Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Sleeping Through the Night

So C and I have discovered that sleeping through the night is not all it's cracked up to be. Either this is one of the dirty little secrets of parenting, or we just haven't adjusted all that well, but ever since Wiggle started basically sleeping through the night (about 2 weeks ago), we have been exhausted. I have a number of theories as to why we are so dead on our feet - 1) we are now getting more sleep, but the accumulated sleep deprivation has taken its toll, 2) Wiggle now takes fewer, shorter naps during the day, so we have less downtime, 3) he has become more active and engaged, so taking care of him has become more active for us, and 4) C and I had adjusted fairly well to the sleep shift cycle of before, where only one of us was up at any one time for large stretches of the day, and now we are having trouble readjusting. I'm sure it's a combination of all of these things, as well as the slow realization that there is really no end in site. We knew this intellectually before we had the baby, but each day it sinks in a little more that, we won't ever be as relaxed or carefree as before Wiggle was born. It's not as if I want to go back to before, but it still sucks to be tired all of the time.

In the two weeks since my last post, we had a lovely visit from Grandma R and Great Aunt M.

We also saw Uncle B and his friend K. We went out to dinner with them at Lou Malnati's which was a new Chicago pizza experience for me and C. Wiggle slept through most of the meal, but woke up long enough to be fawned over for awhile.

Last week, we took Wiggle to the Art Institute for the first time. We saw the Edward Munch exhibit. Mr. Munch had some pretty disturbing works, but there were some wonderful pieces as well. Wiggle was in our arms for most of the exhibit and spent quite a bit of time looking at the art. I thought he would enjoy the ones with brighter colors and strong contrasts, but he seemed to like paintings with more muted tones. He also spent a good deal of time flirting with everyone from teenagers to grandmothers.
This weekend we were having some wonderful weather, so on Friday I walked with Wiggle around the Midway, and we met his dad on campus after work.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Good Things

Yesterday I went to get a long overdue haircut, so C had Wiggle for the afternoon. When I came home (after getting on the bus in the wrong direction - boy, do I need to get out more!), it was to this scene.I think I'm a pretty lucky girl and that Wiggle is a pretty lucky little guy to have such a wonderful husband/dad.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Friends with Fur

Almost everyone who knows we have cats has asked us how they are doing with the baby. While I understand that all pets will go through an adjustment period when a new person, animal, or sometimes even a piece of furniture is added to the household, I also strongly believe that your animals take their cues from you on how to react to these new additions. If you are laid back about the new situation, chances are they will be too. There are always exceptions, but for the most part this has been my experience in the past, and it certainly has held true for Wiggle's arrival.

When we brought Wiggle home, we left him in his carseat for a couple of minutes and let each cat come up to get a good look and sniff him. For the first few weeks they seemed to give him and us a wide berth, but gradually they appeared to show more interest in him. We always encourage their curiousity and never shoo them away if they want to check out Wiggle. This approach seems to be working because once they come up and smell him or check him out, they seem to lose interest for the most part. Occassionally, Lander likes to give a few headbutts to show his love, and Puck likes to snuggle in next to us when he is nursing. Morty appears to spend a great deal of time under the bed, but she did that before Wiggle was born too.

While the cats have taken an interest in Wiggle, he has barely seemed to notice the cats even if they are standing above him or sniffing his head. Lately, I have been trying to "introduce" Wiggle to the cats. If I put his hand on Puck's fur when she is close, he will often break into a wide grin, but his interest does not really go any further than that.

We also want to help the cats realize that Wiggle will abuse them, and that they, being older and wiser, will just have to take it. When I say "abuse" it is important to note that I do not mean I will encourage or permit Wiggle to ride the cats, pull their tails, mercilessly chase the cats, etc, but in learning to pet the cats there will be some hair and tail pulling, as well as lots of drooling and some ear-splitting squeels of delight. To that end, we have been putting the cats through some training. This mainly consists of us laying Wiggle across the cats in various poses for our own amusement. Here are some shots from said "training."

I love this one because it looks like Wiggle is sneaking up behind Puck for a sneak-attack.


Apparently, you can practice tummy time anywhere!

Puck put up with a few minutes of this assualt and then left the bed in a hurry. Later that evening she climbed up on the boppy pillow on my lap during a nursing session, so I dont' think she was too traumatized by the experience.