Swaddle Me Gently

Charlie had his one month check up this afternoon, and as expected, he's still a big boy! He's 12.2lbs and continues to be in the 95%-98% for weight, height and head. He's steadily marching right up the growth chart, and we couldn't be more grateful for his effortless well-being. The doctor was excited by his continued health and sweet disposition. And man, look at those muscles.

Charlie, as usual, was calm, cool and collected at the doctor's office - you want to stretch me out...cool, you want to put some tape measure around my head...fine, you want to strip me down and throw me on a hard scale...absolutely, and sticking me for round two of my Hep B shot...sure. But this time I had a real question - sleeping habits.

We've started a nighttime routine this week, and it seems to be really working; he eats around six, we cook dinner dancing in the kitchen to my new favorite Pandora station - type in Bon Iver and enjoy, we play and talk up a storm when John gets home, we all sit down to eat dinner, Charlie gets a bath and then he gets all ready for bed (he's not too happy about reading yet...boo).

He normally chows down one more time and then drifts off to sleep at about 8:30 until 1:30 or so. Then he's back up at 5:30 or 6:00 and then back asleep for an hour or two. And he wakes up with the most wonderful disposition. Still very ready to eat, but oh so happy.

Altogether, it feels like we're getting more sleep than we have in awhile which feels like an absolute success. Except for the last week, Charlie has been hesitant to nap during the day anywhere but in my arms, and while I love the snuggle time, it's getting a little out of hand - the minute I lay him in his chair or crib, he FREAKS! So I asked Dr. Bell about Charlie's napping dilemma, and she suggested many things but cautioned against starting "bad habits" and ultimately said to try tightly swaddling. And of course, I hadn't even broken the seal on the SwaddleMe blanket, so when we got home, I opened it up and wrapped Charlie in. His face was priceless - he seemed totally shocked and instantly comforted. And within minutes he drifted off to sleep without excessive lap walking around the house or the pacifier - score. I laid him in his bed, and he peacefully napped for a little over an hour - double score! Now this isn't the first time Dr. Bell's suggested something, we've gone home to try it and Charlie's immediately and positively responded, so I don't know if he's just really listening when she talks, she's a baby wizard, or we have perhaps the most agreeable baby around.

I was told throughout my pregnancy not to worry because you're never given more than you can handle, so perhaps this doesn't say much about our tolerance level. Or perhaps Charlie senses his mother needs more sleep than the average human to function. Whatever the reason, we're grateful.

Here's to another successful doctor's visit and sleeping!