Round one

Sleep has definitely evaded us lately. When I can get him to sleep it doesn't seem to last long, and I am wearing thin. The books make it sound so easy, "lay him down drowsy so he will learn how to sleep on his own" they say. Well books, you can shove it... Naps I have down pat. A little nursing or rocking (which the books say don't do), put him in his chair and he looks at me for a moment and then drifts off. Night time seems to be the battle. When I finally get him to drift off either at the boob or in the rocker as soon as I put him down he literally pops back up. He arches his back, picks up his feet and slams them down. Does he hate the crib? Hate being by himself, just hate me??? It's so frustrating. No matter the time frame that I allow him to fall asleep in my arms before the  "transfer" he comes back to life. In the instance that I finally do get him to sleep in the crib, many hours later, it's last 20mins before the routine starts all over again. Do I stick it out? Do I go back to putting him to sleep in the bassinet in the living room? And what about in the middle of the night? He used to wake up nurse and go right back to sleep, but we have even lost that luxury? Two hours tonight, with both me and Robert trying. Of course this is only round one, lets see how long it lasts.

stuck in a thumb and pulled out a banana

 He's going to be a thumb sucker. On one hand this is good news. A thumb never gets lost and it will comfort him to sleep. On the other hand, I might have to cut his thumbs off one day to stop the habit. It has already helped with sleep. He slept this morning from 4a to 830a, I feel like a new person.

I gave Caleb some banana this morning. I think he liked it!

 Current Likes and Actions:

Standing 

Screaming, screeching

playing with toes

anything outside

monkey rattle

giraffe

The digression

Hanging out with Grandpa Morris

We visited Great Grandma Morris yesterday. It made for a long day, but she was so happy to see him. Dad met us at the house and we all went down to visit.Caleb was an angel in the car for a change, but I sure am tired of hearing row, row, row your boat.

Mine. All Mine.

Caleb has become so much more aware of what is going on. I finally dug into the toy bin and pulled out the goodies. He will grab things, including his toes and pull them into his mouth (well the toes don't quit reach yet). He loves to give his monkey rattle kisses


Sleep seems to have digressed the past couple of days. Naps seems shorter, and night time sleep a little more interrupted. I don't know if it's just a phase or if it's the hectic schedule we have had lately. I've been trying to run with the neighbor in the evenings and that seems to be a nightmare. I have to go either before or after putting Caleb to sleep of which neither seem to be a good option. I think I will nix it and just run alone with Caleb in the morning. It's better all the way around.

Last night it was hard to get Caleb to go to sleep with him then waking 5 hours later (he usually goes 6). At his second waking he stayed awake for 2 hours. I tried to just leave him to go back to sleep on his own, but it didn't work. Tonight I got him down early and quickly, but 15 minutes after I left to run he was right back up. Everywhere I read talks about teaching them how to go to sleep on their own, putting them down drowsy, not letting them fall completely asleep on you, but I don't know. Every time I try he stays awake for hours at a time. gets more excited, and is harder to get back to sleep. Hopefully this is just a small regression and things will get back on track soon.

The Mom group

We have created our very own mommy group. Made especially for outdoor adventures, for kids and moms of all ages. Today was our first big hike along the Hillsborough River with Sarah and Grace, Karen and Abigail, and Kat. It was so much fun with lots of hope to continue into the future.

Caleb has rolled over a time or two since the big day, but we have been so busy lately that he hasn't had much tummy time. He sucks on his fingers at a pretty steady rate now and even chokes himself now and again. His laugh is getting louder and stronger with his grin getting wider. I wish I could capture it better on camera, but he seems to stop every time the camera comes out. He is holding his head up well during tummy time and I just know that crawling is right around the corner. I went with Eva and Colton to a mom's breastfeeding group on Friday. Caleb weighed in at 15lbs 9oz.

Saturday night was the first night out with out him and the first night in with him for Robert. They were both troupers. They both got about 3 hours sleep before playing the rest of the night waiting on mom to get home. It was really tough for me to leave them alone, but we were all very brave. The boys did great. I was proud of both of them.

Me, Beth and Karen for Bethie's Bachelorette party.

The Movies

Caleb in action

Caleb 3m old Sept 2011

Caleb 3 1/2m October 2011

Caleb 4 1/2m Nov 15, 2011

6m January 1, 2012

The big roll over

The start

The finish

Caleb rolled over today!! Twice in a row from belly to back. It surprised him a little and caused a cry the first time. The second time time I praised him for doing a good job and he smiled from ear to ear. This occurred after a morning of screaming giggles while laying on the floor after our morning hike.

Today we hiked 3.5 miles on the Alafia River Corridor. Caleb really seems to enjoy outside and the weather is beautiful right now.   High's in the low 80" and tonights low should be in the 50's. yeah.

We have discontinued using the swaddle at night for sleep time, and he is doing well. Normally sleeps 6 hours and then wakes every 2-4 hours after that. For the most part going right to sleep at night and staying asleep, although sometimes there is still a wake up period 30 minutes after passing out.

Bath time has become the funnest time, with lots of giggles and smiles.