Another Developmental Leap

Does your mind ever get "stuck" in time? Let me explain. Time moves SOOO fast, especially with a baby, and for the last month I've been thinking Zooey was in her 21st week. I know she's actually in her 25th week, but it's like my brain got stuck not wanting to believe she's almost 6 months - 6 months - old! Anyway, a couple of things triggered my brain to actually look at my calendar and see how many weeks she is: she's been waking up at night, around 10:00-11:00, crying, she's been staring into space all the time pondering the universe, she cries when I walk away from her, she hasn't been very hungry with solids or nursing. Well, DUH!, she's smack-dab in the middle of a developmental leap. The 26 week leap is the leap of relationships. The book says that everything babies know about their world will change during this leap (which lasts anywhere from 1-5 weeks, the average being 4, and peaks at week 26 then ends). They learn mommy or daddy can walk away, and as far as baby knows, they've gone to China. They learn that everything has a relationship with something else: things can be inside, on top of, outside, beneath other things. They learn that there is always distance between them and mommy, which can be very frightening. After the leap, they will start showing the new skills they've been learning: physical, emotional, stacking, playing, etc. This leap is a little different in that most babies have another mini-fussy period around week 29 as separation anxiety peaks. After the leap, like always, there will be a "sunny" period between weeks 30-35 when baby will be extra happy and show the progress of learning all the new skills they've picked up. Until the next leap somewhere around week 37.

Knowing about these developmental leaps makes the fussy times with Zooey easier for me. Since I am following a schedule with her and am pretty type A, it could be easy for me to go into a frenzy when the schedule isn't working the way I want it too; however, knowing about the leaps makes me more relaxed. I know she's learning something new, and in this case it can be frightening, so I want to be there for her. I know that as long as I stay as consistent as I can that leaps only last a certain amount of time and soon we'll be able to get back on track. Plus, it is really fun to watch for her new skills and applaud them when they finally show up.

I also know there is another pretty big growth spurt around 6 months, so rather than worrying about my milk supply or if something is wrong, I know I can nurse her at night, put her back down and the growth spurt will end soon enough, as well.

I will admit, when I have to get up at 5am for BSF on Saturday morning, it makes for a rough night when Zooey wakes up twice and I'm up for an hour each time (I don't know how you working mommas do it - props to you!). However, as a dear friend wrote on her blog, and I'm paraphrasing, God uses these sweet, quiet moments to bond me to my little girl, and when I take on that perspective rather than one of irritation about being up in the middle of the night, I am able to cherish the moment, cuddle up to her, talk to God and go back to bed feeling relaxed.

OK I think I figured it out

I really believe Zooey's going through a growth spurt. After 2 days of fussing and poor naps, trying a teething ring and lots of cuddling I noticed (yes - slow mom of the year award goes to me!) that she was also taking full feedings every time I fed her early. Today, she's still napping for only 45 min. - 1 hour, but I feed her right when she wakes, she's very interested in eating and very hungry and VERY happy. I've just adjusted her waketime and put her down after an hour. Yes, she'll be taking several short naps today, but in my opinion, it's better than no naps at all. And I'm sure that in a few days she'll be back to her normal routine as she always is after a growth spurt. :)

On a side note, I do see some white bumps on her gums and have been giving her her links to nom on just in case she is teething, too.

Or is it teething?

I just had the thought that maybe Zooey's teething. She woke up from 2 of her naps crying, which is unusual for her. And now she's fussing/moaning in her sleep. She doesn't have a fever. Poor baby! Something's obviously going on...maybe she's just overtired? Sigh.

The dreaded 4 month wakefuls

I think, that is.

Zooey will be 4 months this Friday. I know - can you believe it!? Anyways, she's been having HORRIBLE naps this week. 45 minute intruder naps. Naps where she'll wake up after 30 minutes and just play. Naps where she cries and cries before the nap. This problem started with just her 1st nap of the day. It kept happening, and in my gut I thought it was because she needed to drop her last nap. Well, then last week, she began taking a short nap for her 3rd nap, as well. I decided to drop her 4th nap cold turkey yesterday after some advice I got from some other moms. She did very well dropping that nap, as she has actually gone without taking it several times when we were out and about. I awoke today thinking it would be a new day. That Zooey would go back to taking her excellent 2 hour naps for the first 2 naps and at least an hour-1.5 hours for the 3rd. That is not what happened. In fact, her routine is so out of whack that I felt it best for her to have a 4th nap today, just because she's only slept for about 2.5 hours napwise today. I also figured out that she's just in there playing when she wakes up early (she's not hungry or soiled - I've tried feeding her and she just stops to talk, look around or laugh). Today I noticed that it seems like she's just crying because social time is ending when it's time to go down for a nap. So...CIO time has begun again. So hard to listen to, but I know it's worth it in the long run. A few women have told me that I can probably expect the good naps from dropping the 4th nap in about 4-5 days, so I am both hoping and praying that we can get back on task with her routine tomorrow and that we will see positive changes before Zooey & I go out of town next weekend. It would be a total drag to have a crabby, overtired baby on vacation.

Anyone have 4 month wakefuls? How long did they last?

I am praising the Lord that they're not happening in the middle of the night! :)