Wednesday, February 21, 2007

napping is for the birds

We are going through a slightly fussy stage, right on time for the 8 week developmental spurt that Wonder Weeks talks about. Gabriel is fine at night, thankfully, but refuses to nap in the daytime. REFUSES. He will fall asleep breastfeeding or in my arms, but as soon as I attempt to put him down, he is wide awake with that look on his face that says, "Who? Me? I wasn't sleeping!"

This is the third day in a row that he goes without any type of lengthy nap, even though I make a valiant effort to get him to sleep. Have you ever heard of a 7 week old that doesn't sleep allll day? It makes for lots of singing and dancing and walks and sitting in the bouncy seat and looking out the window. If you have ideas for entertaining almost 8 week olds, please pass them along. I thank my lucky stars that he is still sleeping well at night, 5 hours in a row and then 3 hours and 3 hours, with only a brief wake-up to eat in between.

We have had our fair share of excitement around here, when my father in law slipped on the ice in our driveway on Thursday, landing flat on his back and slamming his head onto the concrete. Turns out that he broke 5 ribs, two of them compound fractures, and had to stay in the hospital for 5 days. We were terribly upset about his fall and subsequent stay in the hospital, but we were also terrified because he fell on the side where he has his remaining kidney (he lost the other one to cancer a few years ago). Thankfully, everything seems fine. It was also disappointing because my in-laws were visiting to spend some time with Gabriel, but of course with my FIL in the hospital, both Josh and my MIL spent loads of time with him. Gabriel and I stayed at home, since we're rather nervous about germs and all that. Spending time with his grandparents will have to wait for our visit to Florida in April, when he'll meet his cousins and have a week to play with the whole family.

Besides that, things are great. Gabe changes so much every day, it is hard for me to keep track. He smiles often now and loves it when we sing, he'll even try to sing along! He coos at me and at Josh and will gab happily to himself when we set him down. Today he has been trying to shove his whole hand into his mouth, and seems intent on accomplishing his goal. This has been going on for a couple of hours, and he just gagged himself into spitting up a few minutes ago. I shouldn't laugh, but I do.

One of his favorite things appears to be his chats with Josh, where he becomes animated and talkative. It is truly something to watch, and makes me cry a little every day. Did you also get a load of his cheeks? They are something to watch as well. I'm anticipating another monstrous weight gain at his appointment next week, based on the back pain I'm experiencing from hefting him around in the car seat and the carrier on our walks. They are delicious to munch on, however.

11 comments:

Yankee, Transferred said...

Oh my goodness he belongs in the Cute Baby Hall of Fame! And so brilliant and responsive! So sorry about the FIL spill. What a scare and a drag. Those cheeks are for munching, for sure! Glad you're having so much fun. It brings me back to when OD was a baby and what a ball I had with her! I knew you'd love being a mom!

Anonymous said...

Oooh, the sweetness! What a lovely smile.

So sorry that the Grandparents' visit got thoroughly kiboshed. And ouch! Poor FIL.

Anonymous said...

Hope your FIL is feeling better.

Gabe gets cuter with each post! You're so lucky!

jo(e) said...

Oh, he is just so cute! My oldest child never napped either -- then I had two easy babies who would take great naps -- and then my youngest was the baby from hell who never napped in the daytime and woke up every hour at night. I bought a sling and just carried him around in the sling -- that was the only way to get anything done.

Sorry about your FIL -- what a scary experience for all of you.

Anonymous said...

No naps? Welcome to MY world. Even the crying it out did not work for any of my babies.

I hope a speedy recovery for your FIL.

KLee said...

So cute! He's getting so big so fast! How did that happen?!?

Sorry to hear about your FIL's mishap! That's really scary! While I'm so sorry he got hurt, I'm REALLY glad that it wasn't you -- you could have been carrying the baby!

Give Gabe a kiss from us, and best wishes to your FIL!

Lisanne said...

Wow ~ both Lucas and Meredith were all-day-long sleepers and then were up ALL night. So hopefully Gabriel is sleeping wonderfully for you at night? hehe :) Cute pictures!

Liz Miller said...

Sooooo delicious! I hope your FIL recovers quickly.

OneTiredEma said...

I hope the naps come soon!

And please look into other carriers (what are you using? a Bjorn?)--an 8 week old should not be causing you back pain. If he doesn't sleep next to you (and he might), you can definitely get out and do what you need to. If you need carrier help, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Hope your FIL is on the mend.

susan said...

He is just infinitely adorable! I'd get nothing done just staring at his adorable self all day!

I hope your FIL is 100% soon!

Jen said...

I found that when my kids wouldn't nap I would put them in the "magic" swing and within minutes they would be fast asleep!

If you don't have a swing already I would highly recommend this one:

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2265072&cp=2255975.22560800.2256086&parentPage=family

It has worked wonders for us, and also several friends who have it as well.

Good Luck with the napping!
(sorry about the FIL).