Sleep....

So sleep is finally making its way into the Waldorf household. Finally.

I have been scared to write anything about it as I don’t want to jinx myself but 7 straight days of only (briefly) waking up once at night, and I feel like a normal person again. I truly believe this improvement has come from two basic things: his age (6 months) and his dinner puree I have been making him.

I love my pediatrician. Love.  He treats each kid as an individual and doesn’t just group them into a statistic or ‘this is what the norm is for this age’ diagnosis. He said in our very first appointment that he treats each child as if it were his own child. And all of his kids were very different. And as a wonderful support to me personally, he has had a kid who is exactly like Jackson. Personality, colic, reflux, bad sleep, early everything, extremely active…ect. So he sympathizes and has given me great, non-text book advice on how to manage through the baby years with Jackson.

At his 4 month appointment Dr. O’Donnell handed me a ‘feeding chart’ of what is typical in beginning to start solids. Then he said, “You can go by this chart or you can do a few things that I am going to suggest that are counterintuitive to this chart…your choice”.

At that point I had already started Jackson on cereal. And he was tolerating it. Basically I was told that the cereals are nothing more than empty calories and he would like to see me start giving him proteins as a priority. Egg yolks specifically. Avocado. Pureed meats.

Jackson had dropped from the 30% percentile in weight down to the 5^th and still not doubled his birth weight by a few pounds. His doctor really wanted us to try and put some protein in his diet to see if it would help him gain some weight.

I tried egg yolks and pureed meats (which are YUCK!) at 5 months and Jackson kept spitting it up and spitting it out…so I decided to wait a few weeks before trying again.

I started again when he neared the 6 month corner and finally had success. For the last week and ½ or so I have started giving him JUST half a hardboiled egg yolk (yay for having chickens!), ¼ of an Avacado, and a fruit pureed into a pudding like mixture at his night meal. And for the last week and ½ , just as if it is some magic potion, Jacksons sleep has gotten less restless and he has started going for longer stretches.

And just the last few nights he has rustled to around the 1am mark, eaten a few oz of formula and gone right back down and slept till it is time to wake up in the morning. No more crazy getting up 3 or 4 times and being so restless it is hard to lay him back in the crib without waking up.

All that to say that Jackson is finally starting to eat better, sleep longer, and be and overall happier baby. Praise God for eggs and avocados.

And as we round the 6 month corner, he is finally turning into a good little car baby, a wonderful stroller baby, and a napping anywhere champ!

6 months I have determined is a glorious baby age. I love 6 months. Jackson is a total character. Full of life and energy but getting a little sense of humor that makes being away from him during the days even harder. He is crawling, almost sitting up, and trying to pull himself up on things. He copies our noises and expressions, laughs at the slightest thing, and jumps into the arms of the person he wants.

I never thought I would say this but this age makes me want several more kids. Everyone told me at the beginning it gets easier…it gets better and better. And it so does! I know that with age comes new trials and things to learn for both Jackson and us but we are having so much fun. Time spent on the weekends and at nights for us are so so SO special and priceless.

Anyways, all that to say our fussy colickly days are finally a mere memory in light of our sleep filled nights and laughter filled days. Love my little guy. Love our family.