Life.

Life these days is... um, stressful, to say the least.

Ticky-boo is still not sleeping.  She will occasionally trick me and sleep halfway decent one or two nights and then inevitably she reverts back to her old tricks the next 20 nights.  I'm pretty much at a loss at this point.  I've done it all.  I've read books and blogs and parenting websites, I've researched Dr. Sears' website and Dr. Laura Markham's website, I've talked to Mom's and Dad's and grandparents and solicited advice (as well as heard my fair share of unsolicited advice), I've let her cry it out, I've held her all night, she's slept in her swing, pack and play, crib, my bed, and my arms, we've done routine and no routine, music, no music, fan, no fan... and nothing... I repeat... nothing has worked.  She remains restless.  Even when she sleeps with me, she's restless through the night.  Most everyone's advice consists of some form of making her cry it out.

People, let me go ahead and clear the air right now and say that my daughter is a resilient and dedicated screamer.  She doesn't just cry.  She screams.  And I'm not being dramatic.  I have witnesses.  She screams at the top of her lungs and doesn't let up... at all.  She can go for hours.  Yes, hours.  I think her maximum screaming time is about 4.5 hours and by the end of probably an hour, I was crying too.  Oh, and that's WITH ME HOLDING her.  Granted, once I switched her to the hypo-allergenic milk, the screaming has gotten some better, but not much.  Her night time patterns are also not very consistent.  There are nights that she wakes once or twice and nights she wakes 5 or 6 times.  There are nights she screams and nights she just wakes up.  There are nights she wants to get up and play and nights that she just wants to go back to sleep.  I've tried feeding her, even though they say they dont need to eat in the middle of the night anymore, and she doesn't even want a bottle.  She just wakes up.  So, to say that I'm exhausted doesn't even cover it.

On top of being tired... we're moving.  I was a little...over zealous in choosing the house that we're currently renting and our rent amount teeters a little too closely to our housing allowance amount and our  monthly utilities are exorbitant.  So, we're moving.  And I use we to imply myself and Ticky-boo... granted, The Husband will be moving as well, but he's out floating in the middle of the ocean as I type this, so its me, Ticky-Boo, and whatever friend and family members I can coerce into helping me.  I am packing up our worldly belongings and hoping to fit them in the 10x10 storage unit I've rented.  From there, I'm moving in with some friends, saving up some money, and starting the great house search all over again.  Oh, and did I mention that I have to find a temporary home for the high maintenance four-legged son of mine since our friends' landlords dont allow dogs?  Joy.

To say things are stressful is like saying the sky is blue or Ticky-boo doesn't sleep.  And even then, I dont think stressful even begins to cover it.  I know the packing thing will happen.  I'm actually a whiz at packing... this most definitely is not my first rodeo, so I can get that done in time.  The sleep thing and the other day to day stressors in my life?  I dont know about those... finding a house is priority number 1 and its more difficult than I imagined.  It was seriously easier to find a place in England than it is to find one here!  And I swear, I'm not being that picky.  My top must-have in a rental is that we HAVE to be in a safe neighborhood.  I have to stay on my own so much that I need to be and feel safe and secure.  So, I'm attempting to find the perfect house to rent and make our home.

Side note... Ticky-boo's 9 month well-baby is tomorrow... I am anxious to see what her stats are.  I'm a little nervous... I want her to have gained weight and be back on track as far as her weight growth chart goes...so fingers crossed for a good visit!