Wednesday, November 18, 2009

sleep...on letting go





top by atsuyo et akiko
wool pants by lucysplace


we've been sleeping on the floor for nearly two months now. my back is killing me, but this is nothing new. leon still wakes up every 1-2 hours to nurse. he still hogs half of the mattress. i don't have it in me to do things differently. three weeks ago he slept a 4 hour stretch. i suspect it had something to do with being ill with the swine flu. rats.

but, he's actually turning out to be a happy happy baby. he chuckles and snorfles and tosses his head back laughing. his daytime naps are starting to settle into a pattern. usually 2 hours in the morning, 1-2 hours in the afternoon. he loves eating his jar food, and his crying jags are less frequent. he doesn't mind the car seat, in fact he falls asleep without too much of a peep. this is a huge change from early october. he is also getting better at being with the cats. he rakes their fur gently and only pulls once in awhile. he also yelps whenever he sees them. i wish i could record all these sounds and movements but whenever i turn on the camera, he stops what he's doing to crawl over and pull up on my leg.

it's taken me a long time, nearly 9 months, but i can now honestly say that i enjoy his company.


sweater, my brother's from 1977
padded overalls, jacadi
knee socks by nix (the only ones that stay up)


4 comments:

valerie said...

oh erica! i'm so happy for you. and now i'm feeling hopeful, as i bounce here on the yoga ball, a squirming and grumpy non-sleeper slung to me, that maybe in the not-too-distant future, i too can truly enjoy my little man's company, without exception.

also, leon has the best baby style ever. i think alden needs a oui top for sure.

Lena said...

its so refreshing to hear your honesty about parenting. maybe a lot of bloggers are, but i don't read many mom blogs. i hope to be that way when i have kids...

leon looks SO cute in these pics. looking fwd to seeing you guys at the sale!

Catherine said...

Do you know I physically smiled at your last comment? I admire your strength and honesty. I agree that too many mothers keep things unsaid, and while some would question why one needs to tell 'everybody everything', I feel it helps other mothers too. I've probably said more in my blog than others cared to know, but I like to share.

As for the routine, I have been amazed at the effect the Save our Sleep one has I posted about last week. It's made a huge change, mostly by doing away with demand feeding which has given me so much more freedom (such as going on outings and drinking coffee). A woman (blog reader) wrote to me after trying it for three days saying it made a big difference too.

Leon's looking mighty fine as usual. Such a charming little smile!

erica said...

the Save Our Sleep schedule makes a lot of sense. we've been spacing out milkfeeds during the day, but mainly because leon isn't interested. but nights are all about comfort feeding. spacing out the feeds has definitely given me more freedom during the day.