Who Needs Sleep, Well You're Never Gonna Get It

Phew. It's been a rough week. Let's start with the good stuff. Nate had his four month doctor's appointment yesterday and it went great. He is 18 lbs. 4 ozs. and 26 1/4 inches long. That's the 97th percentile for weight and the 90th for height. He's a big 'un! I started worrying about switching out the infant seat for the convertible carseat this weekend, but then was reminded that the height limit is 29 inches, not 26. Good thing. This kid can't sit up in a grocery cart yet.

I recently read that at 3-4 months of age, they shouldn't need to eat more than once per night. Well, Nate's still eating twice usually, and three times on a bad night. So we decided to stretch out the night feedings until he was down to just one. I knew he didn't need to eat so much, since he's started eating a lot less during the day (not good). Well, the doctor confirmed what I had already suspected. He doesn't need to eat during the night at all. Look how much he weighs! So anyway, we're going to cut out night feedings all together. And then we're going to let him cry it out and figure out how to self soothe, so we're not always rocking him to sleep, much as I've come to enjoy that. There's nothing better than feeling your baby's soft cheek against your own while he snores like a little angel. But he needs to learn to sleep on his own. And stay asleep on his own. That last part especially.

The doctor also said we could start Nate on solids, starting with rice cereal. Yay! I've really been looking forward to that. I've got spoons and bibs and cereal and everything all ready to go.

We were going to start last night, but Nate was miserable after his shots. Not really a great frame of mind for starting solid food for the first time. He's still got a bit of a fever, but we're trying to keep it down with Tylenol. Unfortunately, he also seems to have developed his first cold last night. He's got snot like y'all wouldn't believe. His face was covered in it this morning. It was in his eyebrows. How did that happen? Poor kid. I think we'll be totally cutting out the night feedings within the next day or two. The crying it out will wait until he's not sick.

You guys are probably wondering how we did with my de-swaddle project. Now it seems so long ago that we even swaddled him. He goes down with no problems unswaddled now. See?


He's even starting to really "get" his thumb, so he'll really be able to self soothe soon. He's even got the finger hooked on his nose occasionally. Too cute. But I'm not looking forward to having to break him of the habit down the road.

Nate's looking like a champ on his developmental milestones. He's really propping himself up at tummy time and can hold his head up pretty well. We're working on sitting up. He's almost figured out how to tripod, but not quite. He babbles and coos still like nobody's business. The other day, he said something that sounded suspiciously like "hi," and yesterday, I swear I heard a "yo." He likes to put weight on his legs when you stand him up. He's really gotten into the jumperoo. See?

The doc was happy when I told her about all this stuff we do with him, because it's keeping him off that flat spot. I want to say his head is finally starting to look rounder, but I could just be seeing what I want to. I guess only time will tell.

Um...What?

Hey, everyone. Remember this? When Nate rolled over from belly to back? Yeah, that was Monday. Today is Sunday. And this morning he rolled front to back! MY CHILD IS A PRODIGY.

That is all.

What? You wanted pictures and video? I just gave you a bunch last time. Greedy.

Oh, FINE.

Nate Rolls Over!

Wow, I'm so behind on my posting. I thought about posting on Saturday, but Nate was THISCLOSE to rolling over three times and I was hoping to get it on video before I posted. I know what you're thinking. The title is "Nate Rolls Over!" Did he roll over? For sure. Twice. Did I get it on video. No. Sorry. But I'll make up for my lack of posting with a bunch of pictures and video down below.

Here's the closest he got to rolling over on Saturday:





After that, he didn't seem much interested in even attempting it again on Sunday and Monday. Well, yesterday, at 3 months, 2 weeks and 4 days old, he decided to try it again. It could have been because he was in the midst of diaper free time and had peed himself, and so was rolling over to get away from the wet. More likely was the fact that he had just spit up all over himself and I was attempting to wipe it all off with a burp cloth and he wasn't really enjoying it. That's right, he rolled over trying to get away from me. Whatever gets you there, buddy.

The second he did it, Rob and I whooped in delight and said "yaaaaay Natey!!!" and clapped. He was so startled that he just started wailing immediately. It was hilarious.

What else is new? After a big fat fail with attempting to de-swaddle Nate, I decided to try again with naps today. The first nap went well. He slept for 30 minutes. The second is still in progress. He's currently screaming Rob's ear off after I attempted to put him down about 5 times and he screamed my ear off for about 30 minutes. Good times. I was going to wait until 4 months, but he's consistently breaking out of the swaddle still. After living through Snowpocalypse in December and Snowmageddon this weekend, we're in the midst of Snoverkill right now and I am getting some serious cabin fever. I haven't left the house since Thursday. I guess I needed a project.

Nate also has figured out how to squeal in delight. Check it:



He's also getting crazy adept with his hands. Before, he would flail wildly until he hit the parrot. Now look:



He's also gotten much better on tummy time. He'll last up to ten minutes or so, and even cracks an occasional smile:

And here are some pics just for fun.

Milk drunk Nate is the best.

Here's Nate engaging in his favorite activity. Spitting up:



Ok, his real favorite thing is his bath. See how chill he is when he knows he's getting one?




Here he is apres-bath. He loves to nom on the second towel:

Phew!

