And you name
it, I’ve tried it. Swaddling, dark room, holding my hands over his eyes, white
noise, consistent naptime routine, gently stroking his forehead, patting,
shushing. I have tried it all. He will be on the brink of sleep and just cannot
get there. It’s infuriating. There are some days when I feel like all I do is
feed him and then try fruitlessly to get him to nap for the next 2 ½ hours
until it’s time to feed him again.
And right now we are on a every other day
pattern where one day he will nap like a textbook baby, clocking in 16 hours of
sleep over the course of 24 hours. The next day, we’re barely squeezing 10
hours total out of him and every single moment of that is hard earned. But
then, the very next day, he makes naptime look easy. I basically feed him,
swaddle him, put him down and voila- 2 hour nap.
I swear, he might possibly have
a split personality disorder. I’m a former mental health professional so I can
technically diagnose these things. Multiple personality disorder is rare, but
it does exist. On any given day, Forest is either an angel or a terrorist, using sleep deprivation as a tactic to bring his mother to the brink of a psychotic break.
 |
| Angel |
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| Me? Nap? Not a chance. |
The only saving grace
is that when he lacks daytime sleep, he usually will sleep upwards of 6 hours
that night.
But y’all, his good days are sooooo good. On those occasions, I
actually understand why people go on to have subsequent children. He is super
snuggly and smiley and we are both well fed and rested. And I don’t have to
tell you how adorable he is. Ohmygoodnesssocute!
This week he has made giant
leaps in his ability to hold his head up. And guess what he did just this
morning? He rolled over!! Here he is in process:
 |
| during |
 |
| after |
Now it wasn’t a true ‘rolling
over’ in the classic sense of the word. I put him on his tummy and I put his
hands under his chest to help him with his baby pushups. Two seconds later he’d
flipped to his back. I re-placed him back on his tummy in the same position and
he did it again. Rolling from front to back usually happens at 3 months, y’all.
This kid isn’t even 2 months yet.
He isn’t even close to rolling from back to
front, but I have a feeling that his alertness and hyperactivity will lead to
some early motor development milestones. He’s already doing most of the 2 month
milestones despite being 2 weeks away, including putting weight on his legs and
holding his head up for large chunks of time. We will see, but I’m pretty sure
I’m going to have my hands full with this one once he’s mobile! Check him out
doing his tummy time:
Today he did really well with going on an outing with
mom. I took him to my friend Susan’s to play mahjong and he snoozed for 2 hours while I got a few games in and got
to eat some lunch. I even passed a major hurdle by breast feeding in front of
my friends. I used the occasion to practice using my cover up, though I’m sure
I still flashed them a time or two.
On to the 7 week photos (he was quite sleepy during the photo shoot so I didn't get as many good shots this week):
And bonus ones from his
7th week of life:
Have you tried calling Monica Geller to put him to sleep? Remember, she is the pro :-) And he is looking so much more like Jonathan these days!
ReplyDeleteI have thought about that episode every time I've had to wake Forest up from a nap and then can't get him back to sleep:) Maybe you have the magic touch and can be my Monica. We'll see over Christmas!
DeleteI don't think you're doing anything wrong. I always thought the first 3 months were rough! After that, their bodies seem to be able to adjust to a schedule. You sound normal to me, recognizing how amazing he is, but how miserable it can be. I'm 3+ years away from that stage with my youngest and I vividly remember how hard it was! that's how much it scars you! Ha! Hang in there. I promise it gets better.
ReplyDelete