Quick Love Letter To My Sleeping Child

Dear Daniel, you are loved so much.  I just went to tuck you in again during the middle of the night, and I couldn't help myself but to bend over and kiss your still little face.  Your binky is firmly held in your mouth, your body is relaxed, and the covers are tossed about on the bed.  You look to be dreaming, and as active of a sleeper as you are, I think your dream must be about an adventure.  You look peaceful, but also ready to wake at any moment and start playing with reckless abandon.  You are so lovely, darling Daniel, and I appreciate seeing you sleeping and so still so I can soak in your perfect, handsome features.  I almost want to wake you up to scoop you into a bear hug, or perhaps cuddle in close in your tiny toddler bed because I miss the physical contact we had during the first year of your life, when you were smaller and not yet mobile.  I love you so, my son, and I want you to always know this.   I count you among my blessings when I pray each night.

love,
your mama

What Your Evenings Look Like in Summer 2011

Last week you turned two, but your older age didn't bring any seriousness to your life.

You are still so goofy, Daniel.

You are so happy and love for us to be happy, too.

Most evenings, we spend 15 minutes or so in your room playing as a family.  Often you dump all your puzzles and cars out and we try to sort through one activity at a time with you.

You always want us to play right down on the floor with you.

You would rather play than read books before bed, but sometimes when I read to Elsie, you get jealous and want to get in on the book reading and holding of your sister.  So you climb up and say, "Hol- due" to hold her.

And then then hop down and play some more.

Soon after, its time for brushing teeth, potty, books, praying, blankets, binky, and bed.  When we tell you this, you dive into bed and pretend to be asleep.  But you never last long!  We do all the other things together, and usually your father puts you down to sleep at 7:45 PM.

Its very unusual for you to wake before 7 AM these days.  We often check in on you around 8, 9, and midnight, and you are snuggled in your bed, usually flat on your stomach, usually cuddled with a stuffed animal, a blanket, or a book.  Its so very sweet.  We pat your head and kiss you and thank the Lord for you.

Sleep Talking

The last few nights, I've sat at the computer writing from 9 PM to midnight, and I've noticed many noises coming from Daniel's room.   I am sure he's been asleep while making most of them!  I've heard him say a few phrases I couldn't determine, as well as pizza, Rachie, Mommy, Doggie, Daddy, Pop Zekey, Hop, all done, and hear some squeals, yawns, and moans.

When I've gone into check on him, he is peacefully sleeping and silent (except for occasional snore).

Silly kid.  I bet we can safely say he is having dreams!  Maybe of eating pizza with his family members and a dog and a rabbit.

New Thing: Pointing at the Bed

Daniel has started to point to his crib when he is tired.  He does this during nap or bed time routine.  Sometimes he does this before we've read any books.  And so we put him down in the bed.  He finds his pacifier (they are only used in the bed now except for the rarest of occasions) and lays down on his belly.  It is just so sweet to see him curl up, tush in the air, and close his eyes.  Its like he is saying, "Sweet dreams to me!' or "Enough already parents.  I am tired!".

We think this is an example of him communicating his wants nonverbally.  We try to use vocabulary for him when he is being nonverbal so he can associate his action with the words "go to bed".

Common Lullabyes For You

Here are several of the songs I sing to you before naps or bedtime. 

Note: The English term lullaby is thought to come from 'lu lu' or 'la la' sound made by mothers or nurses to calm children, and 'by' or 'bye bye', either another lulling sound, or a term for good night.^[2] Until the modern era lullabies were usually only recorded incidentally in written sources.Source: Wikipedia

Golden Slumbers 

Golden slumbers kiss your eyes,
Smiles await you when you rise.
Sleep,
pretty baby,
Do not cry,
And I will sing a lullaby.

Cares you know not,
Therefore sleep,
While over you a watch I'll keep.
Sleep,
pretty darling,
Do not cry,
And I will sing a lullaby.

