Last week Evan began a new phase; he was sleeping well through the day, had great play times, but then when evening came he started to get fussy. He wouldn’t really cry, he would whine and he would do that until 11pm… midnight… 1am… depending on his energy (not caring how much energy I had). Once he went down for the night though he was good.
Now Evan is sleeping less through the day. He’ll have two naps, one in the late morning and another in the early evening. When he’s not napping we’re either playing (which is the word I use for me talking to him while he stares at me or the sky) or he’s fussing. Yes, my son has spent the last week and a half mastering the art of the whine. It sounds like a cry, but it’s not a cry because there are no tears and he can turn it off in a second. It’s just a little something he does now to keep us on our toes, literally. While Evan is fake crying we’ve got to keep him moving. We go from the football hold to cradling him to putting him in the Baby Bjorn, to putting him on the floor, to rolling him on his tummy, to getting back up with him, to taking him for a walk… he’s only content in any given position for minutes at a time so as I’m sure you can imagine it gets quite exhausting. It was thanks to this new whine turning into a full on crying fit that I finally broke down and tried a soother. I was going to try to not do a soother, but you know what, who cares?! No one asks the Prime Minister of Canada if he (or she) used a soother when they were 6 weeks old… And if they did ask and the Prime Minister said yes, would we have any less respect for them (political views aside)? No! More importantly I suppose, would we have any less respect for their mother? Hell no, she raised the leader of our country! Do you see what I’m saying here people? If a soother brings more peace to my day then I’m using it. Plus, Evan seems to dig it. Happy mom, happy baby… happy baby, happy mom.
Oh, and… (I can’t believe this wasn’t the first thing I wrote about) Evan slept for FIVE STRAIGHT HOURS on Friday night. It was amazing. Since then John and I have been trying to repeat exactly what we did that evening, with no luck. He’s back to 2-3 hour intervals. That’s okay, the five hours of straight sleep gave me an idea of what’s to come. Pretty crazy to think though that before Friday night I hadn’t slept for four, let alone 5 straight hours in over a month!
Evan’s physique is also changing daily. He’s getting so big! His legs are getting chunky and his cheeks, they just keep growing. He’s got little rolls in his neck now, which I find lint in from time to time, and his eyes are getting really blue. Oh, I love him so much. Looking at him yesterday I had a moment. He’s only 6 weeks old, and I was already pining over what he was like in the first week and the fact that he will never be that small again. I started questioning whether or not I was present enough in that first week… whether or not I took enough pictures… it was a good reminder to stop thinking about tomorrow because you can’t get today back.
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what did you have against using a soother in the first place, if you don't mind me asking?
ReplyDeleteJosie, you are describing Ashton to a "T" right now!!! Demanding little nuggets aren't they!! It's so nice to hear you describe what's going on with Evan sounds so familiar and makes me feel like I'm not alone in this new baby adventure...the only difference is that Ashton HATES the soothie! I've tried every single kind/shape of newborn soother and he just looks at me like "THAT'S NOT BOOBIE!!" and furiously spits it out and whails at me as if to give me crap for trying it!! But i'm going to keep trying to introduce it when he's happy and we're playing, just to warm him up to the idea...afterall, he can't have my boob in his mouth all bloody day!! There's plenty of times that he just wants to have boobie in his mouth and he's not hungry!!
ReplyDeleteHello Anonymous! Of course, I don't mind you asking at all. I was trying to get by without a soother because I didn't want him to become dependent on it for sleeping, etc. Then I realized sleep (for both of us) is more important right now then the consequences of being addicted to a soother. I'll deal with that when the time comes.
ReplyDeleteHey Josie, I totally recommend you read the Baby Whisperer, it saved my life. If you feel too tired to read, just read the part on sleep!
ReplyDeleteLila became an infrequent napper around that age and it was just because she didn't know how to go sleep on her own and the boob milk wasn't knocking her her out anymore. Did you know that 6 week old babies are only supossed to be awake for like 45-60 minutes before it's time for another nap? I didn't!
Oh and totally go for the soother (one that is BPA free). Another life saver, it's a good sleep cue. Some babies don't take it right away...we started trying at 6 weeks and she took it around 9 weeks.
Love your blog :)
Allison
My oldest had a soother from day one. He was in the neo natal unit and the nurses gave it to him (which surprised me). I didn't mind the soother - he slept so I slept. Once he was a year or so he only had it for nap time and bed time - not during the day and once it came time to lose the soother for good my husband and I would start telling him that soon he was going to be a big boy and he wouldn't need a soother anymore. We started telling him that to get him used to the idea and once it was time to lose the soother for good we didn't have a problem. My second son never took to a soother - he loves his thumb so my husband and I will be starting the process all over again. Just go with your instincts Josie and do what is right for you and Evan.
ReplyDeleteMegan
Hi Josie,
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to say that I think it's a great choice to introduce the soother to Evan. I am saying that because my daughter wanted nothing to do with a soother and believe me I tried several times and now I have a 2 year old that refuses to stop sucking her thumb. A soother is much easier to get rid of than their thumb. Her thumb has an indent and sometimes is so cracked that it bleeds. I see that she now has an over bite and I keep telling her that it's not good for her teeth but she doesn't care. I even tried to bribe her (telling her that I will buy her a surprise)and she still sucks that thumb. The bizzar thing is that we never see her suck that thumb it's only when she is sleeping that she sucks her thumb. I wish I would have been able to convince her to take the soother.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading your comments, you described what my son was like when he was tired. I read a great book, applied it and he was amazing after that. The basics are that little wee ones should only have 1.5 to 2 hours of awake time, then they should nap. I would put my little guy down when he got like that and he would be asleep in no time. As for the soother, I tried to do that same thing you did, then I decided that I would only give it to him when it was time to sleep and that worked PERFECT!
You are doing a great job with that little one.
C
As the mother of two teenagers, I say whatever works, go for it. The long and short of it is, do you know of any teenagers/adults who still have a soother, still want to sleep with mom or dad, still want to cuddle, kiss or hug?? They grow up so fast; hold on to it while you have it and who cares what other people secretly think. A soother is just that, a soother.
ReplyDeleteKeep blogging!