- Blake is GIGGLING! It is so sweet. It doesn't happen on command, but when it does it is this precious belly giggle.
- Blake has had a number of "cry-free" bedtimes recently! This means I put him down to sleep when he is awake and he doesn't cry but falls asleep on his own! This is amazing to me and a huge answer to prayer. I think it helps that we are establishing more of a bedtime routine, the 4 "b"s - bath, book, uhm "nurse," and then bed. Also, I am soothing him a little longer before I put him down,. Strangely, it seems to work best if I nurse him un-swaddled and then swaddle him just before I soothe him to sleep; if he falls asleep while nursing he rarely stays asleep. The afternoon nap suddenly got harder, and the mid-day nap shorter, but those are small prices to pay for an easy bedtime.
- Blake slept through the night last night! In short, he slept at least 8 straight hours, and went 10 hrs without a feeding! He finally fell asleep around 8:45p (last night was NOT one of those "cry-free" nights; and of course it was a night we were trying to get out of the house to get to Care Group!) and then I didn't hear a peep until 5:20am. I didn't go get him at 5:20am (he was just fussing a little and I suspected it was just gas) and he must have fallen back asleep because I didn't hear him again until 6:40am. Then I went to nurse him, and even then he still seemed sleepy, so I laid him down again until 7:45am. I don't think he really slept after I nursed him, but he laid there relatively quietly.
- Blake is getting much better with his hands! Now he grabs things that are dangling above him, and if we put a rattle in his hand he shakes it all around and sometimes even puts it in his mouth. Way to go, baby!
- He is happy to see us after a nap! This has been happening for a little while, but it is worth mentioning. If we go in to get him after a nap because he is awake and fussing, as soon as he sees us he flashes us a big grin! And usually his smile continues as we unswaddle him and get him out of his carrier. It is really very sweet.
- Many naps are cry-free! I'd say about 1/3 of the time he goes to sleep without crying. I soothe him a little, then put him down awake, and he falls asleep. Interestingly, in the morning nap he consistently cries HARD for about 5 minutes and then falls asleep. The mid-day nap is most often cry-free (probably because I nurse him right before I put him down).
- He likes to stick out his tongue! I don't know what this is about, but it is as if he just discovered his tongue. He sticks it in and out, in and out. Silly and very cute.
- He is "talking"! I was just commenting to Mike that he wasn't talking as much as I thought he should be for his age, and then last night when he SHOULD have been sleeping, as I carried him around to soothe him he just kept making little noises, having a pleasant conversation with himself. Right now his favorite sound is "oo oo oo" which sometimes turns into "glube glube glube." He loves it when you respond to his gabbers.
- He is teething. No exclamation point there - he seems uncomfortable at times, and loves to chomp on our fingers if we let him. Now that he is learning to put things in his mouth perhaps those teeth will cut through a little more easily.
Things mommy is working on:
- Knowing how much time to spend with him. I want to "play" with him all the time, but I know it is good for himto spend time alone, and there is some house stuff I probably should be doing as well. As it is, I probably err on the side of spending more time with him - that is why I am home, right?
- Making dinner in the afternoon/evening. We try to put him to bed by 7pm, so his bedtime routine starts around 6/6:15pm. Before bedtime he is just generally more fussy and needs more attention. How, in the world does dinner get on the table, and when do we eat?
- Getting out of the house during the day. I am so intent on not messing with his schedule that I am reluctant to go on errands. Sometimes he will sleep in the car, but that might throw off his nap schedule. Rarely will he sleep when we are out (like at the grocery store) so that makes me less inclined to take him out for long periods of time that cross naps.
- Date nights. Because of his history of painful reflux (made worse if he cries too much) I am reluctant to leave for a date night before he has fallen asleep. So far this means we really haven't been on more than a couple dates since he was born; it is hard to arrange sitters in the "hopes" that he will go to sleep in a reasoable way. Now that he is going to sleep better at night (although not completely consistently), we hope to get out more in the evenings. The next challenge will be focusing on my hubby and not just thinking about the baby the whole time we are out.
- Travel. I have a husband who loves and wants to travel. I need to figure out how/when/if we can take the little one out on excursions further than the grocery store (and did I mention the grocery store is a challenge right now?). I have heard fom other friends that the babies can be easiest to travel with at 4 to 6 months, since they are content to sit, they sleep a lot, etc. That is right around the corner! I am praying that I can serve my husband and my son wisely and selflessly in this area.
- Faith. I am praying for faith to trust God and not trust in my ability to control every circumstance (his naps, his wake times, his reflux, etc. I would much prefer a predictible life that I can control, but God is showing me that his ways are better than my ways, and He doesn't always arrange a perfectly easy day.
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