Less Than Awesome

1. Dee waking up from 2-3 am, peeing all over her bed and the floor, and C yelling at her about it because she was screaming at him. All while trying to "let me sleep" because apparently lots of yelling is soothing and restful. NOT.
2. Dee then requiring a bath (her second of the night) because she stank of pee. I was up by this time, because C was clearly not doing his best parenting at that moment in time. J also woke up during this, because he shares a room with his sister. Baby 3 then decided that when I finally got to lay down again, she should have a dance party.
3. Dee waking up *again* at 5am because I "forgot to hug and kiss her goodnight" after I put her down after her bath. At least that time she went back down easily.
4. C being in a really shitty mood this morning (as was I) because we were fucking exhausted. Me more than him, but I'm not going to argue about it. Plus we both had headaches.
5. Shitty morning further enhanced by the battery on one of our cars being dead, so I had to wait until C got back from taking the kids to school so we could jump the other car and I could go to work. So I was late to work.

At least there was coffee left from yesterday in the coffee pot. Ugh. I REALLY hope C gets in a better mood. And that I wake up some.

Dee's Latest Adventure

I was working late on Wednesday, and my mom was watching the kids. I got a phone call that essentially said "Dee is fine, but she lost a tooth..."

Of course she did. My rambunctious little crazy girl was running down the hall with her brother, slipped, and fell right on her face. The dentist said it's healing fine, she's just going to have a gappy grin for a few years. We will be watching her other incisor, because it's a wee bit loose, but she'll be fine. And hey, the tooth fairy is coming early! Maybe even for both kids in one night, since J has one that is about to fall out (and the dentist said he needed to work on getting it out...).

2013: A Year in Review

Things That Happened:

J turned 5, and had a pirate party.

I turned 30, and C threw me a surprise party.

C turned 31, and I did not throw him a surprise party.

Dee turned 2.

I got the Mirena removed.

We went on a fabulous road trip this summer to visit my dad and step-mom in WA. The kids got to go to the beach for the first time, and they absolutely loved it. So did the dogs.

We refinanced (more or less) and now have no more budget issues. YAY! We aren't rich but we don't have to stress about money so much any more.

Dee graduated from diapers.

J lost his first tooth (and lost the second one a few weeks later)!

J started kindergarten.

The kids were dinosaurs (well, James was a pterosaur) for Halloween.

I had to put down my parents' 14 year old lab.

 Thanksgiving happened!

Christmas happened!

 

I read 51 books.

I ran/walked 43.7 miles (out of my goal of 300).

Quite a year, really. Let's see what 2014 will bring (other than the cold I have gotten since last night...)!


P.S. If you want to see my list of goals for 2014, there's a tab at the top of the page that should take you right to it :-).

Control

The day after election day. Always a turbulent one, is it not? Either the things you voted for passed or they didn't. In my case, they didn't. Badly. My state voted against something that would have helped schools across the state have funding. Teachers would have been able to have raises and job security, and the schools could have hired more teachers. They could have had more money to spend per student. Apparently, though, if it involves a tax increase (which would have been a measly $75 for my family, per year, though it would have created a tiered tax structure) for anyone, people will vote no. I tend to put my kids first, and I'm tempted to just give the school the $75 my taxes would have increased. I know nothing is perfect but come on. At least I voted.

My parents have a dog (had?), a chocolate lab. Shen. He's nearly 15, and we got him as a tiny brown furball just after I turned 16. We went and said goodbye to him this weekend. Well, me, C, Dee, and a close friend  (who until recently dated my brother and loved the dog like her own) did. J stayed in the car because he didn't want to go inside. Shen hadn't been eating. His back legs don't work. He lay there, shaking, and his tail didn't even try to wag and I sat there furious that they were letting him suffer like that. I was powerless to help. I am not strong enough to perform cervical dislocation on a (once) 120 pound lab. I had no options. I wanted desperately to end his suffering but I could do nothing. Just like when my grandma died. She, at least, had the refuge of morphine. Saying goodbye was the same. Shen was gone, only his husk remains. When I said goodbye to my grandma she was no longer present in her body. I said goodbye to their empty, ancient meat. That was all. This, two days after some of our best friends had to put their own dog down after his 18 years with them. I hope they've put him down by now, or that he's died on his own, but I've heard nothing.

