Working hard and playing hard

Henry's got a lot on his plate right now. As you can see in the video below (which I referenced in my last post), he needs to focus and work quite hard to reach for and grasp items within his range. He loves doing it though, and has a lot of fun playing when he can actually get his fingers around his toys. It's great watching his development.




We're also working on many sleep-related projects. The first is having Henry take naps in his crib, as opposed to snuggling with me or in his car seat. At this moment we're 45 minutes into a crib nap, which is a record. This is not only hard work for Henry, but also for his momma. I often enjoy holding him while he naps. He's entirely serene, warm and cuddly. How could I not enjoy that? Well, here's how...there are times when I want to blog for example. Or eat lunch. Or simply have my arms free. But still, it's hard for me to break the habit of holding him all the time when he and I both enjoy it. Another sleep task is getting Henry out of the car seat and into the crib at night. For those who don't know, Henry has been sleeping in his car seat during the night for almost all of his 11 weeks with us. At first, it was in response to the fact that he had reflux. The pediatrician recommended propping Henry up, and this seemed to work well. Now, it's been working well for probably 9 weeks or so. While I hate to rock the boat and mess with a good thing, I would like my son to be able to sleep through the night in something other than a recliner-like position. Here's how we've been working on this change:

Step 1: Move car seat from Pack 'N' Play beside parental bed into Henry's room. Check! Step 1 accomplished.
Step 2: Move car seat from the floor of Henry's room into his crib at night. Check! Step 2 accomplished.
Step 3: Take naps in crib. Work in progress.
Step 4: Attempt night-time sleep in crib, sans car seat. Pending completion of step 3.

We're simultaneously making gradual changes to the bedtime routine. Each night I try to get Henry to sleep a few minutes earlier, so that his bed time moves up without a big jump that he'd notice and reject. He's a smart cookie and can tell when I try to sneak him upstairs early. All in all, we've moved up from a regular 10 pm bed time to a regular 8:55 bed time. If we could get him to 8 I'd be happy. Earlier would be glorious. In addition to the time change, I'm going to begin doing the bedtime routine upstairs in Henry's room, as opposed to downstairs while the TV is on. As much as Henry likes John Stewart and Stephen Colbert repeats, and as witty and intelligent as these programs can be, I think we'll wait to expose him regularly to political comedy until he's a little older. In the meantime, we'll substitute this with some infant massage. I've been massaging Henry at night for the past several weeks, and I sincerely believe it's made a difference in his sleep habits and general ability to relax. Even when he starts out the massage a little fussy, he usually ends up smiling and relaxed by the end.

To those who don't have children and have never attempted establishing good sleep habits, this may all seem a little crazy. But I think those who do have kids will understand. Or maybe Brian and I are just a little crazy with all of this.