We're rocking!

... to sleep, that is.

I'm really rocking this. You see, I read an article about infant sleep / napping habits a couple of weeks ago. The article says that babies Swe-cha's age nap every and that if you miss that window of opportunity, their bodies manufacture more adrenalin (or something) and they remain awake for another 2 hrs.

With that in mind, I've been keeping track of the times when Swe-cha wakes up from his naps and I try to time his feedings, as much as I can, to coincide with his naptimes. If it's not possible, I just try to keep breastmilk in 2 oz bottles handy in the refrigerator so that he can snack on them as he falls into sleep. Sucking milk helps him fall sleep.

Also, I don't exactly remember when he stopped using his pacifier but he hasn't used his in a while. My in-laws saw some baby pictures of Swe-cha with a pacifier in his mouth and were disturbed that we allowed him to have one, they cautioned us that we might have a hard time weaning him off his pacifier eventually. It's not like we have any control, like I keep saying, we're first time parents and we usually just go with whatever works when it comes to soothing our baby. Thankfully, their fears were unfounded as Swe-Cha seems to have weaned himself from the pacifier. Yay!

Now, I'm quite happy to report that Swe-cha is napping again. Aliw! It sometimes is a battle to get him to nap as he does try to fight the sleepiness away when he's occupied (watching his videos or playing) but I just try to be more persistent and eventually wear him down. It's been harder to put him down to bed lately (since he turned 4 months old) because he would usually turn over to his tummy and attempt to crawl. He does succeed in creeping a few inches every once in a while but more often than not, he gets stuck and frustrated - this usually ends up in crying.

Anyway, the best part about getting him on a sleep schedule is that I can also schedule my pumping sessions, outings and chores now. Hoping that this will help me get our house in order, finally! *fingers crossed*

...

On another note, we turned in or rather, mailed, our official ballot envelopes this morning. They should make it to the Philippine embassy in time for the deadline of May 10 for absentee voters. Aliw lang that hubby and I were both able to vote even though we live far away, I hope that a deserving and good candidate wins, whoever he may be. Our country can sure use a break from all the corruption and misdeeds going on.