The World’s Best Toys

SweetBaby still isn’t entirely back to sleeping through the night. Last weekend he had a fever and I cut him a little slack. But this weekend… we’re back to crying it out. Last night he cried from 3:30 until 4:00 when I caved I finally fed him.

He’s also started a cranky phase at dinner time. If he’s not interested in the type of food I give him (e.g. strained butternut squash), he’ll fuss and twist his head around. (Exorcist baby? Right. Must remember to schedule his baptism.)

Last night, I decided to entertain him with the world’s best toys. Yes, plastic margarine tubs. They roll around, can be whacked on the floor, and stacked together. He was in heaven.

Losing His First Tooth

And as if Monday wasn’t enough of a milestone, my six-year-old lost his first tooth, too. He was ecstatic, jumping around and yelling, “My tooth came out!! My tooth came out!”

Only, instead of a bleeding gap, something was in the hole. I’m not sure if it’s a piece of the baby tooth root or the permanent tooth, but it was grayish in color. Very odd. The baby tooth was hollow, which surprised me. I didn’t remember them being that way, but I could be wrong.

The next day it looked better, so I’m thinking that the permanent tooth was so close to the surface, it pushed the baby tooth out. My boy got up and yelled, “The tooth fairy left me a whole dollar!!”

Ah, inflation. How much did you get from the tooth fairy as a child? For me, it was a quarter.

Learning to Ride a Bike

My six-year-old learned to ride a bike today. ::sniffle:: Oh, those amazing milestones. Last year we took the training wheels off, thinking that he’d learn to ride over the summer. It was disastrous. He was terrified of falling and just couldn’t seem to keep his balance, no matter what we tried. In the end, we put the training wheels back on because he just wasn’t ready.

Last night, his dad bought a bike for Father’s Day. The two of them went out riding together, and afterwards, my husband took off the training wheels. Today, my son was eager to try out bike riding without the training wheels, so I dug out my old elbow and kneepads. We all remember the scraped elbows and knees from learning to ride, I’m sure. Anyway, Mr. Safety Boy was ready to rock. The toughest part was reminding him that once he started pedaling, he had to keep going. I think he was expecting to just coast. After some wobbly starts, I let go of his seat for about two seconds.

And then, something clicked. I’m not sure what it was, what universal forces were at work, but he got it. The next time I let go, he took off, pedaling for all he was worth. I’ll never forget that amazed smile on his face. And here I am, a maniac mom screaming, “You’ve got it! You’ve got it! Keep going!” The neighbors must have thought I was crazy. But it was a magical moment, like watching a baby walk for the first time.

I think I’ll go swagger to the grocery store now. Because my boy can ride a bike.

Color Me Exhausted

This was the last week of school. Not only did I have to administer exams and keep the natives from going crazy; but I had to pack up my entire classroom, go through eleven years worth of files and lesson plans, and clear out a lot of junk. The mental energy you exert will start to unravel anyone’s brain.

And let me tell you, the brain is feeling somewhat scrambled. I’m hoping to blog more regularly, once work is done. And then, I get to go into my full-time summer writing mode. LOVE IT.

But there are some downsides to being an author. When I published my first book, I was over the moon when the DHL postman arrived with a printout of my galleys. I gleefully went over the manuscript with a red pen, searching for any typos and cross-checking the British spelling (it always throws me off). Now when I see the DHL man, I want to let out a primal scream. Because it means that whatever I’m writing or currently plotting has to get shoved onto the backburner while I work on copyedits. I think it’ll get better when I’m off from work (tomorrow! ). Then I can sit down with a pot of coffee (and some walnut brownies) and knock them out.

I’m working on the Viking story again, while balancing the aforementioned copyedits and self-imposed revisions on Wedded to the Enemy. I think I need a clone. But then I stop every once in a while and I think, wow. It amazes me to think that I’m living a dream here. So even though I want to hide from the DHL man when the truck comes around, I’m so very grateful for this chance to tell my stories.

SweetBaby(tm) decided that after almost two weeks of sleeping through the night, I needed reminding of how lucky I am. Last night, for old times sake, he decided to stay up until 10 p.m., shooting my writing schedule to pieces (I had to stay up later to make up for that), and then he woke up at 1:30. Screamed and screamed. I managed to get him back to bed without feeding him, but he was a neurotic little boy, gripping my arm like he’d had a nightmare or something. Not sure what that was about, but hopefully he’ll get his act together tonight. I’m feeling a bit like the DHL truck ran over me, but we’ll work it out.

