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Baby Sleep Boot Camp

Two Mondays ago, a new era began in the Scheunemann house. Cadence was put on a sleep schedule. Cadence had managed to weasel herself into sleeping in our bed. After three sleepless weeks Jarrod & I were desperate. I had been given the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth, M.D. when Cadence was born. I devoured the chapters that I needed to create an age appropriate, child appropriate sleep schedule & last Monday, the fun began.

There were multiple rules that you needed to follow when teaching a child to sleep, according to Dr. Weissbluth, one was that once bedtime arrived parents are supposed to be strong & let their child cry until they fall asleep on their own. This time can span anywhere from minutes to hours. Jarrod & I were nervous. Luckily, nap time didn't have the same rules - you could "save" your child after a specified time. Jarrod was in charge of Cadence's morning nap & I was in charge of bedtime. Also, Baby Sleep Boot Camp began in conjuncture with Cadence receiving her new crib that Grandpa Repovsch had refurbished. I actually slept in the same crib when I was a baby.

Day One: Cadence did awesome. She took her morning nap like a champ & at bedtime she cried only as long as it took me to walk out the door of her room. She slept from 7:30 that night until 5:30 the next morning. Sweet.

Day Two: Cadence got the best of Mommy. Bedtime arrived. I did the same routine as the night before. Cadence was put in her crib at 7:30PM. She cried on & off until 9:30PM. At this point I heard a loud bang from our upstairs neighbor. I thought this was the neighbor's way of complaining about the crying baby. Later I found out this assumption was untrue. Anyhow, I ran into her room, scooped her up & began sobbing saying over & over, "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." You know what my daughter did?! She looked up at me and SMILED! And then she had the nerve to let out a CUTE BABY GIGGLE! All she wanted was to hang out. This only confirmed one thing: Jarrod & I have an extrovert on our hands.

Day Three until Today: Jarrod & I fought back. Since we knew she was only crying to get us to come in & play with her we didn't feel as sorry for her. Oh, don't get me wrong, every time I heard a cry it was like getting stabbed in the heart, but our persistence paid off. She is taking two long naps a day, rather than multiple Cadence catnaps throughout the day. And I have tucked Cadence in while she was still awake at 7:45 each night this week & she doesn't let out a peep as I walk out of the room. And you know what else? She doesn't wake up until 7 in the morning!

Swim. Bike. Run.

I somehow morphed into a sprint triathlete in the past four years. Last season I took off because beginning pregnancy fatigue won out during my training. During the final months of my pregnancy I would daydream about being able to really sweat again while slowly walking on the treadmill. I searched the web for a race & found Tri the Illini. A sprint triathlon, here in Champaign, that included a 300 meter swim, an 11 mile bike ride & a 5k run. The race date was May 2nd. That date seemed eons away from my due date of January 8th.

Cadence arrived on January 19th & recovering from labor & delivery was a bit more than I expected. Okay, a lot more than I expected. I was able to begin walking on the treadmill, with Cadence riding along in her baby bjorn, about five weeks after she was born. At the six week mark I went to my first spinning class. Training was slow but steady. Three weeks before the race I decided I needed to kick it into high gear & focused on the run portion. I hate the run portion. I ran a total of 14 miles that week. Phew, did I mention I hate the run portion? But my lungs were much happier. Two weeks before the race I got the flu. I did nothing.

The week before the race was a mental game. I went back & forth if I was really going to participate. I biked 12 miles. I ran 3. I didn't swim at all. I checked the weather for race day - it was supposed to be beautiful. I checked the weather for race day again - it was supposed to rain. Jarrod gave me multiple pep talks. Cadence had decided this would be a great week to start waking up in the middle of the night again. Needless to say, the night before the tri I went & picked up my packet. Picking up my packet made it official - I was going to do it. I got a free t-shirt. Who doesn't love a free t-shirt? I got excited. I got really excited! I was really going to do another triathlon AND I had only had a baby three in a half months ago!

I got to the race & came down with a crazy case of bike envy. My hybrid Gary Fisher didn't seem good enough. I had to remind myself, "I'm doing this for fun. I just had a baby." I set up shop in the transition area. I entered the pool area & waited my turn. Each participant had a chip that would be keeping track of his or her time, so we started one after another jumping in the pool & swimming six laps. The swim went really well. I got into a rhythm & before I knew it I was climbing out of the pool & running out into the brisk morning air to get onto my bike. The sun was shining.

I got onto my hybrid Gary Fisher & my bike envy got worse as people began to pass me. I had to keep reminding myself, "I'm doing this for fun. I just had a baby." And then, about half way into the bike portion I was passed by a 22 year old woman on a bike that was in worse shape than mine. Her bike was rattling. (By the way, our ages were written on the back of our calf in permanent marker. Yeah, awesome.) My competitive spirit took over, I passed her back. We went back & forth like this for about 3 or 4 miles. I finally gave in & stopped the passing game. I let her win and I was devastated. Then once again, I reminded myself, "I'm doing this for fun. I just had a baby."

The run went as well as I could have hoped for. I was able to keep the 10 minute mile pace that I wanted to AND I finally got that tour of the University of Illinois campus that I've never taken. As the finish line drew near I chanted the mantra, "Cadence Rose. Cadence Rose. Cadence Rose." You know crossing a finish line never gets old, you always feel like a winner. And, boy, that Saturday morning I was.

Interested in checking out the race results? Go here. I am the last name in the 30-34 Female category. Don't ask me why I'm in that category, I'm 29. Ah, well, "I did the race for fun. I just had a baby."

Current Books

Jarrod just finished...
Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash
by Elizabeth Royte
This book made Jarrod so anti-plastic that I opened our lunchbox on our last trip to Wisconsin to find two peanut butter & jelly sandwiches inside UNWRAPPED.

And The Crofter & the Laird
by John McPhee
A brief history on the clans of Scotland.

Jessie is currently reading...
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
by J. K. Rowling read by Jim Dale
I know I'm a bit behind, but I've been listening to all of the Harry Potter's on CD, Jim Dale rules at storytelling. Harry Potter references fill my day now.

And It Sucked and then I Cried: How I had a Baby, a Breakdown & a Much Needed Margarita
by Heather B. Armstrong.
Heather is the creator of dooce.com my favorite blog at the moment.

Spring Series

Spring Series I

Spring Series II


Spring Series III


Spring Series IV


Spring Series V


Spring Series VI


Spring Series VII


Spring Series VIII


Spring Series IX

Spring Art Shows

Spring Series IX

For this year's spring art shows I framed & matted nine flower photographs. The photographs were taken last spring at the Tulip Time Festival in Holland, Michigan & at Allerton Park here in the Champaign area. I am very excited about these pieces. They were all intimately framed. The largest image being 5" x 7" boldly matted in an 8" x 10" frame. If you have a chance please check them out at one of the following venues.

Boneyard Art Festival - April 16-19
Artwork will be displayed throughout Champaign & Urbana. Please check their website for maps of all the venues. My work will be displayed at the Lincoln Square Village in Urbana on Saturday, April 18th from 12-8pm.

Artists Against AIDS - April 27-30
Located downtown Champaign at the Orpheum Children's Science Museum. press release here.

TCBC's Youth Silent Auction - May 3, 10, 17 & 24
Located at TCBC in Urbana. The silent auction helps raise money for youth mission trips at our church, TCBC.

Baby Branded Cards

Cadence Rose's Birth Announcement

outside

inside

And the Thank You cards

outside shown. inside is blank.