LONG Weekend: 4th of July

Clingy yet patriotic in a cute little shirt from her Omi. Here, she clutches Daddy's leg while he cuts watermelon.

We had a fairly good Fourth of July weekend. It started out great—we went to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, and soaked up all sorts of Civil War history. The town was very old and cobblestoned (and nearly busted Charlotte’s umbrella stroller), and Civil War soldiers marched around the streets and costumed people showed off artifacts and such—a fun little trip back in time.  But lordy, at 95 degrees, it was HOT.

That night, however, Charlotte woke up 6 or 7 times. This led to a pretty foggy Sunday, but she held it together enough for us to attend church. Frankly, I think she enjoyed the break from Mommy and Daddy while playing in the church nursery. That afternoon, to get out of the house, we hit a brewery in Frederick, which was better than expected: $2.50 beers on Sundays, and they were actually quite tasty! Charlotte, a.k.a. Little Miss PICKY lately, dove into a giant steaming pile of broccoli (which she loves) drenched in garlic and butter. She ate better there than she had in about 24 hours, and enjoyed getting out of the house, too. Translation? Success.

The next night, Charlotte woke up repeatedly. Again. It was a loooooooong night.

On the Fourth, we took Charlotte to the pool in hopes of wearing her out so she’d sleep better that night. She’s part fish, I swear. She LOVES the water. Predictably, she had lots and lots of splashy fun. As soon as we’d take her out to have a moment or two to dry out in the sun, she’d wriggle off her beach chair (she likes to sit in chairs like a big girl) and run back into the wading pool, with Mommy or Daddy barely keeping up behind her. Oh, how this child loves the water. (I need to get her into swim lessons next summer, but I have no clue how to swing it with my work schedule. But I’ll make it happen, one way or another!) Fortunately, our town has a beautiful outdoor pool facility, with three pools (big lap pool, fun big play pool, wading pool with cushiony slide—guess which one we hang out at?), so if Charlotte actually has a knack for swimming or diving or whatever as she gets older, we can very easily and conveniently support it.

So, back to Charlotte and her, um, recent difficulty: We’re not exactly certain what her problem is. She recovered nicely from whatever had bugged her a week ago, but we seem to have either the same problem recurring or a new problem. Maybe a virus? Teething? And of course, when Charlotte doesn’t sleep, she gets a little edgy and a lot clingy. And with parents running on fumes from sleep deprivation, it’s exhausting catering to her increased neediness. But we manage—when your little one needs you, you find the energy to give give give.

She has no fever, so I THINK it’s just teething. But I mis-diagnose her ALL THE TIME, so what do I know? Yesterday, she pointed at her jaw and burst into tears, which supports the teething theory. But who knows? 

Last night, we tinkered endlessly with the vents in her room, as her wake ups seem to correspond with the AC coming on. I’m not sure if that helped or not, but she woke up 4 times. Each time I went in, Charlotte was practically “sleep standing”—eyes closed, almost groaning rather than crying. I’d gently lay her back down again before she could wake up enough to really start wailing, and she went right back to sleep. (WHICH WAS A HUGE IMPROVEMENT.)

This morning, she woke up FOR REAL at 5:40 a.m., which was great. She was perky and bright-eyed, she drank ALL her milk (and I gave her extra, too!), and she played by herself with her books for a long time while I prepared all the day’s lunches (read: no clinginess!).  Then she was running around, happy happy happy. Which makes Mommy happy happy happy!

One day at a time, I suppose. Chris leaves for 8 days next week for San Diego (work) and Nevada (visiting family),  so I’m really hoping Charlotte’s sleep habits straighten out before then.