Settling in

So, this child-rearing thing is hard. I mean really hard. Rewarding as all get-out, but did I mention hard?

Progeny #1 (P1) is awesome. He's sweet and smiley and smart and all kinds of other positive 's' words. He has big blue eyes that make my heart skip a beat, and watching him develop into a cool little dude is incredibly entertaining. Each day he wakes up with a new skill - he started laughing the other day, and today he grabbed hold of two toys at once. Sound exciting? Well, it is.

P1 is also having sleeping issues. He was a "challenging" infant, to say the least, and would only sleep during the day when he was in our arms. Three weeks ago, Hubby figured out that he'd finally sleep on his own in the crib, but he always cries when put down for a nap. Even now, three weeks later, when you'd think he would have figured out that it's naptime... I have a theory that we're being too abrupt for him, putting him down before he's mellow and relaxed and primed for a nap. Instead, we ask him to switch gears from fun to sleep too quickly, and the crying is his way of protesting said abruptness. It's just a theory, but I do know that he goes to sleep much more easily when we give him a pacifier when we put him down. Alas, he can't hold onto it on his own and requires parental assistance (read: we have to stand there and hold it in his mouth for 15 minutes until he drifts off into la-la land), which Hubby refuses to do. So to be consistent, I gave it up, too, so poor P1 cries.

We're hoping that all that is about to change. Heretofore, our pattern has been feed-play-nap, just because that's the way things worked out with the timing of the start of the day (I need a lift to the train station, and I was feeding him beforehand to reduce the number of bottles he needed during the day). But today Hubby suggested that we switch it up to play-feed-nap, and use quiet time with a bottle or boob as a way to wind down before sleep. Smart man, that Hubby. So we're crossing our fingers that this helps reduce the pre-nap crying, and helps P1 sleep better because he has a full tummy and some cuddle time before bed.

Did I mention that this is hard?