It was a momentous weekend. We finally did it. We moved Noah’s crib from our bedroom to his own room. I was worried that he would be upset or confused that his crib moved or that we weren’t in the room with him, but he doesn’t seem to care all that much. As Mark pointed out, he is used to waking up in a room alone because of his napping. The last two nights Mark and I have slept in the guest bedroom next to Noah’s room – as a sort of a transition which is definitely more for me than him. I think I need a couple more days before I can sleep on a different floor than him. Plus there is the fact that he still wakes up once during the night. Both mornings he woke up at 3 am on the dot. I nursed him and got him back to sleep – it took half an hour on Saturday, and an hour on Sunday before I could put him back down in his crib peacefully. I hope this wakeful period changes some day soon, but I’m not sure how to go about it. I know I need to get acclimated to sleeping in a different room first, before I make any other great strides.
On Saturday, after moving the crib we were able to clean up our bedroom a bit while Noah took his nap. So that was obviously a positive outcome. I went through the wardrobe and my closet and sorted clothes into piles of maternity, post-birth fat clothes, and pre-Noah “I’m never gonna fit into these again” clothes. It was way overdue. After the boy woke up we decided to take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and go for a walk. Mark got new guitar strings at DiPinto, Noah tried to chuck himself in the river and mastered climbing hills at Penn Treaty Park, and then we hit Canvas coffee for a snack. After the boy went to bed Mark and I watched “Wedding Crashers” which I found incredibly formulaic but funnier than I had been expecting, especially since I wasn’t expecting much at all.
Sunday we went to Freehold to have lunch at Fritzy’s German restaurant for Grandma Laima’s 96th birthday. Noah didn’t sleep on the car ride there, so I was a tad worried how he was going to get through lunch peacefully. However he was well behaved for the first hour and a half. Even the waitress and hostess complimented him on his behavior. The secret is we just kept feeding him to keep him occupied. But right before Grandma decided she wanted to have dessert at the restaurant and not back at her house, Noah had decided he was full and he had been in his seat long enough. So we took turns following around the restaurant for the next half hour so that he could make eyes at the other customers. That kid is a sucker for attention. It kills me. By the time we got out of Fritzy’s, back to Laima’s and said our goodbyes it was 4:30 pm and Noah had been up 9.5 hours without a nap. Crazy. But surprisingly not as unmanageable as I would have imagined.
Today is beautiful out. I took Allison’s suggestion and took Noah to the park from 11 am til noon. He had a blast. I took a towel to wipe water off of the play equipment, but it proved not near enough of a towel. So the boy got a bit wet. I realized it was probably a bit dangerous in that he could slip on the wet steps, but I just tried to keep a hand on him. And luckily for us both he never slipped. To get him to leave the park I bribed him with the promise of a cookie – so we went to the next door bakery and got cookies and bagels. I bought some chocolate chip but the cashier gave him two sugar cookies with red jimmies (sprinkles) on them. They made for a lovely mess.
Mark and I tend to want to spend all our baby free time together. Which is great. We enjoy each others company. But there are some things for which you need quiet. So tonight is the first Me-time Monday. Mark and I have decided that every Monday for two hours after Noah goes to bed, we will spend time separately. I can read a book and he can go to the basement and work on music. I’m looking forward to doing some reading – and will fight my temptation to read a child rearing book and instead pick up some lovely fiction. Hooray.
5 comments:
I hope you enjoy your Me-time Monday. I think that sounds like a great idea and how wonderful that the crib moving transition is going smoothly.
Glad the transition is going well. I slept in my daughter's room until she was 10 months old and we were even on the same floor of the house!! Finally, my husband persuaded me to let her sleep alone! I end up falling asleep on the couch now, because I get sick of getting in and out of bed with my son. He slept in the bed with us until 5 1/2 months and then it became a safety issue and I only had a 1/2 inch of space to sleep on :) Hope taking him outside worked well for his nap. It always did for mine and I think I got the suggestion from the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child By Mark Weisbluth. The book is pretty good, but some of the stuff he recommends I don't agree with. Glad that you are getting a little "me" time - we ALL need that every once in a while.
I'm glad that Noah didn't mind being moved to his own room. What a relief that you only have to worry about your own transition, and not so much about his. We moved Dermot out around 3 months and he didn't blink and eye, but he's also right across the hall from us.
We're the opposite at our house. I spend too much time trying to get my alone time, and I don't spend enough time with Ethan. He ends up working at home at night and I end up playing on the computer at night. Maybe we should copy you guys and have a couple night once a week.
Me-time monday sounds amazing.
Congrats on the crib moving and closet cleaning. Both very big jobs.
Have I told you lately how cool I think you are and how precious I think your boy is?
I think it's great that you enjoy time together but I think it is even greater that you love each other enough to give sometime to being YOU! This will be very important years from now when it's empty nest time because you will know each other and yourself as a person not only as a parent!
Congrats on the crib move - I found after moving my kids (pre- monitor era) that they slept better because when they started stirring I didn't start stirring also so they would just get comfortable a fall back to sleep.
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