Tough Love - Night 2

Just a quick update: Alex went to sleep (in his sleep sack) last night without any trouble.  He started fussing a little after midnight.  I turned off the monitor and set my alarm.  He put himself back to sleep and ended up sleeping until just after 4am.  So he went about 7 hours.  Good job, kiddo! 

Tough Love - Night 1

Last night was the first night of "tough love" for Alex.  We decided we might as well take away his swaddle as well.  He's been sleeping without his swaddle during naptime but we put him on his tummy (and check on him every 5 minutes) to prevent his arms from flailing which wakes him up.  We didn't feel comfortable doing that at night since we wouldn't be able to check on him regularly.  Although the pediatrician said he could go 7-8 hours, we decided to start with 6 hours at least for the first week. 

It went really well.  He went right to sleep on his back at 9pm.  I heard a little bit of fussing at 12:15 at which point I turned off the monitor and set my alarm for 3 am.  Phil actually had a conference call from 2-4am so he was up at 1:30 and said all was quiet in his room.  When I woke up at 3 he was asleep.  I went in to peek at him - he was on his back with his little hands resting up by his chin.  He must have sensed me in the room because 2 minutes after I left I heard him start squeaking but he fell back to sleep by the time I got to his room.

He slept until 5am.  Such a good boy!  He did get shots at the doctor's office yesterday which might have contributed to his sleepiness but I would still say night number 1 was a success! 

Our Little Peanut!

Alex had is 4 month check-up today. He was perfectly healthy. The doctor was very impressed with his ability to sit up (supported) and with his tummy time. She also was able to get a lot of belly laughs out of him (until shot time). Here are his stats:

Head: 15.75 / 7%
Height: 25.25" / 46%
Weight: 13.8 lbs / 11%

He's a tiny one! At William's 4 month check-up he was 25.75" and 14 lbs 13 oz.

The pediatrician did say that Alex should be sleeping 7-8 hours in a stretch at night which he is definitely NOT doing. He actually was sleeping this much up until about a month ago when he started getting up twice at night. She said he was old enough for "tough love" so tonight we will be letting him cry himself out. We had to do the same thing for Will - it only took 3 nights and he was sleep trained. Hopefully it goes just as well with Alex!

Just Cute

Already playing with big brother's stuff when he's not around...

We decided to break out the exersaucer. It took Will a while to warm up to it but Alex seemed pretty content and interested.

We had a great weekend. On Friday night, the U of M Women's Glee Club was in town. The Alumni Club helped them by finding a venue and setting up host families where they could spend the night. Phil went downtown for the concert on Friday and on Saturday morning we all went downtown to San Chez for the brunch he set up for the group. Since we were downtown, we decided to walk around a bit. We went to the GRAM and were able to see the Rauschenberg exhibit. They had an interactive display on the third floor and Will was able to create his own piece of art by moving around the magnets. Then we did a little shopping before heading home.

Grandma and Grandpa came over Saturday night to watch the boys so we could go out for my birthday dinner. We went to CitySen in the new City Flats hotel and had some delicious burgers.

On Sunday, we walked (and Will rode his bike) up to Breton Village to do some grocery shopping. Then we stopped at Breton playground on the way home. In the afternoon, Phil and Will went for a "rain" walk. By the time we got them out the door, the rain had pretty much stopped but Will still had his raincoat, boots, and umbrella. They ended up walking all the way into town and to the boardwalk. Will was a big hit with his cute rain gear.

Painting with Water Color Ice Cubes

Fountain at the GRAM

Fountain at the GRAM

"Rain" Walk

4 Months Old!

Alex is 4 Months old today! Although he loves to smile and laugh, he hasn't mastered "smiling for the camera" yet.  It is also impossible to get a decent photo of both of the boys together as you can see below.  (In the 3rd picture, Will has an evil look on his face and it looks like Alex is falling. That is actually how Will smiles for the camera and Alex was resting comfortably on Will's legs)

Who's Who?

Will was about 3 months when his photo was taken and Alex was about 4 months.  I'd say they look like brothers.