The states of Niko...
Buster and I have taken to sleeping in separate areas, which is a necessary evil. Niko absolutely refuses to sleep in his pack-n-play ever since I took out the bassinet part and put him in the main part of the crib. So he is in our queen sized bed, all the time. All 24 pounds of him.
At this point, he is a terrible self-soother. He has taken to nursing all night long again. He wakes constantly, and every time he stirs, we have to soothe him back to sleep. For me, that means the boob. For Buster, standing with Niko on his shoulder. Nothing else seems to do. Sometimes Niko prefers the boob over the shoulder or vice versa, and B and I have to switch out.
The nighttime parenting is honestly the hardest part of raising this little guy. I dread bed-time these days. If I've had two nights in a row with terrible sleep, I am an absolute basket case. I am fortunate to have a co-parent who absolutely invests 50% of the nighttime parenting work, and honestly don't understand how single moms or moms with douche bag partners can handle having a baby.
Whereas we used to put him down around 7:30, and that worked quite well, since we returned from vacation three weeks ago- Niko is going down at 9 or 10 after a long struggle that starts around 8. Then he is up at 12, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 9. As it stands now, Buster and I take turns putting him to sleep at night. I nurse him down and then he wakes and Buster pats and rocks him for a while. And then sometimes I need to nurse him down AGAIN. I am trying to be very patient, since the guy has had two colds and cut FOUR teeth in the past 3 weeks... but I am honestly feeling resentful on those days when I feel like I haven't slept in weeks. Work days are the hardest, because I am giving all my energy away and feeling ever-so-insecure from the lack of sleep... which makes me try too hard to please... which sets me up for major failure (at least in my head)... which makes me to anxious to sleep when I actually do get the time. It's a dirty cycle.
Buster seems more patient with the situation than I am, but as usual his frustration manifests itself in slower, darker ways. Whereas I tend to throw quick temper tantrums ("My child is a misogynist!!") and cry until it's OVER and I'm FINE for a few days, Buster internalizes everything until he gets dark about, well, everything. I'm not sure which response is more healthy.
If you've written me about anything and I have not responded, please know that it's because I just don't have a whole lot of energy right now. I am massively behind on all things internet-related, even email, and will probably never catch up.
I am currently reading The No-Cry Sleep Solution and am hoping to make some improvements with which to start 2011. I also bought the Ferber book out of curiosity and desperation, but don't think that crying will work for us.
Anyhow. He's a great baby, but a high maintenance nighttime kid. He loves his parents. I DO think that the co-sleeping is making for a sweet guy. He is never clingy during the day. We take him out all the time and he loves EVERYONE. He cuddles with anyone who holds him! He will also play for a long time on his own while I get stuff done. He is obviously very confident of his support system and I love that! He is so much fun during the day that I am thankful hour after hour. He seriously cracks us up, all the time. He's really wonderful.
Let's talk about something else...
Things Niko is doing:
*Rolling from one end of the room to the other.
*Push-Sliding backwards on the wood floors.
*Loving blocks
*Super responding to my request to "Jump Jump!" and always thinking that's hilarious.
*Trying to get up on his knees
* Constantly trying to hang upside down, which makes for hilarious walks in the Ergo. He's always cracking up tourists who walk behind me in the market by trying to flirt with them while hanging backwards from his carrier.
* Flirting with EVERYONE. He has a secret life that he spends charming everyone around me while I carry on a conversation. Every time we're at a restaurant, tables around us are randomly exploding with laughter.
* Loving when we make him dance, which looks hilarious... especially since he has a HUGE booty (size 5 diapers, WOAH).
* KISSING MY FACE constantly with his sweet open mouth. This is my favorite.
I think that crawling will still take some time, since he is SO big and still such a thinker.
At this point, he is a terrible self-soother. He has taken to nursing all night long again. He wakes constantly, and every time he stirs, we have to soothe him back to sleep. For me, that means the boob. For Buster, standing with Niko on his shoulder. Nothing else seems to do. Sometimes Niko prefers the boob over the shoulder or vice versa, and B and I have to switch out.
The nighttime parenting is honestly the hardest part of raising this little guy. I dread bed-time these days. If I've had two nights in a row with terrible sleep, I am an absolute basket case. I am fortunate to have a co-parent who absolutely invests 50% of the nighttime parenting work, and honestly don't understand how single moms or moms with douche bag partners can handle having a baby.
Whereas we used to put him down around 7:30, and that worked quite well, since we returned from vacation three weeks ago- Niko is going down at 9 or 10 after a long struggle that starts around 8. Then he is up at 12, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 9. As it stands now, Buster and I take turns putting him to sleep at night. I nurse him down and then he wakes and Buster pats and rocks him for a while. And then sometimes I need to nurse him down AGAIN. I am trying to be very patient, since the guy has had two colds and cut FOUR teeth in the past 3 weeks... but I am honestly feeling resentful on those days when I feel like I haven't slept in weeks. Work days are the hardest, because I am giving all my energy away and feeling ever-so-insecure from the lack of sleep... which makes me try too hard to please... which sets me up for major failure (at least in my head)... which makes me to anxious to sleep when I actually do get the time. It's a dirty cycle.
Buster seems more patient with the situation than I am, but as usual his frustration manifests itself in slower, darker ways. Whereas I tend to throw quick temper tantrums ("My child is a misogynist!!") and cry until it's OVER and I'm FINE for a few days, Buster internalizes everything until he gets dark about, well, everything. I'm not sure which response is more healthy.
If you've written me about anything and I have not responded, please know that it's because I just don't have a whole lot of energy right now. I am massively behind on all things internet-related, even email, and will probably never catch up.
I am currently reading The No-Cry Sleep Solution and am hoping to make some improvements with which to start 2011. I also bought the Ferber book out of curiosity and desperation, but don't think that crying will work for us.
Anyhow. He's a great baby, but a high maintenance nighttime kid. He loves his parents. I DO think that the co-sleeping is making for a sweet guy. He is never clingy during the day. We take him out all the time and he loves EVERYONE. He cuddles with anyone who holds him! He will also play for a long time on his own while I get stuff done. He is obviously very confident of his support system and I love that! He is so much fun during the day that I am thankful hour after hour. He seriously cracks us up, all the time. He's really wonderful.
Let's talk about something else...
Things Niko is doing:
*Rolling from one end of the room to the other.
*Push-Sliding backwards on the wood floors.
*Loving blocks
*Super responding to my request to "Jump Jump!" and always thinking that's hilarious.
*Trying to get up on his knees
* Constantly trying to hang upside down, which makes for hilarious walks in the Ergo. He's always cracking up tourists who walk behind me in the market by trying to flirt with them while hanging backwards from his carrier.
* Flirting with EVERYONE. He has a secret life that he spends charming everyone around me while I carry on a conversation. Every time we're at a restaurant, tables around us are randomly exploding with laughter.
* Loving when we make him dance, which looks hilarious... especially since he has a HUGE booty (size 5 diapers, WOAH).
* KISSING MY FACE constantly with his sweet open mouth. This is my favorite.
I think that crawling will still take some time, since he is SO big and still such a thinker.