Life as we know it...

Things are quickly changing in the Smother-bode. Reagan is becoming less and less like an accessory every day. Up until this point, taking him places was much like toting another bag. Richard and I each had our purses, the diaper bag, and Reagan in the car seat. He would fall asleep in the car on the way to our destination, and stay that way for at least 3 hours until hunger set in.

Well, I noticed things change in a dramatic way last night. Reagan stayed awake the whole car ride to church, and stayed awake the whole service. He started leaning forward in his car seat during the ride and once we go to church he wanted out. He was smiling and interacting with people more. He did really well, and only had to be taken out for a diaper change and quick feeding. This is exciting and sad at the same time! I looked at him in his swing the other day and noticed how big he's getting already. He has slept 7 hours 3 out of 4 nights this week, which I'm grateful for, but it's just another sign that he's growing up. I've stepped on and off the scale with this little chubster and he's at least 14 lbs. now, at 2 months! Yikes! I think he's going to out grow both of us! My baby won't be a baby much longer!

The Great Sleepathon, Nights #6, 7, and 8

I know I said I'd only write about our first week of sleeping, but the 8th day was very important to include. So, please forgive me for adding one extra day!

Night #6: Reagan didn't eat well because of his tummy troubles, so after about 1/2 an hour of crying, he ate again, then settled down. However, he was up about every 2 hours and grazed in his eating throughout the night. This made for a VERY tired momma the next day (Labor Day)!

Night #7: We used our Labor Day holiday to get a few things at Wal-Mart and paint our living room.

BEFORE:



AFTER:

Because of the paint, we had to contain Reagan to his room with the door shut. We quickly realized that his room was too warm with the door shut (ventilation isn't so great in there), so he got to hang out in his bassinet for the night. Our cute little nearly 14 lb. baby looks HUGE in the bassinet! It's amazing how much room he takes up in it! He slept well, only waking up to eat after about 4 hours each time.

Night #8: TONIGHT was amazing! I went through the routine, put Reagan down, Richard and I said goodnight and kissed him. He went to sleep within 10 minutes, with just a few whimpers! We're really getting this thing down!

The Great Sleepathon, Nights #4 & 5

And we have... SUCCESS! :)

Well, Reagan has really caught on to this whole sleeping in his crib thing really fast! I had read an article on Parents.com about how to get your baby sleeping in his crib in a week, and we've been able to do it fairly successfully in less than a week! Either he's a really good baby, or we're just that good!

Night #4 (Friday): Reagan cried for about 1/2 an hour, I went in, changed his diaper, fed him. (He hasn't been eating well lately because he's been having tummy aches and gets upset while he's eating, so he'll graze sometimes throughout the day. I've been giving him gripe water, but it doesn't erase the tummy aches all together... just eases it for a while after taking the medicine.) After I put him down, he whimpered for about 3 minutes, then he was out! 4 hours of sleep, a feeding, and another 4 hours of sleep! This kid's a champ!

Night #5 (Saturday): Reagan was so tired after we'd been with friends playing cards for the evening. No crying, whatsoever. A few little whimpers, and he was out! Just like the previous nights, he slept 4 hours before getting hungry again each time and was easy to put down when he woke in the middle of the night.

Rubix is grateful to have us back to herself in the bedroom. She'd been a little mopey the last few weeks once she got used to Reagan being in here with us. I think she's pretty happy he's got his own bed now and his crying over the monitor piques her interest a little.

Oh, and one interesting tid-bit. Reagan's starting to develop a slight quirk in his bedtime routine. He has a little odd obsession with his striped crib bumper. As soon as he's put down in the crib, his left arm stretches out, and he begins poking and staring at it. Odd? Yes. Unexpected? Have you met his father? :) I love my family!

