45 Minute Intruder

Ugh...this "45 minute intruder" thing is about to drive me slap crazy! Everyone has a 45 minute sleep cycle where they transition from deep sleep to lighter REM sleep. Apparently when babies are learning to sleep (cuz supposedly it's something they have to learn) they can wake themselves up as they transition due to twitching, etc. This causes their naps to be only 45 minutes because a lot of times they can't fall back asleep on their own...thus aptly called the 45-minute intruder. This makes for a very tired baby and a very tired Mommy. For about three or four weeks, Reese has been visited by the 45-minute intruder every. single. nap. Oh, the frustration. Fortunately, Reese doesn't seem to be too cranky once he gets up, but if you try to calm him down and make him go back to sleep, whoa, buddy...watch out!! If he does fall back asleep (while being rocked, mind you), as soon as you try to put him back down his eyes pop open and he starts screaming again. This causes Mommy and Daddy to just give up and unswaddle him and take him in the den with us. He'll stay happy for about another hour and then he's ready to eat. And, for now, this only seems to be an issue during his daytime sleep. I have read a lot that babies just kinda go through lots of changes physically and developmentally from about 4-6 months so here's to hoping it'll work itself out in another few weeks!

Speaking of eating...Reese is not a picky eater and doesn't seem to mind the taste or texture of formula. He is, however, having some issues with his tummy getting used to it. I still nurse him a couple of times a day and am still pumping at work so he gets some breastmilk throughout the day. BUT, I have noticed an even greater decrease in my milk supply over the last few days so I know the day is coming soon where it's going to be all formula. The formula just makes his little tummy hurt because it gives him (smelly) gas and makes him somewhat constipated, which is something he has never experienced! We're going to give it a few more days of the same formula, Similac Advanced, before switching to a sensitive one. The doctor said to give it at least two weeks of the same kind to give them time to get used it. The biggest issue we are running into lately is that every night for the past few nights Reese wakes up around 4:30am, with what we assume is a tummyache and he just cries and cries for about half an hour before he finally settles back down. Obviously when he's so upset we go in there and get him up to rock him back to sleep, so it makes for two very tired parents. But hopefully we'll work through it. Last night he woke up for a second, but went right back to sleep so maybe we're on the up and up.

Another big difference is that we have taken him out of basket. Since Friday he has been sleeping like a big boy in his crib. Again, just like the switch to formula, this has not phased him at all. He had just gotten too long for his basket! Kinda makes me a little sad. We wanted to make sure that he got through the transition from basket to crib before we move (which is still going to be awhile). Cameron also wants to work on weaning him from the swaddle. I'm not convinced Reese is ready for that, so we'll see. He's mastered taking his paci out of his mouth, staring at it, and putting the edges in his mouth, so once he masters putting it back in the proper way, then I might be ready for him to be unswaddled!! We had Cameron's grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary yesterday, so I'll make a post about that later with some pics. Anyway...I have a couple of really funny pictures to post, too, so look for those soon!