Feeling the Empty-Nest Inside

This weekend was a little sad for me. Kyle and I had been debating on moving Brady to his own crib in his bedroom for a while now. We could tell he was getting a bit cramped in the bassinet and needed to have space to move about at night. His every stir woke me, and I'm fairly certain that my rumblings in the night woke him, as well. He's officially been sleeping in his room for a little over a week. I knew I had to move him, even though it really pained me. He slept so good in his bassinet by my side. My baby is graduating and officially moved out of his newborn bed.

You would think I should be excited about this important milestone. This means more sleep in my own quiet room and no more midnight feedings. Even my sister-in-law with twins, who are a month younger than Brady, have moved into their own room. I guess I am still clinging to the feeling of being needed. If my first son doesn't need me in the middle of the night, what do I do? I suppose I could just sleep.

I started to notice that he was waking again in the middle of the night for comfort, or just from confusion. From the beginning, we used his crib as his "naptime" bed, and the bassinet was his nighttime bed. I think he thinks every hour or so he should get up, so I'm there with his pacifier to soothe him back to sleep right away. I think that maybe the transition to a full night in his nap-bed will take a bit of adjustment. Or, maybe I'm the one who really needs to adjust to this situation.

So, in accordance to the official move to his own bedroom, I undressed his bassinet and put it in the garage for storage. I bundled up his tiny little mattress and tied it in a garbage bag. I also moved out his newborn swing and packed away the clothing that no longer fits him. I just can't seem to get over the fact that there are outfits that he never really even got to wear. I think he skipped the 3/6 month size altogether.

Kyle and I decided that our ever-maturing baby boy might need to start on having some solids. I consulted with fellow mommy friends and the consensus seems to be that we can start trying rice cereal slowly about this age. Brady is seventeen weeks old now and a "supported sitter". He receives food from a spoon and actually swallows most of it.

The only thing that stinks about our gradual transition to solids is the fact that he doesn't "stink" as much. I think that iron-fortified cereal might be stopping-up my boy. I've heard recommendations that I try to feed him pear juice. I also read that we should make his food soupier, and to try to feed him after a full formula feeding. The full-feeding makes no sense to me because when he's full, why would he want to eat anymore food? Now, I'm starting to read more things that say that he should be at least six months old. Regardless of the statistics, my gut says he's ready to try some solids. I'm sure that at our next pediatrician check-up, later this week, the doctor will state otherwise. I read this quote from a blog online that said, "I'd heard a rumor that the age to start solids has changed AGAIN - can anyone confirm? It was 4 months in 2001 and 6 months in 2004. I'd heard that it was now 4.5 months - is that true or just maliciousness of health care professionals trying to keep us in doubt about our ability to parent (OK a bit tongue in cheek there - but it is CRAZY :eek: - the babies haven't changed, just the advice)". I think I might be able to agree with that statement. Either way, we gave Brady a bit of a break on his solids and he has been "successful" once again.

There have been quite a few changes in our household. Little Brady probably has no idea what is really going on around him. He doesn't cry as much when he's hungry. I believe he knows we will feed him and he is not as stressed about eating as he used to be. He actually will cuddle when Kyle holds him now. He's learned to grip us when we carry him. Our little man has found his squeaky voice and practices gleefully screaming and playing with consonants. He seems to adjust with schedule changes pretty well and is more mature when it comes to family outings. I feel that he trusts we will take care of him, and we, as parents, are learning to trust our abilities. While I am glad that Brady is a healthy boy, I can see how parents get an "empty-nest syndrome" when their kids go off to college. I know I can't really compare moving from his bassinet to his crib to a teenager going off to college, but a move across the house will undoubtedly take a bit of adjustment--for me.

I Go (Sleep)Walking After Midnight

I haven't had a full night's rest in months. I think I should be delirious and delusional by now. Brady has only been here for five weeks, so it's not all from midnight feedings. I could hardly sleep at all in my ninth month of pregnancy. That doesn't make my lack of sleep any easier to accept.

Speaking of "midnight feedings"... what a lie. They are more like, 1 A.M., 4 A.M., 6 or 7 A.M. feedings. I think we are slowly teaching him that nighttime is for sleeping and daytime is for play. We try to get him to "talk" to us and to smile and play during the day. He gets tired easily and overstimulated quick. He's young. We just aren't expecting too much from a 5 week old baby. Just taking it one day, er night, at a time.

I try so hard to get him to take his last feeding around eleven o'clock at night so that I MIGHT get to sleep until 2 A.M. It never seems to happen. He will take a half ounce here, two ounces there, until around 10:30 P.M. He seems to know my ploy, and he's not having it. Crafty little bugger.

It's going on a couple of months of little sleep and I am strangely finding it bearable. It's really not as difficult as it initially was the first couple of days. That could also be the missing R.E.M. talking. Brady likes to wake me around four in the morning, screaming like he hasn't eaten in weeks. I groggily get the usual 4 ounce bottle and he guzzles about two ounces. I burp him and offer the last half. Now that he's learned to smile on his own, that's when he shows off his dimples. He pushes out his bottom lip and sometimes even spits raspberries at me to show his lack of interest in more food. I have even resorted to turning on the lights and actually loudly speaking to him, "wake up, Brady". All to no avail. Five weeks of this, and last night I finally had an epiphany. Yup, I'm going to make only two ounces at the four o'clock feeding from now on. He will get more if he wants it. For some reason the lack of sleep makes me a bit slow on the uptake. But I'm getting there.

There are some articles I've read that this gets easier every month. Then I read babies don't sleep through the night until six months, or even up to a year. If I have to go through this for a year, I MIGHT go insane. No promises, I might already be there and in denial.