Back to Bed

I hesitate to even post this for fear of some kind of "jinx-ing" outcome.  However, it's too good not to share.

For the last 3 nights, Allison has slept in her bed from the moment of bed time until a reasonable (after 6am) wake-up hour in the morning.  Why is this significant?

You probably aren't aware but for the last 5 months or so Allison has been sleeping exclusively on the floor in the hallway outside her room.  We bought a lovely twin bed for her back in October. She slept in it approximately 10 times before deciding it was an awful place.  We haven't had trouble with her going to "bed" - she understands the bedtime routine but she didn't want to actually be in the bed.  Instead she curls up on the floor with her two blankets (inexpensive fleece ones we've had in the closet for years) and pillow and bunny and happily sleeps there all night.  I suspect she was having a little fear of the dark and being about to see the lights and hear the sounds from downstairs while falling asleep were soothing.

But 3 nights ago, she decided to sleep in her bed.  It was completely out of the blue and not prompted by us at all.  And there she stayed until I went in to wake her up at 6:30am.  Amazing!  Not only because she was in her bed, but also because she's usually up somewhere around 5am. 

So... here's hoping that we have a long future of restful nights in bed.

Movin' on up

Allison is making (has made) the transition to the toddler bed. We hadn't planned to move her so soon. We were going to wait until she either climbed out of her crib or turned 3. But she did so well in a twin on vacation that we wanted to capitalize on that momentum.

So last week we took off the crib rail and put on the toddler rails. She seems to love being able to climb right into bed. There have been 1-2 return trips to the bed after we initially leave the room but overall I'd say she's been doing superbly.

But somehow in the last week she's grown just enough to be able to not just reach doorknobs but actually turn them. So we have found her twice now and the side of the bed at an blindingly early hour of the morning whispering "Daddy, Daddy" (I'm not sure why she goes to his side of the bed since mine is closer to the door. Maybe she thinks he's less likely to make her go back to bed).

So now we need to work on NOT getting up until after 5 am. I can do 5 (barely). I cannot do 4:30. That's just not going to happen.

Tidbits

Lots of things to report since my last post.

Allison is WALKING!! Yay! She took her first unassisted steps on July 8 and since then has been taking off whenever she can. It's adorable. She is so excited about walking.

And in the 3.5 weeks my mom was here Allison also learned to High 5, blow kisses, give kisses without using her tongue or teeth and hug her baby doll instead of biting her foot. It's been a big month!

Peter had a 3 week check up on Tuesday. Current stats:
weight = 8lbs 3oz - 25th percentile
height = 20.5in - 15th percentile
head = 13in - 10th percentile

So he grew a pound and a half since his first weight check 2 weeks ago. It's great progress. And just like his dad and sister he has a small head.

We've started doing a combo of nursing and formula. I nurse during the day but we're giving him bottles at night. I just found that staying awake for a 40 minute nursing session in the middle of the night wasn't working for me. He's doing great with the bottles. And it's had an unexpected but nice side effect. Daddy has been doing the bedtime bottle at 10pm. I have been expecting to have to wake for a feeding between 1-3am. However, the last three nights he's slept straight through until 4am, 4am and 5am, respectively. Yes that's right... my 3 week old went 7 hours between feedings and I actually got a full night of sleep. I'm guessing it's just a fluke and we'll be back to night wakings soon but I'm enjoying it. I think it helps that I'm very diligent at feeding on demand during the day but never letting him go more than 3.5 hours during the day. I also cluster feed in the evening - 4, 6, 8 and the bottle at 10pm.

As for the colic... I don't think it's really colic. I do think that Pete is a very cuddly baby. He really wants to be held a lot, he loves his mama and makes it hard for others to comfort him and he's a little more sensitive than Allison was. I guess I was just so used to having a textbook baby that I'm still figuring out this one who's a little more touchy.

Finally sleep!

Today's Pregnancy Symptoms:

• floaters (I had these with Allison too) - just showed up for the first time today on the way to work
• back contractions - happening every time I do something pseudo-strenuous (like climb a flight of stairs)

Allison has been suffering from a sinus infection and her two front teeth are starting to cut through. So she's been feeling pretty crummy and our whole house has been paying for it with sleepless nights. Tuesday night was the worst - she cried from about 12:30 - 6:30. There wasn't much that would soothe her. But finally last night she slept through from 6pm - 7am. I think her little body must have just gotten beyond tired and needed the rest. Plus the antibiotics are kicking in and doing their job. It was nice to finally get basically a full night of sleep. She did wake with a loud cry about 3 am but it must have been in her sleep because it was just the one. Of course, it woke me up and I couldn't get back to sleep for an hour. But I'll take it over the rough nights we've been having lately.