Swimming in the tub!

Like many new parents (are we still considered new?), Kevin and I have begun to wonder whether life with Harry is easier now, or if it was easier in the beginning. There are quite a few variables here. Had we not been newbies, perhaps those newborn days may have been easier. Things now are certainly a lot more fun! Harry is so mobile, and can entertain himself, and has started to communicate with us (at a different level at least!). However, there are so many new changes going on in his world, and I think we deal with things a lot more intellectually. It seems kids really develop their own personalities, quirks, intricacies...what have you...at about this age. We've got a lot more to figure out now!

One new thing to figure out, which I am supposing is not unique to Harry, but seems to have many reasons behind it-he wakes up a lot more now! For the past week or two, he wakes up beginning one hour after he goes to sleep. Sometimes this happens continuously. I am guessing that he is having bad dreams. Babies begin to dream more at thiss age. Dr. Parente agrees, but says there could be other issues as well. It just goes along with his developmental stage. He is learning new things, and has trouble letting go of them at night. Apparently he is also having trouble letting go of us, and wonders where we are.

The second set of wake ups seems to occur because he is standing up in his crib. It was cute the first time, but his body wants to stand, and his mind wants to sleep...it is a bad combination, especially at 4 AM! It is not just nighttime that this occurs...also at naptime. It is hard to even get him into his crib in the daytime. I confess, I resort to putting him in his swing. I thought having a blanket might help, but apparently at daycare he stands up screaming, crib rail in one hand, blanket in the other. Let us know if you have any suggestions for this one! My backup plan, calling the Baby Whisperer for a meager $100 an hour, went by the wayside. Sadly, Tracey Hogg, age 44, passed away in November of Melanoma. For those of you who don't know, Kevin and I found Secrets of the Baby Whisperer to be the most useful book out there. Parents everywhere have lost a huge resource.

We have moved past some scaries though. I am not completely panic stricken over SIDS anymore. Harry had peanut butter over the weekend, and that appears to be safe. And since being in the big tub, there is the fear that he may drown. This one is mild, since I am right there at all times, but there is still the concern he will go under and be unhappy about it. Well, tonight, I guess he decided he could reach his toys better if he flipped over and swam at them. In typical Harry fashion, he landed well. A couple of bubbles on the chin, but no drowning, and he seemed pretty darn happy!

Likewise, he was pretty happy out in the snow! He was not, however, happy in his snowsuit. The sled was a big hit while we were in the house, but the snowsuit issue...well, picture the kid in A Christmas Story! Funny little face though!

Harry also got to meet my college roommate Leanne's son. Matthew is 20 months old and a serious cutie! He seemed to really take to Harry's playhouse,which was cool. He even motivated Harry to crawl through the tunnel to get to him. It was really cute to see them interact, even though they are obviously at very different levels right now!

It is great to see Harry interact with all kids, especially the ones he knows, like Sid and Susanna at daycare. It is an even greater things to see him befriend our friends kids. It is just the coolest!