All Through the Night (Traditional Welsh song Ar Hyd y Nos)

Sleep my child and peace attend thee,
All through the night
Guardian angels God will send thee,
All through the night
Soft the drowsy hours are creeping
Hill and vale in slumber steeping,
I my loving vigil keeping
All through the night.

While the moon her watch is keeping
All through the night
While the weary world is sleeping
All through the night
O'er thy spirit gently stealing
Visions of delight revealing
Breathes a pure and holy feeling
All through the night.

In an alternate version, the second verse is substituted with:

Angels watching ever round thee
All through the night
In thy slumbers close surround thee
All through the night
They will of all fears disarm thee,
No forebodings should alarm thee,
They will let no peril harm thee
All through the night.

Sleep my child and peace attend thee,
All through the night
Guardian angels God will send thee,
All through the night
Soft the drowsy hours are creeping
Hill and vale in slumber steeping,
I my loving vigil keeping
All through the night.

While the moon her watch is keeping
All through the night
While the weary world is sleeping
All through the night
O'er thy spirit gently stealing
Visions of delight revealing
Breathes a pure and holy feeling
All through the night.

In an alternate version, the second verse is substituted with:

Angels watching ever round thee
All through the night
In thy slumbers close surround thee
All through the night
They will of all fears disarm thee,
No forebodings should alarm thee,
They will let no peril harm thee
All through the night.

Re: Bed Time

A note to baby:
Re: Bed time

This is non negotiable.  You've met our expectations thus far with going to bed, but we are not going to meet your recent requests for staying up longer and fussing and playing with you.  You need your rest.  You are a grouch if you don't get sleep.  And that is the truth.

From:
Tired parents

Bizarre Behavior...

Daniel did something bizarre tonight. He took off his pj pants and one of his socks after we put him to bed. I discovered it fifteen minutes after I assumed he was asleep, when I customarily go in and pull a blanket over his back.

I have no idea how he did this.  Was he too hot?  Did he not like the clothes we selected for him?  Was he just playing? 

Good Night Stars, Good Night Air

Good night noises everywhere.

Good Night, Moon is a bed time routine staple around our house, as in grained in the Go To Bed Baby routine as a pacifer, blanket to snuggle in, and a lullaby from Dad.

27 Week Old Report!

This week Daniel started to eat solids beyond rice cereal.  He tried carrots!  I felt so proud to have made his carrots, too.  His reaction was one of mixed emotion.  He seemed surprised and grossed out at the same time!  Though he made gagging faces, he opened his mouth as if he wanted more and more!  He had about 2 tablespoons the first day, and then finished up the serving the next day. 

Daniel has been so patient and calm this week. I am able to do lots of house chores and errands with him along in tow.  He really just looks at things in his surroundings and smiles. It is very sweet to watch.   He also plays contently on a blanket with toys, though he is starting to roll over from sitting position and get into a push up position.  I think he is just starting to learn how to push up, which means all fours is next!

Your best time of the day is still probably bath time.  You are positively gleeful when you are placed in the back.  The tub we have has a formed lounge chair style back, so you are reclining.  This gives your legs a great chance to stretch out and SPLASH.   Your dad recently started to put a towel on the ledge of the big tub to shield him from your splashes.

It snowed again this week, so we didn't spend too much time outdoors.  You are getting less satisfied having the fleece car seat cover blocking your view of the world, but it is so chilly that I don't let you pull or kick it off for good.   You are also getting so heavy to be in your infant car seat carrier, but I lug it around anyway when we are going to the sitters or out to the market.

Your Aunt Rachel came to visit us this weekend.  She was off of work and decided to come to play.  She loved to watch you eat your carrots and even helped me prepare some for you.  She also was there when we took you into the snow for your first experience with sledding.  She videotaped it for us! 

You are really growing up. I  can tell you are getting enough calories in during the day because you aren't waking at night! You are sleeping through the night most nights, though you do wake for a snack around 10 PM and do wake around 6 AM for breakfast.  Another sign you are growing and getting enough food... your 6 month clothes are too short for you!  You have got long lets and a long torso! (And long arms and a big head ... so really, you are just tall!).  You aren't really chubby though.  You are pretty trim!

