Sleep and Stuff

Again, sorry for the delay in posting. For some reason, the past few weeks have been incredibly difficult for me motivation-wise. I think I'm still recovering from mastitis and getting used to Silas's more alert status. I never realized how difficult being at home all day long with a baby is. Stay-at-home moms deserve some serious respect.

Silas is doing great. He's absorbing information and noticing everything around him. He's started grabbing for toys (and actually making contact). He laughs and even tries to sing along to songs when Matt and I serenade him.

During the last week or so, we enjoyed Silas's first snow. I took him outside for a minute to experience it, but couldn't figure out how to get pictures of our adventure without just laying him down in the snow, which I thought he probably wouldn't appreciate. We also had a "playdate" with Silas's buddy, Sam, and Sam's mom Betsy, our good friends from church. Despite the frigid temperatures here, we took the boys for a brisk walk in their carriers (Betsy and I are both of the put-a-hat-on-them-and-bundle-them-up-and-they're-fine parenting philosophy). Both boys fell asleep and Betsy and I were able to enjoy a nice cup of tea and conversation with another adult. It was lovely.

Case de Jones in the snow

I apparently spoke to soon in my last post when I told you all of Silas's amazing sleeping skills. Up until the last week and a half or so, Silas slept between 7.5-9 hours a night--usually 11pm or midnight until 7 or 8am. It was lovely. In the past several nights, however, Boy Wonder has regressed. He goes down for good usually around midnight, then wakes at 2:00, 4:00, and 6:00. I thought maybe he was having a growth spurt and required extra sustenance during the night, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Exhausted, I sought advice from a good friend who has a two year-old. She offered the following wisdom:

1) Silas needs to sleep in his own room. Silas has been sleeping in a cradle in our bedroom since he was born. I've made noises about moving him to his nursery crib at night, but Matt resisted because he liked the fact that the baby was so close to us. I also like having him nearby, but I think I sleep more lightly than Matt and wake up whenever Silas makes any noise.

2) Silas needs to go to bed before midnight. Preferably around 8pm or so. This seems like a no-brainer, but, honestly, up until my friend said something, it hadn't occurred to me. I knew other babies went to bed early, but just assumed that my baby liked to stay up late (dur).

3) Silas doesn't need our immediate attention when he wakes up in the middle of the night. He shouldn't be hungry and needs to learn to put himself back to sleep. We should at least give him a few minutes to settle himself back down before we interfere.

A few nights ago, Matt finally agreed to put Silas down to sleep in his own room. (Matt did, however, spend the evening on the sofa in Silas's room so that Silas wouldn't "wake up alone"). We also put him to bed at 10pm. He did wake up and fuss a little around 2:00 and 4:00, but settled back down when Matt replaced his pacifier. He woke up for breakfast around 6:30 and then slept until 10--nursing off and on in the bed with me. Each night since, we've put him to bed a little earlier. He's almost stopped waking up in the wee hours and usually sleeps until 6 or so, has a little breakfast and sleeps again until 9. It's still not a perfect situation, but it's much improved from the last few days and appears to be a step in the right direction.

Sleep problem? What sleep problem?

This weekend, our good friend and Matt's college roomate, Justin, is in town. Silas very much enjoyed snuggling with and talking to his Uncle Justin. The two spent some quality time together in their jammies, and we had lots of adventures together, including Silas's first public ear-splitting scream-fest (my fault: the perfume/cologne section at Sephora seriously overstimulated the child), first karaoke experience (Uncle Justin: "Sweet Child of Mine" by Guns & Roses and "Irreplaceable" by Beyonce; Matt: "I Want it That Way" by the Backstreet Boys), and oyster roast/low country boil/UNC basketball party at our friend Will McKinney's. Silas generally behaved himself during all outings (except the Sephora trip, but, again, that was understandable) and was a joy.

Just two dudes hanging in their jammies.

I love my Uncle Justin!

Silas enjoying Dayana's visit

I still love me some baths!

This tummy-time thing isn't so bad.

I take that back. It sucks.

This weekend, Silas's Mimi (Matt's mom) comes to town to visit and babysit, so that Matt and I can celebrate Valentine's day. I'll post pictures next week.