Posts Tagged Sleep
Did You Check on Him?
During the first year of LTD’s life not only did The Mommy and I follow the rules of the back to sleep movement we also didn’t have anything in his crib. Now that he is almost 14 months he is making up for lost time by having Pooh, Mr. Shark, and his super soft blanket in his bed. He digs his newfound luxury pad and wants to be on the literal MTV Cribs. There is only one small problem with this new arrangement. I constantly check on him when he is asleep. A year is a long time to observe one pattern of behavior and even though I know he is fine, I can’t help but check.
The stupidest part of my checking up on him, is that for the time both he and I are asleep no one is checking on him. It is what I like to call the illusion of security. However, he is our first kid and in the end I can chalk it up to anyone who asks as me not needing an excuse to see my boy.
Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner… Except Baby
Posted by Proud Dad in Baby on Board on January 28, 2010
For the past few weeks now LTD has adopted a new sleep behavior. In the past he has always moved around the crib and flipped head to toe or toe to head, but now he has does something for lack of a better word, weird. He sleeps in the corner. Ever since he started to sleep on his stomach, (the doctor said it was fine for him not to be on his back since he was strong enough to flip by himself) he drives his head into one of the crib’s corners to enjoy night-night time. The Mommy and I can only stare and laugh. Sometimes it feels like he is burrowing and other times it looks like he just ended up there from tossing and turning. Does it look comfortable? No, it does not, but he seems to really like it so we file this one under, areas where babies are different than adults.
Product Review – Ultimate Crib Sheet
Posted by Proud Dad in Product Review on January 13, 2010
LTD hasn’t spit up in a long time and he doesn’t wet the bed yet, but I am reminded of a product that does it’s job so well I often forget about it. Basic Comfort’s Ultimate Crib Sheet has been in LTD’s crib since day one, after The Mommy was told it was a must-have item. The crib sheet like a school crib sheet helps you cheat by not having to use a mattress pad, fitted sheet and absorbent pad. The big selling point is the water resistant top layer and an inner pad that absorbs any accident from either end of the baby.
When the time comes to wash the crib sheet you unsnap the eight elastic straps. The sheet is suppose to fit most cribs and it basically fits ours, but the straps don’t align great with the crib model we have, which isn’t really a problem. Thanks to the baby registry we have two so that we never go without coverage. I will be curious to see how well the Ultimate Crib Sheet holds up to LTD wetting the bed, however we have a while to go before things start to happen in that department and in theory he may never do it. Yeah, right.
Product Review – Graco Pack ‘n Play
Posted by Proud Dad in Product Review on September 30, 2009
When it comes to products if something seems to good to be true it usually is. Those ‘as seen on TV’ miracle products that make your life easier, the kind they tell you you can’t live without; well those things are no where close to being the wonder product advertised. Armed with that skepticism, I approach all transforming or dual purpose products with a serious grain of salt. However, The Mommy said we needed a Pack ‘n Play as a down stairs crib and later a pen to put LTD in baby jail. We used the Pack ‘n Play down stairs for a few months but when the time came for us to bring it to grandma’s house I had serious doubts about the pack part. You know what, the Graco silenced the critic in me. I have to say that it packed up incredibly easy and fits in the bag like a glove. So far we have taken it to hotels and grandparents without incident. It comes with a clip on sound player that I didn’t even put batteries in, I got enough stuff that plays music and it also comes with a changing table and mobile. The table rarely gets used for its stated purpose and usually carries out the mission of holding baby blankets, clothes, and various accouterment. Sadly, the Pack ‘n Play is basically a Transformer that spends its days stuck as a truck when it should be a giant robot. We don’t pack it up all that much, but I actually look forward to packing and setting it up when we do.
Nap Time
Posted by Proud Dad in Baby on Board on September 22, 2009
Ever since I started spending my days taking care of the baby I have had to re-adjust my expectations and time management ideas about what I could accomplish during the day. LTD usually takes a long nap in the morning and the afternoon; this is when I go into turbo. He is out for long enough for me to plan lunch or dinner and finish various chores and get some work done. However, something unusual occurs from time to time. He sleeps for longer than I planned. It’s like winning a small one-person lottery, but it has a weird side effect. I find myself with time on my hands and nothing to do. Living with the baby prevents me from getting into any big projects, I mean it’s not like I can paint the living room while watching him, so I do lots of little things. Yet, during the times when he sleeps longer than normal, I have a window of extra-unplanned minutes and I can’t think of what to do. The block of time is so unexpected all I can do is stare at the wall; I can’t complain it really is a good problem to have.
