Teething and Sleeping

Colin is 3 1/2 months old now and there are a couple of things that are new with him. He is teething. We know this because he chomps down on anything you put near his mouth and there is a constant stream of slobber running out of his mouth.
His slobbering reminds me of this restaurant I once ran across in Shanghai:

There isn't much you can do for teething other than just clean up the slobber and give him things to chew on. No teeth yet, but they are coming for sure. The other, more problematic thing is that he no longer likes to take naps during the day. Sometimes he will. A long walk in the stroller will usually do it and a car ride is a 50/50 shot of either a nap or a screaming fit. Andrea can nurse him to sleep if he is really fussy, but we are trying to regulate his eating a little and if he just nurses for a 3 minutes and falls asleep that's not really a meal so he wakes up in about 15 minutes. So I've been working on this for the last week or so and have developed the master technique!

The most important thing to remember is that you yourself must be calm. Babies can sense weakness and any sign of irritation or fatigue will set them off. You must be rock solid calm. So before you accept the fussy tired baby, do whatever you have to do to get calm, unless of course that involves a nap, time alone, vacation, or anything else that requires you to not pick up the baby. Do your best.

1. You start with a fussy, squirmy tired baby. Probably crying. You know he's not hungry - he just needs a nap, but won't just fall asleep. The first thing you have to do is stop the crying. Usually holding him and walking around will do it. Often going outside helps. Sometimes distraction is key in which case you get out the toys or give him a pacifier or just a change of scenery.
2. Once the crying stops you have to stop the squirming. If he is not perfectly still he WILL NOT EVER go to sleep. It aint happening until he is still. For this step I use the football hold (see previous post) and let him suck on my thumb. Mine are bigger than his and they work better than any pacifier. They should make big thumb shaped pacifiers.
3. The next goal is to get the "seven mile stare". This can be the toughest step. I take him up to our bathroom and turn on the water in the sink (the sound calms him plus being near the sink is good for the slobber). Stand there gently swaying from side to side in the bathroom with the a baby sucking your thumb and the water running until you get "the stare" and he starts to get the blinks. Once you get the first blink you are home free as long as you don't get over confident and loose your cool.
4. If you clear your throat - go back to step one. His eyes will close once for a second or two, then pop back open. Keep swaying and exuding calmness. Blink two is usually a little longer and it is now safe to slowly remove your thumb from his mouth and slowly turn off the water, but DON'T move. Stay there swaying until you get blink 3. Then he is out. Unless the dog barks, then go back to step one.
5. After blink 3, SLOWLY walk into the bedroom (careful not to slip on the pool of slobber) and turn the ceiling fan on HIGH (for the noise). Your football arm will be tired by then so sit down and rest him on your lap rocking for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes it's safe to move him to his crib and gently put him down for a nice peaceful nap. Unless the doorbell rings, then go back to step 1.
   

Collin's Video Debut!

Toys!

Collin is 12 weeks old this week and has discovered toys. We have tons of stuffed animals, rattles, things that light up, teething rings, etc... Before now he has ignored all of it. Last week I came home from Seattle with a gift from his Aunt Mary and Uncle Paul. It's a stuffed, rattly, squeaky, little octopus thingy and he loves it! He'll grab it, pull on it, shake it, and of course put it in his mouth. It's officially his first toy! I don't have the heart to tell him that if he is anything like his dad this addiction will never end. This is just a gateway toy. It will lead to things with blinking lights, things that make noise, things that have wheels and he can push around, legos (I hope). Eventually he will get things he can ride on. I can't imagine what will be available in 10 years. It will surely escalate to bikes, computers, power tools, then ultimately cars and maybe even motorcycles. The price tags will go up and up and up until someday when he is hopefully paying his own bills he'll discover the greatest toy of them all: A baby of his own.

Pictures

Thank you cards!

Can you believe that we are still writing thank you cards. We did pretty good after the shower and were mostly caught up before the baby came, but after the baby its been a different story! She does a few every weekend and we are behind. I have suggested many times that the we write a bunch that say:

"Hey You!

Thanks so much for the wonderful gift for Collin! He loves it and uses it all the time! Hope to see you soon!

Love,
Andy, Andrea and Collin"

But Andrea is persistent and there will be a personal thank you card for every gift and she'll make it through the list hopefully before he leaves for college. But if you sent a gift and haven't gotten a card yet:

"Hey You!

Thanks so much for the wonderful gift for Collin! He loves it and uses it all the time! Hope to see you soon!

Love,
Andy, Andrea and Collin"