Cranky Baby

Update: Joe remembered that there is a 6-month growth spurt, so our new theory is that since Nicholas got each of his other growth spurts 1-2 weeks early, his current behavior is the result of being extra hungry. So I'll try to feed him extra times tomorrow and see what happens. This is one of those times when I wish he could talk. If he had said "Mommy, I'm hungry," rather than just shrieking all day, we all would have been happier.

Original Post:
Nicholas has been very cranky, whiny, and needy the past couple days. He basically has been acting tired all day but not sleeping enough to fix it, including waking up an hour earlier than usual in the morning already cranky and tired. Fun fun. But otherwise he seems physically fine--no fever, no cough or congestion, normal diapers, etc.

I'm wondering if the second bottom tooth is trying to make its way through and bugging him. He did really well with the first one, but I guess there is no reason why the pain would be identical for each.

At any rate, he's tired and cranky and dealing with a tired, cranky baby is exhausting, so I am now worn out and a little cranky. And so while he is down for a nap I think I will go take a nap myself. I have so much work to do, but I have the feeling I'll need some energy reserves for when he wakes up, which I'm guessing will be before he is fully rested.

But as long as it is just teething, I'll happily deal with a few days of cranky baby. And the housework may just have to fall a little further behind so he can have the constant contact he seems to need right now. In the grand scheme of things, small potatoes.

Our Little Monkey

One of the side benefits of playdates is that we get the chance to learn from watching other parents play (either with Nicholas or their own kids). Here is one I got from Katie last week (click on the picture to watch the video):

From Nicholas - Month 6

Think the little monkey is having fun?

Joe and Nick's Excellent Adventure

We're back from New York, and if you couldn't tell by the post's title, things went off without a hitch.  We had a great visit with Grandma Alice, Grandpa Richard, Uncle Patrick, and Great-Grandma Claire (plus a few neighbors who were itching to meet the Most Popular Little Boy in the World).  We spent most of the time at the house just hanging out and playing, but Nicholas seemed to enjoy himself immensely.

Here he is, for example, demonstrating to Grandpa Richard how to properly eat your fingers to soothe teething pains:

From Nicholas - Month 6

And he's gotten really good about letting anyone feed him (Grandma's not just anyone, but still):

From Nicholas - Month 6

[N.B.: More photos in the Peanut Gallery, as always.]

For this trip I had worried most about two parts: Nicholas being separated from Mommy, and sleeping in a strange place.  Now, he'd already done one overnight mommy-separation successfully way back in August, so I wasn't too surprised about his handling that part with aplomb.  And for the most part, even at home he doesn't get too clingy with Sarah, or notice that she's not around, or mind eating a bottle.  Unless of course, if she walks by when I'm in charge, and then all hell breaks loose.  But with Sarah safely ensconced in Tennessee, that last was an unlikely occurrence.

As for sleep, the last time we traveled with him (at the end of August), he had a lot of trouble adjusting to the new sleep patterns, being in a different bed, and so on.  So we tried to prepare him a little bit by having him take a few naps in the last week in his pack n' play in our bedroom—a different location, a different bed.  And boy did it pay dividends.  Plus it helped that he decided to be incredibly agreeable.  We arrived at about 11pm on Thursday night, and I set him down—still in his car seat—on the floor in "his" bedroom (it's currently a shrine to Uncle Brian) and went to quickly warm up some milk.  He sat very patiently, and beamed a huge (mostly) toothless grin when I came to get him.  I fed him, and he went out easily and quickly for five hours. [Ed. note: Yes!]  The first night, I had to share a room with him, since Sarah's parents had also come up, and took the other bedroom.  This caused a problem when I fed him at 4am, because I apparently got back to the room too quickly, that is, before he'd gone back to sleep.  In our efforts to adjust him to a new bed, we forgot to adjust him to the idea of sharing a room, which he hasn't done (except for our Louisville trip) since he was about four weeks old.  He screamed for nearly an hour, and I finally got him to sleep by picking him up to comfort him, putting him back in the crib, and then stepping outside and sitting by the door to wait for him to fall asleep.

Needless to say, I switched bedrooms the second night.

Other than that one little hitch, he was fantastic.  He slept the same amount as he usually does, ate with the same frequency, and threw in at least one five-hour stretch each night.  In other words, Sarah was envious.  Even more importantly, this trip gives us added confidence that he'll be good for our upcoming travel extravaganza, involving another trip to New York, a Christmas jaunt to Louisville, and an early January trip to San Diego.

Where the Boys Are (And Mommy Isn't)

So, Sarah took off this morning for a brief vacation to visit Stacy, her best friend and Nicholas's godmother, at her new home in Nashville, Tennessee.  That means Nicholas and I are on our own until Saturday afternoon.  He's doing fine so far—a little cranky this morning, but that seemed attributable more to the fact that we had to get him up early, so his sleep and eating schedule were a little off.  But since lunch he's been fine.

Well, except for during lunch when he grabbed the bottle to eat, but got the nipple and squirted himself with milk.

Anyway, because I figured Nicholas wouldn't be confused enough, he and I are driving up to New York tonight for him to get a little visit in with his grandparents et al. there.  Sarah's parents are driving up with me, as they've planned their own getaway to New York for this weekend, so I'll have company on the way up.  And Grandma Alice and Grandpa Richard apparently already have all sorts of stuff set up for him (read: I don't have to pack the portable crib!), and we'll see how he does.  Should be fun ... or horribly sleep-deprived for both of us!

In other words, look for the post on Saturday or Sunday to see how things turned out.

Flashbacks

Every once in awhile a picture will flash across my screensaver that stuns me, so I figured I'd share:

From Nicholas Meets More Relatives

At the time he seemed huge to us, but now it is hard to believe he was ever so tiny.

Conservatory and Playdate

In our constant quest for new free or cheap outings, Nicholas and I decided to check out the Conservatory in the park near school. It was okay, although pretty small. I doubt we'll go back.

But we still had a really good morning, mostly because we met up with Katie and Alice. I called Katie because they live near the park and it turned out she and Alice were in that very park running. So they extended their run while they waited for us (yes, Katie is amazing--I get winded pushing the stroller up a hill . . . walking) and we took the kids in together and then went back to their house to play.

The babies seemed mildly interested in the plants, but really liked the little pond with bright orange fish and a waterfall. I thought Nicholas was going to try to climb in to get a fish!

From Nicholas - Month 6

Back at the house they mostly just sat and played with separate toys, but towards the end they began to interact a little. This mostly consisted of Alice reaching out to grab Nicholas' hand or touch his head, but it is more than they have interacted in the past. They are growing up so quickly!

From Nicholas - Month 6

Happy Birthday from Prince Nicholas

Today was my mom's birthday, so we went out to lunch with my parents and Uncle Andrew.

From Nicholas - Month 6

But first we went to baby storytime at the public library. Today's theme was princes and princesses, so each of the kids got a crown to wear and the librarian called them all Prince x and Princess x. As usual, Nicholas loved the music and watching the other kids, but got really antsy during stories. He does well at home, but when the book is that far away, he doesn't seem to be able to focus on it. He thought the crown was pretty cool--when he could grab at it. Ironically, the only way I could keep him from grabbing it was to put it on his head.

Happy Birthday, Grandma Kathleen, from Prince Nicholas.

From Nicholas - Month 6