it's amazing...

...what a little sleep can do for a baby. beatrix took two short cat naps this morning, as has been her habit for the past couple weeks. she sleeps for twenty to thirty minutes, and then wakes up and doesn't go back down for an hour or two. needless to say, this is not enough sleep for a baby. babies her age, according to her pediatrician, should be sleeping 16-18 hours out of every 24. bebe averages 12.

today we had plans to go up to visit her grammy and grampa glen's house, to celebrate "the september birthdays" (grammy, auntie jamie, auntie ashley and uncle seth all have birthdays in september). we wanted her to be well-rested so the family could enjoy her, rather than having to listen to her scream, so we left very early and stretched a one-hour drive into two, since a moving car is the only place the beebs will reliably sleep and she certainly hadn't gotten enough in the morning. she ended up sleeping for 2 1/2 hours and then was a total cutie, smiling at everyone and happily being passed around from auntie to auntie to grammy to grampy and back again.

then, on the way home, she fell asleep again and slept for another 2 1/2 hours. she woke up at 6:30, had a bottle with dad, took her medicine like a champ (did i mention we're trying zantac to see if she's got reflux?), took a bath, and throughout it all was calm, relaxed, and happy. a real change from our usual baby-of-the-evening, who is decidedly more redfaced and screamy than her well-rested doppelganger. here is beebs, hanging out in her chair and playing, at 7:15 pm:

now, i just hope she sleeps ok tonight...