Dee may be night weaned but she sure as shit isn't sleeping through the night. I have been up with her for at least an hour (continuous or not) 5 out of the last 6 nights. She sometimes sleeps all night, but it's rare. I just want a full fucking night of sleep. Like 10-6. With no interruptions, and I want to sleep IN. I haven't slept in since Dee was a baby, C was hunting, and we all slept until 11 one morning. That was over 2 years ago.

It seems that the universe is telling me I have no control over things. Reminding me. Taking away my sturdy ground and making me feel powerless and angry. Frustrated and helpless to the edge of tears. I control what I can. I let the OCD slip in here and there aroundtheedgeswheremaybeit'snottakingoveryet. I load the dishwasher. I put the spoons/forks/knives in their slots where they go so they're sorted. I desperately try to keep tiny little places sorted and clean. Plates aligned just so in our crappy tiny 20-year-old dishwasher. I can't focus. I fight the irrational fury from escaping and causing my kids' sweet faces to crumple. All J wants to do is read a book with me. It's a long and sometimes aggravating process because he's just learning but he insists on reading Level 2 readers because those are the Spider-Man books we have and because "See Mama, I can do these, I just need a little help and ugh I can't remember this word...". Dee...she's two. She's mercurial and sassy and smart and there are times when I cannot stand to be near her because she makes me want to scream for no reason at all. When I snap at them I break inside, watching the light in their eyes and their lips start trembling. I'm a terrible mother sometimes. Then J says things like "Mama, you're not lazy. You do all kinds of wonderful things for us like make us costumes." And I want to retreat into a cave and cry because I don't deserve them.

I know I'm being stupid and irrational. I have taken my meds. I know. I have been playing far too much Spore because it's somewhere I have 100% control over the things that happen to my people. 

Random Updates

Howdy, everyone... How's life?

Yeah, I've neglected the whole writing thing lately. Bad Tena, bad!

Anyway.

Dee is now totally night weaned (yay!!). This took telling her that we only nurse at bedtime and morning (which I count as 5am at the earliest) and that if she wakes up at night (which she does, usually once or twice at 1-2am) we will hug her and snuggle her and put her back in her bed.

I'm much happier and more sane off of Mirena, still. I've been charting CM, which seems to be working pretty well for us (also using VCF spermicide films, not just checking CM). I'm not a huge fan of the short LP I've been having (9 days? no thanks), but I started taking B6 a couple days ago. I'm currently on 10DPO but PMSing like crazy, so waiting for AF to show at any second. Bleh. Hopefully the B6 will help so I'm not like oh, hey, it's period time again. It helped in the past (between kiddos).

I haven't been running in ages, though my legs are all better. I was planning on going this week but between working on J's Halloween costume (a pteranodon) and someone having made off with my shoe inserts I don't see it happening. I really need to find those, I have no idea where they went. They were on my night stand one morning and that afternoon, poof! Vanished.

I think that's all for the moment. I'm going to take my wedding ring in to get resized and replated today. Whee! Do I know how to live or what?! It needs to be made bigger...turns out that yes, my finger got fatter over the last almost 10 years, and that gaining 20 pounds in that same time frame doesn't mean my fingers are still the same size that they were when I was 20/21.

What has happened to childhood?

I'm the first to admit that when I was a kid, I was a girly-girl. I lived in dresses, always had to be the girl/mommy when we played house, and I absolutely LOVED my Barbies and My Little Ponies. You know, like these ones (also, I love http://www.kimsites.net/dreamvalley/, without that site I never would have been able to figure out all the names of my old ponies that my kids now have).

Even though I was such a girly girl, I still got to let out my tough side. I was a caveman (yep, caveman) for Halloween once. My sister was my pet monster. We were fierce and awesome and had our own radio show. I was Rose, and she was Frank (I have no idea why she chose Frank). We used to interview characters from Sesame Street, Tiger Sharks, and, occasionally, our little brother.

 

We were normal kids. We did insane things like wear 3 pairs of socks so we could "scrunch" them. We wore tee shirts that were way too big so we could tie them on one side without making them too small. We wore leggings. And I used to have a dress that was white with day-glo puffy paint fish on it. I loved that dress. 

