Gametes In Love

Well our first evening wasn’t too shabby. He fell asleep without complaint in his new digs around 7:30. Woke up at 12:50, nursed, and conked back out until 4:40. At that time, as promised I brought him back in the bedroom with me, nursed him and put him in the swing for the rest of the “night”. He got up again two hours later. S was great, and just held him. The two of them napped ’till 7:45.

Ratio of crib sleep to swing sleep (in the last 24 hours)? 4:1. Not bad at all, I say. Dare I request a repeat?

It’s time. It’s time for S2 to graduate to his own room.

I’ve waited long enough. Perhaps longer than I should have, and I admit that he’s been sleeping in our room not because he’s needed it, but because I’ve been too lazy and timid to make the move.

He sleeps 4 feet away from me, which, I gotta tell you, at 3am in the morning, that’s a pretty convenient distance to sleep-walk. Much more convenient than the walk around the house to the nursery. Nursing in my bed is pretty comfy: it’s soft and I can sit up in it for hours on end. My blanket is there, so my feet stay warm. Also, if I get in one of my paranoid “Is my child still alive?” states, all I have to do is quiet down and I can hear him breathing. Much easier than walking to the nursery at 2 am in the morning and wait to see & feel his chest rise. No joke, I did this just about every night until G turned one. At 3am when your eyes are glazed over with fatigue it takes a lot longer to see an infant breathe. I will even admit to poking my poor sleeping child, just to see a response.

Despite all my comfort reasons for having S2 stay in our room, his little legs have grown to a point where they are now starting to reach the edge of the swing. His head is getting flat in the back. And he’s developing an unhealthy dependency on swing sleep.

So tonight is the night.

I had him nap in the crib all day today. 2 short naps, and one decently long nap later I think we’re cleared for a night-time trial. I’m starting easy (on myself), though. My goal is to put him down in his crib for bedtime, come to him in the middle of the night when he wakes, and put him back down in the crib. If he wakes up more than once, bring him back in our bedroom for the rest of the night. After all, I deserve sleep too 🙂

So… wish us luck.

How far along: 14w (ok, 14w2d ‘cuz I slacked on getting a belly pic, but hey — we’re here)
Weight: 128.2lb
Sleep: Lots of sleep, but also lots of wake-ups.
Gender: TBD
Movement: Not yet, but I think we’re getting close. I think in another 2 weeks or so, I’ll have my official “bubbles”
Feeling: Blah. Zofran prescription is extended for another few weeks.
What I am looking forward to: Another clean blood screen
Weekly Wisdom: Sleeping through nausea helps, but being awake before 6am due to the 9+ hrs of sleep doesn’t help get through the day. It makes for a vicious cycle of tired, and icky, and did I say tired?
Milestones: Out of the first trimester anyway you slice it!!! Oh, and the boob faerie paid me a visit. My girls are no-where close to what they used to be like nursing post-partum, but I’m seeing some signs of them returning. Hurray! I missed them!!!
Food cravings: Fruits more and more. Lots of food aversions still, though
Fetal development:
Our baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee (the wonders of what goes on inside me!), and possibly suck its thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, its facial muscles are getting a workout as its tiny features form one expression after another. Its kidneys are producing urine, which it releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process s/he’ll keep up until birth. S/He can grasp, too.

In other news: The baby’s stretching out. From head to bottom, it measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and it weighs 1 1/2 ounces. Its body’s growing faster than its head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, its arms will have grown to a length that’s in proportion to the rest of its body. (Its legs still have some lengthening to do.) It’s starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over its body. The baby’s liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it’s doing its job right — and its spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can’t feel its tiny punches and kicks yet, our little pugilist’s hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.