16 Weeks

Today at 3:07 am, Henry turned 16 weeks old. He won't officially be 4 months until the 17th but he continues to seem "older" and is allowing us to enjoy more of a routine.

We went to a friends' house this afternoon and played with her kids (a 2 year old and an 8 week old). It was fun to watch Henry being interested in the other baby and responding to the 2 year old. We took both the babies out for walks and talked about what fun it would be to have them together next Summer when they're both toddling around.

The downside was that Henry didn't sleep a wink in baby H's crib. Henry cried and fussed for about 30 minutes, so i got him and put him in the carrier and he slept while we took a walk. I absolutely don't plan to make a habit of that, but it's nice to have made enough progress to feel like each nap doesn't hold our family's sleep fate in its hands.

One story i forgot to post about last night. While we were on the El ride from the White Sox ballpark to dinner on the northside, we turned my cellphone off because it wasn't getting service. When we got to dinner and turned it back on it said i had a message. I immediately got worried and when i played it back it was just static. At this point i started to truly panic/worry. I broke out in a sweat and in my head was thinking something must of happened along the lines of Henry not taking his bottle, but subconciously i was thinking worse. I checked my missed calls log and it said the last call was from our house. Sweat was rolling down my face at this point.

I called our babysitter and she said she hadn't called and that all was totally fine. Henry was a little cranky the first hour but fine for his bath and bottle and was sleeping away at that point. After that i was totally able to relax-- lesson to me, call home to check in for peace of mind before you have a panic attack!

3 Months 19 Days

I'm not sure what her secret is, but i'm going to have to ask Brenda how she gets Henry to sleep so well at daycare; hopefully the secret doesn't involve sleeping pills! Today Henry did take 3 naps, but each one was less than an hour and they just got shorter and shorter all day. By the time he woke up at 3 from a 20 minute nap i knew it was going to be a long afternoon.

We had a babysitter coming at 5 pm so that we could head to a baseball game with a friend. The babysitter arrived and had to entertain cranky Henry for an hour before the bath and bed routine. She said he was very happy and content after his bottle and fell asleep quickly.

Unfortunately for us, the Sox actually sold out! They never, ever sell out so we always just head down there and buy tickets. They offered us $28 standing room tickets but we decided to leave the offer be. So although we had already purchased a bag of peanuts, we trekked back North into the city to go to a favorite place for dinner that we hadn't been in awhile. It was a nice outing and felt good to get out a little. We got home in time for me to feed Henry at 10 and now it's off to bed-- here's hoping for a sound sleeping night!

3 Months 18 Days

Today was a nice uneventful day. Henry had another fun day at daycare. When i picked him up Brenda told me that during circle time when the other kids were singing a song with hand motions and clapping he was just laughing and laughing along with them.

I read up on baby signing a little last night and found out that a good time to start it is 4-6 months. Obviously Henry won't be signing back to us anytime soon, but if you introduce the signs along with the words for things it might be as early as 7 months when he can sign back to us. Obviously being able to understand what he wants that early in his life would be wonderful.

I mentioned to Brenda that i had looked into this and showed her the signs for "milk" and "sleep," two of the most important aspects of Henry's life. Brenda said that when her daughter was little she was really into signing and Brenda had books and flashcards and a whole bunch of other materials and that she would start incorporating it into circle time with all the kids. Now i just have to remember to use the signs too!

3 Months 17 Days

Well i spoke too soon. Last night i heard Henry off and on from about 3 am until i went and got him at 6. He was still super-happy when he finally woke up around 8, so i don't think he cried too much. Unfortunately i didn't sleep particularly well either, so i was stumbling a bit through work today.

It's been so hot here lately that after Henry gets home from Brenda's i've been taking his clothes off until bath time. It's fun to look at all the rolls of baby fat he's accumulating. We have his 4-month appointment next Friday and will get to find out how much he weighs.

This Saturday we're going to attempt leaving Henry with a babysitter again. Hopefully we're getting JT's firm's White Sox tickets. If not we're just going to go and sit in the cheap seats. It's an evening game so hopefully most of the time Henry will be asleep. The last time we tried to leave Henry with a babysitter he wouldn't take a bottle and i had to come home early. Now that he's been taking one three times a day at daycare it shouldn't be such a big deal (keeping my fingers crossed!)

3 Months 16 Days

I didn't want to say anything for fear of jinxing it, but for the past several nights, Henry has slept from 7 pm until i feed him at 10 and then straight through until 6 am. Eventually we're going to try to get him to sleep until 7 am, but right now i think things are about as good as anyone could want with a 3.5 month old.

When i was dropping H off at Ms. Brenda's today, i asked if he was still crying very long when he takes his naps. She looked shocked and explained that no, he just coos and plays with his hands and falls asleep. I got to see something similar tonight when i put him down for bed. He was fussing a bit in my arms but when i put him down he quieted right down and sucked his fingers until he fell asleep-- i really love these hands of his!

When i picked him up this afternoon Brenda told me that he had taken three good naps and just cooed and smiled all day long. When i got there he was sitting in his carseat in the middle of all the older kids who were practicing buttoning buttons and tieing ties, zipping zippers, etc. He was looking all around and smiling and they were talking to him just like he was one of the big kids. I'm going to have to start bringing my camera to pick him up!

3 Months 15 Days

Another good day with Henry. He took two long naps at daycare and was all smiles and giggles this evening. He went to bed easily but we'll see how the night goes.

Something i'm glad we've been able to continue even while sleep training is our morning feeding ritual. Most days Henry wakes up at 6 am and i go get him from his crib. This is when JT gets up, so i bring Henry to bed and he eats and we both fall back asleep. I get up a little after 7 but sometimes Henry continues to sleep while i shower and eat breakfast. It's such a lovely start to the day.

Henry rolled over for the first time today. He was on his stomach on his playmat and looking far off to the right and that big ole' head just carried him on over to his back. He seems to be moving around more in his crib too. I'm going in to take the bumpers off the crib before i feed him. A baby on the message board for babies born in April just died of SIDS and besides feeling very sad, i'm feeling more paranoid about Henry while he's sleeping.

Calm before the storm...

Everyone tells you that just as soon as you get things under control with kids everything changes. I can't tell you how many parents drilled that into me starting when they first found out i was pregnant. I'm sure it's completely accurate advice but now i've gotten completely freaked out that because things are starting to, dare i say, feel like they've settled into a routine, life is about to shake up again. Maybe we'll get even just a little longer to enjoy things like they are.

I took today to size up where we are with Henry and it's a fun place to be. H seems to love Ms. Brenda and being with the other kids at daycare. I'm happy to be back at work and enjoying having some structure to my day. Henry is all happy and smiles after work and goes to bed pretty promptly at 7 pm. We still haven't quite gotten to the sleeping all night point but otherwise things are looking good. I've even resumed some of my evening activities-- including my ballet class.

Lately when Henry is eating in the evening he'll look up at me and flash a big smile and then turn his head coyly into my arm. He's turning into quite a charmer and working on cooing and talking all the time now.