I remember my first bikini. I was 13 (I think) and I wore it so happily. I sunbathed in it, and on our trip to Florida I wore it on the beach. It was basically a sports bra and it was covered in giant roses. My favorite one (at about age 16?) was a (still conservative) halter top that was bright blue and green. My brother once (accidentally) let a lizard jump down it while I was sunbathing. I did have one that was dark blue, and actually more string-like, which I had when I was 14, but I only wore it to the beach for that one trip because I wasn't comfortable with how much it didn't cover my boobs. Have I mentioned that I was a D cup before I had kids?

I think I got my first pair of grown-up shoes (heels) at about age 12 or 13, and I loved them. I loved the sound they made when I walked. I loved that I was suddenly a little taller than 5'2".

Now I have a daughter. She's getting to have opinions on things. She, at not-quite-2 1/2, absolutely LOVES My Little Pony. She has my old ones (all 4 that I still had; Butterscotch, Sundance, Bangles, Yo-Yo) as well as one inherited from her cousins (who also inherited it, somehow) named Wisteria. She has a whole bunch of non-MLP ponies that she loves, and she has one new MLP. Rainbow Dash, the one with sparkles in her hair. Because the other one comes with a purse, and not a trophy. WHY?! Rainbow Dash is not all about accessories!

 

Anyway. Dee's opinions also extend to clothing. Her favorite outfits are dresses, especially with either her light up shoes or her pink cowboy boots. She will also wear jeans and stuff, but she prefers dresses and skirts. Or nightgowns (which we've explained she doesn't get to wear when we leave the house). She loves necklaces and bracelets, and getting all dressed up with her baby dolls so she can climb into her spaceship (highchair) and go shopping for hats in space. She nurses her babies. If she sees her T-Rex costume from last year (still fits) she will BEG to wear it, because she wants to be a fierce dinosaur. Her favorite bath towel is a triceratops hooded towel (which is truly awesome). She and her brother play Lego (or Duplos) together. Sometimes she declares that she's a princess and cooks us food, but it's usually only a ruse so she can eat our faces. 

This ferocious, brave, sweet, sassy child is growing into a world where someone sells these boots for toddlers. I would wear them, but I would never let my young child wear them.

 

http://www.zulily.com/p/gray-auto-bootie-42835-4791009.html?pos=44&e=1

Girls are told (maybe not out loud but sure as hell by the toy section) that they are only good for being cute and sexy and sweet. You have to work to find a toy that isn't super-gendered if your daughter wants a Lego set. Duplos are pretty good, but what about when your daughter is older? Does she have to play with Lego Friends, where the figurines look like bizarre alien versions of regular Lego figurines, and they sit in hot tubs or on yachts? Why can't Wonder Woman or Batgirl or Storm or Hermione be part of the "girl" toy section? Or available with their OWN sets? Why can they only be found with the huge sets, while you can find Superman with his own smaller Lego set? And forget about race cars (like Hotwheels) that could be marketed to girls...

Why do Monster High and Bratz and Equestria Girls have to be what our daughters look at? I know I never wanted to look like Barbie, but my Barbie had clothes that actually covered her body rather than barely-thigh length skirts and knee-high stockings.

Why do these dolls have to be so skeletally thin? I know that most girls don't say "Oh, I want to be thin like my dolls" but they don't even look healthy... And WTF is up with their short little arms?! All I know is that I will NOT be buying Dee any of these dolls. If she gets one for a gift it will be going back to the store.

My daughter will not fall prey to the idea that she's only a pretty face, or only gets to do science that creates makeup just because she's a girl. She will be climbing rocks and mountains and exploring space and digging up dinosaurs and being her own person.  I will not buy her the clothing or shoes that scream "grow up and have sex already!" or "Look at me, I like to shop and manipulate my daddy. Tee hee". I will remind her how amazing she is, and how strong and beautiful and wonderful her body is and I will do my best to make sure she knows that she is worth more than the marketing world wants her to think. She's better than that.

That's it for now... I have a rant brewing about boy stereotypes too. In the meantime, if you think you'd like to know more about what we *as parents* can do to help combat this insanity for our children's sake, please visit http://blog.pigtailpals.com/ and http://www.amightygirl.com/. And make sure your child knows how very, very amazing he or she is, no matter what they toy aisle tries to tell them.

ETA: A Mighty Girl also has a parenting books section, including books on how to deal with the sexualization of childhood.

Book Review: "Oh Crap! Potty Training" By Jamie Glowacki

Oh Crap! Potty Training by Jamie Glowacki

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


There are so many things to say about this book. First of all, I wish I had read it when my son was potty training at age 3 (or, actually, before that, but whatever). He wasn't hard to train but because we waited so long it took forever (like months). With my daughter? She's 27 months old, and is completely, 100% day and night potty trained. It took less than a month.

