Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! 2015 for Henry and I started with a bang! I had gone to bed with him before 10pm and after a little prayer to the baby sleep gods, we tucked in for the night. Promptly at midnight, this little goober decided it was time to party and woke up with his New Years noise-maker 🙂

Henry modelling the adorable italian-made “Pram Outfit” from Holt Renfrew that was given to my little brother as a baby

Last night was our first night without Blake as he had started his cross-country journey at 5am that morning with a very reluctant Ada. Henry and I will be joining him soon as we settle into the last leg of our mat leave – a two-month stint in Revelstoke, B.C.

The past two weeks have been full of change again for Henry. Just when I think we have him somewhat figured out, he adds something brand new to his repertoire! He certainly keeps us on our toes.

As Henry has become more and more aware of his surroundings, we’ve been showered with delightful smiles and lots of cooing. When he’s fed and happy, he will often ‘talk’ to anyone willing to engage with him for prolonged periods of time. It’s so much fun to watch him learn to imitate our faces and sounds. I have been encouraging Blake to talk to Henry in ‘baby-speak’ – the natural way most people communicate with babies (high-pitched, repetitive, exaggerated intonation). I know it sounds ridiculous to bystanders but research (and now experience!) shows that babies DO respond best to this. So, in response to my cajoling, Blake now tells Henry about the news and the stock market in a hilarious falsetto voice!

Henry has also been doing his ‘exercises’ with Blake (he’s still in training for next year’s ski season). He is able to roll from front to side/back, stand with balance support and has great control of his head. He is really getting strong!

Henry in his adorable knitted overalls made by my very talented sister

The downfall to Henry’s new social awareness and motor skills is that now, instead of being able to put him down during the day and have him reliably sleep for at least two hours, his napping has now become quite the comedic show (although, truly, neither Henry nor I are usually laughing!). For example, today it took me THREE WHOLE HOURS to get him to sleep 45 measly minutes!

The nights aren’t much better, unfortunately. He has had a few nights where he will sleep about 5 hours in a row, but lately, the entire night consists of him thrashing around in his bassinet – cranking his head back and forth while trying to bust out of his swaddle with Herculean strength, all the while jack-knifing his legs repetitively with such determination that any Pilates instructor would be impressed. Oh, and during all of this activity, he grunts loudly throughout. Not the best way for any of us to get any shut-eye.

Henry in his sweater made by my dear friend Sarah

So, as you can see, we (or at least me!) are STILL sleep obsessed! My friend recently sent me this article which any mom can identify with as all of the sleep advice and research seems to be contradictory, or at the very least, not all that helpful in reality. For example – “put your baby down drowsy, but awake”. Fine, I tried that about 25 times today which reliably resulted in a screaming baby. Terrified that I will teach him that screaming equates me picking him up, I then try continuously (but to no avail) to calm him by stroking his forehead or rubbing his belly. This almost always fails and eventually I pick him up and rock him. Parenting fail.

Henry & Blake watching ski movies – getting excited for Revelstoke!

Regardless of the sleepless nights and the frustrations, I feel incredibly lucky to ring in 2015 with a healthy, happy baby, a loving husband and a supportive family. We are all extremely fortunate to live in a conflict-free country where we are able to exercise democratic rights in a (mostly) just political system. I hope 2015 brings more adventures, surprises, challenges and joys to your family and to ours!

Happy New Year!