The latest development in Wilbur's life is the establishing of a more regular sleep schedule. Following the guidance of a wonderful book recommended to us by several of our parent friends (Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child) we've started allowing him to return himself to sleep during his naps, without running in when we hear his first fussing at about the hour mark. It's been an eye-opener how much of his sleep we've been cutting short by intervening when he didn't really need us. It was very difficult initially to listen to him crying and not go pick him up, especially since, as I mentioned in an earlier post, his crying is now richer with pathos than when he was a newborn.
So, now he wakes up around 7:30, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (oh yes, forgot to mention he sprouted a tail). Then he goes down for a nap around 9am. Today, that nap lasted 3 hours(!), though usually it's only 2. (Might have been longer due to yesterday's vaccinations) Then he's up for another 2 hours and down for another nap of about 2 hours. Then up with maybe another short nap before we try to put him down for the evening. Since he's started rolling over onto this belly, he usually ends up that way by the time he wakes up for a diaper or a feed, with his face in a puddle of drool. Since he's getting longer naps during the day, we're hoping those overnight stretches of sleep lengthen, but they are usually 3-5 hours at this point. As our friend, Laurie, says, "Sleep begets sleep." It's nice to begin knowing roughly when that sleep will take place, as it makes the day a little easier to plan and other tasks more manageable. In fact, he's in there sawing twigs right now, allowing me to type this. Might even be able to fix myself some lunch in this window. It's all too easy to neglect my own basic needs while focusing on his, but that's no good for anyone.
That's all for now, Wilbur Watchers. Time to heat up some of Sara's yummy lentil soup!
No comments:
Post a Comment