So much has happened this week! After a super week last week with Aunt Julie, Nate started part time at daycare this week. He did mornings at daycare and afternoons with Mimi, which worked out wonderfully for everyone. What did NOT work out wonderfully was the stomach bug he caught. That's right, less than a week at daycare, and he's already picking up everyone's germs. In all fairness, when I came in on Thursday, half the kids were gone. This thing spread like wildfire through the infants and mobile infants rooms.

Apparently, the only symptom of this illness is vomiting. I can confirm this is true. While Nate had a small cold a few weeks ago, this is really the first time that I feel he has been truly sick, and it breaks my heart. He's just having so much trouble keeping anything down. And since I usually feed him in bed, let's just say we did a lot of laundry today. But he seems to be getting better as the day/night goes on.

Despite potentially biting off more than we can chew, we also decided to deswaddle him cold turkey this weekend. He has been getting more and more frustrated at being swaddled each and every day. Why is that, you ask? Because of this:

That's right. The child is on the cusp of really and truly sucking his thumb. He got it once just long enough for me to snap that pic, and I haven't seen it for more than a suck or two since then. But Lord, does he try. And when he can't try and wants to, he is pissed. We figure the more he has access to his hands, the faster he'll get it and can soothe himself. Plus, where he used to give us a 5-6 hour stretch at the beginning of the night, we're now lucky if he goes 4 hours. I think he partially wakes, realizes he's swaddled, and wakes up fully trying to get out of it.

And get out he does. This little Houdini breaks out of his swaddles 2-3 times per night. Whether it be the Miracle Blanket (aka "baby straightjacket") or the double swaddle, this kid can't be confined. I'm not so pleased to walk in and see him surrounded by several feet of loose fabric in his crib each night.

See those happy babies in the videos who are so content getting swaddled? Yeah, that was never my kid. But we always thought he slept better when swaddled, so we stuck with it. Well, no longer. They say your child will tell you when he's ready to get rid of the swaddle. Well, I ain't deaf, Natey. I hear you loud and clear.

How's it going you ask? Well, we're 2 hours and 15 minutes into Night One. He is clearly ready to start this weekend, but we were hesitant after he became ill. But we also decided that he'll probably be up every couple of hours to get a little bit of food at a time tonight anyway, since his stomach is still a little upset. So why not blow through it? I guess we'll see how it goes...

Big Smiles

Back to the Grind

I started back at work this week, which has been alternatingly wonderful and terrible. Terrible because it's difficult to figure out how to get up and at 'em with baby in town. Wonderful in that I have 8 hours a day when I can pee whenever I like.

This week, Nate is hanging out at home with Grandma and Grandpa while I'm at work. Next week, Aunt Julie takes over. The following week, we'll start daycare part time while Mimi watches him the rest of the day. Then we're all daycare all the time. Yikes! He seems to be doing well without me. Because the world is now so exciting and he can see everything, he doesn't really want to nap anymore. On the upside, he's been taking the bottle with no problems whatsoever. Apparently, I just needed to leave the house? Who knew. Besides all those people on the internet that suggested it.

Poor Nate has been having his first cold. It's nothing too terrible. He's just a little more congested than normal. It seems to be getting better, and I'm already over it after only a few days. Glad the first one wasn't a biggie.

Nate has a new favorite toy. PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: if you have a baby, get one of these. It's baby crack. No joke. He'll spend 45 minutes in there, happy as a clam. And it's a great teaching tool for development. After ten minutes, he could already figure out that the lights and music would play when he hit the plastic animals. He's just not coordinated enough yet to be able to make his hands go where he wants them to, so he'd just flail about until he hit it. And now, within a couple days, he already is better at just moving his hand towards the animal that he wants to hit.

It's amazing to see how he's grown. Want a before and after pic? Here's before:



I don't even know exactly when that was. He's no more than a few weeks old, clearly not so used to the big, scary world yet. And here he is a few days ago:


Really starting to enjoy the big boy stroller without the infant seat. Here's another one because he makes such a funny face in it:

Nate's First Overnight Visit

Happy New Year, everyone! Nate is ready to take on his first full year. I can't wait to see how Nate will grow and change over the next year.

We had a great holiday season, with Rob's family coming to town to visit. They rented a big house about 20 or so minutes away, and stayed for several days. Nate and I spent a lot of time over at the rental house and Rob and I stayed there with Nate for two nights. These were his first nights away from home. A nail biting experience? Not too bad, actually.

Nate took to his crib like a champ and naps very well in his room, so I was worried that he wouldn't adapt well to sleeping away from home in a pack and play, but he had no problems at all. The only problem was mine. I'm used to rocking Nate in his glider before I put him down, and there was no glider or rocking chair, so I was left with bouncing and walking around with him. My back suffered greatly, as this kid is ginormous. But I lived, as did he.


He's getting better at taking a bottle with each day. Yesterday, he gulped down 5 ounces from me. A few days ago, I switched him from the regular cow's milk formula to one made of soy. It's like a different baby. He's been so chill the last few days. I'm loving it. Now if only he could figure out the sleeping through the night thing. Last night, I tried doing a dreamfeed, which is where you feed the baby while he's still asleep at around 10-11 pm. Well, he still woke up at 2:30 am, 5:30 am, and 8 am. About the same schedule he's been on for the last few days. Sigh. So now he's waking from habit rather than hunger. I need to figure this thing out.

Pictures? Ok, here: