I feel a little guilty, but I need some sleep!

Obviously working full time outside the home with a young baby is tough. You throw in 12 hr shifts, night shift that is, and you get one exhausted Momma! Robert was able to care for her all the time until January, but when he went back to school, and started his internship, that meant I got to take care of Izzy all day before work, then work all night, then take care of her all day the next day, and squeeze in a quick cat nap or two - sounds glorious, huh? I attempted it and we managed, but after 4 weeks, I have less energy than when she was a newborn, huge bags under my eyes, am cranky, can barely think straight, and simply need some sleep! I would not be able to keep that up for 3 more months.

I wish so bad that we lived near family so they could watch her, but we don't. We found a sweet lady, Granny Barb, whom close friends had used previously, and highly recommended. She watches up to 4 babies under age 1 in her home. Izzy is her 3rd baby. Yesterday was the first time we had Izzy go stay with her. insert HUGE guilty feeling for me... At 7 1/2 months old, I do feel pretty good that we lasted that long without outside help. I never wanted to put my child in daycare, but with our busy schedules, the time came we really needed to do this. Thankfully, it won't be for too long. So off to "Granny Barbs" she went. And she did great - mostly. It will be a bit of an adjustment for Izzy, but she is happy, content, social and enjoys new surroundings.

Apparently Izzy was not interested in taking a nap. Not sure if it was because of new surroundings or too much noise (she is supposed to nap in one big room with the other kids, eating and playing, or napping, etc.) Ha- no wonder she didn't nap much! But she played well, ate well, came home very happy and in one piece.

Robert & her were home by 3:30, and I was up to help take care of her after sleeping hard and well for the first time in awhile. She was pretty exhausted from her day without much napping, but even more happy to be home with Mommy & Daddy. That melted my heart, and was nice to see since I've been feeling guilty about the whole daycare thing. She was all smiles and played non-stop for several hours.

We had a great evening playing with Izzy, cooking together, eating yummy food, then bath & bedtime. Izzy fell asleep nursing at 7:30 (she never does that) and I'm sure she will sleep for at least 12 hours until I wake her at 7:30!

I am thankful to have a sweet lady who can watch Izzy, especially one who is firmly grounded in her faith and very committed to babies. her notes on Izzy's day cracked me up, and included the following mommy phrases :
"tried nap 9-11 - no way"
"finally at 1030, she's out"
"wet, dry, wet, wet, sheweee, wet"
"Laid down at 1, she's so tired, finally at 2, nite nite, lil tite"
"all gone jar sweet potatoes"

I think overall Izzy will do fine, and I'm gonna try not worry about her naps, because after all, she is sleeping great for me and she is happy!