Santiago: 6 months!

Today Tiago is half-way to a year!  I'm glad these months have flown by... because that means Hyrum is almost home.  Almost.  And he is so excited to meet his not-so-little baby.

The last month has been the most unexpectedly difficult.  I expected the first month to be hard, because I was adjusting to a new baby, who cried a lot.  And it pretty much lived up to the expectation.  But everything I thought I learned about my baby in his first five months went out the window.

He's never been good with naps.  I was okay with that because I knew if I stuck it out during the day with only his hour-long nap, he'd sleep from 7 pm until 7 or 8 am.  Granted, I fed him before I went to bed, and he usually woke up one other time.  But it was reliable.  And easy.  Occasionally, he even slept for 8-hours straight.

And now he doesn't do great napping, but his night-times are turned upside down.  The other night he went down at 7.  Was screaming at 10.  Again at 1:30.  4.  And 6.  And at 6, he wouldn't go back to sleep.  Talk about a miserable night, and morning.

To top it all off, he wouldn't fall asleep if I didn't feed him.

Playing with his tongue.

I decided that this is when two parents is helpful.  After a long day of taking care of a baby, it's sometimes hard to be rational late at night.  When I hear the baby screaming in the middle of the night, I'm left with some choices.

1. I can go check to see if he needs to be rolled back over, then go back to bed.  And then if he cries more, I can go back in and see if he needs to be rolled over.  And then go back to bed.  Repeat x5.  (That happened.)
2. Or I can go in, feed him for 15 minutes, and put a sleeping baby back in the crib.  

For every 'solution' I find on the internet, there are people arguing the exact opposite.  My mindset has always been "do what's best for your situation" but the problem is, I don't know what that is.  I've been reading a bit on sleep training, because if this isn't just a phase, I need to do something about it.  

Baby manual anyone?  Kidding.

Wow... that was a great way to celebrate Santiago's half-birthday.  Here's to hoping for a better 7th month!

Despite his sleep issues, there are a few good things to note about the last month.

• Every morning when he wakes up, he spends about an hour trying to blow raspberries and make his lips vibrate.  I guess he's seen it enough that he wants to figure it out.  He spends a lot of time with his tongue out, and blowing air, but doesn't quite have it yet. 
• He laughs and laughs.  Especially if I tickle him. 
• I found a pacifier that he will use occasionally!  This is great news for me!!  And might help with some of the sleep issues.  He doesn't use it if he's awake.
• He started eating baby food.... about a tablespoon a day.  Some days he hates it; some days its okay.
• No crawling yet, but he manages to get around.  He never wakes up in the same place I put him in his crib.  If he hears his baby mobile playing music, he always makes his way down to that end of the crib and kicks the buttons with his feet.     

The other day Hyrum said to me, "Tiago seems like a very serious baby.  I think he's taking after you. Do you think he'll be an introvert?"  I noticed a sense of concern in his voice.  

Yes!  He is still a very serious baby, but has his moments of giggling and smiling.  Whenever we go out, strangers always comment on his big eyes.  And they say, "I think he likes me-- he's staring at me."  And I want to say, "Maybe.  But that's kind of just what he does."   He's a people-watcher, like me.  Only I try to be discreet about it, because at my stage in life isn't regarded as adorable.  

Here are some more cute pictures of life with Santiago, which is all great, except at 1:30 in the morning.  

Typical Tiago pose with his arm hanging out.  It's in his genes.

This is what a typical morning looks like.

Not sure if he thinks he's Superman, but he likes to lift his arms and legs off the ground.