A Sneak Peek…

I’m guest-blogging over at The Good, The Bad, and the Unread today about the settings I write. There’s a link to an excerpt of Her Warrior King, and Sybil’s link reminded me that I hadn’t updated my website to include the new book.

Are you ready?

Here’s a sneak peek of my new book, Her Warrior Slave. Just click here and you can read an excerpt. This book does have a connection to the MacEgans, but you’ll have to figure out what it is. If you’re a detail-oriented person, you’ll realize that the hero of Her Warrior Slave is actually mentioned in Her Warrior King. Can you guess who Kieran is?

You can pre-order the book now on Amazon. It will be in stores in November.

Hope you enjoy the excerpt!

A Week in Review

In the past week, there was only one bad night. Each night got better and better, and all I can think of is, “Why didn’t I do this sooner?” The baby has consistently gone to sleep at around 8:30 and has slept until 5:00 a.m. I am human again! Thank you, God. This is the first week in six months that I’ve slept more than five hours straight, each night. It has been just wonderful. Two nights of crying was so incredibly worth it.

Looking back, I wouldn’t have tried it if he weren’t at least six months old. When they’re tiny babies, you just don’t know if there’s something truly bothering them. But now that my dear boy is a sturdy baby, it made sense to try it. The last two nights, when I’ve put him down in his crib, there was a bit of fussing while he struggled to get comfortable, but as soon as I left the room, blessed silence. Love it.

My copyedits arrived for Her Warrior Slave, and I’m starting to work on those, along with another project. There is only one week left of teaching, and I’m looking forward to my freedom! Many parents moan about their children being home for the summer, but for me, summertime is my best time for writing. Can’t wait!

Also this week, I’ve been over at an Italian romance forum. Two of my books have been translated into Italian. One is Il Guerriero Irlandese (Her Irish Warrior) and the other is La Vendetta Del Guerriero (The Warrior’s Touch). The readers have graciously hosted me, and I’ve been using Google’s translation feature to read their questions, although I’m answering them in English. Feel free to stop by, especially if you know Italian! I’m giving away a reader’s choice book of the Italian translations, or an English copy of Her Warrior King, since that one isn’t out yet.

I have been enjoying the summer releases, also. Right now I’m reading Lover Enshrined by JR Ward, The Hollow by Nora Roberts, One Real Man by Jan Kenny, and The Lost Duke of Wyndham by Julia Quinn. So many books, so little time!

What summer books are you enjoying right now?

Babies Have Their Own Agenda

So, Sunday night also went well. The crying decreased and aside from one wake-up when I verbally soothed him, the baby slept until about 6:00 a.m. again. Yay for Ferber and crying it out.

Monday, on the other hand, was another story.

You see, my devious, defiant little son decided to try another tack. He didn’t eat supper. No rice cereal, no baby food, nothing. Just nursing, here and there. So of course, I knew that there was no way on earth he would sleep through the night. And sure enough, he woke up at 10:30. And would NOT go back to sleep. Literally, each time I laid him down in the crib, he woke up and HOWLED. By 12:30, I was ready to throw in the towel. I laid down beside him in the guest bed and let him snuggle. I put him back in the crib at 4:00 a.m. Nope, not proud of that. But I needed to get sleep somehow.

Tonight, he’s following the same pattern. Didn’t eat much of anything at dinner, and he has a slight cough. I have a bad feeling about this already. I tried putting him to bed three other times tonight, and each time he screamed. I’ve let him cry for at least 20 minutes each time, and he’s just not going to sleep. He actually grabbed my arm with both hands when I set him down in the crib and hugged it.

Baby: I have your arm. You can’t leave me. Ha. Just try to escape now.

Me: Go to sleep. Quit trying to play this game. You’re going to lose.

Baby: That may be. But you’ll lose far more sleep in the short term. Bwahahahaha….I can cry for 45 minutes straight. Think you’ll sleep through that?

Me: Ear plugs are looking good at the moment…

Baby: Maybe I’ll just grow some teeth….

