3rd time around... I got this right???.. WRONG!!

Thank goodness she's cute right!!!.. lets start at the beginning.. It all did seem to easy. Right from the get go this little miss ate and slept. 2 hrs like it was her JOB. Woke once, MAYBE 2x a night and nurturing was a piece of cake. I distinctly remember saying to Dan, "This kid is a star" ... I probably jinxed myself. Around 4 weeks of age the naps started changing. It became much harder to put her down but I knew that it was going to happen and thought it would end soon. Her room was dark, her swaddle was on and her feeds were before sleep... I had everything in place so it wouldn't last long.... I thought..  Her nights were still great, the odd time it was taking her longer to get back to sleep and those nights really did kill me, but we survived. She was in our room so there was no escaping the cries and fusses, I heard it all and it did just seem easier to lay with her or rock her to sleep... and I did.. Against everything I knew to be right and wrong... but it didn't help! 
5 weeks old and naps were not any better but we were out so much that I didn't notice. At 6 weeks we went to a cottage.. Co incidentally Debbie was in italy. BAM like a tonne of bricks it hit me. The girl was on 4 naps a day and she could NOT transition. EVERY NAP FOR A WHOLE WEEK, 45 minutes. .. ..I had to stop and shake my head.. What was going on? There was lots of nurturing to be had. I had a chat with a friend to go over my checklist and realized I was forgetting my reset/emergency naps. It's so different when you are the trainee and not the trainer! My frustration was truly setting in.. "why couldn't she do it.. What was I doing wrong???" We brought her home and it still continued.. 7 weeks came and went.. no change. i was lucky if i got 3 good naps that whole week.  at 8 weeks there was no change for naps but i had a night that my older daughter was out of the house for the night and i put Giulia in her own room... we all went to bed at 10 and i woke up at 6am in a full out panic.. she had not woken up...  i walked into her room quietly and holding my breath ... she was still sleeping!! slept through till 7am till i woke her up and kissed her like a crazy person.. i did think it was a fluke but then night after night it continued.She was officially sleeping 10 hrs overnight by the end of 8 weeks old (NOTE: these are not typical results although they can happen it took a lot of hard work for us both).. naps never got better though... they were the same or worse and i was about ready to lose my mind, 9 weeks came and went (Bre... i was starting to think that your little William would find his perfect match). Naps were HORRIFIC!!! Many calls have/had been made to Debbie... many texts to my PERSON for advice.. And guess what.. IM DOING NOTHING WRONG... I cried when she yelled (she's never had tears and always ALWAYS calms when I walk into her room). Ive altered her schedule and she's now sleeping 8pm-7am (again.. NOT THE NORM for majority of babies).. This week we have seen a glimmer of hope.. She's been napping 2 hrs in the swing.. So we will keep that up for a bit to help her catch up on sleep and go back to he crib. 

Its been tough. I have officially had one of each baby. My son I was clueless on everything. I called Debbie as a client as he slept 45 minutes and barely slept overnight. By Implementing the babeez program as a client he ACED everything and was a dream sleeper for nights and naps from 4.5 mos on to today at 4.5 years. My daughter, 21 mos later, I was a trainer and implemented the nurturing program with her for the first time. That little one napped like a champ... so much so that we often said "do we even have another baby?" ... her struggle was always the overnight and it took her till just over 5-6 mos till nights became consistent.. (i even blogged on it)  Even right now at 3 years old she's been testing me nightly waking up and crying for NO REASON at all. She's sharing a room with her brother and it's driving me bonkers. But theres nothing wrong. 
And now my last baby is an overnight SUPERSTAR!! Naps are her Achilles heel... and its torturous to me. Im learning so much and in one way it's giving me the tools I need to help others. Its hard. Im not going to lie.. I have caught myself many times thinking .. "thats it, I'm done, I'm throwing in the towel" and then I stop and think... "what am I going to throw it in to? Really... what else would I do?" In a few moments of personal insanity I considered just laying with her.. I didn't want to nurture anymore... and then I had to stop and think.. I have 2 other kids that need me. Thats not even a remote possibility and what would either of us truly gain. So I push forward... I watch for ANY positive I can find and you bet I jump for joy and share with anyone I can. Even if its just one good nap i'll take it!! The glimpse of hope is there... I know she's going to get it.. i know she's on her way and this is shaping her up to understand whats expected of her and knowing that daddy or i will always come and see her to be sure she's ok.. we love her to pieces.. and i truly believe that THAT is why she isn't truly crying and more shouting in frustration... 

What I'm proud of most.. Is that we have worked her schedule into our life. We keep going. And maybe thats a bit of the reason why she's a bit behind on naps but its how life has to be.. We have been to the zoo, a cottage, farms, playdates, safaris, wonderland, birthdays, restaurants, meetings , etc. We have a trip planned for a conference in sept so she will also have a time change and a 4 Hr flight. And I'm not scared of it!! I'm not scared to do anything because I know that together we are moving forward. It may be slow for naps and fast for night but she's still getting there. She's 11 weeks old on Monday (I think.. Maybe 12.. I forget to be honest) and she has a smile that melts my heart. I cherish every snuggle and every smile.. She's happy, she's chubby & she's loved beyond words, she's a bit stubborn but she's perfect... even if she's the antinapper from outer space ... she's my antinapper and my gosh do I LOVE HER!!!!