Officially Summer

Yep. It's official. We're on summer break. 

Today was Ethan's first day at camp. He's moved into the 18-month room which means no more cribs for naps. My little big boy napped on a cot today for the very first time.

I got to have a little personal time while Ethan was having a ball at camp. I started my Couch-to-10K workout program with these brand new running shoes. I went home by myself. I can't tell you how long it's been since I've been home alone. I showered, made some salads for the week, organized some cabinets in the kitchen and ate lunch. I also got finish my first big-person book of the summer - Inferno, by Dan Brown. (FYI, this book wasn't as good as his others, but it was still a good read.)

After I picked Ethan up from camp - at the normal pick-up time, mind you - we went on a long walk and played outside a little bit.  We had a great dinner. Even Ethan got adventurous and tried some new foods on his plate! (By the way, I've decided to dedicate the summer to making new and different foods for Ethan to try to see if I can't get him to eat a larger variety of foods. I'll blog about this soon.)

A nice, warm bath, complete with play time and some stories capped off Ethan's night. He's now sound asleep and I'm sitting on the couch with absolutely no grading to do. Who knows...I might even start reading my next book!

Swaddle {Free}

Oh, the swaddle. How I both love and loathe you. From the day Ethan was born, we swaddled him - first, with the Halo Blanket, and then with the Miracle Blanket, which we've been using religiously for naps and at night. 

At first, it seemed to be the answer to our prayers. Ethan would {usually} calm down when we wrapped him up, and started sleeping for long periods at night. Then, I started thinking, when do I stop swaddling him? Most of my friends didn't swaddle their kids, or stopped when their kids were pretty little. I thought maybe I would stop swaddling him when he rolled...but he's been pretty hit or miss with that. Sure, we'd tried here and there to let him sleep without it, but it usually ended up in a screaming fit, and battle of wills {usually we gave in...just to make it stop}. I think we became just as dependent on it as he did! 

I had visions of me having to swaddle a 10-year-old! 

And what would he do in August when he had to go to daycare? Surely, they would not swaddle him, and even if they did, I didn't want him to be that child. You know, the one that has all the rules bent for him, and can only do certain things under special circumstances.

Then I thought, he'll tell me when he's ready. I mean, he "told" me when he needed an earlier bedtime, right? Wrong. The child was content to be wrapped, even though he'd {technically} grown out of his swaddle. 

Finally, Kevin and I took matters into our own hands, and decided that the swaddling needed to stop. Although these ideas might not work for everyone, they worked for Ethan, and they might work for others trying to wean their babes from the swaddle.

• Start Slowly...we started by leaving his legs out. After about two or three weeks, we left one arm out. He did regress, at which point we had to swaddle both arms again, but after another three weeks, he became the "one arm bandit" again. 
• Appeal to Other Senses...we noticed that Ethan had an affinity to a certain giraffe lovie {GiGi} made by Angel Dear. The texture really appeals to him, and he seems to be comforted by it. He takes it with him everywhere he goes. Recently, we found that Angel Dear makes napping blankets! Perfect. We got him this one for his 6-month birthday. I slept with it for three nights, so that it smelled like me. Now, I know  you aren't supposed to put anything in the crib with baby, but in my opinion, You gotta do what you gotta do. I think this, along with a plethora of other things, are a parents' prerogative. For me, I am comforted to know that we use the AngelCare Baby Monitor, which detects a stop in your baby's breathing. 
• Cry it Out {Yep, I said it!}...only you know your baby, so you decide if it's right for you. I know Ethan's cries pretty well, and I can tell a tired one from an actual one. Therefore, when I hear a tired cry, I know I can let him cry it out. I also know that if he works himself up enough, he will never go to sleep, no matter how long I let him cry. Our first night sans swaddle, I had to go in 30 minutes after I put him down, then he started fussing 20 minutes after that, and after 10 minutes of crying, he fell asleep. He woke at 2am and 5:45am, but went back to sleep after his pacifier was reinserted. The second night he slept from 8:15pm to 5:35am, and once his pacifier was reinserted, woke up at 6:15am. Those are wins in my book. 
• Begin with Bedtime...for us, it was because we have a bedtime routine down. Ethan knows that it's time to sleep. Nap times are not at regular times yet, so we were afraid he'd think it was time to play rather than sleep. For the most part {see above}, it worked. He transitioned seamlessly to unswaddled naps after his first night with his blankie, too.

