Follow-up

Thanks to everyone who offered advice and sympathy about my last post either by commenting, emailing or speaking to me in person! I feel greatly encouraged just knowing that I am not alone, and that my daughter is not the only baby with quirky habits!

As to how she is sleeping this week--after that last post, she had two nights of great sleep and then currently a few nights where she is waking up. Though we cannot speak to her past reasons for this 'yo-yo-ing', there are two probable reasons why it is happening now:
1. Mommy has worked two conferences at SEBTS in the past ten days. Mommy has to drag Georgia to conferences with her. Though Georgia is always a trooper, it takes a while for her to unwind.
2. More importantly, the (possible) key to Georgia's recent fussy behavior:
She is teething. Yippee! Let the downward spiral of continual teething commence:-)

I spoke with my lactation consultant today about Georgia's pattern, and she gave me some wonderful advice. My advice to all those new moms reading my blog--USE YOUR LACTATION CONSULTANT! She is a blessing from God when you don't know what to do! Anyway, her advice:
1. Don't worry; there is nothing wrong with Georgia. An unusual sleep pattern is not uncommon.
2. When she wakes up in the middle of the night, look at her day to see what might have set her off--a change of schedule, a shortened feeding, etc. She may not have eaten properly and is trying to make it up.
3. Cluster feed in the evening to give her a full belly to sleep through the night.
4. Go in to soothe her shortly after she starts to fuss, as this may prevent her from fully waking up.
5. Have Nathan try to calm her back down, without me anywhere near by. Georgia can smell me up to 30 feet away, and if I am near by, she will hold out for me!
6. If she is teething, try things to eleviate her pain, and know that nursing will not only help her hunger, but will soothe her sore gums as well.
7. If the only thing that works is feeding her, do not worry about 'creating a monster' by feeding her. She does not wake up at the same time every night, so the biggest thing I can do right now is care for her, comfort her and soothe her. Georgia needs to know that we, her parents, are here to do those things for her. On the other hand, if it starts to become a perpetual habit, we will need to take different steps.
8. This is temporary--it will eventually pass!

As usual, I feel better now that the couple of rough nights are further behind me. Thank you for all your support, thoughts, advice and prayers. I leave you with some pictures of Georgia enjoying the beautiful weather AND chewing on her play mat:-)