Oh, Hank

I suppose the title would be more catchy if I went ahead and said, "Oh, Henry."  But I didn't want anyone getting the impression we were going to chat about candy bars here.  What we're going to talk about is an adorable little boy who recently turned five months old.

He has finally gotten better at tummy time and way back on May 31, he started rolling from his back to his tummy.  A couple weeks later he finally rolled from his tummy to his back.  Although, he really doesn't do that very often, even still.  He always rolls from his back to tummy though, even when he doesn't want to be on his tummy.

Hank does not have any teeth yet.  So perhaps I was way off in hoping his sleep problems were caused by teething last month.  I still think he's "teething" but I'm under no illusions that his still current and ever-worsening sleep problems are being caused by tooth eruptions.  I'll update you on his sleep patterns in a bit.

Hank does not really like any toys.  I hope that's okay.  I can't remember what other babies do with toys at this age.  I'm sure they all put them in their mouth.  Well, Hank does that.  But then that makes him cry because he starts to chew on them like crazy and get all fussy and crying.  So then I think he's teething.  

He does like to smile and laugh though.  

He really likes Matt.  It's cute.  He also really likes it when Matt carries him in the Baby Bjorn.  Within about five minutes the Bjorn is soaked with drool as Hank teethes on it constantly.  

He likes his baths now.

Remember Hank's barfing problem?  I'm happy to say those days are pretty much gone.  He barfed maybe once this month?  But the effects of his barfing problem still linger.  Because we couldn't even attempt bottles or pacifiers without him throwing up in the old days he still has no idea what to do with them.  I mean, it's shaped like a boob, it drips milk into his mouth, and he just sits there with it in his mouth but has never attempted, even once, to suck on it.  The other day when he was shoving toys into his mouth and crying I decided I would try a pacifier.  And he actually started sucking on it.  He sucked on it for thirty minutes.  I was so giddy dreaming of peaceful car rides, and quiet church meetings.  I even let myself start day dreaming about him getting used to a pacifier and then being willing to suck on a bottle.  But after his nap that day I tried it again and he acted like he had no idea what it was.  A couple weeks later he sucked on it again!  This time I kept shoving it in his mouth all day.  And the next.  I was certain we had struck gold.  But, alas, he turned on the very thing that had kept him so pacified.  I'm sure many of you, (like the lady who said, "Good for him," when I explained Hank won't take a binky), are thinking, "Why in the world would you push a binky on a five month old baby?  It's GOOD that he doesn't need one."  But oh how I disagree.  They are fabulous little pieces of plastic that calm and soothe.  I've got absolutely nothing to help him calm down in the car.  No little five-second pop-the-binky-back-in option in the middle of the night.  

I am also hypothesizing that his little quirk of only being able to nurse from one side, (or else barfing when being offered the second) has led to a bit of a snacking dilemma.  He likes to snack--just a little bit here and there.  He can't be bothered with nursing when he should be awake and playing.  The only time he'll nurse really well and long is when he's heading to sleepy town. But as he stays awake more and naps less often, perhaps he's nursing less overall during the day.  So I worry that little snacking problem has led to some sleep problems.  I don't know, it's a hypothesis.  What I do know are the facts.  At 3 months old he would consistently wake up twice a night--around 2am and 5am.  From what I understand, par for the course in babyville.  I felt very happy with that set-up and said many times I could handle that for a long time.  Then things got crazy before he turned four months old and have gotten crazier still.  The other night I made mental notes of the times he woke up and I fed him.  Bedtime at 8pm. Then woke up at 10:30pm. 12:30am. 2:40am. 4:45am. and 7am.  So, yes, he has a night-waking problem.  What is so curious to me is that I almost always lay him down awake and he puts himself to sleep.  He nurses until drowsy or sometimes falls asleep but then he gets woken up when nursing is over, I read him a book, swaddle him, and sing to him.  He naps well during the day.  Usually at least one nap is a couple hours long.   So to me, his sleep problems are a total mystery.  Let me illustrate just how mysterious it is to me.  As things started heading south I decided he'd sleep better in a real crib and not in his pack n play.  So I hunted down cheap bunk beds for Jack and Jane and got him in the crib.  Then I decided I would just HAVE to let him cry.  I knew I couldn't just leave him so I did the time interval checking.  But he would cry and cry until it had been about two hours at which point I would start to worry that he was in fact getting hungry.  So I'd feed him and while feeding him I'd think about how he isn't learning anything from his crying other than if he cries for 2 hours he will finally get picked up and fed.  So I knew right then and there that I could not keep going with crying.  Then I decided the problem was that he didn't like being swaddled, and needed to use his hand to self-soothe.  I don't think he slept at all those two nights, even in my bed.  Then I let him sleep in his swing and he slept so well(come to find out I think it was just sheer exhaustion).  So I decided (and read some sleep lady's blog who promotes swing sleeping so I wouldn't feel so guilty) that what he needed right now was a swing.  So I hunted down a really cheap swing that would plug into the wall so we wouldn't spend a fortune on batteries.  Then he stopped sleeping well in the swing so I decided he needed to be swaddled AND in the swing.  And that brings us to today.  He's swaddled.  He's swinging.  And he's waking up 4 times a night.  Is he hungry?  I don't know, but I know he won't calm down until I feed him.  So, seriously, if you were me, what would you do?

The End.