Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Nanny update, growth spurt, sitting, and sleeping

Classes start next week, and Carter had a babysitter for part of the day yesterday so I could go to work and start getting ready. He has a sitter again tomorrow. We're also in the process of trying to hire a part-time nanny. I've interviewed one candidate and have one more to go; I hope we can find someone to start next week. The nanny will be here with Carter Tuesday and Thursday mornings and Wednesday afternoons.

I've got mixed feelings about teaching, of course. I love teaching and am excited to have a class again this fall. I love the idea of working part time, just enough to keep myself active in the field and keep my career options open for when I eventually go back full time, but still be able to spend a lot of time with Carter. I'll have two whole days a week with him, plus half days Tuesday-Thursday. With a nanny, I'll feel confident that he's being well taken care of and getting lots of attention, perhaps even more attention than he would get from me. I'm planning to work from home on some of those Wednesdays, and in addition to doing school work get some organizational stuff done around the house. I'm hoping I can find a good balance here, and I'm know I'm very lucky to be in a position where I can swing just working part time.

Carter seems to be growing and changing constantly! He's finally starting to get better on his tummy, as you can see in the picture below. He only recently figured out how to get his arms under himself and push himself up.



I'm not sure how much he weighs now, but I'd guess between 16.5 and 17 pounds. He's definitely gotten longer recently, because he suddenly got too big for most of his 3 month clothes. He now wears some 3-6 month stuff and a lot of 6 month stuff. It's funny how inconsistent the sizes of baby clothes are. Here he is in a 3 month outfit that just barely fits:



And here he is in a 6 month Bailey Boys outfit that only fits him a little bit better.



I had found some cute fall stuff in 6 month sizes on eBay, but now I'm not sure it will get cool enough for him to wear them before he gets too big! I guess I should have gotten 9 and 12 month stuff. :-P

He's getting better at sitting every day. This video is a little dark (it was storming outside), but it shows that he can sit with very minimal support. He's just holding on to one of my fingers here.



He's also getting better with his hands. This video shows him playing with a toy in his high chair. Before I grabbed the camera, he was turning it around and around and studying it carefully, but as soon as I got the camera he went right back to chewing, of course. :-P



Something else he's started doing lately is fighting sleep, big time. We're on a baby-led schedule, so naps happen when he's ready for them rather than at a fixed time. Of course, just because he's physically ready for a nap doesn't mean he wants to take one. I see all the sleepy cues, but any attempt to lay him down or even nurse him is met with resistance. He settles down after a few minutes, but it's funny that he totally understands what's going on and is fighting it.

This has started to happen at night too. I usually try to start getting him ready for bed between 7:30 and 8:30, depending on when he last napped and when he's starting to get sleepy. We go upstairs, have a bath and put on PJs, read a story, and nurse to sleep in the glider. Once he's out, I transfer him into a crib in our room, and he'll usually be fine until around midnight. (He sleeps with me after that first waking.) Just in the last few days he's started to resist going to sleep, big time. As soon as I sit in the glider, he starts to fuss. Trying to read a book only makes it worse, and laying him across the boppy makes him really get unhappy! He'll literally wail pathetically and nurse at the same time for about a minute, and then he'll settle down, as if he's thinking, "Oh, this is actually kind of nice after all." And then he'll fall asleep really fast, after all that drama. :-P

Doug says he gets that from me -- I've always had a hard time going to sleep at night. So when he's fighting it so hard, I feel for him. I know what it's like to need to go to bed but really, really not want to! :-)

He's really fun to nurse these days. He smiles and plays, and looks around and gets distracted. For a long time he would just lay there and nurse and not really show any emotion, but now it's like a time that we really connect with each other. He's gotten very efficient at nursing, and usually only nurses for 5-10 minutes every few hours. It's funny how at first it seemed like he could nurse 24/7, and now it's something that we don't spend that much time doing. I know that's the way it's supposed to be, but it's still interesting!

5 comments:

Debby said...

OMG....He looks so much like you when you were that age...That brings so many memories back. Also when you were his age, you did not have many fussy nights..Love you!!1 Mom/NanaB

bonbonbanker said...

Jen, you and Julie need to talk...Matti is starting to fight sleep every night.

I can't believe how much he is doing everytime I read your blog...
Love,
Aunt Bonnie

Anonymous said...

Wow, look at all that hair!

And yeah, it's crazy how different the sizes can be. 12 mo shirts can be bigger than 18 mo shirts.

Do you have regular routines you use when it's time for him to go to sleep?

Emily said...

good luck with going back to work! I'll be thinking of you.

Isn't a smiling while nursing baby the best? It totally melts me.

Cate said...

I don't know you personally, so I hope it's not too strange I'm posting.
I just saw your post to donate on MilkShare. Our boys are both 5 months, and Congrats to you! Your preemie guy is thriving! Totally looks as chubby happy as mine.
I also donated breastmilk, then blogged about it.
http://blog.thenatureschild.com/2008/07/donating-liquid-gold.html
I posted on MilkShare afterward: it's important to blog about your donating experience, because breastmilk donation has received some bad press lately.
Thanks for sharing your story, and how wonderful for you to have such a happy, healthy boy.