Separation Anxiety ( Or, really creepy horror movie...)

Maybe it is due to sleep training.  Now that he has been left alone to cry at night, he is afraid to have us out of his sight.

Maybe it is the fact that tooth number two poked through his swollen little gum yesterday, and he is in extra pain.

Maybe it is the age and the fact that he now realizes that Mommy and Daddy are just in another room.

Whatever it is, it is exhausting.

And creepy.

Toys have become the enemy.  Instruments of torture and distraction designed to trick him into not realizing Mommy and Daddy have set him down or left the room.  He has figured out their purpose, and they no longer work on him.

Now that he can crawl quickly from room to room, there is no need to ever be separated from anyone.  As soon as you set him down and head to the kitchen to get a bottle or check on dinner, you hear the tell tale slapping of his hands on the tile and the whimpering gets louder and closer.  Turn the whimpering into creepy horror movie music, and listen to the intensity build as the child turns the corner and spies his prey!  Watch in worried anticipation as he gets closer and closer to the unassuming mother, as he reaches out his chubby little hand and grabs her pant leg, as he pulls himself to a stand and wraps himself around her leg, looking at her with those big, needy eyes until she puts aside whatever she is working on and scoops him up, just like he planned all along.

Ok, so it's mostly cute and sad.  You learn that it is not impossible to do dishes and laundry while holding a 17 pound child in your dominant arm.  You learn that, while toys may be the enemy, empty water jugs on the floor are actually sources of entertainment and joy.  You learn that your house will not be spotless and dinner may be leftovers, but there is a bigger sense of fulfillment and accomplishment you get just from making your baby laugh.

Sleep Training- Day One

We have decided it is time for some sleep training for Mr. Nicholas.

I purchased Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, and it lays out a general schedule to get him to be more rested and sleep longer. ("Sleep Begets Sleep" is the motto).  It suggests watching him for cues of tiredness and putting him down before he is asleep so he can learn to soothe himself.  We are supposed to put him down earlier than we have been (between 6-8 P.M.), so I guess we have already started bad habits (oops)

Anyway, a typical day should look like this:

Awake- 6-8 a.m.. (I am so not a "before 8" kind of person.  Looks like I will be getting some training as well).

{Insert Sunshine into this period???? I guess that means go outside?}

1st Nap- 9 or 10 a.m.(I'm thinking 10 is a better time because we often have things that start at 9 during the week)

2nd Nap- 1 or 2 p.m.

Optional 3rd nap to be eliminated when other two naps are longer- around 5ish p.m.

Bedtime-6-8 p.m. (I'm thinking 7:30-8, with bedtime routine starting between 6:30 and 7)

There are various methods described. Apparently most children can do this with little to no "crying", but extremely fussy/post-colic babies respond best to letting them cry up to an hour (yikes!).

I tried letting him cry to sleep last night.  He stood in his crib (yep, he stands!) and cried so hard it made him cough.  I couldn't take it after 15 minutes and went in and gave him something to drink (his throat must have been so sore). It took him a long time to stop whimpering, but he immediately fell asleep upon finishing his bottle, and he woke only twice to eat and went right back to sleep throughout the night.  I think our biggest thing is going to be trying to get him out of the habit of being held and rocked until he is asleep.  His father is the one responsible for that!!!  

We also messed up already this morning.  The whole family has been sick and we all slept until 9:30!  It was good to get the rest though.  We have all been dragging this week, and although we are all still coughing and stuffy-nosed, I think things are finally starting to improve!