Bedtime Blues

The first question everyone asks me is, "How is Harvey?" The second question is, "Is he sleeping through the night?" What puzzles me is that Harvey started sleeping 7, 8, even 9 hours a night (uninterrupted) when we first got the Aquarium Wonders Cradle Swing for him in early November (he was about 5 weeks old). The pediatrician told us that by 3 months he should be out of the swing at night and in a crib and that by 4 months he should only sleep in the crib and that the car seat, and swing should be reserved for when driving or at someone else's home. As a result, we have been valiantly trying to make the transition to crib-only sleeping throughout the month of January, which has only yeilded us 4-5 hours of uninterrupted sleep at best and usually only 3-4 hours at a stretch. Often I have had to get up after only 2-3 hours to re-binky him. Also, now that Harvey is more active, he gets overtired and resists naptime and bedtime like the plague. He will nod off to sleep at 10 PM, but then at 11 PM he's up and wanting to be held, cuddled, entertained, nursed, ANYTHING but the sandman! How can it be that just minutes earlier he was peacefully slumbering and dreaming about toyland and giant binkies (or whatever it is that babies dream about) and the next thing I know, he is squirming, tossing, breathing fitfully and whimpering. Next come the frustrated cries. If I don't intervene, then he launches into a full-blown whaling scream and at this point the record is skipping; the needle caught in the groove of baby nightmare. This cry-whale-scream-calm-down-from-soothing-back-to-crying-again cycle goes on until about 1 AM !! Then he konks out, but is back up for a feeding at 5:30 or so....

There are many schools of thought ranging from "Cry it Out" to soothe, nurse, cuddle and sleep with your baby whenever he whimpers. Tonight, Harvey went for 15 rounds with the sandman. I tried everything:
aggressive binky useage
bedtime story
rocking
singing
Shhhhing
soothing words
letting him cry a bit
picking him up
not picking him up
massaging him with "baby bedtime cream"
walking him around the apartment
nursing,burping and changing him

Everything worked temporarily.

....but the cradle swing with binky and the cheezy synthesized music ultimately won out. Well, tonight, that is. I am learing the difficult truth that once I get used to something that "works", I can be sure that that particular technique will have a limited half-life. After his arms went limp, I finally transferred the little angel to his final resting place, the blessed crib. Sweet Dreams!

Dutch Baby

 
This was taken last week when Harvey took his first stroll in his umbrella stroller given to him from his Great Aunt Agnes. He has been strolling a lot lately. He has made it very clear that he wants to get out and see the world! 

Grabbing Toes and Toys

 
Harvey has been grabbing his toys for about 3 weeks now. In the last 2 weeks he has been fascinated by his toes. Mmmmm, yummy purple polka dots! Tomorrow he turns 4 months old. 

Naptime for the Boys

 
These two guys work so hard! 

Texas Trio

Harvey didn't like the sun in his eyes. Notice the Kerr ancestor engraved on the Alamo Monument

Harvey Remembers

 
His head is getting AWEFULLY big since he visited the Alamo....and won! On Monday we weighed in at 12 Pounds 6 Ounces, 24 3/4 inches long and head circumference 16 inches. Yesterday he found his toes and almost had them for dinner. He's been trying valiantly to roll from belly to back this week and actually managed a few times. I think he was inspired by Dr. King's comment that we aren't supposed to put him to sleep on his tummy until he demonstrates full rolling capabilities in both directions. 

Mom N Me Class

 

Here we all are on the last day of Mom and Me Class. This was set up for us by the Birth Center with a moderator. We mothers decided to continue to meet on our own. Somebody asked Joe what we do in this class and he said "kvetch to each other". But we also swap stories and get ideas on how to better enjoy our precious babies. As I type this, little Harvey is kicking and grabbing at the keyboard. He even managed to wipe out the screen a few times. Way to go HS! 

A Few Good Tricks

Right now it looks cute - Mom showing baby a few tricks on the Mac. However pretty soon it will be the other way around. Speaking of tricks...Harvey has logged in a few new ones.
1. He has become a virtuoso roller - from back to stomach that is. He started doing that the day after Christmas. Interestingly, he did it a few times back in November and then stopped. A sort of sneak preview I guess.
2. He Laughed! We gave him a bath right before New Years and when we introduced him to his new purple octopus squeeze toy. He let out a chuckle that melted our hearts. J and I laughed out loud and then he laughed at us laughing at him. It was probably one of the most precious moments of parenthood so far.

Harvey and Mombo

 
 

Blessed Crib

No more crib quandaries! Today we picked up the crib at the Baby SuperMart thanks to Jeannie lending us her truck to pick up the enormous (and heavy) freight. I was amazed at the dexterity of the chainsmoker who helped us load the box. I don't think the cigarette ever left his mouth. We actually ordered the crib six weeks ago but we were told that the hurricaines and the "holidays" had everything backed up and that the cribs are special ordered from Brazil. Harvey doesn't care about all that. He's just happy to have his own crawl-and-drool quarters. Unfortunately we had to dismantle a 74" long bookcase and store all of the books in the basement in order to make (more) room for baby. As if we even PRETEND to read anything anymore except maybe Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (which happens to be ranked #239 in books today on Amazon). Oh, and by the way, the Steinway is serving as carport for the stroller, bouncer, carseat and toy bag. They warned me about this...