Miracles do happen!

It's been less than two months since I posted last - how can so much have happened in that time?! I just reread my January 18th post and the things I wrote about seem almost arcane. This must be what people mean when they say "the first year goes by too fast."

On Monday, Henri turned nine months old. He had his well-baby check-up and measured 20 pounds, 6.3 ounces (50 percentile) and 28.8" (70 percentile) - in the words of Dr. Unger, he is "lanky." Doc is very pleased with how well Henri is doing and says to keep up the good work.

And I'm finally starting to feel like I *am* doing good work. As of this week, Henri has undergone a remarkable sleeping change. Last night was the best night's sleep I've had since before the little guy was born! He fell asleep at a little after 11:00 pm and snoozed until 6:00 am! At that point, he woke, nursed, required a diaper change and promptly fell back to sleep until 10:00 am! I'm sure my blissful sigh can be heard 'round the world. We have a humidifier and a wardrobe change to thank for this miracle. Nathan suggested a humidifier a couple of months ago but I didn't really see any evidence to indicate that one would do any good. It wasn't until Henri came down with a cough and an eye infection - and both were in part cured by hanging out in a steamy bathroom - that I started to clue in. With the cold we have had this winter, our heat has been on a lot and it has made for some very dry air in our house. The humidifier has taken the edge off and doubles as a kind of white noise machine. Perfection!

The second part of the change was a little harder to figure at the time, but now, looking back, I'm kicking myself for not seeing it sooner. Turns out Henri is done with footed sleepers. He just can't stand them anymore (this after I scoured the whole of the Carter's outlet store for the only two 100% cotton ones in his size, of course). On Saturday night, during a particularly noisy and angry night waking, I noticed that, as I tried to rock him and comfort him, he was doing more than just restlessly tossing - he was arching his back away from me and kicking violently. I felt like I'd been hit over the head with a 2x4 labeled "DUH! Earth to Mom!" I could almost hear the words roaring through my sleep-deprived brain: "take off the damned sleeper!" I promptly undid the thing and tossed it to the floor. After some skin-to-skin contact and a round of Grandma Shaw's magic hippie sleeping oils, Nathan took the Bear for a diaper change and I asked him to dress him in a pair of lightweight flannel bottoms and a short-sleeved onesie. And no socks. It was like night and day. The rest of that night was peaceful. Sunday night was peaceful, with only one waking. Monday night was closer to what had become "normal" - wakings every three hourse - but without the frustration and discomfort. And then last night, the magic night. Aaaaahhhhhh!

Let's see what else is new? Ah yes - Henri has one tooth ("Old Chomper") and is a crawling machine! That's right, mobility has come. One day he was stationary on hands and knees, the next he managed to piece together a kind of shuffle-drag - and after that there has been no looking back. He's got an engine on him for sure. He's also pulling himself up to standing like a pro - on the coffee table, on the entertainment unit, the couch, in his crib...you name it, he uses it to become Standing Bear. It means I cannot leave him alone for more than a nanosecond, but honestly I really don't mind. Boo-hoo for me, I have to spend hours at a time playing with my adorable son. Waaaaahhhhh! It's tough sometimes to not be able to get much done - but that's what nap time is for! I've also learned that I can maybe cash in on a couple 20 minute sessions per day of "high chair time" - where I plop Lil H in his chair with a mountain of toys (that, one by one and with much deliberation, end up on the floor) and get some frantic chores done. It's become a pretty comfortable routine around here.

That's the first time I've said that in months. Here's hoping it continues!

My baby is smarter than me, it seems

There are times when it just forcefully hits me that Heavenly Father sent me this particular baby for a reason. Sometimes I look at my friends who have babies about the same age (it's been a freakin' baby boom among my peers lately!) and think "Why didn't *they* get 'blessed' with a high-need baby?" Well maybe they don't have as much to learn about patience and humility as I do, haha.

I think (think) I may have figured out a way to get Henri to sleep earlier at night. The magic formula the past couple of nights has seemed to revolve around me rocking Henri to sleep to the tune of some primary songs, then putting him to bed and going to bed at the same time. I think he's got a little separation anxiety going on and it scares him when he wakes up in a room alone. Then he's too distraught to go back to sleep, even when he's been soothed. Gotta say, I appreciate *having* to go to sleep. If he didn't have this, shall we say, quirk, I would be all too tempted to stay up and "get some things done." But Henri, bless his little heart, seems to know that Mommy needs sleep, too! Thank you Henri, let's make the next accomplishment napping during the day. THEN Mommy can *actually* get some things done.

Moving target

Check out a sampling of Henri's three month photo shoot! I wish he'd been smilier, but he happens to be very serious when it comes to posing!

http://nine29photography.com/WordPress/?p=2250

(and since I didn't have a blog when he was born, here are his newborn photos!

http://nine29photography.com/WordPress/?p=1630)

The past couple of nights have been just spectacularly difficult. Like scream-into-a-pillow difficult. Just when I thought I was getting the hang of nighttime parenting...just when I thought Henri and I were getting into a routine...WHAM-O! The target moves again, the game plan changes. I honestly don't want to dwell on them too much because I'm hoping they are anomalies - something to do with a growth spurt or some other developmental change - not part of a new trend. Besides, just when I think it can't get any worse, the little dumpling smiles at me and what can I do but smile back?

Baptism by fire

During the past 24 hours, I have had to repeatedly list to myself all the things I love about my son. I know that may sound horrible, but having a high-need baby can really put one through the ringer. Here's just a small sampling of Henri's, for lack of a better word, "preferences."

• He loves to be held facing the world - his back to my tummy. Unless he's a nanosecond from falling asleep, he will throw a holy fit if you try to hold him any other way. This can make burping him after a meal extremely difficult and getting him to sleep at night nothing short of a full-body workout. Oh and did I mention you have to stay on the move? Swaying in place doesn't count.
  
• It's next to impossible to get him to turn his head to his right while he's lying down. We think this is because of how he was squished in utero, but outside the womb, it's resulting in a flat spot on the left side of his head, behind his ear. The physical therapist gave us all kinds of stretches to do but, well, Henri is not a fan. As I'm sure you can imagine.
• Tummy time is only acceptable in the mornings. It gets less and less fun as the day goes on.
• Car rides are okay as long as someone (*cough* me) is keeping up a running conversation or reading aloud to everyone in the car and the car is moving.

Sometimes it's easy to look at these as fun little quirks. And at least they are part of what make my baby unique. I guess Nathan was quite the particular little thing, too - apples and trees, am I right?

So onto the list of things I just adore about my little bear cub.

• He loves baths, especially when he takes them with me. There is just nothing better in Henri's world than splashing around in the tub.
• He's learned how to put his lips together and blow bubbles with a really good "mmmbbbbbbbbbppppppppz" sound. He heard me doing it last week and picked it up in no time.
• He smiles at the ceiling fans. He thinks they're silly 'cause all they do is go round and round.
• He gets really excited when we're playing on the floor and one of the cats walks up. He stares with his mouth open in a little round "o."
• He is a morning person *and* a night owl. He will NOT go to bed before Nathan leaves for work, which means we like to sleep in. But when we do wake up in the morning, he is a little ray of sunshine, all smiles and exuberant squeals.

I'm sure I could go on and on, but I achieved a miracle tonight and got the little grizzly to sleep before 11:00, so I'm off to catch some shut-eye while I still can!