Anyway, enough about my kids. Jamie lays out the facts for you. She goes in-depth into the basic blocks of readiness about going to the bathroom (from "clueless that it's happening" to "hm, something happened" to "uh, I did something" to "oh, hey, I need to pee/poop"). She addresses the steps to assessing your own child's "readiness" and how to go about it. While she does have some steps that I disagree with (like no underwear at all for a week or two) she encourages every parent to tweak her protocol to fit their child. She discourages rewards, but acknowledges that they are fine if you want to use them. There are chapters devoted to poop, to EC, to special circumstances. She even tells you how to defeat the dreaded bedtime "I have to pee six million times" stalling tactic (which frankly, I desperately needed!).

Every parent looking to potty train should read this book. It is a little hard to track down because you have to buy it through the author's website, but maybe if enough people buy it then it will become more readily available.

***


I did win this book though a giveaway on Erica's blog a while back. You should check her out, she is awesomesauce. 

Also, for more information about Ms. Glowacki's book, check out her website. 

First Day of School!

J started kindergarten yesterday. So far he absolutely loves it. He's made two friends in his class (and by friends, he means that he knows their names). Here's a picture of him (you only get the one, because the computer with our other pictures isn't working at the moment) waiting for the bell to ring, which was another whole new experience!

I know he looks terrified, but he was just feeling squinty. Also, I think his shirt was hungry.

The Finer Points of Pooping on Cows

J lost tooth #2 at his cousin's 4th birthday party on Saturday. There was a bouncy castle with a slide inside, and he somehow bit it (haha) on the way down and knocked out his tooth. He came running up to C and said "Daddy!! I went down the slide, and hit my face, and here's my tooth!" For the record, the tooth was already loose and nearly ready to fall out, so he wasn't actually hurt by the ordeal.

The tooth is in the baggie. I made him get out of the piñata line to get his picture. I'm so mean. (He didn't lose his place, the other kids were nicer than I am.)


The bouncy castle was a big deal for Dee too. She had lots of fun, as long as nobody bigger than her was in there at the same time.

 

Now, I bet you want to know about the pooping on cows. I mean, surely, I would never have included it if I didn't mean for you to find out about it, right?

On the way home today, Dee informed us that she needed to poop. This is a big deal, as she is potty trained now and we weren't quite home yet. So I asked if she needed to go right now, and she said "No, I need to poop...on a cow."

"On a cow?" I was bemused.

"Yes, me need poop on a cow."

This inspired an entire discussion about the uh...technical details of pooping on cows. We asked what she thought would happen if she pooped on a cow. She mentioned the stinky part, and said it would stick to the cow. J chimed in, wiser older brother that he is, and pointed out that it would depend on what *kind* of poop was going to be landing on the cow as to whether or not it would stick. At this point I was laughing pretty hard. Then Dee said "Moo" and I laughed so hard I cried. It was one of those moments you never expect, and then BAM, you look like an insane person riding in a car while your children discuss the finer points of livestock defilement. 

Moo.

Tooth Fairy

J lost his first tooth this weekend.

Awesome for him, bittersweet for me.

I think that playing Tooth Fairy has been the most disillusioning part of parenthood for me. I actually had to call my mother to ask her what I was supposed to do with J's tooth. C told me to throw it away, that keeping it would be creepy. My mom told me the same thing. So J's first baby tooth went in the trash. *sigh*

I remember when he first got that tooth. It was so sweet and exciting and adorable to see his gummy little mouth with the two tiny teeth just poking through.

5-Year-Olds = Awesome

The other day I made hamburgers. C told me I made a "mean" burger. A few minutes later, J happily informed me that his burger was "quite aggressive and delicious."

I love that boy.

Growing Up

We moved both kids to big/bigger kid beds last night. Dee still woke up twice, but no worse than normal! She *loves* that she can get in and out of her bed by herself. J still slept like a rockstar, as he always does. He loves his big bed! We got his bedding and bed from Ikea (bed frame, duvet cover, sheets). Dee has her old mattress and moved into the toddler bed that my father-in-law made for J when he turned two.

