Who's the Happiest Baby on the Block?

Yesterday was a much needed day of rest.  Everyone is better because of it.  I was starting to get nervous and a little frustrated that Safia was becoming increasingly dependent on us for falling asleep.  For the past few days, we were spending an exorbitant amount of time and energy getting her to fall asleep; we would hold her and bounce on the exercise ball (parenting gold, by the way), we would hold her and walk her up and down hallways, we would hold her and rock her in the rocking chair.  After finally falling asleep she would abruptly awaken upon leaving our touch, necessitating a complete re-do.  I will admit, I had a meltdown.  When the new day dawned, and I had composed myself, I took a new (actually, old) approach.

When Safia was a newborn, we utilized a method that may be recognizable as the "Happiest Baby on the Block" method.  It was incredibly effective, but for some unclear reason, we had moved away from it.  Yesterday, with few events planned for the day, I committed to returning to our old method.  I was devoted to swaddling Safia (we do anyway), putting Safia on her side, shushing, and gently swinging/shaking her in my arms every time it was nap time.  Rampant success ensued. I am hesitant to assign credit solely upon these specific calming methods.  Like all things, there are so many factors that come into play, but I was so relieved to have a low-stress, low-frustration, nap-full day.

We have also come to a decision as to our travel plans for returning to Athens.   We have decided to leave early tomorrow morning.  We're going to take things as they come and not try to push too hard on anybody's sanity.  Durham, North Carolina marks the half-way point on our journey, and we will keep open the possibility of stopping there for a break to assess our progress and further course of action.  If anyone has spent any time in Durham, please send along suggestions for eating/sites to see/places to visit.  Keep your fingers crossed and send us positive traveling vibes.

Safia and Ellen play patty-cake