To sleep...

So remember when I proclaimed that 7 was sleeping through the night? Well, I would like to rescind that statement, big time. That lasted for all of about a week. I feel like I'm stuck playing the game of Chutes and Ladders - each time it seems like we're making progress back toward that ultimate baby goal, something happens, usually without Joe or me being aware, and we slide back down a few levels. Grrr.

I realized that 7 had not been getting enough good naps, so that's been my focus the last week or two. He just wants to stay up and play in the morning, which turns into afternoon fussiness, and then evening meltdowns. The books I've read all say that sleep begets sleep, which I've definitely witnessed firsthand. The more sleep he gets during the day, the easier it is on all of us at bedtime, and he usually sleeps better at night.

Yesterday was the first day in a while that he took two really good 2 hour+ naps (in addition to the little cat naps he takes). I was all excited that at 7:45-8:00 pm he was showing signs that he was tired, but wasn't fussy at all. Cue me, going to swaddle him up, put him to bed.... no peeps out of him. Success! Or so I thought.

Joe worked late and didn't get home until after 7 was in bed, around 8:30. We ate dinner, watched a tv show, and then went to bed... or tried. Neither one of us could fall asleep. By midnight I knew I was going to be in trouble, as 7 was back to at least waking up once to feed, sometimes twice, and that now starts as early as 1:30am (as opposed to 3am when he was following his own good schedule). We turned the tv off, and BAM! at 12:15, 7 was awake and hungry. Hmmm. Not a good sign. I fed him, and he immediately fell asleep again. I was hoping that maybe this was all he'd need. Nope. He was up almost every 2 hours for the rest of the early morning. :( By the time he'd woken up for the day at 8am, he was super happy and talking to Joe, so I'm not sure what's going on. Usually when he doesn't sleep enough at night, we're jarred awake by an unhappy, crying baby.

So today it's back to trying to get the naps in, and hoping that last night was just something random. I know he's getting enough to eat, so it's not like that's the problem. All I know is I'd really like my predictable middle of the night routine back, even if he's not going to sleep all night! (Wishful thinking, I know.)

I'd love to tell you about all of the other fun and exciting things going on, but really, trying to get some semblance of a sleep pattern going again is the main thing in our day. Joe's business has really taken off so he's struggling with the work/home life balance, but is managing to do a good job trying to juggle the two successfully.

Oh, and the grass seeding that I did a few weeks ago? It's slowly but surely growing lots of baby grass, so hopefully our front yard won't look so patchy this year!