Ellie and I had a much better night last night. I was asleep more than I was awake, even if it was kind of fitful. But whatever works - we tried the swing, we tried cosleeping, and then this morning she napped in her bassinet inside her crib. I think one of the solutions is her white noise machine. It's actually supposed to be a bear, but we took the guts out and then just put that in her crib with her. It makes a heartbeat type noise, and shuts itself off after five minutes. But if she fusses or if someone touches it, the beat starts up again. Super handy!

The white noise really keeps her quiet. This morning I was able to shower because I brought her into the bathroom in her boppy pillow and let her hang out, hearing the shower and fan running. I even got a chance to brush my teeth and shellack on a little eyeliner!

Then I went to mommy matters class, which was super nice. It's facilitated by a RN/lactation consultant. I asked about my concerns re: Ellie's nursing (she'll go for an hour at a time, and then cry and want to eat 15 minutes later.) She said that Ellie is a pretty orally fixated baby, and recommended getting her on the pacifier. We've bought several, but haven't found one that she LOVES. She also said that she thinks Ellie is a pretty gassy baby, which causes her discomfort and fussing. She had a couple recommendations for me to help solve that, which I am ready to put into place. The good news is that she thinks I've got nursing pretty well down. The bad news is that she basically told me to buck up because it's going to continue to be tough for another couple of weeks, and such is the nature of having a newborn.

Which I knew... I just wish there was a better answer. Some sort of magical solution that will help the baby sleep through the night and allow me the opportunity to be a little less stressed and a little more sane.

The good news is that there's nothing seriously wrong with anyone - we are just having regular baby and mommy growing pains. And we'll get through it, and someday all of this discomfort will be a distant memory. SOMEDAY I WILL EVEN SLEEP FOR MORE THAN THREE HOURS AT A CLIP!

In the meantime, I also went to Babies R Us and bought more diapes and wipes, and felt pretty capable there, steering the cart around all alone with my little baby friend. Hooray for getting out of the house! (and then for coming home and taking a 90 minute nap.)