25 Week Letter

Hello Dear Son,

You have been the best baby EVER this week.  Or at least the best you have ever been.  It has been so fun to see you enjoy your surroundings.

This week you became a fully self supported sitter.  This means I can plop you on a blanket and you will sit and play with toys.  You reach for objects and they amuse you.  You sit and sit and sit until you finally get bored with it and need some company.

To get our attention, you cough. Its clearly a fake cough.  But I respond and take very special attention to you.  I applaud your sitting skills and indulge you in your fake coughing.  I laugh and laugh at your silly joke.

This week you were like clockwork.  Your naps were so regular and predictable, and your wake time lengths really didn't vary much.  You would sleep from 9 until 11 and again from 12:50 until 3.  I think your great sleeping habits gave you the energy you needed to PLAY.  You played your little heart out, especially in the bathtub.  YOU LOVE THE TUB!  I bought you a new, deluxe baby bathtub and you go to town splashing and splashing and laughing.  I think you will really enjoy the pool one day.

This week you let me know you want to eat solid foods.  You lunged for a banana I was eating.  You got so excited that you'd gotten a hold of it that you started laughing.  So then you choked.  Don't worry, I was able to retrieve the fruit.  I think this means its baby food time!

Please keep your smiles going and your gahgahgoogooes coming.  Its so energizing and delightful!

So to summarize, this was pretty much our best week ever as parents to the happiest baby in all of Missouri.  Or the world.  Or at least our recollection.

You rock.

Love

Mama

Kids of Friends

Daniel, this is Riley Brooke Oesch.  We are friends with her parents because we went to MU together!

You and Riley haven't had the most pleasant interactions with each other.  But I know that can change when you and she can speak to each other and apologize or tell jokes or something to alleviate the tension that comes from the male/female dynamic.  Plus, you have to be at least semi-friends with her because we will probably spend a few days a year with them!  We might even go on family camping or canoeing trips with them. 

 It is pretty sweet to see you play together, but I think it is a bit more peaceful to see you resting comfortably together!

Milestone: Sleeping Through the Night!

Daniel slept from 6:45 PM to a 9:30 PM short feed until I woke him at 8 AM. This is fantastic!

Its time for him to drop the dream feed, which is why I have been moving back his 10:30 PM gradually. Its working!

Also, he normally wakes around 7 AM, so I wonder if this time change has bought him another hour of morning sleep!

This Is your G. Uncle Phil Steele.

He is your paternal grandfather's brother in law. He is married to G. Aunt Ruthie Douglas Steele. They live in O'Fallon, Missouri and he has lived near St. Louis for most of his life. He married into the Douglas family before your Grandpa Douglas was born.

Uncle Phil is retired from a construction company in the city. He enjoys retirement and spends a lot of time with his family. He has always been a kind uncle to your mother.

Grandpa Douglas Welcomes You On Christmas Morning.

His was the first lap you sat upon and the first person to make you smile on Christmas Day. He really enjoyed you.

Grandma Becky Reads To You On Christmas Eve.

And you were an excellent listener!

Swing Nap

If he awakes an hour before what is best for him, I try out the swing. Sometimes, it works to lull him back to his dreams. And its SO cute to watch him sway back and forth.

20 Weeks

Hello, baby. 

This week you got your 4 month vaccinations.  You had three shots and one oral vaccine.  You were so brave that I consented to have my vaccinations, too.  I had two flu shots, so I could sympathize with the discomfort you felt!  It was hard to see you so uncomfortable and listen to your screams, but I was relieved that you didn't cry too long and that you were seemingly as good as new after Tylenol and a warm bath.

This week you really started to dsicover your legs and feet. You started to swing your legs back and forth on the changing table and walk your feet along the wall.  You also started pushing off your crib rails and using your feet to help you roll around.  Its really common to see your feet high in the air and you studying your toes.  You did the same things with your hands a few months ago. 

