Somebody Pinch Me . . .

. . .  because I must be dreaming! My baby is sleeping through the night! I should note here that the clinical definition of "sleeping through the night" isn't actually sleeping all night, but sleeping for at least 5 hours straight.  That may not sound like a lot, but to a new mom it's like the elusive Holy Grail.  I have despaired of Davis ever sleeping for such a long chunk of time.  On a good night, he has usually slept 3 or 3.5 hours, then awakened, then slept for 2 or 2.5 hours, then awakened, and then slept for another hour before getting up for the day.  On a bad night,  he has been known to be up every hour. The night before his baptism, Davis slept for 4 hours and 45 minutes!  I woke up a little before he did and couldn't fall back asleep because I was so excited wondering if he would make it to 5 hours.  4.75 was an entire hour longer than his previous sleep record, so I was still really excited! The next night,  he was up every hour. Sadness. But this past Saturday night, Davis went to sleep at his usual time (about 9 o'clock) and slept for FIVE HOURS AND 45 MINUTES - an hour longer than his record set the week before. I was so excited.  This was his first time actually "sleeping through the night."  But I was holding my breath wondering if it was a one-time deal or maybe - just maybe - the turning point I've been hoping for. On Sunday night, Davis slept for SIX HOURS even.  (He did cry briefly one time in there, but I shushed and patted him for a minute and he fell right back asleep, so I'm not sure if he was even really awake in the first place or just crying in his sleep.) I was doing a happy dance! Last night, on Monday night, Davis slept for SIX HOURS AND 45 MINUTES.  Wahoo!  After he ate, he went back to sleep for another two and a half hours, but I had a hard time falling back asleep because: 1) I was so excited. 2) I was worrying about whether my luck will hold and this will become the "new normal." 3) I was wondering if he's just reached that magic age where he's developmentally ready to sleep longer or if there's something new in his life that's helping him to sleep better.  The only things I've changed recently to try to encourage better sleep are having him sleep in a Woombie (he's been wearing it for about a week, but it takes a little while for a baby to adjust to it), making sure he goes outside and gets at least 20 minutes of natural light every morning (to help regulate his internal clock so he can sleep properly), and having him in cloth diapers full-time (previously he was in disposables at night because we didn't have quite enough cloth diapers to go full-time).  I don't know if any of these have anything to do with his sleeping so well, but I want to continue doing them just in case. 4) I was trying to decide when I should transition Davis from the co-sleeper bassinet to his crib.  I don't want to do it too soon and mess up his new awesome sleep pattern, but I want to get him in his crib at night by the end of June.  I've been waiting for him to start sleeping better consistently first so I don't have to run to and from the nursery several times a night.  If he's truly is going to start having only one night waking, it looks like the time is just about right!  It's exciting to think about, but also a little bittersweet.  I have to admit, I really, really, really like having Davis sleeping next to me at night.  It is so reassuring to be able to hear him breathe, to simply reach over and pat him when he squirms or fusses in the night to calm him down before he gets a chance to cry, etc.  I don't think Davis will have much trouble adjusting to sleeping in his crib . . . I think I'm the one who's going to have a hard time! In the meantime, I'm knocking on wood and hoping beyond hope that Davis continues to "sleep through the night."  It feels soooo nice to get decent sleep for three nights in a row, and I just don't want to go back to those bleary-eyed sessions in the middle of the night where I cry and plead with my baby to go back to sleep. On second thought, don't pinch me.  If this is a dream, it's such a good one that I don't want to wake up!

From Loving the Life We Live

Baptism

Sunday was a special day for our family as Davis was baptized.  I was so worried that he would cry, but he was an angel through the entire service.  He slept through most of church and was alert but quiet as my sister, his Aunt Shalimar, baptized him.  What a relief!  We were so blessed to have most of our families present to witness the special event. What a doll, right? Davis LOVED spending the weekend with so many people who love him.  He was just eating up all the attention. Luckily, he was feeling much better after being sick and miserable for a few days.  Poor baby!  Check out those red-rimmed eyes. Last week also brought my first experiences with projectile vomit (all over the couch . . . and me) and a dirty diaper blowout (all over his carseat and baptism outfit on the way home).  Both horrifying. But isn't this face worth it?

