Nap Boy no more

I think we may be about to transition from 5 naps to 3 naps.

I know, I know--you're crying rivers for me. But one thing people always told me before we had Tyler that I never really took to heart was this: Just when you're getting used to a routine, your baby changes.

It was a cozy little life, Tyler's and mine. He would be up for 45 minutes, then down for 1-2 hours. Rinse, repeat. Feeding usually took about 15 minutes, so I only had to entertain my son for about a half hour. Easy! Now, I'm faced with the daunting task of actually spending a couple of hours in a row playing with him--at a time when the Exersaucer is still just something to look at, not play with.

The funny thing was, I knew this was coming. I had even hoped it would come soon (after all, once the weather gets warm, I'd actually like to go out with him every once in a while!). According to a book I read, many babies settle into a 3-nap schedule between 4 and 5 months. Tyler is 4 months, one week. But I guess I had thought he would magically just be awake and active longer, and we would know. I didn't realize that our cue to change his nap schedule would start with him looking tired enough to put down, but not being tired enough to actually nap. The past few days have been a battle; he's cried and cried after we put him down for his last nap of the day (and yes, he was looking sleepy, which was why I put him down). This morning, he took about 30 minutes to settle into his first nap of the day.

Ah, I'll miss the days when he could easily sleep 18 out of 24 hours in a day (last week).

Survey says...

On Facebook, people often "tag" others to take little surveys (like e-mail forwards). Today, a long-lost friend (who just found out about our loss, by the way) tagged me to take this survey. I'm not going to fill it out on Facebook, because honestly, what would it accomplish? It would just shock people, and I would just be inviting judgment--or pity. (I don't know which is worse.)

I am, however, going to fill it out here. Feel free to copy it and take it yourselves!


Here you go mommies - a different kind of survey for a change - it's all about your first born! Just copy and paste it in a new note for yourself!

Let's see how much you remember!

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED? Yes

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? Yes

3. WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION? Thrilled beyond belief

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU? No. However, it never occurred to me that I might be pregnant with a child who could never live outside the womb.

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU? 29

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? I took a pregnancy test.

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? Mark

8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? Yes

9. DUE DATE? March 25

10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? Yes, a bit.

11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? It was more about what I didn't want to eat--pretty much everything.

12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? My sister-in-law, because she was due at the same time as us with a "surprise" baby

13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX? Boy

14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? At first I was a little disappointed. However, I was very happy he was a boy.

15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? About 10.

16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? No

17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW?

18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? At 20 weeks, we found out he had no kidneys, which meant he wouldn't live outside the womb. We made the agonizing decision to induce labor right away.

19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? Froedtert Hospital

20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? 18 hours

21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? Mark

22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? Mark, the doctor and the nurses

23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? Vaginal

24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? Yes, I had an epidural.

27. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 14 oz

28. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN? Nov. 7, 2007

30. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Zachary Andrew