Good News, He’s Asleep Now Try and Put Him Down
Posted by Proud Dad in Baby on Board on July 21, 2009
There is an old saying, when the gods want to punish you they grant your wishes. With that maxim in mind, LTD has started a fun new trick. When we put him down for the night in his crib, he will fall asleep, but after a bit he wakes up. So we pick him up and rock him back to sleep, no problem. Problem, when we put him down again, he instantly wakes up in order to let us know that he is not happy. Not even a little bit. This pattern continues as the clock clicks off precious daddy and mommy late night sleep minutes. I really don’t know what started this new behavior, but it doesn’t happen every night and usually doesn’t last all that long. One of the joys of being a parent comes in watching your baby achieve new development milestones and one of the hard parts of being a new parent comes when you try to read the mind of a four month old. A four month old who once tried to put an entire burp cloth in his mouth. The truly difficult thing is dealing with new patterns that don’t make any sense. When he is asleep and his pacifier pops out and he cries, that at least makes sense, this needing to be rocked stuff feels really out of the blue. I guess in the end, we all just want to be held.
Close Your Trap Before a Bear Walks In
Posted by Proud Dad in Baby on Board on June 18, 2009
Name one thing funnier than a baby yawning, go ahead, try it. First, a special thanks to Mother Nature for making babies have huge heads and tiny bodies. LTD looks like an orange on top of a toothpick. During the full faced yawn, his head swings back and forth on that skinny little neck causing The Mommy and I to laugh. Every time. He yawns a lot and one would think that over time it wouldn’t still be funny, and I will concede his basic yawn isn’t really all that special, but when he does what seems like a full body yawn it is always hysterical. I guess part of the humor stems from the fact that most people cover their mouths when they yawn so one rarely sees a big gaping maw during a full yawn. However, due to his young age LTD will be forgiven for his lack of manners.
Product Review – The Sleep Sheep
Posted by Proud Dad in Product Review on June 17, 2009
During the countdown to LTD’s birth, The Mommy not only read a lot about what products to buy, she read a lot about what not to buy. There are a lot of baby products out there that are really designed to make the parents feel better, but don’t really do anything for the baby, like the Diaper Genie (where Aladdin pretends to seal in odor) or designer sneakers for newborns. However, one of the items that The Mommy and I received before LTD arrived was The Sleep Sheep, this stuffed animal comes stuffed with a sound generator featuring four different settings.
Many parents told us that The Sheep should be put on our must have list and with their endorsements we put the big sheep on his crib and the little one on his car seat. For some reason we settled on the whale sound and don’t really ever use the others. Probably cause the water sounds make me have to go to the bathroom. The truth is that I don’t know if the noise really soothes LTD or not, but I do know that because we turn on the whales at bedtime I feel he knows the sounds mean time for sleep. The only drawback is now all I ever dream about is Moby Dick.
Good News, He’s Not a Mouth Breather
Posted by Proud Dad in Baby on Board on June 15, 2009
The baby book warned us that babies breathe through their nose. I’m here to tell you that, brother, they ain’t lying. LTD alternates between sounding like a train whistle and Frankenstein depending on how deeply congested he is. It is kind of freaky to hear a baby make creepy prank phone call heavy breathing noises using just his cute little button-like nose. However, sometimes, when he isn’t stuffed up, he doesn’t make a sound at all when breathing and that can be just as unsettling. After a long stretch of grunting, watching him sleep without making even a slight peep, causes me to stare at the chest to make sure it is going up and down.
Alone in the Dark
Posted by Proud Dad in Baby on Board on June 12, 2009
I wish I could tell you this only happened once, but I can’t. LTD has done the following a lot and it sort of freaks me out. At night, we usually keep his room pretty dark with only the glow of the night light to prevent stubbed toes. I will be woken up to his familiar wail and change his diaper anytime between 3 and 5am. When I take him out of his crib and he stops crying, it happens on the way to the changing table, I get hit with the “CNS” Creepy Night Smile. Technically, there is nothing different about his night smile and his day smile; it is the same cute grin. However, in the darkness of 4am, the shadows play tricks on me. I keep expecting LTD’s head to spin around while he informs he that Satan is his father now. I can only hope that as he sleeps through more and more of the night I will be able to enjoy his smile during only sunlight hours.