Goodness, do we feel it this time. I know you’re not supposed to compare your kids to each other but where is the fun in that? At 4 weeks of age, Ava was consistently sleeping for 6 hour stretches at night. Lincoln has been waking every 30 minutes to an hour for the past few nights. It’s beginning to take its toll because Chris is back at work now. So, the little man and I spend a lot of time walking, dancing, and bouncing with each other in the wee hours of the morning. I’m not complaining – not this time anyway because I drank coffee – I enjoy our time together. It’s just that it’s turning out to be an awful lot of time together now. He’s certainly turning out to be a Mama’s Boy!
The whole idea is that you’re supposed to sleep during the day when the baby sleeps, right? So, what do you do when the baby only sleeps for about an hour during the day and he’s only happy when he’s being held? Ah ha! There lies the problem. Linc hardly sleeps during the day and the only time he does sleep is if he’s being held. Actually, he won’t settle for just being held, the person holding him must be constantly in motion whether it be walking, bouncing, patting his back, etc. It’s a physical workout! For example, as I type this, Linc is strapped to my chest in the Baby Bjorn and my laptop is on the kitchen counter and we’re bouncing – lots of backspacing to correct bounce-induced typing mistakes. If I stop bouncing for 3 seconds, literally, he gets all fidgety and starts complaining.
Now we begin to worry that we might be spoiling him. Everything I read online and in our parenting books insists that you cannot spoil a newborn and that you should let them know that as their parent you’re there for them by meeting their needs on demand. Can I be a newborn again, please?! Regardless of what the experts recommend I’m his mother and instinct takes over – I cannot listen to him being upset when I know I can remedy the situation for him. I don’t care if he’s spoiled, so long as he’s happy.
Summary of the above paragraphs, I’ve been MIA for good reason!
In other news, Linc can’t be the only spoiled member of the family…we recently invested in an elliptical machine! Woohoo! It’s sitting pretty in our living room…picking up on the sarcasm there? I do think it’s pretty and I couldn’t be happier about it. Exercise is a big part of what keeps me balanced so I’m thrilled to have such easy access to a great workout. Besides, I’m anxious to fit back into my non-maternity wardrobe. I’m confident that Chris will also find it to be a great stress-reliever when he gets back to classes this semester.
Ava is doing great! She occasionally speaks in a make-believe language. Keeps things interesting…and odd…around here. These are the times that I’m glad I majored in Communications. She goes to the bathroom by herself now, with the help of a little stool we bought for the bathroom. She is so proud of herself and she actually initiates bathroom breaks herself now. I’m relieved because I quickly learned that it’s not an easy task to assist her with an urgent bathroom need while nursing Lincoln at the same time. Ava is quite the peacemaker; apparently she knows quite a bit about conflict resolution in her young age! For example, she’s forever reminding us to be nice to the dog when we get frustrated with her. I never thought I’d see the day when I have to say “please” and “thank you” to the dog… The other night I was explaining the elliptical to Ava and when I hopped on to demonstrate she said, “Mama, be careful!” She also told me that I should be proud of myself recently. She’s mature. She still likes Lincoln and she gives him the world’s most gentle hugs and kisses on her own accord. She’s the first to tell me if he wakes up or if he’s crying. Apparently she can decipher his cries too because she informs me whether or not he’s hungry or warm or tired – “Mama, he’s probably hungry.”
Now that the little man has passed out, I’m going to try to sneak in a few minutes on the elliptical! Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure.
1 comments:
The pics of Linc are too cute!
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