting her sleep on her tummy (gasp!). She would startle really easily and wake up anytime we put her on her back to sleep. We bought countless swaddle blankets and tried more sleeping arrangements than I can tell you. For us tummy sleeping has helped tremendously. She’s definitely not sleeping through the night yet, but she seems to rest much better. I know anyone that reads this will probably freak out and say we’re horrible parents, but tummy sleeping used to be the norm and without any sids risk factors like prematurity or smokers in the home we are comfortable with our decision. Babies are really really smart, they aren’t going to smoosh their noses into the mattress.
Ok so I am having the same issue with my 3 week old son. During nighttime swaddling he sleeps like a charm but would only nap decently for naps in the past week in my arms, on my chest or in his swing or bouncer. Because he’s still so young I definitely oblige the sleeping in my arms. But I know as he gets older the habits will form, so I test my options. The safety pinned arm holes SleepSack worked today for his 1st nap of the day (keeping fingers crossed). He fussed for a little bit so I picked him back up and held him for a bit and he slept laying in his pack n play for a nap for the first time till his next feeding.
Thank you so much for the idea! I love reading about the happenings with you, Tom and Liv…it helps me tremendously to tweak my happenings as a 1st time mom!
I have the same problem with my little one. Unless I was holding her she wouldn’t sleep. My friend recommended the Wombie…it’s a sleep sack that simulates the womb. AMAZING!! I can finally get things done around the house.
Don’t worry about the sunblock! They can’t wear any until they are 6 months old
We just invested in lots of hats!