katie, ben and lucy

I have been doing a lot of reading lately…. A LOT.  Mainly because “knowledge is power” blah blah blah.  Okay, also because for the first 5 weeks of Lucy’s life, I have been glued to the couch with something stuck to my chest for hours and hours at a time.  What else is there to do, really?  Based on a few fantastic suggestions, I have been reading some terrific books concerning childcare, babies, sleep habits, etc.  Literally, I have now read more than half a dozen books on this subject matter.  But one little tid-bit stuck out like a sore thumb. 

Everyone keeps asking me…”So how is Lucy sleeping?  Is she sleeping through the night?  Does she take good naps?  Is she an easy baby?”  Well, I have here an excerpt from the book What To Expect The First Year by Murkoff, Mazel, Eisenburg, and Hathaway.  This pretty much sums up Lucy in a nutshell on this topic:

“Do You Have a Challenging Baby?…The Active Baby:  Babies often send the first clue that they’re going to be more active than most right from the uterus; suspicions are confirmed soon after birth when recieving blankets are kicked off, diapering and dressing sessions become wrestling matches, and baby always ends up at the opposite end of the crib after a nap.  Active babies are a constant challenge (they sleep less than most, become restless when feeding, can be extremely frustrated until they’re able to be independently mobile, and are always at risk of hurting themselves), but they can also be a joy (they’re usually very alert, interested and interesting, and quick to accomplish).”

Let’s see here….how can I compare thee???  As you may recall, when I was pregnant, Ben and I constantly commented on how much Lucy enjoyed the art of kickboxing while in my belly.  I guess that was a prelude for what was to come.  She has never enjoyed swaddling.  From the first moments in the hospital, the staff foolishly attempted to swaddle our little girl.  However, each and every time, Lucy would kick and squirm until she had her arms free from the wraps.   Diapering and dressing can, indeed, be a struggle.  Like I mentioned earlier, she likes to kick…all the time.  Place her positioned face-up on your lap, and enjoy the sensation of being kicked hard in the gut over and over again!  In addition, Lucy likes her cuddles.  I’m almost never able to set her down without upsetting her.  She wants to be held, cradled, and bounced at every hour of the day.  Plus, she becomes upset if you’re not holding her, showing her the world, allowing her to enjoy the sights and sounds that the world has to offer.  I guess that’s why she seems to do so well with loud Astros games, dogs running around and barking in her presence, the smells and sounds that the family lakehouse has to offer, etc. 

As far as her sleep habits go…apparently she thinks that sleeping is for the weak.  She maybe sleeps a total of 7-9 hours at night (broken up, mind you), and a total of 2-3 hours during the day (if you combine all of her little 20 minute naps).  Sleeping in her cradle didn’t last long.  She immediately learned how to turn herself 180 degrees, wedging herself in strange positions -so we had to go straight to the big crib.  That too has been a challenge.  Lucy likes cuddles – including all night long cuddles, if you catch my drift.  Don’t get me wrong…I love snuggling with her at night.  But I know that can’t last forever.  So, thanks to Sarah’s suggestion of a particular book (The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley), we are now recently able to get Lucy gently settled into her crib at night.  Sounds exciting, right?  You’re thinking, “Okay, so she does sleep well at night.”  Well, it depends on how you look at it.  First of all, it still takes us at least 1 hour ( sometimes longer) to “rock” her to sleep each night.  Even then, she wakes up several times through the night to eat or have a diaper changed.  Then it’s back to another  30 minutes (minimum) of settling her back down to fall asleep in her crib again. 

I know this will change soon enough.  In fact, she is just starting to show a new pattern of sleep the past 2-3 nights.  But that means almost nothing in the world of babies.  Just as soon as you think there is a new pattern emerging, things change yet again.  But I will still share this exciting information.  She recently started sleeping 5-7 hours at night, only waking once or twice, if that.  Then, she has a good 2 hour nap early in the morning.  But after that, we’re back to the 15-20 minute naps (maybe two more for the day).  No matter how you break it up, she ends up getting maybe 12 hours of sleep for every 24-hour day.  That’s still not a lot of sleep in the land of babies.  But it’s become “normal” to me, so I don’t mind.  I like how interactive she is.  In fact, it’s eerie when she is quiet and asleep for too long.  I just figure, if I can handle Lucy, the “active baby,” then I can handle anything our next little bundly of joy may have to offer a few years down the road.