Clara is an amazing little girl...she is sweet, fun, happy, playful and beautiful. This past year has been awesome. She has brought so much joy to our lives and I couldn't be happier. If there is one thing Clara isn't, it's that she is not a great sleeper. I have learned to function on way less sleep that I ever thought I could. I never thought that I would think sleeping till 7 am was gloriously sleeping in. Tom and I have drank more coffee in this past year than all the years of the military, college, med school and in corporate America put together. It's crazy how a little 8 pound baby can change your life! I'm lucky in that I stay home with her and can sleep during her naps if needed. Which I still do every now and then. Poor Tom - he definitely doesn't have this luxury and suffers from sleep deprivation a lot more than me. Over the past couple weeks, Clara has decided her new wake up time should be around 5:30 in the morning! It doesn't matter if she goes to bed early, late, on time - 5:30 is also my new time to rise and shine.
Since we live on the eastern edge of the Central Standard Time line, the sun comes up very early here and it is really bright out at 5:30. Clara has two windows in her room and I decided to cover them with dark colored sheets to try and darken the room as much as possible. I have to say this has REALLY worked! She has started sleeping a little later in the morning and as a bonus, her naps have greatly improved. I have kept the sheets up permenantly. She is sleeping much longer during her naps and going down for them so much easier. I love this! She is a better rested baby and I am getting a little more sleep myself. This is so simple and obvious, yet it's taken me a year to think of it!! Maybe some of my new mommy friends will read this and benefit a little earlier than I did :)
