Swim Class and Goodbye Baby Burrito!

Ellie had her very first trip to the pool today. We signed her up for a parent and baby swim class and tonight was the first class. Ellie had a lot of fun. The water was COLD but Ellie didn't seem to mind. She kicked around and attempted to use her hands as well. The class is for a wide range of ages, I think 6 months to 2 or 3 years 3 babies were around Ellie's age and then a couple older ones. I have heard that the earlier you start them the more comfortable they are. The class is really more for the parent and they teach you how to hold your baby so that they are comfortable and safe. Ellie really enjoyed chasing after a little green frog that I'd throw out in front of her and then "swim" to. Of course her main goal: getting it in her mouth. We have class every night this week so we'll see what else we learn.

In other very big news...Ellie has been having some sleeping issues for the past week. She has been really hard to put down. It has been very frustrating because she seems completely asleep and then we put her in the crib and her eyes shoot open. Ahhhh! We worked very hard to put her in her crib while she was still a little bit awake like all the books do. Supposedly this was supposed to give her independence and the ability to soothe herself to sleep. She has been a burrito baby for the past 6 months. We realize that most babies get over the swaddling after 3 months but she would not sleep without being tightly swaddled. The swaddle really worked magic for us.

So in talking to my mom she suggested maybe Ellie was done with the swaddle. So tonight she ate, I rocked her a little bit and she kept playing with my hair and shirt so I gave her a lovey (Thank you Dr. Brazelton for the advice). After a couple of minutes I put her in the crib and she was awake but she seemed very content and so I walked out. A couple minutes later here is the result:
Peaceful sleeping baby with Petunia Pig in a tight grip. Her legs and arms sprawled with their new found freedom. Tomorrow will be the test to see if she does this again. I do realize she could just be exhausted from swimming but if not farewell old swaddle and thank you for the months of great sleep.