Mmmm Bananas!

Ok, babies seriously need to come with a personalized owner's manual! Sure there are TONS of books out there to read and TONS of people with advice but each baby needs it's very own manual. As we all know I love to read books and research everything before I do something new. That would be my type A personality coming through as a new parent. From birth to month 4 or so I would say this new parent stuff was pretty easy. Other than dealing with the reflux we haven't had too many issues.

Then one day when Eli was around 4 1/2 months something changed. He went from being a newborn to being a baby with his own little personality and agenda. He simply decided he didn't need naps, food was to be ate in the middle of the night, and sleeping was unnecessary. That is of course unless he was riding in the car or strolling along while I walked outside then he would nap like a champ. For the first two weeks of this I don't think I realized what was happening. I was slowly sinking back into this dazed state of sleepless confusion that I used to live in back in January. That's when I hit the books. What on earth is going on with my baby?! I also called many friends for their advice too. It took about two weeks of reading different doctor's opinions and getting advice from others before I came to form my own belief and opinion on how to handle my new little man.

Our days went something like this. Wake up at 7, fuss when eating, get sleepy and crabby around 8:30, refuse to nap, finally fall asleep, wake up 35 minutes later crabby, refuse to fall back asleep, get up and play, act crabby, fuss while eating, get sleepy, refuse to nap, finally fall asleep, wake up 35 minutes later crabby, refuse to fall back asleep, get up and play, act crabby, fuss while eating, get sleepy, refuse to nap, finally fall asleep, wake up 35 minutes later crabby, refuse to fall back to sleep, get up and play, act crabby, fuss while eating, and on and on and on. Until about 7:30 pm. Then the real fun begins. Bedtime would roll around and Eli would decide it's screaming time. He would SCREAM as loud as possible for an hour or more on and off. Of course it was because he didn't eat well or take a nap all day. After a lot of effort on our part we'd finally settle him down and boom 35 minutes later he would wake up crying and we'd start all over. Eventually he'd fall into a deeper slumber and only wake up every 3 hours or so. Starving for food of course since he was fussy while eating during the day.

This is where the personalized owner's manual becomes necessary. NO ones advice and no stupid book had an answer for this. There are basically two schools of thought on this sleep subject. There is the "let them cry it out" school and the "attachment parenting" school which is basically the school of thinking that says to comfort comfort comfort. Well dang it I have been comforting comforting comforting and it wasn't working! I knew the cry it out school was not the school for us but after so many sleepless nights I had to give it a try. The cry it out method was complete torture but we basically survived it for 4 days. We called this "Sleep bootcamp" in order for me to get through it. I can not tell you how hard this was for me (and for Milan). I was still not getting any sleep because instead of being up with Eli and comforting him through his sleepless nights I was now staring at he monitor watching him cry. He was still eating poorly during the day and not napping but the waking to eat at night was getting better and so was bedtime.

Finally after four days of bootcamp and no nap success I called the doctor. She said not napping was not normal and that babies need somewhere between 12-14 hours a sleep a day between naps and nighttime. What! Eli was averaging 9 0r 10. So I bring him in so she could check him out. What do we conclude? Um, nothing. It's just his personality. Oh and this sharp little razor in his mouth called a NEW TOOTH!

We had suspected for a while that he was teething but it was that very day that the first sign of a tooth was evident when you rubbed his gums. So here I am thinking the poor kid needs stupid cry it out bootcamp and what he really needed was some Tylenol for the pain, his mama's hugs and kisses, and some bananas!

For the record, I was opposed to giving him any solids until he was at least 6 months and maybe even longer since he seems to have such an immature digestive system. However, after seeing him so fussy with just milk I made a mama decision to try a little rice cereal with bananas. As you will see from the pictures the bananas were a hit.

Ahhh, the moral of the story. There is a reason for everything. Babies don't just "act up" because they want to drive their mamas crazy. They are telling you something. Finding out what they are trying to tell you is the hard, I mean fun, part! I do believe sleep bootcamp was somewhat helpful but I mostly believe that darn tooth was the culprit. I also think Eli was ready for some yummy food. He is now taking 3 naps a day in his bed. I broke him of his need for movement during a nap. I do wish his naps were longer than 35-45 minutes but I can live with that. He is finally going to bed without screaming and sleeping for at least 5-6 hours without waking up. The cereal and bananas are making him happy and full which means less fussing! Hooray. I survived the first of many battles to come.

And just for the record. This is Milan's child. He chugs his milk like his Tata chugs beer. He chows his food and it is gone in minutes just like his Tata. His minimal need for sleep is just like Milan's as are his belly aches and reflux issues!

"Mama! You said this would taste yummy! This bland cereal is anything but yummy! There has to be something better than this stuff."

"Mmmm, now were talking! Bananas, yum yum!"

"How about you give me that spoon! I can do it myself!"

"Hurry it up, I'm getting bored and playing with my feet again!"

"See this is how you get me to smile. Get rid of that boring cereal and give me the yummy good stuff!"

Little does he know... the cereal is being mixed in with bananas. Ahh, the trickery has already begun.