Baby-boy and I have been falling into some nice routines. Not really on purpose. I'm a firm believer of "on-demand" babying for little ones, since they can't be spoiled, and us adults have trouble interpreting what it is they want. So, on-demand feeding, sleeping and playing has dictated my life these past four months.
Eventually, a pattern emerged. (Doesn't it always? This is the beauty of statistics. Though I'm proud to report I haven't actually gotten to plotting any of my baby data - I'm resisting that temptation). So the self-emerged routine looks somewhat like this: baby wakes at 6.45am, wants a itty-bit of milk but not that much - mostly, he just smiles, giggles and gurgles. Roughly 2 hours later, he's ready to pass out again. Now he gets demanding and WANTS HIS MILK (dammit). I comply and he fall asleep in the process. A nap ensues. He wakes later in the morning for more giggles and play. Then we follow a roughly feed-every-two-hours routine. Typically, he naps again either around lunch time, or an hour or two after lunch. Most afternoons, he likes to nap at least twice and can wake up *very* groggy, in a fashion that has hubby saying he takes after me when waking up. Often, I'm able to sing or massage him out of his funk. Sometimes, I'm rewarded with squeals of delight and serious laughing fits. The evenings are mixed: often he has a short nap. Usually we try to keep him up till bed-time, so that he has a longer sleep. Bedtime falls around 8.30pm. Some days he has a bath with one of us first, followed by milk and sleep. Other days, he gets story time (a very famous Dutch children's book "Jip en Janneke"), followed by a quiet ten minutes during which his eyes get heavy. The nights. Well, they still vary, but mostly it consists of a very drowsy feed at around 11pm before I go to bed, followed by a long sleep till about 3.30 or 4.00am. After that comes a short sleep till about 6.30 or 6.45, and the routine starts again.
It's a pretty good routine that has been working well for us. But it is also one that gets interrupted -- daytime in particular since we go out and about in the stroller, and sometimes evenings when we go to dinner with friends and/or family. Not surprisingly, baby boy has been totally exhausted the last few days, after a 10 day visit from "oma". He loved all the extra attention and stimulation. But a keen mommy's eye can see that it's taken its toll on the tiny body and brain.
So, sleep it is. More naps for a few days.
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