What did moms do before Google? Type in “how to get baby to sleep through night” and you can spend hours reading all the theories out there (not to mention drive yourself crazy.)

My latest search is: Night Terrors. I read about night terrors in a magazine recently and guessed that may be what Summer has been experiencing lately. Fortunately, it doesn’t happen too often – maybe once every few weeks – but it is downright scary for mom and dad.

What are night terrors? Here are some characteristics from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital:

* Your child is frightened but cannot be awakened or comforted
* Your child’s eyes are wide open but he/she does not know that you are there
* Your child may think objects or persons in the room are scary
* The episode lasts from 10 to 30 minutes
* Your child often does not remember the episode in the morning

The site also includes some helpful hints on how to deal with it, as well as causes (becoming over-tired.)

Our latest vacation has interrupted Summer’s sleep schedule somewhat. Time to get back on track.

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It’s going to be all girls get-away as my mom, sister, Summer, Saylor and I head to New York this week to visit my grandparents.  Gram and Gramp are the typical grandparents in that when you couldn’t decide between two pairs of shoes, they’d say “just get both.” But isn’t that their job, really?

Summer already has this one figured out.

Case in point (as related by my mom or “abuela”):

Abuela (noticing Summer yawning): You look tired.

Summer: Yes, I didn’t sleep well at all.

Abuela: Oh no, what was wrong?

Summer: Well, I REALLY wanted a (stuffed) deer at the book store and mommy said it was too expensive to buy. I just kept thinking about that deer alllll night. I would start to fall asleep and then I would remember the deer and cried a little. I just REALLY wanted that deer…

And yes - like there is any doubt - Abuela plans to head over to Barnes & Noble for the $15 deer soon.

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What type of disciplinarian are you? Before I had kids I thought I would be the “tough one,” but I hate to admit I do give in more easily than daddy does.

My sister, Rebeca, and I just got into this conversation yesterday. She is a second-grade teacher and doesn’t tolerate much (you wouldn’t either with that many kids.) She is also the stepmom to a 7-year-old boy, whose daddy is much more lenient.

Even though mom and dads have different parenting styles, this article stresses the need for parents to work as a team.

For the most part, we agree on “timeouts” for Summer. My biggest beef is when Scott sends her straight to timeout without a warning. I think at her age she needs a warning first (except for hitting, which we do not tolerate.)

I’m a big believer in consistency too. One thing I have learned in the past few years: If you give in once, be prepared to do it again and again.

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And now a little love to all the great dads out there as we approach Father’s Day.

Like most moms out there I do my share of ranting and raving about some of my hubby’s habits. One of the worst: when he gets up in the middle of the night to make himself something eat and leaves every last thing on the kitchen counter. (Can you at least open the fridge to put the milk back?!)

But I also know how much I depend on him, especially since he’s been out of town recently.

One of his main daddy duties is getting the girls ready in the mornings. Having to deal with this the past few days has opened my eyes to how frustrating it can be to get out the door.

Just how many times do I need to ask Summer to get dressed?!! Apparently about 100. I now understand why Summer tells me she eats toast in the car.

Face it, daddies don’t always do it mommy’s way, but that’s OK. Summer may be wearing purple, yellow and blue, and that’s OK too. Saylor may still be in her jammies when I get home from work, and OK, I can live with that.

When I hear Saylor coo to her daddy on the phone and Summer repeatedly asks when he’s coming home, I know what’s really important.

Happy Father’s Day, Scotty.

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What’s creepier delivering a baby on 6-6-06 or postponing the birth to a day more “appropriate?”

Let’s face it, women today like to be in control of their lives and everything (everyone?) around it. Why do you think C-sections and induced labors continue to rise every year?

Call me old-fashioned, but what happened to the notion of anticipating the birth of your child with some of life’s unknowns?

Today you can not only find out your baby’s gender, but you can see your baby (in 3D or 4D photos) BEFORE your baby is even born.

Some expectant moms can even decide on what day their bundle of joy will be born. I read something recently where moms are also avoiding Christmas and Thanksgiving Day birthdays.

What’s next?!

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File this one under HUH? A Tampa woman suspected she was pregnant, went to the doctor and found out she was 9-months along. (Read today’s Trib story). God bless her. Can you even imagine?

I get the no symptoms part (I was lucky that way too), the kicking could have been overlooked pretty easily, but no bulging belly? Doctors suspect it was baby’s position and she only gained about 10 pounds (not fair).

The couple seem like they are handling it quite well.  Then again, what else can you do? 

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My memory is fading. I read an interesting article in a magazine yesterday and halfway through it, it seemed somewhat familiar. Turns out, I had just read it a couple weeks ago and I stopped myself to see if I could remember the ending. I had no clue where it was going.