Good luck, and Happy Un-Swaddling!!

Confession

I love looking into my baby's big, bright eyes. I love listening to him "talk". I love pinching his chubby baby thighs. I love feeling him nuzzle his face against my neck when he is tired. I love hearing his infectious giggles. I love watching him grab for his favorite toys {and hang on to them!}. I love the touch of his tiny hand on mine as I feed him.

But I have a confession.

I love naptime. I find myself relishing the quiet {even though I have the television on most of the time}. I've read about some moms, and I have some friends who may or may not admit to this, who actually miss their babies while they are napping...and wake them up!!

Not me.

I know that in most cases, Ethan will sleep for about an hour. Sometimes, I catch myself praying hoping that he will give me an extra five minutes. It usually doesn't happen. Once in a while, he'll nap for three hours, and sure, I do wonder when my little man will grace me with his presence. But I don't miss him. 

Is that wrong?

A Compromise

Ethan and I made our first compromise this week. I would give him his swaddle back for naps, if he would nap in his crib and put himself to sleep, rather than being rocked to sleep.

So far, it's a success!! He's now napping full time in his crib, which gives me the ability to get some things done downstairs without worrying that he'll wake up at every little noise I make. He has slept through Tobi barking, the doors beeping when they are opened, the garage door (which is right under his room) being opened and shut, and the washer and dryer running next to his room. Plus, it beats having to rock/shush/sway/swing/walk/spin him to sleep for 20 minutes or more! 

Fighting Naps

First, I must say that Ethan is doing very well at night. He is sleeping 7-8 hour stretches, wakes to eat, and goes back to sleep for a few more hours. This is a HUGE accomplishment for him {and us}. 

Lately, and I'm talking the last 3-4 days, he's {really} fighting his naps. He cries and fusses when we try to put him down, even though he is showing all the signs of being tired, and even overtired sometimes. My little nap-lover went from taking several naps that ranged from 45 minutes to an occasional 3-hour nap, to catnapping, with maybe a 1-hour nap thrown in. 

After searching around for the answer, the only thing I can come up with is that he is going through his 3-month "wakeful period". He's been much more interactive and observant of all the things around him, and I think he's just afraid he'll miss something if he sleeps. 

Any other moms want to weigh in on this? Did your child{ren} go through this as well around this age? Any tips? Support? Words of wisdom? I'm open!

Is This a Growth Spurt???

So, I've been searching the internet to understand whether or not Ethan is going through a growth spurt. We've had a rough few days, and like any mom, I just want to know that he's OK and that there is an end in sight. Here is what Ethan's been up to the last few days:

•  VERY fussy behavior - When not nursing, Ethan can be entertained for a total of 15-20 minutes before getting fussy. 
• Does NOT want to take naps - It's impossible to get him down, as he's always fussing. When he is down, he wakes after 10-30 minutes. I've tried swaddling, not swaddling, placing him in the crib, placing him in his swing, laying him on the couch, holding him...just to mention a few. Prior to these last few days, he would do a few short naps (45 minutes - 1.5 hours), and one long nap (2.5 hours - 3.5 hours).
• Eating after shorter intervals - I don't know if this is because I'm still trying to follow the "Eat, Play, Sleep" routine, and since his naps are so short, I just feed him when he wakes, or if he's actually hungry. It seems the only way he can be soothed is by nursing.

So...all you mommies in BlogWorld...is he going through a spurt or not, because I'm literally about to pull my hair out!

Napping in the Crib

After a {very} fussy morning (but also a "sleep-through-the-night", so can't complain too much), Ethan had a difficult time napping in his usual snooze spot - his beloved swing. He woke up after only 30 minutes and refused to go back down. He was only consoled by a very fidgety nursing session, which resulted in a frustrated mom and baby. Daddy tried putting him down for another nap in the swing, which lasted all of five minutes. 

While Daddy was trying to sway and shush him to sleep, I decided that it might be time to try the old "nap in the crib game". Usually, this ends up with Ethan waking up and screaming after 10 minutes, and not going back to sleep. Lo and behold, after falling asleep in Daddy's arms, he went down {and stayed down} in his crib! He's been sleeping there for over an hour! I keep thinking he's going to wake up any minute, though. 

Maybe he was overstimulated down here and just wanted the quiet comfort of his room. Maybe he's outgrown the swing. Or maybe this was a one time thing and it won't work for his next nap. Regardless of the reason, I'm counting this as a win!