From Loving the Life We Live

Sick Baby :(

Shiny nose? - check
Rosy cheeks? - check
Coughing? - check
Sneezing? - check
Nasal congestion? - check
Clearing throat? - check
Red around the eyes? - check
Eyes watering? - check

First cold (or could it be allergies?)? - check

From Loving the Life We Live

Two Months!

Everyone says to enjoy babyhood because it is so fleeting.  Try telling a new mom that at 2 a.m., though!  Still, it's true that the past month has flown by somehow.   Suddenly I look out the window and see leaves on the trees as I wonder, where has this spring gone?  Davis is two months old now and such a joy (you know, except at night when he won't sleep). Davis has become very smiley and can be quite talkative.  He likes to make eye contact with Mommy and Daddy and smile, and he likes to look at himself in the mirror.  When you put him on his back, he now keeps his head straight and looks up instead of always lying his head to the side.  Last week he spontaneously (accidentally, I'm sure) picked up one of his rattles and moved it.  If you put a rattle in his palm, he'll grasp it, wave it around, and bring it to his mouth to lick it.  He appears to like his baths now, and he rarely cries anymore when getting his diaper changed (except at night).  He likes to be carried upright and look around; his neck is strong and he holds his head up straight and pretty steady.  His biggest challenge is falling asleep (the poor tired boy gets very fussy and needs a lot of help to take a nap) and staying asleep (his nighttime sleep has been getting even worse lately - so much for dreams of a baby who sleeps through the night). We just got back from his two month well baby visit.  Here are his stats: weight: 13 lbs. 10 oz. - 85.39 percentile length: 24 inches - 92.54 percentile head circumference: 16.25 inches - 97.87 percentile He was so good for the doctor, lying there happily cooing and smiling.  It made it extra hard on Mommy, though, when he had to get his vaccinations.  Try looking a baby in the eyes as he smiles at you innocently and then suddenly screams in pain.  :( The poor little guy is napping now.  I told him that he could nap on Mommy as long as he wants and I won't even try to put him down.  After all, no one ever looks back on their life and says, "I wish I had held my children less when they were babies."  Babyhood is fleeting, even though right now it seems to stretch out in front of me forever.

From Loving the Life We Live

Spiffy

Today Davis got all spiffed up for church.  Quite a handsome fella, isn't he?  He was such a good boy and slept all through the service (though it was touch-and-go for a little while during the prayer - luckily, the crisis was averted).

From Loving the Life We Live

Snorting Contest

Who do you think won?  Davis or his Grandad?

From Loving the Life We Live

Babywearing Bliss

Yesterday was a gloriously beautiful day, and we decided to try our Beco Butterfly II baby carrier for the first time to go on a walk around the neighborhood.  I thought it would go well, because lately the best way to calm Davis is to hold him upright against your chest while you walk around.  So we tried the Beco . . . and Davis LOVED it!  I have a feeling we're going to get plenty of use out of it over the next couple of years.  This is a weird angle, but it was adorable how Davis calmly looked up at his daddy during the walk.

From Loving the Life We Live

First Mother's Day

Today is my very first Mother's Day, and as I sit here on the floor with my precious infant son lying beside me cooing, I feel like the luckiest mommy in the world.

Davis decided to celebrate this special day by having a nice case of insomnia in the wee hours of the morning.  As I walked him around, bouncing, swaying, singing, and wishing he would just fall asleep as I watched the clock hit 4 a.m., he looked up at me with his big bright eyes in the quiet and dark of the nursery and gave me a big, happy smile.

I am the luckiest mommy in the world.  Happy Mother's Day to me!

And Happy Mother's Day to my own mother, and to Greg's (sorry we didn't get cards out - I have been preoccupied and slacking in the card department), and to all the other mommies out there who are almost - but not quite - as lucky as me.

First Mother's Day


Little girls have always dreamed,
Of one day being grown;
Of having a home and family,
And children of their own.

As little girls they played the games,
With dollies cuddled near;
Of being grown up Mommies,
And now that day is here.

For cuddled sweetly in the arms,
Of the little girl now grown;
Is the sweetest dream she ever dreamed,
A baby of her own.

In all the years of growing up,
In the games that little girls play;
None will ever be so sweet,
As her very first Mother's Day.

- By Allison Chambers Coxsey

From Loving the Life We Live