Sign me up for a study on sleep deprivation. It’s been almost 10 months without a full night’s sleep. I even had two nights to myself a couple weeks ago and I still managed to wake up twice because my body isn’t accustomed to sleeping more than three hours straight.

I caught Dr. Ferber promoting his new book last week on the Today show. I was hoping (make that praying) for a ground-breaking discovery, the final answer on how to get Saylor to sleep the entire night. I didn’t hear it, but one thing that did resonate with me: Sleep problems are rarely the result of poor parenting. (Thank you, although tired I do feel a little better now.)

But poor habits? That’s another story. We did it all wrong this time. I won’t get into the details, but you sleepless moms and dads know what they are. You think I would have been smarter the second time around, instead I was just so tired I did whatever it took to get her to sleep. Unfortunately that means she can’t fall back asleep by herself. And we’re paying for it.

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Happy Mother’s Day to all the hard-working, multi-tasking, under-appreciated moms out there. An informal poll among moms in the newsroom reveals the thing we want most is time. Time alone or time for family (that means no chores, errands or laundry!)

Here’s this from Denise: “To go get a pedicure, shop alone at the mall and actually look at clothes without my little girl pulling on my shirt and then go home and catch up on Desperate Housewives taped episodes—eating snacks on my couch in a quiet house.”

Ah, sounds like heaven. Unfortunately, we’re both too chicken to ask for this for fear we’ll offend our family.

Beth’s husband took the day off to spend family time. “We’re planning to just stay home and enjoy our son.”

“This might sound sappy, but all I want is to spend a chore-free day with my kids,” said Debbie, mom to two girls.

Ah, that sounds like heaven too.

Me? I plan to do a little of both. First, a pedicure and manicure at my favorite nail salon with the massaging chairs on Davis Islands. The rest of the day, it’s all about my girls. Memo to hubby: I don’t plan on cooking anything the entire day.

Of course, there’s always someone with diamonds on the list. So for Janine’s husband, if you’re reading this, she’ll take earrings.

Put your feet up - and enjoy the day!

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I read an interesting NY Times story the other day: Why Stars Name Babies Moxie, Moses and Apple. There’s been a fair share of unusual names in the celebrity world lately. Gwyneth has Moses. TomKat named their little one Suri and Brooke welcomed daughter, Grier.

Baby names are always a great conversation topic. People love to weigh in on names. And even perfect strangers want to tell you what they think – good or bad. Needless to say, I get plenty of reaction.

My hubby came up with Summer and I admit, I thought it was a bit hippyish. But there was a connection: she was born in August and I carried her during the long, hot, Florida summer. Now at 3 ½, she has long blond hair, which she loves to wear down uncombed, and prefers long sundresses and sandals. Hummus is a snack favorite. My little hippy chick.

We had a hard time coming up with name No. 2. In a magazine I saw Christie Brinkley had a daughter named Sailor. We liked it. Later I saw the spelling Saylor in a list of names. I was sold. It’s just Taylor with an “S” would be my answer to everyone who thought it was a little unusual.

This was the reaction from nurses in our hospital room after we announced Saylor’s name: “Huh?,” “That’s her name, REALLY?,” “Uh, interestiiiiiing.” Gulp. I wasn’t really prepared for such honesty! You think anyone said that to Tom and Katie?

When my mom told her friend Saylor’s name, her friend’s reply was something along the lines of how mean we were to name her that. Ouch, that hurt!

I’m not sure what people’s motives are when they say things like that?
(Uhhh sorry you don’t like it, but it’s a little too late—it’s printed on her birth certificate.)

I’m half kidding, this doesn’t really bother me. Memo: I love her name or I wouldn’t have named her that.  What I can’t understand is why people feel they must tell you how weird, strange, mean-spirited a name is. If you can’t say anything nice….

Saylor knows her name now and smiles and coos when you call her.  Something tells me she’s going to be just fine, thank you.

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Did you catch Karla Jackson’s Five Minutes With .. Jessica Denay, Author And Founder Of The Hot Moms Club this week in Baylife? I have never heard of the Hot Moms Club and my first thought was ‘do we really need anymore pressure?!’ We are already inundated with photos of these celebrity moms weighing 105 pounds, wearing Dolce & Gabbana and Jimmy Choos with their oh-so stylish babies on their hips. And none of them have nannies, personal trainers or chefs, of course.

But Jessica Denay says the Hot Mom concept is less about being a size 2 and more about energy, attitude and confidence. She also says moms are “multitasking goddesses.” Now, that is hot.

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Whoever said sleep is overrated couldn’t have been sleep deprived. Saylor turned 8-months-old this week. And eight months ago is the last time I slept eight hours straight. I really only have myself to blame.

I broke the cardinal rule – I let her sleep with me. It started innocently enough. When I nursed her in bed, I was so over-tired that I end up falling asleep instead of putting her in the crib. One night turned into another and another and eight months later we’re still struggling. She falls asleep in her crib but still wakes up for a feeding.