           

J's bed is sort of temporary. I will (this summer) be making him this bed (from Ana White's website) so that he and Dee will have more room in their shared room. He will be keeping his mattress since it's brand new and we just dropped a small fortune on it. It's important to us that our kids' exposure to outgassed, manmade chemicals be minimized when possible (lots of reasons why, but a good summary is given in Breasts, a Natural and Unnatural History), so we went with an organic cotton mattress for Dee (from Munchkin, got it at Target) and the Sultan Heggedal natural material mattress from Ikea for J. I figure he's going to be using it til he moves out, so it was worth the investment. He said it's a little too "hard" but it should soften a bit with use, and if it's still too firm we can always get a topper. Although the way he's been jumping on it, it might get softer really fast...

Status of The Night Weaning Attempt

Dee is only waking up once per night (yay!!) but I still suck at putting her back in her bed. So we're making progress, but we're not there yet. My mom informed me that my brother used to be like this, and he is *still* a terrible sleeper at 24. So that's not particularly encouraging.

And here's a picture of Dee (with a cold) with pigtails *squeee!!* (Not squeeing for the cold, just the pigtails. That cold was hellish.)

Some Random Babble

I'm having a little trouble getting into the swing of things this morning, so let me just brain vomit on you for a while. Anyone who needs a towel is welcome to grab one. ;-)

My baby is 5 now. 5. FIVE. I get that he isn't a baby anymore, but 5 is no longer a toddler, no longer even a preschooler. He's 5 and will be starting Kindergarten in the fall (and soccer, too, if he still wants to). He's smart and sweet and so polite (it kills me a little when he says "Yes, ma'am" to me). Don't get me wrong, he's certainly got his mean moments and the occasional attitude, but over all, J is just about the sweetest little boy I've ever met. He sings songs to his sister (mostly "Rock a bye baby" which I think is probably a sweet way to threaten to put your baby in a tree if they don't stop crying). He makes crafts and things all the time. The other day he just made a dinosaur sculpture out of cardboard, told me it was a new duckbill that lives underground (so didn't go extinct), and named it "Dinoduckduck Di" for it's species name. He writes songs about superheroes and P-funk. I love him so much I can't breathe when I think about it.


As J and Dee both get older, the urge desire need ache for another baby (specifically a boy) is getting stronger. I know I hate being pregnant. I am sick the first half of the pregnancy, then everything hurts and I can't sleep and my sciatica gets so bad I can hardly walk. The heartburn is horrible. There's the utter exhaustion. But then...there's the magic of seeing that little pink line. Of knowing (in between pukes) that there's a person you are building, cell by cell, inside you. Speculations of whether that person is a he or a she. The little wiggles. Having the baby all to yourself. And the delivery...if I could have another delivery like Dee's, I would do it in a heartbeat. C is not on board with this.

I'm a little torn. I have *always* wanted 4 kids. I have 3 younger siblings, and 4 older ones (WAY older, like 15-20 years older, so we're not very close). When we were first talking about family, we had decided that we'd have 2 biological kids (presumably boys, given how C's family goes) and adopt 2 kids (girls). Once we entered the real adult world and realized that adoption is super expensive ($17-$30k, from the estimates I've seen) we have sort of pared down to adopt only one, just for financial reasons. I just can't deal with the heartbreak of the foster-to-adopt system, and I really want a baby so I can breastfeed it. But this yearning inside for 1 more biological kid is really tough. I would love to have a biological kid in a few years, and then adopt one so they have age-mates (within a couple years) like J and Dee, who are 3 years apart.

Anyway....

Chores for the Kiddos

J (now that he's 5) has requested chores to do so he can earn an allowance. After searching a bit, I found this great chart that breaks down chores by age! (from The Happy Housewife). Since I want to start simply, I think I will make a chart for both kids, probably with magnets and a dead cookie sheet (which I can cover with fabric). Dee is enthusiastic about cleaning up, but she doesn't really put things "way" where they go always. We've found some funny things in our tupperware cabinet as a result of her help, anyway!

(Click the photo for the source site)

I think to start, we'll have J do the following:
1. Vacuum entryway.
2. Mop the entryway.
3. Feed the dogs and let them out of their kennels after they're done eating.
4. 5 minute clean up of the living room (toys, clothes, books)
5. Make his bed.
6. Help put his clothes away.

Dee's chores:
1. Put stuffed animals away.
2. Put books away.
3. Wipe down baseboards. (Maybe. We'll see how she does with this one.)
4. Help put her clothes away.