The Great Sleepathon, Night #3

Well, we went through our bedtime routine last night, and after about 20 minutes of crying, and a diaper change, Reagan got quiet. I cheered, and told Richard our time was going down, so that was a good thing. I didn't think it could be this easy... and it wasn't. Reagan was lulling us into thinking he was done so we'd be calm for what was to come next. 20 more minutes of straight crying! Thinking something might be wrong, I went to check on him. He got silent when I picked him up. (So neat that I can have this effect on him!) He was dripping in sweat, but that was because of the crying, kicking, and screaming. I held him so he could cool off and calm down in the fan. Then, while I was holding him, he started acting hungry (which was weird, since I'd fed him only 2.5 hours before (and he doesn't usually get hungry for about 3.5-4 hours). I felt like a bad mommy for letting him cry all that time!

After he ate, he went down for another hour of crying (with me checking on him periodically, to make sure he was truly okay). I nearly caved in because I felt so bad that he was crying. However, I knew that he was well fed, had a clean diaper, and would calm down as soon as he saw me. This meant he was testing me! I almost got him and put him in the swing in our room, but right when I was about to, he calmed down and fell asleep (whether from pure exhaustion or the realization that he was not going to get out of that crib, I'm not sure).

He slept for 4 hours straight, ate, was changed, and was back in the crib and asleep within 5 minutes for another 4 hours! When he woke up this morning, he got another diaper change, ate, and has been sleeping for about 2.5 hours so far! HOORAY! We will accomplish this with less crying tonight, I'm SURE! :) (Well, at least, I hope for Reagan's poor little lungs, we do!)

The Great Sleepathon, Night #2

Well, here in the Smotherman household we take pride in our ability to learn quickly what is expected of us. Reagan has stepped up to take on his new responsibility of sleeping for longer periods of time (and in his own room).

Last night we had church services, so we didn't get home till 9:30 or so. Reagan was screaming from hunger the whole ride home, so the routine changed a bit. No bath was needed, since I'm only bathing him every 2-3 days to avoid drying out his skin. First thing he did was eat. Then, it was off for a diaper change and a good lavender bedtime lotion rub-down. The bedtime music was played on his cd player, the monitor star projection was turned on, and lights were out for bedtime. All was well for about 5 minutes. Then, the crying began. It went on for exactly 25 minutes (babybix.com is AWESOME!), and then he was SILENT! Richard and I crept into the room to see that he was, in fact, ASLEEP. We did a silent cheer, and I went to shower.

After getting out of the shower, I heard Reagan crying again. He'd only been asleep for about 1/2 an hour. :( Thinking I'd rejoiced too soon, I went to check on him. Wet diaper. He was perfectly silent as soon as I picked him up, and just stared at me while I changed him. Back in bed he went... to cry for another 30 minutes. But then... SILENCE :) and he was out for 4 hours this time! HOORAY! I woke up, fed him, and we both fell asleep. When I woke up in the rocker 1.5 hours later, I set him gently down in his crib for another 3 hour stretch! HOORAY! Then, after his morning feeding, we both went back to sleep for another 3 hours! HOORAY AGAIN!

Hopefully tonight there will be a little less crying and a lot more sleep had by both of us, but I'm so excited about our progress thus far! :)

The Great Sleepathon

Yesterday began our journey toward what I like to call the "Great Sleepathon". What is a sleepathon? Well, according to the Smotherman dictionary it is a lengthy, deep sleep enjoyed by both baby and parents! Like a marathon, you have to train to be successful at a sleepathon. So, we began training little Reagan for his participation in this esteemed event last night.

First, we introduced him to a routine. Bathe, dress for bed, eat, go to bed in the crib awake, and sleep all night! Reagan shook hands with the routine, but quickly chose a different one of bathe, dress for bed, eat, go to bed awake, cry a little, pretend to be asleep, cry a lot, scream a lot, sweat a lot, get 2 diaper changes, cry more, scream more, get picked up by mom, get stripped down to the diaper because he was sweating a lot, get another diaper change, hang out in the swing WIDE AWAKE, get into bassinet awake, cry, eat some more, go to bassinet asleep (and wake up for one more feeding 4 hours later).

So, our first attempt was not quite as successful as I had hoped. Tonight, we shall try again! I'm starting to track our activities, diapers, and feedings on babybix.com, hoping this will help me keep up with everything. I can even print charts to show the doctor at his next appointment! Now, that's my kind of organization. :)