Well this week, the nights got worse. She’s been waking herself up by trying to sit up or rolls to her belly and decides at 2:30 a.m. it’s a good time to practice crawling. Frustrated, she screams and screams some more. There was a baby boom here at the News Center and all the other moms tell me their babies are sleeping through the night. I tell Saylor this, but apparently she doesn’t care to succumb to peer pressure.

I keep reminding myself this is only temporary. Next month (hopefully next week!) she will be on to something else, but still what I wouldn’t give for a good night’s sleep.

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Summer went to Orlando last week to spend a few days with my sister, Rebeca. I was a little nervous. It was the first time I let her ride in the car with someone else driving on I-4. That roadway really scares me. I read story after story of wrecks on that interstate. People complain about the cost of the high-speed rail, but I would be willing to pay for that vs. making that dangerous trip on I-4 with my family in tow.

This fear is why I find it just mind-boggling when I drive around town and see kids not wearing their seat belts. I can’t count how many times I’ve stopped at a red light and seen kids standing up or moving seats in a mini-van or SUV. In the past couple of months, I’ve also witnessed an adult holding a toddler in the passenger seat – twice! I’m not trying to be preachy, but what’s going on here? If you don’t want to wear your seat belt - fine. But not to strap your kids in? I just don’t get it.

Recently I was in a parking lot and a car pulled into a parking space in front of me and the passenger was holding a little girl who appeared to be about 18-months-old. (I didn’t see a car seat in the back.) I wondered whether I should approach her and tell her how dangerous that was, but I decided not to say anything. I’m still questioning my decision to remain silent.

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The letter came in the mail on Saturday.  To The Parents Of Summer Grace. I hesitated a moment before opening it. I had a flashback to the days of college admission letters. Well, maybe not that extreme but we’re talking about a 3-year-old here!

I stood in line a couple weeks ago to register Summer in the Pre-K program at our neighborhood elementary school. I heard all the stories – long waiting lists, get there early, etc. As I waited in line for the office doors to open, the parents in front of me talked about whether their kids had a “good” or “bad” birthday. My Johnny has a “bad” birthday, said the mom in front of me, he was born in July. Wait…July?!

With school starting earlier and earlier, Summer is apparently in the “bad” birthday category. Really bad. It’s at the end of August – a full three weeks after school starts and only two weeks before the Sept. 1 cut off. She’ll be one of the youngest kids in her class. Bring on the stress. My mind starts reeling: Is this too early to start? Will she be bored if she doesn’t go? Should we wait a year? Is her height (very tall) a disadvantage to starting later?

After talking it over with friends and family (my mom and sister are teachers), we’ve decided she will attend. If we learn she isn’t ready, we’ll go from there.

Fast forward three years, we’ll get to do this all over again. We have another “bad” birthday in the family. Saylor is also an August baby.

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I saw a movie in an actual theater this weekend. It was the first time I’ve sat in a theater with a bag of overpriced popcorn since Saylor was born six months ago. Movie? Curious George.

This comes from someone who used to make it a mission to see all the Oscar contenders (movie and actor nominations) before the telecast. Now it’s Blockbuster rentals and I’m probably the only person in the country getting charged late fees there. Yep, I still can’t manage to see some of these movies in a month! Or it takes me a month to watch one because I fall asleep after about 15 minutes.

I vowed before Saylor was born that I would still spend some one-on-one time with Summer. It’s been harder than I thought it would be. Some weekends are filled with errands and I’m a working mom wrecked with guilt about leaving even one of them behind. Our Sunday movie outing was just the two of us and it reminded me how important it is for big sister to get some individual attention. Just before the movie ended Summer crawled in my lap and said “I love you, mom.” Guess I’ll be paying that late fee on “Brokeback Mountain.”

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Shortly after the birth of my oldest daughter, I went grocery shopping and the entire time I walked through the aisles thinking, “I’m someone’s mom!”

Welcome to the Mommy Chronicles blog. I’m Clarisa Gerlach, a news producer at TBO.com, and mom to two girls: Summer, 3 1/2, and Saylor, 6 months.

I’m just like the majority of moms out there. I work full-time (cue in the guilt.) There are never enough hours in the day. My house usually looks like it was hit by a (toy) tornado. My laundry is never-ending. My girls have way too much stuff, especially stuffed animals which seem to multiply. I rely way too much on take-out (Outback and Sally O’Neals are programmed in my cell phone.) I somehow manage to remember everyone’s appointments and pay the bills, but can never find anything I’m looking for.

I find myself constantly swapping stories with other moms to give or receive advice. (Right now it’s getting Saylor out of my bed and whether Summer is too young for Pre-K next year.) That’s where this blog comes in.  Let me know what’s on your mind, share something that makes your life easier or just tell a funny kid story. Moms need all the support we can get.

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