Sleep = good, No sleep = bad

So Bean is still adjusting to her new daycare. She's just about on board with the bottles, but she is not napping. In general, Bean is sleeping about 12 hours at night, and when she's home she naps for about 3 hours during the day. At daycare, her daytime sleep is down to about 3 X 30 min naps. Yesterday when I picked her up, her caregiver pointed out that Bean had only taken 2 X 20 min naps. So I expected that Bean would be a little cranky. I did not expect full blown nuclear holocaust.

It was just me and Bean last night, as Husband got dragged to another lab function. We met a friend for a walk at our favorite park. As our walk was ending, Bean started to get a little cranky, so I pulled her out of the stroller and put her in the Bjorn which seemed to quiet her. Good bouncing in the Bjorn you know. When we got back to the car, I changed and fed her and she was all smiles and giggles.

I then went to put her in the car seat, hoping that if I drove around she'd drop off to sleep and then I could kill a few minutes before we had to pick Husband up. As soon as I put Bean down in her seat, her face crumpled and she started to wail and wail. I pulled all the usual tricks, but nothing could quiet her back down. She was just too exhausted. So I got in the car and started to drive towards Husband, again hoping she'd fall asleep. But no. Instead, she continued to freak out.

I admit that I reached back and let her suck my finger while I drove. And I drive stick. It worked for about a minute, but then she was even more upset than before. By the time we picked up Husband, Bean had been crying for 25 straight minutes, and she continued to cry until we (finally!) got on the freeway, where she promptly fell asleep. I was so fried I couldn't even get out of the car when we got home.

Lessons learned:
1. Baby girl's gotta nap!
2. Freeway driving is, in fact, the only driving that actually calms a screaming baby.
3. No more single parent weekday evenings. Husband is going to have to tell his boss to suck it.
4. No more leaving the house with Bean after 6:30. She's gotta get her nighttime routine and go to bed. I can't handle the consequences.