We achieved a victory last night: Toby went from 10:30 to 6:30 without a feeding! Yippee! AND...(drumroll, please)...he only woke up twice and went right back to sleep both times. Granted, I got him up at 10:30 to feed him and he didn't want to go back to sleep after he ate at 6:30, but this is still great progress. I am so happy. Thank you, Baby Whisperer.

In other news, my poor husband has been sick with some kind of virus the last few days. He is just miserable. We had been planning to spend this weekend and part of next week in Kansas with my dad & stepmom & my dad's family. This flu changed our plans. We may still leave tomorrow if he's feeling better; otherwise, we'll have to go some other time. It's so disappointing! We had been working really hard to finish up several projects so we could go and enjoy this time with family. Now the projects are finished, but our reward may not be realized. Boo!

I've been trying hard not to feel sorry for myself the last few days. It's been rough, mostly because Jonathan is staying away from Toby in hopes that he won't catch this thing. And Toby's been more fussy and clingy than usual because 1) he's got two teeth coming in, and 2) he's really sensitive and seems to know that something's wrong, so he feels unsettled. Most of the day things aren't that bad, but we've hit several times (during the middle of the night, no less) when they both need help/attention. That's rough! I know, I know, welcome to motherhood.

Still, I am so grateful for the good things in my life:
 - my thoughtful, loving husband
 - my dear, sweet, little son
 - my sister, who took Toby for a few hours yesterday so I could chill and take a nap
 - people who care and are praying for us right now
 - good health, so I can care for my family
 - sleep!
 - coffee
 - internet

Now I'm off to work on laundry....

Well, it's been a rough 3 days, but we are definitely seeing some improvement in Toby's sleep and overall contentedness.

Where we were:

•  2 very short morning naps (1/2 hour or so each)
•  1 long late afternoon nap
•  waking 2-5 times a night, nursing 1-3 of those times
•  staying awake for an hour or more during 1 of the waking sessions about 3 or 4 times a week
•  mild crankiness for no apparent reason

Where we are:

• Toby went down very easily for his 2 long naps today. He slept for 2 hours straight in the morning and 1 1/2 hours straight this afternoon. (LOVE it; I slept for 1 1/2 hours too!)
• It's taking less and less time to get him settled for sleep. The first day it took about 40 minutes, and today it's been more like 10-20 minutes.
• Toby woke up 5 times last night but went back to sleep within 5-20 minutes each time. And he didn't nurse until 6:00 this morning!
• His mood seemed better all day. No surprise there, since he seems to like routine and we've had trouble following one the last few months.

Here he is, all curled up in his crib. So sweet!
 

Toby is a charming, fun, active little guy. He is very social and warms up quickly to new people, especially if he can observe them for a bit from the safety of Mama’s arms. He has just started this little habit of smiling at people, then shyly ducking his head onto Mama’s shoulder. He is generally cheerful unless he is hungry or  tired. He’s very observant and determined to master new skills. Toby travels well, except that the car seat puts him to sleep and he knows it. Sometimes he rebels at the prospect of sleep and cries loudly, but he succumbs before too long.

Morning—He wakes up most mornings with lots of smiles for Mama & Papa. After nursing first thing, he goes out to the living room and hangs out with Papa while Mama sleeps a little longer. Papa feeds him his morning cereal, usually with yogurt or fruit.

Food—Toby eats whole grain cereal, various fruits and vegetables, and yogurt. He likes fruit and cereal mixed with yogurt better than vegetables. He loves to eat bits of whatever the adults are eating and is learning to pick up small pieces of food to feed himself. When we sit down to the table, he wants to sit with us and eat too, even if he’s just eaten. He still nurses 5-7 times a day. He drinks water from a sippy cup, although he often enjoys playing with the cup more than drinking

Activity—Toby most often gets around by “combat crawling” but knows how to crawl on hands and knees too. He can push himself from a crawling position to a sitting position and finds great delight in pulling himself up to standing. He has started cruising around while holding onto furniture. He is an explorer, wanting to see and touch everything. He has started to have more tolerance for books and will sit still for most of a story now. When Mama sings or hums, he sometimes makes singing noises in an effort to join in. He loves to see his reflection in the mirror and will sit for 5-8 minutes, babbling and looking at the little guy staring back at him.

Sleep—Toby does not sleep well right now. He usually takes 2 short (1 hour or less) morning naps and 1 longer (up to 2 hours) nap in the afternoon. He goes to bed around 8 and wakes 3-7 times a night. He nurses around 11pm and 3am and needs to be soothed back to sleep the other times. Many nights he stays awake 1-2 hours in the wee hours of the morning. We have tried lots of things to get him to sleep better, but nothing seems to work.  So I have decided to cling to the certainty that this will not last forever and try to enjoy these opportunities to cuddle and rock my little guy.

Discipline—We have begun to teach Toby that some things are off limits for little guys. Cords were his first “no-no,” but we have since added plants, computers, our books, and various other tempting objects. He is well aware of the consequences of touching cords (he gets his hand snapped) but sometimes touches them anyway. He seems to understand at least the tone of “no” if not the word itself, as he stops to consider before going ahead and touching the forbidden object.

Nicknames—peanut, munchkin, pumpkin (pie), sweetheart, Toby-bear

We love him lots!