Another thing I've noticed about your development has to do wtih your hearing and comprehension.  You look around to see who is talking when you hear a voice.  It is very confusing to you when you hear a man's voice on the radio, but I am the only person in the room.  Cell phone conversations on speakerphone are also confusing to you.  You try to put the cell phone in your mouth and are very surprised to hear a voice!

You've started to recognize when we are paying attention to you, and when our attention is elsewhere.  For example, if I am typing on the computer or working in the kitchen and you are nearby, I can tell you are looking at me.  When I turn to you, your face crinkles into a big smile.  This, of course, makes me want to quit what I am doing and play with you!

You spent three hours with some friends one afternoon while I was working.  This is really the second time I've left you with a sitter.  You did wonderfully, laughing at their daughter and being content playing with their toys.  You waited patiently and didn't get upset when you couldn't eat right away.

Another thing that happened this week that was really LESS adorable was sleeping disturbances.  You would have a difficulty staying asleep for naps, and so I resorted to letting you finish out your naptime in the swing.  Sometimes this worked, sometimes it didn't.  Either way, it was probably better for you to still have some downtime after playing and before eating.  Probably the worst sleep disturbances came at 8:30 PM for three nights in a row.  You'd gone down to bed around 7 or 7:30, but would wake up screaming as if in terror or extreme pain.  It was alarming and bizarre.  Your dad would bounce you on the exercise ball, rock you, or since a verse of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and you'd go back to sleep as if nothing had happened.

So you are 20 weeks old, which is sort of neat.  It means you are in your fifth month.  I didn't have any clue you'd be this great as a 5 monther.  Not that I didn't enjoy you as a newborn... you are just WAY more fun to be around!  I imagine this trend will continue as you age.

I love you.

-Mom

15 Week Old Letter

Dear Daniel,

You three months, three days old.  Wow.  You are really integrated into our lives.  So much so, that our daily routine is now determined by your needs, desires, and best interests.  However, you don't rule the roost here at our house... you are just assimilated into our Haid family as a true member of the family.

This week you began to have digestion issues.  At least, that is what I think they are!  Since you cannot talk, I assume the intense spitting up is due to reflux and your particularly toxic fumes are probably due to slow moving bowels.  You have been writhing in what I think are gas pains and producing very few dirty diapers.

Its sad to see you so uncomfortable!  And its difficult for us, too.  When you don't rest well, no one else in your family does.  This was a tough week for me because of sleep deprivation!

I did manage to start a new hobby with you. I have often used exercise DVDs as my physical fitness time, and I bought a Baby and Mommy Fitness DVD.  In this video, I do many stretches over and around you and use you like a weight! I use your body for extra resistance in a sit up, too. You really laugh and try to pull my pony tail when I am doing the down dog pose above you.  The baby fitness segment is really fun for me, too. I  help you stretch your arms and legs and chant a little rhyme or song during the exercises.  Our favorite is called YUMMY TOES!  I bend your legs up from the hip and tickle your cheek with your big toes.  When I say, "Yummy toes!!" you shriek in delight.  It is so fun to watch you!

You are aslo very interested in being pulled to standing positions from a laying position.  You grasp my thumbs or hands and I exert a very small force to help you do a sit up.  Then, you use inertia to keep rising up to standing.  You give a very big smile when you are fully standing.

You are also starting to reach for things well above your head and stretching yourself so you can tilt onto your side.  It isn't rolling over, though! You don't mind tummy time these days, as long is it is a short time and you have interesting things to look at.  You fuss when you are done with being on your front to let me know you want to lay on your back and look up!

Your smiles have never been bigger or more fun to receive.  They match your giggles in enthusiasm and perfection.

I like you so much as a three month old baby.  I've always loved you, but I really like you now, too!  It is really fun for me to watch you grow and interact with the world. 

Love,

Mommy