Storytelling time...

#1:

Grayson has spent four nights at home. We only got 1-2 hours of sleep his first night at home. Every night gets better and better. I don’t think anyone is a stranger to lack of sleep. Everyone has experienced it at some point or another. Functioning well when you are tired is not easy, but I think we are doing a good job! I’m very proud of us. :)

I’m really happy with Gray’s improvement from night to night, and I think things will continue to improve. It would be nice for him to get a little more sleep at night. But until he decides that is something he wants to do, I’m happy with him getting some good rest any time he chooses in a 24 hour period. One thing I keep bringing up is his sleep habits when he was inside of me. He slept all day and stayed awake at night.

I never expected to have a newborn that “slept through the night”, one that would wake up for a feeding, eat, and go back to sleep over and over again. Besides, do those really exist? While Grayson is a very relaxed and peaceful baby, he is also an interactive baby with a vibrant personality. Therefore, him having his own ideas about when he wants to sleep is something I take pride in. It makes me smile. :)

As I said, functioning well on 1-2 hours of sleep is not easy, especially when you’re trying to get settled from a 3-4 day hospital stay, recovering from surgery, working to establish new routines, etc. But since our little guy is willing to nap during the day, we take advantage of it.

On our first full day at home, as we snuck off to take a nap, we had a conversation that I think is definitely worth sharing. I hope you enjoy reading the dialogue as much as we enjoyed having the conversation! :)

Tish: I don’t ever remember us running to bed together this fast…to sleep anyway! :)

Ray: Yeah, I have an analogy for you. It’s like lighting fireworks! Ya know how you carefully light it, double check to make sure it is lit, and then turn around to run?! That’s what putting Gray down to sleep is like!!!

*As you can imagine, we were cracking ourselves up! We were having a good time but were trying our hardest to get serious and not waste any precious moments we could be getting some much needed Z’s. Finally when we straightened up, I couldn’t resist saying one more thing.

Tish: May good luck be with you…

Ray: And also with you…

:)

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#2:

We have been using a pacifier to tide Grayson over until we can get his bottle ready, his diaper changed, etc. By the way, our doctor approves of this 100%. I know some people still believe that pacifiers are bad. For many years, that is what research showed. The most talked about result of pacifier use was a child’s future need for orthodontia. And there are those that believe children who take a pacifier will have difficulty giving it up and could potentially be labeled a “baby” when they are no longer one. For those who don’t know, research now shows something different. They are no longer convinced that pacifier use causes mouth or teeth problems. Besides, I didn’t take a pacifier as a baby, and I grew up desperately needing braces. If you think about it, too much of anything is not good. What they did find is that things like a pacifier provide a baby with a great sense of security and does wonders for their emotional development. To me, that is so much more important than whether or not our son will need orthodontia. While we have no intention of it becoming his new best friend, we will be giving him a pacifier.

With all that being said, he only gets a pacifier for as long as he can manage to keep it (which usually isn’t long). After he sucks on it for a short time, he begins to fall asleep loses control of it. Instead of putting it back in, we gently take it. Sometimes he catches on, but for the most part, our trick works. As funny as it sounds, the secret to successfully taking a falling pacifier is good hand-eye coordination. First, you must eye the pacifier and judge how far it is hanging free. Then, you must very gently take it before his lips tighten around it again. I guess you could say it is a science, but I think of it as more like a game. To me, it is a variation of Jenga!!! :)