Happy Halloween!
This monkey costume is actually our second choice costume. We originally planned on Gabe being a monster this year, but when the costume arrived from Amazon, we realized it was 6months- 2 years instead of 6-12 months, as stated on the website- wt heck?! 6months – 2 years is quite the age difference and needless to say, Gabe does not fit in the costume. Oh well! At least we have next year covered 
So, I have some good and bad news on the sleeping front. The good news is that after starting the Ferber Method on Monday, I am SO happy to report that Gabe has been sleeping in his own.flippin.crib! On Monday night, he slept pretty soundly-with only some minor crying- from about 7 pm-5am and today, he gave us an additional 2 hours of sleep after a feed at 5 a.m. I am scared to jinx it, but I really think we are on the up and up re: his nighttime sleeping habits! I honestly have to pinch myself when I think about just how recent his every 2 hours wake ups were and how quickly he adjusted to sleeping in his own bed AND sleeping through the night without a feeding or needing his pacifier replaced-yippee! Now here’s to hoping I can get some real sleep without waking up anxious and needing to check on the bebe.
Obviously with such good news, there is bound to be some bad. The bad news is that he has literally given up his naps in exchange for sleeping at night. I have no idea what is going on with his napping schedule but every time I put him down for a nap, he’ll cry for a good solid 30 minutes before falling asleep for 20 and then waking up crying again. Sigh.. I’m hopeful that once his sleeping becomes more of a regular thing at night, he’ll go back to napping better during the day as well.
Do you know what happens when I get my first 4 hours of sleep at night? Btw, I say 4 because I don’t sleep very well since I’m used to Gabe being right by my side and I’m having trouble adjusting to him outside of the room!
Anyways- this happens… at uhm 5 a.m. I get the urge to accomplish something I couldn’t yesterday because I was sleep deprived and not thinking clearly-I baked some bread! I originally tried to make this recipe yesterday: http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2012/10/outback-steakhouse-wheat-bread-copycat-recipe.html
but after 3 failed attempts, a trip to the grocery store for this yeast, and a very frustrated Hanna, I gave up and made this instead: http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2012/10/cinnamon-raisin-english-muffin-bread-with-cinnamon-sugar-butter.html
I blame my three failed attempts on 5 months of sleep deprivation, being a novice bread maker. I believe my problem was being paranoid and having too warm of a rising place- I put my dough in a preheated oven that was probably 150 degrees rather than say 80 degrees – oops! Good thing I decided to stop trying for the night and make this cinnamon raisin english muffin bread because it was delicious and definitely satisfying! This almost makes me want to try the Outback bread again…. almost…Back to the recipe board!
Glad you had success with the English muffin bread! Yes, at 150F, you were definitely killing the yeast. They die, period, at 140F. That’s why the loaves weren’t rising – dead yeast. I know Chicago is chilly this time of year (that’s why we left there 10 years ago!) and your kitchen is probably chilly so if you want to warm things up to the 80s, somehow, go for it. Otherwise, what may take usually 1 hour at 80F may take you 2 hrs at 69F type thing to get the rise you need. But regardless, glad you made the bread are happy! And at 5 mos post partum, all I was doing was pumping – lol. Bread making was NOT on my radar screen. You go girl!!!
Thanks for the tip! I always say I’m leaving Chicago every time winter rolls around, but I conveniently forget about the cold weather when summer hits!