Nap Times and Sleep

So this is a popular topic among mom's, sleep. I want to update as to how my son's sleep looks like on a day to day. Right now every day is kind of different. He is 4 months now so sleep regression may be playing a part on a lot of what's happening with his sleep. So before he was 4 months, I had about 2 weeks where he was on a strict sleep schedule. He sleeps through the night every night so luckily that has gone unchanged. During his 2 weeks of solid regular sleep it also included 2 daily naps. one for about a half hour to an hour in the morning and one for about 3 hours in the afternoon. Well, I don't think most days he needs that much anymore because he changed at 4 months, to napping still twice a day but one for half an hour to an hour and then the other for only about 2 hours. but some days he has the longer nap in the morning. He has been flippy floppy for about a week now and the only thing that is a little frustrating, is that he was so on schedule and then his sleep needs changed and he hasn't figured out what he needs daily yet. Today, he slept until 8am which is actually good for him lately, but then at 10am he got tired. I finally got him to stop fighting sleep by 10:30 and he slept until about 1:15pm. Then of course he was up most of the day and decided to get tired around 5:30 and slept until 6:30 when I gave him his oatmeal and luckily giving his oatmeal early solved another problem I have been having lately.

Let me explain. Since my son changed his sleeping habits during the day, his night time routine has been a pain. I thought a lot of it was because we are working towards changing his scheduled times because of the clocks going back on the weekend. I am taking a week to slowly change him to a new time so when the clocks go back, he will be back to his regular time. Turns out it was something completely different. So, what was the problem? If you remember back to my post where I stated my reason for starting my son on oatmeal, you will remember a good portion was because he was screaming through his night time bottle. Well, it started happening again. He would sip for a few seconds and then scream, then sip, then scream. Most nights he barely got any of the bottle and he had to sleep without it and then was up either an hour or so later or early the next morning. There were days he was up at 6am and I'm sorry to the mom's that can't get their kids to sleep but, for me who has been used to sleeping until about 8am, 6 came early and he wasn't going to sleep any earlier. So, I was losing sleep and so was he. So, tonight we gave his oatmeal an hour earlier and made him wait 2 hours for a bath and then complete a bath before he could eat and go to bed, it worked. He is currently passed out after eating a full bottle with no hassle or screaming. Now, I just have to wait and see what time he wakes up in the morning. I'm hoping not too early as I have taken the time to write a post and am giving up valuable sleep to update people on how we are doing.

On another note, Rhys has his 4 month check up and vaccines a few days ago and the doctor says he has hit almost all of the 6 month milestones. My son is growing increasingly and incredibly strong. He can almost stand unsupported. He can't sit on his own yet but the doctor did a sitting strength test and it showed he has the strength to sit on his own he just hasn't figured it out yet. All of this means that the doctor said it was definitely safe to start using exersaucers and jolly jumpers to improve his chances of walking. With or without, the doctor believes he will be cruising (using the table, couch, edge of tub, etc to help him walk) no later than 8-9 months old. It is both incredible and incredibly terrifying to think by February or March my son will be walking. I'm going to have to baby proof sooner than I thought. I am so proud of how far my little man has come and I'm loving watching him grow into an amazing human being. He also loves his exersaucer and can spin it around really well, aswell as loving to spin and jump around in his jolly jumper. He uses both every day but each only once a day. If he gets another use he gets 2 of one and one use of the other per day, I don't want to over do it, but it is also hard not to use them when he loves them so much. The doctor also says many of his young patients learn to walk from the use of them both so I utilize it when he really wants to stand. His legs are already getting super strong. Just needs some help with his balance.

I think that's all for this time. Maybe he will be sitting on his own by the next time? He has been so close for so long it would be nice for him to finally get it. Either way I will try to update again soon. I hope my posts are helping someone. At the very least I hope you are all enjoying them. Stay strong and stay safe parents! You got this!