I remember the first time we took DS1 to California, I was SO worried how he would sleep. Ironically, he actually slept for longer stretches at their home than at our home in Vancouver! I think it was because it was SO quiet where they live in the winter. As long as you maintain the routine you and DH have set up for her, she'll likely be just fine.
Regarding the NW's, Tracy actually addresses this and it was a total shock to me. As adults, we usually sleep through the night but we go through different levels of consciousness during that sleep. Sometimes we have to get up to use the washroom or get some water. Some people are just atrocious sleepers. Babies rarely actually sleep through the night. They'll wake a bit, roll around, change position and then fall back asleep. So if DD is waking up, but isn't crying, just leave her to it and she'll just put herself back to sleep. The important thing is to not rush in unless she's crying. DS1 used to do a blast cry in the middle of the night that lasted for 5-10secs at best. DH and I would leap out of bed and rush in and DS would be sound asleep....
That ended up being just a phase and we learned to wait before rushing in. DS2 did something similar when he was first teething. He'd cry out for a couple of seconds but it wasn't a genuine cry, just enough to wake us up, then he'd drift back to sleep. Thankfully that has ended.
I know it's been two weeks since you started chatting with us but if you think about it, you've just recently, in the last few days, started putting her to bed earlier. I wouldn't actually start counting days until tonight when you do the earlier bed time. It sounds like you're making great progress though!
