Sleep Part 3

Back in my Sleep Part 2 post I mentioned that naps are a completely different situation with Baby. Because I don't always want to nap when she naps (although sometimes I do indulge and it's glorious to cuddle up and sleep for a couple of hours!) it makes naps tricky for us. As she gets older she is more and more interested in what's happening around her and finds it much harder to settle down even when she's fall flat on her face tired. She used to nap anywhere, anytime but those days are gone. Now, she usually naps on my lap and I read...which is also nice but very limiting to my movement as you can imagine. I usually just sit upstairs on the couch and don't take any 'special' steps to "nap-ify" the environment. Nurse and sleep. Life is good. However, even napping on my lap lately hasn't been terribly successful. I should say that we don't have Baby on a nap schedule. She naps when she's tired and we accommodate that as much as possible. She does have a natural schedule or rhythm that is very obvious. She is usually tired about 1.5 - 2 hours after waking up...pretty much like clockwork. Most days she likes a small cat nap early afternoon and then a 2 hour nap in the mid to late afternoon time frame.

When the naps on my lap started getting shorter and the dark circles and eye rubbing started getting more common, I started napping with her more regularly. Curtains closed and in our bed. As I said earlier, I do like to indulge in that once in a while but I'm not usually in need of a 2 hour nap every day so a lot of times I would just lay there with her. Again, not a bad thing to do. But, with S working really long hours I am finding that I really need some "time" to sort of decompress. Some "me" time, whatever that may be at the time. You, clever readers, are probably already thinking "why not leave the baby in the bed for a nap and have "me time" then!" Yes, that is very clever. For those of you who know me well, having a baby has brought out my paranoid side. I'm terrified of leaving her on our bed alone now that she's more mobile. Even though our bed is a platform bed and not far off the ground, I'm afraid she'll fall. And if I'm on a different floor, I might not hear her. So, now what. Well, awhile ago I mentioned that we were toying with the idea of a crib for naps and before we go to bed. We decided last week or so to get one. It took us a couple of weeks I think to set it up but we finally set it up last night. It's set up in our bedroom and fits fairly well. Last night, I nursed Baby and laid her down in it...she looked around about 10 seconds, rolled over and went to sleep. Cute. She was only in it for about an hour and then we brought her to bed with us for the night. She also had her morning nap in it this morning. It was a short one - less than 1/2 hour but she fell asleep as soon as she lay down and seemed to enjoy having space to spread out.

I doubt our naps together will end altogether. Especially on the weekend when all 3 of us like to share the bed to have lazy afternoon naps.

I snuck out to take the photo below. Carmen the cat somehow managed to sneak into the bed for this particular nap!

No rest for the wicked

As we approach 7 months old, Baby is getting more and more active. She rocks and 'hops' on her hands and knees but can't quite get her belly off the ground yet. I think she's really gonna go once she gets started. While she is often content to sit and play on the floor, she tries really hard to move around. A lot. Which is often frustrating for her. And me. I try not to interfere too much other than being supportive if she's actually stuck or making sure she doesn't smack her head on anything too hard. I'm also learning to accept that some of her noises are just babbling - not necessarily a signal that she needs me. I'm having lots of fun with her as she learns new things at what seems to be an alarmingly fast rate!

New 'stuff' in Baby's life:

1. Likes going on the baby swing at the park
2. Likes pulling objects out of a bowl or any other container
3. Tried (and seems to like) pears
4. Has 2 bottom teeth and is currently working on getting the 2 upper teeth out
5. Likes being in the Ergo on Mama or Mommy's back
6. Likes the feel of grass on her feet or in her hands
7. Likes her little swimming pool on the patio on hot days
8. Liked going to her first music festivals (Lilith Fair and the Folk Fest)

I don't have much time to write these days but I'm hoping to write more thoughtful posts. Be patient with me! And, just to keep you coming back...another photo of our beautiful daughter enjoying the folk fest (and tolerating smooches from Mama).

Baby faves