J will be earning money, but I don't think Dee needs to do that yet. Maybe when she turns 5? Or understands? I think C and I had agreed on $1 a week for J, as long as he does everything on his list. A magnetic chart will definitely make it easier.

Night-Weaning Update

We had that one lovely night. Then we had the canines. (cue horror movie music)

The four worst teeth.

One. After. Another. For 2 months.

Finally, they are all through. Yay!

I've been sort of trying to do this approach, where basically you just gently stop letting baby nurse if she doesn't sleep between nursings at night, and don't nurse baby to sleep between, say, 11 and 6. This is for the first 3 nights. We've sort of been stalled here for the last few weeks. *yawn*

Oy.

Dee has spent many more nights in her own bed, but I still have a hideous time putting her back in her own bed if she wakes up at like 3 or 4. I'd rather go back in my bed and sleep, even if it means bringing her with me.

(Also, I'm going to start calling my baby girl Dee, because it's closer to what her name is, and she does sometimes get called this (when she was born, I had thought we'd call her a nickname that started with L, but that didn't really stick). I may start calling J "Jay" here, but I don't know. So for now, I will be going back and changing references to "L" to say "Dee." Maybe. I'll work on it. So please don't be confused!)

October 31, 2102 - Happy Halloween!

L and J had a great time trick or treating and made out like bandits with 54 and 56 pieces of candy, respectively. They were both tired by the end of the evening, and both demanded to be carried home.  True to form, L was very serious about studying her candy while J was just plain happy!

The Night-Weaning Diaries: SUCCESS!!

Maybe it was a fluke, but for the first time EVER, L slept the entire night. Like 10-6:30 all night. And in her own bed! She was able to get herself back to sleep after coughing.

YAY!

Night Weaning: Nights 2, 3, 4

Night 2 (Friday night): Still nursed twice, brought her to bed at around 4 or 5.

Night 3 (Saturday night): Nursed twice, but slept in her own bed all night! YAY!

Night 4 (Sunday night): L caught her cousin's cold. Has croupy cough all night, and ends up in bed with me at 10 after having woken up 4 times in 2 hours. I need more sleep and more caffeine.

The Night-Weaning Diaries: Night 1

J was a great sleeper from early on. He started sleeping through the night (as in, all night long. Not just 6 hours in a stretch) at 2 months old. He still sleeps wonderfully, and will sleep through a thunderstorm that wakes up everyone else in the house, he'll sleep through me coming in to check on him or say goodbye in the morning, and he'll sleep through his sister's night wakings.

Which brings us to L. She wakes up at least twice every night. Usually at around 11 or 12, and again at around 3 or 4. She likes to nurse at these times. If she wakes up more than twice, it will be between 7:30 and 10pm. *That* one I can usually get her back down without nursing. The others? *shudder* Not so much.

I am tired of being tired all day because I was kept awake for 2 intervals in the night. I am tired of not being able to sleep the whole night through (which, at this point, I haven't done for 2 years). I think L would be a happier kid if she was better rested, too. I got some advice from a friend (whose own L was an equally bad sleeper!) and I'm trying her ideas (including telling the little one that the milk has gone night-night, though L totally didn't buy that one last night) and telling myself that persistence is key.

We have two issues going on. One is that she wants to eat twice at night, which she could easily make up the calories for during the day, so that's (theoretically) easy enough. The other is that she is very deeply conditioned to come to bed with me at 3 or 4 am, and sleep with me, and nurse off and on until I get up in the morning. Oy. That one is the more difficult thing to change. It also means that when she wakes up, she's full, and won't eat breakfast, so then she wants a big snack mid morning, and won't eat lunch, and so on.

I am pretty good at just feeding her and putting her back down at 11/12 (I just sit in the rocking chair in the kids' room). Last night I tried doing the same for her second waking. Heh. I sat down, nursed her, soothed her, put her in her crib. She popped right back up, crying. I gave her a pacifier, wrapped a blanket around her, and we cuddled a while while I rocked. I put her back in her bed. She cried. I went to the bathroom and let her alone for a few minutes, to see if she'd soothe herself and go back to sleep. No dice.

C suggested that trying this while she's cutting her canines may not be the best time, so I went and got her and brought her to bed with me. *sigh*

We'll try again tonight. If I could just eliminate one of the wakings...