Live and learn

Published by Kerry | Filed under Uncategorized

So…last night we tried something new.

We decided to give the boys an extra solid (rice cereal) feeding at 7 p.m., which is the last feeding of the night.  That seemed to have been a mistake, as neither Max or Wes went down easily.  Both stayed wide awake while we held them after their feedings for at least 20-25 minutes, which is not normal.  Then, once we thought they were ready for bed, we put them in their room and almost immediately they were both wide awake again.  We took both boys back upstairs and watched TV while we held them for about another half hour and Max finally went down.  He made a few noises here and there but stayed down for the night.  On the other hand, Wes would not stay asleep after Kerry took him back down to his crib (even though he was completely out while she was rocking him upstairs).  At this point both of us were thinking that the added rice cereal, on top of a bottle with rice in it, was just way too much for the boys’ little bellies.  They were probably horribly uncomfortable, and when we realized that, then we felt horrible!  Eventually, I went and got Wes out of his crib and laid with him on the couch – he seemed to like that as he quickly fell asleep in my arms.

At first, the whole situation was frustrating (trying something new and having it not work out), but then I thought about the alternative – not having Max and Wes at all.  Anyway, regardless of how fussy he was getting, to be able to lay with Wes (or Max for that matter), and having him cuddle up with me is just amazing.  After a few minutes I fell asleep with our son while Kerry watched the news.  Once the news was over, Kerry woke me up and asked if I was going to take Wes back down to the nursery.  He was completely out so I figured it would be easy to get him in his crib, but as soon as I put him in there he woke up and started crying.  Back upstairs we went, but this time it was to our bed.  Kerry took him first, and immediately after laying down Wes curled right up and fell asleep.  The only way to get him to stay asleep was to either hold him or have him laying right next to one of us, so we decided to just keep him in our bed last night.  After a bit, Kerry seemed a little freaked out that she was going to roll over on him, so I took over.  I don’t seem to have that fear, probably because I cannot sleep on my stomach and if I do roll, it is always to my back.  Kerry slid Wes over to me, and he woke up for a split second – just long enough to look right at me and then curl up against my chest – again, just amazing.  Wes woke up a few times throughout the night – whether he was getting too warm, or just uncomfortable on his right\left side or his back, I don’t know.  I do know that pulling him a little closer to me seemed to calm him back down.

Overall, it was a crappy night of sleep for both Kerry and I (because we’re so incredibly lucky to have good little sleepers most of the time), but you know what?  I wouldn’t have it any other way.  No matter how tired or stressed or whatever, having them cozy up and completely relax just because they are being held by their mama or papa makes it all worth it.

Our boys and their papa

Jeff