Ferber Method - Night #2

Saturday night was definitely different than Friday. I fed him some rice cereal at 8:00 p.m. and then nursed him until he fell asleep at nine. At 12:00 a.m., he woke up crying and my husband went in after a few minutes to soothe him.

Husband: He smells awful. I don’t know if it’s gas or a diaper, but you might want to go look in on him.
(translation: Oh, please don’t make me change a godawful diaper at this hour. Must. Sleep. Now.)

Me: (sighing, go in to check on the baby. Change his diaper, which turns out to be wet. I patted his back, whispered words of reassurement, and put him back in the crib. Screaming commences.) It’s okay. You’re just wet and gassy. Go to sleep and you’ll be fine.

Baby: I’m really tired and gassy and all I want is for my mommy to hooooooold me….waaaaahhh…

Me: I love you. Good night.

The baby screamed for about thirty minutes or so. And then….silence. Golden silence.

At 5:30 the next morning, I went in to see if he was still alive. After all, he hadn’t woken up since 12:30. Was he okay? Sure enough, he was sleeping soundly. And he stayed that way until 6:00 a.m.

Oh my goodness. It worked.

Ferber Method - Step Two

Eventually, at 10:30 last night, I got the baby to fall asleep. We tried crying it out for 45 minutes, and finally I fed him since the pediatrician had said that after 30 minutes, you could go ahead.

Baby: (hiccoughing) Why did you make me cry so long? Didn’t you know I needed you?

Me: Fine. Nurse if that’s what you need. But I’m really really tired.

Baby: You know all of this would go away if you’d just strap me to your chest 24-7. We’d both be happy.

Me: Um, not exactly what I’m looking for. Independent sleep, sweetie. That’s the goal here.

Baby: Well, just realize that I’m going to wake you up in three hours. Enjoy that small bit of sleep because that’s all you’re going to get. Ferberize me, will you? Well, we’ll just see about that.

2:00 a.m. last night (Baby cries)

Me: Okay. We’ll wait a few minutes and then I’ll go comfort him. Without picking him up.

Baby: Get in here! I’m hungry!

Me: (at 2:10 a.m.) It’s okay. You’re fine. Here, have a pacifier.

Baby: I don’t WANT a pacifier! I want YOUUUUUUUU… (bawls until a pacifier is jammed into his mouth)

Me: Night-night. (wait until 2:45. Baby screams and cries continuously. Note to other parents–closing both doors helps cut down on the noise factor. But you still can’t sleep through the crying.)

At 2:45, I went back into the nursery and fed the baby. Dang it, I was hoping he’d fall asleep after thirty minutes of crying. Not so much.

Baby: Where WERE you? I was getting hoarse. I need a cough drop, I think. Now get over here and FEED ME.

Me: Lord, you’re loud. Here. (snuggles baby, who sighs with relief)

And after all that, sadly I fell asleep with the baby in my arms. The idea of putting him back in his crib, only to go through all the crying again, was just exhausting. Yes, I am a wimp.

We’ll try again tonight.

The Ferber Method - Step One

I’m going to try the Ferber Method, aka Cry It Out, starting tonight. Deep breath. I fed the baby, swaddled him in his velcro swaddler, made sure he had a dry diaper, and laid him down in his crib with his pacifier. With a kiss good-night, and a cheerful, “Sleep tight, honey,” I closed the door to the nursery.

Oh, boy did he scream.

Baby: What the heck are you doing? You’re supposed to let me fall asleep in your arms! Don’t you know that I need to hear your heartbeat to sleep? You rock my world, Mom, what are you THINKING?

Me: Night, sweetie. No need to cry.

Baby: Of course I have to cry! How can you leave me like this? I neeeeeed you!

5 minutes later after fussing and sobbing…

Me: It’s okay. You’re fine. Here’s your pacifier. Good night, honey. (Baby stops crying as soon as he hears my voice)

Baby: You left me. For five whole minutes. How COULD you? Clearly, I am starving. You must not love me very much. Third child….bah!

Ten minutes later…

Me: You’re fine. No need to cry so hard. Really, you’re okay (rub baby’s head. He stops crying instantly). Go to sleep.

Baby: Don’t you know how terrible it is to be left alone like this? I’m scared. This crib is too big. You’re supposed to nurse me and love me and make it all better. Why won’t you pick me up?

Me: We’ll get through this.

Baby: Ha. You just wait. I can do this all night…

(To be continued)…