Let Sleeping Nickys Lie

So how did my sleep experiment work out, you ask me? Well, the data show that Nicky's sleep is abnormal but somewhat predictable. Unlike most 3 month olds who are "supposed to" take 2-3 naps and sleep 10 hours a night, my kiddo takes like 4 or 5 naps and sleeps 8-9 hours a night. He predictably gets tired after being up for 1 1/2 hours or so, sometimes 2. He also goes to sleep around 10pm (I wish it were an hour or two earlier). Looks like he's not quite ready for much else. No matter what happens, he is on that pattern. The good news is that he is getting better at going down for the night without a fuss. In fact, a miracle (in my eyes) occurred on Tuesday night. It was 10pm and Scott & I were tired. Nicky wanted to play and was kicking his little feet. I had a talk with him about it being Night-Night Time and put him in his co-sleeper beside us. Scott went to sleep, and I played being asleep to see what Nicky would do. He actually settled down and went to sleep on his own! Yeh!!! If only this would become a definite pattern now. Last night he went down at the usual time, but was gassy all night and was kicking his little legs in his sleep the whole night which kept waking me up! It did wake him up at times, but sometimes he was able stay in light sleep. Anyway, I was tired today. He is also getting better at taking naps outside my arms, many times in his crib. It is still hard to predict if he will tolerate being put down without waking up again, though.

In other developments, Nicky seems to have started teething. That, too, is a bit early. Who knows when the first little tooth will pop through, it might be months from now, but Nicky is drooling a crazy amount, sucking or gnawing on everything in sight (including my neck, my shirt, and his entire fist), his stools are somewhat looser (from the drool), and a few days he has had a warm head indicating a possible low grade fever. Scott & I both feel the possible edge of a tooth in the gums of his upper jaw. We'll see... This kid seems to be ahead of the curve on lots of things. He is happy to have his pacifier back since he loves to suck so much. For the first few days he had forgotten how to use them or just wanted to chew on them, but now he is back in love with them. One little problem occurs when he can't decide if he wants to suck on his hand or the breast or both while breastfeeding. I have made it clear that he needs to make up his mind!

Think of us on Saturday morning. We are going to our first Mommy/Baby playgroup. A fellow psychologist put together a group with 4 other mommy psychologists and their infants. It should be fun. Hopefully Nicky can make some friends. I won't mind having the adult company either.