Sleep and Smiles

Brennan is typically very happy in the mornings...he's very alert and full of smiles and coos! It's a great way to start the day! He's been doing well with sleeping at night. He gets a bath/shampoo (if it's a bath/hair washing night), nurses, listens to a book or two, and then heads off to dreamland between 7:30 and 8:30pm. He typically wakes up between 1:30 and 2:30am to eat, and is up for the day between 5:30 and 6:30am. His overnight feeding can take up to an hour by the time his diaper is changed and he finishes eating, especially because he periodically starts to nod off. I'm hoping it doesn't always take so long! Luckily, after a few minutes of grunting and other various baby noises in his crib, he goes back to sleep. Naps during the day are still sporadic. I'm hoping to work on improving his sleep schedule during the day soon...although I've read not to try until he's ~3 months old.

Out of curiosity, we swaddled Brennan a few nights ago. We hadn't swaddled him since the night he came home because he didn't seem to care for it too much. He wiggled himself free by his overnight feeding, but was still wrapped up in the morning. It was nearly impossible to change his diaper that morning because he was stretching so much! He also stretched for awhile on his activity mat. It's understandable considering that the blanket is barely long enough for his long body, let alone confining his arms! After two nights of swaddling (and stretching!) and no changes in his sleeping patterns, he's back to sleeping in sleep sacks, which give him plenty of room!

We also stopped using the contour pad and fleece blanket under his legs. They worked great, but we want him to get used to sleeping without them. As a transition, we got creative with what's around and he's now sleeping on a hand-me-down car seat cushion. It essentially provides the same support around his head/shoulders and under his legs, but not as much. He hasn't seemed to notice the difference. We'll use it for a bit and then try it without anything.

With all of his smiles, I've been doing my best to get them captured on camera. You'll notice an abundance of smile pictures in the next photo album! I just can't help myself! Unfortunately, I can't get them all...some things just aren't fun anymore once you have a camera in your face.