i've been thinking...

The Cousins at Christmas in Columbus at Mama B and Daddy B's

Anders in his monkey shoes from Brooke... super cool
Naptime one afternoon

This precious little boy here - we just want to make sure we're enjoying every day of his smallness. I'm reminded nearly daily that he will be big before I can blink, so I'm just focusing on each day as it comes and how sweet of a little tyke he is. He smiles all the time and loves to reach out and grab anything close by. He tried to pull some hot coffee off the counter this week and swiped my toothbrush as I was brushing this morning.

We had a fun first week of me being a part-time worker and got to spend lots of time together. We went to our first Bouncing Babies class at the public library on Thursday and got to see Erin and Beau and Jason and Hazel. There were about 30 babies there and Anders was Mr. Observant, watching everyone sing and clap. He didn't really join in the singing this time but I get the vibe that he will soon. We also went to visit my friend Alexis and her new little baby girl Bailey Elizabeth. Bailey was born on the 19th and she is beautiful. Then, on Friday night, Anders surprised us by sleeping from 7:00 pm until 5:30 am (this is not the norm by any stretch), and it was quite a sleep treat. Sooo, overall, it has been a really fun week for mom, dad and Anders. We're a little sad that Erik, the dad, is headed off to Africa for three weeks, beginning on Monday, but we are planning to email lots of pictures so he can keep up with Anders' every move.

We have become experts, or non-experts, in infant sleep over the past few months. Non-experts because Anders has not proven to be the best little sleeper around. While infants tend to reach some milestones at similar times (i.e. smiles, tracking objects, cooing), when a baby will sleep "through the night" is often a mystery. As many babies as we know, there are that many different sleep patterns. And, while it is true that longer stretches of sleep (3, 4, or 5 hours) do enter in the picture around 8 weeks, so much is up in the air. Even at 5.5 months, Anders still gets up once or twice in the night, even though some of his buddies have been sleeping from 7pm to 6 or 7am for two or three months now. In addition to sleeping less soundly in the evening hours, he doesn't love to be put down to sleep while he's awake. "Rock me, please" is his M.O... The ubiquitous question for all new parents is, "How is he/she sleeping?" Clearly, I have been giving this a lot of thought, and, whether or not this is self-imposed or society-imposed, I have at times felt like I have somehow done something wrong to not have a good sleeper. As a result of all the emphasis on baby sleep, Erik and I have read book chapter after chapter on sleep schedules and tips for a good night's sleep and how to help your baby self-soothe and so forth and so on. We've seen baby sleep blogs, websites devoted to sleep remedies, read pediatrician recommendations, listened to those friends who are pro-schedule and timing, as well as those who are pro-listen to your baby's needs and don't be regimented. (We have landed somewhere in the middle but tended to feel that scheduling rigidly just isn't really our parenting style -- he's only 5 months old so when he cries he probably needs something, right?). We've seen sleep studies and infant research, and finally, we've put a lot of that stuff away, realizing, with the wisdom that comes from five months of parenting (smile), that each child has his or her unique patterns, needs and sense of style, and that we should cherish those aspects of Anders. It's probably easier to say that now that he is actually sleeping a little better, but we have done enough learning to know that each child progresses at his own pace. It has been an interesting learning process though. We have both felt more comfortable answering the cries in the middle of the night and not letting him "cry it out." This method does seem to work well for some families, but brought discomfort for us. Perhaps we have let him cry for five to ten minutes when the cries are more whines and he seems to be winding down, but not anything more and especially not when the cries begin to amplify. All of this has made me very curious about other cultures' approach to infant sleep. The "put him on a schedule" and "let him cry" pressure is very real in our western world, and Erik and I are both curious to know if this is the case in other countries and among other cultures. I am planning to look into this when I have some time... And, I just have to put in a plug for occasional co-sleeping. The concept of bringing a little one to bed with mom and dad has gotten a bad rap, and, while I can see that it could be problematic if it lasted for years, it's a wonderful way to get a little extra sleep in the early weeks. (Just another opinion to add to the many out there on this topic).

We hope everyone is having a wonderful January and staying warm. More soon from Anders' world...