Monday, July 11, 2011

Sweet summertime (and sleep update)

Summer doesn't get much better than this!

We had a great weekend in Fredericton, our first in a few months that Caleb has been healthy enough for some serious outdoor fun! He had a blast playing with Aly and Ava, trying out a sprinkler for the first time with Grammie and Grampie and spending an afternoon in a canoe on the Saint John River.

Getting ready to hit the river with the gals

It was nearly impossible to keep him in the canoe. He wanted not only his hands, but also his head in the water!

I can't quite believe I'm writing this again, but Cale hasn't been sleeping well during the night lately and once again we need to get back on top of the situation. We lost ground while he was sick, both in May with his ear and in June with his flu/urinary infection. He ended up sleeping with us for would nurse throughout the night. We always lose ground in Fredericton partly because it is just too exciting being around family, but recently it is because he can climb out of the playpen where he sleeps. Our little monkey just swings his leg over the top of the pen and pulls himself right out. So I obviously feel like I can't leave him alone in his playpen for fear of him getting seriously hurt, so again he ends up sleeping with me for most of the night.

But now we are both home, healthy and ready to get back on track with Cale sleeping through the night. We think that he mostly wakes up for the comfort feed and at 17 months, we are more than ready to put an end to the night feeds once and for all. We also are ready to move towards weaning altogether so as of tonight, we are going to stop the night feed and Alan will be the one putting Caleb to sleep. This is a big step because nursing has been a key part of our nighttime routine, but we need to start somewhere and we felt like it would be easiest to let the bed time feeding go first. I'll still nurse him in the morning, but hopefully that will be it. It will just be once a day for a couple of weeks and if that goes well, we will stop all together. I feel ready and I hope Caleb does too. I do admit there is a bit of 'he won't need his mama anymore' fear, but rational me knows that isn't true. Nursing has been an incredible experience and I feel very lucky that it has gone so well from day one, but he is growing up and this is a step we need to take.

Alan just emerged from the bedroom and there are a few tears, but I think Caleb will be asleep in no time. I'm happy but I will be ready to give him a huge cuddle in the morning. The tears have already stopped and he has fallen asleep. All on his own.

Dad's #1 fan

1 comment:

Kathy said...

I am sorry we were not home this past weekend, Monica and he could have had a blast in that sprinkler!